Feb 22

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.

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Feb 17

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.

Feb 15

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.

Feb 12

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.

Producers Vs Parasites

I have heard from many people that they have been told by other workers not to work too hard and embarrass their slothful co-workers.

I have witnessed utility workers and government laborers slacking off to stretch the work to earn more money. They take no pride in their work, have low self-esteem, and little or no self-respect. These people accept the terms. They are basically paid slaves, moochers, who will take the most possible and give the very least acceptable.

A producer would walk off the job.

A World Where We No Longer Exist

The History Channel has a fascinating show called, “Life After People” – it predicts what would happen to the world if all the people suddenly disappeared. It investigates consequences from pets, to zoos, to wild animals, to nuclear waste. Very mind-expanding.

In her life-changing book, Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand predicts what would happen if the

  • prime movers,
  • producers,
  • and innovators

Left the world to the

  • parasites,
  • mystics,
  • looters
  • and politicians.

Why Read “Atlas Shrugged”?

So that we can recognize creeping collectivism and socialism, avoid it, and protect ourselves from being flung onto the sacrificial altar by those incompetents and leeches who would rule us and steal our creations. This is the Big Brother of the future:

“from each according to his ability, to each according to his need”. One can avoid a thief only when one identifies a thief.

A Cause and Effect

Without those who build and invent, produce and innovate, the world would collapse. Look at the “new” South Africa – the new government decided that the maintenance of power plants, mines, and other major components of the country’s infrastructure didn’t need to be fixed, maintained, or improved. The resulting rolling black-outs and the descent into statism is evident for all to see.

Cuba is another simple example. When Russia withdrew her funding, they had to run to new milch cows. While the Socialist Cuban government decries capitalism, it is itself using Capitalism to make money from wealthy Capitalist tourists.

People live in hovels that they call houses, just above the poverty line – after all, what do they NEED? They don’t NEED swimming pools and smart cars… And medical doctors work as waiters in the state-owned hotels in order to make more money.

“From each according to his ABILITY”?

It simply doesn’t work.

Learn to Be an Aware Thinker and Rationalist

The Western world has been and is being programmed for massive socialism, and because it doesn’t truly understand the implications, it sits like the frog in a pot of water on a stove – the water increases in there slowly until the frog boils to death.

Liberals flirt with the naughty boy of socialism, playing with the tiger until they get eaten alive. They elect leaders who will imprison them.

We who are the thinkers and the rationalists have to be aware of what is going on in this new world order.

We have to be able to identify the slave owners and witchdoctors who demand our self-sacrifice in order to avoid them. Atlas needs to know when and how to shrug.

Feb 03

This past week we enjoyed a wonderful Alaskan Cruise. High end, high class, high standards. Ran like clockwork, every detail attended to.

One night, a large section of the crew, including officers, chefs, and people representing every department, showed up on the stage in the theater at the end of one of the performances. They sang, and it was great. The entertainment manager stated at the end of the event,

“We represent many countries and creeds. See how we can all work together in perfect harmony, regardless of our backgrounds, cultures, religions, or education? We have a lot to teach the world.”

They then proceeded to sing, “We are the world.” Very sweet, but not very accurate.

A Principle of HarMONEY

The implication was the usual one: “Multiculturalism works great, we’re all the same, the United Nations is right, and let’s all be happy.” Here’s the difference.

This ship is shipshape because it works on the principle of harMONEY: It’s a capitalist, autocratic setup. People get paid according to their contribution and skill set, regardless of their color or creed.

The captain does not earn the same as the waiters or cleaners. And if people mess up, fight, steal, or slacken, they get fired. They are well managed and told exactly what to do.

If a waiter, who is on a ten month contract, misbehaves, he or she gets summarily fired and has to pay for their own trip home. Strict controls.

The captain gets the big bucks, because without him everyone would end up on the rocks. When you use affirmative action and reverse racism to accomplish goals, you’re no longer headed for success.

How It Works

There is no “redistribution of wealth” for the losers and slackers to leech off the producers.

People actually EARN their money, and there are no unions to force businesses to pay brain dead laborers ridiculous salaries – that’s why cruise ships decided to use Seattle rather than Vancouver – because dockworkers and longshoremen who deserve $10 per hour have to be paid $45 per hour in Vancouver.

Any cruise line that was run by a socialist would be bankrupt within weeks.

In fact, entire countries go bankrupt when they elect socialist leaders and money is distributed according to greed and need instead of value. Imagine assigning a bus driver to run a Fortune 500 company.

What You Get With Capitalism

Capitalism creates superb value and excellent service and products, as was evident on our cruise.

Rolex is not run by a socialist. Cuba is a third world backwater like all African countries, because of the way money is distributed.

