“But, Robin, please! What does this have to do with Joint Ventures and business? Enough of the philosophy, already!”

As long as we’re dealing with people and money, philosophy is the basis on which we have to base our assumptions, predictions, choices, and evaluations.

This article may go a little way to illustrating my point.

What is Mysticism?

Ayn Rand writes,

“What is mysticism?

Mysticism is the acceptance of allegations without evidence or proof, either apart from or against the evidence of one’s senses and one’s reason. Mysticism is the claim to some non-sensory, non-rational, non-definable, non-identifiable means of knowledge, such as ‘instinct,’ ‘intuition,’ ‘revelation,’ or any form of ‘just knowing.’ Reason is the perception of reality, and rests on a single axiom: the Law of Identity. Mysticism is the claim to the perception of some other reality—other than the one in which we live—whose definition is only that it is not natural, it is supernatural, and is to be perceived by some form of unnatural or supernatural means.”

Mysticism to Conceal Real Motives

I was recently copied on an e-mail from a woman who intended to join the DollarMakers Club, but had problems understanding how to use PayPal. When it was resolved, she jumped to the confusion that Outlook Express had somehow caused an issue with her credit card not working, and this was her response:

“I am taking the mishap as a signal that perhaps my application to Dollarmakers was not meant to be at this time.”

When we use our ineptitude and normal daily frustrations to justify a change in mind, we’re using mysticism to conceal our real motives.

Red Flags

We all seek evidence to support our dominant beliefs – that’s quite normal. Many people use their children and families as excuses to disguise their real values and motives, but that’s usually easy to determine. When it comes to mysticism, however, a huge red flag goes up. But wait! Perhaps this is what the color red might really signify!  See what I mean? Ridiculous.

Easier to Choose Blame Then Taking Responsibility

“The universe is trying to tell me something” – amazing.

Visit your local Theosophical Society or Science of Mind meeting, and see how many successful business owners you find there, (apart from the ones running the meeting – they have a special agenda.)

It’s easier to blame your Spirit Guide, karma, numerology, or astronomy than to take responsibility for your own bad choices, laziness, or lack of commitment. I know – I have been involved in and studied many kinds of mystical organizations, and philosophies – they’re all basically the same.

Here’s The Bottom Line

If you want to do business with someone, you need to establish that you’re working with an adult who is

• sane,
• responsible,
• rational,
• objective,
• and mature.

Or be prepared to have them disguising their dishonesty and slothfulness with voodoo nonsense and justifications.

Cloaking one’s real agenda is mysticism and only works for those who share the illusions and delusions.

Get Real

Instead of talking chakras and essential oils, let’s talk numbers, ratios, and profit. Let’s stop fooling ourselves and get real. Evaluate your future business associates carefully, and avoid the mystics at all costs.

The:

1. psychics and swamis,
2. fakirs and fakers,
3. gurus and grifters,
4. posers and prophets

will simply waste your time and steal your peace of mind.

Finally, many years ago, I attended a wonderful business seminar with a friend of mine. The seminar leader was a brilliant entrepreneur who has made a fortune for himself and others. He was talking about one’s context, cognizance, and perceptions in business, and my friend was angry that

“this arrogant man spends his time philosophizing.”

Well, your philosophy will ultimately determine where you end up in life, and it is the basis of all your choices and the results you create. Many years, my friend’s philosophy has brought him to where he is, and mine has brought me to where I am – a world apart.

Work With Like-Minded People

For me, Capitalism and Objectivism work well. I suggest all business owners read “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand – it’s the best book I ever read. I am responsible for the circumstances I create and for my reaction to those circumstances. I don’t make excuses, mooch off others, or blame ethereal causes or other people for my choices. And I work with like-minded people.

Carefully evaluate the people with whom you propose to do business: what do they read and believe? Alternatively, leave it to your Spirit Guide to do the work for you, while you zone out with incense and nonsense. It’s easier, until you find yourself living under a bridge with other evolved beings.

Last night, Rika and I enjoyed “The Sinatra Project” with Michael Feinstein and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra at the Orpheum Theater in Vancouver.

Rika booked this a long time ago since she knows I love Sinatra’s work, and it was a great evening. Feinstein is amazing.

The orchestra was a wonderful -

Joint Venture Analogy

Many people see Joint Ventures as an alternative to other income sources.

