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WHAT IS A MARINE?

The United States Marine is over two hundred and twenty years of death and destruction. We are the finest fighting force this world has ever known. I was born in a foxhole. My mother is anger and my father is pain. Each moment that I live is an additional threat upon your life. I’m a rough looking, tough talking soldier of the sea. I’m cocky, self-centered, overbearing, and I do not know the meaning of fear, for I am fear itself. I am a green amphibious monster made of blood and guts, who arose from the sea to prey upon enemies across the globe. I feed upon anti-Americanism whenever it may arise – my hate makes me grow stronger. And when my time comes, I will die a glorious death on the battlefield, giving my life to Mom, the Corps, and the American flag. We live like soldiers, talk like sailors, and slap the crap out of both. We stole the eagle from the Air Force, the anchor from the Navy, and the rope from the Army. On the seventh day, while God rested, we overran his perimeter, “borrowed” the globe, and we’ve been running the show ever since. Killer by day, lover by night, drunkard by choice,

MARINE BY GOD!!!

“Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they’ve made a difference to this world. The Marines don’t have that problem.” -President Ronald Reagan, 1985

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SUGGESTED STUDENT PREPARATION

The following workouts are designed for two categories of people:
Category I are those future BUD/S students that have never or have
not recently been on a routine PT program. Category II is designed
for high school and college athletes that have had a routine PT
program. Usually athletes in sports that require a high level of
cardiovascular activity are in Category II. Swimming, running, and
wrestling are good examples of such sports.

WORKOUT FOR CATEGORY I

RUNNING: The majority of the physical activities you will be
required to perform during your six months of training at BUD/S will
involve running. The intense amount of running can lead to overstress
injuries of the lower extremities in trainees who arrive not
physically prepared to handle the activities. Swimming, bicycling,
and lifting weights will prepare you for some of the activities at
BUD/S, but ONLY running can prepare your lower extremities for the
majority of the activities. You should also run in boots to prepare
your legs for the everyday running in boots at BUD/S.

The goal of the category I student is to work up to 16 miles per
week of running. After you have achieved that goal, then and only
then should you continue on to the category II goal of 30 miles per
week. Let me remind you that category I is a nine week buildup
program. Follow the workout as best you can and you will be amazed at
the progress you will make.

RUNNING SCHEDULE I

 

WEEKS #1, 2:      2 miles/day, 8:30 pace, MWF                (6 miles/week)

WEEK #3:          No running. High risk of stress fractures.

WEEK #4:          3 miles/day, MWF                           (9 miles/week)

WEEKS #5, 6:      2/3/4/2 miles, M/T/R/F                     (11 miles/week)

WEEKS #7, 8:      3/4/5/2 miles, M/T/R/F                     (16 miles/week)

WEEK #9:          same as weeks 7 & 8                        (16 miles/week)

Physical Training Schedule I

(Mon/Wed/Fri)

 

              SETS OF REPETITIONS

WEEK 1:          4 X 15 PUSHUPS

                 4 X 20 SITUPS

                 3 X 3 PULLUPS

 

WEEK 2:          5 X 20 PUSHUPS

                 5 X 20 SITUPS

                 3 x 3 PULLUPS

 

WEEK 3, 4:       5 X 25 PUSHUPS

                 5 x 25 SITUPS

                 3 x 4 PULLUPS

WEEK 5, 6:       6 X 25 PUSHUPS

                 6 X 25 SITUPS

                 2 X 8 PULLUPS

 

WEEK 7, 8:       6 X 30 PUSHUPS

                 6 X 30 SITUPS

                 2 X 10 PULLUPS

 

WEEK #9:         6 X 30 PUSHUPS

                 6 X 30 SITUPS

                 3 X 10 PULLUPS

* Note: For best results, alternate exercises. Do a set of
pushups, then a set of situps, followed by a set of pullups,
immediately with no rest.

Swimming Schedule I

(sidestroke with no fins 4-5 days per week)

WEEKS #1, 2:    Swim continuously for 15 min.

WEEKS #3, 4:    Swim continuously for 20 min.

WEEKS #5, 6:    Swim continuously for 25 min.

WEEKS #7, 8:    Swim continuously for 30 min.

WEEK  #9:       Swim continuously for 35 min.

* Note: If you have no access to a pool, ride a bicycle for twice
as long as you would swim. If you do have access to a pool, swim
every day available. Four to five days a week and 200 meters in one
session is your initial workup goal. Also, you want to develop your
sidestroke on both the left and the right side. Try to swim 50 meters
in one minute or less.

Workout For Category II

Category II is a more intense workout designed for those who have
been involved with a routine PT schedule or those who have completed
the requirements of category I. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS WORKOUT
SCHEDULE UNLESS YOU CAN COMPLETE THE WEEK #9 LEVEL OF CATEGORY I
WORKOUTS.

Running Schedule II

 

                    (M/T/R/F/S)           TOTAL

WEEKS #1, 2:        (3/5/4/5/2) miles     19 miles/week

WEEKS #3, 4:        (4/5/6/4/3) miles     22 miles/week

WEEK  #5:           (5/5/6/4/4) miles     24 miles/week

WEEK #6:            (5/6/6/6/4) miles     27 miles/week

WEEK #7:            (6/6/6/6/6) miles     30 miles/week

*Note: For weeks #8-9 and beyond, it is not necessary to increase
the distance of the runs; work on the speed of your 6-mile runs and
try to get them down to 7:30 per mile or lower. If you wish to
increase the distance of your runs, do it gradually: no more than one
mile per day increase for every week beyond week #9.

PT Schedule II

(M/W/F)

 

WEEKS 1, 2:          6 x 30 PUSHUPS

                     6 x 35 SITUPS

                     3 x 10 PULLUPS

                     3 x 20 DIPS

 

WEEKS 3, 4:          10 x 20 PUSHUPS

                     10 x 25 SITUPS

                     4 x 10 PULLUPS

                     10 x 15 DIPS

 

WEEKS    5:          15 x 20 PUSHUPS

                     15 x 25 SITUPS

                     4 x 12 PULLUPS

                     15 x 15 DIPS

 

WEEKS    6:          20 x 20 PUSHUPS

                     20 x 25 SITUPS

                     5 x 12 PULLUPS

                     20 x 15 DIPS

These workouts are designed for long-distance muscle endurance.
Muscle fatigue will gradually take a longer and longer time to
develop doing high repetition workouts. For best results, alternate
exercises each set, in order to rest that muscle group for a short
time. The above exercises can get a bit boring after awhile. Here are
some more workouts you can use to break up the monotony.

PYRAMID WORKOUTS

You can do this with any exercise. The object is to slowly build
up to a goal, then build back down to the beginning of the workout.
For instance, pullups, situps, pushups, and dips can be alternated as
in the above workouts, but this time choose a number to be your goal
and build up to that number. Each number counts as a set. Work your
way up and down the pyramid. For example, say your goal is R5″,

               # OF REPETITIONS

PULLUPS:       1,2,3,4,5,4,3,2,1

PUSHUPS:       2,4,6,8,10,8,6,4,2	(2x #pullups)

SITUPS:        3,6,9,2,15,12,9,6,3	(3x #pullups)

DIPS:          same as pushups.

Swimming Workouts II

(4-5 days/week)

 

WEEKS #1, 2:     Swim continuously for 35 min.

WEEKS #3, 4:     Swim continuously for 45 min. with fins.

WEEK #5:         Swim continuously for 60 min. with fins.

WEER #6:         Swim continuously for 75 min. with fins.

*Note: At first, to reduce initial stress on your foot muscles
when starting with fins, alternate swimming 1000 meters with fins and
1000 meters without them. Your goal should be to swim 50 meters in 45
seconds or less.

Stretch PT

Since Mon/Wed/Fri are devoted to PT, it is wise to devote at least
20 minutes on Tue/Thu/Sat to stretching. You should always stretch
for at least 15 minutes before any workout; however, just stretching
the previously worked muscles will make you more flexible and less
likely to get injured. A good way to start stretching is to start at
the top and go to the bottom. Stretch to tightness, not to pain; hold
for 10-15 seconds. DO NOT BOUNCE. Stretch every muscle in your body
from the neck to the calves, concentrating on your thighs hamstrings,
chest, back, and shoulders.

