Reconquer America PDF

HUDSON FLYNT

R E C O N Q U E R A M E R I C A

Reconquer AmericaCopyright © 2011 Hudson FlyntAll Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise – without the written permis-sion of the author or publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

First published by Monster MarketersISBN 978-0-9845779-5-8

Printed in the United States of America

Monster Marketers64 Beaver Street, 109New York, NY [email protected]

Limit of liability/disclaimer of warranty/terms of service:While the author and publisher have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no repre-sentations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work with specific disclaimer of all warranties, including, without limitation, warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, medical, or other professional services. If professional assistance or advice is sought, it would be necessary to hire the appropriate professionals for such advice. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. Any links to outside websites or organizations do not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information that these sites or organizations provide or recommend. Neither the author nor the publisher shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to, special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

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Congratulations! You have come to the right place. It is refreshing to know that so many Americans want to

fight for their country. You have made the right choice by picking up this book. The time to act is now.

Americans, our ship has taken on water. We must reevaluate our situation, plug our leaks and chart a new

course for our nation. Think about your fellow Americans. Those who contribute to the good order of this American ship must be encouraged to contribute more. Those who

cannot contribute must be cared for, and those who refuse to contribute must be thrown overboard. The voyage will not be easy, but the experience will be a rewarding one.

Thank you for joining the grassroots movement to RECONQUER AMERICA!

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CONTeNTS

1 Introduction

7 Work Like a Mexican

29 Study Like the Chinese

49 Invest Like the Wealthy

69 Survive Like Jews and Overcome Like African Americans

101 Innovate Like the Japanese

119 Be Excellent Like German Industry

139 Celebrate: Plan it Small, Plan it BIG

155 Recommended Reading List

A1 Appendix

HUDSON FLYNT’S TEN COMMANDMENTS:

1) Freedom: live for her; die for her.2) Revolt righteously.3) Life and games have rules. Learn them well and play to win!

4) Do not waste persistence on the lazy. Allow pain to sober him.5) Ask a child anything difficult in five words or less. Your own answer is buried in your asking.6) Rush to Planned Selflessness. It emancipates your chil dren from deficits and endows liberty upon your grand children.7) Live within your means and achieve financial patience. Riches grow from this vine.8) Learn the definition of friend. Evaluate and replace their influence according to your goals.9) Do not buy cheap; it costs too much.10) Stay out of your neighbor’s pockets; those dollars you covet are probably slick with sweat.

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INTRODUCTION

As Americans, we are on a voyage. Our destination is a revived America, different from the one in which we now live. Instead of declining, we will once again strengthen our economy. Our people

will once again be hard working and prosperous. The spirit of individuality, sacrificial living and charitable generosity will carry our citizens forward. Using excellence as a beacon and faith as a compass, we will find our way to this America by restoring the promises of our forefathers for a nation rich with the spirit of individuality and the strength of unity.

We will need to leave behind us the national tendency to live outside of our means and capsize our vessel. Debt is destroying our nation: both personal debt and national debt. One of our worst habits has sprung from one of our greatest assets; our industrious spirit and drive to improve our lives have led us to a point of excess where we go into debt.


Throughout this book, I will be using immigrants as in-spirational examples for how to look at our American heritage differently – to return to the values that made our country great. Like first generation Mexican immigrants past and present, we in America must learn to love the opportunity to work and to live within our means by foregoing the comforts of today for the greater comfort of building a better tomorrow. In Chapter 1, I will show you how first generation immigrants lived and worked and how adopting aspects of their way of living can improve your life by improving your financial security.

Times are changing and Americans have become con-tent to ignore their duty to acquire knowledge and apply that knowledge to their lives. As our world becomes more and more globally connected, Americans ignore the necessity of learning the skills we need to stay ahead in the world. It is necessary that we study and gain new knowledge all the time. On a personal level, knowledge brings opportunity and a better life. On a na-tional level, we must avoid the current culture of academic stag-nation. When it comes to learning, we must not be left behind. I hope to inspire you to study, create opportunity for yourself, increase your value in your field and be the best that you can be.

Part of the strategy is shifting our priorities. Our re-sources of time and money are often allocated to things that are not really important. The wealthy understand that assets are meant to appreciate in value, not be wasted on frivolity. I will show you what it means to invest like the wealthy and how the wealthy differ from the rich. Shift your priorities and you will find that the relationships and possessions you manage will ap-preciate in value.

