Valentine’s Day Potpourri

Living and Health

Here’s a variety of health and living news items that point to the need for you to stay current, read everyday and don’t be manipulated by popular press or ideas:

1) Healthy Living is Too Expensive: It’s much cheaper for governments to continue to ignore the health risks of smoking and obesity according to a study from the Public Library of Science Medicine. According to the research, lifetime health costs for healthy living is $417,000; for smokers, $326,000; and for the obese, $371,000. The conclusion appears to be let people choose to be as healthy as they want to be and to allow self-destructive behaviors continue.

Like all things in life, a healthy lifestyle coupled with preventive health care is a personal choice. People don’t need expensive and non-productive health programs telling them to not smoke, to take 30 minutes for a walk or to get regular health exams (even the uninsured can afford one checkup a year). Healthy people have already figured this out – government is “preaching to the choir” and hence, wasting tax dollars.

Plus the one biological element that will determine how long a person lives and how healthy that person will be in his or her lifetime is genetics. So pick your parents carefully.

2) Women Have High Serum Cholesterol: High serum cholesterol is defined as a number greater than 240 mg/dlt as determined by a blood test. According to the CDC and the NCHS National Health and Nutritional exam surveys from 2005-06, women, on average, have high serum cholesterol levels twice more often than men (22% to 10%). In the “heart attack” years between 40 and 59, women have a slightly higher incidence than men (19.2% to 18.8%). The only period of life when men exceed women (13% to 11%) is between 20 and 39.

Since more men die of heart attacks than women, maybe the idea of high serum cholesterol is not much of a risk factor (by itself). Perhaps the hype around prescription drugs to lower cholesterol as a preventive measure is just another well-marketed fear tactic advanced by pharmaceuticals for no other reason than profit? If a pharmaceutical company can get a “patient” in their 50’s started with a statin (cholesterol-lowering drug) regimen, that person will be “hooked” for at least 30 years on a very expensive monthly drug habit.

3) Time to Ask for a Raise: Since 1981, the cost of living when adjusted for inflation, has risen by 140%. If you were employed full-time in 1981, and was earning $26,000 per year, today your salary would need to be around $65,000 a year to have kept pace. If you are not earning at least $60,000 a year, your buying power has dropped significantly. That explains the need for households to have multiple low-paying jobs.

Inflation will reduce the buying power of a dollar by 95% every 40 years. A dollar saved in any kind of savings program in 1968 would have the buying power of 5 cents today. The only way you stay ahead (or at least even) is by reinvesting dividends and capital gains from your investments. It is really true when financial advisors say that the only way to make “real” money is to put your money to work by investing.

With the US Government and the banking industry pushing credit debt and “spend for today” mentalities, the middle-class economic structure will soon disappear and the poor will get poorer.

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GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE

© 2008 3 Minute Learning LLC

$250

Where Will You Spend $250?

One of the current proposals to bail out the US economy includes offering $250 to each taxpayer ($500 per family). The goal is to encourage purchasing consumer goods and ignite the faltering retail industry. Why say “no”? After all it is “free” money. Or is it?

That $100 billion stimulus package will be added to the already overburdened debt. Future generations can’t even begin to appreciate how this debt will lower their standard of living. That gift of $250 will be the average per person per week food bill in 15 years! Of course if the US were to stop funding the Iraqi civil war, the country could save $9 billion a month and then the stimulus debt could be paid back in less than 2 years.

But it is fruitless to focus on the big stuff; as the “poster boy” for all the presidential candidates Ronald Reagan once said: “Government is part of the problem.” The mantra of less government over the past 8 years has led to a trillion dollar debt. It’s better for you to focus on your $250.

Where will you spend your windfall of cash? The average US household has a credit card debt of nearly $10,000. Even $500 won’t make much of a dent in that bill. As the Fed lowers interest rates, your $250 won’t earn much more than a few cents a year in a savings account. Not exactly retirement planning, is it?

The average US household spends around $650 per year in cell phone charges. Well that would almost cover 6-month’s worth of text messages like, “C U L8tr.” Of course when you factor in other communication costs like high-speed Internet, cable TV, land-line phones and subscription services that allow your budding teen age whiz kid to engage in online gaming (to support the growth of unusually large thumb muscles), the average US household is spending close to $3500 per year for these services. And here is a “shocking” fact from the New York Times Magazine: at the end of 2005, Americans had “stashed away” over 500 million old cell phones in boxes and drawers, never to be used again. Remember that there are only 300 million US citizens!

Maybe you could use your $250 for an annual physical. Most insurance doesn’t cover preventive health checkups until you meet the deductible, so this may be a good idea. According to the Los Angeles Times, Americans now spend $7,026 on health care per person per year. So, put a little bit more into this $2 trillion a year industry and at least feel like you got something for your money.

With energy costs rising at a blistering pace, you could use your $250 to fill up your SUV two or three times this month. Or you could pay for one month’s winter heating. Maybe you could buy a pair of those new $250 Nike Air Jordan basketball shoes and start walking every day to work. Can’t you just feel financial relief coming ‘round the next corner?

Face it: unless you are in the most desperate of situations, $250 or even $500 is not much help. And if you are in desperate need, that $250/$500 should come every month for the next few years instead of a one-time gift.

If you really want to improve your situation then cut back on your spending. Recessions are the economy’s way of saying: “enough, take a breather.” Saving and investing during a recession is the right answer and not more spending. Every downturn is followed by better times – if you want to enjoy those upcoming years, then don’t put you or your family in more debt buying “stuff” that will eventually end up in your shoe box or in a landfill.

