RAW Choice Cut: World Wrestling Entertainment - "No Chance In Hell" (Corporation Theme)
"I think in the next RAW column I'll discuss how I plan on getting there step by step. Things get done when they're written down and you can hold yourself (and others if need be) accountable. For now, I go back to thinking..."
- May 12, 2005
Well that next RAW column has come and before I dive into that headfirst, I want to speak about my job. Or lack thereof. By the time this is read by anyone, I will have put in my two-week's notice. The seventeenth of June in the year 2005 will be my last day. As much as I hate(d) my job, I find the ending to be almost bittersweet. I can hear my crew going, "what about us, why are you leaving?" I can hear the managers in the front office going, "Don't leave yet. What about the company? What about your action plans you were implementing?" You know what...
Fuck 'em. Fuck 'em all.
I love my crew to death. They're almost like having kids of my own. I've learned each and every one of their moves and its almost like they've become apart of me. But you know, they can't help me out anymore than they already have. And as far as the managers in the front office - well Piddy's spoken on them before, and his thoughts are mine, so I'll leave that subject to rest. What about the company? Hell, they're just going to use me and spit me out when I'm done. They want my interests to be their interests, and unfortunately it doesn't work the other way around. And as of now, the most important person to me is - me.
Why the self-serving attitude? Like I said, I've been lazy. I've lost my spark, I've lost my fire, and I've lost my desire. My desire to do anything. Well you know what they say the best cure for laziness is. A little bit of greed.
But enough of that. I'll get to that later on down the road. As of now, I've got goals to outline and I want to write them here. Not only for me to see, but also for everyone - friends, enemies, acquaintances - to see. When things are written down in an open forum, not only do I have something to hold myself accountable too, but I also have a whole group of people who will do the same. It's scary how many people asked me if I put in my two-weeks notice two weeks ago when my profile said I was "quitting" June 1. I said I was quitting, and considering I'm doing all the necessary stuff on May 31, I'd say I'm ahead of schedule.
But anyways, back to these little lessons. As much as I'd like to say I came up with these on my own, I'll be honest and say I copied them straight, word-for-word from Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Quite possibly one of the best books I've read in a long time. It's not a get rich fast book or anything; it just opens your eyes to another side of thing. In simple terms, it's the whole "Red-pill, Blue-pill" scene from The Matrix in 195 pages. And while I'd love to be able to sum it up to save everyone $17.00, Terence started a tradition of keeping these things 1 page in length. I'm not about to change that.
Lesson 1 - The poor and middle class work for money. The rich have money work for them.
"Most people fail to realize that in life, it's not how much money you make, it's how much money you keep and how many generations you keep it."
Lesson 2 - If you want to be rich, you need to be financially literate.
Lesson2.1 - "You must know the difference between an asset and a liability and buy assets. Rich people acquire assets. The poor and middle class acquire liabilities that they think are assets."
This is easily the single most important lesson I gained from this book. Sure I can invest and use my money wisely, but I'll never be able to do that effectively if I can't tell the difference between something as simple as APR and APY. I've had a Wall Street Journal subscription for 2 weeks now. Sure, I don't understand most of it and why things happen, but I know more now than I did two weeks ago
Lesson 3 - Mind Your Own Business
"Financial struggle is often directly the result of people working all their lives for someone else. There is a difference between your profession and your business. The mistake in becoming what you study is that many people forget to mind their own business. They spend their lives minding someone else's business and making that person rich."
One of those things I wish I had heard many, many months ago. I work 12-14 hour nights with a two-hour commute and for what? A paycheck that gets taxed heavily (you try getting $1200 taken out of one paycheck and tell me that isn't ridiculous). No time left for myself and barely any time to sleep. That stops now.
You must also strive to increase your Financial Intelligence.
Financial IQ is made up of 4 parts: Accounting, Investing, Understanding Markets, and Law. Respectively, you have to work on increasing your financial literacy, financial science, understanding of supply and demand, and your understanding on how you can protect yourself (and your assets).