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Though we are a singular nation, we often do not unify properly to move forward together to address our national prob-lems. We can learn a lot from Jews and African Americans about surviving and overcoming. I will address the bickering and the divisive attitudes that tear our nation apart and distract us from focusing on our problems. We will find renewed confi-dence-breeding strength and purpose in our quest to overcome America’s challenges.

In most ways, America is still the strongest nation in the world. Our innovative spirit allows us to lead the world in technological fields. In your own life you may find new and ex-citing ways to save money, make money and conduct business. When we find new innovations, we must employ them. As a child, I enjoyed the boxes that held my toys more than the toys themselves. If you are like me, you will understand my advice on imaginative innovation in life and business.

Excellence is the name of the game, and it is in decline in America. From the customer service industry to the members of Congress, we must learn to harness the spirit of excellence that is unique to America. Be excellent, and be a beacon for those around you while gaining the notice of others. Help Amer-ica preserve her faltering reputation worldwide. Whether work-ing, studying, investing or innovating, you must be excellent in your own life. Instead of letting the failings of those around you bring you down, you must understand your power to bring out the excellence in others by displaying it yourself.

Finally, Americans celebrate out of proportion. We often celebrate too much over small victories or let larger victories


pass without proper acknowledgement. I want to address the need for planning celebration that is both appropriate and satisfying. Once you have overcome, it is time to find the joy that comes from being an American.

Our actions now are crucial to the future of our coun-try. Will you stay the course and brave rough seas and strong head winds or be scuttled by opposition? Since you are read-ing this book, I am certain you are one of those who will march forward with your American brothers and sisters on a campaign to reconquer America. In your personal life, you will benefit from the advice offered in the following pages and you will be contagious to those around you, spreading your excellence.

ANATOMY OF YOUR CONTAGION.

Everyone you know is contagious. Smiles are con-tagious, as are bad attitudes, complaining and success. Do you ever wonder why successful people keep the company of other successful people? It is because we are influenced by the actions, attitudes and achievements of those with whom we come into contact in our lives. This is what I like to call your “contagion.”

You may be wondering why I chose the word con-tagion. This is normally used in reference to disease. How-ever, you have probably heard the old platitude that laughter is contagious. Yawning is also contagious. Contagion is the perfect word to describe how your surroundings affect you positively or negatively. You have to know your contagion. You must understand who is for you or who is against you as you reconquer your America.

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Your family is part of your contagion, but there is more to it than that. You influence your family and they in-fluence you. Each member of your family also has his or her own contagion outside of the family. The same is true of your friends, coworkers and other business associates. They are all part of your contagion, and you are part of theirs. Make no mistake: the people around you will influence how you live your life.

I know the importance of carefully limiting inclusion into my own contagion. I seek out positive people who will assist me in reaching my goals just as I seek to positively influence those around me. These are typically people with habits that lead to successful lives.

As a parent, I recognize the importance of directing my children’s contagion. I have dealt with other children whom I felt were negative influences on my children. For ex-ample, I had a child removed from my son’s contagion when he convinced my son to sit in the back of the classroom. Al-though my son is a charter school student, intelligence and good grades are only part of being productive.

In addition, I understand the importance of leveraging my contagion. The people around me can provide assistance, moral support and resources. When I come across a chal-lenge to which I cannot find a solution on my own, I will not hesitate to call up someone I know with experience in similar challenges. I encourage members of my contagion to call on me as well. I leverage my contagion well, and put their skill- sets to work for me.


Throughout this book, I will regularly refer to the con-cept of contagion. In short, you must understand the influence you have on your contagion and your contagion has on you. Like a domino effect, when you influence members of your contagion they will influence members of their contagion as well. Through your contagion, you wield great influence across the country. I will show you how to maximize your positive influence over your contagion to reach your goal of reconquer-ing America.

I offer a word of warning. It will not be easy. The head-winds are set against us because of our past decisions. You must possess the same spirit of perseverance that the soldiers pos-sessed during their winter at Valley Forge. You must learn to live and work like our ancestors who crossed the ocean for the chance at a better life in America. Excellence must be your bea-con and the American spirit must empower you to take hold of your own bootstraps, pull yourself up, and reach out to your fellow Americans.

Freedom is not free. It is the responsibility of every American to make sure they do their part to ensure that our na-tion will continue as a bastion of hope, freedom and prosper-ity for the rest of the world. Read on, and understand how to Reconquer America.

