Man Among Boys

This post has 487 words. It will take approximately 4 minutes, 52 secondes for reading it.

There is an old adage in football that “speed kills.”  If you have a fast team you can do other things that other teams simply can’t.

However, I think greed kills even more.

We’ve all seen where a running back or wide receiver breaks away and a defensive back is left alone with him, coming full steam ahead.  Now the defensive back has two choices:

1. Tackle the player, wrap him up, make sure you put him down, and get your defense off the field.
2. Keep coming full steam ahead and lay a hit on him that will knock him out.

All too often I’ve seen the defensive back go for the “greed” play and try to lay the player out. That’s what would look better and make the highlights….and all too often, the offensive player just bounces off the hit and keeps on going to the end zone.

Greed kills a lot of things.  Greed can kill your “hustle” too.

I read a lot of blogs that encourage you to “go for self” and to do what works best for you.  That’s a good path to success…to a point.  Once you involve other people in your hustle (customers, partners, suppliers)  it’s not just your hustle anymore, no matter how much you may think so.  You may have control and be responsible for the decision making, but you have to take other people into consideration.  If you get too greedy and people think you aren’t looking out for them, they begin to look our for themselves.  Things begin to break down when others think they aren’t getting their fair share or you aren’t acting in their best interest.

The key is to reinvent the process so everyone looks towards the end goal.  Everyone has to believe that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.  That recipe works in life as well.

If you’ve ever seen the 2005 film “A Beautiful Mind”, you’ll know what I’m   talking about.  There is a scene where Nash (played by Russell Crowe) and his friends are in a bar trying to get at the prettiest girl in the place.  They almost get to be like crabs in a barrel, each man downing the next in front of her.  As you can guess, none of them get her attention.  Nash realized that by being greedy and looking out only for ones self would lead only to short term gain.  For lasting success, you have to get buy-in from others, and you only do that by putting others’ interest on par with your own.

(There has to be something to it.  It got Nash a share of the 1994 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.)

The moral is don’t get greedy.  As soon as you thinking only about yourself, you’ll find yourself by yourself.

Feel free to comment.

• Success Key: Some Succeed, Others Fail . . . Why? “Some succeed, others fail . . . why?”  This question has mystified people since humans...
• Do I Need to Forgive Myself? Do we ever need to forgive ourselves? For  a long time my response to this...
• Communication On A Membership Site A variety of dissimilar types of membership sites that are useable, Web 2.0 web sites...

This post has 394 words. It will take approximately 3 minutes, 56 secondes for reading it.

When I was a kid, I loved ripping through the Sunday comics (some papers don’t even have that anymore).  One of my favorite comics was “The Phantom”, who the natives called “The Ghost Who Walks.”  The Phantom started as a young boy named Christopher Walker, the only survivor of a pirate attack that was washed ashore on a Bengallan beach.  He swore an oath on the skull of his father’s killer to dedicate his life to the destruction of piracy and to be a hero for good with his sons and their sons to follow him. Making a costume based on the image of an old jungle idol, he became the Phantom. When he died, his son took over the role of the Phantom, and “The Phantom” was passed down generation after generation, leaving people to him the name “The Ghost Who Walks”, believing him to be immortal.

(Note:  Now I’m not here to debate how The Phantom had sons since there was no female love interest, what kind of dude walks around the jungle in purple spandex, how the costume never got tattered and lasted hundreds of years, or why a white guy had to swoop into the dark jungle to civilize the savages.  I’m just trying to make point.  Stay with me on this one.)

Now, no one with half an ounce of brain thought The Phantom was immortal, but what was more important is what he stood for.  The Phantom was a symbol, a legacy, something that would last past his natural life time.  Tales of his deeds would last long beyond his years.

Can you say the same?  Will people be talking about what you did long after you are gone?

