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GLAD GRADS: PART 2

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#GladGrads #graduations #LifeAfterGraduation #graduation #CollegeGraduation
Last week, we talked about different graduates on different missions, as we celebrate the season of degrees.
Sue Shellenbarger, who writes a Work and Family column for The Wall Street Journal, suggests six “new rules” for post-college employment searches.
In her May 7, 2019, column she cites the example of Kyle Gilchrist, 23, who graduated from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Ga., last December with a degree in political science. He had good grades, good debate skills and served an internship with a U.S. congressman.
He found his job options limited because he didn’t have work experience.
That brings us to Shellenbarger’s first suggestion: get work experience before graduating. Her second suggestion: start building a job search network early. Thirdly, acquire technical, analytical and interpersonal skills that may not be taught in the college courses you take. Fourthly, don’t over-rely on online job boards, which harkens back to building a job search network early. Networking involves people and personal contact, not Web sites.
Her fifth suggestion is to build a robust LinkedIn profile. Many experts believe that the conventional way to apply for a job – having a resume and knocking on doors, will eventually be surpassed as employers search sites like LinkedIn for the people they want.
Lastly, she suggests seeking out other adult mentors for advice. Those may be parents, teachers or others in your social circle who have the wisdom to guide you.
“Nearly 2 million students will emerge from U.S. colleges with bachelor’s degrees this year. Many will enter a job market their parents barely recognize,” Shellenbarger writes.
Though the labor market is tight, competition is fierce, she says.
Some grads will have more marketable degrees than others. Some will have more school debt than others.
Not only is getting a job hard for some, but also the job(s) they are offered don’t pay close to what they need to make a living, let alone pay off debt.
Like acorns, jobs may be plentiful, but hardly, in many cases, provide the nourishment and good taste humans want and need. As you think of acorns, also think of the squirrel running inside a wheel. Many jobs will feel like that to you – a lot of energy expended and very little, if any, progress to show for it.
If you find yourself in that situation, don’t worry. There are many vehicles out there that can produce a potentially lucrative income, starting with a few, part-time hours a week. The only requirement is an openness to look at them, and a willingness to do what it takes to succeed at them. To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Remember, a college degree is helpful in landing a job, but doesn’t guarantee you one. You may decide that the degree you got, though enlightening in its pursuit, can’t always bring big bucks into your life. You may have to decide that pursuing your passion may require an ancillary pursuit of other income.
Again, be glad to graduate. Know that getting a good job won’t necessarily be easy. Still, work hard, dream big and be open to other helpful solutions.
Your circumstances don’t define you. How you deal with them does.
Peter

GLAD GRADS: PART 1

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#GladGrads #graduations #LifeAfterGraduation #graduation #CollegeGraduation
It’s the time of year to celebrate graduations.
The grads will come in all ages, ambitions and desires.
For example, Teresa Eckart was a prosecutor and judge, who wasn’t doing what she loved. So, she went back to Kennesaw State University in Georgia to become a ballet teacher at age 59.
Hers and the profiles of other graduates were part of a package of articles in the May 5, 2019, edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Another profiled grad is Marc Anthony Branch, 27, who leaves the day after his graduation from Emory University in Atlanta for Cambodia, where he will do urban development programming and assessments work with Habitat for Humanity.
Antoinette Charles, 20, will take her passion for helping the homeless with her when she graduates from Georgia State University, where she participated in the student organization Pads for Princesses, which assisted the homeless.
Meanwhile, Haley Evans, 21, learned to push herself at Oglethorpe University outside of Atlanta, and wound up studying abroad in Ecuador. She was able to use social media to successfully win a leadership spot on the student government organization at Oglethorpe while in Ecuador. She plans to teach in early childhood education.
Trayvon Truss, 22, was a self-described social outcast who battled depression. He was homeless much of his childhood. He also had dyslexia and was bullied. Now, he’ll earn his degree in psychology from Morehouse College in Atlanta.
Regardless of the path one takes, graduating college is a big step. Many will come out of college with degrees that won’t always yield the kind of results in the job market that they want. That’s OK for some, but for others, particularly if they are graduating with a lot of debt, that situation will present difficulties.
If that describes you, or if your passion doesn’t yield profitability, don’t fret. You can still pursue your passion, pay down your debt comfortably and live a very good life by devoting a few, part-time hours a week to one of the many vehicles out there that can create a potentially lucrative income for you. To learn about one of the best such vehicles, message me.
It’s a relief, which you may or may not yet feel, to be done with school. Think of it as a step toward what comes next in your life.
You may not yet know what that will be. Or, you may have something in mind that may or may not pan out for you.
The grads featured in the profiles all made decisions, pushed themselves and fulfilled at least some of their dreams.
Some grads tend to focus on the practical, rather than their dreams. It’s certainly OK to want to make a good living, and not have to live at home with mom and dad forever. It’s good to want a house, marriage, children etc. in your future.
Yes, some practical thinking is in order. But always have your eyes, and your mind, on something bigger.
You can get there sooner, or you can get there later. It all depends on whether you are willing to look at something you may not have considered doing before, and whether you have the ambition to do whatever it takes to get what you want.
Be glad, grads, that you’ve taken that step. Be wary of what’s out there, but also open to new things. Skepticism can be good. Cynicism never is.
Peter