WHO IS “HUDSON FLYNT”?

“Hudson Flynt” is a semi-retired businessman. A world traveler (among his many other accomplishments he speaks four languages), he has had the opportunity to see first-hand that America is the greatest country on the planet. Hudson possesses skills to take the complex and make it understandable, simple.

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WORK LIKE A MEXICAN

“A man can be as great as he wants to be. If you believe in yourself and have the courage, the determination, the dedication, the competitive drive and if you are willing to sacrifice the little things in life and pay the price for the things that are worthwhile, it can be done.”

–Vince Lombardi

It was the ambitious, skilled and educated who elect-ed to leave their homelands hoping that their skills would be demanded in America. Collectivist ideology and the subsequent economic difficulty drove immigrants to seek a better life elsewhere. They left their homes, often at great expense and discomfort, to seek the shores of America and the prom-ise of opportunity. Whether it was to start a business, open a medical practice or just work hard for their pay, these people moved to America for a chance at a better life.


America offered the chance at a better life, but the journey was long. It was not for those who benefitted from collectivism or the lazy; it was undertaken only by those who yearned to breathe free and seek out opportunity. This was the first step in the new life of a first generation immigrant to America.

After arduous journeys and the entry processes were concluded, these new Americans were now tasked with build-ing new lives. The Industrial Revolution had created an abun-dance of jobs, and the opportunities were available. It was nonetheless a difficult existence. For immigrants, work was hard. Factories were usually not pleasant places to work, and living conditions in cities were harsh. The new Americans lived simply, often in single room apartments. They walked to work, and everywhere else for that matter. Only the prom-ise of a better tomorrow kept them going. Day after day they toiled and worked for meager paychecks, but they were hap-py to do so. They had made the journey across the ocean for the opportunities, and they were committed to making better lives for themselves. They may have come from a country that did not value or reward individual effort or endeavor, but upon arriving in America they began playing by a new set of rules – American rules – and it was worth the journey.

These men and women labored daily for their very survival and the possibility of a brighter future. There are those who still live that way today, first generation immi-grants from Mexico. Like their predecessors, Mexican im-migrants made the journey to America not for comfort but for opportunity, freedom, and employment. They may not have crossed an ocean to get to Ellis Island, but they still put effort

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into the journey. These are the people who are willing to work to survive and eke out an existence by any means nec-essary with the goal of making better lives for themselves in the future.

Working like a first generation American immigrant means to value opportunity the same way those who crossed vast distances valued it. You must understand that it is up to you as an individual to make the most of your money and live within your means. If you value this opportunity and avoid wasting your money, you will find that the American dream is much more attainable.

This is what makes our great nation unique in the world. People around the world know that if they come to America and work hard, they have the chance to improve their lives. The journey to America is the first step to a new life. To make a living, these new Americans must seek out opportunities wherever they can be found. Whether they are fortunate enough to have regular work or rise before the sun to seek day labor, they are not sleeping in or enjoying the comforts commonly enjoyed by more fortunate Ameri-cans. This is the experience of first generation immigrants in America, the Land of Opportunity. This is the comfort that new Americans enjoy. Hard work is rewarded, and America is a land in which the individual can thrive based on his or her own effort.

Work Hard and Seize the Promise of Opportunity “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.”

–2 Thessalonians 3:10 NIV


SET SAIL.

This is the beauty of the American way of life. If you were born in America, you may not fully realize the promise of our nation. Around the world, people do not enjoy the freedom to express themselves or to live free from government oppres-sion. Our Constitution guarantees us these rights. They have been bought with the blood of countless Americans who have fought and died to preserve them. We must fully honor these Americans, the Constitution and the values we hold so dear by paying for them through hard work. Like Mexican immi-grants, you must gladly shoulder the burden of hard work and plod toward a better life for yourselves. Your opportunity is no less than theirs, and your potential is just as great. Utilize your talents, and gather the fortitude to strengthen your work ethic. The payoff is worth the effort. This is the land of opportunity and you must live in it.

PAIN BEFORE PLEASURE.

The following is a story from a good friend of mine named Steven Crawford, a former US Army recruiter. During his time in the service, he would travel all around to visit the homes of potential recruits, meet with the families and answer any questions that they might have pertaining to the service of their children. As Steven told me, it was a hot summer after-noon, about two weeks into June, when he stood on the planked porch of a farm home that laid way out in the country.