Your life is finite, but what you do with your life defines how you live on.  The New York Yankees are a perfect example. As I wrote in another post (“Let’s Hear It For New York”), George Steinbrenner died, but his legacy through the Yankees will live on.  Love him or hate him, you know his legacy, and unless you’re a Sox fan, probably had a NYY ball cap at one time or another.

What we do in life determines how we’re remembered.  Our deeds will outlive our days.

Will you be remembered as a “Ghost Who Walks”?

Feel free to comment.

• Yankees owner George Steinbrenner dies at 80 [/caption] NEW YORK —George Steinbrenner, who rebuilt the New York Yankees into a sports empire...
• On the shoulders of a mother's love [/caption] By Wang Huazhong (China Daily) Unlike most people who connect the image of a...
• 100 Thing challenge What do you think, could you do it? I have to admit I've pared down...

This post has 473 words. It will take approximately 4 minutes, 43 secondes for reading it.

Don’t tell me we can’t work together because you’re a Christian and I’m a Muslim.  Hungry is hungry, and hungry doesn’t give a damn what your religion is – Minister Louis Farrakhan

One of the marks of being a man is being able to set aside differences for the greater good and focus on what’s important. We may not always agree, but we can co-exist.  That’s one on the hallmarks of this great nation of ours.  So I’m asking myself why the President’s religion is so important.

People are really making a big deal out of this because the President said that Muslim worshipers should be able to build their mosque two blocks from Ground Zero.  He said the government doesn’t have the right to dictate what religion does as long as they are within the law.

(Note: …and Obama’s right about that one.  They legally have the right to and they have the land to build it.  If the Jewish wanted to build a synagogue there and they own the land, mazel tov.  If Catholics wanted to build a church there and they owned the land, they can do that little sprinkle, sprinkle baptism thing they do all day long.  But I digress…)

Some people are using that an excuse to say that Obama’s muslim, which he isn’t.  He’s Christian.  The White House is coming out with releases saying that the President goes to church, abides by the Ten Commandments, and knows the New Testament front and back.  I’m saying they shouldn’t have to.

If Obama came out tomorrow and said that he was Muslim and chose to pray to the East five times a day…so f*cking what??? Does that effect his ability to do his job?  Does that effect his ability to lead the nation?  Does that hinder his ability to move us out of this depression we’re in?

Remember, George Bush is Christian, and he didn’t exactly lead us to the land of milk and honey.

We’re supposed to have freedom of religion in this country.  That’s one of the reasons the Revolutionary War was fought, to be free from oppression.  I’m not arguing if Obama is or isn’t Muslim; I’m arguing that you shouldn’t care.  Religious freedom shouldn’t stop at the White House steps.

You should care that he’s doing his job.  If you want him out because you think he’s making our standard living worse, I can respect that.  If you want him out because you think the reads he Koran instead of the Bible, you need to have your head checked.

I just want him to bring our boys home and lower my damn taxes.

Feel free to comment.

• Fantasy in Real Terms by Teal Ceagh, guest blogger and author of Destiny's Trinities trilogy. Today, you might be...
• When a Heroine Hijacks Her Personality and More! by Beth Cornelison Guest Blogger, author of Healing Luke. Hi and thank you so much...
• Review: In Over Her Head by Judi Fennell In Over Her Head is the ultimate beach read. No, seriously, it is. You have...

This post has 480 words. It will take approximately 4 minutes, 48 secondes for reading it.

The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.  Just because something may look better doesn’t mean it is.  It’s rough all over right now.

When I took this job in Costa Rica, it looked like a great opportunity.  Hell, it still is, no real complaints.  I had the opportunity to experience another country and culture, all on the company’s dime.  No real negatives to speak of.  There were plenty of people that were happy for me.

There were also people that downed it, even some in my own family.  Don’t get me wrong, they were happy for me, but thought the opportunity was just another example of the falling of America.  They said I was helping my company grow in another country and take jobs, and that they couldn’t be as good as the people in the United States.  They said we were losing jobs and that eventually everyone may have to move abroad just to find work.  I argued back and forth about the topic, but I can understand their point.  The United States is losing jobs to other countries because of cheaper ,and in some cases, better educated labor.  My staff all have a bachelor’s degree, and at least 75% are pursuing their master’s degree.  Education is basically free here, financed by a higher tax rate.  The labor market in Costa Rica is becoming more and more attractive.

