Book Review: That Used to be Us
“America will do the right thing, but only after exhausting all other options.” Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaum echo this comment made by Winston Churchhill. In their book, That Used to be Us, both authors explore the reasons that America is falling behind in the world and the solutions to get us back to the top.
Friedman and Mandelbaum contend that as Americans, we are falling behind in the world we invented. Our spirit, diversity of opinions and talents, flexible economy, work ethic and penchant for innovation have allowed us to make the world a much better place. All these traits are still present in America but we are not living up to our potential.
Friedman and Mandelbaum look towards China for as the country that is most ambitious but contend that even as China is getting 90% of the benefits of its second rate political system we seem satisfied to get only 50% benefits from our first rate system. What’s with that?
The Authors list 4 reason they feel we are falling behind:
First, we don’t get up each day and ask: What world are we living in and what exactly do we need to do to thrive in this world?
Second, over the last 20 years we have failed to address some of our biggest problems – education, deficits and debt, energy and climate change.
Third, we have stopped investing in our country’s traditional formula for success, which includes a healthy balance and cooperation between the government and private enterprise.
Fourth, our political system has become paralyzed and our system of values has suffered serious erosion.
This book is depressing in many areas because of the enormity of the problems but it does lay out the groundwork for what needs to happen for America to get back to the top. The world needs a strong America. The more we, as individuals, can understand the problems the more we will be able to select the best leaders to take us forward as a country. Madalyn
Photo Credit: Flickr via creative commons
The Gift, by Barbra Schulte
Courage can be learned and shared. This is the message from Barbra Schulte, a champion cutting horse trainer and certified personal performance coach. Training and showing horses in national events is certainly not for the faint of heart but Barbra explains how her true lesson in courage came after the loss of her only son at the age of 16 years to bone cancer.
Barbra’s son, Zane, showed that
Courage results from a belief in the positive outcome.
Courage results from a belief in yourself that no matter what, you can handle it.
Courage results from connecting to deeper values.
Barbra Schulte took the tragedy of losing her son and turned it into energy to have a positive effect on others through this book. Barbra lists three sources of energy available when you tune into your values.
The first is to be motivated by positive intention instead of fear.
The second is to live by what is important to you.
The third is to serve people and things beyond yourself.
In addition to reading her book, I had the privilege of hearing Barbra speak. Her passion for helping people overcome fears and mental blockages to success is so obvious. I loved that so many of her lessons are based on riding, handling and showing horses. This is something I can certainly relate to but her message is much deeper than how to win at a horse show. I was especially interested to learn that fear is the stage that occurs immediately before a breakthrough. Burnout is the farthest away from success, followed by anger, then paralyzing fear, then victory.
The Gift truly is a gift and so are Barbra and her husband, Tom. Read the book and meet these great people if you get the chance. Madalyn
Book Review: Flash Foresight
How can you ever get the right answers if you are asking the wrong questions? This is the premise for Daniel Burrus and John David Mann’s book, Flash Foresight. A flash foresight is a blinding flash of he future obvious.
Burrus and Mann share many stories of how focusing on the status quo instead to looking into the future causes one to ask the wrong questions. Asking the wrong questions focused in the present causes one to be blind sided when inevitable change comes about.
Asking the right questions and looking at problems from different perspectives opens up opportunities that would otherwise be overlooked. Flash foresight allows one to anticipate trends and future innovations.
By focusing into the future Burrus has been able to make some amazing, accurate predictions. How does he do this? Burrus relies on flash foresight. In this book Burrus and Mann share the principles that allow any person to develop flash foresight.
Seven Radical Principles That Will Transform Your Business
Start with certainty
Anticipate
Transform
Take your biggest problem – and skip it
Go opposite
Redefine and reinvent
Direct your future
I enjoyed every page of this book. Based on using these principles no problem is too big or difficult to solve. You just have to start with the right questions. Madalyn
Feel free to contact me if you like the information on this post. I am always open to meeting like minded people.
Money Smart Skill: Do you know your money model?
Do you know your money model? By this I mean how do you earn and spend your money. Is your model to earn a salary and spend less than you learn? Is your money model to build a business and live off the proceeds of this business? It is a very important money smart skill to know your money model then to ask the very important question – is this model working in your life?
How do you know if your money model is working? Well, are you able to pay all your bills each month and have money to set aside for investment and retirement? Is your quality of life what you want? Are you able to tithe and help others? If you answered no to any of these questions then your money model is not working for you.
Back in 2000 I had to look at my money model. My model of working harder so I would have enough money to pay my bills, invest and still have time to enjoy my horses was not working. Luckily Robert Kiyosaki gave me a new model via his RichDad education books.
