If you have a point of view or perspective on what is imporant for Africa’s future or what should be the focus, cast your vote on this exciting interactive feature. More on this later… but cast your vote.
Archive for May, 2008
World Economic Forum in Africa 2008 – Cast Your Vote Now
In Africa, Environment, Human Condition and Treatment, Third World Business on May 29, 2008 at 4:16 amGas Prices May Reach $5.00 per Gallon Sooner than We Think
In economy, marketing, mindset 3.0 on May 22, 2008 at 7:57 pmThe high cost of gas is likely to be a topic of discussion unless you ride a bike, been living in the “Enchanted Forest” or you earn over $1 million dollars per year. So, it’s safe to assume, this post is relevant to 95% of the people who may stumble across this blog. Because of the gas prices, I am looking for a new car or rather a more fuel efficient automobile. During my research, I came across the list you see below. If you live in Detroit, there should be good reason to worry.
And if you trade stocks, sell the US auto stocks short. This list is useful if you want to begin the search for a way to save gas. I didn’t stop there, I went a bit further and polled a few people on how much it costs to operate their automobile for a month.
You ready? People are paying between $550 and $800 per month for gas. So, assuming the average American car payment is $400 per month, the total cost is between $950 and $1,200 per month. Let’s take this a step further, what if you are married and have TWO car payments? You would approach $2,400 per month for the privilege of paying yourself to drive to work, sit in traffic and listen to the radio. If the Detroit automakers were playing Texas Hold’em Poker, and the Japanese said, “all-in” and Detroit “called”, they (Detroit automakers) would be wiped out. Can you say: “government bail-out” again.
On the serious side of this discussion, is we are close to this scenario now. Just imagine the ripple effect? Nobody will purchase large SUVs and trucks. Thousand of Jobs will be lost. Bankruptcy for both GM and Ford. Government bail-out. And now gas is $6.00 per gallon and the special interest groups continue to lobby against more fuel efficient automobiles and commerce slows to a crawl. Can you say “Depression“?
Pain-Bodies in Action for Former Olympian Tim Montgomery
In mindset 3.0, narcissism, vanity on May 16, 2008 at 10:16 pmI was terribly disappointed and saddened to read the news about Tim Montgomery’s recent sentencing to 46 months in jail. As I read this today, I could not help but think about the “pain-bodies” he is likely experiencing and “ego” associated behaviors that propelled him to criminal activity. The “pain-body” and being in the Present and how these concepts are explained by Eckhart Tolle in his book, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose, highlights just how much pain our society experiences each day.
Both Montgomery and his former wife Marion Jones had it all in the eyes of most people. Olympic fame, money, endorsements and it is all now gone. Literally. In the book, Tolle describes how people carry a large amount of unnecessary baggage, both mental and emotional and throughout their lives. They limit themselves through grievance, regret, hostility, guilt. As Tolle further states, “Their emotional thinking has become their self, and so they hang on to the old emotion because it strengthens their identity.” In the case of Montgomery and Jones you can see that their identity and who they thought they were or rather, who they think they are is about financial resources and celebrity.
This is an important point, because it highlights the negativity in this world and how the so-called affluent struggle more than the poor. Quoting from the book: “Unhappiness or negativity is a disease on our planet. It is everywhere, not just in places where people don’t have enough, but even more so where they have more than enough. Is that suprising? No. The affluent world is even more deeply identified with form (possessions), more lost in content (things, feelings, perceptions) more trapped in ego.” Page 213
People are dependent on things, seven cars is not enough for the hip hop musician or rock star who has made it big financially. Yet, they struggle in their lives with drugs, self-identify, depression and they have more than enough.
What would a young person from a developing country think about these shenanigans if he had the material wealth of Montgomery and Jones. The deeper purpose that the affluent and super wealthy can gain from this is that all situations are fleeting because things change. Remember the rapper Easy-E who dies of AIDS? On top of the world one minute and sadly dying of a sexually transmitted disease the next. This is important because people of color especially are stuck in a way of thinking and behaving that is so fundamentally wrong that the pursuits of “bling” and “getting paid” will NOT advance their family and their community, ultimately.
Mr. Montgomery pleaded guilty to conspiracy in the bank fraud and money laundering plot. Prosecutors said he had a hand in depositing bogus checks worth $1.7 million. “I’ve had everything I ever wanted in life. I’ve stood on the top of the mountain,” Montgomery told the court. But now, “the gold medal, all those people cheering, that was part of another world. … In jail, my status is gone.”
The things Montgomery cited are the problem. Those things are not who he is. In his “mind” this is probably so and I am sure he will miss the niceties he has enjoyed. So for the next 46 months, he should figure out who he is and who he is not and I will guarantee that he will be the type of person his children and family can be proud of sans the cheers and the gold. This is his opportunity to do something special and make himself proud.
http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008May16/0,4670,TrackStarFraud,00.html