Nutrition

Proper nutrition is extremely important now and especially when
you arrive at BUD/S. You must make sure you receive the necessary
nutrients to obtain maximum performance output during exercise and to
promote muscle/tissue growth and repair. The proper diet provides all
the nutrients for the body’s needs and supplies energy for exercise.
It also promotes growth and repair of tissue and regulates the body
processes. The best source of energy for the BUD/S student is
carbohydrates. The best source of complex carbohydrates are potatoes,
pasta, rice; fruits, and vegetables. These types of foods are your
best sources of energy.

Carbohydrates, protein, and fat are the three energy nutrients.
All three can provide energy, but carbohydrate is the preferred
source of energy for physical activity. It takes at least 20 hours
after exhaustive exercis to completely restore muscle energy,
provided 600 grams of carbohydrates are consumed per day. During
successive days of heavy training, like you will experience at BUD/S,
energy stores prior to each training session become progressively
lower. This is a situation in which a high carbohydrate diet can help
maintain your energy.

The majority of carbohydrates should come from complex
carbohydrate foods that include bread, crackers, cereal, beans, peas,
starchy vegetables, and other whole grain or enriched grain products.
Fruits are also loaded with carbohydrates. During training, more than
four servings of these food groups should be consumed daily.

Water is the most important nutrient you can put in your body. You
should be consuming up to four quarts of water daily. It is very easy
to become dehydrated at BUD/S; so it is extremely important to
hydrate yourself. Drink water before you get thirsty!!! Substances
such as alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco increase your body’s need for
water, So, if you are going to drink, do so in moderation! Too much
of these substances will definitely harm your body and hinder your
performance. Supplemental intake of vitamins, as well, has not been
proven to be beneficial. If you are eating a well balanced diet,
there is no need to take vitamins.

TRAINING TABLE CONCEPT

NUTRIENT               INTAKE

 

Carbohydrates          50-70% of calories

Protein                10-15% of calories

Fats                   20-30% of calories

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An emergency Western Union transfer, trip to the US Embassy in Bern, and an overpriced flight from Zurich, got me back to the U.S. Since Japan doesn’t grant entry permission on a passport valid for less than 6 months, and an emergency replacement passport is only valid for 4 months, I was forced to cut this trip short and come back to the States.

This experience has taught me several valuable lessons about a number of different topics, so I’ll just list them all out here.

1. There are still genuinely good people left in the world. People that will go out of their way to help another human being. I was starting to lose hope, but that hope has been restored by the Chappuis family.
2. Even if you think you’re in an incredibly safe place, watch your stuff. Carabiner your bag to the luggage rack if you’re going to use it, and keep your credit cards, phone, and ID physically on you, just in case.
3. My dream of working from Internet cafes is probably bunk. With my iPhone 4S stolen, I tried working from the public pay Internet stations which are common in Switzerland. Unfortunately, they are limited to web access only, and the machines were slow and used outdated browsers. I kept wishing I had my own laptop with me.
4. I thought I had taken a minimal amount of stuff, but having everything stolen made me realize that I need even LESS. I spent an entire week without a bag, a change of clothes, or anything else. I have a whole new travel packing philosophy as a result.
5. Nothing is irreplaceable. The stuff we consider vital is all completely replaceable. Clothing, passports, credits cards, sanity, all are replaceable. Lacking your stuff is merely an inconvenience in the vast majority of situations.
6. Meeting new people, having fun, and exploring cultures and languages are what matter most when you travel abroad, and you can still do this regardless of the circumstances.

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First of all, let’s do a quick tech rundown. The following are the services that I consider essential for being able to cloud surf:

1. VirtualPostMail.com or EarthClassMail.com for converting postal mail into digital format
2. RingCentral.com, Nextiva.com, or HelloFax.com, as the IRS will not communicate by email, but willingly fax stuff
3. Web-based email service
4. Cloud storage service – I use DropBox, Amazon Cloud Drive, Apple iCloud, and Google Drive all to some extent
5. Google Docs, plus a web-based PDF editor (there are several, just search for one)
6. Google Voice and Skype, for voice communications.
7. Click2Mail.com, the web platform contractor for the US Postal Service, allows me to send outgoing correspondence and direct mail marketing.

My current incarnation of cloud surfing bypasses possession of a laptop — I’m not taking this machine with me in two days when I leave for Europe. Theoretically I will only ever need a computer during tax season, as my tax software only runs on a full machine. Many people are discovering that an iPad or other tablet works well for them, others not. Personally, I’m opting for just using the iPhone 4S (it’s basically a tablet, in my mind) over wi-fi and Internet cafes when I need to.

So what about the time management stuff? Here are some of the things I’ve already started doing and will continue to do as I travel:

• Cater to a more specific clientele in both my tax practice and my marketing and practice management consulting business. I no longer accept any or all cases that come my way, and I have structured my client intake flow to better fit my lifestyle design objectives (require client financials before starting work, retainer paid before filing Power of Attorney, etc.).
• I no longer accept live calls. All calls go straight to voicemail, no matter who it’s from. I simply can’t take phone calls from clients, prospects, even IRS agents while I’m out hiking the Alps.
• Batch process everything. One or two days per week, make all phone calls I need to make, and do it within a set time block. Do all my IRS paperwork for the entire week in one sitting. Do all my blog writing in one sitting (and keep in mind, I write for 5 blogs each week and write two paid newsletters).
• Use webinars as a key prospecting tool.
• Have a strict “no fires” policy. Most business owners spend most of their time putting out “fires”, rather than working on their business. The reality is that, in business, there is no such thing as an emergency. Unless something is on fire or somebody is getting shot or mauled, it’s not an emergency. In my situation, even a bank account levy by the IRS is NOT an emergency — it can wait a few days to address (the money doesn’t go anywhere for 3 weeks).

My properly utilizing technology tools, batching tasks, and ensuring that everybody that works with you does so on your terms and by your schedule, you can successfully cloud surf and still keep your business intact.

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Most people that haven’t actually read the book think that it’s a book encouraging laziness or blowing off responsibility. To the contrary, the book is about throwing off the constraints and expectations of modern society, and replacing that with a drive to live life to the fullest, chase dreams, and make your own reality.

Even people that have read the book tend to miss a very important point contained therein, which is that highly focused sprints of hard work are what create the ability to live the lifestyle of one’s choice as depicted in the book.

The vast majority of people don’t think outside the box created for them by society. Americans are told to do well in school, get a job, get married, have kids, work 40 years, pay their taxes, and teach their children to follow the exact same cycle.

For many of us, the lifestyle dream that we are chasing has very little to actually do with the thing we are chasing, but rather the basic desire to break out of this cycle of mediocrity and structure. For a vivid perspective on this, read Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” (or watch the movie, it actually captures the main theme fairly well for a theatrical adaptation).

Most of the world doesn’t actually like people that desire to “rise above” the average. For example, the average person will have numerous friends and family members telling them how much of a bad idea it is to do anything to better themselves. Going back to school as an adult is too expensive and time consuming, and won’t leave you enough time to be a good parent. Starting a business is too risky, and will leave your family vulnerable in this rough economy. These are the things that people with a desire to rise above will hear. It’s just like the crabs in a bucket that pull down the one crab trying to escape.

The bigger, societal problem with this cycle, this trend of mediocrity, is that it breeds laziness and apathy. When people stop dreaming and are fine settling for the status quo, the general trend is downward for all of society. This is “bad”. Very, very bad.

This is not meant to be a political discussion, but it manifests itself in our political choices as a society. People locked into the cycle of mediocrity will vote into power the people that will give them more and more reasons to be mediocre. It has been oft-stated that the single biggest problem in a democracy arises when the populace realizes that they can vote themselves greater and greater largesse from the public treasury. This is the situation that exists in dozens of countries around the world, as governments go broke trying to maintain the promises they made to the public in the form of social welfare programs. Greece is the nation currently most discussed in the media about this situation, but is only one of dozens.

