Current Events (2)

Category Archives: Current Events

Lessons Learned From “Jon & Kate Plus Eight”

Posted by Grant on June 23, 2009 – 5:43 am

I’ve watched “Jon & Kate Plus Eight” off and on for the past few years and like a lot of people, find myself intrigued by their story. I saw the season premiere this year and haven’t watched it again until last night when they announced they would be separating.

Like most viewers, I wasn’t completely surprised but at the same time, very saddened by the whole situation. Like most bummers that happen in life, there are always lessons to be learned. Here are some I gathered…

Disclaimer – I am no relationship wizard/expert/guru. I’m not perfect in any way and am not throwing stones at all. Just making observations about the situation.

Your Attention = Where You’re Successful – Time and time again, Jon and Kate talked about how they were in all this for their kids. As a result, they are good parents with a bad marriage. You can be successful in life when you really focus on something and work at it, but you have to make sure you’re focusing on the right thing. In addition, don’t develop “tunnel vision” where one aspect of your life is incredible, but the rest of your world sucks.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words – Don’t tell me what matters to you. Show me. If you tell me one of your top priorities is school, but you never study and you continue to blow off your classes, your words mean nothing.

No One Is Immune – Even as recently as a year ago, Jon and Kate renewed their vows and committed to one another for life. And now here they are. There are a lot of couples and people out there that will do things you’d never expect them to do. There are couples you don’t expect to get divorced. There are individuals you don’t expect to make horrible, life-altering decisions. But we all make mistakes, and no one is immune. While I have zero intention or desire to ever split up from my wife, we’re no different than any other couple. If you ever think you’re immune or it couldn’t happen to you, you’ve got your naive head in the sand.

My personal opinion is that one of the best things I can do to be a good father to my daughters is to be a good husband to their mother. How I treat her and love her will speak volumes to my children about the kind of person their daddy is.

It’s a sad story, but I wish nothing but the best for the Gosselin family.

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A Knowledge-Based Economy: Knowledge = Value

Posted by Grant on June 22, 2009 – 6:50 am

Filed under Current Events, Thinking Out Loud...

Back in the early 1900s people were paid based on one simple thing: production. In a world of factories and assembly lines, the more you produced, the more valuable you were.

That’s no longer the case.

In today’s world, you are paid based less on what you produce and more on what you know. The more you know, the more valuable you are.

Think about this in the world of consultants. A company brings in a consultant (and pays them insane money) not so they can put on a hard hat and find their spot on the assembly line. Companies bring in consultants based on what they know. The consultant knows something the company doesn’t, so there’s value in that knowledge.

But understand this…knowledge doesn’t just come from formal, institutionalized education at a college or university. Knowledge comes from reading books, learning from other people, and having an overall curiosity about the world around you.

I’ve heard it put this way: “You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.”

Knowledge = Value.

What are you doing to increase your knowledge and therefore increase your value?

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How To React To The Swine Flue “Crisis”

Posted by Grant on April 30, 2009 – 3:22 pm

Filed under Current Events, Thinking Out Loud...

Old McDonald had a pig but then he caught swine flu and his farm went into foreclosure. The sky is falling. The world is ending. We’ll all be dead by Tuesday.

Thanks to the constant barrage of media attention, we are now all familiar with the swine flu “crisis” that will apparently destroy the planet by this weekend.
Now I don’t mean to belittle the situation, and I certainly understand that there are some serious health risks associated with this disease. That being said, here is exactly how I’m responding to the situation…

Don’t Stress About What You Can’t Control – I’ll do what all the experts tell us to do…wash your hands more, be more cautious with human contact, drink lots of water, etc, etc, etc. But I’m not going to move into a cave and live in isolation out of fear. I talk about this a lot but there are some things in life you just can’t control, but you always have control over your response to a situation.
Proactive NOT Panic – Like I said, I’ll do the things necessary to keep myself safe and healthy, but do you know how much energy I’m going to spend worrying about all this? ZERO.
Keep Living Life – Next week I’m scheduled to speak at a pretty big event in Texas…where apparently the swine flue has come to live. And guess what? I’m still going. I won’t be packing any masks, gloves, or radioactive biohazard suits (where do you get those anyway?).

Overall, I’m just trying to keep things in perspective. Stop stressing people. Don’t let the media hype you up over something.

You’ll be okay.

Now put down your heart medication and return to your regularly scheduled life.

UPDATE: Just got word that the national conference I was speaking at in Dallas next week has been canceled. Stupid swine flu.

