BCWE Business Review

Brian Tracy on the housing crisis and making money.

 At the time of the American Revolution, Abigail Adams, a very perceptive woman and the wife of our third president, John Adams, said, “All men would be tyrants, if they could.” It was an astute observation. There is within almost every person, the “urge to power.”  It is amazing how many people have an intense desire to enforce their will on other people. The newspapers are full of commentators recommending that people be “forced” to pay higher taxes, drive slower, use public transportation, and in general, support whatever the writer thinks is good for them, whether they like it or not.   By the same token, we could say that, “All people would be thieves, if they could.” Almost everyone has a deep down desire to get something for nothing, something that they have not earned and to which they are not entitled.  No where is this more obvious than in the area of money. Today, we are going through a series of wrenching financial scandals and turbulence triggered by the sub-prime mortgage meltdown. Why did this happen?  The answer is simple. Somehow, for some reason, a mass national hysteria took place and thousands, if not millions of people began to think it was possible to get “free money” that they had not earned and did not deserve.   Like an epidemic, this “free money” craze has swept across the country. People bought homes they could not afford, and borrowed money against their homes they could never pay back. Instead of behaving responsibly, as many people did, too many homebuyers became “home flippers.”  Herbert Stein, the economist, once wrote that, “What cannot go on, won’t.”  Thomas Jefferson once wrote, “America will be a great land until the people become convinced that everyone can become rich at the expense of everyone else.”  Do you remember the old Smith Barney television commercial, where the actor looked into the camera and said, “We make money the old fashioned way; we earn it.”   There is only one way to become financially successful, and that is to “add value” wherever you are. It is to earn it in some way.   You have to put in more than you take out. You have to contribute greater value than you receive in compensation. You have to continually upgrade your skills and abilities so that you can serve your customers and employers at ever higher levels, making yourself ever more valuable to them.  The only way to become rich is to “spend less than you earn.”  In my recent book Flight Plan, I wrote that it is not possible to become financially successful by thinking happy thoughts, visualizing and attracting wealth into your life.   Instead, you must decide how you are going to “deserve” the wealth that you desire. What value are you going to offer to others that they will reward by voluntarily choosing to pay you for your products and services? How are you going to improve or enrich the lives of others in some way? If you want to prosper financially, you must find ways to help others to prosper, in advance. Some years ago, a book was written entitled, “Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds.” This book documented the financial crazes that take place periodically, in different places in the world, starting with the “tulip craze” in Amsterdam in the 1600’s.  People became convinced that tulip bulbs would go up in value endlessly. Speculators were paying the equivalent of thousands, and tens of thousands of dollars for a single tulip bulb, convinced that there was a “greater fool” who would come along and buy it for an even higher price.  But as Herbert Stein said, “What cannot go on, won’t.” Eventually, the tulip craze collapsed, bankrupting thousands of individuals and causing the collapse of the Dutch economy.  In the last few years, we have had the “buy’em and flip’em” craze. Now it is over, like a massive drinking binge, and the hangover is extremely painful.  Just as it took about three years of craze to drive home prices up 50% and 100%, it will take about three years of collapse before home prices, like a water level, return to normal.   Just like a hangover, there will be enormous pain and suffering. But this is inevitable. What goes up must come down. And often it must come down a long way before it stabilizes.  For the rest of your life, refuse to think or act like a thief. A thief is someone who attempts to take something that does not belong to him, or her. Whenever you attempt to get money that you do not deserve, you are thinking like a thief. And the end is near.   Keep on thinking!  

Another portion from David Brainerd’s diary. 

Reflected on the goodness of God to me in the past year.  Of a truth God has been kind and gracious to me, though He has caused me to pass through many sorrows.  He has provided for me bountifully so that I have been enabled, in about fifteen months past, to bestow to charitable uses about an hundred pounds New England money, that I can now remember.  Blessed be the Lord, that has so far used me as His steward to distribute a portion of His goods.  May I always remember that all I have comes from God.  Blessed be the Lord that has carried me through all the toils, fatigues and hardships of the year past. As well as the spiritual sorrows and conflicts that have attended it.  Oh that I could begin this year with God and spend the whole of it to His glory, either in life or death.

David Brainerd told the Lord he was willing to do anything.   We say this also without the slightest resolve or determination to make good on it.  This quote by David Brainerd was how he lived his life.