It is very important for everybody on the planet to understand that the technological innovations, the big ideas, and the comforts of life we enjoy all come from people that challenged the status quo, that thought outside the box, and often kicked and ripped claws off the other crabs trying drag them back into the bucket. Literally every creature comfort of modern life comes from these people — the innovators. Innovators are the ones that created The Matrix in which the rest of us can live in ignorant bliss.

This system that has been created is both a blessing and a curse. The system itself is an incredible empowering medium for achieving greatness in any arena of life that one wishes to. The system allows extensive free time to pursue sport, art, literature, physics, medicine, exploration, and more. The system allows the merely average person to do what was once extraordinary: Exit from the daily toil of finding or producing food for survival, and to pursue other endeavors.

The problem is that the vast majority of people view the system as the solution, and that everybody needs to be part of the system — for the greater good. This collectivism continues the downward spiral to further mediocrity.

What on Earth does this entire tangent have to do with entrepreneurial success and the difference between the 4 hour workweek and the 80 hour workweek?

It’s quite simple, really: The people that embrace mediocrity want the system itself to support their four hour (or less) workweek. Ultimately, everybody asks “What’s in it for me?” and, if they can get everything for nothing, they’ll happily take it.

People that want to rise above the mediocrity believe in the beauty of the system as an empowering mechanism. The system provides an incredible framework, as already mentioned, for living an incredible life, do incredible things, experience the amazing. These experiences are no longer reserved for royalty, but can be lived by almost anybody with the desire to do so.

Desire. That’s what the cycle of mediocrity lacks, at it’s core.

If you’re an otherwise “average” person by the standards of the world, without extensive financial resources, special skills, exhaustive formal education, or the luck of the draw of being born into privilege (which, I would argue, includes every American, then you’re still in luck: Adequate desire, and taking action on that desire, is the only prerequisite for rising above the mediocre, and as long as you kick at the other crabs hard enough, the system will actually support your desire — that’s the REAL reason we even built it.

Now, if you have the desire, and are “nothing but average”, then the secret to achieving the “four hour workweek” is, in reality, the “80-hour workweek”.

“Srsly?”, I hear you saying.

For all intents and purposes, I consider myself a fairly average, mundane person. By certain American standards, I even had a few legs down. To be completely honest, I personally consider myself a fairly lazy person. Given a range of choices, I will gravitate towards the one that requires me to do the least possible amount of work. I consider myself intelligent, but often lack common sense and am kind of dense sometimes. I have an education that was basically handed to me nearly for free by the government (it took me 8 years to finish college, including my military education credits). Ask anybody I’ve worked with, and they’ll tell you I’m not a very ambitious or hard working person when it comes right down to it.

Why on Earth do I mention a bunch of bad personal traits? Because, despite these traits, I have a desire to climb out of the bucket. Why? I’ve lived in the mediocrity, and I found it boring. Despair level boring. Put a gun to my head and pull the trigger level of boring.

This desire manifests itself in different ways for different people. For me, it manifests itself as the desire to do as many possible different things as I can. I was trying to explain this to a good friend tonight at dinner, and was having a hard time coming up with the right words, but it boils down to this: While most people have no special ambition, and some people have an intense ambition in one particular direction (and thus become our sports stars, chess champions, astronauts, and Nobel Prize winners), my ambition is to take a bite of everything I possibly can.

Does this make me special? Absolutely not. But it gives me something to grasp onto at the tp of the bucket in order to pull myself up with.

I want to do all the things I want to do, see all the parts of the world I want to see, and do it without working at all. I really don’t want to help clients, deal with the IRS, program web apps, send out marketing, or even do anything in any way involving even looking at a computer. I don’t want a four hour workweek…I want a ZERO hour workweek.

However, I also like some comforts of modern life. I’d rather fly, drive, or take a train than walk, and I’d rather hit up the 7-11 than actually cook (although I’m actually a decent cook). These are all things represented entirely by the system I was referencing earlier. My comforts of life depend on the system, and I happily consume and exist within the system to a large extent.

To live within the system, I need money. Since I’m not wealthy, I have to trade my products and services for money. In other words, I can’t NOT work — I must do things to create value within the marketplace. This is where the 80-hour workweek comes in.

Right now, I’m working closer to 100 hours per week, and have been for 7 weeks. For a couple months before that, I was working 40 to 60 hour workweeks. For the 5 or 6 months preceding that, I was working maybe 10 hours in an average week, mainly because I was having a great time in Japan and then devoting myself to my ice dancing. In other words, I was out screwing off.

In one more week, I go back to hardly working.

Do you see what I’m doing? My brief periods of intense work afford me the luxury of being able to disappear for lengths of time, and chase my desires and amibtions — the desire to climb out of the crab bucket.

To me, this is freedom. Trading periods of being an overt workaholic for other periods of absolute laziness is worth it to me. Other might find other ways to do it, but this is the way that works for me. And with the power of the system (mainly the Internet), I can take my work with me, and do it from anywhere (more people can do this than may realize).

This is really a call for others to discover the value of working smart AND hard, at the same time. Giving up your TV shows for a few months, passing on joining the boys at the bar for a couple hours every night, skipping the Broncos game on Sunday, and instead working insane hours of real, actual work…This is actually the easy way to rise above the mediocrity. And the great part is that you can pick what you want the extra 40 hours per week to be. Perhaps you work a second job for several months, and save that money for no other reason than to enable yourself to take a few months off. Perhaps you sped that extra 40 hours per week building a business while still working your day job. Perhaps you spend that 40 hours per week in an intensive education program of your own making in order to acquire skills that lead to a doubling of your pay eventually.

The power of intense, focused work time, applied smartly, is probably the simplest and easiest way to rise above. Yes, it requires sacrificing other things, but if you have the desire to achieve something greater than mediocrity, it’s a sacrifice worth every hour.

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Quick example: On my ship, we once had a guy remove a monitoring instrument from a pipe as part of routine maintenance. These instruments were swapped out every couple months for maintenance and calibration. Apparently in a hurry to get his work done and go home, he simply pulled the instrument out, replaced it, and took the old one out down to our division office to drop off for somebody to pick up to take to the calibration lab. He didn’t bother properly bagging the instrument, just carried it by hand down to the office.

Normally, not a big deal. Except this instrument was dripping wet with radioactively contaminated water. To quote one of my skating coaches, this would be “no bueno”.

Routine radiation monitoring of the ship the next day revealed a path of radiological contamination from the pipe system in engineering, straight to our division office. There was, of course, an incident report. Then an investigation. Then several people lying about certain aspects of it. Then a Captain’s Mast (Article 15 non-court martial proceeding) and some punishment handed down.

If the individual in question had exercised integrity from the get go, it never would have happened. If he had exercised integrity after his initial mistakes were uncovered, he would have gotten a slap on the wrist. Instead, his career was essentially destroyed.

In short, what happened here was a failure of his integrity.

What does this have to do with Personal Prosperity? Pretty simple, actually: Customer service has gone down the toilet. When a business, a co-worker, and many times even our friends, actually KEEP a promise to do something, we’re now in awe that they did it. It’s such a rare thing for people to actually follow through on the things they say they will do.

One of the biggest “aha” moments for me lately has been the realization that I don’t need to have the big, grandiose plans that I think I needed to. Recently, James officially gave me “permission” to not think so big. Why was this important to me, and why was it holding me back? Because I felt like I have to strive for huge achievements, but the stress of not being able to follow through on everything was holding me back, and locking me into “analysis paralysis”. In short, I was violating my own integrity by thinking big, because there was simply no way that I would actually follow through on everything.

In the tax resolution industry, failures of integrity are the number one complaint. Sales people outright lie to prospective clients, practitioners fail to maintain open lines of communication with their clients (I’ve been guilty of this myself in the past!). When I work with a client and don’t maintain proper communication, I can feel the frustration coming from my client, and I’m quickly reminded that this one thing (which has always been a challenge for me, no matter what I do) is probably the biggest key to my success in my profession.

The old saying of “underpromise, overdeliver” is just as true today as it was 100 years ago. With everybody these days automatically suspicious of big businesses and any conversation about getting ahead or creating an “unfair advantage” for yourself, it’s important to be able to follow through on what you promise.

