How History & Logic Create Riches, and Emotion Creates Poverty

As entrepreneurs and business owners we all know emotion is the key to successful marketing. But when it comes to making financial and governing decisions in running your business — emotion will make you poor. Knowledge of history and logical analysis of your current situation compared to history is what creates riches.

A perfect example of how a lack of logic and ignorance of history will generate disastrous decisions is the current spending bill “The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009″ being paraded before the American public as a “stimulus” package.

Here’s a quick clip from today’s Wall Street Journal in case you’ve missed what’s going on:

clipped from online.wsj.com

$819 Billion Jolt to Economy Aims to Reshape Education, Health Care; Deficit to Soar

The House bill is one of the largest single stimulus packages in history, almost equal to the entire cost of annual federal spending under Congress’s discretion. A parallel Senate measure, which is expected to come to a vote next week, is now valued at nearly $900 billion.

Either bill, if enacted, would push the federal debt toward levels not seen since the second World War.

Also tucked inside is $335 million for programs that help prevent sexually transmitted diseases, and $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts. The Senate version includes $70 million for a supercomputer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and $75 million for smoking-cessation programs.

“The strategy under this bill is to throw billions of dollars in every bureaucratic direction, and cross our fingers and hope for the best,” said Rep. Ken Calvert (R., Calif.) Wednesday during debate on the House floor.

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Now only in government is a measure shown twice to be a failure in the last 6-months & politicians shout “Double down!” Bailout #1 passed months ago in Fall 08′ has been a failure. (And don’t forget the $700billion funneled into the economy during the Summer of 08″, but not labeled “bailout” by the media.)

All this bailout funding has done is cause otherwise healthy businesses (and investors in those businesses) to hold back and wait to see what (if any) help in the form of handouts they’ll get from the government. (For an example of this impact on the business market, see how JP Morgan says “stop talking about damn nationalization.”

The 1st bailout was doomed from a lack of historical perspective. And how can ANY logic have been used when the 2nd bailout bill was rammed through both houses and up to President Bush in less than 30-days? Ron Paul explained dangerous ignorance of history and lack of logic in the 1st bailout in 2min in this YouTube video:

History proves that economic cycles interrupted by gov’t intervention deepen & unleash stored energy on the public. For an example of the impact of interruption you need look no further than the last 8yrs. Alan Greenspan broke the 01′ recession by turning on money supply (printing money) & value of the dollar has dropped 50% in the last 8yrs. 50% devaluation of the US dollar to create a “soft landing”!

Now we have a 3rd bailout bill “The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009″ positioned to the hurting and unsuspecting public as a “stimulus” package. Yet the Congressional Budget Office (Democrat controlled) admits “approximately 12-cents of every $ in the 2009 Reinvestment Act will have stimulative effect.” As an entrepreneur and business owner, does that sound logical to you?

Use this current political and economic situation as a training ground to reinforce your Mogulogic.

1. Stand guard at the door of your mind. Watch your language (how you speak to yourself) and don’t let the media’s prognostications into your head.

2. Keep one eye on history and one eye on today, and both through the lens of logic. All around you, including other entrepreneurs and business owners, will be people controlled by emotion. Remember that you yourself use emotion in your marketing and sales to motivate people to action. Don’t let the media or the mob pull you into their emotional flow. Their path leads to poverty.

3. Take some action to try and stem the tide of destructive emotion sweeping the land. This Pork Bill masqueraded as stimulus passed house but still needs to pass the senate. There are many points of contention between the house and senate versions. And there is a lot of discord even among the Democrats themselves with the way the money is to be allocated (hurting more rural Democratic states take the back seat to blue cities.)

So you can still take steps 1 & 2 here in just 5-minutes to get your voice heard. And even though the House has already voted, I would still take 2-minutes on step 3 and let your representative know your disappointment with their vote for the bill. (No need 2 look up how your Representative voted. If they are a (D) they voted yes. All (R) voted no.)

Your success depends on your attitude and actions

Benjamin Franklin said “They that give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Never has that quote been more true.

The masses pay for control even when they can’t get it. They want security even when security eliminates the possibility of their own success. Leaders use history and logic to analyze the present and make decisions that create the successful future they desire.

Which will you be?

Somnium~Intentium~Partum
(Dream~Design~Create)

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Together Entrepreneurs Can Impact Washington With 5-Minutes Each

Yesterday I was chatting with my friend Micheal Savoie (@MichealSavoie on Twitter) about Washington planning to spend another $850 billion in the “The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009″ (aka: the “Porkulus Package.”) One comment Michael had was “We can only do what we can do… until we become big enough to make a difference!

Well that made me realize that many entrepreneurs who want to make a difference, but don’t know what they can do.

When faced with a massive issue like we have now with the Stimulus package being pushed through Congress, they ask “what can I do?” It’s especially hard since as busy business owners we’re all trying to run and grow our companies, so time is limited.

Well here are three steps where you can make a difference in less than 5-minutes!

STEP 1:

Go to http://readthestimulus.org to see what is included in the Porkulus Package. You can even search the 1,600 pages of the document by keyword. (Some fun ones sure to make your toes curl with anger on how your money will be doled out are: grants, infrastructure, neighborhood stabilization & taxes.)

OK, well I could be off with the 5-minute estimate if you really start doing some digging here in step 1 to see what REALLY is buried in the Porkulus Package. But just looking at some of the charts on the home page should be enough to reinforce what you already know — that this “stimulus” package is a bad idea for us as entrepreneurs, and for the economy as a whole.

Step 2:

Go to the listing of US Senators. Use the web form provided for your Senator to contact them letting them know what you think of the Porkulus Package.

What do you say? Here’s a simple template to model:

Dear Senator _______,

I am writing to strongly urge you to vote against the The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009. It is filled with pork and wasteful spending that will further damage an already weakened economy.

Instead I strongly urge you to vote FOR a reduction in taxes to individuals and families to truly make a relief impact on “main street.” History has proven that tax-cuts increase tax revenues so there is the positive impact of reducing the budget deficits with a tax cut vs. increasing the deficits by $850 billion-plus with the The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Sincerely,

__________________

STEP 3:

Go to the US House of Representatives to find your Congressional Representative. Call the phone number provided and ask to speak with your Representative. Most likely you will not get to speak directly with them, but use the following script as a guide in speaking with whatever member of their staff you have on the phone.

Representative __________, I’m calling to strongly urge you to vote against the The American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009. I’ve done my research and it is filled with wasteful spending that will further damage an already weakened economy. Instead I strongly urge you to vote FOR a reduction in taxes to individuals and families to truly make a relief impact on “main street.”

That’s it. I took those 3 steps this morning and steps 2 & 3 took me less than 5-minutes. As entrepreneurs and business owners we must make our voices heard.

We are all busy running and growing our businesses, but 5-minutes to at least know that you made your voice heard in Washington is a pittance compared to the hundreds of extra hours per year you are going to have to work to make up for the added burdens this Porkulus Package will place on us if passed.

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