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I Figured Out How To Fix The Economy…But I Need Your Help

Posted by Grant on April 14, 2009 – 6:00 pm

Filed under Blogs, Current Events, Money & Finances, Websites

Have no fear, I know how to fix the economy. Better yet, I know who can fix the economy.

It’s not the President, Congress, or Oprah. And no it isn’t Superman, Wonder Woman, or even Chuck Norris (who of course is in a league of his own).

The person who is going to help fix the economy is….(wait for it)….(drum roll)…

YOU!

That’s not a typo. You can help the economy (and you can prevent forest fires as well just so you know).

Sure the economy is in rough shape because of a variety of different factors but if you and I each figured out how to handle our money better, maybe, just maybe, things would begin to improve. So where do you go to find the knowledge that you need?

Enter BrokePiggy.com.

We’re launching a brand new site to help students find the answers they’re looking for regarding savings, investing, personal finance, and all things money. Each day, we’ll be answering a different question submitted by a student on subjects such as budgets, scholarships, credit cards, debt, insurance, living on your own, taxes, and so much more.

So stop what you’re doing, do not pass GO, and head straight over to BrokePiggy.com. Browse around the site, check out the How To Use This Site page, and don’t forget to register for your chance to win $100!

I thank you. Chuck Norris thanks you. And so does MacGyver and MacGruber.

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Quit Waiting For A Bailout And Get Your Act Together

Posted by Grant on April 6, 2009 – 3:31 am

Filed under Current Events, Thinking Out Loud...

Like most of Americans, I’m tired of the various auto makers, banks, and other institutions looking to the government for a bailout.

We’re tired of hearing about it, but unfortunately, sometimes we’re not too different.

At one point or another, we’ve all been guilty of finding ourselves in some kind of mess and expecting someone else to bail us out. We look to our parents, our friends, our teachers, and maybe even the government to swoop in and save the day.

Here’s a news flash for you though…

Your Bailout Isn’t Coming.

So why are you still waiting for it to arrive? Quit wishing, hoping, or even thinking that someone else is going to solve your problems or change your life.

The only person who can give you the life you want is YOU.

Regardless of your situation or circumstance or what you’re going through, take responsibility and ownership for yourself and quit waiting on a bailout.

It’s not coming. Change happens when YOU make it.

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Where Your Money Goes For A Gallon Of Gas…

Posted by Grant on March 5, 2009 – 3:57 am

Filed under Current Events, Money & Finances

There was an interesting piece in Money Magazine this month about how your money is broken down when you pay for a gallon of gas. I had always kind of wondered what factors went into the price, so I thought I might share this info with you.

Here is the breakdown for a $1.68 gallon of gas…

$.95 – Crude-Oil Suppliers – This is the biggest expense and what we’ve heard the most about in the news recently. Canada actually reaps the largest share of our crude-oil dollars.
$.23 – Oil Companies – These are the big boys such as ExxonMobil and BP who make their money on oil drilling, refining, and distribution to gas stations.
$.23 – Your State & City – These taxes vary widely state to state and city to city. For example, New Yorkers shell out $.41 a gallon, while Georgia residents only pay about $.12.
$.18 – The Feds – As of now, Washington’s piece of the pie is fixed. But of course Congress thinks this amount should be increased.
$.10 – Service Stations – Gas stations actually make very little, if anything, on the gas you pump. Where they make their money is through drinks, snacks, and other random junk we buy.

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How Much Time Does The Average Teen Spend Online?

Posted by Grant on February 17, 2009 – 2:07 am

Filed under Current Events, Students

I came across this article via CrunchGear about a study done in the UK that found that teenagers spend an average of 31 hours online every week.

They found that a high majority of that time was spent chatting with friends on MSN or browsing around the major social networking sites like MySpace or Facebook. Of course there was also lots of time getting lost in the entertainment abyss that is YouTube.
Here were a couple of other things that stood out to me:

Just over an hour is devoted to looking up cosmetic surgery procedures
An hour and a half is spent on family planning and pregnancy websites
One hour 35 minutes is spent investigating diets and weight loss.
One in four teenagers of the 1,000 polled said they regularly spoke to strangers online but thought it harmless.
One in three admitted trying to hide what they were looking at if a parent entered the room.
But children also use the internet to help them with homework, with at least three hours a week spent searching for such information.