When I look at Jame’s business, he has an obligation to clients. James has a business model that is different from any other real estate agent you will ever meet: He charges his a client’s a $2,000 up front retainer in order to work with him. This is credited against commissions at closing when that client buys a house, but by accepting that up front retainer, James takes on a huge commitment to his clients, all of whom are real estate investors. James has to deliver on his promise represented by that $2,000 retainer: To find investment opportunities suitable to that investors buying criteria. It is entirely a matter of integrity for him to deliver on this promise. In order to do so, James has built an incredibly complex system of property analysis, created numerous checklists to keep him on track towards his customer’s objectives every day, and works a well defined system to ensure he can deliver on that promise.

I came across this article in Fast Company about the concept of overpromise, underdelivering that exists in our world today, and it contains several examples that are worth reading: Under-Promise. Over-Deliver. And Your Brand’s Fans Will Talk.

How does this apply to your Personal Prosperity Plan™? Your personalized plan contains numerous promises to yourself and your family. If your plan contains a business element, which it most likely does, then you are creating promises to customers. In order to succeed in your Plan, you must have integrity. There is an awful lot of follow through you’re going to need to do, and integrity is required along every step of the path.

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Who is Dan Kennedy? And what exactly is a wealth magnet? Well, Dan Kennedy is the “millionaire maker”. He’s one of the single greatest contributing minds to the field of modern marketing that is still alive. He’s written probably two dozen books I’d imagine, has spoken on thousands of stages, and is the man-behind-the-man in numerous fields. If you come from outside the marketing world, you may have never heard of him, but within the marketing world, he’s basically treated like an idol. He is the marketing genius behind the success of many TV infomercial products, the most commonly famous of which is probably Proactiv acne treatments.

Dan Kennedy defines a “wealth magnet” as a habit or personality trait that helps a person to naturally attract opportunities to them. Described in full detail in his excellent book, No B.S. Wealth Attraction in the New Economy, available on Amazon, Kennedy discusses 28 different traits that, when combined, make a person a nearly unstoppable force for success, no matter what their chosen endeavor (not just business — the principles apply in athletics, spirituality, the non-profit world, politics, etc.).

I highly suggest reading the book, and making a personal study of it yourself. Ben Franklin had a list of 13 traits he wished to embody, and spent 1 week working on each of them in turn, and repeated the 13 week cycle for most of his life. Kennedy’s 28 traits would make for a 6 month cycle at one week each, and is probably worthwhile. However, it also fits nicely into a monthly cycle, and my mentor James Orr and I have discussed doing this several times, and repeating the cycle monthly as an exercise.

The past few days, I have been privately communicating some thoughts to James about the wealth magnet that corresponds to the day of the month, but he agreed that these would make great blog posts, so for the next 30 days, they will.

Each day, I will briefly explain my own viewpoints on the Kennedy Wealth Magnet, and how it applies to the overall concept of Personal Prosperity (I’m not going to replicate Kennedy’s thoughts — seriously, buy the book, it’s worth the $11). Then, I will briefly discuss how it applies to my life right now, and also how it applies to James’ real estate business. In all reality, these latter segments are really to better myself and for James to see my perspective on his business. While the particulars of how it applies to my business or James’ business may not be of immediate interest to you, the reader, hopefully seeing a day to day application of the principles to real businesses will help you see how you can readily apply the concepts to YOUR life, your business, your goals, your Personal Prosperity Plan™.

I hope you enjoy reading these over the course of the next month, and that doing so contributes to your own Personal Prosperity.

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Personally, I consider bankruptcy to be one of the single most intelligent financial decisions I’ve ever made.

Yes, I’ve been through bankruptcy, and I’m happy I did it.

In the summer of 2007, I was flat broke. I was unable to pay my bills, including the mortgage. This was the beginning of the real estate bust, and definitely the end of my career as a real estate broker. By January 2008, I had swallowed my pride and accepted an entry-level administrative job at a tax firm in Denver (an hour commute each way). By April 2008, my home was foreclosed on, and I filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection the next day.

For a divorced guy that eschewed material possessions, I had an enormous amount of debt. In my bankruptcy, I flushed a high six-figure amount of debt that I had amassed over the course of my adult life.

In August 2008, when my bankruptcy was discharged, I was floating on a cloud. Why? Because the burden of being massively in debt was suddenly lifted off my shoulders.

Also, by this time, I had made myself significantly more valuable at the tax firm I worked at, and was well on my way to obtaining my Enrolled Agent license from the IRS.

In other words, being broke and having to do what I had to do in order to stay afloat directly lead me to where I am today. In other words, going belly up directly set the stage for finally finding a career I truly love, and living a lifestyle that I wanted to live.

The single biggest benefit to filing bankruptcy is that the stress of dealing with bill collectors suddenly goes out the window, because they can’t call you anymore. Reduction in stress lets you focus on other things, and work towards being successful in other words.

If bankruptcy is something that’s crossed your mind, sit down with an attorney and discuss your options. It may be a discussion that you wish you’d had much sooner.

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Just walkin’ down the street,
Doesn’t even need a beat,
Steppin’ to the walk real neat,
That girl got some awesome feet!

Ain’t all about the fame,
Knows life is just a fun game,
And if you wanna dance,
Well hey, here’s your chance!

Gotta take your dance floor with you,
Everywhere around you is dance space,
Just keep movin’ ’til your blue,
‘Cuz with your moves you be the ace!

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While there are obviously expensive places to live abroad (Tokyo, Japan is the most expensive city in the world in which to live, as of January 2011 data), it’s possible to travel for far cheaper than you can live in the United States. Let’s look at some numbers.

Denver, the largest urban area in the Rocky Mountain region with a population of over 2.5 million for the metro area, is fairly representative of the average cost of living for the United States, with a cost of living index of 105 (3rd quarter 2011 data — the national average is set at 100). Since Denver represents fairly close to the national average, and is close to me, I’m going to use it as a baseline example for crunching some numbers.

A one bedroom apartment in Denver averages $977 per month (as of August 2011). The IRS National Standard (used to calculate allowable expenses in IRS collections cases, and also for bankruptcy proceedings and other legal purposes) for food, clothing, and household items for a single person in Denver is $534 per month. The national average car payment is about $400 per month, with operating costs (insurance, gas, etc.) set at $236 per month under IRS financial standards. Add in about $100 a month in utilities, and a $70 per month cell bill.

So, for a roof over your head, food on the table, clothes on your back, and transportation, a single person in Denver is sitting at about $2,136 per month to live. Add in about $100 a month in utilities, a $70 per month cell bill, and let’s just say $100 a month for entertainment, and you’re getting a good picture of what your typical single person in their mid-20′s to mid-30′s, living on their own, is spending to live in Denver: over $2,400 per month.

As a dummy check, I looked up the median per capita income for Denver County, which is just over $24,000 per year. The median household income in Denver is right at $40,000 per year. $2400 a month is close enough to $24k a year for our purposes, and meshes well with the household figure and splitting of expenses across two wage earners.

Using this data as a baseline, let’s compare it to the cost of spending time overseas. I’m going to compare it somewhere I’ve actually been recently: Tokyo. Do recall that Tokyo is considered THE most expensive city on Earth in which to live.

Or is it?

I’m a big believer that one of the greatest joys of traveling is the people you meet, and I don’t think there is any better place to meet people abroad than in hostels. Some hostels are dives, some are very nice places that are basically somebody’s house, such as Jimmyz Backpackers in Sapporo, where I stayed for about 3 whole weeks. Hostels are also really cheap – $15 to $50 a day around Japan, depending on where you are and how nice it is. Most hostels give discounts for longer stays, and so I was averaging about $25 a night to stay in hostels.

$25 times 30 equals $750 per month. That’s already cheaper than our one bedroom apartment in Denver.

On top of saving a couple hundred a month on rent already, consider this: No utilities. Most hostels have free wi-fi. If you’re only spending a month or two in a country, Skype quickly becomes your communication friend. I chose not to have a local cell phone in Japan, and it worked out just fine. But let’s say you want one: $50 a month for basic communication (Tip: Get it at the airport when you arrive!).