But that doesn’t mean that other countries aren’t feeling the pinch too.  If you follow me on Twitter (http://twitter.com/truemanmab), you know that I bought the paper this morning like I usually do…

(Note:  I LOVE La Teja.  Love it.  They’re some great journalists working there and they have a lot of insight into local events.  There’s a picture of one of the local events now   Check out http://lateja.co.cr )

…but his morning was a bit different.  I stuck my arm out the window, gave my colones to the Nicaraguan guy on the corner, got my paper, and we pulled off.  But a block up, another vendor, a Costa Rican woman, ran up to the car offering the same paper.  When I already told her I bought from the guy up the block, she cussed me out like no other woman has (that’s saying something too) for buying a paper from a “nasty” Nicaraguan.  She went onto say how Nicaraguans were taking all the jobs in Costa Rica, and that soon there wouldn’t be any jobs for any Costa Ricans.

Next time I see here, I’ll tell her to go up to the United States.  With the way things are going, there are plenty of jobs for her up there.  Then she can hear Americans complain how she’s taking their jobs.  It’s rough all over.

Feel free to comment.

• Top-secret America: A hidden world, growing beyond control [/caption] top-secret america: part 1 of a 3-part series from the Washington Post By Dana...
• Enjoying a World Coin Collection Most people who begin to collect coins actually do so by collecting regional coins from...
• Consumer Confidence in United States has Increased The level of consumer confidence in the United States rose unexpectedly in November, rebounding from...

This post has 74 words. It will take approximately 44 secondes for reading it.

This one is a no brainer.  It should be a slam dunk  to see why this one falls into the “Just Not Manly” category.  Basically if you have to rent your rims, ya dumb ass shouldn’t be buying them.  I guess Chris Rock was right; n***as will put rims on a toaster if you let em’…even if they have to make weekly payments.

Get ya gotdamn priorities in order.  Man up!

• Men's Beginner Skis When an individual is learning a new sport, having equipment that is supportive to novice...
• Causing Change Even though everyone is a part of the collective energies used in psionics, not everyone...
• Trying To Change Your Man? How many times have you heard women's discontent with their male partners? While some women...

This post has 677 words. It will take approximately 6 minutes, 46 secondes for reading it.

A man should be able to admit when someone outworks him and be motivated to do more.  I got outworked.  I got outhustled. You did too.  I don’t care who you are.

I was watching CNN while I was doing my morning cardio and they showcased a story on Steve Ortiz of Glendora, California. Pretty much your normal 17 year old high school kid…except that he gets it.  He knows how to hustle.  He found an angle and made it work for him.

He started with an old cell phone and turned that into a 2000 Porsche Boxster.  That some return on investment for your ass right there.

Basically he looked at the market, found what the demand was and kept it moving.  It’s something we can all learn from.  He started with an old cell phone and used the bartering section on Craigslist to get a better cell phone.  Then he traded that cell phone for an IPad.  An Ipad for a dirtbike.  Dirtbike for a Mac Book Pro, and on and on.  After two years and 14 trades, he finally got a Porsche.

