I just read an article, in the June/July issue of Success Magazine, on social entrepreneurs and the companies they are putting together to not only help level the playing field for those with ability stuck in difficult situations but to revolutionize how we are able to contribute to society. The articles highlight Year Up (yearup.org), Social Venture Partners International (svpi.org), and Kiva (kiva.org).
Year Up is a 6 month crash course in information technology & back-office finance, for urban 18- to 24-year-olds, followed by a 6 month internship. The hope is that after a year the hopefuls will land a job that that will change their entire lives. The article, by Sally Deneen, starts with Roberto Velez as the poster boy who went from cleaning jets to a job on Wall Street. If that is not life changing then we are all doomed to suffer de-evolution back to primitive mitochondria.
Social Venture Partners is described as an “incubator for philanthropists.” I’m not sure what that means but it takes contributions from affiliates in 23 cities from LA to Tokyo. Then the pooled money is invested in society-changing nonprofits such as the Human Development Foundation. HDP runs the Open GATE program which identifies students in low-income communities who test in the 99th percentile in second grade. The students then get assistance to attend private middle schools and high schools. Talk about plucking Cinderella from the labyrinth!
Lastly, Sally Deneen writes about microfinancing companies such as Kiva.org, Prosper.com, and PRBC.com. Basically, through these companies anyone can help finance a project for as little as $25! Well, that’s mainly with Kiva which helps finance business from around the world. I’ve actually looked into Prosper.com myself and it is one of the better ways to get a private loan.
These companies are truly going to change the face of the playing field. Personally, they’re also changing my views of helping others and doing business. It’s the difference between doing something for someone and helping someone help oneself. This is not to say that we shouldn’t help each other occasionally. I believe in the power of random acts of kindness. I even have a piggy bank set aside for such occasions. It’s a small piggy bank that is suppose to be about 10% of my income. Though, I can’t really afford 10% these days. However, I still put in my loose change. I’ll get it back to 10% when I turn my financial situation around. Hm, I digress. I was just trying to say that charity is a good thing but we shouldn’t overdo it. There are many ways that we can help others without selling ourselves short.
Closing thought: A fish given away is one less fisher in the world.
My brother and my dad flew in the other night for my sister’s graduation in a few hours. With their time here and the upcoming graduation in a few hours brings another reminder as to why it is so important for me to take the necessary steps to ensure a better future for myself and my family. So I thought I’d share a little of what I’ll be doing in the next five years. Since these are my goals they are written in past tense. As I have mentioned before, it’s written in the past tense because they are as good as done.
“In the last five years I have become a successful real estate investor. I have completed 60 real estate deals with at least 5 cash flow properties. Any and all financial burdens are a thing of the distant past. My parents are finally able to enjoy the lives they always wanted and my siblings go to school without ever hearing that we can’t afford something. I have created a wealth for myself that allows me to work for the wealth of others. I have traveled the world to expand my business and to fulfill a goal I have had since I started thinking about what I wanted to do with my life. And now I get to fulfill my goal of working with children and helping them realize and achieve their own wealth.
May 20, 2013″
How am I suppose to reap what I sow when I have inherited $3+ million in debt?
The two sides:
We hear it all the time: You reap what you sow. We also see the old theme: A guy inherits the sins of his father. Both situations exist but can they exist together? If we reap what we sow then what are all these problems that pop up that we never knew about? If we inherit the sins of our fathers (parents) then how do we ever create a life of our own? Maybe we reap the problems of our parents? Or do we only make our own gains after we overcome the situations passed down to us by our parents (financial, psychological, or situational)?
The problem:
I have not paid any of the mortgages this month. There are also a lot of bills that have yet to be paid. On top of that there are fines and dues from the various HOA’s and other monetary collecting bodies that have yet to be paid. Add in credit cards, borrowed funds, and other various loans and payments and we’re looking at about $30 thousand that needs to be paid immediately. This is not the total of my family’s debt however. The total of my family’s debt exceeds $3+ million. Hmmm… and all this time I’ve been thinking 3 was my lucky number.
