Secret to Life Success

Today I want to talk to you about the secret to success in life!

Work hard to create options, and then pick the best one. That’s it.

When I first think about options, buying a car comes to mind. You start off with the base model, and then add all the little dew-dads that make the minivan you are settling on seem more bearable. The options I am talking about however are like intersections or "forks" in the road. This may sound cliché, but it is the best way to explain the very simple concept.

Let's start off with a story on this one. Jon is very good at bagging groceries at the local store. He has a job and he is content. Ben is also a bagger at the same store. After he has mastered the art of avoiding smashed eggs or the accidental combination of meat and bug spray in the same bag, he asks if he can get trained at stocking the shelves during slow days.

Jon may be the best grocery bagger in the business, but when times get tough at the store, he will likely be without a job because he isn't worth as much. Not only that, but he might have a hard time finding new work because he only has experience doing one thing. Jon's road is a one-lane trail without any turnoffs, where any obstacle in his path will likely leave him stuck. He doesn’t have options because he didn’t take the time to create them.

Ben on the other hand has shown potential for versatility. His store will keep him because he has shown that he has the ability and desire to learn. Ben took advantage of his down time to make himself better and more marketable. For some reason, people today seem to have forgotten the entire concept that if you work hard early in life, you won’t have to work as hard later. When Ben eventually learns all the functions of the grocery store, he will likely become a supervisor. He has created an interstate highway system for himself so he can decide for himself where he wants to go.

The great secret to success and happiness in life is to work hard and create options. Ask anyone who is without and they will tell you that having to make a difficult decision between choices is a good problem to have. Many people want to know what rich parents teach their children. I never had the opportunity to get that particular lecture, but I can’t help but assume that it is this simple concept.

I experience this same thing all the time. People find out that I work full time, go to school full time, and still make time to read books to my four children before they go to bed at night and they actually feel sorry for me, which is surprising. They feel pity that I am actively trying to make my family’s life better.

Really?

Is that where our society is today? We used to be defined by two things in life – our occupation and our word. Now it seems like those two characteristics aren’t even important, much less viewed as defining qualities. Some would argue that not everyone has the same opportunities that I have had. They are absolutely correct. I went to public school and barely graduated. I went to work after that because I “decided” to start a family very early. Later, I put myself through college. Stop using opportunities as an excuse for being lazy. You create your own opportunities. Stop saying things aren’t fair because you have to work for them.

That is my challenge to all of you. Don’t sit still. Don’t get comfortable. Set goals and build options. Take pride in your work ethic. Instill this habit into your kids. I know my children will be fine simply because I teach them work ethic. That alone will put them ahead of most of their peers.

There you go. That is the big secret to being successful. Spread the word.

George Zimmerman: Not Guilty In Trayvon Martin Case

As the old adage says, the jury is out. George Zimmerman was found not guilty for murdering Trayvon Martin in a case that we have been force-fed by the media for the past year. During that time, an estimated 16 thousand or more other people were killed in the United States and there were about 2 million emergency room visits due to assault, according to homicide statistics from cdc.org.

Why are we hearing more about this case? Some would say it is due to the possible race or racial profiling implications that may have been involved. Do I think it was about race? I have no clue, but that really doesn’t matter. If the media says it could be about race, people watch it, ratings increase, and the networks drag it on until the horse is dead, buried, and in horsey heaven.

It may very well have been about racial profiling, but it could also have been about someone dressed like they were up to no good and physically assaulting an armed neighborhood watchman. I don’t care what color you are. If you beat me up while I am volunteering to protect my block from bad guys, I might shoot you.

mediamatters.org

In even greater news, Geraldo Rivera was looking especially authoritative in his report on the verdict this morning. I have also received confirmation that his legendary mustache is indeed controlled by the strings attached to his eye brows and disheveled hair – thus adding to the suspicion that Geraldo’s mustache is actually the real television personality and the rest of his face is just a necessary vehicle for success. Another fun fact: Geraldo is 70 years old! Who knew?

-BCS

(Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman, Murder, Not Guilty, Acquitted, Geraldo Rivera)

Make them Legal! Why not?

wilsoncenter.org

Many of you have been following the “gang of eight” and the new immigration bill that is making its way through Congress right now. I have been trying to read the details of the bill from both sides, just to make sure I am getting as much of the information as possible. I find that I have to do that these days in order to cut through the political bias that the media pours on us.

Getting back to the topic, I want to provide a little bit of my personal back story on this issue. As many of you know, I am conservative. That said, my initial reaction shouldn’t be too much of a shock to anyone. I was completely appalled by the idea of making all the illegal immigrants legal, which was the main focus of the bill from the start.

