What do you think?

ECONOMY

So now I find myself seeking this “knowledge” that I am hoping to find that will give me some understanding that I hope will elevate to the level I am aspiring to not only for myself but for my loved one and those who depend on me. So I start reading and studying, researching book like “Think and grow rich Napoleon hill”. This was a excellent book, it not only dealt with making money but the very nature of the philosophy of making money and relationship a very good book to read. Next I dove into these books, Start late and finish rich, the magic of thinking Big, Rich dad poor Dad, The automatic millionaire, positioning, the Tipping point and some others and I must some of the tactic that they teach are very useful, like the idea of paying yourself first, Taking a percentage say ten percent of what you make (it can be what you are comfortable with) and setting that aside for personal or investment needs or like using the saving plans offered by your employer to put away a set amount without noticing it and having your employer match what you put into a retirement account.

It did seem interesting to me that the concept of compounding explained in “The slight edge” ran straight through many of the concepts I studied in these books, but I still didn't really understand how economics, the power of economics actually worked. How did it control our daily live and the thing we used without a second thought. Who was in charge and how did they come to the decisions that controlled many aspect's of modern life.

So I decided to take a more simple approach and look for a book that would give the very basic ideal of modern economics and I came across “Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell”. This is a common sense guide to the economy, at least that what it said. As I started to read and study these 684 pages of wisdom I began to get a clearer picture of how thing actually work and how the “market” set's prices if it is not being manipulated by politicians. I began to understand that economics is more than just a way to see patterns or unravel puzzling anomalies, it is a fundamental concern with the material standard of living of society as a whole and how it is affected by particular decisions made by individuals and institutions. Economics is the study of the use of scarce resources which have alternative uses.

Armed with the new weapon of knowledge and understanding I pointed my attention to current events and understanding intentions and motivations of the powers that be, and it seemed like a light came on, I could almost see through a fog and the more I evaluated things the brighter the light got until it got so bright it blew out. I understood why certain policy's were discarded before they were even given a chance to work, why particular product were priced the way they were and why some were not allowed to make it to market and to be honest it made me depressed. So I got the answer I wanted but I didn't feel better even though I picked up a few tool's that would help me and my family along our financial journey (I hope), I still felt like something was wrong, like something was missing a piece to a puzzle that was missing after all more intellectual people than me have been studying this subject for century trying to get a handle on it, who was I to think I could do any better?

My name is Jerry, and when I find myself stuck I turn to the one source that has carried me through life this far the worlds best seller the Bible.

It seemed fitting to look in the book of ECCLESIATES for the answers I was looking for since I was viewing this this newly acquired knowledge sceptically and a grain of salt. First a little history about the book of ECCLESIATES: These are the collected words of a “teacher” or “preacher”, he is described as having been King over Israel in Jerusalem, And was the son of David. All of this means he was in the royal line of Judah, he is not further identified. In the book the word “vanity” or “meaningless” is a repeated phrase that warns us that life's rewards are uncertain and ultimately unsatisfying. The teacher shifts his speech between poetry and straight forward language. The book makes observation and poses questions, returning to themes like 'the wind round and round it goes and ever returning to it's course, or “vanity of vanity, all is vanity and chasing the wind”.

Then I came across this passage here which put much of what I had absorbed into perspective, at least for me it did, this is what I read.

ECCLESIATES 9:11-12, I have seen something else under the sun: - The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all (12) Moreover, no one knows when their hour will come:

To me this put everything in perspective that know matter what we do or accomplish if it is not aimed for a greater purpose or to the honor of the God it is all useless. As the writer put it,” God is sovereign over all things and it is our duty to follow his ways for living, since God will bring every deed into judgment.

The Good News.

