How People Use Mysticism to Conceal Their Bad Choices

Joint Ventures, Objectivism, capitalism, philosophy, self-improvement 3 Comments »

“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:

psychics and swamis,
fakirs and fakers,
gurus and grifters,
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.

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An Orchestral Joint Venture Analogy

Business Etiquette, Joint Ventures, management, philosophy No Comments »

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.

The drummer could be retail,
The saxophonist could be MLM,
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.

Have You Created Your Own, Personal, “Galt’s Gulch” Yet?

Joint Ventures, Objectivism, capitalism, philosophy 1 Comment »

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.

Doing Business With No Cost And No Risk

Business Owners, Entrepreneurship, Joint Ventures, philosophy No Comments »

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

Use leverage and existing resources instead of paying for new ones. Work strategically and don’t rely on any one source of income.
Pay for results, not promises.
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.
When you smell a rat, RUN. Cut bait. Delete. Immediately.
Test people in many ways to make sure they are still loyal and honest. Be a detective.
Don’t disclose the identities of your Joint Venture partners.
Triangulate deals – don’t sell your own products and services.
Align yourself with people who share your philosophy – don’t link up with mystics, socialists, environmentalists, or reverse racists.
Don’t trust government or work with government or their agents.
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.

Life After People / Producers

capitalism, philosophy, self-improvement 1 Comment »

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.

Success by Design

Joint Ventures, capitalism 1 Comment »

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.

Are You Being Buggered by Your Bogus Blueprint?

Business Etiquette, Business Owners, Joint Ventures, capitalism, philosophy, self-improvement 1 Comment »

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:

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.
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.
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.
Create an action plan with specific, measurable, time-related steps.
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.

How to Do Your Due Diligence on Potential Joint Venture Partners

Business Etiquette, Entrepreneurship, Joint Ventures 2 Comments »

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.

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