Personal Notes

Feb 07 Halftime Principles

Written by John D. Buerger, CFP®.

A Super Bowl television ad ... and one of our country's most brilliant minds in Economics.

The two were made for each other, and yet I'll bet nobody else has noticed this ... yet.

The Economist

I first met Woody Brock at a Financial Planning Association conference several years ago. He is the most brilliant mind in economics with which I have ever engaged - almost too brilliant (it's tough for even me to keep up with him and I'm an economics nerd/junkie).

Woody Brock has a new book called, "American Gridlock." In it Brock distinguishes between deductive logic from what he calls "First Principles" (basic "truths" of life that should be used to guide our daily actions) and inductive logic with inferences often derived from ideologically-driven data analysis. This cherry-picking of data has created a cacophony of worthless jibberish in the dialog between political camps, but complete gridlock in being able to make the hard choices that need to be made in the very near future.

The Commercial

Enter the 2-minute Super Bowl ad put together by Chrysler and voiced by Clint Eastwood.

The message is inspiring. It's halftime in America. We're down but not out. "This country can't be knocked out with one punch."

True Debate No More

We no longer have a "discussion" of ideas in this country. We have completely abandoned the Socratic method of debate and moved to a high-pitched scream-fest as the media, the politicians and the really good salespeople use limited data points that echo their own ideology and buy the biggest pulpits from which to work the (one-way) "conversation" to their personal advantage.

I find this aspect of modern life detestable and I see it as a highly corrosive and destructive force. It freezes people in their tracks. As the commercial says about past events,

"the fog of division, discord and blame made it hard to see what lay ahead."

We're stressed out, unsure of our direction and (as a society right now) looking to other people to tell us which way to go. I believe that is where we're missing the boat.

The Need for Truths

Woody and Clint are both correct.

We must get away from the fog of division, discord and blame. We must stop looking to some other person or group of people to tell us what to do. Instead we must focus on those First Principles. The debate needs to be reframed and the sooner that happens, the easier will be our choices. It will also be easier to launch forward rather than stay mired knee deep in the mud being slung by opponents at each other.

"After those trials we all rallied around what was right and acted as one."

The Personal Truth - Balance

There is only one thing that is "right" and that is the Truth - those First Principles that Woody talks about.

From my own little sphere of knowledge, I offer this basic Personal Truth (as I did in my financial planning blog post - Personal Finance Truth #1). The reason people are unhealthy, unwealthy or suffering poor relationships is because their life is out of balance.

"Every type of problem - financial, health, relationship, legal - is a problem because choices have been made and actions taken that are out of aligment."

In simple terms, the problems start when: you spend more than you make, you eat more than your body can burn off and you take more than you give in your relationships.

But isn't that what we're doing en-masse? Isn't that what our leaders are doing ... and then telling us that these rules don't apply to them?

Free-Lunch Society

Our society has become fixated on the free lunch. No more hard work. No more challenge. I deserve more just because I'm an American citizen (or not).

We have a media, political and even an educational culture that rewards and reinforces a free-lunch society, getting something for nothing, a chance to get without having to give. The politicians hand out free stuff in return for votes. We applaud and vote them into higher office so they can give us even more. Young people are taught to be paid for the time they spend on the job, not the value they create through their work. Salespeople peddle pills that will solve your health problems, or products that will make your dirty house go away ... or an insurance product that will save you from financial ruin.

We don't pay attention to First Principles anymore. They're boring and they go against that most basic of human desires for an easy life.

Great Reset Anyone?

Back in 2008, I was rooting for what I called "The Great Reset" where someone would push that big, red reset button. Things would get really ugly for a short time as we cleared all the bad debt, poorly run businesses and political hacks out of the system.

Then we would start to recover. People would band together. They would collaborate and support each other. Each person would focus on the value they could bring to their neighbors. In return, they would be compensated. Life would quickly get back in balance. We would eat less, work harder, save and invest more. We would be healthier. Life would be good, and probably far less stressful.

We would do all these things because they were the right things to do ... based on sound "truths" ... not because somebody else said we should or must.

Only Utopia or Only Solution

Some readers will probably comment that I'm enjoying another "out of this world" Utopian moment. It's a dream. This will never happen here. Then again, that Super Bowl ad that Clint Eastwood voiced for Chrysler got a lot of positive attention. I don't believe everything that was expressed in there, but I do believe in the overall good of the American character.

We ARE at halftime. We are down, but not out. We can come from behind, but it won't be easy and there is a lot of work to do.

John

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Jan 16 My Dream

Written by John D. Buerger, CFP®.

I am writing this blog on Martin Luther King, Jr. day.

Today, in celebration of MLK and his most famous speech, I thought I would share My Dream.

My Dream

My dream is that we as a society become more efficient with and more effectively use our primary resources of time, money and energy.

I see a world where every human from an early age sees GIVING their gift as more important than TAKING gifts.

My dream is a world where people of all walks of life are aware of their own potential and are encouraged to make the effort necessary to realize that potential, regardless of their current economic position. I see a world where citizens devote the bulk of their time and energy to providing value rather than being focused on the resources they've been able to extract from others so far.

When we each devote as much energy and time as possible towards providing value, we all (as a society) will benefit to a degree that none of us can imagine.

Lifespan of a Dream

This dream is nothing new for me. It has driven me since my college days.

What has changed is the means by which I try to affect realization of that dream. Where I used to give value directly (as a volunteer college student and later as an on-air personality in radio), today as a Wealth Coach I help many others add more value through better personal financial choices and business operation decisions.

The Money Resource

They say that "money makes the world go 'round." While we all know that isn't true - gravity does that along with some other laws of physics - money does circulate throughout every person's life.

There is one hard and fast rule, though - almost as universal as the law of gravity: you cannot give what you don't have.

It naturally follows that the more efficient you are at managing your resources, the more value you will have to share with those around you. This is especially true with money because money is a placeholder for practically every object, emotion and experience in life - especially the other big resources of time and energy.

When your financial situation is bad, you burn up energy and time trying to fix it. Those are resources that could be used to create value for others. Instead they are lost.

Why Wealth Coach

I chose to be a Wealth Coach, Business Coach and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional because I saw it as the most powerful (and efficient) way I could give my gifts, add value to the marketplace and do my part to turn my dream into a reality.

I connect with people every day and help them at a very deep level. The systems and processes I have developed leave clients feeling inspired and empowered. They KNOW they have more control over their money. They KNOW they are making better financial decisions. They KNOW they are helping their businesses create the greatest value for their customers while empowering their employees to a high level of success, too.

In essence - the people I work with get more of what's most important to them in life ... which allows them to give even more value back to the world around them. I can only see good in those results.