When your philosophy is statist / collectivist, the motivation for excellence diminishes. That’s why highly trained Cuban doctors prefer to do the work of waiters – they can earn more money that way.

Real Success

Success is not a mystery, and we should learn from history. When you assume that everyone is equal,regardless of their contribution, and you are not prepared to pay for excellence, true success will elude you. That’s why capitalism is worth fighting for, no matter how unpopular it is with parasites and liberals, and why real success is based on:

  • money,
  • value, and
  • rational thinking,

not:

  • mysticism,
  • altruism, or
  • multiculturalism.
Jan 13

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?

Warning Signals

Some people are in a small boat without oars, accelerating towards the edge of a roaring waterfall, and they’re laughing it up, smoking their filthy cigarettes, and slapping each other on the back. Blissfully unaware.

Others amongst us are starting to realize that that roaring sound isn’t your mother-in-law applauding you for mowing the lawn and paying for her latest cruise.

We see the writing on the wall, and it’s not Shakespearian poetry.

Red lights are flashing wildly, sirens are screaming, and the warnings are all around us.

Beliefs and Philosophy

Your life, the people you mix with, your choices, and the circumstances that you have created are a clear and honest indication of your present beliefs and philosophy.

Change Starts Within

And it starts with a personal check-up from the neck up, a frank confrontation that asks,

“Is what I believe helping me or hurting me?”

Is it, indeed, time to realize that, if you believed what Robert Kiyosaki, Donald Trump, Ayn Rand and Napoleon Hill believed, your life would be a lot happier and you would have a lot of money? If you do, there’s a way to break free from where you are and change the direction of your life.

Five Simple Steps:

  1. Get the information you need from people who already have what you want. Stop listening to people who are even more screwed up than you are, like teachers, bankers, “consultants and coaches”, and academics.
  2. Remove the losers, socialists, posers, and parasites from your life, even if they are family or business associates – you can’t afford them, and you don’t need them.
  3. Find truly successful people to train you, guide you, mentor you, and confront your illusions and delusions. Take their advice and act on it. Adopt their philosophies.
  4. Create an action plan with specific, measurable, time-related steps.
  5. Work like crazy 24/7/365, and do whatever it takes UNTIL you are free from your chains and happy, healthy, and successful.

That’s what DollarMakers was created for. We are not politically correct, mediocre, compromising, or socialist. I tell it like it is, since the opinions of losers is of no interest or concern to me. And I lead by example.

Jan 11

We all know that due diligence only goes so far, yet we still need to do the best we can to avoid hooking up with the wrong people.

1.   Take Note of Their Mentors.

I know someone whose mentor had no respect for follow-up, didn’t return calls, was undisciplined, and slack. She is following his lead, of course, and will likely wind up with a scary lawsuit.

2.   Take Note of Their Friends and Associates.

Birds of the feather – similar values, beliefs, networks, standards, and aspirations. Where do they go? With whom do they spend their time?

3.   Their Customers and Vendors.

What is their reputation with people who sell to them or buy from them? How about their competition? How LONG have they known this person? Be especially careful of people who are new in the area and have a gray past. In many cases, they’ve run away from their bad choices in the past.

4.   The Internet.

Google, Bing, Facebook, Twitter, their websites and blogs – take the time to check them out. They will naturally have enemies and detractors if they’re well known, but judge the assault by the quality of their enemies.

5.   Their Philosophy.

What books do they read, what groups and clubs do they belong to, what religious and political affiliations do they have, where do they live, how do they spend their time? One’s philosophy drives ones motives and choices – it is a good predictor.

6.   Test Them in Small Ways.

Test them in small ways before opening up the big JV opportunities. Do they return calls and e-mails promptly, do they pay on time, are they cheap, are they well groomed and punctual, respectful, and professional? Are they loyal and honest? “Faithful in little, faithful in much.”

7.  How Do They Treat Others?

Their spouses, kids, friends, the waiter in a restaurant, animals, receptionists, their employees, and colleagues. Listen and watch – observe – because that’s how they will end up treating YOU.

8.   Take Your Time, There’s No Rush.

And don’t take the word of one person referring them – I now a successful businessman who has very little discernment in judging others. Over time, you will find out a lot more about them, good and bad. Over time, you will see patterns and tendencies – people hiding, making excuses, justifying, lowering standards, cutting corners. You will also be able to identify loser traits, like smoking, greed., ego, drinking too much, gambling, womanizing, and other addictions.

9. Beware of the Too Friendly.

Be careful of the too friendly, smiling, backslapping, always agreeing, politically correct funster. Those who are everyone’s friend and promise the world are usually sociopaths, or at the very least passive aggressive back-stabbers. Watch out for posers and parasites, too – there are many of them out there. If someone agrees with everything you say and has no opinion, he’s weak or dangerous. Either way, watch out.