As he waited for the family to greet him at the door, the gentle whimpering of an old brown dog lying on the porch caught his attention. The dog looked up at Steve, whining slightly with each exhalation, as though it was experiencing

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some amount of throbbing pain. Before Steve could move to check on the pitiful sounding thing, he was greeted at the door by the old farmer.

“Good afternoon sir”, Steve greeted the owner of the home, “I am here to see your son, Bobby to talk about the army, but I was just noticing your dog here seems to be in pain.”

As Steve tells it, the old farmer leaned forward, look-ing around the corner at the dog, who looked up at him, expectant of a possible treat or early feeding time. “Oh that’s just Sam,” he answered, “probably just laying on some old nail.”

Steve asked with confusion, “Well sir, if he is lying on a nail, why doesn’t he just get up?”

The old farmer answered the confused soldier with an understanding smile and eyes full of a working man’s wisdom, “Well, I guess it just don’t hurt him bad enough.”

Unlike the dog in the story, America now hurts badly enough. It is time for us to get up off of our proverbial nails. We must stop the whimpering and complaining without solu-tions, as will be discussed in Chapter 4.

It is up to you to emulate the first generation immi-grants. Work like a Mexican. Think about the motivation required to leave your country of origin for the promise of opportunity. You must understand and value the opportunity you have. Be thankful and honor your country by working hard as you reconquer America.


LIVE SACRIFICIALLY.

An important aspect of progress is to understand the impediments to reaching our destination. In other words, we must ensure that our vessel is leak-free. If we know the sta-tus of our vessel, we can find the leaks and plug them. The first priority is hard work, but that is not enough in modern America. Too often we live above our means. Living sacrifi-cially means doing the opposite and plugging the leaks in our lives by living well within our means.

What do I mean by leaks? You may have a financial leak, a time leak, or a pleasure leak. These are the types of things that plague Americans and slow progress toward our goals. One of the biggest problems in America today is that we are simply oblivious to our leaks. We bemoan a lack of time and money, but fail to recognize the slow drains that deplete these resources over time.

Financial leaks are small, consistent costs that add up as a result of disorganization, laziness, or habit. For example, if you do not keep up with your credit card statements every month, you may find that you are being overcharged on fees or interest. If you subscribe to publications you do not read or pay for services you rarely use, you are leaking financially. In these tough times, it is important to identify and plug these leaks that add up to surprisingly large amounts over time.

Time leaks are habits that relate to improper planning. Do you lay your clothing out the night before work and gas up your vehicle well in advance? Or are you the type of per-son who rushes to get everything done, resulting in lateness

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and loss of productivity? These time leaks can damage your career and add unnecessary stress to your life. Make a sched-ule and stick to it. The minutes you save will really add up and the stress reduction will be a great benefit as well.

You might have a pleasure leak. Some people watch too much television. Others talk on the phone too much or at the wrong times. Texting may be your leak, constantly checking each one the moment it arrives. Any leisure activity that significantly interferes with your life can be considered a pleasure leak. There is a time to relax or celebrate, but it should be planned well and done in a responsible manner. Your time, money and reputation must be preserved and used wisely. Think about the future and avoid the slow leaks.

Leaks can cause a great deal of damage and affect your ability to pursue the American dream. These leaks may go unnoticed over time. Think about the leak behind your refrigerator that over time causes an entire wall of your house to be infested with mold or the oil leak that causes unseen damage to your car’s engine. Though you may see the evi-dence of these leaks, you may overlook them for a long pe-riod of time since they seem inconsequential. But they are counterproductive to our efforts to reconquer America. Be productive and plug those leaks.

Many Americans are consumed by debt that has ren-dered them unable to prepare for the future. The credit card business in America is a multi-billion dollar industry. Forty percent of American spend more than their income each year.


Think about that for a moment. Those habits are not only bad for irresponsible spenders themselves, but for all of America. When your neighbor loses his house to foreclosure the value of your home is lowered. These results, in large enough numbers, shake the foundations of our national econ-omy. The current recession in America is based, in part, on this unsustainable way of life.

First and foremost, budget your money. Do not go into debt unnecessarily. If you are in debt now, make a budget to work your way out of it. Stop your out-of-control spend-ing and start saving for the things you want and need. Think about your wants and needs. Do you need all the luxuries in your home? Is it necessary to have cable television or would you be better served using your money to provide for neces-sities, pay off debt or add to your emergency fund? Invest like the wealthy and purchase luxuries last, or forgo luxuries in order to save even more money.

