Jul

20

Model T’s and Loved Ones

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I saw a beautiful Model T the other day.  This 90 year-old entry-level vehicle is shown below.  It amazes me that a caring owner can keep something this old in such good working order.

Model T2

Since America is an instant gratification society with an ever-declining attention span, I was delighted to see this piece of human accomplishment so well-maintained and well cared for.  It brought to mind some important facts.

There are many parallels between taking care of a motor vehicle and taking care of your loved ones.  For husbands and fathers, it is important to know that the values that make cars last also make relationships last.

Preventative Maintenance - The Model T obviously required an inordinate amount of maintenance over the years from its owner.  Preventative maintenace is part of being a great husband and great father.  It takes years and years of daily care and attention in any relationship to build up a level of trust.

Patience - A loving relationship requires extraordinary amounts of patience and work.  It is easier to get into flings and shallow relationships/friendships, but the rewards aren’t as great.  The rewards of an honest, patient relationship are worth it.  A high level of trust makes it easier to get through the rough patches.

Pride - The man who owned the Model T took time out of his day to explain to me the nuances of his vehicle.  He showed me the old-fashioned horn, the gears and the antique headlights.  His actions and demeanor spoke for themselves.  Pride in your loved ones comes from patience and mutual respect.  Pride is not buying an expensive ring, it is holding the door; fifty years later.

Takeaway:  There are some cars that are new and flashy that never satisfy an impatient owner for very long.  A luxurious Buick or Cadillac, well-maintained and well-cared for, only gets better with age.

Your family is with you from the time you are an infant until the time you have children or grandchildren of your own.  Treat them them with pride and your investment will last a lifetime.

Model T4

Jul

16

Don’t Give Up Your Power

Filed Under Intellectual Honesty | Leave a Comment

As we travel down an unsustainable path of reckless borrowing, spending and wastefulness, the misdirection of party politics (liberal vs democrat, D vs R) will eventually yield to curiosity and a desire for understanding.

When you see more concern about the desire to uncover the truth than a party “winning” or “being right”, we’ll be on the right track.  The sooner, the better.

When the promises that “Government will provide (insert entitlement here)” go unfulfilled, only then will we realize that costs must be borne by individuals.  A woman with five children can, should and will pay more for healthcare, resources and lifestyle as a result of her actions.

The answer we will learn (the hard way) over the next few years is to stop ceding our power to the Fed, Treasury and governments since we can only rely on ourselves and those around us.

Hopefully, when this realization occurs, we will demand our power back instead giving away more of our rights, liberties and responsibilities.  Only then can the healing begin.

Jul

6

Chaosonomics

Filed Under Economics | Leave a Comment

Used to be we stole the trade secrets in the form of automated looms textile manufacture, or pillaged a patented steam harnessing device. This must be the ultra postindustrial state. Trade secrets are computer algorithms which make automated low latency entrance and exit to markets with no intent of ever taking delivery of any physical product nor are making purchases/sells based on any business, but are merely exploiting market rules to ratchet numerals to their gain.

How did we get here? How sick is that person who draws a paycheck and has neither produced, manufactured, distributed, or made any useful service? Isn’t that the very definition of a Babylon? An economy so distanced from agriculture, mining, manufacture that it provisions life with intangibles? Please wake me up. Please let me out of such a vacuous existence.

- Ben Frananke, Zero Hedge comment (emphasis Inthon)

“No warning can save a people determined to grow suddenly rich.” – Lord Overstone

Jul

5

Fatherhood Advice from Bill Gates

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Fortune Magazine’s cover story “The Best Advice I Ever Got” features some great pearls of wisdom for fathers.

The father of Bill Gates, William Gates, has some great wisdom to share about raising his son.  You can read the entire interview here.