Lesson 4 - Own your own corporation wrapped around your assets.
Right now I can see all my black friends going, "ah-ha, so that's how white folks do it." Thing is, its not so much the corporation, but the advantages that corporations have that individuals do not.
Lesson 5 - The poor and middle class work for money. The rich make money.
While this sounds like Lesson 1, the points behind it are different. Basically, this part of the book talks about the fact that money isn't real. The more real you think money is, the harder you will work for it. "Great opportunities are not seen with your eyes. They are seen with your mind."
Lesson 6 - Work to Learn. Don't Work to Earn.
So true. And thankfully, this was a lesson I was following before I read the book. I worked in a meat plant not to pay the bills - but because I wanted and at the time needed the experience. And while I bitch and moan about how much that place sucks, I can't say it was a completely bad experience. It's true what they say in that no experience is a bad experience. Sure it sucked, but I learned a lot. Most of it was what NOT to do in a company, but lessons were learned regardless.
Okay, now that I finished that, what do I have? Six lessons that I copied down from a book with no real relation to me. That's where these come in to play...
From RAW 15
Short list of goals for the next 10 years - Buy "Authentic Replica" WCW Title Belt. Buy Ms Pac-Man arcade machine. (Say what you wish, but they're tangible, I'm single, and I get a nice paycheck that I do nothing with...) Get MBA. Get job #2 in upstate South Carolina. Attend WrestleMania XV. Get job #3 outside of South Carolina. Vow to never reclaim residency in South Carolina. Find good girlfriend. Make her my fiancee. Get married. Let her live the "Glamorous Life". Have Chug. Buy Boat.
Now I make goals for myself. Always have for the most part. And at the time I wrote these (June 2, 2004) they seemed to be pretty good goals. Looking back on them - they suck. First off, none of them are SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time Oriented). Second of all, I had no clue that I was blatantly not following Lesson 2.1. There's not a real asset on that list. Sad thing is, I was on this big kick of having tangible assets. Here are some quick definitions for you.
Asset - Something that puts money into your pocket.
Liability - Something that takes money out of your pocket.
So what do I do about these goals I set for myself? I do what any smart person does. I evaluate the situation, make decisions, and adjust as necessary.
RAW 24 Goals
· Buy "Authentic Replica" WCW Title Belt for less than $200 by July '04 (This has to stay on the list, because hell, I already accomplished it.)
· Open a "classic" arcade / family fun park by Summer 2014. Preferably with trustworthy business partners. - Aerospace and Shit Like That anyone? Those who know will understand.
· Receive my MBA from a Southeastern University with a respectable business school by 2009. Graduate with Honors.
· Find Job #2 in the Financial Services, Banking, or Insurance industries in Greenville, South Carolina by September 2005. (I don't want to live anywhere else in the state and the upstate was too vague. i.e. - Gaffney, SC is not on my short list of places I want to live. I don't care how many peaches they have. And plus, one of those industries in a city [Greenville] that is on the verge of breaking out into something bigger than its current form would do wonders for me. I'd learn so much about money and finances and have the world at my fingertips as to where I want to go next.)
· Attend WrestleMania XV and WWE SlamJam or the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in March/April of 2009. Be sure to bring at least one friend / family member.
· Position yourself to be able to land a position in Atlanta, Charlotte, or Florida. (As of now, I have no desire to leave the South. I like it here, but who knows what'll happen in a few years time. I might have to adjust this one - especially since it ties into the Job #2 goal)
· Start and manage a portfolio of smart investments by December 2005
· With the money gained from assets and investments, purchase a boat by December 2014. (I still want a boat. I'm just not going to use "my" money to buy it with)
Now before you ask, what happened to the girlfriend, fiancee, wife, kids, Chug, etc? Well, I've learned that I can't plan for that. As much as I'd like to, that sort of stuff is out of my control. I just have to be ready to adapt when that time comes.
