Category Archives: Of Interest

As a child, I enjoyed reading the Tao Te Ching by the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu. How many of us think about where we are going? Do we even have a clue? I do twenty different tasks to run my business. But, I have to constantly reassess where these tasks are getting me and where I am going. I have no idea where I’m going.

Are you working your way up the totem pole at a job? Many young people today think they should jump from job to job seeking more comfortable environments and better opportunities. Unfortunately, this is not a long-term way to attain success. People who get ahead stick to the same tasks and companies for decades until they rise very high in the totem pole. Think from the perspective of a boss. Will he promote someone who has been at the company for three months and will probably leave in another three? Or will he promote someone smart and loyal who he trusts whose been there for six years? Of course, the quality of your work has to be there, but loyalty breeds trust — even if your boss doesn’t like you!

I look at Indian cities, filled with people all scurrying around in a maze of polluted streets. Where is this going? These cities have limited capacities, and your lungs cannot take this much longer, not to mention the stress. Humans are not designed to live like this, yet society seems to be going on a crash course. Does India know where it is going? Prosperity is coming, but at what price?

America meanwhile is heading for the brink of financial disaster with endless debt, and few are even that concerned. It spells the end of America and Donald Trump is the only politician who gets it.

China seems to have slowed down, and hopefully they will master the art of reducing pollution. But, where are they going? Will they ever value the quality of life?

What about me, you ask? I’m so busy, I will have to sit down and meditate for an hour on where I’m going. I want to work on new business ideas and go to China. I’m studying Chinese again by the way! Wish me luck. I’m going to Shanghai!

What is so special about becoming 28? Age is just a number right? Wrong! Age is not just a number. I live with an astrologer (or used to because she just flew back to Vienna.) She told me that Saturn goes around once every 28 or so years. I looked up the exact orbit and it is more like 29.5 years. However, since the planet is so far away, you will be very influenced by its effect by the time you are 27 and until you are around 31 which is exactly what happened with me.

In any case, when your Saturn goes around once, you become a lot more mature. I remember being very childish about business, having silly ideas, and having none of the work habits to back up my ideas. When I got to 27 I started getting very serious. I began to understand that life is about hard work, struggles and disappointment. I decided that I would keep the pedal to the metal. When I was 26 I would work really hard for a while and then slow down. This strategy didn’t lead to any real success. So, I started working really hard, advertising more, being tougher, and taking risks to get ahead. Not all of my risks paid off, but a few paid of in a huge way. In a sense you could say that I became a man at around 27 or 28. I became much more responsible. Of course, every year that passes I become a little smarter, wiser and more responsible, but that was a huge milestone or planet-stone in my life.

But, astrologers claim that once you hit 56, big things happen in your life. Men in management often get promoted to very high executive positions as their wisdom and maturity peak at that age. On the other hand, between the ages of 84-90, if you are still alive, your Saturn will come around for the third time. I don’t know too many people who are working at that age besides Warren Buffet who invests and analyzes companies. But, gurus often live to that age. Imagine how wise they would be at that age if their minds still work.

Okinawa is an interesting part of the world. Their environment and lifestyle enabled many people to live to be 120 years old. I think that having Kentucky Fried Chicken and other fast foods come to their island shortened their life expectancy by a few decades. But, they might see Saturn come a fourth time.

In any case, astrology is not something that interests everyone. In India they tend to pay a lot more attention to it than we Westerners do though. But, pay some attention to the planets as they do have a huge effect on your life. Remember, the planets do not dictate your life, but they influence your luck, maturity, destiny and much more.

The World Today
I wrote a few other articles about how great it would be if America copied China in having free economic zones. However, an even better idea came to me. In an age that went from corporate bankruptcies to bank bailouts to national bankruptcies like Greece and Portugal, we need a solution. If companies, organizations or countries aren’t responsible enough to manage their finances, why create artificial mechanisms to keep them afloat. In the animal kingdom it is survival of the fittest — why not in the financial world?

An International Zone
If a business is broke, they can sell off their assets if they have any. Why should it be any different if a country is broke. They have land, why not sell part of it. But, who would the buyers be? The only two countries that are in the black are China and Korea. Should they buy up the world for pennies on the dollar? America and Japan are both up to their necks in debt with Germany and the other Northern European countries going in the same direction as their debt is manageable now, but keeps going up and up. In fifteen years Germany will be near default too — just you wait.

