The reason I haven’t posted a blog lately.
A picture is worth a thousand words. The lack of a picture in this case is worth a few thousand.
Related Posts:
2011 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 3,700 times in 2011. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 3 trips to carry that many people.
Officer Bruch Says, “Don’t Talk To The Police”.
by Dave Miller
This is in response to the video yesterday of the fast talking attorney telling you to plead the fifth. He tells the classroom to tell all their clients to keep their mouths shut, to plead the fifth. Then half way through the class he turns it over to Officer Bruch for his rebuttal.
Officer Bruch makes the case that he is smarter and better trained than you. He is a professional with all the trick of the trade under his hat. He will win if you talk. Therefore plead the fifth, even if you are innocent.
Officer Bruch’s response. Click here.
If you don’t have the time to hear Officer Bruch out then at least watch this (short clip).
You Have Committed a Crime – You Just Don’t Know It
by Dave Miller
Did you know you can be convicted of a crime you didn’t commit?
If a police officer wants to ask a few innocent questions about a crime you didn’t commit, is there any harm in talking to an officer? In the clip that follows the police officer was asked if there was ever a time that he talked to a suspect that after the person talked that he thought the person innocent because of what he said. His answer was “no”.
It is well worth any individual’s time to watch this video. The time spent watching this video is minute compared to the cost of a speeding ticket or the time behind bars.
So take the time to enjoy this fast talking, animated attorney talk to his fresh law students. He is fun, exciting and isn’t afraid to say “God bless America”
Tomorrow I’ll post the police officers rebuttal, well rather, his response. Until then, plead the fifth.
Anne’s Christmas message to you.
Christmas, 2011
by Anne Miller
Joy to the world and to all of you.
We are all doing well. Fat, flourishing, and in each other’s faces. In good ways and bad. Family life is jolly and messy. How old do you say children have to be before they quit poking each other at the table and generally being ever so much more concerned about themselves than anyone else? How old do you say parents have to be before their love and humility is larger than their wanting things tidy and convenient? I suppose one may as well ask at what age life gets quietly manageable and consistently pleasant. Merrily down the stream and all that, you know. And that would be a foolish question indeed. “Man is born to trouble” says Job, “as the sparks fly upward.”
But that doesn’t mean all of life is trouble. Virgil is 4 months old and quite the sweetest little baby in town. Reminds me of a quote “There is only one beautiful child in all the world and every mother has it.” He sleeps through the night sometimes, but I can’t depend on it yet. The other children love him, but are not yet at the age where they can find the answers when he has problems. He likes my answers well enough but it can get quite interesting when the other children would like some answers, too!
Lucian just turned two. He’s a sunny little man, strutting around trying to pronounce every word there is. Tractors are his one true love. I’m amazed at how at how boys are attracted to boy stuff like magic. It’s a blast. He developed a whine after Virgil was born and has to this day not regained his equilibrium. And then there’s potty training due any day now. Oh, boy. Another one of life’s pleasures.
Naomi is four and has started reading. She likes school work (in very small doses) and drawing and coloring and cutting. Our sunroom floor can regularly be found under mounds of paper, tape and snips of ribbon that I’ve donated to the cause. It’s sweet how very old, very boring Christmas ribbon can make them so happy. “Messes are fun to clean up”, I tell myself.
Maria is five and is still the dominant older sister with better ideas than anyone else (including her parents). She spends a lot of time reading, and is getting to the point of doing a good job with the work, I give her cleaning up, sweeping, helping with Lucian, etc. Yes! I’m no longer alone!
Dave is still doing fiberglass but is expecting some significant changes in the new year. He’s planning on hiring another guy in the shop in order to work on getting more sales and also to have more time for the really fun stuff – real estate. He’s done quite a bit as a Realtor the past months and is having a ball. How many people can earn money doing what they enjoy? We feel blessed.
As for me, it’s pretty much business as usual. Fight-splitter, tickle-maker, sippy-filler, hug-getter, that’s me. I’m trying to savor the “little years” of our children, sometimes with better success than other times. I’ve discovered four children are a lot more than three. Mothering, for me, is definitely uphill work. But it’s good work – God’s work. And with His mercy, redemption, and strength, it is full of hope and laughter. Or at least speckled with it.
And may your Christmas be bright!
Anne & all
Related Post written by Anne: A Gross Day at Wal-Mart
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The Club
by Dave Miller
The Club House Meeting Room
Every two weeks we meet, the clan and I, for our book club. The topic of discussion is the latest book that we are reviewing. Our motivation is to invoke discussion and thought. And successful we are. The discussions run deep and are extremely thought provoking. It is up building and educational for the most part, even though some of us shoot an occasional fiery dart.