They compare brokering Joint Venture’s with real estate investment or MLM or having a job, or running a retail business, whereas Joint Ventures is an all-encompassing, overriding, umbrella philosophy that includes all other income creators. Like the orchestra.

The conductor is the Joint Venture philosophy. Each musician is a different moneymaking activity – a different dollarmaker.

1. The drummer could be retail,
2. The saxophonist could be MLM,
3. The violinist could be real estate – you get it.

The Conductor

Notice that the musicians keep their egos in check. They fit in to the bigger scheme of things. They play when it’s appropriate. The strategist would understand this, and the engineer would liken it to a PERT diagram. As a Joint Venture expert, YOU become the conductor, by:

• delegating,
• directing,
• motivating,
• organizing,
• encouraging,
• creating

– you’re the general, as opposed to the broke, self-employed, egotistical salesperson – the soldier.

How Everyone Benefits

Our motto in DollarMakers is “Together, we do amazing things” – it’s a synergistic approach to wealth creation – everybody wins, based on their contribution. Joint Ventures create value. If  a musician refuses to play, shows up late, does a bad job, stops contributing, or let’s his ego get out of hand, he gets fired.

“You can’t serve two orchestras.” Zig Ziglar said, “You can get anything you want out of life, if you help enough other people to get what they want.”

As each musician contributes, produces, hones their skills, and improves, the whole orchestra benefits.

Win/Win Cooperation

The different musicians represent your Joint Venture partners. You are the conductor.

If you’re really smart, you will strive to “keep things in the family” and create “overlap” – Feinstein and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is a case in point. Musicians shouldn’t be in competition with each other. The higher their IQ, the more likely people are to understand the value of overlap, loyalty, vested interest, strategy, and philosophy.

The underlying philosophy in the orchestra is the love and understanding of music, and the way an orchestra works. Common goals, and a common philosophy – the real mastermind in action.

Setting High Standards

Finally, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra has very high standards, as does DollarMakers.

Choose your Joint Venture partners very carefully, and cut non-producers and game players loose quickly.

I am often shocked when people smirk and hiss at the length of the speech by John Galt in “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand, but then I realize that those who hate that speech have realized that it is, in fact, the very essence of a philosophy that exposes their own impotence and thievery.

Parasites don’t like to be called parasites, any more than losers like to admit that they are incompetent and impotent mediocrities.

When a looter looks in a mirror and sees himself for what he really is, he breaks the mirror.

A Speech For Winners and Producers

Winners and producers, on the other hand, love the speech, “This is John Galt Speaking”, and wish it were longer.

It:

• feeds us,
• sustains us,
• encourages,
• empowers,
• motivates us,
• is our bible,
• is our motto,
• is a reminder that we are on track to greatness.

We listen to that speech on CD’s and read it when we wonder if we’re the only people who see what is happening in a world that is falling fast into a deep fissure of socialism, mysticism, collectivism, and government control.

There is no public ownership of the mind. That is all we have, and it is all we need.

A Tool for Knowledge

If you want to know who people really are and what their philosophy is, get them to read this book, and this speech in particular.

Better to read the entire book, since it sets the correct context for the speech. Losers don’t even read, and if they do, they read junk, so they’re excused right at the outset.

Then, simply watch the reaction of the readers.The champions will love this book, re-read it, and embrace and promote the philosophy and Galt’s speech.

Are You A Winner?

Here’s a sample, to illustrate my point – watch your own reaction, and perhaps you will make a discovery of your own philosophy:

“The parasites who asserted that my brain and my life were their property…
The professor who, unable to think, takes pleasure in crippling the minds of his students…
The businessman who, to protect his stagnation, takes pleasure in chaining the ability of competitors…
The incompetent who takes pleasure in defeating achievement…
The mediocrity who takes pleasure in demolishing greatness…
The extortion of loafing relatives…”

Your philosophy will determine what you love and achieve in life. Be sure to choose a good one.

If you have read Ayn Rand’s prophetic “Atlas Shrugged”, you will know that we are living in turbulent times, and that this book is the capitalist’s guidebook and map, our survival tool.

It puts things into perspective, and helps the reader to see through the illusions, deceptions, and lies fed to us by the collectivist powers that be.

As a capitalist, a producer, and a creator, there is no way one can find common ground with collectivists and mystics – that compromise will kill you as sure as trying to make friends with a rattlesnake will.

