Living Better

I had a meeting in LA this morning and took the advice from a friend
to check out the Loews Hotel in Santa Monica for lunch.

I'm about to dig into my salmon.

And then write out some goals while enjoying California's brutal winter.

Tyler Jorgenson

The Richest Man In Babylon - Intro

I am in the middle of reading The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason. I have heard this book spoken of and recommended for years and recently came across a copy. I am deeply enjoying the simple yet sound principles of financial success.

The following two paragraphs are from freewld.

The Richest Man in Babylon is a book by George Samuel Clason which dispenses financial advice through a collection of parables set in ancient Babylon. Through their experiences in business and managing household finance, the characters in the parables learn simple lessons in financial wisdom. By basing these parables in ancient times, but involving situations that modern people can understand and identify with, the author presents these lessons as timeless wisdom that is as relevant today as it was back then.

The book began in 1926 as a series of informational pamphlets. Banks and insurance companies began to distribute these pamphlets, and the most famous ones were eventually compiled into this book.

Over the next few days I will share my notes and thoughts from each chapter. I am hoping that by writing out my thoughts and sharing the principles the book teaches that not only will I become more committed to the tenants but that others may learn of them also.

Play Big!

There is no passion to be found in playing small – in settling
for a life that is less than what you are capable of living.
Nelson Mandela

Top 100

During church today the troubled economy came up 643 times. I'm exaggerating, it couldn't have been more than 625. I know these times are tough and that they try the character of Men but I am confident that we will overcome and appear on the other end better and stronger than before. For the past year I have been working with some friends to create a sustainable financial services company. When other companies are shrinking we have been hiring 3-4 employees per month and look to pick up the pace through '09. Our goal is to ensure that the company remains agile enough to adjust to market conditions. We believe that in any market there is an opportunity to make money and strive to be prepared for what may come.

One of the few magazines I get is FORTUNE and I enjoy the issue that comes this time of year spotlighting the top 100 places to work in the United States of America. It is my personal goal to have Ascension on this list by 2014. (I was going to say 2012 but according to some that's going to be a tough year, and I didn't want to be misunderstood for stating said year.)

We're working on an updated purpose statement and '10 commandments' for our firm. I'll share them when they're done.

Completing and Remembering 2008

Completing and Remembering 2008

Last year I shared a document that I borrowed from a friend of mine and it was well received so I thought it would be good to share again.

When you are setting your resolutions remember to set goals that are SMART.

Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time Bound

An old adage: "A Goal Not Written is Merely a Wish" comes to mind. Print out this document and prepare to create some great goals so that 2009 can be your best year yet.

Happy New Year!

(and since I always like having a picture in each post. Make it a goal not to be a competitive jerk in 2009.)

Back in the day I used to be a runner

But it's been a LONG time since I've been able to run a 4:47 mile like I did in College. My hot wife made me do a little run with her while we were in Capitola this past weekend and apparently she thought I did OK so she signed us up for the Disneyland 5k on August 30th. I'm going to have to do a little training, since I don't want to be too embarrassed by my time having been a runner in High School.
I stepped on the scale on the 4th of July when we had to take our kids to the Dr. and I was down to 178lbs. I was amazed. I had been up to about 215lbs less than a year prior and although we did start eating better I think we pinpointed the weight busting source... a bigger house with 3 active kids. We're chasing our kids around up and down stairs, around the house and yard and even jumping on the trampoline. Combine all of those extra calories burned with consuming fewer calories and you get a Tyler that is 37 pounds lighter.

Tanya told me while we were running that she didn't really notice how fat I had gotten before, but now that I've thinned up a bit she likes it. One of my co-workers even complimented me today (thanks for making my day April).

So, I guess I'm getting back into running thanks to my wife. I have to admit I'm looking forward to getting back into shape.

Have you seen the Pyramids?

Gone skydiving? Traveled to Hong Kong? Been on Safari? Helped a stranger for the better?
My beautiful wife rented The Bucket List for us to watch. I'm not much for writing movie reviews, but all in all it was a good flick. It made me think a little bit about my life's goals and aspirations. In the movie Morgan Freeman's character has a nice family life (but a stale marriage), a modest job and a traditional home. Somehow he ends up sharing a hospital room with Jack Nicholson's character (sorry about the Lakers in Game 4 Jack) who is an extremely wealthy man, but with no family ties to speak of. Both characters get to impart a bit of their views to the other through the movie and end up better people in the end.

The first thing I thought of was my amazing family. I have three ridiculously amazing children and a super star wife. If I were left desolate in a shack in Tulsa (the Paris of Oklahoma) but I had my family then life would be alright. The next thing I thought about is that I want to see some stuff while I'm on this earth. I've been lucky to chase giraffe in Africa and I am very grateful for my time there... but I want to see Machu Picchu, sing to my wife in Italy, tour the Holy Land and climb Kilimanjaro.

While I was in South Africa I read some words in Afrikaans that have stuck with me.

Gryp Die Dag

Many of you know it's Latin counterpart, Carpe Diem. Both say the same thing so both are obviously good but Gryp Die Dag, said in a gluteral and milataristic voice full denotes expedient and forceful action. Carpe Diem is so much more poetic and light.