Secrets:


mankind is for ever seeking it's origin, what was he created for, why is he here now on this planet, to what end is his existence? I will first delve into these question with what ever I have at my disposal, to me sometime the most simple answers are right in front of you  in plane sight. first let us explore what the Bible Say's about heaven. Genesis chapter 1:1-10 gives an account of God creating the heavens and earth. The Hebrew word for “heavens” is shamayim, it is in a plural form, meaning “heights,” “elevations.” It is found in the first verse of the Bible (Genesis 1:1; 2:1). The Bible teaches in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, he did not make another heaven after this time. The phrase “heavens and earth” are used to indicate the whole universe (Genesis 1:1; Jeremiah 23:24; Acts 17:24). According to the Jewish tradition from the Bible there were three heavens. All are attributed to God as the creator. Psalm 102:25 “Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands.”There are several other words used in the Hebrew, the word marom is also used (Psalms 68:18; 93:4; 102:19, etc.) as equivalent to shamayim. Hebrew galgal, literally a “wheel,” is rendered “heaven” in Psalms 77:18 (RSV, “whirlwind”). Hebrew shahak, is translated “sky” (Deuteronomy 33:26; Job 37:18; Psalms 18:11), plural “clouds” (Job 35:5; 36:28; Psalms 68:34, “heavens”), referring to the firmament. The Bible speaks of three heavens not 7 and these are not dimensions). The first being our immediate atmosphere, the second is outer space as far as it stretches, and the third is the place where God himself dwells. What Jesus called the “Father's house.”First heaven - The firmament, Earths Atmosphere -which is the immediate sky, where the “fowls of the heaven” (Genesis 2:19; 7:3,23; Psalms 8:8, etc.), “the eagles of heaven” (Lamentations 4:19), it is our atmosphere that surrounds the earth. Gen 1:14 Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of
the heavens to divide the day from the night.” The first heaven consists of the clouds and the atmosphere, the heavens above us, until we come to the stars. Psalms 78: 23-23 “Yet He had commanded the clouds above, and opened the doors of heaven, had rained down manna on them to eat, and given them of the bread of heaven.”The expression doors of heaven or windows of heaven involved the firmament, our atmosphere. Descriptions used of this heaven is from where God would provide food or rain. Genesis 7:11-12: “the windows of heaven were opened. And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights.” Genesis 8:2: “The fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were also stopped, and the rain from heaven was restrained” Malachi 3:10 Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.” In reference to an abundant harvest of crops.“(Deuteronomy 11:17 “Then the Lord's anger will burn against you, and he will shut the heavens so that it will not rain and the ground will yield no produce....” Deuteronomy 28:12: “The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands.”Second Heaven - Outer Space, the starry heavens (Deuteronomy 17:3; Jeremiah 8:2; Matthew 24:29).The second heaven is the starry heavens, where our atmosphere ends. It is the heavens in which the sun, moon, and stars are fixed in orbit. The stars are seemingly endless and the distance between all of them is staggering no wonder the Bible states Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.” In ancient times people were in awe of the starry expanse, today we know how immense this really is. The firmament, or expanse, raqiya` “In which the sun, moon, stars, and constellations are fixed.” Genesis 1:17: And God placed them in the Firmament of heaven. Isaiah 40:22: He stretcheth out the heavens as a CURTAIN, and spreadeth them out as a tent to
dwell in.”(Psalm 19:4,6) - “In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun... It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other;...” (Jeremiah 8:2) - They will be exposed to the sun and the moon and all the stars of the heavens which they have loved and served....”Third Heaven - This is where God and the holy angels (and creatures) and spirits of just men dwell. It is called “The heaven of heavens,” (Deuteronomy 10:14; 1 Kings 8:27; Psalms 115:16; 148:4). (1Kings 8:27) - “The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you.” (Psalm 2:4) The One enthroned in heaven laughs; The LORD scoffs at them.”The third heaven is beyond the space and stars. Where no man has seen by telescope. This heaven is the dwelling-place of God, to which Paul was taken, and whose wonders he was permitted to behold-this region where God dwells. It is specifically named “the third heaven” by Paul in 2 Cor.12:2. Paul mentions being caught up to paradise in 2 Corinthians 12:4 the word “paradise” describes a different facet of “the third heaven.”“2 Corinthians 12:4 The word “paradise” paradeisos (NT:3808) occurs but three times in the New Testament; Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 12:4; Revelation 2:7. It occurs often in the Septuagint, as the translation of the word garden; Genesis 2:8-10,15-16; 3:1-3,8,16,23-24; 13:10; Numbers 24:6; Isaiah 51:3; Ezekiel 28:13; 31:8-9; Joel 2:3. And also Isaiah 1:30; Jeremiah 29:5; and of the word pardeec (OT:6508) in Nehemiah 2:8; Ecclesiastes 2:5; Song of Solomon 2:13” (from Barnes' Notes).Heb 4:14 “Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, (Jesus ascended to the place he was before he became man) Heb. 7:26 “For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens” meaning he is more important than the dwelling place of God and angels. Heb 8:1 As our high Priest, he “is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.”The word “heavens” is also used for visions or a spiritual event. Stephen said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at
the right hand of God!” (Acts 7:56) Mark 1:10 When Jesus was baptized “He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove.”The term heaven is used in a metaphor Isaiah 14:13,14; “doors of heaven” (Psalms 78:23); heaven “shut” (1 Kings 8:35); “opened” (Ezekiel 1:1). (The “kingdom of heaven” (Mt.25:1; Jms 2:5). The “eternal kingdom” (2 Pt.1:11).The “eternal inheritance” (1 Pt.1:4; Hebrews 9:15). The “better country” (Hebrews 11:14, 16).Heaven is the abode of the righteous who are in possession of “everlasting life,” “an eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:17), where they are delivered from all sufferings for ever, a deliverance from all evils (2 Corinthians 5:1,2). Christ calls it his “Father's house” (John 14:2), also “paradise” (Luke 23:43).2 Cor. 12:4; Revelation 2:7). It is the location of “The heavenly Jerusalem” before it comes to earth (Galatians 4:26; Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 3:12).Heaven is the inheritance of all believers where there is “fulness of joy,” everlasting blessedness. The “place, of our inheritance where Jesus went ahead to “prepare” for us (John 14:2) that we may be with him, where he is.

