Watching Richard Attenborough’s “Life of Birds” on PBS last night, I saw a striking example of nature’s socialist counterpart – the Cuckoo. There are so many parallels, and the analogy clearly describes the win/lose basis of socialism.

Nest Intrusion

Female European Cuckoos lay their eggs only in the nests of other bird species. The cuckoo egg usually closely resembles the eggs of the host bird (one of whose eggs is often removed by the cuckoo). The host may recognize the intruding egg and abandon the nest, or it may incubate and hatch the cuckoo egg.

Caring for Someone Else’s Babies

Shortly after hatching, the young European Cuckoo, using a scoop-like depression on its back, instinctively shoves over the edge of the nest any solid object that it contacts, including, of course, the eggs of the host bird! With the disappearance of their eggs and rightful offspring, the foster parents devote all of their care to the young cuckoo.

Frequently this is an extremely difficult task, since the cuckoo chick often grows much larger than the host adults long before it can care for itself. So you see a pair of small foster parents working very hard to keep up with the voracious appetite of an outsized young cuckoo – another bird’s young.

Socialism is Cuckoo!

Socialism tells us: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.”

So here we have the Cuckoo, laying her eggs in another bird’s nest, and having someone else raise her offspring, while her baby kills the offspring of the host bird! The producer (the host bird) does all the work, and ends up with nothing, while the parasite (Cuckoo) does no work and simply breeds more losers. Talk about the welfare state!

Here we have a clear, combined example of the perils of affirmative action, unions, collectivism, the dole, racism, statism, and multiculturalism! Scary!

The Perils of Socialized Government

Next time you hear people talking about socialized medicine, “giving back”, “sharing the wealth”, and raising the minimum wage, remember the Cuckoo. Socialism allows the government to steal your wealth and make you work for those who won’t take responsibility for their own lives. It forces you to sacrifice your family and quality of life for the leeches in our society. And it’s partner in crime, mysticism, simply reinforces this poisonous philosophy.

Ayn Rand said, in her wonderfully prophetic book, Atlas Shrugged, “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.”

You deserve the fruit of your labor;  don’t let some Cuckoo politician or witchdoctor steal it from you.

Imagine an architect who meets with a builder/developer and a town planner. The developer wants to build a magnificent building. He says, “I have this feeling that I should build something – not sure exactly what it should look like, or what it would cost, or where I would find the money, but what do you think?”

To which the town planner replies, “Well, I guess we could find some space somewhere,  after all, it sounds like a noble cause – we’ll come up with a space, I’m sure…”

…and the architect pipes up, “Well, I don’t want to be too rigid, and the front of the building could look more or less like this, but I have a feeling it will just come together – I’ll check with my psychic…”

…Ridiculous, right?

Do You Have an Irrational Approach?

That’s how most people try to build wealth.

• They rely on the wrong people giving them spurious advice.
• They rely on “gut feel.”
• They have no discipline.
• They spend more time planning a party than their old age, and they live in the moment like animals.
• But the worst aspect of this lack of planning or thought is the real underlying motive –refusal to take responsibility or to be held accountable.

That’s why the masses follow the mystics and witchdoctors of our time, why they live vicariously through sports teams and film stars, why they join cults, and why they become “course junkies”, waddling from seminar to seminar and never applying anything they learn. Cults are great for people who don’t want to have to think or make choices. It’s easier to be a sports fan on your couch, clutching a slice of pizza in your chubby paw, than to actually go and play the game.

If You’re Serious about Wealth Building

If we seriously want to build real wealth, we can’t hide behind silly excuses like “fate”, “destiny”, feelings, gods, demons, angels, spirits, and chance; we need to be very specific and logical.

“Feelings come and feelings go, but feelings are deceiving; I build my life on rational choices – naught else is worth believing.”

The architect builds for the future – the archeologist (like an accountant) looks at the past. Winners look to the future and leverage their past experiences, good as well as bad, while losers blame their past for their slothfulness and use the past as an excuse. Like blaming your failure on slavery that happened hundreds of years ago.

Engineer Your Future

Architects, builders, and town planners are very specific, logical, and realistic about what they do. Engineers building a bridge don’t make decisions based on hope, feelings, fortune tellers, psychics, or mystical expectations. When you want to build a bridge from where to are to where you want to be, you had better understand that bridges can collapse if they are not built properly. There is time, cost, responsibility, and accountability  involved. Without work, persistence and perseverance, no building can be built, and nothing of any real value accomplished.

Your Philosophy is Your Foundation

The foundation on which you plan your future is your philosophy. If your wealth philosophy is wrong, you will end up like most other people – poor, frustrated, resentful, jealous, and bitter.

