Confusing Definitions

Elitism has taken on a negative connotation over the last twenty-five years. Today many people flippantly use it as an insult (as if being an elitist or even subscribing to an elitist belief were as bad as being a racist). Elitism is viewed negatively by two groups. The first group is the majority of the anti elites. They confuse Elitism with discrimination. This group of anti-elites are simply anti-discrimination and not really anti-elitist. They have had trouble defining terms. Let's get clear on some terms so that the first group can change their attitude about "Elitism".

I have learned to enjoy reading and writing despite my public school background. (Perhaps my poor grammar and poor writing style betray my poor education). Ultimately, I blame myself for being such an unambitious and uninterested kid. However, I am unwilling to ignore the lack of intellectual stimulation offered in my K-12 experiences. Most of my time was spent pretending to pay attention to the ramblings of a teacher repeating for the third time a concept one can learn from watching a cartoon.

Self-Help can basically be divided into five general categories. Each category represents a substantive philosophy defining Happiness/Ethics/Epistemology/Theology/Politics. Maybe some self-help isn't informed by any of the five. However, as a general rule you can bet that the self-help you are reading or not wanting to read comes from one of these five school's of thought.

1. Secular Humanism

I just finished reading Godin's Meatball Sundae. I have read All Marketers Are Liars, The Purple Cow, Free Prize Inside, The Dip, and of course Meatball Sundae. Here are the 5 take home ideas that I learned from Godin:

1. People don't want to change their mind. It is far more profitable to tell someone something they want to hear, then, to convince them against their will. Instead of marketing an uphill battle, market to people who already want to believe you.

Something that has always bothered me about the attitude of some of the self-help industry is that it encourages everyone to pretend indefinitely. It’s the attitude that all mankind can achieve all things. If you aren’t achieving all things then you must not be saying it in front of the mirror enough. The more that I look at the injustice and inequality of life, the more I find this attitude towards the less fortunate naive. I am reading a couple of books that seem to help clarify some of the disadvantages which prevent people from becoming successful.

I have decided to start logging my daily real estate sales experiences. I spend most of my work time knocking doors of potential motivated sellers. I get their names from foreclosure lists compiled from the courthouse’s database. Foreclosure lists seem to be an effective way to locate motivated sellers because those on it with equity have a limited time frame to liquidate their equity.

I spend most of my day searching for motivated sellers willing to work with my terms. Today I ran into a “for sale by owner� property which is asking for $393,000 for his house. I discovered that he has had 2 other properties, which have gone through foreclosure in the last year. I decided that I would make him a $333,000 cash offer. I haven’t heard back from him yet. I anticipate him telling me that he has received several offers and that he will sell it at full price in “this market�. I will agree that his possibility for selling exist and explain that we are creating a safety net offer in case the auction creeps up on him. I anticipate keeping in touch with him and if he happens to not find a buyer within the next 6 weeks than he always can use me as a second option.

Personal growth, to a large extent, is limited to self-awareness. I can only change what I recognize. Self-awareness is not as simple as it seems. It requires several skills that have to be developed.

Here is a list of skills and virtues, which enhance someone’s ability to be self-aware.

1. Honesty- until a person is willing to accept the truth about themselves, he will miss the mark as to where he should focus on changing himself.

Every time I make a list of life dreams I list "philanthropic efforts" as my most desirable life mission. I list more ideas related to philanthropy than any other single area of success categorized by enrichr.com. I have hundreds of philanthropic ideas, such as: making documentaries meant to advocate the needs of Hispanic immigrants; creating foundations that teach Hispanic business owners how to become more profitable; grass root efforts to educate Latin America on the value of a more transparent government, more accessible legal and property system, and the benefits of borrowing money against your assets to create capital. I could go on and on about the different ways I want to help change the world. Funny thing about my philanthropic plans is that they don’t get scheduled into my daily life.

Since age 13, I have yearned to stand on top of the hills overlooking Machu Picchu. I was fascinated by the mystery and the exotic beauty of it. I studied the photos and would daydream for hours. I decided that someday I was going to visit the site and learn more about it.

Ten years later, a good friend of mine shared with me his dream to hike Northern Chile. He mentioned his longing to go spelunking in Valle De La Luna and San Pedro de la Atacama. Although, we were not in a position to justify the trip we spent hundreds of hours talking about it.

I think most of us spend the majority of our time trying to figure out how to make money and secure financial independence. I spend probably 75% of all working time strictly on that point. It seems a little ridiculous considering how little reward money has in and of itself. I think my reasoning for justifying the time it cost to pursue financial goals is that money is the facilitator of a lot of my other goals in life.