Changes Thru Faith (application)

                                                    

Make The Change By using Faith

Faith. This one particular principle is the most important principle of them all for the simple reason that if you cannot believe that you will accomplish a expected result without seeing any immediate gratification or reward for the efforts you are putting forth you will never complete any task you will simply get frustrated and give up. Let us examine what faith is.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

The whole chapter goes on to give example and explain what faith is so I will give you an example. Imagine you are in a car or a plane traveling from point A to point B, you no where you want to go you no what type of vehicle that will transport you there but you are not sure how it works completely or what route to take but you no that car, train or plane will get you there. Faith will help you visualize and believe in the attainment of your desire. You will need to develop a capacity for faith because it will give you the power to transform the ordinary energy's of thought into the tangible and give you the ability to take action on your hope and beliefs. This applied faith will give you hope of achievement.

What is “applied faith”? It is defined as the mental attitude where you clear your mind of all fears and doubts and direct it to the attainment of whatever you desire in life, to take possession of your own mind. In developing this applied faith it is necessary to be believe that you have it and be grateful for it, next keep an open mind and be ready for “hunches” and inspiration when it presents itself. You must know and understand yourself to believe in yourself then you can forgive yourself for past mistakes to heal and move forward in life and living. Always be willing to try new things for this is how you will determine what is right for you and to take action in the face of fear to make your dreams and goals become reality. Remember that persistence is the necessary effort to induce faith.

I have to take a step backward so you will understand that you must have “hope” to activate the faith. You see hope is like the ignition source like a match or a spark plug and faith force of your desire which you make your desire's known so it all start with desire. But desire without hope means weak faith which equal's poor result, so here are some tipping points on hope:

Change your attitude by changing your physical action.

Example: change sleep patterns, read books, exercise, get a hobby, change your diet.

Physical motions can change emotions, this is most likely because the brain releases certain chemicals called ENDORPHINS; we know them as the natural pain killers but there are several type and they have an added benefit such as; While many people are vaguely aware that the blissful feelings one experiences after sex may be endorphin related, few are aware that endorphins are naturally produced by a wide range of activities like meditation, deep breathing, ribald laughter, eating spicy food, or receiving acupuncture treatments or chiropractic adjustments. Fewer still know that endorphins are actually good for health.

How you think determines how you act so you will need to build in yourself an optimistic progressive glow, a feeling that “yeah, this is great and I am all for it” and you will become 100% enthusiastic. Also note how you act in turn will determine how others react to you, you are what you think you are. Smile big; speak up especially in meetings, walk faster and more confident, practice making eye contact when talking to others. Believe you can do it, when you believe your mind finds ways to get it done; your mind will create a way if you let it.