Sell an Island
I feel that if an international government was set up, they could have land, citizens, and an army. They could have dual citizens which would enable you to be a citizen of your home country and also of the international zone. Or, perhaps you wouldn’t need citizenship to be in the zone as they would accept everyone. This would be a wonderful boon for the stranded Syrians as an international zone could provide humanitarian relief and host companies who would give jobs to people as well.

Conflict Resolution
In addition to the other salient features of an international zone, leaderless countries like Libya, Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan would be better off under the wing of a larger and more powerful organization. In the old days they were colonies. I personally feel that colonization is exploitation. However, we didn’t see mass extermination under the British or Portuguese colonial powers. They helped countries build railways, roads, industries and stay organized — what is the crime in that?

Assets and Cultural Management?
Would an international zone gain assets by contributions from all the countries in the world which would have to pay a yearly tax? Or would they derive power from their citizens or residents? Would they have permanent citizens or a floating population of residents — whomever felt like being that at a particular time? How would they decide which language or languages would be official? How would the decide on cultures? Or would they have different zones where different cultures are practiced? Personally, in this world we live in where so many people are living outside of their countries of ancestry or origin, it would be easier if you could go to a foreign country and have the choice of living in a cultural zone from your part of the world. If you went to Dubai as an American, wouldn’t it be easier to have an officially designated American zone where English is spoken and liquor is allowed? Sure, many Americans wouldn’t mind living in what I call a “Halal zone,” but many prefer the comforts of home. What if America had small international zones sprinkled throughout the nation where Korean, Chinese, and Swahili might be official languages in certain sub-zones. The world would become a collection of microcosms and that would be interesting.

Military Power
Who would finance the military of the international zone? Once again, would they collect a tax from all the countries in the world? Would they be the global police man instead of the United States? What a relief that would be. Would the international zone invade Iran to prevent them from developing nuclear weapons, or would they demand that all nations give up such dangerous weapons? What about corporations? Would corporations be powerful in an international zone? Personally, I feel that many corporations as so powerful, they should control their own countries. Exxon should have their own country where their oil fields are — that way their military can protect their assets directly which is much easier than what is going on now.

Summary
In any case, it seems inevitable that in the future the world will become more united. Europe can never get their collaboration worked out, but at least they are trying. America has free trade with Canada and Mexico which is a start. China is collaborating all around the world for resources and economic development. We’ll see what develops. But, when an international zone does become a reality, remember that it was MY IDEA!!! I thought of it first. I should get the credit — unless it doesn’t work out well in which case — forget about it!

What makes me feel that the refugee crisis is a disaster is multi-fold. When I watch the news on television and youtube I see stranded and hopeless people risking their lives to take inflatable boats to Europe in search of a better life — or at least a chance at survival. Many of these refugees face drowning, deportation, imprisonment, or being scammed by human traffickers. There are several things that bother me here.

1. How is it that not one country in the world will offer these refugees a safe boat to get them to wherever they are going? We have plenty of money to start unnecessary wars, but when someone desperately needs help, the entire world leaves them stranded.

2. The refugees often do not have passports as their identification documents were often stolen by ISIS. In Europe, their identity will not be definite, and the refugees could be dangerous to their host countries and pose a very dangerous security risk.

3. ISIS engages in regular recruitment in various parts of Europe. More Muslims in Europe means more recruitment and more dangerous incidents like Charlie Hebdo, etc.

4. Europe has neither the resources or the skill to deal with such an influx of refugees. Additionally, the culture and religious clash will cause long-term problems in Europe. Many European countries are already having serious clashes between Christians & Muslims, Jews & Muslims, not to mention between Kurds and Arabs among other more “internal” problems that got transplanted into Europe.

5. Turkey allows refugees to stay in their country but doesn’t allow them to work. How can someone survive without work? The same situation happened to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. The inhumanity is just staggering.

6. Since Iran and Syria are “Allies,” how come none of the refugees want to set foot in Iran?

7. Why don’t South Korea and China take in a few million refugees. China already has 1.3 billion. What’s a few more million? They won’t even feel the difference. It is baffling that all of the migrants want to go to the same two destinations in Europe, but none even think about China.

8. It is interesting that Saudi Arabia has not taken in any refugees. Arabia has a long history with Syrian workers, and a few decades ago decided to invite Pakistanis and Filipino workers instead since they are less aggressive. In the old days when Lebanese and Syrians were the main workforce in Arabia, there were too many problems with unruly behavior, and perhaps Arabia doesn’t want to repeat its mistakes!

