Recent political developments have offered me the chance to reflect on success and prosperity. While I agree that all people deserve opportunities to grow and find success, I do not agree that people are entitled to success. Success comes as a result of hard work; plain, old-fashioned work.
Too often we see the Ponzi schemes of society, offering something for nothing. We all took elementary school math, right? Zero cannot equal 100, so why would it be any different in the business world? Even the fundamentals of physics affirms the impossibility of something for nothing in the Conservation of Matter theorem; that matter cannot be created nor destroyed, only reallocated.
In ages past, alchemy was a sought-after skill. Later it was gold digging and treasure hunting. The get-rich-quick schemes that are so prevalent today are merely the alchemy and gold digging of our day.
One would be seen as unwise to pursue a career in alchemy or gold digging, yet today people regularly get involved in schemes that promise rewards for very little or no work or investment. All too soon becomes clear that the meager amount invested, in some cases an entire savings account, is lost and there is nothing to show for it.
Unfortunately, for many this is an experience that has to be lived before they learn that lasting success, cannot come from taking shortcuts. As my mom always taught me, “Cheaters never prosper.” It was this pursuit of shortcuts that contributed to the current economic situation. How can we hope to rebuild an economy if we don’t use the proper materials and processes to lay the foundations?
Egypt was built on the backs of slaves; slaves who were not allowed to skip details; slaves who completed the process in full, however agonizing is must have been. The pyramids and tombs that they built are a lasting monument to the merits of hard work.
P.T. Barnum once said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Most of them soon lose everything the have if they don’t learn from the mistakes of those who have gone before them. For true success, you must put forth true effort.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
No Cheese for you: The Cheese Nazis
Today I offer a hot tip for all of you international travelers. Word on the street is that Chinese customs is no longer allowing travelers to bring in foreign cheeses. Why? One can only speculate.
The background on the issue is this: in the not-to-distant past, there was the damaging discovery that there were many Chinese-made dairy products that contained melamine, resulting in a decline in the consumption of Asian dairy products. The correlation between those events and today’s issue can be interpreted in several ways.
One viewpoint could be that this is wrought from the blatant cruelty of the government; the government is proactively seeking to make life miserable for the ex-pat community, forcing them to buy Chinese products that, by the way, are not renowned for their excellence throughout the international market. Quite frankly, that opinion is ignorant and biased, not to mentioned more than a bit far-fetched. Only a moron would consider it valid.
Another angle is that this is another move by the government to remind everyone that they are in control and the can do as they darn well please, not unlike a six-year-old on a power trip. Again, this is another incorrect assumption spawned from the ranting of flippant liberals.
On the other hand, perhaps this was actually a planned, tactical action to stimulate the flagging industry. With the confiscation of the cheeses, it would close the foreign cheese “grey” market among the ex-pat community and divert the consumers’ resources into the Chinese dairy industry, hopefully helping in the resuscitation the flagging sector. While this final view is overly complicated and may be reading too far into the situation, it can be seen as logical. Granted, though, it is not necessarily the most effective means to the desired end.
In the end, who can say why this travesty is taking place? No one from the Chinese side is saying anything and there is no clear explanation as to why this move would benefit anyone in the long- or short-term. Also, I thought is was the Chinese stuff that was dangerous…
Coming up next: Tips to help you succeed
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Kim Jong "The Mentally" Il
It's been a little while, eons for the blogosphere, but I am back, writer's block gone, and I am commentating on, as promised, everyone's favorite Korean sociopath: Kim Jong Il.
I will begin with a brief biography, taken straight from his autobiography, "How To Lose Friends and Alienate Yourself, but Gain Control of a Withering Northeast Asian Country in the Process," available anywhere non-existent books are sold. It reads as follows:
In the beginning, there was Kim Jong Il, no further information is required.
The book goes on and on about how he is to rule over the world one day and other ramblings of a depraved mind, so to speak. What he doesn't mention is that the rest of the world exists solely for the purpose of making sure he doesn't nuke himself, or more importantly us, by erecting more embargoes than Elizabeth Taylor had marriages.