The answer:
$3 million in debt is not that bad. I’m sure if we all looked into our families debt it would be much more than we thought was possible. Maybe not $3 million but more than we think. A $1 million lump sum is not that much because there are bills every month. $1 million will eventually run out if it’s not put to work. Thus, how am I suppose to become all that I can be and “reap what I sow” when the financial decisions made by my parents have put us in a terrible financial situation and has caused me to “inherit their sins?” I love my parents and they have taught me a great deal but somewhere along the 26 years of my very young life mistakes were made in regards to financial planning. I can’t say who’s fault it is because no one owns up to it. That’s not really important anyway. What’s important is what we do from here. I have an idea to get through all of this but I lack the knowledge to pull it all off. I also lack the discipline, focus, and hunger to get everything together. Luckily, I possess an ability to allow me to overcome my shortcomings. Maybe. Hahaha. Hopefully I can learn to become disciplined, focused, and hungry enough to gain the knowledge I need to turn this disaster into good fortune. Then not only will I be able to successfully carry my own weight but I’ll be able to carry the weight of my parents as well. Who wouldn’t want to be able to do that?
Last week was a complete failure. I was unable to take care of anything on my goal list.
Recap:
17 pull up max: 16, FAILED
12 total miles running: 0, FAILED
300 balance ball sit ups w/ an 8 lbs medicine ball: 30, FAILED
find out real estate license costs and/or class schedule: FAILED
more progress with update on dealership: FAILED
finish prepping Th!nk shirt pictures for website: 1/4 pictures, FAILED
Though, the main failure was not planning appropriately. I should of thought ahead and figured that it was Thanksgiving week and friends were visiting so I wouldn’t have had much time to take care of my goals list. However, I should have been able to do at least a couple of things on my list. I should have been able to make a bloody phone call. In any case, last week was a complete failure. Though, Law bailed me out of prepping the Th!nk shirt pictures for the website by sending me the updated files from the Th!nk website. It’s still a failure I just don’t have to make up for it. It was a very fun week and well worth the failure.
No need to worry about it anymore. It’s a new week and time for some new goals.
This week:
17 pull up max
6 total miles running
300 balance ball sit ups w/ an 8 lbs medicine ball
find out real estate license costs and/or class schedule
more progress with update on dealership
apply for jobs
Deadline: 11:59pm on December 1, 2007
Just in case anyone is wondering why my running goal has dropped below my initial goal of 9: My new goal for the Live Fit and Prosperous segment is to gain weight. I’ll write about it later but I feel running more than 2 or 3 times a week would deter me from gaining weight. I’ll decide later how often I will run but for right now I feel two 3 mile runs is enough until I figure out what a good balance is. Everything else is pretty much last weeks goals because, heck, it still needs to be accomplished. I can’t disregard goals just because I failed to accomplish them the first time. I should punish myself if I don’t complete my goals this time. I’m going to have to think about that though.
On the 4th of November I drew the line on myself with some goals that needed to be accomplished by the end of the week (10th of Nov.) in order to keep me from this downward spiral of a futile bum life that I am starting to find more and more difficult to escape from. Here’s the recap:
15 pull ups max: SUCCESS!
9 miles in 3 runs: SUCCESS!
300 balance ball sit ups: ALMOST SUCCESS!
completed contractors license paperwork: FAILED!!!
significant progress in dealership: SUCCESS!
4 out of 5. Not too bad. The almost success means I completed the 300 sit ups on Saturday night just after midnight because I got distracted by my computer. It happens, but I want to complete my goals before a deadline so I’ll start being explicit with that. I failed at completing the contractors license paperwork because while trying to fill it out I realized there was no way I could do this and that I should focus on trying to get my real estate license. However, since I failed to even make a phone call to get started on obtaining a real estate license I failed at that task entirely. As for the dealership, I realize it is a bit difficult to say how much progress is significant progress but I did as much as I could do. This is new and I don’t know exactly how to go about getting a dealership started so it requires a lot of phone calls and logistics to attend to.
I realize this update is a week late. After completing my goals I fell into a bit of a rut and was unable to focus on anything. And without any goals to strive for last week, I didn’t get much of anything done. Consistency will come with time I hope.
This week:
17 pull up max
12 total miles running
300 balance ball sit ups with an 8 lb medicine ball
find out real estates license costs and/or class schedule
more progress with update on dealership
finish prepping Th!nk shirt pictures for website
Deadline: 11:59pm on November 24, 2007
