Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Two Years Away

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Start a business today and it will probably take a couple of years for it to mature.


Start a new job today and it will probably take six months to understand the job, another year and a half to grow into it.

If you are looking at business opportunities - don't waste time on promises of instant wealth, look two years or more down the line and see if the cash flow will provide the income you desire.

I have recently started a network marketing business - after swearing off of them years ago. They have changed, and the right vehicle can provide a reasonable income compared to the effort expended. I was enticed into this one by David MacGregor - an already successful Internet entrepreneur with a lust for freedom.

I'll give you my basic thoughts, and I'll report back occasionally on the actual results.

My goal is simple, have at least one person a month join me in this Internet business. At the end of two years that would be twenty four associates - all of us working toward a common goal. Allowing for attrition - perhaps twenty will still be with me at the end of the second year.

I'm a bit ahead of plan right now, but this is still early days, I suspect from current limited efforts I should be able to exceed that twenty associate target. If my associates hit the networking average of just over two associates each - I should have a reasonable cash flow from this project in two years - and it should keep growing.

My daughter started when I did and has been adding an associate a week - she is of course above average. ;-)


Right now my startup costs for a turn key Internet business have been zero, monthly cash flow should be positive before the end of July.

Total start up costs: -- a
couple of afternoons doing setups - and less than ten dollars US.

Risk vs. potential reward this is already a winner - in six months I'll understand more about the procedures, in two years I expect to be quite happy that I spent the time now and initiated the free trial.

For you poker players - this business has a positive ev (expected value).

This is a business that will travel with me, an added plus.


What will you be doing in two years if you do not try new opportunities?


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Sunday, June 25, 2006

Is Wealth The Problem?

Wealth in a corrupt society is often a badge of shame - wealth earned in a free society benefits all.

This is what Deng Xiaoping of China meant when he said "To get rich is glorious."

Deng knew the way to raise his entire nation out of poverty was for a merchant class to promote exchange. China is communist only as it represents a repressive one party powerful state - they are now decreasing world wide poverty -- as capitalists.

In contrast the USA is devouring its inheritance as it sinks into the socialism China is seeking to escape.

In which direction is the nation that you are living moving?

We often hear how the distance between the poor and the rich is expanding - it probably is. The key however is are the poor better off than they were before?

In China before Deng there were two classes - the privileged communist party members - and the poor. Today China has the poor, a spread from middle class to wealthy, and privileged party members. In many areas the poor are less poor than before - and all have profited from the increased opportunity for deciding how to live their own lives - and with a potential to become rich.

As free markets expand, what is regarded as poverty will also change. The poor of the USA would be regarded as at least middle class in much of the world and as wealthy in many areas. If they wish America's poor can change their position - although it may require many uncomfortable and unfamiliar actions.

China has given more choice to it's citizens in the financial area. Perhaps capitalism is unfair - but so is life. If the choices you are allowed to make won't effect your future - find another country.


"The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill

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Friday, June 23, 2006

George Said It Best

No -- not that George W.

Government is not reason; it is not eloquence; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. -– George Washington


If I were wise enough I might end the post here. We could spend the day just thinking of what the original George W. said. Since I can't stop now - I'll let others carry the ball:


In fact there have been many Georges that could remind the current George that this country was founded on the principle that citizens have all the rights - and government must be tied down and chopped up to protect those rights - from the government.


It is not the business of government to make men virtuous or religious, or to preserve the fool from the consequences of his own folly. Government should be repressive no further than is necessary to secure liberty by protecting the equal rights of each from aggression on the part of others, and the moment governmental prohibitions extend beyond this line they are in danger of defeating the very ends they are intended to serve. -– Henry George


The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty, and the destiny of the Republican model of government, are justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally staked, on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people. -– George Washington (and we fumbled)



A government which robs Peter to pay Paul, can always count on the support of Paul. -– George Bernard Shaw



Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it. -– George Bernard Shaw


I am convinced that we can do to guns what we've done to drugs: create a multi-billion dollar underground market over which we have absolutely no control. -– George L. Roman


When government accepts responsibility for people, then people no longer take responsibility for themselves. -– George Pataki


If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face -- – forever. -– George Orwell, 1984


People never believe in volcanoes until the lava actually overtakes them. -– George Santayana


This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a protector. --– Plato circa 400 B.C. (what you didn't know Plato's first name?)


