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“Out of difficulties grow miracles”

~Jean De La Bruyere~

Just a few days ago I had a galling situation with my new doctor.  As some of you may know, a few months ago I had angioplasty surgery and had a stent put in my aortic artery.

Since that time my life habits have been exemplary, and as a result my weight has decreased by close to 12 kilograms without starvation and my blood pressure was 110 over 66 the other day.

When I had my worst moment – prior to surgery – I had been fortunate to be in the right place (with a good friend).  He knew a hospital and could pull strings so that I could be admitted as an emergency patient.  Equally fortunate was that I was met by a young, aggressive, knowledgeable doctor who spoke English very well.

The operation and recovery went smoothly.  My rapport with the doctor was good, probably because I knew that my lifestyle in the previous year sucked and that I had to get back on the straight and narrow.  He could sense my determination.

Then the bombshell came  .My cardiologist told me he was changing hospitals and would no longer be able to treat me.  He recommended that I switch to a Japanese military hospital in my area, and he wrote his letter of introduction to be submitted to the new hospital along with my record of illness.

When I met with the new physician a few days ago, he said in somewhat halting English that “I understand your case well.”

I immediately bristled at that presumption.  I said to the doctor:  “You know nothing about me.  I am not a laboratory specimen.  I have spirit and a will to recover and thrive – not just survive on a regiment of pills.”

He was taken aback by my controlled anger, but he shouldn’t have  been.  If we are sick, it is because our thoughts are sick.  I am not a statistic, nor are you.  We all have the ability to thrive and, at times, participate in miracles.

My favored cardiologist was on my recovery team.  The new doctor, unfortunately, was on my survival team.  The previous doctor – seeing how I had mastered my eating and was gradually increasing my exercise level – wanted to do some CT scans to test the amount of oxygen in my blood after moderate exercise.  The new doctor said that that wouldn’t be necessary for at least six months.

Now I am not saying that a person with a heart condition should throw caution to the wind, but I am saying that a resilient human spirit can create miracles.  Cancers can go into remission and hearts can inexplicably regenerate when our attitudes are in the right place.

At the end of the Second World War and just before the inauguration of the United Nations, a significant though obscure book was published called “The Anatomy of Peace.”  The author, Emery Reves, proposed that the reason for war was the illegitimate rule of illegitimate states which distorted freedoms.

Reves said:

“In the middle of the Twentieth Century, we are living in an era of absolute political feudalism in which the nation-states have assumed exactly the same roles as were assumed by the feudal barons a thousand years ago…..There is nothing kings, emperors or tyrants ever did to their subjects that nation-states are not doing today.”

While it can be said that colonialism and blatant hegemony came to a relative end when the Berlin Wall came down and glasnost spread to Eastern Europe, in reality the United States in particular has continued to justify hegemony in the false name of democracy.  Other countries give America a complicit wink because the United States – at least until recently – was the catalyst to world economic growth.

But world growth really means that a few nations control most of the wealth and another few get a trickle down effect which helps a few within those developing nations to become rich while many continue live in squalor or substandard conditions devoid of any dignity.

Sovereign states by their very nature  can only concern themselves with the welfare of other sovereign states in so far as those nations buy the goods and services we want to sell and we buy the goods and services they have to offer.

This is a purely economic pact between sovereign nations and, in general, when poorer, resource-poor nations violate international law, the western world doesn’t usually give hoot unless there is an outcry which could lead to the defeat or ouster of the ruling elite.  Then the leaders will posture and take a band aid action to quell the violence and silence the critics.

If I sound cynical it is because for 58 years I have watched history repeat itself.  The strong nations subjugate the poorer ones, steal natural resources and then leave the looted conquered lands to warlords and Machiavellian dictators and scoundrels.  Somalia is a blatant case in point.

The only solution to insure that the continued flow of oil and the ecological salvation of the planet is to relinquish the arbitrary borders between people and ideas.  We must not let the hegemony of the United States and its allies continue just because the leaders of these nations can sound benevolent.  History has proven again and again, they are not the sheep but the wolf in sheep’s clothing.

We cannot rest in peace as long as almost half the world — over three billion people — live on less than $2.50 a day.  They are the pirates of Somalia who have chosen terror as the only way to balance the economic playing field.  Sovereignty is a disease which can only react to war, poverty and tyranny when the economic interest of the sovereign nation is in jeopardy.

The sovereign nations of the world have become an anachronistic reminder that the anatomy of peace can only be achieved when a large portion of the world’s population can participate in the technological advancement of an elite few nations.

