On my last day at a job at an Internet Marketing company, the owner/CEO addressed to everyone in deadpan joking manner, “You’re all here to make sure that I’m set for retirement.” The room was so silent that you could hear a pin drop. To his credit, he quickly recovered, and acknowledged that comment didn’t help morale. But in a very blunt sense, he was telling the truth. Everyone there was to make sure that the company succeeds. In return the company paid them regularly for the duration of the employment. There was no further obligation. If the owner of the company decides to sell the company one day, and retire, he could. Everyone else will likely have to find other employment.
I have no regret in quitting my job and starting my own business. The jury is still out whether it’ll succeed. But I do know that I’m a lot happier and less stressed. One of the biggest drawback of being employed is that it kills initiative. By having a manager, you always have to seek that person’s approval. When you’re on your own, you’re on the one that makes the final decisions.
I’m not saying everyone should run out and start their business. But for me I rather be in control of my own financial destiny, instead of be dependant on someone else. That’s why I decided to stop working to make others rich, and mind my own business.
Salsa is a great way to meet new people. It’s really natural to strike conversations with people that you see often, especially with your dance partners. And sometimes people actually become friends, or something more. One thing that I noticed is that women tend to be better at socializing than guys. Many men are more uptight, especially starting a conversation with another guy that they don’t know.
This tenacity might be compounded when more guys than gals are on the dance floor. So that it becomes a bit of competition. It’s kind of amusing sometimes watching grown men positioning themselves besides a pretty girl and rushing forward to dance with her before other fellows. I tend to take it less seriously, and move around more often, finding girls who aren’t dancing at the moment. And eventually, I end up dancing with many of the popular girls anyway.
And when I’m resting on the sidelines, I’ve got no problem asking another guy how he did his moves, or just catch up with friends. I think in general, it’s great to add some conversation to Salsa, instead of some people philosophy of just “shut up and dance.”
Assuming his account of the story is accurate, the survival of Football player Nick Schuyler in Gulf of Mexico is remarkable. 3 other men were also in the boat, as they went on a fishing trip. Around 5:30p on that fateful day, the group ran into trouble as their anchor caught the coral causing the boat to fill with water, and eventually capsize.
All 4 men were able to secure life jackets, and held onto the boat. And yet 48 hours later only 1 survived. Why was that? Obviously being in the chilling water clouded their judgments. According to Mr. Schuyer, 1 man freaked out, and disappeared into the night. Another became violent, and threw punches before finally diving into sea, and never to be seen. The third man, and perhaps the most tragic having survived for almost two days, and was just hours from the rescue thought that he saw land, and decided to swim towards it, also was never seen again.
Apparently Mr. Schuyler had a reputation for toughness and self discipline. He was also able to cling onto a mental thought of not having his mom attend his funeral. In the end, he survived and endured, while the other men didn’t. The lesson if any that can be drawn is to stay calm and level headed however difficult the situation. I know, easier said then done.
The other lesson seems to be not to venture far from the scene of the accident, especially if the chance of a search is high. A couple of years ago, a family of 4 was stuck in a snowstorm on a remote road. The husband decided to go for help while his wife and 2 children waited. The man ended up travelling in circles before stumbling to hypothermia and froze to death. His wife and kids were later rescued by helicopter. Had he stayed put, he most likely would have survived.
Ok, so my sleeping pattern hasn’t been the most consistent in the world. It’s especially hard when laying in bed for hours and not able to sleep. Besides popping pills, the next best and most effective way to get some great zzz is a lot of physical exertion. In my case, jogging does the trick. Yesterday afternoon, after a rather bad case of insomnia the night before, I decided to take a jog along the Sammamish River Trail, a flat paved path with amazing scenery. This was near the Willows Lodge 
in Woodinville, one of the top 100 luxury resorts in the world according to Travel + Leisure’s 12th Annual World’s Best Awards 2007 reader’s survey. People pay $200-$500 per night to stay there and enjoy the same scenery.
The weather was kind of nice, with the sun in and out of the clouds. The temperature, cool. And the wind, ferocious, helpful when against my back, but not so fun when smothering against my face. Besides dealing with possibility of blacking out by this torrent of pure oxygen. I had watch out for random droppings as hundreds of birds flew sometimes aimlessly overhead, screaming like banshees. In the end though, it was definitely a rush… 4 miles suddenly didn’t seem that much afterward.
That night, feeling a bit tired, I decided to head to bed early at about 9:30p versus my customary post mid-night sleeping time. And within minutes, I passed out like being hit with an elephant grade tranquilizer, and slept blissfully for the next 12 hours.
So next time you want a great night of sleep, start jogging!
Money exists because of debt. If there’s no debt, then there’s no money. The current economic depression is caused by the default of trillions dollars worth of debt. This destruction of money causes deflation, where money becomes scarce, and more valuable.
So what happens next is that economic growth slows down. Unemployment goes up. More loan default happens. And the cycle repeats. The Fed decides to solve this problem by creating massive amount of money from nothing, thin air, a snap of the fingers. It’s a fight they will definitely win. Heck money doesn’t even need the printing press to exist these days! Just go into the computer and add a few extra digits, and viola, instant more money!