So, we’re at $800 a month.

Let’s look at transportation. Tokyo probably has the most efficient mass transit system on planet Earth. Subways and buses take you anywhere you want to go, and surface trains go just about everywhere else in Japan. Japan also has an incredible domestic air transit system, and if you want to travel on open water, you can go long distances on the cheap by taking a ferry.

Using discounted tickets for foreigners, weekend and seasonal deals, and the discounts you get for using electronic tickets, getting around Tokyo becomes a $3 or $4 per day thing, if you go places EVERY day. Call it $100/month. If you commute on particular routes, you can get monthly passes (teikiken) even cheaper.

So, we’re at $900 a month to live in and get around in the most expensive city in the world.

Whoops, I guess we need to eat, don’t we?

All over Tokyo you can find these awesome little family restaurants, usually down weird alleys and twisted back roads, where you can get a bowl of rice with beef strips and vegetables, for example, for about $5. Fresh fruit is expensive in Japan, but staples of the Japanese diet are fairly inexpensive in markets. If you love rice and fish, you can eat even cheaper. Eating out for *every* meal does get expensive – I was pushing $20 per day on average just to eat, but that was by choice. You really can eat for $5 or less per day if you cook for yourself, even in Tokyo.

So, $150 to $200 per month to eat in Tokyo. Let’s add a party night once a week, and give ourselves a $100 per month entertainment and booze budget. Now we’re at $1200 per month.

Did I miss anything? $1200 a month to live in the most expensive city on Earth, and have the time of your life doing it.

Let’s look at airfare. Round trip airfare for me to Japan was about $1600. An American can stay in Japan for 90 days on a single entry tourist visa, so amortized over 3 months, airfare is $533 per month. If you plan to continue traveling around Asia, you can just buy a one-way ticket, which ranges anywhere from $600 to $1000, depending on the time of year. But even at the round trip price, added to monthly cost of living, we’re at $1733 per month.

Yup. $1733 per month. And I mentioned we’re living in the most expensive place on Earth, right?

I realize that this grand equation doesn’t take into account the fact that our example single person has to work a job back in Denver, and that’s not possible when you’re just traveling. I’m fully aware that most people don’t have the luxury of working from anywhere, via the Internet (although I have a firm belief that just about anybody CAN put themselves into that position, but that’s a subject for another post).

So, let’s look at things a bit differently. Our 20 or 30 something single person in Denver makes $25k to $35k per year doing whatever they do. Instead of that $997/month apartment, let’s get them in a house with two other people, and paying $400 a month for rent and utilities. Let’s also ditch the car payment, and let’s ride the bus, live within walking distance of work, buy a beater of a car, or ride a motorcycle (the option I choose — a motorcycle can cheaply be stored when abroad). Let’s also cut back on out cell plan, use Skype when possible to avoid eating up cell minutes, and pack our lunch to work every day.

In other words, let’s live in Denver under a similar lifestyle as we could live cheaply in Tokyo. All of a sudden, we’re not spending $2400 a month to live. Instead, we’re spending $800 or less, and saving $1600 per month.

Do this for a year. That’s $19,200 saved up, cash in the bank, in ONE YEAR.

$1600 airfare, $17,600 remaining. That buys TEN MONTHS living in Tokyo. Your visa won’t last that long. So, you stay 3 months, then go to South Korea. Then Taiwan. Then Hong Kong. Then Manila. Each of these places is far cheaper than Tokyo. All of a sudden, ten months turning into 18 months abroad.

Some people are going to look at these numbers as unrealistic. However, these are real numbers, based on real cost of living norms. For foreigners reading this, YES, that is what Americans blow every month to live the American lifestyle.

Is it worth drastically dialing down your American consumption and materialism for one year so that you can save up the cash to spend a year, maybe even two years, abroad?

Only you can answer that question. But for some of us, the answer is an unequivocal YES.

See you at the airport…

-Jassen

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So, how do I pull this off? There are probably dozens of effective ways of doing this, ranging from signing things with a stylus input device to just drawing your signature carefully with your mouse. Here’s what I do. Your mileage may vary.

First, you need a scanned copy of your signature. My signature is pretty distinct (and some would say weird). So, I simply did one that was really big, in thick, blue ink, with my full flair. Then I scanned it. You can do this at Kinko’s if you don’t have a scanner.

Then, I routinely use three very important tools. Yes, there is probably ONE tool that does all this (on a Mac, I’d be doing it all in Graphic Converter, but alas, there is no such program for Windows).

Since I work with a lot of PDF files, I need to be able to extract pages for signature, then reinsert them. For this, I use Foxit Phantom, which is the single best PDF editor I have yet to find out of half a dozen I’ve tested (I’m kinda cheap when it comes to software — I refuse to spend the money on Adobe Acrobat Professional).

After extracting a page to sign, I have to convert it to an image. For this, I use Office Convert PDF to JPEG Free, which is also the best of several I tested.

Then, I open the converted image into MS Paint, which comes with Windows. I’ve tested other graphics programs, including IrfanView, GIMP, and other big names in the shareware Windows world, and I’ve found Paint to be sufficient. I shrink my signature to fit, then copy and paste it into the document. Since Paint can’t handle transparencies, I fit the signature into a block, then literally use the line tool to re-draw the lines in the form that my signature block may have overwritten.

Then, save the image, and use Phantom’s “Insert Page” command to insert the JPEG image back into the PDF it came out of.

Voila!

Yep, it’s kind of a pain in the rear, but it’s a cheap and simple process that’s there when I need it. If I had to sign things anymore than I already do, I’d look for a better all-in-one solution, but for me, this system works just fine!

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OK, so I’m biased. I’ve been here for two weeks, and will be here for two more. Oh, and I guess I should admit that I haven’t stayed at any other Sapporo hostel or hotel. And to be honest, I’m not interested in doing so.

Jimmy himself is a pretty cool guy. He speaks excellent English, which comes from going to college in Orange County, California. In addition, he’s a great tour guide, being very knowledgeable of the local attractions, both ON and OFF the beaten tourist path.

The hostel itself is pretty amazing. In all reality, it’s much more like staying at somebody’s house than a hostel. Jimmyz is much smaller than most hostels. The mixed dorm holds six people, and there is a separate room that houses another 6 in a women-only dorm-style room. On the main floor, there is a small tatami-floored dining room, hardwood-floored living room, men’s and women’s showers and bathrooms, and a small kitchen.

Jimmyz is most definitely not a big place. In fact, the entire house (yes, it really is a house) is smaller than most American 2 bedroom homes. But honestly, that’s what makes it awesome. Not a single night has gone by where I haven’t met awesome people from some different corner of Japan or even the world. I’ve hung out with several gorgeous women from Singapore, Taiwan, and Japan. I’ve clinked drinks with gents from Norway, the U.S. Air Force, Britain, America, and South Korea.

If you’re looking for either a very affordable (less than 3000 yen per night) place to stay, and/or a clean, cozy, and intimate hostel for either one week or a month (discounts for stays over 7 days), then book at Jimmyz Backpackers. It really is the best Sapporo hostel, and I say that not even needing to say elsewhere.

To book at Jimmyz, visit his web site and send him an email: Jimmyz Backpackers Sapporo Hostel (English site)

Some other cool tidbits about Jimmyz:

-only a 5 minute walk from Susukino, the largest entertainment district in Japan outside of Tokyo
-easy access to the subways (Hosui Susukino station about 4 minute walk)
-for figure skaters, about 20 minutes by foot and subway from ice rink (Tsukisamu Gymnasium, off the Toho subway line, Tsukisamu-chuo station, go upstairs, around the corner [LEFT!], down a block, just past the tennis courts)
-one block away from the awesome river running paths (currently under reconstruction from recent flooding damage)
-gorgeous girls often stay (what?!?!?! I’m a dude, this is important!)

So if you’re in Sapporo, spend the night at Jimmyz Backpackers. It really is a great place. I like it enough to stay here almost a month — it really is that nice of a place. Again, it’s small, cozy, very clean, and Jimmy speaks perfect English and can direct you where you want to go.