It’s about being comfortably uncomfortable. When my wife and I first married, we lived without a TV for two years. It was not that we were unable to afford a television, but we worked hard and saved our money to the point that we felt television was unnecessary. We did not budget that luxury into our finances. It was not only about the initial cost of the television, but the subsequent leak of a monthly bill. Did I miss a few good moments of television? Sure. I had to watch some big sporting events at friends’ houses. But to my wife and me, television would have been an unnecessarily damaging financial leak. It is a luxury we now enjoy, but it was never a necessity.

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COMPASS IT.

“If football taught me anything about business, it is that you win the game one play at a time.”

–Fran Tarkenton

When you think about setting sail in your life you must have a defined destination. Where do you want to end up on your voyage? If you need to save money, lose weight, spend time with your family, or learn to play the piano, you must clearly define your goal; it is a destination. You must measure your steps as you strive to reach long-term goals. Focus on your short-term goals as steps toward your destination.

Goals require different types of short-term steps. Sav-ing money is simply an incremental commitment that can be put on a calculator. Small amounts add up to larger ones over time. The only challenge is to continue making depos-its. In many cases, this can be automated. The trick is to learn to live with less so you can build your savings through regular deposits.

Losing weight is another incremental commitment. It is less about sacrificing monetary funds and more about lifestyle adjustments. Eating right and exercising are your deposits. The payoff comes in the form of weight loss rather than interest gained. Unlike saving money, this process cannot be automated. You have to devote time and effort. However, you understand that your weight is your own responsibility.


You can be as fit as your body allows, provided you take a step-by-step approach and stick to it. It’s the principle of working like an immigrant. You have to get out there and make your own weight loss opportunities.

Spending more time with your family is less like an incremental commitment and more about shifting priorities. We all say that we value our families more than money, but in America we sometimes have a tendency to spend more time or effort on work than on significant relationships. In order to reach the goal of a happy family, it is necessary to rebalance our own habits in a step-by-step fashion.

I have employed this concept in my own life with great results. One of my favorite examples has to do with a song played on the piano. Though it may seem a daunting goal, learning the piano is a step-by-step process. At a dinner party one night a pianist played a particular song that I loved. The degree of energy and enjoyment he poured into play-ing the song, as well as the subsequent audience reaction, inspired me.

I was impressed by his poise and began to wonder if I could learn to play the piano myself. After the crowd dispersed, I approached the musician and asked if he would teach me. Though I had never played the piano at the time, he proved to be very receptive to my request and actually stayed an hour longer, showing me note-by-note what should be played in the opening of the song. He took me through baby steps on what keys to hit and, in much less time than I anticipated, I was actually capable of hitting my first chord.

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It was surreal to me that I could use five fingers of my right hand and hit the keyboard at the right moment. It sound-ed just like it had when the pianist had played it! I knew and loved that particular song and I was motivated to learn how to play it. As with all goals, motivation was the starting point.

I borrowed a keyboard from a friend and began to du-plicate, innovate and apply my strategy, which was to prac-tice two times a day for twenty minutes. I took the keyboard to work as well as studying in my home and I labored with the music. It was difficult at first. I laboriously learned and practiced the first verse. It was a slow process, but it began to come together little by little. In a very short time, the whole song actually began to emerge for me to the point where I could play it with surprising accuracy.

I had kept my practicing somewhat secret from my family so at some point I could surprise them. My opportu-nity came four months later when, while on vacation, I sat down at the piano in the lobby of our resort and started play-ing. I made the piano sing.

As you can imagine, I was nervous, yet eager. I be-gan with the first note, then, the first chord and put them together. Before I knew it, I had played the entire song for my family and a couple of com-

plete strangers. It was just as exhilarating as I had imagined it would be while I was spending my twenty-minute sessions banging away at the keyboard. And it all started with one note, one chord.


These are the types of results that are possible through setting good goals. This is about investment. Time and money are resources that must be utilized appropriately. We will cov-er this further in Chapter 3.

YES I CAN!

Perseverance is the name of the game. There is a peace that comes with accepting and enjoying routine. Think about your average Tuesday. There is nothing special about most Tuesdays. You probably get up, get to work and get through the day. The trial of perseverance is in carrying on for the long-term to reach your goals, not expecting every day to be especially rewarding.

So, get to work. Follow the example of first generation Americans. Do what you must and do it with pride. America is the land of opportunity and you are fortunate to live here, so persevere in making the most of it.