Rika and I rented a boat last week and spent three hours boating in Howe Sound. It was a wonderful experience. The boat was well prepared, maintained, and full of gas. We had life jackets, a whistle, food, water, a map, hats, sunscreen, and a cell phone with us. We took advice from the people who rented us the boat. We were well prepared for the trip, we knew where we wanted to go, and what we wanted to do, we paid for the boat hire and insurance, and it worked out great. We didn’t wander down to the water and try to cut down a tree with a penknife to build a raft to go boating. Success is not random or ethereal.

If you would like to build wealth, travel to your Treasure Island, and be assured that your philosophy will enable you to accomplish that, DollarMakers is here for you.

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 first.

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.    Watch Out for These Personalities

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.   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.

When I talk with my incredible wife, we describe people to each other in terms of three descriptions:

1. DISC, or the four personality styles.
2. Commitment – people either have it or they don’t. This goes along with “Staying Power”
3. Do they have a Killer Instinct?

Aspects of a “Killer Instinct”

• People with a killer instinct are fearless closers.
• They don’t understand how to quit.
• They don’t back down, roll over, or wallow in the fetid swamp of politically correct, passive aggression.
• They are loyal soldiers, and they’ve got your back when you’re in a jam. Unlike pansy parasite posers, who will stab you in the back and steal the milk out of your tea with a permanent smile on their faces.

Trump Has Killer Instinct

Donald Trump is a real man. He said this of Revenge:

“There are a lot of bad people out there… if you have a problem with someone, you have to go after them. And it’s not necessarily to teach that person a lesson, it’s to teach all of the people that are watching a lesson, that you don’t take crap.

And if you take crap you’re just not gonna do well. So Be sharp, Be Smart.

It’s all about this (points to his head/brain) you have to have this to start off with. But you can’t take a lot of nonsense from people. You have to go after them. I have always believed it.

When a person screws you, screw them back 15 times over.”

Killer Instinct.

The Difference Between Someone with a Killer Instinct & a Pansy

Pansy: We knew someone who told us how he was going to change the world and create massive wealth. (Perhaps he thought he was his rich daddy.)

Anyway, his very first seminar was a failure because he teamed up with a loser, and he quit almost immediately. At the very first bump in the road, this pansy tucked his scrawny tail between his legs and ran for the hills!

Powerhouse: Winners don’t take “No” for an answer. They hardly even hear it!

I went on a sales call with one of my salespeople years back. We traveled for two hours to get to the prospect’s house, and at 7pm, after listening to our entire presentation, the prospect and his wife told us in no uncertain terms that they would definitely not buy our product. My salesman kept of selling. He closed the sale at 9pm.

When I got home at 11pm, my phone was ringing in my office. The customer wanted to cancel the sale. At 12.30am, and hour and a half later, I had closed him again. He stayed closed after that.

THAT, dear reader, is a Killer Instinct. No excuses, no turning back, no fear.

What kind of people do you have on your team?

The wimps will sabotage your success and undermine your efforts, while frustrating and irritating you.

The winners will make your life easy. They will motivate, encourage, and inspire you with their courage and innovation.

Losers say things like, “I couldn’t help it, it wasn’t my fault, I’ll do my best, I don’t have the time / money, people can’t afford it, times are tough, it’s the recession, my wife won’t let me, I don’t want to offend people, I need my rest…”

Winners take responsibility, seize the opportunity, and make it happen, whatever it takes, no matter how long it takes, 24/7/365.

Read “The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand, and see an example of a powerhouse who doesn’t compromise, carp, quit, or crawl.

Read this fascinating information from www.Sheep101.info and decide for yourself if you’re a sheep, or dealing with sheep.

Follow the Leader, Wait for Me

Sheep have a strong instinct to follow the sheep in front of them. When one sheep decides to go somewhere, the rest of the flock usually follows, even if it is not a good “decision.” For example, sheep will follow each other to slaughter. If one sheep jumps over a cliff, the others are likely to follow. Even from birth, lambs are conditioned to follow the older members of the flock. This instinct is “hard-wired” into sheep. It’s not something they “think” about.

Safety in Numbers

Sheep are gregarious. They will usually stay together in a group while grazing. A sheep will become highly agitated if it is separated from the group. It is the banding together in large groups which protects sheep from predators which will go after the outliers in the flock.

Social Animals

Sheep are a very social animal. Animal behaviorists note that sheep require the presence of at least 4 or 5 sheep which when grazing together maintain a visual link to each other.

Flocking Together

Flocking instinct is strongest in the fine wool breeds, but exists in all sheep breeds, to some extent. It is the sheep’s flocking instinct that allows sheep herders to look after and move large numbers of sheep and lambs.