We fellow contrarians meet at either my house or the Kingsway Realty office depending on the weather. If it’s too hot and air-conditioning is needed we head to Kingsway. They allow us to use one of their conference rooms thanks to Curvin Horning, one of their agents and a member of our group. Otherwise the meeting place is at my house with a few cool summer evenings spent on the deck with the tiki lamps burning.
As time goes on the bond between members grows stronger. The camaraderie has grown to the point that I feel I’m really going to miss a good evening if I can’t make it. So attendance is high. Everyone enjoys seeing the others as we arrive. And we always leave in peace. Okay, my mind is usually still spinning but I depart holding no grudges.
Here is a list of topics we have covered thus far
- Theology and economics; Calvin and Commerce
- Building a master plan for life; The Pledge by Michael Masterson
- I Pencil by Leonard E Read
- How an Economy Grows and Why it Crashes by Peter D. Schiff
- The Politically Incorrect Guide to American History by Thomas E Woods, Jr., Ph.D
Our group is well versed on debate and if the point you present is weak you will get shot down. So making a good case is essential to survival. That or asking questions to tap into the knowledge of the group is a great way to sharpen your awareness on a particular subject.
If a question is presented, someone in the group will usually have good response. Whether or not the view is accurate the rest will critique it to verify its validity or to uncover the errors.
It was a dream of mine, to create a group like this, for years. In 2008 I talked with a few people and in March of 2009 we got together. We discussed Gary North’s book Mises on Money. It was a great book for the time, being about monetary cycles and we were experiencing the beginning of this recession.
The group was not interested in continuing. So it came to a screeching halt. I was disappointed but not ready to give up. I picked away at creating this group, talking to more friends of like mind. Now in 2011 we have a group that looks fit to last.
If this is something you have interest in doing I encourage you to create a group of your own. With the reactions I have gotten from people it seems you could easily to start another group. Don’t let it take four years like it did me. If you have even a small urge, then start talking to people. You will soon have a group formed.
Related post: Intellectual Exercise Machine
Intellectual Exercise Machine
by Dave Miller
Every two or three weeks we gather around a conference table prepared to stretch our minds. The topic is a book we are reviewing. It amazes me to read a portion of the book thinking it was just an empty passage, something to fill the pages, and one sitting next to me finds value I completely missed.
It started with two people wanting to expand their minds. We wanted to have a group of 5 or 6 contributors with brain elasticity being a prerequisite. Soon we each added a friend that fit the profile. We just added our sixth member, Steve from Texas, a former Merrill Lynch trader.
Our goal is to take a good book or article, dissect it, and make it palatable. After we have chewed on it, it is easier to digest. We try to make the material applicable to our lives.
The depth of material is not the largest factor by far. It is the debate and intellectual exercise that ensue. It makes us widen our thought processes as we hear and discuss our view points. Many times the writer’s view is scrutinized as we illustrate it with our lives.
As we gather to discuss the book we also stretch each other in our own lives. It’s not unusual to hash out a new business idea after the book review. Success stories, from previous ideas discussed, come back into the group. We all love hearing and telling them. The camaraderie is building.
There are multiple ways this group is advancing the members.
- We learn to express our opinions.
- Our ability to listen to opposing ideas is increased.
- We learn to think through the topic before mindlessly debating it.
- It’s an intellectual exercise machine.
I write this article to encourage you to go out and do something similar. Gather a few friends, colleagues, your peers or mentors, and form a group where you can stretch each other. Book clubs are a great way to accomplish this but there are other good ways also. Accountability groups can serve the same purpose. Breakfast meeting with a few like-minded people will work.
Do it your way. But do it nevertheless.
Men ought to know that from the brain, and from the brain only, arise our pleasures, joy, laughter and jests, as well as our sorrows, pains, griefs, and tears. – Hippocrates (about 400 B.C.)
O Big Brother Thou Art
by Dave Miller
In 1924 on the US House floor Congressman Fritz G. Lanham of Texas read this “Beatitude” in opposition to child-labor laws.
- Consider the Federal agent in the field; he toils not, nor does he spin; and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his populous household was not arrayed with powers like one of these.
- Children, obey your agents from Washington, for this is right.
- Honor thy father and thy mother, for the Government has created them but a little lower than the Federal agent. Love, honor, and disobey them.
- Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, tell it to thy father and mother and let them do it.