As a child, Bill Gates was introduced to a psychologist/psychiatrist who imparted on him the following valuable lesson:

Best advice

There isn’t any benefit to fighting with your parents.  It was all about the issues, the battles were going to be about the real world, and they were really on my side.  And that was fantastic.  It just changed my mindset.  I was only 12 or 13 at the time.  I think it made things a lot smoother from that point on.

Inthon:  Our actions as children and parents should definitely mirror that important concept.  Honestly expressing your love for your child in a way that your child implicitly knows you care about them and that they can trust that you will be on their side in the long run.

Parents can also play a role in articulating that while fights are borne out of a disagreement about what is best for the child, parents should acknowledge that both parties want the exact same outcome: 

a healthy, successful child.

Obviously… easier said than done.

Bill Gates goes on to mention:

And the thing that people there taught us and emphasized, which is so significant is that you should never demean your child.

Inthon:  We all remember when our parents accidentally or intentionally demean us or put us down.  They can often overshadow great things that they taught us.  As adults, we must be mindful that, no matter what happens, demeaning does not produce positive results.

Lastly, Mohammed El-Erian of PIMCO had good advice on intellectual honesty:

Unless you read different points of view, your mind will eventually close, and you’ll become a prisoner to a certain point of view that you’ll never question.

I agree with this principle and I have made it a priority to get my information from radically different and opinionated sources.  It has been invaluable in expanding my worldview.

This issue of Fortune is on the newsstands now and is definitely worth checking out.

Takeaway: Life does not come with an instruction manual.  I have found it beneficial to learn as I go along for roles and duties which I will eventually face… in this case, fatherhood.  Feel free to submit ideas and tips to inthonblog@gmail.com

Jul

1

Michael Jackon – Man in the Mirror

Filed Under Intellectual Honesty | 1 Comment

The passing of Michael Jackson brought back memories of some of his greatest hits, some of them popular 20 years after being created.

Jackson had a terrible childhood.  A childhood I cannot even begin to imagine:

The trauma he suffered from his childhood, the constant media attention and a medical condition which altered his appearance obviously had a role in bringing forth some of his bizarre behaviors.

Child molestation charges aside (he was acquitted), he managed to come up with some very inspiring music, which can often touch us in ways that other mediums cannot.

One of his hits, Man in the Mirror, deals with a man’s realization of how lucky he is and how he plans to make a change.

As I turned up the collar on
My favorite winter coat
This wind is blowin’ my mind
I see the kids in the street
With not enough to eat
Who am I to be blind
Pretending not to see their needs

I’m starting with the man in the mirror
I’m asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change

Man in the Mirror brings to mind another poem about being honest with oneself.

The Guy in the Glass is a poem about being true to yourself.  It is amazing how we can enjoy great food, wine, luxuries and still feel miserable if we’ve cheated “The Guy in the Glass”.

When you get what you want in your struggle for pelf,
And the world makes you King for a day,
Then go to the mirror and look at yourself,
And see what that guy has to say.

For it isn’t your Father, or Mother, or Wife,
Who judgement upon you must pass.
The feller whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the guy staring back from the glass.

He’s the feller to please, never mind all the rest,
For he’s with you clear up to the end,
And you’ve passed your most dangerous, difficult test
If the guy in the glass is your friend.

You may be like Jack Horner and “chisel” a plum,
And think you’re a wonderful guy,
But the man in the glass says you’re only a bum
If you can’t look him straight in the eye.

You can fool the whole world down the pathway of years,
And get pats on the back as you pass,
But your final reward will be heartaches and tears
If you’ve cheated the guy in the glass.

The word pelf in the first line means “wealth.” The word self is often incorrectly substituted.

It is startling how true that poem is.  Our minds have an innate ability to give us credit when we know we’ve earned it and feel guilty when we’ve done something wrong.

To improve, we should listen to these signals as closely as possible despite what social conditioning tells us.

You must be the change you wish to see in the world. – Mohondas Gandhi

Takeaway:  The hard work of improving yourself, your family, your country or anything begins with you.  We, as men, get the government/family/self-respect we deserve.

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