What if the world was prepared?
What if there was a system in place where thousands of dwellings could be put up in days? What if all of the big countries would coordinate resources for transporting refugees ahead of time so when a crisis hit everyone would be ready? What if the next time there was a war, huge container ships would be waiting around the corner to take refugees to safe harbors? Yes, this is all possible, and not even that expensive. It takes something that I like to call planning.

Walking to Europe seems insane!
It seems illogical to have people walking from the Middle East to Northern Europe only to find a door slammed in their face. What makes more sense to me is to have safe spots in the Middle East, perhaps in Turkey, Syria, or Jordan which are protected by large militaries — where people can work and be housed properly. I saw that in Germany they created a beautiful neighborhood out of shipping containers. Windows and doors were drilled into these containers. A family could comfortably live in two containers merged together. Such housing is comfy and cost effective too. Imagine if several million units could be constructed somewhere in a special economic zone in Turkey and then manufacturers set up shop there too. Nobody will invest without military protection, but Turkey is a militarily strong country and they seem to me to be the best suited.

India is not even on the map in this crisis
I will also note that India is the most talented country at taking care of millions of homeless people. There are countless slums in India where mass amounts of people live. India seems to be able to get enough resources to these slums so that people can survive. How a clumsy country like India manages better than the West at catering to the very poor baffles me, but they have a lot more experience since there are so many poor there. India’s poor do not live in what I could call “comfort,” but they survive which is something that Syrian and Afghani refugees cannot take for granted. I will also note that India doesn’t enforce labor laws, and the Syrians would easily be able to work and in five years gain citizenship in India. India has always had immigrants from ancient times. Persians have been coming to India for 20,000 years with the Parsis being one of the later migrations. Bengladeshis cross the border daily. They are almost impossible to tell from the local Bengalis, and the government doesn’t seem to care.

When we look at our lives and the problems we have, it is common to blame others for our situation. It is easy to blame external factors. In a sense external factors dictate our lives. After 25 years of mediation, I’m beginning to think that the angels dictate our lives as so many of the situations we get into in our lives were arranged from above. Even my career, relationships, and things that happened or didn’t happen to me seem to be the work of angels.

I look at the Palestine / Israel conflict. I see how Israel took someone else’s country and refuses to recognize Palestinians. They think they are in the right and can get away with it. But, 22 Arab countries refuse to recognize Israel as a result and Israelis can’t even get into a bus without the fear of death. So, in a sense the Arabs and the Israelis are mirrors of each other’s intolerance and unfairness. Meanwhile north in Lebanon the four major religious groups are completely intolerant of each other. Their hatred has turned to ultra-violence throughout the ages. As terrible as the Palestine / Israel conflict may seem, the actual death count is tiny while in Lebanon a huge percentage of the population died or was maimed during their civil war a few decades ago. These different groups in Lebanon are all different from each other, however the violent hatred mirrors each other.

I see that getting to know these conflicts in the Middle East baffle me. What baffles me is how humans can be so unfair and unconscious towards others. I live in Los Angeles where ten major ethnic groups live in harmony. We all live together, eat at the same places, and get along smoothly. Sure, the Koreans and Orthodox Jews don’t like to mingle so much with others, but there is no green line in Los Angeles and it is relatively safe to go to almost any neighborhood except for a few blocks of territory called, “The Jungle” in South Central. The Jungle is only a few miles from me. But, because I have no reason to go there, it might as well be a million miles. It doesn’t exist in my consciousness and as a result I don’t see it.

So, what is my consciousness. I see that there are many Thai and Japanese restaurants near me. And that it is relatively cleanly and nice where I live. Is that my consciousness? Is that a mirror of my inner self? In a sense it is. On the other hand I am very lonely. I reach out to others, but others don’t reciprocate the way I would like them to. So, is that a reflection of some long term rejection I suffered in a past life or many past lives? My psychic says yes. Although I am a somewhat friendly guy, this is not reciprocated in my mirror. So, I guess my mirror sees more than just who I am — it sees my scars from past existences as well.

Three days ago was a day of accidents. I was making tea, but spilled the tea water on the floor in the kitchen. Then, I cut up lemon rinds to make lemon rind tea. This tea helps eliminate cancer cells. I’m not aware that I have any cancer cells, but I’d rather have less than more and lemons are the most natural cure. So, I brought back my tea to my computer desk. But, the tea was so hot, I couldn’t hold the cup. I foolishly put it next to my keyboard. Then, I had a premonition — a thought raced through my head. I thought the tea would spill, and then within half a second my hand involuntarily jerked and the tea spilled all over my Dell keyboard. I was so upset. I used so many paper towels to clean up the mess and had to turn the keyboard upside down to get the water out.