My predication is that eventually there will be a lot of money. It just won’t worth as much. For a recent lesson on hyperinflation, check out the Zimbabwe money. 
I’m not saying that we’ll be walking around with $100 Billion Bills, maybe just $1 million, but instead creating money from nothing is a slippery slope that we’ve been falling for quite a while even before the whole economic mess. Now the crisis gives the Government the power to create & spend an unprecedented amount of money. So yeah the chances for inflation, even hyper ones in the years/decades ahead is pretty high.
So what should a cautious person do? Maybe buy some gold. There’s only so much of it around, and has a proven track record of retaining its value throughout history. If you don’t want to own the actual stuff, then at least go for the paper certificate, like GLD. You don’t have to have everything in Gold. But get some insurance policy against losing big time if the whole system actually collapses.
We should all have goals, something to strive towards. Whether it’s building better relationships with our loved ones, or improve our health & finances. Goals make life more meaningful. Let’s face it. Life goes by pretty fast. Goals help us with priorities and better allocate our most precious resource, time…
Why not set your goals today? Take a few minutes and write 10 of the most important goals in your life. Then be sure to review them often, preferably daily, to make sure they’re still relevant & up to date. Goals can also act as milestones to help us figure out whether we’re on track. Or to put it in a more bluntly, if we do something that helps us achieve our goals, then we’re behaving intelligently. And if not, then stupidly.
Make sure it’s specific & measurable. For example, “I want to make $100K in 2009” is a goal, whereas “I want to make more money” is a vague wish. In that case, here’s a buck. That’s more money. So mission accomplished. and back to watching mindless TV on the couch?
Sarcastic remarks aside, goals help us grow & hopefully become better people. Goals provide us with a sense of direction & purpose. So have some goals. And start accomplishing!
I quitted my job at an Internet Marketing agency in March 2007, and started a blog publishing company. The good news is that it’s making a profit after expenses. The bad is that it’s growing slower than I expected. I figured that by this time, I’d be buying a mansion, yacht, and sipping martini from a private beach in the Caribbean. 
Ok back to reality, I’m still optimistic about 2009. With 7 money making blogs, & various independent contractors, I plan to improve the quality & quantity of my content, and maybe build a web application.
Regarding health & fitness, I’m in the best shape of my life. Hiked about 8 different mountains in 2008. Jogged 23 miles in December, and plan to run a LOT more this year. I’ve also gotten into the habit of doing 100 pushups & 200 situps every other day. My flexibility has also improve dramatically due to regular Yoga practice, now entering 4th year. At this rate, I should enter a marathon or something. 
My Salsa dancing also improved quite a bit. For an embarrassingly long time, I wasn’t able to hear the beat of some of the complex songs. But then suddenly, eureka, they’ve became a lot clearer, or at least 95% of the time. I’ve also came up with my own moves & combination to better express myself on the dance floor.
Finally got to see Whistler BC this summer, the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics. It’s very charming, yet commercialized, and expensive!
For 2009, here’re my goals
- Run 300 miles
- Do 15,000 pushups & 30,000 situps
- Read & review 20 books
Currently reading a new biography on Warren Buffet, “the Snowball.” One exceptional piece of wisdom that is regarding the source of a person’s self-worth. Many people have an external scorecard. They look to others for affirmation. Whereas people like Warren, more individualistic, tend to have an internal view, and approach things based on their own values, morality, and intellect.
So which are you? One simple test is to ask, “Would you rather be known as the world’s greatest lover, but in fact the worst? Or would you be known as the worst, but in reality the best?”
Externals tend to excel in people related professions such as politics, and have more active social lives. In contrast, internals might be more analytical, and be able to identify great investments.
The point is not whether one is better than another. But rather better understand people’s motivation including our own. As for myself, I rather be know as greatest lover both to the world & in the bedroom.
For the past month, I’ve been going to the Hot Yoga in Kirkland. They have a nice $10 for 10 classes package that I highly recommend. The lessons are usually 60 minutes for the most active Power Yoga, and 90 minutes for the Bikram Yoga, less motion, more posing.
During the class, it feels sometimes like you’re melting. Your body begins to sweat even before the first posture. Shortly afterwards, your body becomes drenched with thousands of droplets escaping furiously from every pore of your body. Basically imagine exercising in a sauna and you kind of have an idea of what to expect. So getting enough water is crucial to survive the class, or at least without some serious trauma.
The Yoga instructors sometimes seem like sadistic drill instructors yelling out commands to bend your body to eye popping positions and pushing you to the brink of exhaustion. Sometimes as many as a quarter of the class could be seen dropping to the floor, unable to continue. But for those that finish, it’s very satisfying mentally & physically. And after a while you might even notice new muscle tones that’d make going to the beach much more enjoyable.
Note: Speaking from personal experience here. Winter is coming. So don’t linger outside too much afterward. The drastic change in temperature when you come outside can temporarily wreck the immune system and cause a nasty cold. And if you do get sick, stay home, relax, recover, and avoid spreading the germs to others.