“God has made me willing to do anything  that I can do, consistent with truth, for the sake of peace, and that I might not be a stumbling block to others.  For this reason I can cheerfully forego and give up what I verily believe, after the most mature and impartial search, is my right, in some instances.  God has given me that disposition that, if this were the case that a man has done me an hundred injuries and I (though ever so much provoked to it) have done him one, I feel disposed and heartily willing humbly to confess my fault to him, and on my knees to ask forgiveness of him; though at the same time he should justify himself in all the injuries he has done me and should only make use of my humble confession to blacken my character the more and represent me as the only person guilty.”

If I could master myself well enough to live this, I could then truthfully say that I was willing to do anything.

We appreciate all the prayers and help for Andrew.  He is being admitted to Gwinnett Medical tonight for surgery either tonight or tomorrow.  They are going to do a surgery to clean any debris out of his foot and also to take cultures in order to determine if the foot is infected or not.  This will be the first of a couple surgeries that he will need.  We will keep you updated.  It is 6:00 p.m. Saturday.

Sandy, Kathryn and I arrived in Buenos Aires Argentina Tuesday morning.  We are staying with Jeff and Mindy Bush and their three lovely daughters, Lydia, Adriana, and Johanna.  Of course, I began feeling the call to Argentina while eating my first big Argentine steak that I have heard so much about.

 It is a real privilege for us to be staying with Jeff and Mindy.  They are being greatly used of God here in Argentina.  The church on the new land in La Plata is a story of sacrficial giving and lots of hard work by the Bushes and the members of the church.  The Lord has won many souls and the Bushes have won many hearts.   We enjoyed a good mid week service Wednesday night and have had some great fellowship with some of the members.

Pray for Jeff and Mindy that God would continue to do great things through their faithfulness here in Argentina.

Missionary prayer letters are on display in various locations in the church at Vision.  My daughter Kathryn (one of my secret weapons) is in charge of collecting the prayer letters as they come in, getting them circulated to the leadership at the church for reading and collecting information, then getting them displayed.  She does a wonderful job.

 You may notice the initials at the bottom of each prayer letter on display.  This is something that Austin required when we started the church that I believe is a great idea.   The leadership reads each letter and initials it at the bottom when they are finished.  I know that prayer letters are not often read.  That is a sad report.  A missionary that visits Vision will see his letter displayed and that it has been read and acknowledged by at least 4 of the leadership before being displayed.  If I were a missionary that would mean a lot to me.  I think this is a wonderful idea that deserves a little promotion.

The team that represents our missionaries in Peru and Venezuela held their first meeting last night.  Ten of our committee members and five of our missionaries were able to attend. We had a wonderful time of food, fellowship and a great first meeting.  It was good to have Chris Gardner, David and Katie Gardner and Jeremy and Rebekah Hall with us.   

Even though many of us know each other and have been good friends for a while, not everyone knew each other’s background or testimony.  We spent the first 30 minutes letting each of the members of the team give their testimony or just introduce themselves.   It was great to hear each individual experience of the greatest thing we share in common.  Our relationship to Jesus Christ.  After the team introduced themselves and gave their testimonies, we listened to each of our missionaries that attended and their wives talk about their call to the ministry and what God was doing in their lives.

Keeping in contact:  Keeping in contact is one of the best ways to form close relationships with our misisonaries.  They are part of our mandate from the Savior to get the gospel to the world.  We are not merely supporters, we are teamates in the great commission.  Kathryn Pearson spoke about the different ways the Peru-Venezuela team has developed to keep in touch with the 8 mission works on which we focus.  We have developed a list of all the names, kids, birthdays, anniversaries, address etc., and all the vital information as well as a prayer page that has their photo and a brief description of their ministry.  It is critical to the success of the missionary effort that we pray for them each day and get involved in their lives.

Mission Conference:  After a chance to get to know each other better, we discussed the upcoming mission conference.  A good friend of mine use to quote Oswald Smith’s line all the time.  “A mission conference is a business meeting of the church to determine the fate of the world.”  September 18th-21st at Vision Baptist Church.  The PV team will be decorating, hosting and helping raise money for the mission works we will focus on in the conference. 

