I thought this article was fitting….
Eight Things to Do Before Turning 30
~ D
What I am currently listening to: Broken Social Scene Presents: Kevin Drew
What I currently reading: The Bogleheads’ Guide to Investing
A great read about investing from the students of John C. Bogle, the creator of Vanguard and low fee index funds.
Have you ever met an individual who assumes that he’s got life all figured out? I’m sure all of you have someone in mind. The trouble with these individuals is that they are reciting what they have read or heard from someone else… never really gaining true wisdom from there own attempts and failures.
That’s why I take special interest in his Teddy Roosevelt’s writings and quotes. I get the impression that he came up with these quotes through his own experiences (he wasn’t stealing crap from McKinley’s grab bag of speeches). He was not afraid to take risks in order to achieve success.
Theodore Roosevelt, the twenty-sixth President of the United States, was a really cool guy. He became the youngest President in United States history at the age of 42. He served in many roles including Governor of New York, historian, naturalist, explorer, author, and soldier. Roosevelt is most famous for his personality: his energy, his vast range of interests and achievements, his model of masculinity, and his “cowboy” persona. (Thanks Wikipedia!)
Theodore Roosevelt - Wikipedia
Here are a few select quotes that I find inspiring. I hope they express the essence of what my blog is all about –
“Far Better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even through checkered by failure… than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.” (personal favorite)
“I am only an average man, By George, I work harder at it than the average man.”
“ I care not what others think of what I do, but I care very much about what I think of what I do! That is character.”
“If you could kick the person in the pants responsible for most of your trouble, you wouldn’t sit for a month.”
“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. In this life we get nothing save by effort.”
“Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.”
“Never throughout history has a man who lived a life of ease left a name worth remembering.”
“Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.”
“People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. The leader leads, and the boss drives.”
“Some men can live up to their loftiest ideals without ever going higher than a basement.”
“The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good people to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep meddling with them while they do it.”
“The only man who makes no mistakes is the man who never does anything.”
“The things that will destroy America are prosperity at any price, peace at any price, safety first instead of duty first, the love of soft living, and the get rich quick theory of life.”
“When you are asked if you can do a job, tell’em certainly, ‘Certainly I can!’ Then get busy and find out how to do it.”
“Believe you can and your half way there.”
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
“Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”
~D
I was on my way from my house to the library this morning and noticed a man on the side of the road holding a “Going Out of Business!!!” sign for a local business. I assume there is a specific city ordinance stating that you cannot put commercial signs on public land in certain areas. This particular business found a way around this law by having this man hold the sign. I couldn’t help feel sorry for this lonely soul standing out there for 4+ hours, left there with his thoughts and his sign.
One could look at this scenario and reason that at least this man is trying to put food on the table (and I’m not doubting that). But if you look deeper, you realize that this man is giving up 4 hours of his most valuable non-renewable resource…. time. Essentially, this business is valuing this man’s life at approximately $5.85/hour (according to the current federal minimum wage). And by standing there… he’s acknowledging to the world that he is indeed worth that much. I know its a cynical way to look at morality. But am I wrong?
“So where am I going with this?” -
Simply this… how do we value our time? Are we making the most of what God is giving us? Are we going to determine how much our time is worth, or are we going to let someone else set the price? You can spin your wheels making and saving money, but is it worth investment of time?
I have been to a couple funerals in my lifetime. Not once in the eulogies did I hear someone utter the words… “I never really got to see much of ‘Buddy’, he was always busting his ass at work, but he sure had a ton of money.”
This is a preface to a series I’m titling “Time.. is it on my side”.
Homework – Observe this week how you make the most of your time.
~ D
One of my most favorite topics (and potentially the most reoccurring them on this blog) is Money — Saving, Spending, Investing, Earning, etc.
If you are like me, you probably have read anything you can get your hands on relating to money. And if you really are like me, you are sick and tired of reading the “5 lessons my rich, poor dad taught me about his automatic millionaire next door neighbor who graduated from financial peace university while he was young, fabulous, and broke” books.
I am not discrediting these books, because they do have some valuable information for those just starting out on their “Road to Wealth”. But after reading these books, I realized they all ellude to the same things — i.e. grow-up, find the millionaire inside you, be responsible, make a budget, pay yourself first, stop spending more than you make, save everything you earn, get out of debt, get a secondary source of income, diversify your investments.
Do you notice how easy and seamless they make acquiring wealth sound? (And in fact, it can be). But what’s next??? They always leave me hanging….
As I mentioned before, these beginning steps can be useful. In fact, I feel it is necessary to at least devote one of my postings to this topic. But, I want to take these concepts one step further with my blog. Something real, something practical, something useful, something that’s tried and true, something more!
I want to put these wealth theories to the the test — and add some of my own theories. And as I learn and grow, I invite you to come along for the ride.
~ D
After 3 days of completing WordPress’ 5-minute installation… I have finally made it onto the web!
After reading the webpage URL , you have probably already made some immediate assumptions of my site’s content. Worry not! I will make it worth coming back to - again and again.
This site is about a guy who has made plenty of mistakes in his early years, and is finally ready to learn from them — and you can too.
See you soon!
