Blog Entries for causeofliberty

Healing Economic Wounds

causeofliberty — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 02:00:00 +0100

How To Influence the External Economy With Internal DecisionsEvery expert in America agrees that our economy is under serious strain. We even hear speculation that the U.S. is headed for another Great Depression. The government bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will cost taxpayers $5.3 trillion. The proposed $700 billion bailout of other notable financial firms is a Band-aid approach to a gaping-wound quandary.

So what is the long-term solution? Does the current crisis represent t [...]

Book Review Response #3: What You Should Do With Your 401(k)

causeofliberty — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 02:00:00 +0100

| Book Review | Response #1 | Response #2 |

This is the continuation of a series of responses to a review of Killing Sacred Cows by Helen Huntley, personal finance editor for the St. Petersburg Times. While she does her best to give a synopsis of the book without reading it entirely, at one point she says, “…the main purpose of the book seems to be to convince you to cash you’re your 401(k) -- [Garrett] doesn’t mind that you have to pay income tax and [...]

Killing Sacred Cows A Bestseller!

causeofliberty — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 02:00:00 +0100

It's official. Killing Sacred Cows just hit #3 on Amazon.com's bestseller list, just below Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer and The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. Furthermore, it is #1 in two categories: Popular Economics and Personal Finance, both of which are subcategories of Business and Investing.

When you click on the link above, be aware that Amazon's list is updated hourly, so the rankings fluctuate. We've mostly stayed in the top ten since yesterday (August 12). [...]

Book Review Response #2: The Main Purpose & Primary Focus of Killing Sacred Cows

causeofliberty — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 02:00:00 +0100

| Book Review | Response #1 |

In a recent review in the St. Petersburg Times, personal finance editor Helen Huntley writes, "[Killing Sacred Cows] makes some good points. I agree that you need to take responsibility for your own financial success and you should invest in yourself and your money-making potential. However, the main purpose of the book seems to be to convince you to cash out your 401(k) -- he doesn't mind that you have to pay income tax and possibly a 10% penal [...]

Book Review Response #1: Deception Vs. Value Creation

causeofliberty — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 02:00:00 +0100

Our last blog post introduced a recent book review by Helen Huntley, the personal finance editor of the St. Petersburg Times.

This is the first response of a series.

Deception Vs. Value Creation

Helen begins her review by writing, “I don't ordinarily do book reviews, but I often read portions of the books that publishers send me. Sadly, quite a few of them are little more than thinly-veiled sales pitches for the author's business. One of the worst of the [...]

A Great Review of Killing Sacred Cows...And An Opportunity To Respond

causeofliberty — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 02:00:00 +0100

Helen Huntley, the personal finance editor for the St. Petersburg Times in Florida, recently gave a great review of Killing Sacred Cows that gives us an excellent opportunity to clarify the message of the book.

While she admits only reading parts of the book—and the review must therefore be understood in that context—she does make some good points that we’d like to respond to in the next series of blog posts.

The following is her review of the parts of the book [...]

My Experience With Affiliate Marketing: How To See Through Any Business/Investment Proposal

causeofliberty — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 01:00:00 +0100

I recently had an opportunity to apply the lessons that Garrett and I teach in Killing Sacred Cows.

I've been studying affiliate marketing lately to see if it is a viable opportunity with a solid value proposition. Online affiliate marketing means to market the products and services of others in order to earn a commission from the product creator.

On the surface it sounds like a great model--you don't even have to create your own products, all you have to do is market, [...]

A Lesson in Being A Producer From Booker T. Washington

causeofliberty — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 01:00:00 +0100

“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.” -Henry David Thoreau

In our last post we defined consumers and producers and made clear that the one choice to become a producer is the single most important factor in determining your prosperity.

Booker T. Washington was an extraordinary producer from whom we can learn many valuable lessons. He was born a slave in Virginia, was freed after t [...]