Every day I communicate with people from all corners of the globe and although at times we can misinterpret each others’ intentions, with each passing day we are learning that we are all brothers and that no king, no president, no dictator has a right or duty to group us and box us off from each other.

President Reagan got it right in words if not deeds when he said:  “Information is the oxygen of the modern age.  It seeps through the walls topped by barbed wire, it wafts across the electrified borders.”

It is time to prove the late President was right.  Let all of our people go.

Think about how many times in the last few years you started a sentence of lament with statements such as “If only I had more money, I would…” or “If I had access to a good graphic designer, my website would draw thousands more people.”

These are laments of people who choose to go it alone against their best interest. Everything to them is expensive, risky or both. They have been burned or disappointed in past efforts to cooperate or partner, and they’ll be damned if that is ever going to happen again. They are damned by such notions.

Here’s another problem that many strugglers have. Those with money want to meet in fancy restaurants or venues costing $50 to $100 to participate. They claim that such prohibition keeps the lukewarm failures from joining in. Quality, they crow, wants to attract proven quality.

I am going to get right in your collective face, if the previous paragraph refers to your thinking. There is a principle called the 80-20 principle. Simply stated it means that 80 percent of your success will come in relation to 20 percent of the people you do business with. Twenty percent of a sales force, for example, will earn eighty percent of the commissions, and twenty percent of those top 20 percent will earn 80 percent of the income in that elite group.

People who buy into this theory claim that it is incontrovertible. Thus, they conclude, you should focus only on the top achievers if you want to succeed yourself. This idea is bogus along with another popular notion espoused in the marketing world that “Ninety percent of all Americans over sixty-five years old are either dead or dead broke.

Here’s the truth: According to the 2007 U.S. Census Bureau, 9.7% of all people ages 65 and older, live in poverty. Be careful about what you gobble up!

Where do these people pull these numbers from? Many of them state, “Statistics tell us…” Friends, we are not statistics, nor can anyone conveniently paint all people with that broad stroke. To the least of our specie, we want to succeed and deserve a better chance than the 80-20 or dead broke bullshit!!

Understand that people who want you to spend money will often use whatever psychological triggers they can create. And I won’t tell you that that trick is inherently evil because it isn’t. The truth marker is whether the product or service or opportunity can meet or exceed expectations.

In a noisy world of over-information and contradictory facts, there needs to be away out of this life-sapping jungle…and there is.

Legendary rocker, lyricist and poet, Bob Dylan, tells us how:

“A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.”

Life is not a dress rehearsal. Postponing your dreams and buying into another’s will bring you down their path under their terms. You will earn whatever they determine you deserve. Believe me when I tell you that your worth to them is fickle indeed.

A far wiser path is to do what makes you happy and under your terms of engagement, not the boss’s version of you. You have power and boundless opportunity the minute you realize that your chains and limits do not exist and never have.

What’s the point of this message?

I want to have the best and I want everyone in my world to have the best as well. The people I want to work with will act as a family, as a guild, as a resource, as a counselor and as a friend. Our goal is to cut through the din of BS hype marketing and instead provide exemplary services and prouducts which customers and associates can use for profit and prosperity.

I myself feel doubly blessed as an artist and musician and capitalist to be living in such an exciting time of history.

This is an economically challenging time yes, but there is so much opportunity!

Here’s a crazy thought — let’s motivate, educate and support the poor to become successful, instead of forcing the successful to be “enablers” of the poor — which results in them staying poor.

I completely agree that we are heading into a life and business-changing era. The Internet is enabling passionate entrepreneurs to achieve success on their terms. I am excited to be both a witness and participant in the upcoming era.

For the past year, I have been working on promoting imagination and imaginative ways of working with my clients. Interdependence has also been a massive theme. I truly believe in the opportunity of this time and that all of us with an entrepreneurial spirit can combine to help  the world recover.

We all know the entrepreneurial spirit is what differentiates this country from most in the world.

I am grateful that I am not alone in this view of the world’s recovery coming out of the courageous revolutionaries of the modern age call “The Entrepreneur”.

I predict that we will see the greatest expansion of entrpreneurship the world has ever seen, as people rediscover the independence, challenge, and (yes) personal and spiritual development that self-employment inherently creates.

I am an eternal optimist, and I believe in our ability, when working interdependently, to make this world much better than it is.

It is time for the Entrepreneur to take our rightful place, to take responsibility for the future and be recognized and encouraged (and rewarded) for our contributions. Government, get out of our way and let us show you how it’s done! Long Live the Age of the Entrepreneur!