Eventually, I took the time to really think about what that would mean. The biggest argument for immigration reform is that the illegal immigrants weren’t paying taxes, yet were draining from our budget through social programs and the prison system. Don’t get excited at that last remark. I didn’t come up with the idea.

So it finally dawned on me – the illegal immigrants would become legal and have to pay taxes. Isn’t that a success story? Doesn’t that solve the biggest problem? The only other major issue I can think of is the sudden saturation in the market when it comes to low income jobs. I am no economist by any means, but if more people are making more money and putting it back into the economy, isn’t that a good thing?

If the illegal immigrants become legal and have the ability to make more money for their skills, couldn’t that bring the trades back? That is an issue that I have been passionate about for years.

What do you guys think? This is only my analysis of the bill when it comes to the legalization process. As I find time, I will try to pick through the other parts of the bill.

- BCS

4 Proven Ways to Make Money Online

Many people who read my blog have asked me about making money online (other than blogging). I have done quite a bit of research on this topic over the years, and I have found 4 proven ways to make money online.

1. Do you have any skills that others may be looking for? Elance is a wonderful website for selling your talents to others, to include writing, bookkeeping, secretarial work, music, web design, and even voice acting. If you have any gifts or skills at all, Elance has a way for you to market them. Check out my article on easily and quickly writing research papers here.

2. Do you have old junk around the house? Maybe you like to frequent garage sales, thrift stores, or flea markets. Put you treasure hunting skills to good use by selling those great finds on Ebay. Another thing that many people do is buy store items by the truckload or pallet to sell individually on Ebay. There are plenty of websites that offer pallet or truckload purchases, but one that I have used is Merchandize Liquidators.

 

3. Are you crafty? Do you make jewelry, clothes, or other knickknacks? If so, Etsy is the place for you. On Etsy, if you can make it, you can sell it. I have personally seen people start selling their little creations (in this case, personalized aprons) on Etsy and turn it into a booming online business.

4. Finally, there is a whole lot of money on the internet for gurus of any sort. If you know how to do something, make an instructional video on YouTube or post your knowledge on the web with a blog.

If you haven’t already, check out my other posts on 12 Steps to Make Money Online Easily by Blogging and 9 Reasons to Use Google for All Your Blogging Needs to learn more. They go in-depth about blogging with Google's Blogger, marketing with Google+ (and other tips for SEO), and Adsense.

Thank you all for reading my 4 proven ways to make money online. As always, if you have any suggestions, questions, or comments, please feel free to use the comments section down below.

Oklahoma Tornadoes: What THEY Want You to Feel

news.yahoo.com

First, I want to say that I feel deeply sorry for all of those people who lost their loved ones in this horrible tragedy. I have and will continue to pray for the comfort and resolution needed to deal with that sort of loss.

I have been watching the news quite a bit lately (as always), and I have been very surprised by some of the ways that the media has tried to spin public interest. When did we get to the point that we needed the media to tell us how to feel about a devastating tornado or other tragedies?

When I was watching CNN about two days ago, I saw a woman come on and complain about FEMA. She said that the money that people would be getting from FEMA would be better used to build storm shelters for each home. She at least pretended to think it was wrong that the organization would help people rebuild their houses without providing them the added benefit of something they didn’t have before. Would insurance cover it? Why should FEMA be responsible for upgrading your home? Is it their fault that you didn’t build some sort of shelter the last time a tornado hit? Is it the tax payers’ fault? If I were involved in something that catastrophic, I would hope to think that I would be grateful for anything I got.

Another thing that the media has forgotten to talk about is insurance. If you live in a place that constantly has natural disasters, you should probably invest in it. I don’t want to sound cold, but if you decided not to cover yourself with homeowner or rental insurance in order to save a little bit of money, I consider that irresponsible and I have a very hard time feeling sorry for your material losses.

Later on another broadcast, the anchors were talking to an expert of some sort (probably simply survived a natural disaster at some point in their lives) and asked why the state or local governments did not require storm shelters or storm cellars to be built for every home. Really? Now you want the government telling you another criterion for living your own life? Just take your FEMA money or insurance claim and build one yourself. That is what I would do (aside from moving). If you feel like your insurance company is trying to cheat you out of money after filing a claim, you should probably get a good attorney (they already did).

Why is it that during and directly after the tornadoes, the major cable networks were pretending to be talking to the actual people on the ground during the coverage? They said things like, “Please take cover and protect your families” and “Do not go outside for any reason.” Did anyone else recognize the false show of support that the news anchors were showing toward people without working electricity to power their televisions? Some people didn’t even have natural gas to warm water or anything. They did the same thing with the flooding that happened the next day. We see what you are doing there, news guys.

What do you guys think about it? Am I going overboard here? Does anybody else notice that the media capitalizes on tragedies in order to increase ratings? Let me know in the comments section down below.