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Of
the many paths to wealth, there is only one that Michael Masterson
most consistently recommends to his closest friends and relatives.
It
has all the advantages you want if you're starting from scratch:
simplicity, privacy, an extremely low entry cost and a huge
and growing potential for wealth building.
What
am I talking about? Michael himself explains
here.
-
Patrick Coffey
"Behold
I do not give lectures or a little charity, When I give
I give myself."
-
Walt Whitman
Notes
From Rome: Tough Financial Love
By
Michael Masterson
As
K and I strolled through the streets of Rome last night after
dinner, it seemed like we passed homeless people on every corner.
Seeing so many needy people ignited all sorts of thoughts about
wealth. How does someone become so poor he has to beg for food
on the street? Where is her family, her support network? How
did he grow up without knowing how to care for himself?
I
did some thinking about this a few weeks ago in my journal -
and after reading it, many of you wrote in to share your thoughts
about giving and receiving charity. (See "Feedback Friday," below.)
For me, it may be difficult to understand in part because K
and I have taken great pains to raise our children to be independent
- physically, emotionally, and financially.
We've
always wanted them to be able to make their own money and even
build their own wealth. To encourage a sense of financial responsibility,
we were careful about giving them things as they were growing
up. They got an allowance, but it was so small (something like
four dollars a week) that they couldn't possibly become spoiled
by it. We paid for their college tuition and their board (our
parents couldn't afford to pay for ours), but we gave them
nothing for personal expenses. That forced them to get part-time
jobs.
When
they got out of college, we bought each of them a new car -
but during high school, they had to buy their own. We thought
driving around town in rusted-out junkers was good for them.
We had done the same at their age, and it didn't hurt us.
Number
One Son has a pretty good, low-six-figure job working for a
post-production company in Hollywood. Number Two Son is trying
to break into the music business. Because of the expense of
living in big cities, both are struggling to make ends meet.
It would be pretty easy for us to make their lives easier by,
for example, subsidizing their rent or simply sending them
a check every month.
And
sometimes I want to do that. I think about how much fun they
could have living in a bigger place, going to nicer restaurants,
and driving better cars. But K would be upset if I sent them
money. And they almost certainly would refuse it.
Why?
Because they have been brought up with the idea that financial
independence is a good thing and, conversely, that depending
on others is bad. Accepting help from Mom and Dad might be
a quick and easy solution to their current financial problems,
but it's one that would also make them feel less like full-grown
men.
I
am proud of the fact that they won't take our money. But this
leads to a paradox. Their refusal to take it indicates to me
that they haven't been spoiled by money. And if they haven't
been spoiled by money, I think it might not hurt to give them
some.
This
is the same problem many people have with social welfare. They
look at those who have less than they do - the working poor,
the genuinely homeless - and would like to do something to
make their lives better.
"These
are God's children, too," they tell themselves. "Why
shouldn't they have the same comforts we do? At the very least," they
reason, "we can give them a warm place to be away from
the cold and a good meal to nourish them. And while we are
at it, we can heal those open sores and get them a new pair
of shoes."
It
doesn't stop there, of course, because the poor have many more
problems than just shelter, health, food, and clothing. There
is the educational deficit, to name an obvious need. And then
there is the need for help with family planning, personal hygiene,
and "meaningful" employment.
"If
we could just get them going in the right direction (i.e.,
to live and eat and dress as well as we do)," the argument
goes, "they will surely lift themselves up by their own
bootstraps and join our enlightened company."
If
I sound sarcastic, I don't mean to be. These sentiments are
all ones I've had myself many times and will continue to have
so long as I encounter people who are miserable and poor.
You
want them to become financially independent and your instinct
- as it is with your children - is to help them out by giving
them financial help. But you know from experience that it doesn't
work.
So
what can you do?
Bill
Clinton, our most socially liberal president since Jimmy Carter,
took a pretty tough position on social welfare programs. On
August 22, 1996, he signed the Personal Responsibility and
Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (also known as the Welfare
Reform Act), a law that transformed the way the federal government
provided welfare. Despite calls for reform before then, it
was really the first-ever welfare reform program. It made it
much tougher for welfare recipients to depend on the federal
government for long-term assistance. In place of guaranteed
checks for parents with dependent children, it offered programs
to help those parents get jobs.