While most of the world stews about the state of the economy, the usual small group of winners is collaborating with each other. They are carving up the economic turkey for years to come regardless of whether certain human beings having money are spending it or whether an undefined set of persons are quietly accumulating capital and looking for highly profitable investment avenues.

The mindset of the entrepreneur is what is called the Ant Philosophy. That style of thinking insures that no matter how formidable the obstacles to success may be, there is a way to the finish line. Ants have been known to eat their collective way through a rock or even a boulder; humans should have at least that same doggedness.

In a recent post about the state and fate of the entrepreneur, outstandingly successful online marketer, Alex Mandossian, stated that the recent economic downturn has brought about transcendence for the entrepreneur.

“Here’s a summary of the way I see the 3 epochs of Entrepreneurship:

• First Epoch (1755 – 1945): Entrepreneurial Independence
• Second Epoch (1945 – 2010): Entrepreneurial Dependence
• Third Epoch (2010 – Future): Entrepreneurial Interdependence

I believe that next year (2010), and possibly even this year, the global economy is going to be driven by the cheerful expectancy of the Entrepreneurial Interdependence mindset.

Interdependence is dramatically different than “dependence” and even “independence.” Interdependence is the state or a dynamic of being mutually responsible to and sharing a common set of principles with others.”

It’s interesting that I have been sharing that similar concept with my subscribers for a few years and it has fallen on deaf ears. I guess many of my readers/subscribers believe in the lone wolf style. They often write to me about their product or service and how they want to sell it in Japan.

When I write about my bold ideas and the need to collaborate, they see me as talking about my pet project rather than theirs. Quite the contrary is true. If all or many of the people on my list began to think of what and how they can contribute to a Mastermind – skills, knowledge and passion – then the combination of our efforts would produce dramatic results.

For instance, let us assume Mr. Entrepreneur X wants to sell scented candles in Japan. Typically, he would approach either a large or small importer of such vanities by email or in a formal letter of introduction by snail mail. Of course, he gets no response because Japanese seldom answer unsolicited mail, even if it seems to be a chance for business. Then that business person approaches JETRO – which is a good starting point! – but eventually Mr. Entrepreneur X is going to have to face the music.

The music is that

· There are no free rides. You will most likely have to find a go-between and that will cost you money without a sure return on investment.

· You will have to find a translator and eventually an interpreter to make things go smoothly and to protect your vested interest.

Far too many people contacting me want something for nothing. “Tell me where to find the proper supplier,” they demand. “Hand me a list of such and such corporations selling X,” says another flippantly. “Find an investor for my hydroelectric project in the Ivory Coast,” says still another irritatingly.

Such business demands often make me feel like people don’t appreciate that the Success in Japan Directory and weekly newsletter are loaded with ammunition for their efforts.

I know that most of my readers are being flooded with information and alleged opportunities, so deleting almost everything that floods your email inbox becomes a matter of fact.

Other readers think, “I know everything he is writing. I can’t learn anything from what he sends.” Horse races are won by a nose. That nose, in a racing circumstance, is better training. In most businesses it is that one overlooked tidbit that all but a few miss in their hectic rush to the office and then the grave.

Friends, let me make it clear that I am not a smashing success on most levels in my life. But I am curious and somewhat intelligent (with effort) in many areas of wisdom and know-how. I want to share and help as many people as I can to understand the need to embrace Alex Mandossian’s Third Epoch and then act upon it.

Mr. X Entrepreneur needs to develop a network of ambitious people inside and outside of his industry or trade, if he hopes to sell more than a few widgets irregularly to demanding and unreliable customer bases.

Moreover, he or she also must have a sales funnel system which can be adapted or retooled according to prevailing market conditions. He or she must have backup products and services, in case their initial offerings meet a cool reception.

Mr. X Entrepreneur must immediately stop thinking that he doesn’t need any help. The most powerful people in the past, present and the future world utilize outsourcing to do their marketing, their public relations, their web design, their trade endeavors, and whatever other skills they lack or they deem unworthy of their time.

The activities you engage in regularly reflect your potential net worth. If you spend a majority of time answering email inquiries personally, then your hourly worth is often – though not always – equivalent to an experienced clerk. Though your title may be president or manager, your potential is limited to that of an indentured servant.

As I write this message, the economic climate is bleak indeed. The news is always about people losing – and the inference is that you will be next. Feeding your mind in such a negative manner day after day – or letting others feed you with that crap – and before long you no longer want to get up and test your limits.

The only way to break the chains of slavery is to build a network of people who can cooperate, assist, joint venture, and add input to your effort and help you see the blind spots that are holding you back from high and lasting achievement.

To Be Continued