Plug the leaks in your life that are causing you to slowly sink. Pay attention to your bank account and think about how much money you are wasting. Get organized to get your time leaks under control. Stop letting leisure activities interfere with your ability to live sacrificially. When you plug these leaks, you will find that working like a first generation American is far more financially rewarding.

We’ve taken our examples from those who have made the journey before us. Reaching their destination is based on a sacrifice of today’s pleasure for tomorrow’s reward. Right now our country is adrift and in a battle for its very existence as we

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know it. To win such a monumental battle takes massive com-mitments of time and levels of courage from each individual to alter the course of this great country as we reconquer America.

The benefits are not always immediate. In fact, it may be a painful process to plug those leaks in your life. When it hurts, think about how you are preparing to live better in the future. That is what living sacrificially is all about. You work like an immigrant and live comfortably uncomfortable to ensure your future security and one day you will be able to enjoy luxuries without financial burden. If you are in a hole, you will climb out. As you look toward the future, you will find it getting brighter with every penny you save.


ACTION STEPS WITH HUDSON FLYNT

Q: What do you mean by “Freedom: Live for her, die for her”?

Hudson Flynt: I’ve traveled the world, and what I’ve seen, ev-erywhere, is that people want the American dream–to be able to live their lives, raise their families and run their businesses with a minimum of interference. To have a decent opportunity to rise to their highest level of success, happiness and contri-bution. Our rush to “level the playing field” for everyone risks reducing our Dream to the American Nightmare. To be honest, to be charitable, to offer education and opportunity to all is about as fair as the world has ever been, and far fairer than na-ture itself. We risk losing everything in a misguided attempt to make everyone feel good about themselves, whether they’ve earned it or not. I’m saying Freedom is a lady, one deserving of courtesy, love and sacrifice.

ACTION STEPS:

Right NOW, turn to the end of the first chapter and write down what “freedom” means TO YOU. The definition should be strong enough to make it worthwhile to risk your life for its attainment and preservation. The men who built this country felt that way, and so should you!

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Q: You state that “Life and games have rules. Learn them well and play to win!” Alright, I’ll bite: how do I learn these rules?

Hudson Flynt: Surround yourself with those who have suc-ceeded. Read their biographies, watch interviews with them, understand the way they spend their time, their attitudes and beliefs. Do as they did. As Tony Robbins says, “Success leaves clues.” As success coach Steven Barnes says: “add up the success, health, and happiness of all the people you associate with. Divide by the number of people. You’ll be exactly in the middle of the pack.” If you can’t associate with them in person, do what Napoleon Hill suggested in “Think And Grow Rich”–select five or six role models, study them exhaustively, and every day have an internal “board meeting” in your imagina-tion where you ask them questions and advice. It sounds crazy, but there’s nothing crazy about something that works!

ACTION STEPS:

By the end of this week, create a list of no fewer than three, or more than seven role models who have succeeded in the most basic aspects of life. Business, health, and family/rela-tionships should be the first three, but you can add more if desired. Look at your list daily, and spend ten minutes a day visualizing them in conversation about your life, actions and decisions.


TOP SECRET BATTLE PLAN:

Objective: Your mission, glad you decided to accept it, is to map your own life and find ways to plug any and all leaks. You already work hard, now start living sacrificially and keep more of your money.

MY PLAN OF SACRIFICIAL LIVING:

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STUDY LIKE THE CHINESE

Despite the impact on their personal lives, horseshoe repairman could not stop the automobile industry, nor could typewriter repairmen stop the coming of the computer age. We must gain the knowledge and information to adapt to life’s changes and apply that knowledge to our life’s goals; whether to get a job, to survive in a tough economy or to conduct international business.

When it comes to academics in Chinese families, A stands for average, B stands for bad, C stands for crippled, and D means you’re dead. It really should come as no surprise that the Chinese hold their children to such high standards. Due to the nature of the Chinese family and the complexity of Chinese culture, there is a tradition of passing down what I call generational intelligence.


GENERATIONAL EXPECTATION, GENERATIONAL INTELLIGENCE.

From one generation to the next in Chinese house-holds, knowledge about what it takes to succeed in the world is passed along with a great deal of expectation. Consequent-ly, there’s no need for trial and error in Chinese culture in how to make it in the modern world because that knowledge is passed down. They understand that good grades and re-lentless devotion to practice and study are the most effective methods to succeed in the modern world, and they drill this into their children.