In
1994 - two years before the reform was enacted - welfare caseloads
had peaked at 5.1 million families. Since Clinton's tough-love
measurements were enacted, millions have left the system to
work or have been kicked off. Today, the number of families
on welfare stands at 1.9 million. This is an astonishing decline
- 58 percent!
According
to government data, three in four families on welfare are headed
by unmarried women. The result is that employment rates for
all single women rose 25 percent, while earnings for the poorest
40 percent of families headed by women doubled. Also noteworthy:
Poverty rates for children fell 25 percent. (Since 2001, there
has been some regression because of recessionary factors, but
the general trend is irrefutable.)
"It
was a profoundly important philosophic shift," Health
and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt told USA Today. "This
was one of the few things in a decade you can look at and say
the world has really changed."
It
seems, then, that the best thing you can do for your children
is to educate them. Give them the tools to become financially
independent: a background in investing ... an appreciation
for education ... a strong work ethic ... responsibility ...
an appropriate amount of risk taking. And you'll never have
to step in with a helping hand, because they'll be able to
stand on their own.
[Ed.
Note: If you're not sure how to start educating your children
for financial independence, check out Justin Ford's Seeds
of Wealth program. And if you're interested
in dramatically accelerating your own financial independence,
there's no better way than by building your own powerhouse
business online.
We'll show you exactly how to do that at this year's Info
Marketing Bootcamp - "Making a Fast Fortune on the Information
Revolution".]
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Give
Your Heart What It Needs
By
Al Sears, MD
To
produce its extraordinary energy output, your heart needs a
few key nutrients - and most people aren't getting them. I
believe this is the main reason heart disease continues to
be the number one killer in America.
Many
people have never even heard of these nutrients. What's worse,
most doctors will prescribe drugs before even considering them.
Today, I will tell you about one of the most important superstars
for natural heart health:
L-arginine.
A
new study, released recently in the International Journal
of Sports Medicine, reaffirms something I've known for
some time: L-arginine improves the physical fitness of heart-failure
patients by boosting their exercise endurance. Athletes and
bodybuilders have long known about the ability of this amino
acid to build muscle and increase lean muscle mass.
L-arginine
is a precursor of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide plays an important
role in the health of the endothelial cells that line your
heart and blood vessels, because it helps those cells dilate.
Without nitric oxide, your blood vessels narrow. And in the
presence of arterial plaque, the vessels become rigid and blood
flow is restricted.
Conventional
doctors often prescribe aspirin or dangerous statin drugs to
counteract this effect. But L-arginine increases the elasticity
of your blood vessels, which gives you a much safer alternative.
With my patients, I find that 500 mg once a day does the trick.
(Resource:
Reuters)
[Ed.
Note: Dr. Sears, a practicing physician and the author of The
Doctor's Heart Cure and 12 Secrets to Virility,
is a leading authority on longevity, physical fitness, and
heart health. For more advice on how to stay active and mobile
- far into old age - pick up your free copy of Youth
Secrets.]
Feedback
Friday: Thoughts on Giving ... and Receiving
In Message
#1794, we asked for your thoughts on
charity. Here's what some of your fellow readers had
to say on the subject:
"About
4 years ago, my wife and I started our own 501(c)(3), as
a giving vehicle. We first make gifts into our non-profit
corporation, and then we try to give when/where/how we believe
God leads us to give. We haven't done an exhaustive follow-up,
but expect our results to be initially better than 50 percent.
And we are hopeful that we've planted seeds which will sprout
and grow later.
"Some
of our recipients have experienced remarkable turnarounds.
One of the Texas inmates we've helped financially continues
to correspond with us. Without our prompting, he contacted
the family of the person whom he had wronged. He apologized,
and I believe he offered to make an attempt at restitution
when he is paroled.
"We
have found that it truly is 'more blessed to give than it
is to receive.' Our giving has increased, and we're now working
on a website to share some of the stories told to us by the
people we've helped.
"By
the way, I'm really enjoying Michael's book, Automatic
Wealth. It's helping me crystallize
a desire I've had for years to publish what I believe are
some rather unique financial strategies, as well as information
like that above. I also want to begin speaking on these topics
to larger audiences."