One final idea: invest in yourself. Insure your future success with continuing education and a commitment to life-long learning. That's good use of $250!

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GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE

© 2008 3 Minute Learning LLC

Change

The Hot Buzzword

If you look up the word “change” in a dictionary, it will probably offer something like: to make different or to exchange for something else. There’s a lot of discussion these days among US politicians about change. The problem is that rhetoric by itself rarely leads to change.

During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s, Dr. Martin Luther King was an elegant and energetic spokesman for the cause. But it was his actions, like leading marches and negotiating with various groups to find common ground that led to change. It was Dr. King’s actions in addition to his words that inspired President Lyndon Johnson to sign legislation that led to his “Great Society” and ultimately civil rights expansion.

Candidates will talk about change ad infinitum because they believe it is what the public wants and that it will garner votes. Recent speeches chronicle the use of the word change dozens of times. But without action, the rhetoric is nothing more than a daydream.

It is foolish to believe that politicians will change or even derail the status quo. Change begins in each individual home. Individuals change and groups follow.

Only the individual controls his or her free-will behaviors and attitudes; no government is successful in legislating changes for basic human rights. Governments can manipulate or bully people into accepting change but in a society that has the option to say “No”, you cannot legislate behavior and attitude changes.

Behaviors and attitudes are the central issue. People need to sacrifice and be disciplined in order to create change. It takes discipline to control the use of oil and gas. It takes discipline to cut discretionary spending and instead reduce debt to avoid long-term financial complications. It takes discipline to turn off the TV and instead invest in continuing education to keep jobs or create new opportunities.

The president of the United States, congressmen, judges and lawyers are not surrogate moms and dads. Their job is not to bail a person out of bad choices. If a person buys a home that is too expensive and can’t afford the payments, that is their problem. If they fail to complete high school or college, that failure is their problem. If a person chooses to smoke cigarettes despite all the health warnings and gets cancer, that is his or her problem. Government cannot make a law that eliminates bad decisions.

Government is not our parents and don’t expect those in government to change or to create change for a specific socio-economic group. The US is a capitalistic society and the government is a plutocracy. If a person wants change, then he or she needs to change. Perhaps those actions will be an inspiration for others to follow.

Long-time Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill said it best that all politics is local. And so is change.

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GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE

© 2008 3 Minute Learning LLC

Resolutions to Consider

Focus For A New Year

Every New Year encourages people to focus on resolutions. Typical resolutions are personal such as healthy living, controlling finances or self-improvement. Creating these lists can help you plan a successful course of action that can last the entire year. Here are a few more suggestions for your list: simplification, developing expertise and sharing.

Simplification is not the same thing as simple. Simple implies that you lack the mental capability of dealing with complex ideas or strategies. Simplification is taking the complex to manageable levels. Since most of the problems surrounding you, work or personal, are multi-layered, simplification is the technique of identifying the need or problem and working layer by layer.

Here is an analogy: mowing a lawn. You start at the edges and work your way to the center. The clippings are always pushed out to the edge and not in your path. Imagine how difficult it is to begin in the center and try to work your way out. It won’t take long for the clippings to clog your mower and all the quick turns to become discouraging. Trying to attack problems or issues at the core are the same.

Second on your list is to develop expertise in a niche area. People want experts – look at the popularity of electronic and computer technicians. Time cannot be purchased and most people don’t have time to learn, especially with the rapid turnover of knowledge in the world today. Obsolescence can be realized in a matter of months and not generations as was the case in the last few centuries. Five years ago there was no need for experts in LCD or plasma technology. By next year, the need will be overwhelming as more people purchase these kinds of products. Pick a field of interest an develop a depth of knowledge that will set you apart from others.

Finally, be willing to share. In today’s world there is enough financial wealth to solve hunger and poverty, provide quality education and healthcare and create communities that can deal with an uncertain future. But, people can’t overcome greed and hoarding of resources.

Sharing also refers to knowledge. There’s the old saying that knowledge is power; but the flip side is: without sharing knowledge has no value.

So as you contemplate your to-do list for 2008, think about the suggestions offered above and decide if they are right for you. Have a safe and prosperous New Year!

Visit: www.3MinuteLearning.com

GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE

© 2008 3 Minute Learning LLC

BAD NEWS BEARS?

Maybe A Recession Would Be Good

The “bears” are in control of Wall Street. Stock prices have been plummeting or extremely volatile since August. The US dollar is weak against foreign currency benchmarks and the price of oil is at an all-time high. Do you feel like you are spinning out of control?

Well here’s a shot of reality: the US economy has been weak since 2000. It had been artificially propped up since then by over-spending consumers and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We were putting band-aids on a hemorrhage. It was a false economy.

Credit was easy to get. It helped fuel grotesque spending sprees by consumers and the US government. Now, the “bills are due” and people (and our government) can’t pay. So the housing market collapses (a tragedy as people do need a place to live) and the dollar is weak (thanks to ignorant politicians who keep printing more worth-less money).

The fear on Wall Street (and in Washington) is that people are going to stop spending money, or more precisely, using their credit. They are going to stop being consumers and tighten control over their discretionary income. Well isn’t that what we tell people they need to do to be financially successful?

If credit had remained tight during the early part of this century, people would have sacrificed and not spent money on worthless consumer items. The average family would not have $10,000 in credit card debt and the housing market would have accommodated people respective to their incomes and not to some whimsical credit wizardry.

So maybe a recession will be good for the American psyche. It will take away the notion that a high standard of living is a US citizen entitlement. Any standard of living is earned through hard work and dedication and paid for with diligence and reasonable expectations, not magical, hard to understand credit.

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GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE

© 2007 3 Minute Learning LLC