And a final quote representative of a century of declining liberty at the hand of double speaking politicians - perhaps if he expanded his concept and realized you can not federalize anything worth while.


If we have learned anything in the past quarter century, it is that we cannot Federalize Virtue. - –
George Bush






Monday, June 19, 2006

Unschooling For Success.

The term unschool is not often used anymore, home schooling seems to have taken its place.

The problem is home schooling has in many cases taken the horrible and archaic concepts of formal schooling and forced them into the home. The DownsizeDC blog has some good info on why this is not a good choice.

A point I made with an unpopular unschooling bumper sticker is that "Your Honor Student Will Be Employed By My Homeschooled kid."

The organizational bureaucracy of formal education creates obedient assembly line workers and compliant citizens - that is
the goal of universal education.

"Education is not the filling of a bucket but the lighting of a fire" - Yeats

Entrepreneurs are created by themselves - if they are allowed the freedom to discover and develop their own passions. Entrepreneurs create most of the new jobs, they are the backbone of a free economy. Entrepreneurs are constantly learning and discovering new ideas.

Children love to learn.

That love is crushed in a system that forces rote retention - in an over structured environment - down students throats. As adults we then have to re-learn how to enjoy discovery of knowledge, most don't succeed at unschooling themselves.

Bastiat Free University is an unschool college for adults - but you don't even need that much structure.

Think about what you love to do, then explore the knowledge that surrounds your passion.

Rediscover for yourself the pleasures of self-directed learning.

Unschool yourself.

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Saturday, June 17, 2006

Freedom Technologies

One definition of a freedom technology is anything that potentially puts a little distance between you and big brother.

The goal of freedom technologies is to increase options and add greater flexibility to your life.

One source of freedom information and freedom technologies has been the Sovereign Life information portal. There is good information there at an extremely low price.

I have recently followed the founder of Sovereign life into a potential freedom technology - a small business opportunity. I had been on the lookout for a portable international business, and discovered David had been on the same quest. Both of us have had success in other ventures - but we wanted something that we could recommend to business novices and know they also had a good chance of success.

David took a simple inexpensive business and added another functional layer to allow scalable growth. This Internet business can therefore be done on several levels - at no entry cost and with very low overhead.

It remains a simple yet powerful personal business.

"He who wishes to be rich in a day will be hanged in a year." Leonardo da Vinci


Investigate David's freedom technology report about a transportable international business



Best,

Allan

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Wednesday, June 14, 2006

a quote of a quote - and some added quotes - on health care

Quite honestly I usually delete the free subscription e-mails I receive from Quinlin without reading them.

There is plenty of reading material in my inbox without diving into extra stuff. This letter contained a gem that updates a historic viewpoint. I'll give you both of them, and a bit more.

The historic one will be first - made by a European that traveled the USA and compared American liberties to the social disasters that were enveloping his native soil. This was just prior to the American civil war - before a strong central government was imposed. The civil war effectively ended independent states competing for citizens, and freedom has been increasingly lost since then..



"It's not an endlessly expanding list of rights - the 'right' to education, the 'right' to health care, the 'right' to food and housing. That's not freedom, that's dependency. Those aren't rights, those are the rations of slavery - hay and a barn for human cattle." - Alexis De Tocqueville (1805-1859)


The second shows our current state of affairs - with politicians competing for votes by giving away other people's money.
"
A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul." - George Bernard Shaw

If it is not virtuous for you to steal from others to pay your bills - you can not gain virtue by asking others to steal for you - it is still theft.

Here is the second quote - politicos are stealing in the name of others - and claiming it is virtuous.



In an April 12 guest opinion piece for the state's largest newspaper, three state lawmakers argued for establishing "affordable and effective health care" as a fundamental right for every Oregonian. But what Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland, gubernatorial candidate Sen. Ben Westlund, I-Tumalo, and Sen. Alan Bates, D-Ashland, are really advocating is a new, massive entitlement program where the state government, the taxpayers, should somehow be made responsible to provide health care for all.