Flee, not Fight

Sheep are a prey animal. When they are faced with danger, their natural instinct is to flee not fight. Their strategy is to use avoidance and rapid flight to avoid being eaten.

Safety in Numbers

After fleeing, sheep will reform their group and look at the predator. They use their natural herding instinct to band together for safety. A sheep that is by itself is vulnerable to attack.

Never a Straight Line

Sheep tracks are never straight. The winding of trails allows sheep to observe their backside first with one eye, then the other. Sheep can spot dogs or other perceived forms of danger from 1,200 to 1,500 yards away.

Pain

Sheep have an amazing tolerance for pain. They do not show pain, because if they do, they will be more vulnerable to predators who look for those who are weak or injured.

Leaders are not sheep.

• They are eagles, not ducks.
• They take responsibility and control.
• They lead the pack.
• They fight for their rights, and make no apologies for their values, beliefs, or choices. They confront issues and tell it the way it is.
• They have no need for the endorsement of others and they refuse to work with sheep.

Eagles don’t flock. They don’t live in fear and compromise, and they don’t sacrifice themselves or allow themselves to be taken advantage of by predatory mystics, politicians, parasites, or bureaucrats.

If you wish to be a leader, adjust your philosophy, remove the sheep from your life, and learn from eagles. You can soar to unprecedented heights and enjoy a good lamb stew with mint sauce.

What ten things should you look for to determine whether or not you should consider accepting a Joint Venture proposal? What criteria should you consider?

Here are some guidelines that I have used successfully over 22 years as a Joint Venture Broker.

1.    The Person:

Your potential JV partner needs to be thoroughly checked out and investigated before you JV with him or her. Look for clues and do your due diligence. Look at:

• whom they associate with,
• their level of professionalism and punctuality,
• their dress and grooming,
• preparation,
• philosophy,
• understanding of JV’s,
• and attitude.

Don’t be afraid to decline any JV at any stage – the more selective you are, the more money you will make.

Be sure who the real decision maker is – often it’s a spouse or lover or business partner behind the scenes, making the bullets for the front man to fire. ALWAYS, Only deal with the top guy, and never with the minions, managers, and puppets.

Don’t deal with new entrepreneurs who still have an employee mindset if you can avoid it.

2.    The Product of Service:

Avoid products that are really trends, fads, gimmicks, or new on the market, since these are usually vastly overpriced and will soon appear in Wal-Mart at a fraction of the price, which will embarrass you and diminish your reputation and status as a JV Broker.

They usually have a short lifespan, and people make money on the front end and pay for years on the back end for the damage done.

3.    The Past (history) of the Person and the Product or Service:

Past behavior predicts future behavior.

• How long has this person been doing JV’s?
• How long has the company and product been around?

Google, Google, Google, talk with their competition, and use a private detective if necessary.

Watch out for people who arrive new on the scene from far away – they’re often running away from something, or too many people know them in the town they left.

4.    The Pressure:

• Are you being pressured to implement it?
• Is your JV partner under financial pressure?

These are signs of desperation, and red flags to any JV Broker.

NEVER deal with a JV partner who has financial problems or is cheap (tight-fisted). You need confident, secure, relaxed, professional, mature JV Partners.

5.    The Potential of the JV Financially:

• How much money can you make?
• Is it really worth your time and effort?

Always include the back end and new relationships when evaluating the financial potential of a JV.

Look at the big picture, but also the time required and the cash flow component.

6.    The Potential of the JV Timewise:

• How long will it likely last?
• Is it a flash in the pan?
• Will it take ages to take off and then die a fast death?
• What is the track record, if any?

Avoid new inventions and start-ups like the plague.

7.    The Positioning or Fit within the Whole:

That means how it fits with your:

• other JV’s,
• database access,
• interest level,
• gut feel,
• your existing JV Partners,
• and experience.

You should feel comfortable, confident, excited, and secure with your new JV partners and the products / services involved. There should be a natural fit, especially on the back end.

8.   The Complexity:

• How Problematic is it?
• How complex, involved, convoluted, and abstruse is it?
• Or is it simple, straightforward, easy to implement and track?

Keep it very simple – often, the more complex, the more problems are being hidden. Complexity is often the sign of hidden dangers and agendas.

9.    The Pace:

• How quickly can you implement and integrate it with your other JV’s?
• How soon will it make you money?

Be realistic about your predictions.

10.    The Progress:

Once you have implemented the JV:

• …is it making progress?
• …are your JV partners doing what they said they would do?
• …is it working as well as you expected it to, or does it need to be either fixed or ditched?

Don’t be afraid to walk away at any time – you have millions of JV opportunities out there.