That being said, two questions to think about?

1. What is one thing you feel you MUST do before you kick the bucket?

2. What is the most rewarding thing you can do TODAY?

My thoughts after watching the movie are in line with Baird's poem:

Time flies on wings of lightning;
We cannot call it back;
It comes, then passes forward
Along its onward track;
And if we are not mindful,
The chance will fade away;
For life is quick in passing.
'Tis as a single day.

Life your life with a sense of determined urgency. Reap while the sun shines.

Entertain me and leave a comment with your answer to question #1. Maybe there's a prize for whoever leaves a comment with the most original answer.

We control the depth and breadth of our lives

I saw this quote hanging on an office wall today:

''We Cannot govern the length of our lives, but we can control the depth and breadth of our lives. We cannot control the weather, but we can control the atmosphere that surrounds us. There is a raise in your future. It becomes effective when you do.'' Hank Trisler

I really enjoyed the concepts put forth in this quote. I have long believed that we are the sum of the people we surround ourselves with. The atmosphere around us relates to the people with which we associate, the way in which we communicate, the attitudes we exhibit et cetera. So much of our lives are wasted in the wrong local weather of doubt and fear. We empower ourselves when we create a positive forward thinking, problem solving environment in which to dwell.

Recently I've been wanting a 'raise'. To hear it put that it is there ready for me, as soon as I am effective enough to obtain it was humbling. Today I am empowering myself to be more effective in my goals.
p.s. I included this comic because I found it humorous... not because I think this young lad was being more effective... I mean, I could handle $250 a glass but $500 is just crazy.

Eastvale Lamborghini

And here I thought Eastvale wasn't as affluent as other cities. I never saw one of these in Chino.

*sorry, it's not mine.

Dr. Randy Pausch - Last Lecture

I rarely read email forwards, but for some reason I watched this video that was forwarded to me today. I'm really glad that I did, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.



Thank you for being a part of my life.

What Motivates You?

Pain or Pleasure?

A friend of mine has a great post about motivation. His friend is building a mansion in Santa Barbara as a speculative investment and is considering moving in rather than selling, even though the market is hot enough to sell, so that the mansion will motivate him to achieve greater goals. Deyl asked: Do you think there is anything wrong with a material thing like a house being a motivator to work hard and smart? He has received some great responses so far.

What I find interesting about choice is that all of our choices in life come down to our desire to gain pleasure and our need to avoid pain. Think about it. From the very simple decisions in our lives to the most complex those two factors are at the root of our the choice we make.

Example

Ask a woman why she spends hour(s) every morning applying makeup and doing her hair. The answers are likely to be either because doing so makes her feel pretty (pleasure) or because not doing so may garnish some ridicule (pain).

You can go through any choice and break it down to these two factors. When the light turns red you stop to avoid pain. Even if you are certain no cars are coming you don't want the pain of having to pay for a ticket and the serious agony of sitting in traffic school. If you give to charity, what is your motivating factor? Is it because you want the pleasure of helping somebody? Do you not want the pain of higher taxes and want the pleasure of a nice write off?

Understanding these two principals is helping me understand what drives me and what influence the decisions I make. I am currently in the middle of a few real estate deals that are generating a bit of stress, but the idea of the payout and the pleasure it will bring motivates me to make the deals work.

Just because we are driven by pleasure and pain doesn't make us bad people. If the things that we associate pleasure to are being able to contribute back to society then that's a good thing. If you get pleasure from knowing that you are providing for your family, creating employment, promoting commerce, etc then building a nice house for you and your (6) kids is a great thing. Especially if it's going to motivate you to take on more ventures that are likely to continue the cycle even more. So, Deyls' friend, build on and love your home. Enjoy the pleasure that comes from the sense of accomplishment and knowing that you are living in something that you envisioned from a bare lot and a bunch of sticks.

Limitations

So often in life we create our own limitations. Interestingly enough our limits are self imposed or conditioned by others who feel inadequate. When we are born we are nearly fearless (the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises are with us from birth) but we learn to fear failure through being teased or ridiculed. I got this little glimpse into my 1 year old daughters limitless perpective on life and loved it. She's just doing what she sees her 3 year old sister do... so why couldn't she be able to do the same? Look around you and see if there is somebody that has attained goals you would like to attain and ask yourself if you believe that you can achieve the same levels of success. Too often we don't give ourselves enough credit, or have enough faith in our own ability to achieve greatness. Raise the bar.

-Posted From My Treo -

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon - Hypnosis

I am a big fan of eliminating vices out of our lives. It was great to see articles pop up about Ben Affleck telling Oprah that he had finally quit smoking. An interesting part of all of this is that both he and Matt Damon used hypnosis to help them quit. Affleck mentions that the "guy just sat there and told me nicotine is poison.” Hypnosis allows us to change our neuro associations more rapidly, and so under hypnosis Ben was able to make the changes to his mental perspectives on smoking. What vice in your life could you cut out simply by thinking of it as a painful and negative experience and associating greater pleasure to abstaining? If you'd like more information on how to make changes rapidly, let me know and I'll post more on the topics of NLP and Hypnosis.

