Coach Kip

Things are not as bad as they seem.  Yes the economy is not going through the best of times, but the world is not going to end, and the economy, especially the US economy, is not going away anytime soon.

There are two things that you can do to make yourself feel better about your situation right now.  First, don’t listen to the media.  The media is there to sell newspapers, magazines, and advertising space.  The media is biased.  They want you to feel bad, or threatened, or nervous about something.  When you do you want to tune in more, and read more, and so the media gets to sell more ads and make more money.

There is one thing that I agree with, and that is that the biggest reason that the economy is in the state that it is in right now is because of poor lending practices and liberal loans given.  We got stung by it too, so I can’t say that I saw it coming, nor can I say that I was not caught up in the good times.  But it is our problem.  We are the problem, the banks, the corporations, and us as individuals.  We have had a huge lack in financial understanding and education in the USA.  We need to be more proactive and accountable with our money.

The second reason is that times are changing.  We are becoming an information society.  Media is changing to more online and internet services.  You, your business, your money, all have to get onboard this train because it is not stopping and it is gaining speed.  The media seems to have completely missed this.  Information is the new economy.  It could be the best thing that has happened to the media but they are trying to use it in old ways.

What I mean by information is not delivering it in the old way of pictures with captions and a few paragraphs.  That will not go away.  But what I am talking about is interactive information.  Social networking.  Using your time more effectively.  Having the things that you want and need at your fingertips all the time.

The internet is still new; it is time to get on board.  Pay attention and you could stand to make a lot of money in the future.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Taipei Mall

I really like the people here in Taipei.  It is very crowded but not so crowded that it is overbearing.  It is a hustle and bustle of a modern city, a very modern city, but because they are so orderly there are very few problems.  It is a very safe town.

One of the things that I have found so interesting is how they follow the rules with little concern for anything.  Sometimes it actually feels a little too robotic.  For example there are lines on the platforms in the MRT, the Taipei Subway; to mark where you should line up to let people out and to orderly let you in.  This is totally different than anything that I have experienced in other countries including ours.

At the same time there are things that are not followed to closely, like traffic rules.  Motorcycles can drive everywhere including the sidewalks.  Cars kind of follow the lanes but really they just honk a lot and drive where they feel like it.

Students are expected to do very well in class and follow the rules.  The teachers have the authority in the classroom and the school.   It is a nice change from the USA.  Of course the kids are kids and they like to try to get away with anything and everything.  The parents are parents, they always support their kids, but when it comes down to it, your word is the word and they respect that.

Maybe because of the rules and the orderly conduct, maybe it is just cultural, but the people seem to sometimes be on auto pilot.  There is very little emotion; there is very little personal conduct on the streets, but at the same time if you ask them for something they are very happy to give it to you.  As a matter of fact you usually get more than what you asked for.  Quite frequently we get a lot more than we asked for in restaurants.  Free desert is a common extra.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

So once again the government is stepping in to bail out people who are stupid.  Yes I hate to use that word but they are stupid.  Why should we pay for a bunch of people who took advantage of those of us who were less responsible?  They took advantage of us who were less educated in the world of finance.  They took risks that they knew were going to collapse and these people were ready for it.

Yes Coach Kip got stung by it also.  Without details we simply got screwed in our mortgage refinance.  And I consider myself fairly well educated in these matters.  They snuck some things in on us that have made it very expensive.  We did not ask, and if they told us, we did not understand what the terms meant.

So where does that leave us?  Screw them I say.  I am sick of it.  I love the big guys, and I would love to be one of the big guys.  Warren Buffet is immune to this recession, or crash, or whatever you want to call it.  Why?  Because he played by the rules.  He did not do something that would take advantage of uneducated people.  Hell people trusted the big hedge funds, and banks, and investment firms that they would look out for their money.  They should not be bailed out, they should pay.

I just got finished listening to T Boone Pickens book on my MP3 player.  It was great, and great story of a guy who grew up from nothing to run a very successful business.  I, along with most others, had this idea of him as a money hungry oil monger.  But that is far from the truth.  He is a very humble business man who has helped a great deal of people, and an entire industry, and not the oil industry, or the natural gas industry, but the energy industry.

So those who caused this must pay, not the little taxpayer.

But we, the common working people, are not immune to blame ourselves.  We need to be much more diligent with our money.  We must be smarter with what we are doing with our earnings.  We must be more educated.  This is becoming a complicated world, and we need to educate ourselves, we need to care enough to want to learn so that we can prevent this from happening to ourselves again.  It seems to me that it is the depression starting all over again.  TOOOOOOO MUCH CREDIT, not enough personal fiscal responsibility.  The depression will not happen again, we will be OK.  But come on people lets get educated.

I humbly get off my soap box and return you to your regularly scheduled program.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

My Current Home

So I have begun to realize that my life is a little different than most, and I think that it is normal.  I am currently living in Taipei Taiwan with my beautiful wife that I love.  I am in the process of designing my life and setting up my life to live the way that I want it.  I am not too particular of how I do it, as long as it gets done.

So another version of this blog, still the same, but different.  Still similar but beginning to become more developed.  I will simply share with you how I do it, plain and simple.

In a nutshell this is how I do it I have a career that I love, I love to teach.  I am able to live in Taiwan right now to do just that.  I am also here to teach you.  I will be setting up soon to give you one on one support, coaching, and teaching.

So until then check back often, I can possibly help you to work less, earn more, and do exactly what you want anytime, anywhere.

Bookmark It

Hide Sites

Stuck in a rut? We have all been there. How do you get out of it? Do you move? Change jobs? What do you do?

All you need to do to get out of a rut is to change your perspective. Change how you look at things. It may just change your life.

Have you ever seen the arrow in the FedEx logo? Have you? Look. Do you see it now? If you do see it how long have you looked at the FedEx logo before you saw it. Did they change their logo? Was it there on purpose?

Still don’t see it? I will let you in on it at the end of the article. You have to read the rest first.

Changing your perspective is not an easy thing to do at first. It is very difficult to change your views and thoughts on things, especially if they have been that way for a long time.

To hone your skills try this. Go for a nature walk and look at the things around you. Don’t label them. Don’t say look at that Cardinal. Instead say look at the pretty red bird. It sounds a little silly especially to a science and math person, but without labeling things they begin to take on a whole new perspective. Try it, you may be surprised.

Try this: Close your eyes and listen. OK first turn off the radio and the TV and try again. Close your eyes and listen. Try to pick out the different sounds. Do you hear anything differently? Do your surroundings change. Did you hear that highway in the distance before? Did you hear the motor of your refrigerator running. Maybe you went outside and closed your eyes. Could you hear the breeze in the trees? Did things look differently when you opened your eyes?

As your perspective changes you will begin to see that what you really want and what you really need you probably already have. You probably never noticed it before, but it is right there for you. Do you want a better job? With a new perspective you probably realize that it is near by, or maybe available in your office right now. Do you think you need to buy a new car, or is the one that you have just in need of a little TLC?

Changing perspective can be fun and enlightening, give it a try you will probably surprise yourself on what you see.

Oh the FedEx arrow; look at the white space between the E and the X.

Bookmark It