In my early childhood, show and tell was an exciting time. It gave me an unknowing glimpse into how and why some of my classmates became pillars of their community and society. I remember a particular day when a few of my classmates brought in stethoscopes and gavels; their parents were doctors and judges. As an adult, it became apparent what these symbols of accomplishment meant. Familial expecta-tions were set to a high standard of accomplishment.

As a child, I viewed those show and tell items as a different kind of toy. But, as an adult I know why my class-mates’ parents gave them those items. They were preparing their children for the world they would face. I call this “learn-ing by proxy.” Simply by being near and around business, children actually learn.

This became apparent in the simplest way when I asked my oldest daughter to teach my son how to tie his shoe. Over time, my baby son saw me tie my shoes and I expected him to do the same. The older he got, the more he saw. He was learning

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by proxy. When the time came (he was about two years of age) for him to give it a try, I asked my oldest daughter (about six at the time) to have a go at teaching him. She taught; he learned!

As I had learned to tie my shoe, so did my oldest daughter. It made me so happy to see just how she took that knowledge of how to tie her shoe and passed it along to my son. That day I had two reasons to celebrate. For one, it was clear how intelligence was transmitted from one generation to the next. And, two, I saw my own children pass along their knowledge! I expected it.

FULL CIRCLE.

The familial expectation came full circle. As I was working for a Knight-Ridder newspaper, I happened upon a familiar face. It was a childhood classmate of mine. After brief reunion hugs, the time came to say goodbye. He wanted to stay in touch and handed me his business card. Lo and behold, he was an attorney. Over time he had received gener-ational intelligence as he met the expectations of his family.

Apply this to your own life. You can pass down gen-erational intelligence as you create family expectations. Whether you are a student, an actor, a plumber or even an attorney, if you expect to succeed you must continue to expand your knowledge and adapt to changing times. This is more important now than ever. Technology is expand-ing, competition is becoming fiercer, and the job market is becoming leaner. You must gather knowledge in order to keep up and stay competitive.


Think of the business of delivering the news. The print news-paper, as a medium, is quickly becoming a relic. Companies that are successful in this business are those that have adapted and retooled for the age of the internet by adding an online-centered format.

PROBLEMATIC.

“The average millionaire can’t tell you who got thrown off the island last night.”

–Dave Ramsey

Americans today are easily distracted. In his book, Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital, Robert Putnam explains that modern Americans are content to stay at home watching television. The rise of the Information Age and the television has, paradoxically, left us unfocused on gathering useful knowledge. America is in trouble, and it is the duty of every citizen to get on board with the effort to save her. Indi-vidual self-improvement is the biggest component needed to reconquer America. One of the best ways to improve yourself is to add to your knowledge, thereby strengthening yourself, and in turn, your nation.

According to studies by the A.C. Nielson Company, the average American family watches four hours of television a day. Talk about a pleasure leak! Think about how you could improve your life if you spent those hours studying to advance your career, or learning a language or a new skill? Turn off the televi-sion, America, or you will be left behind.

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Like living sacrificially, studying effectively requires giving up certain things. Time with friends and family, lei-sure time in front of the television, or other activities you en-joy may need to be sacrificed. You have to commit to learn-ing, set goals, and focus on the outcome you seek to gain from your study. Find what works for you, and get to work learning.

The way I learn best is through controlled isolation. To improve my language skills, I find that twenty minutes in isolation: twice a day, four days a week, provide an ideal learning environment. My mind is

relaxed knowing that my phone will not ring because it is off. I have notified my contagion of my state of isolation so that they understand to avoid interrupting me. I also find those who natively speak languages I am studying, to anchor the practice of what I’ve learned.

This may not be your preferred method of study, but it works for me. Whether you need to find a means of isolation or to attend classes; like the Chinese, you must discover how you study best and get started. Get out there and start gather-ing knowledge and employing it in your daily life.

YES I CAN!

Did you know you can become an expert on any sub-ject in six months or less? If you find something about which you are motivated to gather and apply knowledge you can really do amazing things.


Take Alex and Patricia, two very dear friends of mine. After returning from a night of dancing, they were preparing for bed when Patricia passed out. A CAT scan revealed she had developed a blood clot in her brain, a condition which can be deadly if not managed properly.