It seems that every few minutes he decides that his country, the ironically names "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" (emphasis added) might have a nuclear missile and threatens to launch it. However, as we have found out through experience, the missiles are generally no more effective than a bottle rocket, often with the same effect. One may be led to think that he does not bother to ask his scientists what they have actually developed before he makes brash statements about WMDs.
Mr. Il... he just never learns does he? How many more sanctions can the U.N. place on North Korea? I am really quite curious. It seems as that as long as I could remember we have been alienating the DPRK. What is left to embargo? Do we start blockading migratory birds?
I recall a few weeks back that I was reading an article about Supreme Ruler of the Universe Kim Jong Il and how he and his cronies were in the final development stages of their Taepodong II missile and that they didn't know what to expect from the Obama administration, as opposed to the Bush administration. Well, in my frank and uneducated opinion, that is probably the wrong information to leak.
Let's just review the necessary facts: 1. The DPRK is determined to spite the U.N. with their missile development. 2. They do this with history suggesting that only negative outcomes will result. 3. They do this without having the foggiest idea of how Obama's administration will result. Is it me, or does that sound like KJI slept through "Dictatorship 101?"
Now it's a well-known fact that I can't end without the obligatory slam on his hair: it's utter silliness. He, Donald Trump, and Rod Blagojevich should start a club: Those Who Have Hair But Don't Know How To Wear It.
Honestly, how do you expect people to follow you or take your threats seriously when you look like the offspring of the Bride of Frankenstein and Elmer Fudd? You simply cannot demand credibility and respect, even if you have a country and your own army!
Well, our time is up, but I already have a treat prepared for next week:
Why are Chinese customs officers confiscating foreign cheese in suitcases?
Until tomorrow...
I will begin with a brief biography, taken straight from his autobiography, "How To Lose Friends and Alienate Yourself, but Gain Control of a Withering Northeast Asian Country in the Process," available anywhere non-existent books are sold. It reads as follows:
In the beginning, there was Kim Jong Il, no further information is required.
The book goes on and on about how he is to rule over the world one day and other ramblings of a depraved mind, so to speak. What he doesn't mention is that the rest of the world exists solely for the purpose of making sure he doesn't nuke himself, or more importantly us, by erecting more embargoes than Elizabeth Taylor had marriages.
It seems that every few minutes he decides that his country, the ironically names "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" (emphasis added) might have a nuclear missile and threatens to launch it. However, as we have found out through experience, the missiles are generally no more effective than a bottle rocket, often with the same effect. One may be led to think that he does not bother to ask his scientists what they have actually developed before he makes brash statements about WMDs.
Mr. Il... he just never learns does he? How many more sanctions can the U.N. place on North Korea? I am really quite curious. It seems as that as long as I could remember we have been alienating the DPRK. What is left to embargo? Do we start blockading migratory birds?
I recall a few weeks back that I was reading an article about Supreme Ruler of the Universe Kim Jong Il and how he and his cronies were in the final development stages of their Taepodong II missile and that they didn't know what to expect from the Obama administration, as opposed to the Bush administration. Well, in my frank and uneducated opinion, that is probably the wrong information to leak.
Let's just review the necessary facts: 1. The DPRK is determined to spite the U.N. with their missile development. 2. They do this with history suggesting that only negative outcomes will result. 3. They do this without having the foggiest idea of how Obama's administration will result. Is it me, or does that sound like KJI slept through "Dictatorship 101?"
Now it's a well-known fact that I can't end without the obligatory slam on his hair: it's utter silliness. He, Donald Trump, and Rod Blagojevich should start a club: Those Who Have Hair But Don't Know How To Wear It.
Honestly, how do you expect people to follow you or take your threats seriously when you look like the offspring of the Bride of Frankenstein and Elmer Fudd? You simply cannot demand credibility and respect, even if you have a country and your own army!
Well, our time is up, but I already have a treat prepared for next week:
Why are Chinese customs officers confiscating foreign cheese in suitcases?
Until tomorrow...
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