- Six days shalt thou do all thy rest, and on the seventh day thy parents shall rest with thee.
- Go to the bureau officer, thou sluggard; consider his ways and be idle.
- Toil, thou farmer’s wife; thou shalt have no servant in thy house, nor let thy children help thee.
- And all thy children shall be taught of the Federal agent, and great shall be the peace of thy children.
- Thy children shall rise up and call the Federal agent blessed.
Maybe George Orwell read this speech and built the outline for his book “Nineteen Eighty-Four”. The essence of the theme runs parallel between the two.
This is the underlining principle that our government wants to bring into our lives. That we feel secure in them. This means more power to the one in charge. Power is more coveted than money.
They can only take the power that we give them. Even if they take it by force with laws, never allow them to take your freedom from your mind.
Related Post: Sarah Palin and Generational Theft
Quotable Quote:
If con is the opposite of pro, is congress the opposite of progress? – Author unknown.
Legal Profiling
by Dave Miller
Lately we read about profiling in a negative sense. Police officers are getting a bad rap for doing their job.
Cops concentrate on the most likely suspects, narrowing their focus. The world calls this profiling. If a group of people have a history of crime they watch them closer. The reason they profile is obvious. It works. They do what gets results. Why wouldn’t they? Well, some agency decided it’s discrimination.
As an investor you are not regulated on profiling. Not yet, thankfully. So be discriminatory.
Create a profile of the type of property you a searching for. Base your criteria for the most likely profit making enterprises. Focus on this profile. Don’t waste time and energy on avenues that do not meet your criteria.
In real estate you hear of many ways to make money. National speakers make a lot of money telling you of a hundred different ways to capitalize on real estate deals. They open your mind to new ideas by getting you to think outside the box. This is good. You need to be open-minded. But select a strategy that fits you.
Your goal should be to narrow down your search and methods to a few options that fit your personality. Don’t try to be someone or something you aren’t. If you base your strategy on the results of others only, you are likely to burn out. And probably be unsuccessful.
Nevertheless, I do believe in following the lead of successful people. But do so only after you analyze yourself. Figure out what motivates you. What makes you tick? After you have found your niche, and only then, get the best mentor, with experience in that field, you can find.
Now start profiling. Narrow your search and let it rip.
This applies to not only to real estate. Business and charity are among many other areas of life in which this should be applied.
You will be much more successful once you have found your sweet spot in life.
Find it.
Related Posts:
- Get Rich Slow Scheme on John Schaub
- John Schaub’s site
Stupid Excuses to Avoid Action – Building My Master Plan, Part Two
by Dave Miller
Work sucks. Don’t tell me what to do me. I’m Lazy. These are a few of the excuses I unconsciously use to negate my desires to improve. I know plans are important, they work, and I’m a better person through them, yet I find excuses.
As I think through my Master Plan (for part one click here) I realize I want the result, but not the work. Classic ambivalence. Why is this? What is going on inside?
Many times the desire to plan is squashed by opposing emotions. Summarized here are a few emotions that love obliterating a plan.
- Disciplinary fears – The love to be wild and free. Uninhibited. We want to be our own man. By making a plan we feel as if our spirit would be tamed with a schedule. Little do we look at the exuberance created by having a well thought out goal in mind.
- Work sucks – We are stuck in a dead-end job. The desire to excel is lacking when you’re in a job you don’t really enjoy.
- Nothing is easier to do than something - Since The Fall we are looking for the easy way out. The snooze button allows us to push-off the inevitable a little longer. One must work against one’s sinful nature to overcome the sin of laziness.
- Feelings – We don’t feel like it. Today’s society wants to base life on how they feel. Everyone is focusing on “How do I feel about that.” If I lived on feelings I would not have gotten out of bed this morning.
- Inadequate plan – Planning is good but I must also conquer the over-planning syndrome. Action is the key.
A task list helps you triumph over these emotions that are hindering you. Goals help you to know why the tasks on your to-do list exist. Dreams are in a sense goals without a plan.
“Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
The key is to find the proper balance between planning, preparing and action. In too many cases the emphasis is placed on the planning and preparing stages while forgoing the action. Michael Masterson summarized it well from his book “Ready, Fire, Aim”.
The idea, in a nutshell, is this:
- Action is the most important thing. Careers and projects are killed much more often by the reluctance to act than by acting too soon.
- Still, some planning and preparation is helpful.
- Get it roughly right as soon as you can, and then start. You can work out the kinks later.
Thus, Ready, Fire, Aim.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; because there is not effort without error and shortcomings; but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” – Theodore Roosevelt