In today’s world, it is more important than ever to determine who is behind the book you’re reading, the course you’re attending, the event you sign up for.

When people can steal any information off the Internet,

• copy anyone else,
• plagiarize the writing of others,
• and buy impressive websites and claim titles,

…you’ll often find yourself dealing with someone who is not capable of supporting you or steering you in the right direction.

Who stands behind the screen?

I have just spent some time on a website all about Joint Ventures, offering memberships and chat rooms and you name it, but one thing has been carefully and strategically omitted from the site – the name and description and contact information of the PERSON behind the site.

There is no information on the JV’s that person has created – only rave reports about the book he completed with plagiarized writings, and I suspect he wrote most of the testimonials himself, using the names of non-existent people.

Shyster or Sage?

I don’t buy information – I buy the BASE and the philosophy behind that information, which comes in the form of a real person, not a twenty-something who lives in his mom’s basement and plays computer games all day. I like to learn from people who have actually done the things they teach and have proof of it.

Conmen and tricksters abound in this world, and there are a lot of seminars and courses being sold to vulnerable, desperate people who don’t take the time to do their due diligence of the leaders of those programs.

Red Flags

When you’re hiding, you usually have something to hide. When you’re not available, your name isn’t even a real name, and you don’t supply physical addresses or telephone numbers, I know there is something wrong, and I don’t accept what you have to teach.

What My Finely Tuned “BS Detector” Tells Me

I live in the real world and I make real money, doing Joint Ventures with real people, and after 21 years of doing this, my “BS Detector” is finely tuned. I always look at the man behind the screen before buying his snake oil or urgent, time-sensitive, one-of-a-kind, discounted, priced to sell, buy-one-get-one-free, “available today only” deals.

My Advice to You

Get to know the man behind the BS screen before you open your wallet, click the BUY NOW button, or run to the back of the seminar room to buy his trash or join her club. Who is John Galt?

• Do things often, inexplicably, fail for you, while working for other people?
• Do you feel that you’re climbing an impossible, icy mountain, while others seem to skip effortlessly to the top?
• Does everything you touch turn to grime or to gold?

Does Guilt Have It’s Hooks In You?

Do you have relatives that put a “guilt trip” on you when you succeed? “How dare you sail the Caribbean while your family needs money?”

Do you feel guilty when you do well, while others are suffering?

Do you self sabotage to prevent that feeling? “How can you drive that smart car while your brother doesn’t even have a car?” Does this sound familiar? “How can you live in that nice house when millions are homeless?”

Is Wrong Philosophy Robbing You?

We earn money and succeed in life in direct proportion to our self-worth, or self-esteem.

When your philosophy tells you:

• that you are worthless, bad, undeserving, and greedy because you like to enjoy the money you earned,
• or that money is bad, and that you should, in fact, sell what you have and lower your standard of living so that you can give your money to others,

you have a rotten philosophy.

Guilt and the wrong philosophy rob millions of people of success, wealth, and happiness.

It’s ALL How You Look at It

The way you INTERPRET your life, circumstances and opportunities, is what will determine your success or failure in life, and your philosophy or world view is that filter by which you interpret your life.

You have built the life you have brick by brick, whether it is a good or a bad life, by the choices you have made. The same applies to others.

The “Robin Hood” philosophy of robbing the rich to give their hard-earned money to the “poor” parasites out there who made bad choices, is the seed of socialism. Tax the rich to pay for the sloth of the poor.

Are You Letting the Past Undermine the Future?

The bad choices you made in the past don’t have to continually undermine your future. Guilt is a rope that wears thin.

You can Break Free from guilt, self-sabotage, and disappointment by changing your philosophy. When you change your philosophy to one that empowers, one that is based on personal responsibility and objective reality, you will find your life changing dramatically for the better. The anchor of guilt is cut away, and you can soar to unprecedented heights.

What Works Best for Me

Of all the philosophies and options out there, the one that has worked best for me is that of Objectivism.

• It provides me with the tools for freedom, success, happiness, and self-fulfillment.
• It sets me free from false guilt and the attacks of the looters, moochers, and parasites.

Self-discipline and the right philosophy improve your self esteem, you feel you deserve the best and you realize you are entitled to the life that you create. Altruism, collectivism, and mysticism will rip your happiness from your hands, steal your joy, and rob you blind. In fact, those philosophies are designed to blind you to the potential you have for love, success, wealth, and creativity.

Build the Life You Want

• You can build the life you want and be free of guilt and condemnation.
• You can be free and happy, and when your philosophy changes, you will find things falling in to place – fast.
• You can live with virtue and integrity, and make all your dreams come true.

It’s not too late to break free.