Presumably these elected officials chose to use the language of rights rather than entitlements because "rights" are popular while "entitlements" have earned a negative reputation. Our rights define what we are free to do without interference. In the Declaration of Independence the founders list life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as among our inalienable rights.


Notice that these rights are not goods or services, not housing or health care, not education or food. The right to life, for example, does not mean that someone has to provide you with food and water; it means that you are free to work to earn your food and water and others may not steal them from you once you have them. ...The founders understood that rights are intrinsic ("endowed by their Creator" was their phrase); they belong to the people and cannot be given or taken away by the government.


The principle function of government is to recognize and secure these rights, rights that are paid for by the lives and struggles of those who established and fought for our independence and freedom. Entitlements, on the other hand, are obligations placed on one group of people to pay for benefits to another group.
http://www.cascadepolicy.org/pdf/health_ss/2006_06.pdf



A better solution would be to open the medical field to free market forces - driving quality up while lowering costs.

In reality the power and money of the American Medical Association prevents that.

I forget who said something to the effect " if you think health care is expensive now - just wait until it is free."


Take a look at a Brit's teeth if you want to see the value of a national dental plan - then consider that same disastrous approach to your overall health care.

A few closing quotes - just because I still can:



"The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery." - Winston Churchill



"Everyone wants to live at the expense of the state. They forget that the state wants to live at the expense of everyone." - C. F. Bastiat



"When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first things to be bought and sold are legislators." – P.J. O'Rourke


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Friday, June 09, 2006

Is The Fat Lady Singing The Dollar's Swan Song?

We all know the dollar is in trouble.

The dollar has been hurting since 1913 when the Federal Reserve was created to "protect the dollar from currency fluctuations." It was placed in further jeopardy in 1933 when the value of the dollar was no longer available in gold - but was reduced to the value of a political promise.

The dollar has always suffered in war time, whether as a revolutionary continental or as Civil war greenbacks. More recently we had the guns
and butter foolishness under presidents Kennedy and Johnson -- or now under the Bush and his central power grabbing thugs with their endless war for peace. (it's nice to clear out both sides of the aisle with one sentence - now that the ignorant, myopic, political automations are gone we can talk.)

I don't have a chart in front of me, but as I recall today's dollar is worth less than a 1913 nickel in purchasing power. History teaches us that some day the dollar will be worth zero - equaling the value of every politician's promise.

The question is - how soon will that day arrive? The dollar's value now depends on the kind intentions of strangers.

The USA has borrowed money from the world to purchase a temporary lifestyle, and until now the sellers have been willing to give credit and take the profits. There are signs however that the party may be ending.

The spiked dollar punch bowl still has many devotees, but their eyes are increasingly drawn toward the small exit door. As a few begin to refill their drink and then wander toward the exit, everyone gets a bit more nervous.

World wide individual country reserves are being shifted away from a primary dependency on the dollar to more regional and precious metal constituents. If a rush starts for the door this could be very messy, very quickly.

Perhaps it is time to shift your own primary dependency on the dollar in a similar fashion.

Sunday, June 04, 2006

The Netcohort And Your Future

I cut this out of a page I was working on about an Internet business opportunity.

This was a bit strong for average readers - but you guys should be able to understand it just fine.

The material prior to this excerpt was about the declining industrial age. The emerging information and miniaturization age should be structured quite differently.

In contrast I told my daughter about the networking cohort -- or the Netcohort. This liberating trend works through informally aligned teams of netcentric individualists. The flexibility of a transient team structure empowers entrepreneurial solutions at a personal level.

Being part of the Netcohort can be both fun and financially rewarding. Most netcohort business opportunities and special projects do not require constant effort or infusion of funds.

For questions about the Netcohort see this link.

I suppose I could edit the above to clarify my points - but I believe you can think it through and understand my points - and your possible objections to them - quite well.

I'm particularly interested in your objections.

Allan.


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