-The need for this and the plan.
I have a personal need to share the things I’ve learned with people. That’s why I’ve spent most of my professional life in a trainer or a sales role. My sales approach has always been low key, sharing and showing. I’m not the stereotypical high energy salesman. I’m normally a very quiet guy. I’ve found that I learn more and can ultimately be of greater value by listening more and talking less. I’ve grown to recognize that many people don’t care about learning or growing. They simply will continue to do what they’ve always done and complain about where they are and about how unfair life is treating them. These people are not my audience. I can’t help them until they quit their whining and start listening and are ready to act in a positive manner.
On the other hand, I truly believe that there are many people that are frustrated, and realize that they are, and are interested in knowing that they are not alone. If you find yourself asking “why?” more often these days, understand that you are not alone. But also understand that you must change. You must listen more, maybe speak less. You must read more, maybe watch less Jay Leno on TV. You must meet and associate more with achieving people, and limit your associations with the whiners and criers in your life as much as possible. Too many of us are in a trap. Too many don’t even realize that they are trapped.
The trap is “The American Dream” we’ve been sold since childhood. Go to school, get a good job, grow a family, buy a house, work for 45 years, and retire on Social Security and your pension plan. This is no longer a path for success, but instead a road to failure. This plan first became popular shortly after World War II when the first of the Baby Boomers were born. It worked then. We were in a period of tremendous economic growth which would continue for years. Back then only dad worked outside of the home. It was possible to do well on a single income. I remember pretty clearly when in the sixties my step-mother, like many others, went to work outside the home. I noticed that more and more mom’s were getting jobs. When I asked my dad about this he simply said that it now took two incomes to support the family. Well, it has only gotten worse.
Here in San Diego County CA, most families can’t afford to purchase a home, any home, even on two incomes. Currently there is a small starter home for sale nearby. It is 50 years old in a decent neighborhood, 4br 2bath for $425,000. Based on current interest rates and a 30 fixed mortgage the total monthly cost will be about $2,800. This would require a total annual income of about $110,000 to $118,000. That’s a lot of income. That’s two professional level salaries for one working class home. I know this neighborhood. How do people afford to live there? Most purchased in the early to mid 90’s for $200-$250,000. They could sell and buy more home most any where else in the United States and have money left over. But, they could never afford to come back. A trap. But wait, it gets worse. Parked outside of too many of these homes are expense toys, cars, boats, rv’s, motorcycles, etc, etc. How are these toys paid for? Second mortgages. These folks pulled money out of an appreciating asset in order to purchase depreciating assets. Smart? And by the way, recently San Diego’s real estate market has been softening. I want to figure out how to “Short Sell” the housing market. I think the lenders have. One of the biggest hiring frenzies right now in San Diego is for lending agents. Yes, they’re capitalizing on the hot market, especially the refinance market. But, I also suspect that the lenders are building an inventory of homes that they may end up owning in the future.
As we go forward I will be try to show folks where they are, how they got there and some possible paths out of their traps. I get to try to give something to the community. This is also intended to be another income stream for me. The advertising you see is paid for, except for the banner for Success University at the top. Ignore the banner for now it’s only up there for the early adapters. One big warning, if you decide to try this yourself. Do not say anything to try and encourage your visitors to click on your ads. This is a major violation of the terms of service with most ad programs. You simply have to hope they see some that interest them and chose to check them out.
How can you help? I need all the visitors I can get. Consider adopting the “One Million Visitor” challenge (scroll down to see it). If you have a website or visit forums consider giving me a plug.
Thank you for visiting and all the best…
jon