All I can say is thank God the tea had no sugar in it otherwise I’d be screwed. But, on a daily basis I drink canned Starbucks coffee in front of my computer. The coffee is cold, but has milk and sugar. In ten years, I never spilled a can. But, I always keep it right of the mouse, so it is actually far from the danger of the keyboard. It’s interesting to pay closer attention to your daily habits which you don’t even notice.

In any case, my keyboard was a bit sticky for two days. The zero key was the worst. But, miraculously it is all back to normal now — at least almost. I guess whatever was there dried up completely and my keyboard springs are back to normal.

The moral of the story is.
1. If God gives you lemons, make lemon rind tea
2. If your tea is too hot, dilute it a bit and then drink it.
3. Drink tea in the kitchen, not the computer room.
4. Be aware that astrology influences your life, and one particular days, you might experience lots of things spilling. It happened to me, and it can happen to you. On other days the stars have it so you’ll have a car accident. Wear your seatbelt on those days.

Maybe this shouldn’t be a game! There are flight simulators, virtual reality rides, but why not a business simulation game? I think that young people and aspiring entrepreneurs could learn a lot from a simulation game. There could be different settings. Since I am a fan of bootstrapping, I like the idea of having a setting where you start with millions and lose it all because you don’t know anything! Then, there could be a bootstrapping setting where you grow little by little as you learn the business. It would be even more fun if you get little notices (similar to monopoly cards) of what went wrong and why.

You just lost $3000 because you hired the wrong subcontractor. If you had gone to business school you wouldn’t have made that mistake. Or, you would be out $160,000 and would still have made that mistake!

You chose the wrong office, and your employees want to quit as a result. You should have picked an office with more trees even if it is not on the bus line.

Your habit of jogging helped you have more energy for work and got you a new contact you met in the park who is in financial planning. Congratulations, your investments just netted you an additional $1000. Had you jogged in the adjacent park you would also have met a financial planner — but, one who would have lost you $2000!

You chose a bigger office right when your business was expanding and then you took a dive. You lose $5000 this month. Try using more foresight next month (if there is a next month.)

Sorry, but you have exhausted your million that the venture capitalist gave you. You will not only be unemployed, but sued for negligence. Better luck next time.

In any case, it would be fun if someone could learn something by this game. The more realistic it is, the more fun. What would be even more fun is to base certain versions of the game on 100 real life entrepreneurs who learned by playing hard-ball in the game of life.

Identifying what you want is the half the battle.

We all go through life in a huge hurry. Or at least those who I see. We think about the future, but we are so caught up in what we are doing that we don’t really think clearly. We know what we want, or what we think we want. But, in the long run, what do we really want?

How much time do you spend envisioning where you want your business to be in a few years, or in twenty years? It is hard to see that far ahead. And in real life, there are so many twists and turns on the road to success that what actually happens won’t be remotely like what you plan.

But, by envisioning our long term goals, we can influence what happens. According to yogic philosophy, what you think you become. I think about food, money and God. No wonder I am a fat amateur yogi with cash in the bank. I became what I devoted my thought to. If I would think as intensely about losing weight, I would be a thin amateur yogi with cash in the bank. I would be an expert at where the best places to get Chinese broccoli are in Los Angeles. At nine calories per serving you can’t lose.

Do you run a business? Do you dream about having a larger company with one hundred employees? Think about that daily, and it might happen. Then, when you get your one hundred cranky employees you’ll say, “But, I didn’t envision them being cranky.” Did you bother to think about their mood? Oops. Now, it will take you another ten years of envisioning happy employees. Then in ten years, you’ll realize that your happy employees are idiots. If you would just think about having one hundred smart and happy employees now, then in ten years, your dream will come true (maybe) if you work daily toward your goal. And if not in ten years, then in twenty-five. But, without the thought it will never happen.

The universe doesn’t happen on schedule. Things happen at the speed of nature. It takes nine months for a woman to have a baby. It takes sixty years to get cancer for most people. It takes four years to get through college. How long will it take you to get our one hundred employees? There is no fixed or set schedule. But, keep pressing for business growth and keep the thought in your head.

Meanwhile I have been in business for fifteen years. I have only one full-time worker and six freelancers working for me. I guess I didn’t meditate on having one hundred workers. Maybe that is because I don’t want it. I wonder what I do want. Perhaps this blog article is for me and not for you to benefit from. I’m glad I wrote it. Now, if you’ll excuse me while I ponder what I’ve written.