The alternative is Galt’s Gulch.

A Speculative Form of Galt’s Gulch

While I don’t recommend a literal Galt’s Gulch, in which the producers in society physically leave the wretched world of parasites and looters that has been subjugated and enslaved by the statist government behind, and form their own

• lifestyle,
• governance,
• and territory,

a figurative, allegorical or speculative form of Galt’s Gulch is, in my opinion, the only way to prosper in a socialist/communist environment.

A Grand Solution

Understanding the dynamics, requirements, benefits, and parameters of Galt’s Gulch as presented by Ms. Rand allows one to formulate the mindset and philosophy that is necessary to emulate such a grand solution metaphorically.

By realizing the implications and consequences of socialist world government, one can avoid the looting of the slackers, the incompetent, and the moochers, financial rape by government and the mystics, and, ultimately, the complete loss of personal freedom.

Creating a personalized, representative Galt’s Gulch means carefully selecting and teaming up with like-minded producers who share one’s:

• philosophy,
• ideology,
• motives,
• and beliefs,

and operate with the integrity and congruency to be found among some intelligent, rational capitalists.

A Formula for Success

With the understanding gleaned from Ayn Rand’s work and my experience of life and business, along with a realization of the way the world is moving, I started DollarMakers as a type of “filter” to find people who fit the Galt’s Gulch model.

Far from being a conspiracy theorist or alarmist, I am a realist and an Objectivist, and practical common-sense that is free from the mind-numbing poison of collectivism and mysticism dictates that I create a Galt’s Gulch, since success occurs when preparation meets opportunity, and forewarned is forearmed.

Having seen what has happened in Africa, Europe, the United Kingdom, and now America, the proverbial writing is one the wall.

Years ago, I was chopping wood for a barbeque. I wore sandals, and stupidly supported the wood with my foot.

Bang!

I chopped right into the tip of my front toe. The only thing that prevented me from cleaving the entire toe in half and limping for the rest of my life was my sandal.

Idiot.

At the emergency room, they injected directly into the quarter-inch wound before sewing it up. Ouch!

I no longer chop in the direction of my feet.

A New Respect Gained

I was preparing for a camping trip to Ponta Do Ouro in Mozambique in the summer of 1972. (Don’t go there now, unless you like the idea of landmines – you might lose more than a toe…) As I packed my VW minibus camper, I carried my snub-nosed .38 Astra Special revolver on a sleeping cushion. As I stepped up into the back door, the loaded gun slipped off the pillow, hit the bus’s floor, and went off.

Since the windows and other doors were closed and a bullet was definitely fired, it can only have passed between me and the inside of the one door – a very small space – a close miss, if ever there was one.

Stupid.

I learned an important lesson and gained a renewed respect for guns.

Limit Risk and Costs

I have met more conmen, shysters, and outright thieves in the past twelve years than I ever thought possible.

And with governments fast going the way of outright socialism and banks and the taxman collaborating to put the squeeze on business owners, we live in an increasingly  dangerous business world. It’s time to grow up and realize that we are at risk, and that we need to limit our risk.

Avoid it All Together

When I tell people to do business with no cost and no risk, I mean it.

I know a fellow with a giant ego and a small IQ who regularly sought to differ with me on this point. I have seen him lose a lot of money, since he doesn’t understand how to avoid risk and cost. If he did, he wouldn’t lose so much money in his harebrained schemes, or work with thieves.

Knowing how business works, and understanding the odds, the risks, and the fact that there are a few dishonest people around, makes it necessary, if one wishes to get rich, to avoid risk and costs.

It’s Easier Than it Seems

1. Use leverage and existing resources instead of paying for new ones. Work strategically and don’t rely on any one source of income.
2. Pay for results, not promises.
3. Be VERY careful whom you associate / do business with. Remember that people can change for the worst – easily and quickly, so be prepared for that.
4. When you smell a rat, RUN. Cut bait. Delete. Immediately.
5. Test people in many ways to make sure they are still loyal and honest. Be a detective.
6. Don’t disclose the identities of your Joint Venture partners.
7. Triangulate deals – don’t sell your own products and services.
8. Align yourself with people who share your philosophy – don’t link up with mystics, socialists, environmentalists, or reverse racists.
9. Don’t trust government or work with government or their agents.
10. Operate with no overhead – lean and mean. Expect the best and prepare for the worst. Spread your income and diversify.