Training Ground:  Probably the most important thing we discussed was the fact that Vision Baptist Church was started to be a training center for world evangelism.  We are to look at all we are and have and ask God how He wants us involved.  Each and every thing we do as a church and as indivuduals should be aligned with God’s purpose for us.  We should look at our young people as future missionaries and our adults as team mates in the mission.

Take a trip:  Two of our team members are already ticketed to go to Peru in October.  Rhonda Gibby and her sister are going as well as Sam Paxin.  They will come back with a different perspective.  If you can’t afford a trip this year then put away a few dollars a week and plan for next year.  I encouraged all to plan a trip.

Next meeting will be in August and will be detailed planning for the upcoming mission conference.  If you would like to recieve the weekly update on the mission works in Peru and Venezuela, be a part of the PV team or get either the missions or business quote of the day, please email me.

Here is a great article from Brian Tracy’s blog.  You might benefit from this. 

Overcome A Major Fear

A major source of stress in your life is the “fear of rejection” or “fear of criticism.” This fear of rejection manifests itself in an over-concern for the approval or disapproval of your boss or other people. The fear of rejection is often learned in early childhood as the result of a parent giving the child what psychologists call “conditional love.”

Rise Above the Need For Approval
Many parents made the mistake of giving love and approval to their children only when their children did something that they wanted them to do. A child who has grown up with this kind of conditional love tends to seek for unconditional approval from others all his or her life. When the child becomes an adult, this need for approval from the parent is transferred to the workplace and onto the boss. The adult employee can then become preoccupied with the opinion of the boss. This preoccupation can lead to an obsession to perform to some undetermined high standard.

Have a great opinion of yourself with The Science of Self-Confidence

Avoid Type A Behavior
Doctors Rosenman and Friedman, two San Francisco heart specialists, have defined this obsession for performance as “Type A behavior.” Experts have concluded that approximately 60% of men and as many as 30% of women are people with Type A behavior.

Don’t Burn Yourself Out
This Type A behavior can vary from mild forms to extreme cases. People who are what they call “true Type A’s” usually put so much pressure on themselves to perform in order to please their bosses that they burn themselves out. They often die of heart attacks before the age of 55. This Type A behavior, triggered by conditional love in childhood, is a very serious stress-related phenomenon in the American workplace.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to deal with the fear of rejection, criticism and disapproval.

First, realize and accept that the opinions of others are not important enough for you to feel stressed, unhappy or over concerned about them. Even if they dislike you entirely, it has nothing to do with your own personal worth and value as a person.

Second, refuse to be over concerned about what you think people are thinking about you. The fact is that most people are not thinking about you at all. Relax and get on with your life.

We had an eventful night.  Andrew was in an accident on his motorcylce just about the time that VBS got rolling.  Someone at the scene was nice enough to call us and let us know that he had messed up his leg (really his foot and ankle) pretty bad.  They took him to North Fulton Hospital (where my dad is a volunteer) and after 3 hours of surgery and some hefty plaster work, he is resting in his room with his wife at his side.  This is a night that Sandy and I are very grateful to God for sparing our son from what the paramedics said could have been much worse.  They said lucky, I know we were given a grand measure of mercy.

Some other things I am thankful for.  I am thankful that my son is alive.  I am thankful that he married one of the sweetest young ladies I know and that they love each other very much.

I am thankful for Austin and Betty who never cease to show us and so many others true friendship.  I am thankful for a church family that loves us enough to spend the hours with us while we wait to see how surgery turns out.  We had a waiting room full.

I am thankful for a God that loves us and delivers all things for our good. 

I am so very thankful for my wife, Sandy who is the greatest.

One of my good friends is a Pastor in Stone Mountain named Virgil Barnard.  He is the only Pastor I know that has taught in extensive detail on the Thousand Year Reign.  There are few if any books written on this topic at any level of detail. 

The Barnards have been good friends of our family.  For many years, I and others have urged Brother Virgil to write a book on the Thousand Year Reign.   He has finally put all his material together, although not in a book but in a 3 DVD series that is now available.  I got my copy in the mail last night with a letter from Brother Virgil telling me that I finally got my wish and to enjoy.

Of course I have known about the project for a while because my son Andrew has been putting the video production together.   Virgil has known Andrew since he was born but I think they really bonded during the project.

Please email me at john@bcwe.net if you would like information on how to obtain this series.  I encourage you to get a set and learn about this important topic.