RICH COHORT GETS YOUNGER

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#rich #young #YoungAndRich #superrich
A survey of U.S. investors with $25 million or more says the average age has dropped by 11 years, to 47 years old.
The ranks of these Americans has doubled since the depths of the Great Recession.
The average age of those with a mere $1 million is 62, a number that hasn’t budged in years.
These figures come from an article by Ben Steverman for Bloomberg. I was also published Jan. 24, 2019, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
About 172,000 U.S. households have a net worth of at least $25 million, The article says. That up from 84,000 in 2008. The study was created by the Spectrum Group, according to the article.
The “vast generational transfer of wealth” is “just beginning,” the article quotes George Walper Jr., president of the Spectrum Group.
The article doesn’t spell out how these folks are getting rich, but here are a few theories.
First, they could have invested well in the stock market, which crashed big time during the Great Recession. A big, universal downturn in the markets creates numerous buying opportunities for those willing to take a chance on them.
Even the casual observer has seen the market go up like crazy over the last decade, so those buying opportunities – at least many of them – have paid off handsomely.
Another theory, as Walper suggests, is that older rich folks are dying, and giving their wealth to their children.
A third theory is a rise in entrepreneurship. Young folks have seen a need, or created a product, that has become very popular. Think Uber, Lyft, scooter rentals in cities etc.
Here’s an area that can make ANYONE rich, who is willing to explore it. You certainly don’t have to create a new product, or meet a need. You just have to be willing to look at ideas that are not necessarily new, but could be new to you.
There are many vehicles out there that can produce wealth for anyone, with any background, education etc. You don’t even need to be a genius. You just need to learn a system and be coachable.To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Amid the doom and gloom you may have witnessed in the last decade, these stats should give you a glimmer of hope. Prosperity is there for those willing to look for it. It is there for those who, rather than wallow in their circumstances, are willing to embrace something new.
And, it doesn’t matter whether you are young or older. You just need to be willing to see something that looks very promising, and go with it, no matter what you might be told is best for you.
Our parents, at least those of us who grew up in more modest households, have told us to look for security, a good job, good benefits and stay there until we retire. That was SAFE.
Yet, such situations today are rare. Few jobs are safe. Few lifestyles are secure. Few futures are certain.
Increasingly, it is up to you to determine your prosperity. Certainly, if you choose certain paths, there are many out there willing to help you. But, you have to DO it.
If you don’t see yourself as young and rich, that’s OK. But think about the life YOU want, and know there are ways out there to get it. You just have to be willing to look for them.
Peter

