Mentors – Because youth is wasted on the young
If you’re serious about anything seek out a mentor immediately. Don’t fool yourself into thinking you can do it alone. If you try to figure out every lesson through experience, you may succeed, but only when you’re too old to really enjoy success. Leaving a legacy to your children is great, but it’s also a recipe for a life filled with regrets. Some people do manage to succeed while young, but that’s entirely due to luck, you might as well go play the slots in Vegas. It’s sometimes difficult for some people, especially those of the introverted variety, to truly internalize the human element of success. You may not like it, you may give it lip service and never change your behavior, but working with people is important. Nobody makes it alone. Books are not a substitute for connections. Only hang around people who want the same things as you. Don’t be tempted by mediocrity. At least once in your life, dream big and fight for your dream. It’s hard to quantify the importance of a team of supporters, but you will recognize their importance later, whether you make it or not. Are you stuck in your day dream or ready to take an action? Paul Krugman is right… then wrong
The nobel prize winning economist is (in)famous for his belief that more government spending will help solve short term unemployment without threatening Federal long term fiscal health. The first half of his position is arguably correct but the second half is a dangerous gamble. Let’s assume Krugman gets his way and deficits increase even beyond their present day historical levels, how much debt will be on the books by the time we experience an economic recovery? Nobody can know for sure, but despite the market for Treasuries being the largest and most liquid in the world, the government already issues more bonds than can be absorbed today. The only reason the Treasury is able to continue even at the present inadequate (according to Krugman) levels is because during a depression the Federal Reserve can intervene without causing price inflation – the Federal Reserve is “printing money” to buy them. However, by the time Krugman is satisfied with employment levels and government spending can begin to decline, the debt will have reached such historic proportions it will not be practical for the Federal Reserve to allow interest rates to rise; any increase will swamp the Federal government in interest payments. In response to such a crisis, the government will either have to raise taxes and kill the fledgling recovery or continue selling bonds to the Federal Reserve (printing money) despite the economic recovery… imagine how QE during an economic boom will be received by the market. How can the system keep inflation under control while printing money to finance the debt? While Krugman is technically correct, the best kind of correct, about the ability of the government to increase spending today and not experience a fiscal collapse until some point in the future, he is not correct about the ability of the government to get its finances in order before that crisis hits. There will be no calm before the storm, we will transition directly from depression to crisis with no time to catch our breath. But I’m sure you’re telling yourself they are smarter than that, if random internet guy has figured it out, I’m sure all the PHD’s at the Federal Reserve have as well. You’re partially correct, they have been buying longer term bonds in recent years to help prevent a sudden tsunami of interest payments when rates start to rise, but that means the Federal Reserve is sitting on an enormous amount of government securities that will soon plummet in value. There is no way they can sell long term government bonds yielding 3 or 4 percent back into the market to return it’s balance sheet to normal and prevent inflation from getting out of control, nobody will take them. The Federal Reserve will have to mark down the value of those assets and probably render itself insolvent. Of course, the Federal Reserve can print money so maybe it doesn’t matter, but just imagine the politics. The economy is booming with inflation raging out of control and the central bank that brilliantly engineered a recovery without a tsunami of interest payments is now bankrupt and demanding the government reduce liquidity by raising taxes because it is unable to intervene in the market with anything other than words and interest rates. So much for independence, do you trust Congress that much? And besides, this all assumes the economy will recover. What happens to the economy when the spending stops? If the economy never rebalances to something more sustainable than complete dependency on consumer debt and bubbles of various flavors, what happens to all those shiny new jobs once government demand disappears again? Can the government ever actually stop spending? It’s an important question we should not dismiss. The value of any asset, no matter how vital, cycles between under valuation and over valuation – does the same concept hold true for aggregate demand? Can it ever be too high and actually need to drop for the economy to improve its health? It’s hard to argue America hasn’t been on a consumption and spending binge for the better part of the past several decades, perhaps a drop in demand is not the problem, but the solution. The Phoenix Hypothesis
People need adversity to give meaning to their existence; it’s only through struggle that we are revealed to ourselves. Living a casual life breeds rationalizations of inertia out of a very human and instinctive desire to be consistent with our present everyday behaviour. Strip away your ego long enough to recognize and accept that you’ve been making silly excuses your whole life. Some people have adversity imposed upon them, others subconsciously invite disorder into their lives to unknowingly attempt fidelity to their purpose. Everyone else must do it deliberately. For the majority who aren’t lucky enough to stumble into the answer and get away intact, it’s imperative that we intentionally inject ourselves into complicated, uncomfortable and interesting situations or pursuits. It doesn’t matter how you choose to break the grip of inertia, but great answers emerge from great sacrifice. There is no other way to discover and act on our purpose before the opportunity and energy have passed. Those who do, couldn’t have imagined any other way to live. Those who don’t, die regretting all the things they never did much more than anything they did. Amongst the worst deceptions of youth is undoubtably the misvaluation of time. Nothing is more precious, stop trading it for more of what already hasn’t satisfied you. Complacency is submission to failure. Greatness emerges from magical thinking.
There is something enjoyable about watching people run. It’s not the mystery of where they’re headed, nor the inspirational improvement they realize in their health, nor the comedy of their facial expressions; it’s quite simply the satisfaction of knowing there are still people willing to exert an effort to achieve something… anything. Those who aim to achieve anything without action are consciously submitting to failure. Lottery tickets are not an investment and laziness will not bring validation. If you want something, stop making excuses and go get it. One of the many traits that distinguish humans from animals is our ability to set seemingly impossible goals and win through careful planning, reckless ambition, inexhaustible optimism and an irrational refusal to accept defeat. Once you learn you can change the world, you will never be the same again. En Garde! In his own voice. Occupy Wall Street Will Fail
Many years from now people will not view this movement as having accomplished nothing, but ordinary participants won’t be satisfied with its outcome. Not for lack of energy or intent, simply for lack of foresight and understanding of where power hides, and how it survives. H1-B is America’s secret weapon
I made this case years ago, America will have difficulty attracting new talent. The College Conspiracy
Has education become a scam? Has it always been a scam? Zeitgeist: Moving Forward Sucks
The Venus Project virus continues to infect thousands Let me start by congratulating the makers of this movie for producing an exceptional piece of propaganda in the classical sense of the term — it very articulately conveys a message that even us unenlightened gentiles can understand. But fortunately for the world, it’s not quite persuasive enough to effect any meaningful change. In this stormy cloud of ideas lies a dangerous system of beliefs that despite the best intentions of Jacques Fresco and his followers will further entrench the power elite onto their thrones. |
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