Joint Ventures allow one to operate as above, and the older and wiser I get, the more I appreciate the power and sophistication offered by the Joint Venture systems I use.

If you’re carrying a gun, make sure it’s not pointed at you.

Ayn Rand wrote,

“All work is an act of philosophy.”

For innovators, produces, and creators, our work is our lives – our businesses are simply an extension off our philosophies and values.

We take our work very seriously, and we take full responsibility for being the best we can be. We don’t do it for other people – we do it for ourselves.

A writer must write, a painter has to paint, and a dancer is compelled to dance, since what they do is an expression of their minds. Entrepreneurs are also artists. Musicians create symphonies; business owners create businesses.

Are you being sabotaged by your socialization?

Blocked by your beliefs?

Trashed by your training?

Flummoxed by your philosophy?

Ultimately, your beliefs are your means to justify and organize your behavior, and therefore control your life. So, how are you doing right now? Got a great life? Future bright, or slightly brittle?

I went on a great, long bicycle ride the other day. I rode along the Coquitlam river, through lush forest, along a dyke through a marsh, and around Lafarge Lake. Beautiful. I’m quite fit now, the bike goes great, and I saw a coyote, a number squirrels, and a magnificent blue heron. No problem, except on the way home, when I got a stabbing pain in my right big toe every time I depressed the pedal.

Are You Battling Intrusive Pain?

All the way home, I battled with this intrusive pain. It spoiled the ride home considerably.

I took my shoe off, examined my toe, nothing to see. Mystery. Frustration. All my attention started focusing on my sore toe in the midst of all the natural beauty surrounding me.

Strong Light Reveals the Source of Pain

I got home, took a good look in the strong bathroom light, and found a minute splinter that must have got into my shoe (I wasn’t wearing socks) and stuck in under my toe. I managed to remove the tiny thing with a tweezers. Such a small splinter certainly had a dramatic effect on my journey.

What is Your Splinter?

On your journey through life, what is your splinter? More specifically, WHO is your splinter?

• What e-mails / phone calls / contacts / meetings do you dread?
• Who spoils your day?

Usually someone whom we think we need or someone who has leverage on us, often a family member.

• Who is it that, once removed from your life, would allow the sun would come out from behind the clouds?
• Who is the spoiler, the “stone in your shoe” as the Mafia say, the one who pours cold water on your hopes and dreams and stinks up your life?
• Who is stealing your rainbow?

Removing Splinters

Since most people don’t change, and freedom is my highest value, I have learned to pay the price to remove splinter people from my life, no matter who they are.

1. Generally, they’re negative parasites who don’t care about you (read “Atlas Shrugged” for a great example of this type of family member) or your welfare.
2. Often they’re jealous, resentful, bitter losers who blame you for their bad choices.
3. Many times, they’re passive aggressive.
4. In all cases, you’re better off without them.

You are Entitled to Joy

Ayn Rand said,

“Achievement of your happiness is the only moral purpose of your life, and that happiness, not pain or mindless self-indulgence, is the proof of your moral integrity, since it is the proof and the result of your loyalty to the achievement of your values.”

Stop compromising, and stop sacrificing your own happiness; start living!  It’s your life, and you are entitled to joy, fulfillment and the fruit of your labor, in spite of what the mystics and socialists tell you.

Life is short, and you deserve the consequences of your choices. You are not obliged to pay for the bad choices that other people make. You’re not a slave to anyone, and people who care about you don’t hurt you. It has to work both ways – give and take; leeches, guilt-mongers, and passengers have to pay their way or get off the bus.

Sacrifice and Serving

When you summon the strength and resolve to kick the losers out of your life / remove the splinters, you will be amazed at how fast you can soar to unprecedented heights of success and peace of mind. Ayn Rand said,

“I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.”

I encourage you to take your life back, and to break free from mental and emotional slavery. Ayn Rand again:

“It only stands to reason that where there’s sacrifice, there’s someone collecting the sacrificial offerings. Where there’s service, there is someone being served. The man who speaks to you of sacrifice is speaking of slaves and masters, and intends to be the master.”

The best way to predict the future is to create it, so remove the splinters from your toes and your heart, get on your bike, and enjoy your journey through life. It’s not too late, and there’s a wonderful world out there, waiting for free people to enjoy it!