Wow.  I have to admit that’s an angle I hadn’t thought of, using Craigslist that way.  The way he did it is like buying penny stocks until you get enough to buy on the Exchange.  Hats off to him.  He admits it wasn’t easy but he talked about a few things that you need to have to make this, or any hustle work:

(Note: He didn’t say some of these things directly, but you could pull them from the teenage language; after all, he’s still 17. He may not even know what he did, but he had the gumption to do it)

• Vision – he knew he didn’t want an old cell phone. It was a starting point, and he knew that if he worked hard enough he could do better. He had the vision to see that there was potential and there could me more.
• Perseverance – Ortiz openly admits that it wasn’t easy.  It took 2 hours a day of scouring Craigslist for potential trade partners.  It took 14 trades and two years to get to the Porsche.  He probably heard “you’re crazy” a lot and got rejected.  That didn’t seem to deter him.  The young man kept going.
• Managing Up – This is a key one that we can use in any business transaction.  “Managing Up” means to control a situation even though you may not be in a dominant position (ex – trying to get something from your boss).  You won’t always be in a position of strength but you have to always appear that you are.  Present your product as the best option, whatever it is, and try to make it seem like it was their idea.  Don’t automatically concede to the other party just because they have something you want.  When Ortiz traded that old cell phone for a newer model, he wasn’t in a position of strength.  Who wants an old cell phone?  But he got the deal done.
• Your Word Is Your Bond – Don’t say something that you’re not willing to do.  You’ll get a bad reputation and people will see through you.  If you say that this is your final offer, don’t make another one after it.  If you say that they have to increase their offer or you’ll walk away, and they don’t increase the offer, walk away.  Otherwise, people will take what you say as empty words and will never take you seriously.

I know I’ve learned a few things.  If a 17 year old could do this with an old cell phone, just think of what someone with some experience and motivation could do.

I think I’m going to start hitting Craigslist myself.  I have a some old business suits and an old surround stereo that I’m not using anymore. I’ll be living in a mansion in the hills in no time.

Feel free to comment.

• Ebay Tips For Sellers For the last few weeks I have been selling items on eBay to finance two...
• Saratoga Country Club The Saratoga Country Club is located in: Saratoga, CA Phone: 408-253-0340   Website: http://www.saratogacc.com/ Course...
• Chrysler's $2.99 Gas Promotion Chrysler is touting a new promotion that promises to make $2.99 gas available to Americans...

This post has 530 words. It will take approximately 5 minutes, 18 secondes for reading it.

You may not have heard or even care, but Yankees owner George Steinbrenner died this week.  He was 80 years old.  Whether you like him or not, or even you don’t even like baseball, he’s had an impact on your life…

Ever hear of the Yankees?

Steinbrenner took a club that was struggling in 1973 and turned it into a powerhouse .  Nicknamed “The Boss”, he pushed and shoved until he got his team to the forefront of the sport, making it to the World Series 10 times and winning three championships from 1998 – 2000.  He also created a business model that we can follow today, not only in our professional lives, but our personal lives as well.  There are some pretty effective, yet simple, rules…

• Winning Trumps All – Steinbrenner wanted to win at all costs, and he didn’t care who knew it.  He was often quoted as saying, “Winning is the most important thing in my life, after breathing.  Breathing first, winning next.”  Second place wasn’t good enough.  He wiped his ass with pennants (regular season division championships) that other teams would kill for.  Only World Championships mattered.  Steinbrenner wanted to win more than anything, and if you worked for him, you’d better too, or else he would…
• Change People – Steinbrenner seemed to live by a quote that I once read from Jack Welsh, former CEO of General Electric: “Change people…or change people.”  (If you haven’t read Welsh’s book, “Winning”, you’re missing the point).  Work with those you can change, but if you can’t change them, get rid of them.  Steinbrenner  changed managers nearly 24 times and gave the ax to more than a dozen general managers.  Managers names should have been written on their door in pencil.  If you didn’t produce, you knew you were gone.
• Pay For The Best – I’ve blogged before about the Yankees “buy-not-build” philosophy before.  Hey it works.  Steinbrenner was notorious from prying the best players from their teams by opening his checkbook.  Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia, and countless others.  If you see the best and know it will make you successful, you’re going to have to pay for it.  Don’t be afraid to.
• Stay Ahead Of The Curve – At a time when most clubs were thinking how to sell more hot dogs and baseball caps, Stenibrenner negotiated a huge cable television contract, 12 years, $486 million…in 1988.   When others moved onto TV contracts, he started the Yankees own YES network.  The Yankees are now worth more than 100 times what he paid, in large part because he saw what others couldn’t see and stayed ahead of the curve.
• Transcend The Game – Steinbrenner knew that to be successful at the game, he had to stand above it.  Like Ali in his boxing career, he became bigger than the sport of baseball, building his brand along the way.  Even if you didn’t like baseball, you knew who the Yankees were.  Love him or hate him, you knew his personal brand.