See you out and about in the world,
-Jassen

Do you owe back taxes to the IRS? If so, get your $697 in FREE tax services today!

Do you owe back taxes to the IRS? If so, get your $697 in FREE tax services today!

Why would somebody want a second passport? For a number of reasons. For some of us, it has to do with having the freedom to travel visa-free to certain countries that your native country’s passport doesn’t cover. For others, it has to do with work authorization, and being able to live and work freely in another country (or group of countries, as with an EU passport).

Be extremely careful of information you read online about the process of obtaining dual citizenship, alien registration, and second passports. Very little of what I’ve seen appears to be based on the person experience of the writer, and I’ve seen quite a bit of just plain incorrect information.

So how DO you obtain a second passport, permanent residence, or citizenship elsewhere? In short there are three major ways:

1). Ancestral lineage. Some countries, such as Ireland and Poland, may grant you citizenship under ancestral programs. The idea is to bring descendants of those nationalities back to the homeland within a certain number of generations. Ireland, for example, will go up to three generations back in certain circumstances, and still grant you citizenship. If you are Jewish, Israel has a return program that provides numerous incentives for returning to the Jewish homeland, including job placement assistance and very low interest rate government-backed mortgages for buying a home. You have to prove your ancestral lineage, of course, and there may be residency or other requirements to obtain citizenship and/or that second passport.

2. Economic citizenship. There are places in the world where, if you have enough cash, you can simply BUY you’re way in. Yep, cold hard cash. Economic citizenship requires that you either pay a sum of money to a government entity, invest a certain amount of money in the local economy, or both. There are often also residency requirements. Small island nations in the Caribbean, such as St. Kitts and Dominica, both offer this type of program for just paying a fee (it’s a lot — six figures in USD). Other countries will let you at least start the process of establishing residency simply by showing up, paying some fees, filling out some paperwork, and dunking money into a local bank account. Uruguay, for example, in order to encourage foreign investment, is allowing this for as little as $8,000, according to the last information I had from several months ago. Finally, you may be able to obtain economic citizenship by buying land and sitting on it for a while. Several of the former Soviet republics in the Baltic are currently actively promoting such programs.

3. Permanent residency. Some countries will let you immigrate and apply for naturalized citizenship simply because you’ve been there for a while. In fact, for many countries, this is the only way to obtain citizenship and a second passport from that country. Of course, you have to have a legitimate reason for being there in the first, which often requires a work visa and a sponsor. For example, in Japan, where I’m writing this from, you can apply for permanent resident alien status (a “green card”, in American parlance) after living here for 5 years. Note I said “apply” — it’s far from automatic, and you have to demonstrate that you contributed significantly to Japanese education, technology, economy, or culture. Being an English teacher at an eikaiwa for 5 years doesn’t count; being a research professor at a university often does.

The only countries I’ve researched this subject extensively on are a few Latin countries, Japan, and Australia. Australia has long been my immigration target, and I am actively engaged in working on boosting my point totals under their skilled immigration program in order to qualify for permanent residency in that country. However, it’s a 2 to 3 year process that I’m barely a year into.

If this is something you are seriously interested in, due your homework and due diligence. You may also want to speak to an immigration attorney in the country in which you are interested.

Note: I am NOT qualified to answer questions on the immigration subject — only in relation to the American taxation of your foreign earnings and investments.

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First of all, let’s talk money. Just about everybody in America believes that Japan is one of the most expensive places in the world to visit, let alone live. Actually, let me back up a bit. Any discussion about the cost of Japan has to start with the cost of converting currency. Unless you live under a rock, you know that the U.S. dollar has been getting weaker and weaker by the day. In high school and studying Japanese, I remember the dollar being worth about 140 yen. Today, I got exactly half that when I pulled money out of the ATM: 70 yen to the dollar. Think about what that means in terms of purchasing power. If you earn money in yen and spend it in dollars, you’ve got a golden ticket. But earning dollars and spending yen, quite frankly, sucks.

Next, let’s talk costs. Yes, Japan can be a very, very expensive place to visit. The standard rate for a Western-style hotel that we saw during the vacation phase of coming here was about $120 per night, for an incredibly tiny room with it’s own bathroom. However, Japan also has a huge quantity of budget accommodations. Although we didn’t do this, there are traditional Japanese ryokan for under $50 a night, and some Buddhist temples can accommodate overnight guests for under $50/night. In Nagoya, we stayed in a super budget hotel for about $25 for the night, and the place didn’t even have showers (think “sponge bath”). In Tokyo, we stayed (and I still am), at two different capsule hotels, one of which is more like a hostel than a business capsule hotel, and it is less than $40/night (plus I get to meet some interesting foreigners, but that’s a subject for another post). Some of the onsen (hot spring public baths) will let you stay the night for very cheap, if you don’t mind sleeping on the floor.

What about food and drink? Again, there is a huge range. Last night, I splurged 14,000 yen ($182) on a 6-course meal of the best bar food ever and unlimited beverages for four people (all you can drink in two hours). But today I had a delicious lunch of cucumber rice rolls, fried prawns, and shredded cabbage that was more than filling, and it was about $5. In other words, I had a fairly healthy lunch for cheaper than the McDonald’s that was a block down the street, and it was delicious.

Transportation in Japan is another thing that can be considered expensive. Flying from place to place within the country can run $100 to $300 on way, which is high compared to regional flight costs in the U.S. and Europe. Also, the bullet trains (shinkansen) can be pricey. For example, going from Tokyo to the northernmost point in Honshu (the main island) is going to be close to $200 by shinkansen. If we had traveled from Shikoku back to Tokyo all on express or bullet trains, we probably would have spent close to $1,000 on transit.

However, all the rail lines offer various discount tickets. The JR Rail Pass is a bargain if you use it a lot, but can only be purchased outside the country. In order to be worthwhile, you HAVE to use the shinkansen I think, just from a cost standpoint. We used a special ticket intended for teenagers and college kids on school breaks, but that is available to everybody, in order to get unlimited travel on JR local trains, which enabled us to see more of Japan by town hopping back to Tokyo. These tickets run about $35 per day, and are worth every dime if you travel the countryside extensively for a day on local trains. Also, if you purchase airline tickets at least 45 days in advance, the major carriers and the budget operators offer steep discounts. You can fly from Tokyo to Sapporo for well under $100 if you plan it right.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the ferries. Japan is an island nation, of course, so it is well suited to water travel. Ferries operate daily between all the major cities in the country. While they are not the fastest means of getting around, they are super fun and also super cheap. We took the ferry from Tokyo to Tokushima, Shikoku. The trip took 18 hours or so, overnight, and was a blast. It was much cheaper than flying or train, also, and we had a private cabin for not much extra money — it was about the price of a Western-style hotel room for the night to make the trip. If it weren’t for the approaching typhoon (that’s what they call hurricanes here — they are the exact same thing in meteorological terms), I’d take the ferry to Sapporo instead of the shinkansen.

Within Tokyo, it can add up quickly to bounce around between the two competing subway operators and the JR trains that encircle the city. However, for $12/day, you can get unlimited use of the subway system, and for about $20 a day you can get an unlimited use pass for both subway lines and the JR trains. These tickets can be purchased at almost any ticket machine, and will save you possibly hundreds of dollars during a week or two in Tokyo.

As I plan for living here in Japan short-term, I’ve been looking at other expenses. The interesting thing I’m discovering is that Japan is not as expensive to live as people in America think it is. The horrifying sticker shock to find a place to live here really comes down to what is called “key money”, essentially the same as your first and last month’s rent plus deposit, except bigger. In many cases, two year leases are the norm on an apartment, and your “key money” is equal to six months worth of rent. In some cases, that can essentially be the equivalent of a down payment on a house in some parts of the U.S.

But, again, there are less expensive options. Since Japan is a major destination for both foreign tourists and international business people, there is an entire industry here that caters to providing short-term (which can become long-term) housing for gaijin (foreigners). The most common of these places are called “gaijin houses”. Basically, they are just regular apartments or houses that are owned or managed by property management companies that specifically cater to the foreign market, and offer deposit options that are much more “normal” to Westerners. Some of these guest houses can accommodate couples and even families. If you’re single, the options greatly expand, though. For example, dorm style guest houses, with two to four blokes to a room, can be had for under $350 per month and a $100 deposit. For a private room in a house, rents are closer to $600 to $800 per month and deposits of about $400. However, compared to your own apartment, this is a bargain, and really is in line with what most Americans are used to paying for rent if they live in any large U.S. city.

