As some of you may know, I was not particularly fond of 2010.
It wasn’t a horrible year (after all, I did pay off my home mortgage), but I wasn’t particularly fond of it either! That’s why I decided that I’m going to change everything this year, and who better to demonstrate change? Why carrot top or course, he has changed more than I could dream of!
The Orange Hulk – Carrot Top!
I would have never guessed that “Carrot Top” would be more buff that I am, but surprise! And it looks like he is enjoying it to boot! Some may say that he looks scary, but I think he looks content and that he’s doing something that he enjoys!
Are you going to do something entirely different for 2011? If so, I’d love to hear about it and what motivated you to do so !
Often we start the new year slowly, sleeping in for the first day. But a few days later, it’s time to get into the full swing of things and get to work on life! Enjoy each new year as much as possible, because you never know what destiny has in store for you or your friends!
This leads me into the segue about my barber! My barber was a thin man who liked sports and was always golfed with buddies when he wasn’t working. Although he appeared fairly healthy overall, I believe that he smoked. The problems with my barber is that he died this year a few months ago from a stroke (he was in his early 50s)! I found out when I went to get my haircut, and as I drove up to the front windows of the barbershop, I noticed that it was empty inside the barbershop and there was a black wreath on a chair beside the door.
I asked the business owners beside the barbershop if she knew what happened, and she said he had a stroke. She claimed that she heard he was watching a football game, smoking a cigarette and drinking a beer when he died so he went out doing what he loved (watching sports). I believe his wife discovered something was wrong when she called him and he didn’t answer (she lives in a different state).
Gradual Carpe Diem
I know we all hear the Carpe Diem spill over and over (carpe diem is latin and means seize the day), but how does one start? It’s very difficult and short-lived if one tried to go hog-wild one day trying to live the Carpe Diem philosophy. So that’s why I’m going something different this year, I’m going to try to phase it into my life slowly!
This is what my New Year’s Resolution is really about!
-MR
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When I was a young boy, I use to wish I were a genius, thinking life would be so much easier if I was truly brilliant. However, lately, I have changed my mind and here is why.
I have a childhood friend that we’ll call Leroy who was very smart, actually a genius! Much like the fictional character Encyclopedia Brown, Leroy would read the dictionary and memorize the spelling and meaning of each word and definition there-in.
As a kid growing up, it always amazed me that he knew so much! He was always correcting my word usage, and was in many ways like having my own Mr. Spock when we hung out occasionally.
But, being a genius like my neighborhood friend sometimes comes at a steep, costly price!
You see, my friend graduated with a doctorate in chemistry. He worked hard for that degree and I’m sure he did an amazing job all the way through college!
But my childhood friend also lacks people skills and sometimes doesn’t see the obvious answers to things.
I heard from other friends in my old neighborhood that after graduating, Leroy told them that he wasn’t going to send out resumes, and that he expected companies to come and find him, instead of Leroy going out and trying to get hired. Once, I heard of the way he treated his job search, I realized that college was a big waste of time and money for him.
I also heard that he was working in my old neighborhood at a supermarket as a stock boy. Even though the source was highly reputable, I still wasn’t sure if I believed that story! Until I saw it with my own eyes!!! While driving home from visiting my parents, my son asked for a certain type of candy from the grocery store. It was 10:00pm, but I stopped anyway! I ran in to purchase it and lo and behold, there was Leroy stocking cans on the shelves.
And while there is nothing wrong with being a stock boy, seeing a stock boy with a doctorate in chemistry, stock shelves, was still pretty shocking! Being financially oriented, the first think that popped in my mind was cost of obtaining his doctorate and what a waste of money that was!
That’s when he saw me! He wasn’t ashamed (as I would have been), in fact he came over shook my hand and updates me with what was going on in the neighborhood and his life. Apparently, he was waiting for a big company to sweep him off of his feet (like Cinderella), but in the mean time, he stocked shelves and lived at home with his parents, in the basement (oh, he’s in his 30s, by the way).
So the moral of this particular sad story is… “If you are smart, make sure you also have the necessary people skills in life, and if you don’t… then develop them”! Perhaps if such geniuses as my friend were to read the book “How To Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie, it could help. After all, this book is recommended by Warren Buffett!
Do you know of any friends that are off of the IQ charts with a brilliant intellect, but largely unsuccessful? What do you think is holding them back?
-MR
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The following post is part of a series thought of by the blogger at First Gen American.com, and the basic idea is to tie personal finance with primates.
Do you have a Debt Monkey on your back? I think it’s time to get it off, don’t you?
I had a debt monkey on my back, and although it was an expensive one, I also consider it a friendly, helpful one. I consider the monkey on my back friendly because it helped to kept me warm and away from the elements. It also put stability in my kid’s lives and make them happy. It’s name was “Home Mortgage“, and after 10 years it went away quietly and peacefully. In some ways I kind of miss it and the predictability of its existence. I’d say my monkey was equivalent to a Curious George type of monkey… Friendly and helpful, but also expensive in ways.
While my encounter with debt was pleasant, I have one friend (Mr Penny), that has a debt monkey the size of “King Kong”. The amount of debt wasn’t much different that mine (over $100,000), the problems is that his “King Kong” debt monkey isn’t friendly at all and doesn’t help improve my friend’s finances. His monkey’s name is “Credit Card” debt! Credit Card debt is often times a one hit spending wonder! It give you pleasure the moment you borrow the money to purchase something, but then after the initial purchase, you have diminishing returns. The only way to keep this monkey happy is then to buy some other new expensive toy. And the process continues until some owners of this type of monkey has caused 6 figure debt accumulation (not a good place to be)!
A better approach is to control your debt but live a balanced life! Don’t let your monkey become a monster that runs crazy in the city buying whatever may get in its way!
Well, I’ve monkied around enough with this post…
What kind of monkey do you have on your back, or grabbing for your wallet?