Follow the rules and you’ll be successful and navigate your own ship…but you’ll never be “The Boss”

R.I.P George Steinbrenner.   Feel free to comment.

• Rich College Student: Debt Repayment Welcome carnival visitors! If this is your first time here, please look around and leave...
• The Weakonomist Reads A Book: Predictably Irrational I love behavioral economics, the study of how thoughts and emotions influence our decisions.  My...
• 2010 NFL Draft Pick List and Results - Round 1 [/caption] 1(1) St. Louis Rams Sam Bradford QB Oklahoma What he brings: There are concerns...

This post has 435 words. It will take approximately 4 minutes, 21 secondes for reading it.

But every now and then,

I wonder if that gate was put up to keep crime out,

Or keep our ass in – Cee Lo from the group Goodie Mob from the song “Cell Therapy”

I’m on my soapbox on this one.  If you can’t stand some truth, don’t read on.

Some people can’t do right.  Some people just refuse to do right, for whatever reason.  But for some knuckle-headed reason, we keep reaching to them because of some perceived bond, whether that be color, gender, or bloodline.  I’m as loving and as tolerant as the next man, and in many cases (believe it or not), even more so.  But eventually, you have to let people to, or they’ll pull you down with them.

I was IM’ing with a friend today about a case where he saw a homeless man masturbating in public.  People looked on in disgust, as they should have.  What are we supposed to do about that?  Is that acceptable?  I’m sorry that he’s homeless, but he’s a blight on our society, especially acting like that.

What about repeat criminal offenders? Guys that come out of jail just to f*ck up and go back.  If  you mess up once fine, but after that, if you go back you don’t deserve to come out.  I remember talking with another friend back home years ago in the states who told me about someone we knew coming up that stayed coming in and out of jail…they finally killed someone.  Were we supposed to keep extending our hand to them saying “It will be OK, you’ll get it right one day”?  You can’t be that stupid.

Society once thought to take those that could not function in normal society and send them off to the far reaches of the planet.  We can’t do that now because the world’s been mapped and “civilized” for the most part…but we can take all those “can’t do rights”, put them in some old rockets we aren’t using anyway, and shoot their sorry asses into the sun!

I have an idea.  Let’s round up all the miscreants and lowlifes.  Give them free housing complete with a mini mall, bowling alley, liquor store, movie theater, and a supermarket right in their own little neighborhood.  Then wrap the whole damn thing with a 12 foot tall ghetto style back gate…and electrify it.

And in case you have to ask…yeah, it’s put up to keep ya ass in.

Feel free to comment.

• The Simple Solution For Losing Weight Many people find it impossible to stick to a diet and consistently fail to lose...
• Bvlgari Aqua By Bvlgari For Men. Eau De Toilette Spray 3.4 Ounces User Reviews Send this to a friend Bvlgari Aqua By Bvlgari For Men. Eau De...
• 450 Random Useless Facts [/caption] Most American car horns honk in the key of F. The name Wendy was...

This post has 302 words. It will take approximately 3 minutes, 1 seconde for reading it.

I’m not broke enough.  I can’t be.

I was reading an article today on MSN.com that talked about 10 self made billionaires that went from rags to riches.

The meat of the article focused on Guy Laiberte, the creator and founder of Cirque du Solei.  He’s paid out the rectum now since his product was bought by Steve Wynn in 1991, but before that, he was a street performer in Europe and Canada.  In 1987, he took his act on the road, relocating from Quebec to Los Angeles in search of his fortune. Win or lose, he was going for it.  If he lost, he wouldn’t have gas money to get home.