Changing models or paradigms is not something one does easily, especially if the model is one that has been in place for a long time. A great book to read about understanding models is Personal Career and Financial Security by Richard J. Maybury. Maybury emphasizes that for you to be successful you have to base your decisions on a sound model.
Personal Career and Financial Security is only the first in a series of books to help you understand models, history, economics and politics. I am finding these books fascinating. They are helping me understand that just because I changed my model does not mean I will be instantly successful in life and finance.
My money model now is based on the money smart skills of:
1. Decrease bad debt
2. Increase my cash flow monthly
3. Invest in assets
This is not an easy model but it is a sound one. One month may get me 2 steps forward and the next 1 step back but I am gaining. How about you? Is your money model working? Madalyn
Want to find out what I am doing to increase my cash flow monthly? This cash flow model is not for everyone but if you are interested in finding out what I am up to get in touch.
Book Review: Aftershock – Protect Yourself and Profit in the Next Global Financial Meltdown
Aftershock is a sequel to America’s Bubble Economy, written by David Wiedemer, PhD, Robert A. Wiedemer and Cindy Spitzer. America’s Bubble Economy predicted the financial meltdown and Aftershock explains exactly what happened and why it happened. This is a very well written book and everyone should read it to understand how we came to this place in our history.
The authors explain that we have been on this path for decades and to place the blame on any one administration is a mistake. Not only were they right on in predicting the last financial meltdown but they make a solid case for a future problem even bigger if we don’t make some drastic changes quickly.
I read these books not because I want to be depressed but because I want to be prepared. By understanding what happened and why I can avoid being sucked under when I see the same patterns growing in significance. The authors point out the difference between a down market cycle that will eventually correct up and a bubble that bursts and is over forever. This is a critical difference.
How do you protect yourself:
Pay off all variable rate credit cards and personal debt with adjustable interest rates
Convert your adjustable rate mortgage to a fixed rate, 30 to 40 year mortgage
If you have an adjustable rate home equity loan, refinance it to a fixed rate loan
Do not pay off or make accelerated payments on a fixed rate mortgage or home equity loan
Reduce spending as much as possible and save for future expenses and investments(don’t wait, do it now!)
Sell collectibles, art, jewelry, and other valuables(other than gold) that don’t have sentimental value, while they are worth more than they will be later
Take extra care to hang onto your job and definitely don’t quit without having another good job lined up
The authors of Aftershock offer predictions as to where the good investments and jobs will be as we move into the next financial meltdown. Their suggestions make good sense. Madalyn
For similar information check out: 13 Bankers
Book Review – 13 Bankers The Wall Street Takeover and Next Financial Meltdown
13 Bankers, written by Simon Johnson and James Kwak goes a long way toward explaining what has happened to our financial system. The authors take a very complex subject and make it understandable to those of us who are not math wizards. Once explained, the financial meltdown should have been predicted and prevented. Lack of basic financial education and common sense are more behind the problems than evil intent.
This book makes the case that with banks, bigger is not necessarily better. While large banks are more able to handle big international transactions, these same deals can be done by using several smaller banks and in fact this is done all the time. The evolution of many small banks into a few huge banks has led to the “too big to fail” scenario we are faced with now.
The authors admit that allowing the damaged banks to fail would have resulted in a much larger problem but the sweetheart deal the banks ended up with has only encouraged more risky behavior. If the large banks are deemed too big to fail then they are guaranteed to be bailed out each time they get in trouble then there is no down side to going for risk. If the risk works out the banks make huge sums of money and the investors are happy but if the risks turn out badly the taxpayer is on the hook for the losses. Not a bad deal for everyone but the taxpayer.
High returns of high risk investments also fuel the high pay packages to executives. When the banks were bailed out no restructuring or firing occurred so the same people who got the banks in such trouble were able to keep their jobs and continue the same behavior. The authors of 13 bankers explain why regulation will never work to control the excesses. The financial system is too complex and players will always be able to find a way around the rules or pass on fines or penalties to the customers.
The solution offered in 13 Bankers is to break up the large banks into too big to exist. If a bank grows to over a certain percentage of the Country’s GDP then it would have to be broken into smaller companies. Then if risk taking resulted in failure all parties would lose and the bank would be allowed to fail. This is the true capitalist system.
13 Bankers does suggest that greed played a part in the financial meltdown but we allowed it to happen because as a nation we are financially illiterate. Consumer protection laws can only do so much if people don’t read before signing and make some effort to understand how the money deals work. I am much more educated after reading this book. If we do not get a financial education ourselves then how are we going to elect politicians who will take the right steps to correct the system and prevent another even more drastic financial meltdown. Madalyn
Photo Credit: Flickr via creative commons