SOCIAL SECURITY: WHEN TO TAKE IT

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#SocialSecurity #retirement #savings #earnings
It’s a question discussed numerous times in this space: when to take Social Security.
Maurie Backman of The Motley Fool took it on in a Christmas Day article, 2018, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Take it early, at age 62, and you get a lesser amount than you would at your full retirement age. But, if you have already retired and need to cobble together an income, taking Social Security early is an option.
Of course, the longer you wait to take it, the bigger your check will be. Wait until age 70, and your check could be pretty good-sized.
Backman cites three reasons he believes taking Social Security at age 62 might be a good idea for you: first, you are unable to work (or are having trouble finding a job, even though you are able to work); you’re in bad health; and, you’ve earned the right not to wait.
All those reasons make sense for some people. But everyone’s situation is different. Here’s one rule of thumb for everyone: don’t take it early just because you fear the government will run out of money and the checks will stop. Most experts believe Social Security will be around for quite some time, even if the government does nothing about the funding. Benefits may have to be adjusted in the future, they say, but it’s unlikely to go away entirely.
When making the Social Security decision, consider the following: what other income do you have, or will you have, in retirement. Income includes pensions, dividends and interest from your savings and investments and, perhaps, a no-stress, part-time job. Income, for some, may also include a full-time job. Yes, there are those who love their jobs enough that they don’t want to retire. If you are fortunate enough to be in that situation, and your employer will keep you on forever, that’s excellent.
Most folks, though, have jobs that will get old after a while, if they haven’t already. Others may have employers that are eager to get them retired, or at least out of their employ.
It’s a good idea, if you are among the latter categories, to have a Plan B in place that will give you income that will enable you to go with whatever happens, “retire” when you want and potentially give you financial freedom. Many such vehicles involve only a few part-time hours a week, with the potential to dwarf your working income. To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Also, as you ponder when to take your Social Security, know that no matter how many years you paid into it, and no matter how good your income was, that government check alone probably won’t give you enough money to give you the retirement you want. You WILL need some other financial resources.
If you haven’t yet retired, and don’t know what your resources will be when you do retire, it’s time to start planning for it. The earlier you start planning, and the more disciplined you are, the better off you’ll be when you get older.
So, start saving, and get a good, trusted financial adviser to guide you in retirement planning. Remember, too, that retirement planning isn’t all about money, though money is a big factor. Know what you’ll want to do when you retire, and plan to make that happen.
The Social Security office nearest you can give you your options, based on your income. The wise person will have a plan so that, no matter when he or she retires, he or she will never run out of money.
Peter

MARKET PREDICTIONS AND PRUDENCE

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#StockMarket #investing #BullMarket #MarketPredictions
Of late, the stock market has been, shall we say, volatile.
A decade ago was a big-time bust. The years hence have seen a boon.
Will that boon, soon, become a swoon?
The predictors have started to come out.
In an article for The New York Times, Alex Williams sites five popular doom-and-gloom scenarios, or situations, including the student debt problem, the situation with China, the end of easy money, Italy’s possible exit from the European Union and an anti-billionaire uprising across America.
Williams’ article was also published in the Dec. 23, 2018, edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Meanwhile Dr. Steve Sjuggerud, who says he’s had an extensive Wall Street career, says, “We are in the final stages of a massive bull market. And the biggest gains lie ahead.” His predictions were published by The Tennessean in Nashville Jan. 27, 2019.
His theory is that just before bull markets end, there’s a big run-up in stocks because people who listen to other doom-and-gloom predictions get out too early, leaving enough cash floating around to find bargains and profit.
Warning: investors should not panic over the impending end of the bull market. Markets go up and go down. Prices go up and come back down. A prudent investor has a strong plan, and stays with it.
What is a strong plan? It’s investing prudent amounts of money in a variety of vehicles. Some of those vehicles are designed for growth – in other words, you buy them at a fairly low price anticipating their value to become apparent to the market, and they rise in price.
Then, as the price goes up, you see a good number and sell enough shares to get your cost back, and let the rest continue to grow. That’s called playing with the house’s money.
But, a good plan also has vehicles that produce income, in the form of dividends, interest etc. Even if the share price of these vehicles drops suddenly, the dividends and interest keep coming. So, you have the comfort of letting their value ride out the downturn as your income keeps coming in. Of course, you need to watch whether the dividends and interest stay constant, or start to drop. If they drop, it may be time to cut your losses.
The point here is that a good plan can weather the ups and downs of the market. Sure, if the market drops, the overall value of one’s portfolio will drop with it. But that should not deter your strategy.
There are also scenarios in which you may decide that a stock, or other investment, isn’t doing what you thought it would. So you sell it to raise cash to use to find bargains in a down market.
If all this seems complicated, find a trusted adviser who can guide you through market ups and downs, and let him or her give you advice.
Don’t really have enough income to invest in stocks? There are many ways out there to pick up extra money by devoting a few part-time hours a week that doesn’t involve what you might see as a “second job,” and aren’t dependent on the markets. To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Recessions, market downturns etc. hurt. They don’t have to devastate you financially. Prudence and balance in your investments, and staying with your plan regardless of market gyrations, is the key. Markets may not go up in a straight line, but, over time, they most always go up.
Peter