CHANGE (principals)

Everyone seems to be looking for the “quick fix”, but we must operate from our belief systems and from deep values that assure us that in the long run the principals we use are absolutely the best policy.

Here are some principals to work on to help you figure out where you want to go and what you want to achieve and how to develop a method to get there;

1.Clearly Define you goals;

2.Develop an unshakable desire to achieve those goals;

3.Take action in the face of fear to make your goals become reality;

4.Know yourself, believe in yourself, forgive yourself for past mistakes heal and move forward;

5.When negative things and thoughts happen use logic and patient to counteract it;

 

6.Save as much as possible even in small portions and amounts;

7.Use common sense, keep it short and simple, talk less and do more;

8.Try new things;

9.Develop a pleasing personality;

10.Master all the details;

11.be persistent no matter how slowly you may have to move at first;

12;Do not be scared to fail, but remember failure is not a option;

make the change self assessment

                                                  

SELF ASSESSMENT TOOL

You will need some materials to work with so gather a few good writing pens, a notebook a ruler and some correction fluid for mistakes, everybody makes them or maybe use your computer. The most important thing is for you to be objective and honest about the question you ask and the way you answer them, if you don't be completely honest you will only be lying to yourself and you may not get the desired results you seek.

What do you you want ?; you may think this is a given but so meany people run into problem because they do not have a clear decisive idea of what they really want to acquire or accomplish so your first and foremost purpose is to decide what do you want. It is always good to have some flexibility in the way you do things but there must be concrete goal and or end game you want to attain, other wise you will end up like a fish out of water.

What are you looking for?; ask yourself what “am I looking for in... “, this can be very complicated, start by asking what am I looking to do with my life, who am I trying to please, am I trying to gain acceptance, respect, adulation from family, friends or coworker or am I doing this for myself? Am I looking for independence, or am I just following a trend?

Next, determine which type of personality do you posses. A type “a” person may exhibit such as competitive, outgoing, ambitious, impatient, or aggressive; while a type”B” personality will be more relaxed. This doesn't mean that one is better than the other but if you are aware you maybe able to adjust you thinking to overcome obstacles that will arise, and they will arise for that is the nature of all things.

This is very important, you will need to determine how much time you are willing to implement to your endeavor. Since time is the one asset that nobody has in abundance do not take this lightly. You need to establish tangible time frames for things to get done, and as you see yourself meeting these deadline your confidence will grow.

The next step is to get out your pen and paper and make to columns, at the top of the one on the left you may call it “my strengths” at the top of the one on the right label it “my weakness's”, this tool is to be known as the pros & cons of your character. The object of this exercise is for you to visibly recognize and acknowledge your strengths and weakness's so you can accentuate the positive and correct the negative by using corrective measures.

Being objective and taking this type of inventory of your character and ability's will also help you to figure out what you are willing to give up to achieve you goal because there are no free ride and free lunch's, you will have to give up something and make sacrifices if you are to move forward, this is inevitable. But armed with this knowledge you will have a good starting point of what you will need to give up. Another consideration is what do you stand to gain from success? There is nothing worse than to acquire success and then have that prosperity turn into a curse and devour you, to have it consume your very essence and then you find all you live for is the “thing” not the joy and freedom that it's acquisition should bring you so decide what do you want from success.

What if I fail? Should I have a backup plan? Ok so you may fail, but just like anything else in life you get up dust yourself off and get right back in there, it is natural to fail this is why your doing all this planning and homework now to minimize your failure but you will fail but the key is to learn from you failures and make adjustments. Almost all successful people fail time and time again but they

keep trying until they get it right. Yes, you should always have a plan “B”, I love this old saying , “Victory loves preparation”. So make plan's and prepare for anything you can imagine, can't hurt.

The purpose of this is to figure out what else you can learn and how can I grow from this knowledge. Always relish the opportunities to expand your thinking, strive to make a difference so you may have an effect on someone else as well as change your own circumstances so that life will have intrinsic meaning beyond the time you spend here

My last point I would like to make is how determined are you to do what it takes for you to achieve your objective? make a decision and stick by this decision no matter what happens, nobody like a wishy washy person so take a deep breath, take aim and fire. Good luck.