But he took a chance.

I say that because I haven’t taken many chances lately.  I’m still adjusting to my new life and position here, but I still could be doing more.  Maybe I’m getting comfortable.  Maybe I’m not broke enough.

Being broke will keep your eye on the ball.  When you’re broke, you calculate every move and count every dollar because you don’t have a lot of room for error.  No one likes to be broke.  Being broke limits your options.  You have to work; you have to budget.

Being broke is also a great motivator.  Being broke can be a positive when you need a good kick in the ass.    Being broke can make you look at an old situation in a whole new light.  Being broke makes you create and execute.  You have to think, plan, and deduce.  You have to grind and hustle.  You have no where to go but up because you’re already at the bottom.

Being broke can be a great thing…as long as you don’t want to be.

Feel free to comment.

• Article Writing And Distribution For Maximum Free Website Traffic Article writing and distribution to article directories can provide you with the most free website...
• Money Hacks Carnival #62 at Financial Highway Money Hacks Carnival #62 was hosted at Financial Highway. Looks like the host is e...
• Weekly Wrap Up March 9-15 [/caption] It has been a busy week but I definitely want to shine the light...

This post has 516 words. It will take approximately 5 minutes, 9 secondes for reading it.

I was reading an edition of USA Today this week and came across and interesting article.  The article mentioned that hispanics are moving out of Arizona quickly in response to the new immigration law that goes into effect in the next seven weeks on July 29.  Basically they are feeling that they aren’t welcome in Arizona anymore.

First, I want to say that I don’t have an issue with immigration reform; I have an issue with the way they’re doing it in Arizona.  If people are here illegally, I think we should send them back.  Let them become citizens and pay taxes, and then they can be as miserable as the rest of us for paying them.

The problem that I have is that, as quoted from the article, ” police are required to determine people’s immigration status if they are stopped, detained, or arrested and there is a reasonable suspicion they are in the country illegally.”

My problem is what constitutes reasonable suspicion?  I’ve never seen anyone with “illegal alien” tattooed on their forehead so you won’t be able to tell who is illegal and who isn’t.  It’s not like the Dr. Seuss classic “Sneeches On Beach”  and the Hispanics here legally will have “stars upon thars.”

(Even if you’re a grown up, you should read the book; it dealt with racism .  The way Dr. Seuss dealt with a lot of social issue was interesting.)

I’m not concerned with how this effects illegal aliens; I’m concerned with how this effects hard working and honest citizens.  It sounds a lot like police using racial profiling to “sort through the herd.”  I know about police and racial profiling…I’m from New Jersey.

I’m concerned because this reminds me of my days driving with a few of my friends on the NJ Turnpike and being pulled over for what seemed to be no good reason.  I remember getting the officer’s light shined in my face and being asked where I was going.  Not for my license, registration, and insurance…but for where I happened to be going.  I remember thinking that was none of his business and I’m a citizen of this country and I shouldn’t be treated like this.  It was demeaning.  But I guess I fit the profile for whatever he was looking for.

I was one of the usual suspects at the time.  Not the usual suspects happen to be brown and bilingual

There’s a saying that “it is better to  to let 100 guilty men go free than to convict a single innocent man.”  I believe that.  I don’t think we should subject American citizens to this to find people that are here illegally.  I don’t want to hear this crap that it’s a minor inconvenience to be subjected to this sort of questioning; it’s only minor until it happens to you.

There has to be a better way to do this.  And that is Trueman’s soapbox moment of the day…

Feel free to comment.

• Respect of Being You can see a political leader, or wealthy person, and not respect them when you...
• Illegal By now, surely everyone is aware that Arizona has passed into law a bill making...
• Hispanics abandon Arizona, fleeing economy, immigration law [/caption] Arizona’s hard-hitting immigration law is driving Hispanics out of the state weeks before the...