Tuesday, May 31, 2005
Thursday, May 12, 2005
12 May 2005
RAW Choice Cut: World Championship Wrestling - "Sting Entrance Theme"
"When a man's heart is full deceit, it burns up. Dies. And a dark shadow falls over his soul..."
There's no real good way to start this, so I'm just going to start. I don't like what I've made myself into. Now before anyone starts thinking this is some sort of suicidal, depressing bullshit, then apparently you don't know me that well. If anything, it's more of a resurrection...
In one hand, I have a persona that is about as over the top as you can get. His system is full of "crunk" and his vernacular is that of an unrefined person. He's thrown away countless dollars on strippers and alcohol and what does he have to show for it? Sure he has multitudes of whimsical adventures that have become the things of legend - but that's only in his own mind. And that big piece of gold he carries on his shoulder is cute and all, but he hasn't done anything of value to warrant carrying it. The shtick gets old after a while.
And in the other hand, there's a confused little boy fighting fiercely against growing up. He clings desperately to what he knew. He doesn't know what's fighting for or why he has to scream. All he knows is that he likes things "the way they were." Waxing nostalgic whenever possible, he lives so much in the past that many times he lets the future pass him by. It doesn't matter if its how cool Super Nintendo was, how much fun Sophomore year was, or how pretty Michele was, its all the same story. Getting him to use a sentence that doesn't include a past participle is like pulling teeth.
The funny thing is, this is what I decided to fill my hands with sometime between high school and college. This is what replaced what I used to be. A cold hearted, unfeeling, callous young man. Sometimes down right evil. Evenso, I was a young man with a plan. Driven mostly by purely selfish means, but driven nonetheless. And what's what I lost - my drive. My future planning. It became okay to live in the past and enjoy the present because, "hey, I've been successful all the time before, why not now?"
And for the most part, I was right. College was a blast and I did well. I made a lot of great friends, graduated Cum Laude, and have a plethora of stories to share with my kids one day. But all of that does me no good right now - well at least not as much as I'd like to. So, as of now, I go back to what worked. Looking forward for opportunities, planning ahead, and most importantly - looking out for me. I'm tired of being stagnant. Selfish? Yep. I mean if I don't look out for me, who is?
Now while I realize that completely trashing my alter-egos would be the best thing, it's not necessarily the smartest. I've learned a lot from those two and to just disregard those lessons would be dumb. From Piddy, I've learned the ability to just not care about what I do or say sometimes and Terence has taught me the value of having feelings and compassion for others. It's funny that I'm taking lessons from these two, because four to five years ago, they were doing the same from me. You think Piddy's ego came from nowhere?
Now this drastic "Return to Innocence" would be pointless without some sort of catalyst. Reason for the change? I want to be able to retire by the age of 45. That's all. Nothing more, nothing less. It's just my amplified personalities can't do what I know I'm capable of doing at the core. Sure, some sacrifices will be made, but that's expected. I'll deal with them as they come. Should be interesting.
I think in the next RAW column I'll discuss how I plan on getting there step by step. Things get done when they're written down and you can hold yourself (and others if need be) accountable. For now, I go back to thinking...
Closing Thoughts
"Just know that its fear that keeps most people working at a job. The fear of not paying their bills. The fear of being fired. The fear of not having enough money. The fear of starting over. That's the price of studying to learn a profession or trade, and then working for money. Most people become a slave to money...and then get angry at their boss."
- An excerpt from Robert T. Kiyosaki's, "Rich Dad, Poor Dad"
"See I believe in money, power, and respect. First you get the money. Then you get the mothafuckin' power. After you get the fuckin' power, mothafuckas will respect you."
- The LOX ft. Lil Kim & DMX - "Money, Power, Respect"
"The Japanese were aware of three powers. The power of the sword, the power of the jewel, and the power of the mirror. The sword symbolizes the power of weapons and represents strength. The jewel symbolizes the power of money and its control over others. However the mirror symbolizes the power of self-knowledge. According to the legend, this self knowledge was the most treasured of the three."