Make Tthe Change "Know yourself"

     

                                                                                         

Who are you? No the question is not about where you were born or who your parents or grandparents are, or where you were brought up or what school you went to the question is much deeper than that. I heard this saying once and it goes like this “ It's not who I am underneath It's what I do that defines me”. Put simple it is not where i was born or what family I belong to it is what I do that give my life purpose me.

 

My life, the choices I make that will determine what kind of person I become. Agreed our environment

plays a big part of our destiny but after a certain time in life you are handed the rein’s of your life and

you make the choice that will guide you on your path. A path that will leads you up the road to success

or down the road to destruction. In order to obtain any personal growth a person should practice being totally honest with there self because only in this way will you achieve true results that will bring a relevant change. Many people lie to themselves then they wonder why nothing changes, why they cant lose weight or why they cant finish a task, the problem is that their foundation is unstable and they are doomed to fail before they even start. So honesty is the best policy and a self assessment the best place to start. My point is, we all have philosophy's that we use in our day to day choice's, which we use to determine action's which cause's result. So in using the self-assessment tool the goal is to improve redefine or adjust your philosophy that will bring the desired result. Also a good thing to remember is that many time's you cant change the circumstance of a given situation or problem, but you can control yourself and the way you react or act to a problem and this starts with your mental state, you philosophy's your morals and ethics. These tool are not set in stone but just a few that can be used to point a person to the path of self accomplishment. Also you must realize that knowing which path to take is much different than actually walking it. Knowledge only has power when the instruction is put to some useful purpose to perform a needed task.

 

Therefor you must recognize that what matters is not what you should have done but what you do now that makes the difference and the best was to make effective change is to identify the problems or short comings, this will take some tools. When my uncle was teaching me how to do some minor repairs to my car when I was younger he would always tell me the right tool for the right job, so I think the right tool for us to begin our character tune-up should be the “Self Assessment tool “ . There are all kinds of self assessment tool out there but the one I am going to give you is for the sole purpose of the the individual to decided where they are in life, where they want to be in life and help you figure ways to get there. It is up to you and no one else. Remember this you can't always change the situation's you will face or peoples attitudes or even human nature but you can control the way you react to it thereby having a hand on the wheel of your destiny.

EPIPHANY

“He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened.” Lao Tzu

MY EPIPHANY

According to the Buddhist, there is a thing called "The beginners mind", in this concept you should assume nothing and with humility and inquiry look for the most meaning and importance in the smallest thing. When I was around eight years old and I had made myself a slingshot and i wanted to test it out, but i didn't want to break anything and have my mother kill me so I got up early in the morning and went to the park a couple of blocks from my house. Everybody was still asleep that's how early it was plus it was the weekend and the sun was just coming up, the dew was still on the ground, now that I think about it, it was a perfect Indian summer morning, anyway I am ready to test my new home made device so I find a pretty good size bottle and set it on top of a tunnel thing that kids play in, this is a park in a major inner city so there is some litter around, definitely not Mayburry RFD. So I set it up and moved away about ten to twelve feet,Then I find a smooth oval shaped rock just shy of the size of a penny, then for some reason I said to myself , "The smallest stone can shatter the biggest bottle", I take aim and fire and hit it dead center. I swear at the time at it seemed to be happening in slow motion, the bottle exploded into million pieces, I couldn't believe it. That was a moment of enlightenment that I will never forget. A detail of how the smallest of things can change the greater of things with the right circumstances.

Have you ever see a newborn baby jump out of the mothers arms and start doing lap around the neighborhood? I don't think you have if so get pictures and call Ripley, anyway just as a baby must become secure and confident like crawling then standing and falling then one step and fall get up another step and fall, they hold on to furniture and take steps then finally they find their balance and faith and start to walk and run. This same concept run true in most of my research. Very, very few can jump in with both feet into any situation with help and training and succeed. That why I want to share with you some of the principals I have studied and still work with because they have at some point or another help me, but every one is different you know, but we are similar to a degree right? Hmmmmmmmmmmm.