Interesting stuff. It’s kind of scary how much time is spent on things like cosmetic surgery, diets, and weight loss. Gives you an idea of the level of self-esteem for most students. Also, how much time is spent on pregnancy websites…figures like those get your attention.

Again, these are figures from the UK…how do you think they would compare with the US? Leave your comment below…

(Also, if you’re reading this through an RSS Reader, come to the actual site to vote in a poll.)

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Why The Recession Is Your Fault…

Posted by Grant on February 5, 2009 – 2:41 am

Filed under Current Events, Money & Finances

Of course there are a lot of reasons the economy may be the way that it is right now…

Bad housing market
Mass job layoffs
Rising costs of everything
Ryan Seacrest (not sure why but it’s a theory)

But I think there’s another simple factor that we may all be guilty of and it’s this…

Spending what we don’t have on things we don’t need

We’ve all done it. You see something you just have to have and even better, it’s on sale. But unfortunately you don’t get paid for another 4 days, so you bust out your trusty Visa card, swipe it, and commit to figure out later how to pay for it.

But unfortunately by the time you do actually pay for it (in the form of paying off your credit card) not only did you pay more for it than you can even imagine (because of credit card interest), but six months or a year has gone by since you purchased that item, and you don’t even use it anymore!

Stop right now and go through your closet and you’ll see what I’m talking about. Browse around your office, your garage, your dresser, or even under your bed, and you’re bound to find something that would fall into this category.

So how do you change this?

Pay Cash – When you buy something with cash, you are spending money that you currently own, and not buying things based on money you may (or may not) have at some point.
Think It Through – Stores are incredible at enticing you with impulse purchases. We justify it by saying things like, “It’s a great deal,” or “This special won’t last,” or the classic, “I need it.” If there’s any doubt whether or not you actually need it, you don’t.
Don’t Shop If You’re Not Buying – If you have a tough time spending money you don’t have, I’ve got an idea…quit shopping. Don’t go to stores or online just to browse around if you’re not planning on making a purchase.

The bottom line is this: Quit spending money you don’t have to buy crap you don’t need.

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How Do You Feel About Credit Card Debt?

Posted by Grant on January 29, 2009 – 2:10 am

Filed under Current Events, Money & Finances

It’s no secret that our society struggles with credit card debt. Everyday we hear stories of bankruptcies, foreclosures, and personal financial crises, with one of the leading characters in this saga being credit card debt. Although so many have it, how do people actually feel about credit card debt and credit cards in general?

Yahoo recently had an article answering this question: Americans Views About Credit Cards: Negative.

Here were a couple of items that stood out to me from their survey…

40% say they couldn’t care less if their credit lines dried up. I wonder how many of those 40% still have credit cards though and depend on them? Although I guess I could fall into that category. I have a credit card that I use for business travel expenses and pay off each month, but then of course, I could still survive without it. 5% say they would be devastated, because they depend on their credit cards so much. This figure seems too low to me. In the current economy, many people are living month to month and making ends meet because of their credit cards.
92% say credit card companies should be more closely regulated and 90% say credit card companies make it too easy for consumers to spend more than they earn. While I agree with this, I wouldn’t put all the blame on the credit card companies. The consumer still needs to have a level of self-control. It’s like cigarettes. We all know they are bad for you, but Joe Camel isn’t making anyone buy or smoke the things.
72% say they do have credit cards, compared with 28% who don’t have any. Interestingly though, of 18-24 year olds surveyed, only 46% have credit cards, while 54% do not. Maybe students are paying attention to how the average consumer (and perhaps their parents) got into a financial bind and are determined to not repeat history.

So now it’s your turn. How do you feel about credit cards and credit card debt?

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Facebook Poised To Overtake MySpace

Posted by Grant on January 27, 2009 – 2:21 am

Filed under Current Events, Media, Websites

One of my favorite blogs, TechCrunch, recently posted a story about how new data shows that Facebook may overtake MySpace in terms of users by late 2009 or early 2010 (Read TechCrunch article here).

First of all, let me state that I completely agree. I wrote a post several months back on the reasons why I think Facebook does better than MySpace. Although I have profiles on each site (Facebook & MySpace), I check Facebook on a daily basis while I only will check MySpace every once in a while.

I think the data is interesting, but I don’t think it shows the entire story. It is measuring strictly signed-up users, but not necessarily the activity of the site. My guess would be that Facebook gets much more activity and actual usage than MySpace, where there are countless inactive pages that sit and collect dust.

Just my take on it…

What do you think? Which do you prefer?

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