"When a man's heart is full deceit, it burns up. Dies. And a dark shadow falls over his soul..."
There's no real good way to start this, so I'm just going to start. I don't like what I've made myself into. Now before anyone starts thinking this is some sort of suicidal, depressing bullshit, then apparently you don't know me that well. If anything, it's more of a resurrection...
In one hand, I have a persona that is about as over the top as you can get. His system is full of "crunk" and his vernacular is that of an unrefined person. He's thrown away countless dollars on strippers and alcohol and what does he have to show for it? Sure he has multitudes of whimsical adventures that have become the things of legend - but that's only in his own mind. And that big piece of gold he carries on his shoulder is cute and all, but he hasn't done anything of value to warrant carrying it. The shtick gets old after a while.
And in the other hand, there's a confused little boy fighting fiercely against growing up. He clings desperately to what he knew. He doesn't know what's fighting for or why he has to scream. All he knows is that he likes things "the way they were." Waxing nostalgic whenever possible, he lives so much in the past that many times he lets the future pass him by. It doesn't matter if its how cool Super Nintendo was, how much fun Sophomore year was, or how pretty Michele was, its all the same story. Getting him to use a sentence that doesn't include a past participle is like pulling teeth.
The funny thing is, this is what I decided to fill my hands with sometime between high school and college. This is what replaced what I used to be. A cold hearted, unfeeling, callous young man. Sometimes down right evil. Evenso, I was a young man with a plan. Driven mostly by purely selfish means, but driven nonetheless. And what's what I lost - my drive. My future planning. It became okay to live in the past and enjoy the present because, "hey, I've been successful all the time before, why not now?"
And for the most part, I was right. College was a blast and I did well. I made a lot of great friends, graduated Cum Laude, and have a plethora of stories to share with my kids one day. But all of that does me no good right now - well at least not as much as I'd like to. So, as of now, I go back to what worked. Looking forward for opportunities, planning ahead, and most importantly - looking out for me. I'm tired of being stagnant. Selfish? Yep. I mean if I don't look out for me, who is?
Now while I realize that completely trashing my alter-egos would be the best thing, it's not necessarily the smartest. I've learned a lot from those two and to just disregard those lessons would be dumb. From Piddy, I've learned the ability to just not care about what I do or say sometimes and Terence has taught me the value of having feelings and compassion for others. It's funny that I'm taking lessons from these two, because four to five years ago, they were doing the same from me. You think Piddy's ego came from nowhere?
Now this drastic "Return to Innocence" would be pointless without some sort of catalyst. Reason for the change? I want to be able to retire by the age of 45. That's all. Nothing more, nothing less. It's just my amplified personalities can't do what I know I'm capable of doing at the core. Sure, some sacrifices will be made, but that's expected. I'll deal with them as they come. Should be interesting.
I think in the next RAW column I'll discuss how I plan on getting there step by step. Things get done when they're written down and you can hold yourself (and others if need be) accountable. For now, I go back to thinking...
Closing Thoughts
"Just know that its fear that keeps most people working at a job. The fear of not paying their bills. The fear of being fired. The fear of not having enough money. The fear of starting over. That's the price of studying to learn a profession or trade, and then working for money. Most people become a slave to money...and then get angry at their boss."
- An excerpt from Robert T. Kiyosaki's, "Rich Dad, Poor Dad"
"See I believe in money, power, and respect. First you get the money. Then you get the mothafuckin' power. After you get the fuckin' power, mothafuckas will respect you."
- The LOX ft. Lil Kim & DMX - "Money, Power, Respect"
"The Japanese were aware of three powers. The power of the sword, the power of the jewel, and the power of the mirror. The sword symbolizes the power of weapons and represents strength. The jewel symbolizes the power of money and its control over others. However the mirror symbolizes the power of self-knowledge. According to the legend, this self knowledge was the most treasured of the three."
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