Meeting "Notes"

Reason #155 to NOT work for someone else;
"Holiday Meetings"




On Christmas Eve I had to work. It was a rediculous day to be at work from the get-go, but to make things worse, my boss actually scheduled a real meeting that day for the whole team. I'm not sure if he was trying to keep us focused or if he was just being mean. Either way, it was retarded. This image is the result of the "notes" I took during that meeting. I call it "Barbbed." I guess that is the way I was feeling about having to be in a meeting on Christmas Eve. Hhhh...

Taking Care of "Business"

The other day, while "seated" in the men's room I was looking at the randomly patterned marble tiled floor, as I always do during "business time", and found myself image-hunting. I've done this all my life. In the random designs of the floor, I see images and then I draw them. Faces, space ships, hands, animals, and creatures. Weird, I know, but I'm an artist, and inspiration has to come from somewhere. I don't pick the places where the muses choose to whisper to me. Pitty, though, that the muses feel it necessary to converse with me while "I'm taking care of business." This is the sketch that resulted from the image I saw last Friday. I call it "The Nukkelip"

The Fulcrum Group

Although I’ve always liked the idea of having a business partner, I’ve never been able to find a good match for myself. I like the idea of having someone else to bounce my ideas off of to give me feedback. I’m not talking about the, “Yeah, that looks nice,” type of stuff. You know, “real” feedback. The kind that you can’t get from your mom, and that is legal tender in the real world. I’m a big boy…I can take it. I like the idea of having someone pushing me for deadlines and helping me exercise accountability for my goals. I like the idea of having someone to consult with before making a big decision. I like the creative process of playing the devil’s advocate in conversation and brainstorming. Sure, working on your own has its benefits too, but still… having a partner would be fun.

I’ve never had a business partner, though. I’ve tried it before – a couple of times – but it’s never really worked out. It’s never seemed like a real partnership. It’s always been more like one person piggy-backing on the ideas of another. I don’t want to work on someone else’s project and I don’t want them taking equal credit or profits for something I did 90% of. Maybe I’m picky, but I’m also realistic. Still, I like the idea of a partnership. I think I like the idea of partnership more than the actual thing.

This is why I have some of the friends that I do. I like surrounding myself with motivated and like-minded people. And although this helps, even this sometimes doesn’t cut it. Recently I started my own little think tank. Once a week, a few of my like-minded friends and I get together to bounce ideas off one another, talk about trends, set written and verbal goals, and report on the progress of previously set goals. We have a written agenda with each meeting, some sort of dinner, and some great intellectual conversation. Really, our group is a smaller version of Benjamin Franklin’s “Junto” group, from which I got the idea.

We’ve called our little get-togethers “The Fulcrum Group” because of its roll in each of our respective projects. A fulcrum is a strong and steady object or pivot point which provides the leverage necessary to make lifting or moving possible where it might not otherwise be. Each of us has our own projects to work on and our own deadlines. The group provides the sounding board the motivation, and the brainstorming that we all respectively lack without it. It also provides a sense of accountability and camaraderie.

Too Young? I think not!

I think Whitney Houston said it best when she sang the words, “…I believe that children are our future. Teach them well, and let them lead the way…” A bit cheesy perhaps, but still true.

Ever since I started working on my Training Wheels series, I’ve been on the look-out for other sources of education for my kids in the areas of business & entrepreneurship. I’ve been looking for others who share with me the sense of urgency to give my kids a head start on a good foundation of financial concepts and education. After doing some research, I’ve discovered that apparently I’m not the only one who thinks it’s a great idea to start teaching kids early about “grown-up” concepts like the ones I teach in my Training Wheels stories. Check these out!!

Rich Kid, Smart Kid (Rich Dad, Poor Dad’s Robert Kiyosaki teaches kids about assets, liabilities, and how money works through the Cash Flow for Kids board game. We have this game, and my 6 year-old daughter LOVES it!!)

The BizWorld Foundation (business and entrepreneurial training & education for kids… also check out this video. This is an incredible program!!)

Give Me 20 (Helping kids learn about money & credit through allowance and other resources)

A Smart Kid (The Foundation for Change helps teach kids about financial literacy through the “Moolah Matters” program.)

Moonjar (Teaching kids about money through their “Save, Spend and Share” program & products)

Kids are a LOT smarter than we give them credit for. They pick up on things quickly, and are too naïve to believe in the “I can’t do it” logic that many adults have subscribed to. If kids can learn about weather and kinetic energy, they can certainly learn about the simplified concepts of economics and entrepreneurialism! This weekend I’m meeting with my programmer about the new Training Wheels interactive website that I’m building. He’s flying into town tomorrow and we should have a great company-funded weekend here in Vegas!!

A Timely Statement

The following statement was forwarded to me this morning by my grandad. It's succinct, profound, and I couldn't agree more with it:

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that, my dear friend, is about the end of any nation.You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

- The late Dr. Adrian Rogers