Goals

“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal.” -Jim Rohn

The underpinning of the twelve billion dollar personal development industry is goal setting. Set a goal, reach a goal, set a new goal, reach that goal, rinse, repeat till rich then repeat till fulfilled then repeat until enlightened. Is everyone’s goal then to have no goals? There is no spoon. The luxury of having goals beyond simple survival is a relatively recent development in human history. For the overwhelming majority of humanity the daily struggle for food, shelter and safety from harm pretty much occupies all of their waking hours. However these folks are not the ones reading sophomoric quasi-philosophical musings on a wordpress blog. For the extreme minority who have the capacity to entertain these thoughts perhaps we should start in gratitude. Be grateful for the ability to join the pursuit, the pursuit of what is mostly irrelevant. Whether you are pursuing, love, happiness, success or wealth, the sheer privilege of being able to pursue such things already places you in the upper echelons of the 7 billion+ inhabitants of this planet.

So should we all just sit in a circle and sing folk songs and offering thanks for the fact that we don’t need to combat dysentery and famine on a daily basis? No absolutely not. Simply acknowledge your good fortune then get to work. We have a responsibility to become successful, as successful as humanly possible. We have all of the tools at our disposal to develop ourselves in every capacity, mentally, physically, emotionally, financially, spiritually and every other -ally you can think of. To squander the gifts of time and potential is an obscenity so profane that it is painful to dissect. Every day is an opportunity to grow, to be more than we were yesterday, to be better in some way. Whatever your goals may be, realize that it is your solemn responsibility to attain those goals. Whatever it is you are seeking, go get it. An ancient Roman emperor figured it out long ago, The obstacle in the path becomes the path.

Check Lists

The breakneck pace of modern living has converted my life into a perpetual check list.

The hyper productivity gurus have trained me into a master goal setter and goals are really just a very fancy check list.

For example:

Check List

Pick up milk.

Pick up dry cleaning.

Pick up the kids from school.

Goals

Become debt free

Lose 20 pounds.

Spend more time with family

We are so thoroughly inundated with tasks that simply elegant act of living is relegated to another box to be checked.

Savor the day: CHECK.

Did I miss the singularity? Have we all already been sucked into the machine? My mentor always said that in the midst of all of our achieving and goal setting we forget to take it all in. Going to the ball game, watching the sun set, strolling down the beach. Check. Check. Check.

I’m starting to feel like Teddy KGB.

To Do Lists are essential to getting everything done in the hopes of having enough time left to do nothing.

Well there we go. I updated my blog.

Check.

Safe is the new risky

Being “safe” is no longer safe. The average household in the United States earns approximately $50,000 per year. On a global scale, this is a phenomenal amount, especially when there are 3,000,000,000 who live on $2 a day. Why is it then by the age of 65 only 5% of the population is financially stable?

Let’s take that $50,000 and break it down.

Taxes: $10,000- $15,000 (varies depending on which state you live in)

Housing/utilities:  $18,000 (that’s at $1,500 per month and that’s being very generous.)

Transportation: $6,000 ($500/month car payments, insurance, maintenance, etc.)

Debt: $6000  ($500/month in various credit card, installment plans and loan payments)

By my reckoning that leaves you with anywhere from $5,000 – $10,000 of “disposable” income per year after all of your bills are paid.

In other words after putting in 40 hours a week for 50 weeks out of the year you can expect to have anywhere from $500-$833 per month to spend as you see fit.

You may notice that you haven’t eaten yet, there’s a plethora of things you haven’t done yet, but you’re one responsible person and at least all of your bills are paid.

Before you know it you’re looking at the wrong end of 40 years. Where did the time go? You played it safe, you made the right choices. You weren’t crazy or reckless and you didn’t take outlandish risks. But now you’re looking at retiring on 40% of the income that barely made it the last 40 years.

Finances aren’t everything and you can definitely struggle financially and still have a wondrous and fulfilling life, but wouldn’t it be nice to have some options?

What if there was a better way? A way to create a financial wall around you and your family that could provide the lifestyle that you want. What would you do if you were financially free? If I told you that in your spare time you could achieve this would you hear me out?

Hear me out

Energy Independence: Power and profits from the sun

How much would you pay for 19,000 tons of oil? The equivalent amount of solar power falls on the earth every 20 minutes. That’s enough to meet the energy demands of the entire world for a whole year. A nearly limitless supply of clean energy that’s becoming increasingly affordable and competitive. For the entrepreneurs of the world, the biggest upside of solar power is in the distributed generation capacity. In other words you don’t need to have a few hundred million in the bank to become a solar power provider. Solar power can be made to measure to meet the needs of an individual camper to a single home to an apartment complex or even a city.

In the United States, Federal, State, Local plus a wide array of financing options makes installing a on or off grid solar system at home easier than ever before. Currently less than 1% of homes have a solar power system representing a massive potential transfer of wealth to solar pioneers.

Globally micro solar generators can provide basic power needs to people who have no access to the grid and can be used to light and cool their homes, heat their water and illuminate their streets. A little sun goes a long way.

Easy as flipping a light switch

“As easy as flipping a light switch.” For billions of people around the world, a light switch is still out of reach. Solar home lighting kits like the one pictured above can provide years of illumination for a one time cost replacing costly and dangerous kerosene lamps and candles.