As somebody that likes to splurge on occasion, but that is basically a cheapskate at heart, exploring these kind of options is of value to me personally. My place in Sapporo (I’ve narrowed it down to two options) won’t be posh by any means, but it also won’t be any worse than where I lived in Provo before coming here. On top of that, there’s the great benefit that it’s someplace interesting and living with people from other countries. Since part of my objective here in Japan is to not only work on my Japanese, but also begin picking up a European language (such as Spanish, French, or German), the opportunities in a gaijin house are quite spectacular.

I hope that this quick and dirty guide to doing Japan on the cheap is helpful to somebody out there on the interwebs. If you have any interest in visiting Japan, just go — don’t be frightened by sticker shock perpetuated by people in the travel industry that have never been here physically on the ground. Just like anywhere you go, it’s what you make of it, and if you want to or have to do it on the cheap, you totally can.

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Also in response, the S&P downgraded the US credit rating from AAA to AA+. This was completely symbolic — it has no impact on what the US government can or will do.

G7 and G20 leaders have been meeting to discuss how the U.S. economy is collapsing and how our national debt is almost 100% of GDP. They forgot to discuss the fact that many of THEIR national debts vastly exceed 100% of GDP already.

The media is screaming holy terror. Democrats are calling Republicans insensitive. Republicans are calling each other sellouts. Republicans are calling Democrats idiots. Reporters are saying your retirements accounts are hosed, and we all need to snuggle into our bomb shelters and await the end of the world as we know it.

What does the U.S. debt crisis and the responding market conditions really mean to you?

Not a damn thing, that’s what.

Did gas prices spike overnight? Nope.

Did unemployment skyrocket the next day? Nope.

Did little Jonny and Susie have to eat out dinner out of a dumpster for the first time? Nope.

Did anything really change? Not a bit.

Here’s the reality of the situation: What Congress does, what the Treasury does, what Wall Street market makers do…None of it has any real impact on your day to day life.

Your daily activities stay the same. For the most part, the price you paid yesterday for this or that will be the same price tomorrow, more or less (yes, it trends up over time, it’s called inflation, you should be used to it by now). You still go to work, take the kids to soccer practice, and blow money on absolutely, 100% non-essential goods and services.

What if you own a business? You should be worried, right? Wrong. If you run a business, you shouldn’t give one shit about what the economy as a whole is doing. Instead, focus on YOUR business. Focus on what YOU can actually DO to market your products and services and get more paying customers through the door. So, again, nothing changes.

How can I be so callous, you ask? I’m not being callous. I’m simply reminding everybody about this little thing called reality. Back in the Depression, people still scraped by. As a matter of fact, more millionaires were created during the 1920′s than at any time in U.S. history, both before and after. People with good business sense will always do well. So will people with good, marketable job skills. If your only employable skill is manual labor, you’re gonna have a hard time in ANY job market.

So if you’re sitting around fretting about what is going to happen to you, your business, your job, or your family…Stop. Just stop. Life goes on just as normal.

Look at it this way: Do you think your average Iraqi citizen is sitting around worried about the global economy? Nope. He still has to take his goods to market, go to work, feed his family, and show up for his kid’s soccer game. Despite the fact that his country’s infrastructure is now shrapnel, his economy is in the crapper, and there is the constant threat of violence in the streets, he still has to go about living his life.

You, my friend, need to do the exact same thing. In fact, YOU should be thriving, because you probably won’t get shot at today.

Perspective is a bitch, ain’t it?

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So what exactly is it? Basically, it’s being a permanent nomad. There is a resurgence of the nomadic lifestyle erupting amongst those with the wherewithal to do so, be it retired Americans selling their homes and permanently hitting the road in their motor homes, to financially insecure twenty-somethings that simply never return home from their gap year to do what they’re “supposed to do”.

Why on Earth would anybody want to do this? Humans have long had a natural urge to explore the world, seek out new lands, experience other cultures, and seek fame and fortune in the wild unknown. While I’d like to believe most individuals these days have moved past the desire for conquest and new sources of gold, we are still an innately curious species, and the desire to explore and learn will, hopefully, always be with us. In many cases, the new resurgence of the nomadic lifestyle is a backlash to the sterile, stoic world that many industrialized nations have become.

Personally, I just like to know what’s around the corner…where the road goes…what exists on the other side of the pond. Lately, as I’ve been dealing with insomnia and irregular sleep patterns, I go for random drives up and down I-15, taking whatever exit strikes my fancy, and following whatever road (or, as was the case three nights ago, the complete lack of a road) happens to create a path. I like to think that if I had been born at any time prior to the 20th century, I would have been an explorer. I would have been on the Lewis & Clark Expedition, or headed across the Atlantic with Pizarro, journeyed across the Middle East in search of trade routes, or been the Neanderthal to lead my tribe to lush new hunting and gathering grounds.

I’m constantly amazed at the number of Americans I meet that have no desire to travel, explore, or even really learn anything new. Even when I go through periods where I shut myself in, I’m still seeking to learn new things, even if it’s just through the miracle of the Interwebs.

For years now, I’ve this dream of becoming an international nomad. Scratch that — not a dream, more of just a “notion”. I’ve been more or less nomadic across the United States, having lived in 14 states and visited 43 of them so far. I spent way to long living in Colorado, where I was for 9 years. I’m not even really sure how or why that happened, but I don’t regret it – I met a lot of great people and it really is a beautiful state, and probably the state I will technically call “home” for several more years, even if I’m not actually there. Leaving last December for Utah, however, opened a massive can of worms that got the travel bug going again, and I’ve taken several trips out of state since then.

I’ve been planning a trip to Japan for a couple months now with my BFF, Ashley, kind of as a graduation present to her. As we’ve been getting closer and closer to our Augsut 15th departure, the thought of simply not coming back to the States has loomed larger as an option.

And so, as of yesterday, I made it official: I’m not coming home. In fact, I’m not going to have a home. I’m becoming location independent.

As somebody who prefers traveling extremely light (I went to Australia for two weeks back in 2009 with nothing but a small backpack, and it was only half full), going “location independent” suddenly creates some unique challenges, because I feel like I must take more stuff with me. There is also the challenge of suddenly and swiftly getting rid of everything else I own, deciding whether to throw some stuff in storage or not, dealing with an apartment lease and that chunk of steel in the driveway.

Even bigger, there’s this little thing called WORK. I am by no means a wealthy, financially independent person: I’m still a working stiff. If I can’t continue to service my clients, I can’t eat, let alone hop a fly-fly from Salt Lake to Los Angeles for a random weekend excursion.

Fortunately, I started working on the issues of working remotely when I left Colorado for Utah. Granted, it’s only an 8 hour drive back to Denver, but the exact same systems that allow me to be here in Provo and continue working actually allow me to work from anywhere with Internet access. While my businesses and staff are primarily based in the Denver area, I do work from here.

The vast majority of the location independent people I have read about that still work (e.g., they’re not rich and don’t have a business that throws off cash with zero management or interaction from themselves) have been writers, journalists, travel editors, videographers, artists, athletes, and performers. In other words, creative types that can ply their trade anywhere, or where their trade IS travel related. The only exceptions I’ve seen to this are nurses and English teachers, which seem to be able to get work worldwide quite readily. However, even these professionals are tied to a location, even if it’s overseas.

I’m not so naive as to suggest that anybody, with any profession, can achieve location independence. However, I think it’s perfectly doable for anybody, regardless of profession, that sits in front of a computer all day, talks on the telephone all day, or telecommutes or works from home anyway. This would include many service professionals, including architects, accountants, and attorneys, computer people such as programmers and CAD designers, and just about any engineer that doesn’t do field work. The vast majority of sales professionals could also do this. I also think it’s doable for people that work within agriculture, with animals, industrial trades (welders, electricians, plant technicians, etc), medical professionals, infrastructure types (roads, bridges, water, power, sewer, etc), and even unskilled laborers (muscle power is needed everywhere, despite technology).