10. Track Record.

Finally, look at the track record. That is a clear predictor of future behavior. Along with that, listen for EXCUSES and BLAME – the sure sign of a victim mentality. In that case, be aware that your prospect lives in the Victim/Persecutor/Rescuer world that denies personal responsibility.

Better to take the time and make the effort on the front end than to suffer later. The cost of discipline weighs ounces, while the cost of regret weighs tons. I would rather pay a good private detective up front than lose a lot down the road.

Jan 06

We talk a lot about integrity, in the context of adherence to moral and ethical principles, soundness of moral character, and honesty. But really, when your life is congruent, integrity is taken care of.

Definition of Congruency

In the context of one’s life, congruency means that:

  • your beliefs, values, and actions are all in
    • agreement,
    • harmony,
    • conformity,
    • and correspondence.
  • all parts and areas of your life are moving in the same direction.
  • you walk your talk.

For example, someone who smokes and yet makes a point of eating healthy and getting regular exercise is not making congruent choices. Someone who has one area of his life sabotaging, weakening, or undermining another area of his life does not have a congruent lifestyle.

The reason most people are unconsciously breaking down their own success and limiting themselves is because of three things:

  1. First, they don’t have clearly defined, measurable goals for their lives.
  2. Second, they fail to measure and notice what they’re doing and what the ripple effects of their choices are,
  3. and thirdly, because they’re lazy, addicted, apathetic, or just plain stupid.

But for those of us who are committed to happiness, success, and reaching our full potential, focusing on congruency can skyrocket you to unprecedented heights of success.

Every choice in every area of your life affects every other area – everything in your life is interconnected.

No Involvement, No Commitment.

Stephen Covey said that when we live according to our values, we will be happy. He also said,

“Without involvement, there’s no commitment. Mark it down, circle it, underline it. No involvement, no commitment.”

That makes sense, since you can’t deal with life at arm’s length. Whatever you focus on will grow, and you only have 24 hours a day to attain your success and happiness. Having the intestinal fortitude to define your values, beliefs, and philosophy, and then to arrange your goals in each area of your life so that they all fit and support each other, is indeed a smart thing to do, and very rare.

Perhaps one percent of people do this. You can, too.

It’s a simple choice.

Defining Our Own Philosophy

Defining our own philosophy and world view, and then deciding what we want our lives to look like, taking into account every area of life:

  • social,
  • mental,
  • physical,
  • financial,
  • family,
  • work,
  • etc.,is the first step to greatness.

Then, look at your present lifestyle and choices through this lens, and decide what and who needs to be:

  • adjusted,
  • removed,
  • fixed,
  • added,
  • and tweaked.

That‘s the scary and exciting part, because it will tell you exactly how much you are committed to what you say you believe and want.

Your philosophy of life is like your GPS, or compass. It will guide you to it’s ultimate purpose, be it self-sacrifice and resentment, or greatness and fulfillment.

Align All the Areas of Your Life

Then, it’s time to take action, to align all the areas of your life with your goals and values. This means removin

  • certain people,
  • groups,
  • activities,
  • choices,
  • and input,
  • and adding new stuff.

It’s like

  • pulling the thorn out of your foot,
  • wiping the dog poo off the bottom of your shoe,
  • filling your gas tank,
  • joining a health club,
  • buying a bicycle,
  • and canceling your membership to a club of losers.

It’s a wonderful way to spring clean your life, repaint it, and spruce it up.

It’s weeding the garden and planting new, beautiful flowers.

Having the guts to commit to being real and honest, no matter what the cost, is a wonderful investment in your happiness and self-esteem.

The Midas Touch

People who live congruent lives feel that whatever they touch turns to gold – success starts to “flow” for them. Things start going their way.

  1. They breathe easier.
  2. They sleep well.
  3. They confront issues with courage and confidence.
  4. They seem to attract successful people and circumstances.
  5. They start liking and respecting themselves more, so others start treating them better, too.
  6. They come out of the closet, so to say, into the bright sunlight of energy, purpose, and freedom.

This is scary for losers, who live on excuses, but exciting for winners, who love creating their own dream lives:

“Every thought, word, action, cent, decision, commitment, second, minute, hour, and mouthful of food COUNTS.”

Evaluate Your Life

I encourage you to evaluate your life and decide if it’s congruent or not. Since 97% of our problems, including our most valuable resource – our time, can be solved or significantly alleviated with money, as I have found being a Joint Venture Broker to be the most valuable tool available for facilitating a life of congruency, freedom, and happiness.

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