BACK AND FORTH: DECISIONS, DECISIONS

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#decisions #OverThinking #marriage #willpower #jobs
When someone goes back and forth with a decision, some may call him analytical.
Others may call him indecisive.
Still others may call him thoughtful or deliberate.
Naturally, we all should think before we do. But, sometimes, over-thinking can steal opportunities.
The science, or art, if you prefer, of thought is knowing when to make a decision.
Some decisions, like whom to marry, are often made on not necessarily impulse, but emotion. Sometimes, more thought is required. Other times, if you feel the person is right for you and you could lose him or her by pausing to think, you may go with your emotion and hope not to regret later.
Other decisions require immediate action. An investment opportunity comes along that could cost you if you wait to think more. This requires some quick calculation, or complete trust in the person who brought you the opportunity. It’s natural not to trust someone else, but here’s where you have to trust yourself as much or more as you trust someone else.
Then, there are the choices that require willpower, such as the choice to pass up the cake in the buffet line in lieu of a salad. Here, the decision involves how often you eat cake, how seldom you treat yourself, how often you do other things to compensate for the cake etc.
Besides whether or whom to marry, there are other life choices we all have to make. Let’s start with our jobs. Are we doing a job just because it pays us? Are we doing a job because we actually like what we are doing? Are we doing a job because, well, someone has to do it?
All jobs pay, and most don’t pay nearly enough to live the lives we would like to live. If that resembles your situation, you can do one of many things: first, you can stay at it and hope things will improve; second, you can stay at it while continuing to look for something better; third, you can stay at it while squirreling away savings, and investing those savings, until you have enough to retire; or, lastly, you can stay at it while doing something else part-time, outside of work, that will enhance your income and, perhaps, dwarf your current paycheck.
There are many such vehicles out there that can help you accomplish Plan B, the last alternative. To check out one of the best, message me.
Whatever road you choose, decisions are required. First, you have to decide how badly you want something, and whether what you are doing is going to get you that something before you die.
If the answer to the latter question is no, then you have to decide how open you may be to alternatives. Certainly, alternatives can look, or even be, scary. But knowing that what you are doing isn’t going to give you what you want may be even scarier.
Of course, you can decide to settle with your situation. That may be the devil you know, so you can sort of live with it, and never realize your dream. At least by doing that, you may not have to make any “scary” decisions, or so you think.
But if your life goals are powerful enough, fear of the unknown will become less of an, or no, issue.
Many life decisions require openness and optimism. Answers to prayers can present themselves in different ways.
The science, or art, if you prefer, is knowing when the answer to prayer is there for the taking.
Decisions, decisions. Know yourself. Trust yourself. Be open to new things and follow your dreams.
Peter

SCHOOL CHOICE NOT A PANACEA

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#education #PublicEducation #PrivateEducation #SchoolVouchers #CharterSchools
Advocates for school choice – that is, allowing parents the ability to choose where to send their children to school, vs. being forced to attend their neighborhood public school – have argued that putting the power in parents over how their children are educated will provide the best education results.
As parents, one could certainly argue that having the ability to choose schools is desirable. But how to give parents such choice has come under scrutiny.
Of course, for the well-to-do, choice has always been there. They have the resources to send their children to any school they want – public or private.
For the not-so-well-to-do, school choice has come in two forms: vouchers and charter schools.
Vouchers are taxpayer-funded certificates that can be used to pay for private-school tuition. These vouchers deliberately siphon money from public schools that desperately need it. Remember, as discussed last week, education is compulsory in America. Private schools can pick and choose their students. Public schools, largely, cannot.
Charter schools are considered “public” schools, but operate with less regulation, as long as they can show performance. They are usually operated by non-profit organizations, away from the local Board of Education. These charter schools, which can also pick and choose students, have had a mixed record. Some have closed. Some have thrived.
New legislation on school vouchers has cropped up in Georgia, according to Maureen Downey, education columnist for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She discussed this in a March 26, 2019, column.
“The resurrected legislation, which now has a lower cap on the number of student who could used the vouchers – passed the Senate Education and Youth Committee … and may reach the Senate floor,” writes Downey, who points out that the legislation has the backing of Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
The Georgia lawmakers point to success of vouchers in Indiana and Louisiana, even though neither state has seen big leaps in academic achievement as a result, Downey writes. Yet, she continues, Massachusetts, the nation’s highest-performing state for academics, excels by concentrating on improving teaching and curriculum, not by offering vouchers.
As for charter schools, USA Today reports that many charter schools have closed, while some states have not created a new charter school in years. The first charter school in Nevada is set to close in the spring. “In New Jersey, the charter system is making real estate investors rich,” as they use federal money to build school buildings to sell (to) the charter schools at a hefty profit, the article, also published March 29, 2019, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, says.
We all WANT choice in education for our children. Sometimes, it’s just not practical. Sometimes, individual choice deprives the community of much needed resources. Students will have different levels of achievement in school, but no one wants some to have more opportunity to succeed than others.
The best solution is to make sure your community has good public schools, with appropriate funding to improve teaching and curriculum. Certainly, there should be private, or even charter, options for those students who may want to specialize in a tailored curriculum, or be educated among students with similar beliefs.
Remember, too, that no matter how much a student is educated, no matter their background, or which schools they attended, there are vehicles out there that will allow anyone the potential to really succeed financially. To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
We can tinker with education. We can offer gimmicks to make it seem as if we have some options. But there is no substitute for a good, well-funded public education system that EVERONE benefits from. It’s up to each community, and its residents, to make that a priority.
Peter

