By Oliver DeMille The New Culture War During the Cold War, people came to equate the three ideas of democracy, capitalism and free enterprise. This made sense at some level, since the whole world seemed inescapably divided into authoritarian, totalitarian, socialist and communist nations on the one hand and democratic, capitalistic and free … [Read more...]
A Genie & Entrepreneurship
By Oliver DeMille The old Cold War-era joke is told of an American, a Frenchman, and a Russian, lost in the wilderness, who find a lamp and rub it. Out comes a Genie. He offers them each one wish, for a total of three. The American pictures the large ranch owned by the richest people in the valley where he grew up, and wishes for a ranch ten … [Read more...]
Debts and Deficits: A Jane Austen Story
by Oliver DeMille Chapter I: A Truth Universally Acknowledged It is a truth universally acknowledged, that when a nation treats business badly, corporations with extra capital take it abroad and the home nation faces job losses and economic challenges. Such nations experience widespread anxiety about their future, problems feel overwhelming, … [Read more...]
Replacing Subtle Lies With the Elusive Obvious
By Garrett Gunderson Blatant lies are easy to recognize and avoid; the subtle lies can ultimately be more destructive because they are much more difficult to detect and uproot. Subtle lies seem to make sense and to carry a certain air of credibility. They are often supported by supposed proof and factual evidence that spread and perpetuate … [Read more...]
The Rise of Social Leadership
By Oliver DeMille It’s been decades since Peter Drucker predicted that non-profit organizations would be America’s biggest growth sector, and his foresight has proven accurate. However, he didn’t foretell one of the leadership trend of our time: Social Leadership. Political leadership has been a central part of life for centuries, business … [Read more...]
The Safest & Quickest Way to Become Debt-Free
By Garrett Gunderson Hint: It’s not about your loan interest rates. You want to get out of debt so you can reduce your risk, increase your cash flow, and have greater peace of mind, right? Here’s the fastest and safest way to do it: 1. Roll Non-Deductible Loan Interest into Deductible Loans Assuming you have enough home equity and good … [Read more...]
Attitude Determines Your Altitude
By Orrin Woodward Imagine your brain as a garden and you as the gardener. What do you allow to grow in the fertile soil of your brain? Ideas have consequences in a person’s life, much like plants produce fruit in a garden. The key question is what fruit is being harvested from the plants growing in your garden? Attitude is a … [Read more...]
Balance Sheet Myths That Stifle Your Prosperity
By Garrett Gunderson Your financial balance sheet measures the difference between your assets and liabilities to determine whether you’re in debt or if you have equity (net worth). Assets are things that either generate cash flow for you, or that could potentially create cash flow. Liabilities are things that incur expenses, such as a … [Read more...]
The Key to Creativity – Don’t Pity the Fool
By Chris Brady "Most people can't dream too big, cause they have things to keep." --song lyric by Sugarland In the days of monarchs, in which nearly every hill or dale was the domain of a small feudal lord called Sir or Count or Duke, court jesters were often employed. These professional fools were given license for a free and crazy … [Read more...]
Find Success in the Fork in the Road
By Orrin Woodward It’s before 7 AM, on a foggy Saturday morning, and my mind is mulling over the personal development habits that produce champions. Everyone, without exception, can become a champion by changing his daily habits. One of the problems in life, is that bad habits are easy to develop, while good habits are hard to develop. … [Read more...]