Definitions: Consumers, Producers, Scarcity, & Abundance

causeofliberty — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 02:00:00 +0100

"Always make your contribution bigger than your reward." -Dan Sullivan

When it comes to your personal prosperity, one of the most important things you can learn and internalize is the critical difference between Consumers and Producers. The decision to become a Producer, no matter what life throws at you, will d [...]

Determinant Paradigms: Scarcity vs. Abundance

causeofliberty — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 02:00:00 +0100

“Riches secured on the competitive plane are never satisfactory and permanent; they are yours today, and another’s tomorrow. Remember, if you are to become rich in a scientific and certain way, you must rise entirely out of the competitive thought. You must never think for a moment that the supply is limited. Just as soon as you begin to think that all the money is being “cornered” and controlled by bankers and others, and that you must exert yourself to get [...]

On Facing Fear

causeofliberty — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 02:00:00 +0100

How are you limited by fear? Is it keeping you from living your ideal life?

Paul Slovic , a psychologist at the University of Oregon, has spent decades studying how we decide what’s risky and what isn’t. His studies have shown that how risky something actually is has almost noth [...]

High Risk = High Returns?

causeofliberty — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 02:00:00 +0100

“Over the years, an investor’s financial objectives and tolerance for risk may change. An investor with a longer time horizon may be willing to take more risk for potentially greater reward than one with a shorter time horizon…Generally, the riskier the investment, the greater its possible reward.”

-Taken from a marketing piece of a leading financial institution

How can you increase your investment returns? Is it by increasing your risk, as so many fi [...]

The Top 5 Reasons Why You Should NOT Invest Your Home Equity

causeofliberty — Tue, 27 May 2008 02:00:00 +0100

…And How To Overcome Them

In the past few years, hundreds of people have invested home equity, only to lose it all and get into serious financial trouble. With this in mind, here are five reasons why you should not invest your home equity. Avoiding these five pitfalls will prepare you to safely maximize the productivity of all your financial resources, including home equity.

Reason #1: Personal Consumption

causeofliberty — Fri, 23 May 2008 02:00:00 +0100

Getting Rich Your Own Way, written by Srully Blotnick, details a study that began in 1960 of 1,500 people representing a cross-section of middle-class America.

Throughout the twenty-year study, they lost almost a third of participants due to deaths, moves, or other factors. Of the 1,057 that remained, 83 had bec [...]

Are you doing what you were born to do?

causeofliberty — Fri, 23 May 2008 02:00:00 +0100

“A person can have many talents and gifts and do many things exceptionally well, but your vein of gold, ah...That is the thing you do superbly.” -Julia Cameron

America's earliest citizens believed in an ideal that they called Providence, which is something th [...]

The Platinum Rule

causeofliberty — Thu, 22 May 2008 01:00:00 +0100

Do you serve people as they want to be served, or as you would like to be served?

A young boy and his father were once shopping for a Mother's Day gift. The boy eagerly found toys and asked his father if they could buy them. "No," came the reply, "We're shopping [...]

How can you make productive thinking habitual?

causeofliberty — Wed, 21 May 2008 02:00:00 +0100

The mind is incredibly powerful, yet it must be consistently trained and guided if you want to truly tap its limitless capacity. An excellent way to facilitate this mental discipline is to consistently ask yourself the right questions.

Your brain is designed to answer every question you give it. The types of [...]

Where is your focus--on principles, or strategies?

causeofliberty — Wed, 21 May 2008 02:00:00 +0100

Would you rather have Tiger Woods’ golf clubs, or his swing? Do you rely upon principles, or strategies?

A golf club, however expensive and perfectly crafted, is worthless in the hands of a person who doesn't know how to use it. Likewise, those who rely upon strategy alone—without a basis in principle&m [...]

Doing Is a Product of Thinking

causeofliberty — Wed, 21 May 2008 02:00:00 +0100

In your journey to financial freedom, do you identify wealthy people and try to do what they did, or do you try to think like they thought?

The actions of people are value neutral; what gives all actions value are the thoughts and intents behind them. Two people could perform the exact same action but have different r [...]