Steve
Sappington
Waco, TX
"I
worked in government social work for years and found that,
almost universally, if there isn't a fee for whatever you
are providing there isn't an investment on the part of the
person receiving it and, therefore, little interest on their
part to give due consideration to either information, goods,
or services. But I have handed $10 to a needy woman on the
street and could see from the look in her eyes how much that
meant to her because of circumstances that were probably
beyond her control.
"Direct
contributions give both the giver and the recipient a chance
to understand firsthand what a 'helping hand' means, and
allows both to feel good about the transaction, no matter
the outcome."
Robin
Fellner
"There
are some people that desperately need charity. For example,
a single mother with 5 or 6 young kids. Or an elderly lady/couple
struggling to stay alive. And it doesn't have to be just
money, but can be in the way of food - large supplies of
rice, pasta, beans, etc. - that keeps. Also, payment of utilities
for months at a time - especially in the coldest winter months.
"These
people need direction, too, so they won't end up back where
they are. And accountability is the other factor that will
keep someone on track. If the recipient does not do as advised,
the result should be discontinued support."
Michael
Jakubowski
"Charitable
efforts, whatever form they may take, are all about the spirit
of giving. The results of the recipient should have nothing
to do with the action of the giver. We all know becoming
emotionally involved in the actions or dreams of another
will often result in personal disappointment for the benevolent
party. Not always, but often. Providing money is obviously
safer. As there is no personal involvement, the benevolent
party achieves immediate gratification. Thus, benevolent
parties should consider the form of gratification they desire
personally as a result of their providence, prior to opening
up their wallet or their time cache.
"Simply
writing a check will not dramatically change 'most' people's
lives. If the charitable donation provides a feeling of satisfaction
and trust for the giver, then the world is already a better
place to live in."
Brooks
Menshal
Ottawa, Canada
"Nineteen
years ago, a series of personal calamities funneled me and
my infant son into the welfare system for a period of
21 months. Although I had a good work history, at that period
in my life I was physically and emotionally unable to hold
a job. In addition to food stamps that thankfully fed us,
the cash benefit I received was only $230 per month. To say
the least, money was in continual crisis.
"During
those months, I met hundreds of other welfare recipients.
As far as I could tell, all of us had two things in
common - we hated welfare and felt enslaved by it, but we
didn't know how to get off the system. Let me tell you that
the welfare experience opened my eyes to the vast chasm
between a handout and a way out.
"While the
welfare system level of charity may not be where your
giving is targeted, people are people and common denominators
of human tendency apply. Make things too easy financially
and personal initiative is destroyed. But motivational messages
alone breed frustration in the absence of resources
necessary for positive action.
"Back
then, I had no material resources. Month by month, I traded
my dreams for peanut butter. As far as calling on others
for help, as a single mother on welfare I was very aware
that I was counted among what one journalist called 'the
most hated women in America.' Even today, writing this
from the distance of almost two decades, I can still feel
the cry of my heart for someone to show me how to make
things different. In short, I needed a mentor.
"Mentoring
takes a lot more time than motivational speaking or philanthropy,
but combines the best of both. Mentoring not only brings
resources to a relationship, it also affects bottom-line
attitudes (including accountability and self-worth) that
may block success. Money is great if the recipient knows
how to use it. Motivation is essential for anyone desiring
change. The bottom line requires addressing the
real need."
Marjorie
Russell
Paducah, KY
Worth
Quoting: Jim Collins on Getting the Most From Your Conversations
"If
you want to have an interesting dinner conversation, be interested.
If you want to have interesting things to write, be interested.
If you want to meet interesting people, be interested in the
people you meet - their lives, their history, their story.
Where are they from? How did they get here? What have they
learned? By practicing the art of being interested, the majority
of people can become fascinating teachers; nearly everyone
has an interesting story to tell.
(Source: Business
2.0)
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Word
to the Wise: Malversation
"Malversation" (mal-vur-SAY-shun)
- from the French for "to misbehave" - is misconduct
in public office.
Example
(as used by Arthur Schlesinger Jr. in Time magazine): "The
Inspector General Act was designed to protect patriotic whistle-blowers
who seek to reveal malversation in government."