In other words, if your job is digging ditches, then guess what? You can just as well dig a ditch in Paraguay or South Africa as you can in Kansas.

Now obviously, for some jobs, I’m completely ignoring work visa issues that are going to apply in most other countries, and I would never advocate working in a country illegally. But at the same time, where there’s a will, there’s a way.

Here’s the bottom line: No matter what you do for a living, there’s either a way to do it elsewhere, or you could make a small career change into something that you can do from elsewhere.

As a nuclear power plant operator, my geographical options were extremely limited, but by gradually transitioning to tax consultant (the path to which was actually quite accidental) I am now in a position to work from anywhere, and given enough motivation, you can too, no matter where you’re starting from.

Are you location independent, or heading that direction? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic, so leave a comment to this post.

Do you owe back taxes to the IRS? If so, get your $697 in FREE tax services today!

If you owe the IRS back taxes, and they are actively coming after you to collect the money, then you are in a collections situation. Therefore, tax relief for you probably means getting the IRS off your back. What I mean by this is that you need to stop the collections process, particularly to get the IRS to not come after your bank accounts and your wages.

If you’re already on an Installment Agreement, then tax relief for you might be obtaining a reduction in the penalties. This process, called a “penalty abatement”, requires you to meet certain criteria and demonstrate that, despite your best efforts, you were unable to pay your taxes on time because of reasonable cause. Reasonable cause itself has a variety of criteria, which I actually outline in an article on my firm’s web site about penalty abatement reasonable cause criteria.

Another scenario with a slightly different definition of “tax relief” could be if you have years and years of unfiled tax returns, and the IRS files returns for you based on the information they have on file. Since employers, brokerage firms, and other companies are required by law to send copies of your W-2′s, 1099′s, and other documents to the IRS, they have all that data regarding your wages and transactions. If you don’t file a return, they will file what is called a “Substitute For Return”, or SFR for short. This return is literally a worst case scenario — they give you no deductions, nothing but the standard deduction and usually only one exemption unless you have a prior history of filing married, and they assess you the highest possible tax under this scenario. The solution to this little nightmare is to file actual returns and replace the ones the IRS prepared for you.

In most cases where I have filed real returns to replace Substitute For Returns filed by the IRS, the tax liability, as well as the penalties and interest, end up getting slashed by 50% to 70%. Therefore, it’s worth spending the money to have real returns prepared on your behalf if this happens to be your situation.

For other folks, “tax relief” may be having your property tax valuation more accurately reflect the value of your home. This has become a common scenario as market prices have dropped, but property tax valuations have not. Most counties have a process by which you can contest the property valuation — most people these days either don’t realize that or simply fail to do it. Having your assessed value of your home accurately reflect it’s value can save you thousands of dollars in property taxes over the years, and if this is the type of tax relief you are looking for, then I would highly encourage you to look into it.

Tax relief means different things to different people in different situations. I’m always happy to talk tax (I’m kind of a geek like that), so feel free to call me directly at (970) 930-1040 to discuss the kind of tax relief you need.

Do you owe back taxes to the IRS? If so, get your $697 in FREE tax services today!

Cell phones have permeated every possible fabric of our society. From mobile banking and workout tracking, today’s smart phones in particular come with everything but the kitchen sink (but you can look up where to buy a sink, of course). The most advanced smart phones are more computer than anything else, with a phone chip and antenna just along for the ride, it seems. With mobile Internet, email, navigation systems, high definition video, today’s smart phones can do almost anything.

Which, honestly, is why I switched from a fairly basic, phone-only device to an iPhone 3. My thought process behind the iPhone was to be able to do all the things I do with a computer, but from a mobile device. In this way, I could always keep in touch with my clients and their IRS agents. I would never be far away from anything I need for business. On top of that, I wouldn’t have to plan ahead and print maps, I could listen to whatever music I wanted, wherever I wanted. It seemed like a perfect, magical little box.

So, what happened?

It didn’t take me long to figure out that a smartphone is actually a leash. After just a few months, I didn’t WANT to be constantly available. I was able to work 24/7, even when I was on vacation, even when I was at the rink. Although I could suddenly work from almost anywhere, that was the problem: I was working from everywhere. And quite frankly, it sucked.

So, I basically just quit using the stupid thing.

After moving to Utah, the iPhone became something I basically used for just two things:

1). Playing music at the rink
2). Texting with ONE local friend, mainly to arrange where to meet up for lunch.

When I was at the office, I would, of course, use the phone to contact clients, but months ago I adopted a policy of time blocking my phone time, as a time management tool. In other words, I *never* actually answer my phone live when it rings. 99% of the time, the ringer is OFF, and vibrate mode hasn’t been turned on for six months.

Like many people that experience smartphone addiction (they’re not jokingly called “CrackBerries” for nothing), I dealt with the problem by simply stopping the usage. This is actually a subset of a growing problem in industrialized countries. While the world of Facebook, Twitter, and mobile devices are supposed to be bringing us all closer together, they in fact further isolate us from one another. This is now a mainstream topic for research in psychology.

Technology should enhance our lives, not enslave us. What’s even worse is that we get to pay through the nose for this. I was paying $120 per month to AT&T for the privilege of carrying a leash around, basically.

So, what’s the solution?

Ditch the damn thing.

Most smart phone users are under contract, so there is an Early Termination Fee in most cases. I was fortunate to be one of the last iPhone 3 purchasers, and was under an ETF scheme that decreased with every month, so I only had to pay $100 to get out from the last year of my contract. Even if your ETF is $350, which many are these days, you’ll make that back within 3 to 6 months, depending on your average monthly cell phone bill. I’ll be saving $1,440 per year.

My service with AT&T is officially over on August 8th, but I’ve already disabled the data service manually, and have quit carrying it around. And you know what? I don’t miss it. Period.

Considering the fact that I’m in the professional services industry, the question immediately comes up: What am I going to do about telephone service?

Well, I’ve been using Google Voice for all inbound communications for over two years, and it works great. Now, Google Voice offers outbound calling, as well, and the call quality is fairly comparable to most commercial VOIP services. There is also Skype, which tons of people use as their primary phone service around the world, even though the call quality isn’t always the greatest. In the tests I’ve conduced, Google Voice is more than adequate for business level service, particularly when done over a hardwired connection.

What was that? Yes, I’m using a laptop with the wi-fi disabled and a physical CAT-5 cable plugged into the LAN jack.

What am I going to do about “emergency” cell phone service?

There are numerous options out there for simple, pre-paid cell service. You can go to Wal-Mart and walk out with a cell phone for $10, that doesn’t require a monthly bill. Problem solved. Just keep it in the car and it’s there when you need it.

Is doing this a bit drastic? Yes, of course it is. But often times, it requires drastic change to get where you want in life. For me, being tied to a U.S.-based mobile device, particularly for voice communication, was one thing preventing me from making the switch to VOIP based communication, which was ultimately going to be necessary for me to live overseas but keep my business here operating.

Interestingly, I can use Skype over on my iPhone (now just a glorified iPod touch with a camera) when I’ve got wi-fi around, and the call quality isn’t that bad, and I can use it overseas with nothing more than the few bucks a month for a Skype plan.

I’ve accepted the fact that I’ll be taking a computer with me overseas. It’s part of what I was trying to avoid with getting the iPhone, but I just have to do too much data work, too much programming, too much with PDF’s, etc., in order for that to be realistic. But when I’m away from that computer, hanging out on Bondi Beach, I’ll be playing, not working. Booyah.

Do you owe back taxes to the IRS? If so, get your $697 in FREE tax services today!

This is you, I say,
And tarry now I will,
to learn of truth and things
so profound as to cause the Earth to shake.
For if I choose to pontificate less,
listen more,
I dare feel the winds of change.

‘Twas yonder in the distance,
a feeble little light,
a bare few lumens so,
not gone for the moment,
but growing steadily as we go.

Do you owe back taxes to the IRS? If so, get your $697 in FREE tax services today!