WHY WE NEED PUBLIC EDUCATION

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#education #PublicEducation #PrivateEducation #SchoolVouchers #CharterSchools
Public education is getting bad grades.
Wouldn’t it be better to put education in the private sector?
After all, the education bureaucracy is bloated on all levels – federal, state and local. It eats through a lot of tax money and, in some areas, produces dismal results.
We need school choice, the viewpoint goes. It’s better to give vouchers to families and let them choose where to educate their children.
Why should families get stuck sending their children to inferior, neighborhood public schools?
These arguments and questions are consistently forthcoming from public education foes. Recent studies have shown mixed results when comparing student achievement in public vs. private schools.
So why the big push against public education? It seems some people hate that public school teachers are well protected by their unions. It seems that people hate that principals and other administrators are making six-figure incomes in many places, while they, who pay their salaries, are making far less.
Teachers, and probably administrators, in many private schools make far less than their public-school counterparts.
So why can’t one use the tax money he pays for public education to pay for private education for his children, if he chooses?
There’s a reason we have public education in America. That reason is that education here is compulsory. That means every child has to go to school somewhere.
If education were privatized, those schools, as they do now, will pick and choose the BEST students, and reject the ones that might cause trouble – or who they believe might cause trouble.
So if education were entirely privatized, where might those students rejected by private schools get the compulsory education they have to have?
Where would the students whose families can’t afford the private tuition go?
The public school teachers, because they have to take all comers, have a more difficult job than those in the private schools. Private schools should definitely be an option for families who want to, say, educate children around certain religious beliefs, or whose children may have special needs or who just want the prestige of having their children go to a certain school.
But, public education should be the center of any education policy. It should be properly funded and teachers, and other school employees, should be properly paid and treated with respect.
It’s certainly OK to look for efficiencies. But many governmental entities, for largely political reasons, have given public schools short shrift for years. Teachers are now fighting back with strikes.
Remember, too, that good students will succeed no matter what school they go to. It’s the challenging students, who need the most help, who should be at the center of education policy.
While we’re on the subject, do you think all students should go to college? College is not for everyone, but there are ways for children to succeed as adults without going to college, if they are not college material. There are vehicles out there that allow anyone, regardless of background or education, to earn a potentially significant income without having a traditional job. To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Remember that public education is a necessity, much the way police and fire protection are. Don’t give it short shrift. Don’t believe that the private sector can do EVERYTHING better. Because it is compulsory, American education should remain in the public domain.
Peter
(Next week: A look at vouches and charter schools)