The Garth Brooks Experience

My lovely wife and I went to the Garth Brooks concert in Los Angeles last night with a couple of our good friends. There was a period in my adolescence that I only listened to Garth and so I own all of his albums and know all of his songs, even the Christmas and obscure ones. Being at his concert was a pretty amazing experience. I haven't been to many concerts so I am sure I am describing phenomena that are common to stars but I was amazed by the amount of energy that flowed through the Staples Center and directed at Mr. Brooks. We had seats that I really think were underrated. We were in the up stage left corner (any drama geeks reading this know where that is, for the rest of you we were in the back right corner). This location allowed an excellent vantage point to see a lot of what the performers got to see. I was a little overwhelmed when I looked out at the crowd that was cheering so energetically for Garth. To think that one person could generate that much positive attention is impressive. I'm not much of a singer, but I would love to be in front of a crowd like that with people cheering for me. I don't know why they would but the experience seems worth striving for. The greatest thing for me was to see how genuine Garth appeared to be. I imagine that many performers get to a point where they begin to expect praise from large throngs of fans, but to Mr. Brooks it was as though he was utterly surprised and appreciative every time the crowd went wild for him. In his last of 2 encores he brought up a concession stand worker that had snuck backstage to meet him and had asked him what it was like to be in front of all those people. He brought Alva up and had her stand center stage and experience the view from his perspective. After singing 'my song' The River he had her come back to center stage and asked the entire audience to take out their cameras and take their picture. I had seen this amazing display earlier in the night when Garth and Trisha Yearwood were singing and got close to each other. The entire venue went aglow with bursting flash bulbs. Amazing!


After the concert the traffic in our parking structure was at a stand still so I looked up nearby restaurants on google maps on my phone. The closest place was Kiki's, just a couple blocks away. We headed over by foot in the drizzling rain. When we got close to the corner I spied Kiki's, a quaint little taco stand that although it had an 'A' in the window was most certainly closed. Blasted google maps! We walked back and drove to Clearwood's Northwood Inn where we threw some peanut shells on the ground.

I hope to one day be able to have the sort of influence upon people that Garth Brooks has. I don't mean that I want to be a music star, as if that was an option anyway. I feel richly blessed in my life and want to help people live a life full of passion. I want to inspire people. To have people that need a little kick in the pants, a little motivation, some reframing or a new perspective come to me and I want to lead them on a journey to greater personal strength. What Garth did, in taking a little time out to share his experience with Alva the concession worker, was amazing. In those few moments Alva's entire life may have shifted course. I may be hallucinating this but I see a girl that had poor self esteem that now has something she can hang on to as a reminder that she is of infinite value. I see a girl who will now take charge of the life that she may have been drifting through. How can I make this sort of impact in the lives of people I am lucky enough to be a part of?

Vision

I have been enjoying a few unexpected blogs recently. A noteworthy one is written by the artist/author of one of my favorite comic strips, Dilbert. In his recent post talks about how when he was 11 he applied for the Famous Artist School and even then had a strong vision that he would one day be a famous cartoonist.

Proverbs tells us that "Where there is no vision, the people perish"

I believe that the opposite of this proverbial statement is also true. That "Where there is vision, the people prosper"

Many of us fall into the trap of 'going through the motions'. I was at dinner with a friend the other night and he told me that for many years he would set goals and whenever he would revisit his written goals he would see that he had accomplished them. Oddly enough he hadn't written goals in the last two years. We were at dinner to discuss how he could take action on a particular dream of his and make it a reality. Although this post is full of quotes another favorite of mine is 'a goal not written is only a wish'.

Take the time to sit down and write out your goals. I promise that doing so will pave the way to your achieving them. Until then, live long and prosper.

California's Richest Men

A friend of mine from Junior High and High School recently blogged about how one of the characteristics of the 'New Rich' was that they put themselves in the flow of money. This got me thinking about the businessmen and women that I network with and if I needed to work on getting closer to greater 'flow'. I googled 'California's Richest Men' (nothing sexest ladies, I would gladly network with wealthy women as well) and found this gem of an article. Published in The New York Times on January 4th, 1891 the list of California's richest men started with a staggering net worth $250,000! Topped off by the founder of Stanford at $50,000,000. If a net worth of $50,000,000 seems like a lot just remember that Tiger Woods will pull in over 100 million USD in 2007 from endorsements only. He could probably afford the 250 Million Dollar yacht in my last post.

In 1891 a net work of $250,000 got you on the list... what will it be in another 116 years? Maybe the trio of Benjamin's folded in my money clip will do the trick.

Click on the picture to see the article.

So, hopefully it won't take me over 100 years to climb the list. If you don't see me for a while, I'm out putting myself in the flow of money.


p.s. Although many of my posts will be on the topic of wealth attainment I do not feel that money should be our main goal in life. The most important things in my life are my God and my Family. My purpose in seeking wealth at a young age is to buy me time with my loved ones and the freedom to serve my God around the world.