RETIRE, OR DON’T RETIRE

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#retire #DontRetire #retirement #working
A man on a TD Ameritrade ad tells the financial adviser that he likes working, and that his retirement plan is to keep working.
So, the adviser says, instead of creating a retirement plan, let’s create a plan for “what’s next.”
“I like that,” the gentleman says.
Oh, if only it were that simple. One likes to work, so he just keeps working. He may vary what he does as he ages, but he keeps working because he wants to.
It seems a rather inappropriate ad for this economic milieu. Today, most employees essentially have no say on when they stop working. If they don’t retire when the company wants them to, usually they are given signals to go, or else ….
Worse yet, in many situations, many are forced out of jobs either well before retirement age, or before they had planned to retire.
And, many of these folks want to keep working. But their options suddenly become very limited. They may be forced to take a job that either they don’t enjoy, pays much less than their previous job did or gobbles up more of their time than they care to give to a job. If you selected all of the above for your situation, you are not alone.
So how does one deal with planning for retirement, or for “what’s next,” in this milieu? First, as soon as you begin your career, get your head in the right place. Know that the following will, or is likely to, happen:
• The job that you were hired to do will change over time, perhaps sooner than even you may expect. If you like what you are doing, you may not like what you will be doing next. If you like where you work, you have to decide whether the changes in your employment situation are worth staying with your employer, or trying to find something more to your liking. The current job market has improved enough over the last decade that you may have more options than you realize.
• As you get older, and earn more employee benefits, you become a greater cost to your employer. Don’t necessarily go by your parents’ advice that says if you keep your nose clean, show up every day and do good work, you’ll have a job for life. Someone came up with an arbitrary matrix some years ago that says something like: in the first three years, you get more out of an employee than you pay him. After three years, as the cost of that employee increases, you are paying him more than you are getting from him. You’ve heard of being on the clock? Well, you may be on the clock for more reasons than you think.
Given all that, here’s what you do: first, save. It doesn’t matter how much, initially, you save. Even $5 a week will work, if you are not making much. You may have to go without some pleasures to do it, but do it, and don’t touch the money unless there are dire circumstances, or you are making a long-term investment in, say, a house. Also, put any raises you get into that savings. If your costs go up, cut out more discretionary spending.
Secondly, come up with a plan B that could put money in your pocket whether you survive for years at a job, or not. There are many such vehicles out there that will allow you to spend a few part-time hours a week off work, and potentially make an income that could eventually dwarf what you are earning now. To learn about one of the best such vehicles, message me.
Meanwhile, follow the old adage that says, “plan for the worst, and hope for the best.” Because you like a certain job doesn’t mean you can keep it. After all, the job doesn’t belong to you. It belongs to your employer. He or she can do with it whatever he or she pleases, even move it to a different country, or replace it with a machine.
A good job is a gift. Certainly, one earns a good job. And certainly, one can become really good at that job. It doesn’t mean the gift can’t be taken from you. It’s up to you to prepare for when the worst happens, even if it doesn’t.
So, if you like working, that’s admirable. Just don’t presume that you can always do what you like, for as long as you like.
Peter

SELF-MADE: HOW DO YOU DEFINE IT?

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#SelfMade #CollegeAdmissionsScandal #FameFromBirth
“What does it mean to be a ‘self-made’ person of great wealth?”
Mary Sanchez, columnist for the Kansas City Star, posed that question in a recent column, also published March 12, 2019, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Sanchez was referring to Kylie Jenner, whom Forbes magazine proclaimed to be the world’s youngest “self-made” billionaire, at age 21, from her cosmetics business.
Jenner is a member of the Kardashian-Jenner blended family. She didn’t exactly launch her business from her garage at night after working a full-time job all day, Sanchez points out.
Actually, she’s been quite savvy at leveraging her birthright fame, Sanchez says.
Alas, most of us aren’t blessed with the gift of fame from birth.
For most of us, if we want to achieve success, we have to do it gradually, over time, and many never get there.
Many of us don’t have the discipline to build wealth over time by saving more, spending less and investing properly.
Many of us never get introduced to a program that would allow us to build wealth by spending a few part-time hours off work – not unlike the folks who build a company in their garages. But, unlike the companies that start in a garage, you can build wealth by helping others do the same.
How? There are many such vehicles out there to allow you build wealth by leveraging your off-work time without taking a second, W-2 job. To check out one of the best such programs, message me.
Sanchez ‘s column was also published at a time when famous people are paying to get their children into prestigious colleges. They are not doing it by donating money to those schools. They are bribing coaches to “recruit” students to their teams who have not played the sport in question.
They are also paying others to take college entrance exams on behalf of their children – in other words, helping the children cheat their way to success. In turn, that means hard-working students who do things the right way are deprived of admission to those schools.
The whole scandal brings to mind how one defines success.
A big part of a successful life is doing everything the right way. That usually means hard work and tenacity. It also means either innovating – filling a need no one else has filled – or following a system that has created success for many others. To put that another way, it means duplicating what other successful people have done.
The college admission scandal has also brought to mind another axiom: if you cheat your way to the top, you will eventually get caught.
So how do you define success? Different people may see success in different forms. Part of defining success is knowing why you are doing something.
Good whys motivate the wise.
And when the wise are motivated, regardless of what they are doing, success will come. When success comes, wealth usually follows.
Success doesn’t come just to the lucky, though any successful person undoubtedly would say he or she has been blessed. One must put himself in the position for good fortune to come.
Kylie Jenner was helped by who she is. Most of us don’t have that advantage. But we all can put ourselves in position for success to strike. It may take some out-of-the-box thinking, but anyone can do it.
Peter