Alex feared that he would lose his wife. Before this surprising turn of events, she seemed the picture of health, working out at the gym and running. He had many questions and the doctor could not provide adequate answers. The sec-ond and third doctors were no more helpful in giving him a comprehensive understanding of his wife’s condition.

He spent weeks immersing himself in medical jargon associated with brain conditions. Weeks turned into months while he studied the brain and its interactions with the rest of the body. Patricia’s treatment continued, along with Alex’s study. For him, the possibility of losing his wife was motiva-tion to learn all he could.

Eventually Alex found that he was conversing with Patricia’s doctors using medical jargon about brain chemis-try on their own level. He no longer spoke like a layman; in a matter of months he had learned the brain and the nu-ances about his wife’s condition. Sure, he could not have performed brain surgery, but he knew a great deal about his wife’s condition, and he used it to assist her doctors, who actually found him to be a good source of knowledge in his wife’s treatment.

The doctors knew what they knew, and what they did not know was up to him to learn, so he did. His motivation

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set him on a course of assembling knowledge that allowed him, working with her doctors, to assist in the effort to save his wife.

The doctors were impressed. Alex’s study contin-ues today, acquiring knowledge from both known and little known places. He understands that knowledge truly is power and it is certainly playing a role in saving his wife’s life. To-day she has recovered and they are living happily. Alex often accompanies her on her doctor visits and continues studying the brain in order to assist her in living a healthy life.

In the same way Alex was able to become an expert on the brain, with the proper dedication in six months or less you can become an expert in the field of your choice. As you become an expert, you can harness that knowledge to suc-ceed in your own life. So, turn off the TV and get started.

LEVERAGE YOUR KNOWLEDGE.

In the 1970’s, few people traded on the stock market. This was not because of a lack of resources or drive to in-vest, but because of a lack of knowledge and understanding about the stock market. Like the horseshoe repairman and the typewriter repairmen mentioned earlier, you must constantly retool and advance your knowledge in order to thrive in an ever-changing world. People now invest in the market far more regularly. This is because knowledge of the stock market is more widespread and people are seeing the opportunities it presents.

Someone once told me, “Don’t trade commodities; you could lose your shirt.” What he was really saying is,


“I don’t know anything about trading commodities and haven’t bothered to study them.” Of course, if you don’t know how to do something, you will lose your shirt trying to do it. The person who is afraid to lose his shirt suffers from a lack of knowledge. We fear what we do not understand, and a lack of knowledge can prevent us from taking advantage of opportunities.

As for commodities, did you know that your own bank trades your deposits on the commodities market every day? They can do so because they have people who have taken the time to study the markets. This practice is very profitable for banks. They seize opportunities based upon knowledge. The person who warned me about losing my shirt could make statements about the dangers of the commodities market, but failed to understand the opportunities it presents.

Actually, you can lose your shirt in any kind of busi-ness venture. Think about opening a restaurant. When a cus-tomer enters your restaurant, he must be greeted and seated by a greeter and have his order taken by a server. This simple process requires training and payment of staff, but they are just the direct line from the customer to the kitchen, commu-nicating his desires in the form of an order. This communica-tion requires a number of things that a restaurant owner must understand, like paying his employees, choosing uniforms to give a professional appearance, training the workers and other similar tasks.

In the kitchen, the restaurant owner has even more to consider. He must ensure that he has enough food products, that they are properly stored and that his cooks are adequately

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trained and paid to prepare the dishes. He has to consider how to manage shrinkage of food and the correct portioning of meals. In addition to all of these business concerns, he must demand that the proper health and safety regulations are followed. Cleaning is a day and night job, and he must make sure that every day begins with the cleaning the night before in order to reduce the time leaks in his own life, as well as his restaurant.

Failing to live up to high standards in any way can result in a loss of customers or even the danger of being shut down, sued or slowly leaking money due to inefficient prac-tices. It is clear how, as a restaurant owner, you will lose your shirt if you do not understand and consistently apply your knowledge and experience to the specifics of the business. Like the demanding Chinese parent, so too is a business de-manding. If you don’t live up to customer expectations and industry standards, your business will end up with a grade of “D” for dead, and there goes your shirt! The remedy, of course, is to gather and apply the appropriate knowledge.

Studying is about self-improvement and taking ad-vantage of opportunity. On our voyage to reconquer America, it is important to understand the power of knowledge. Whether you are like the typewriter

repairman in the midst of the computer age or you just need a more positive way to spend your time, you can improve your life through devoted study.

First, focus on something that will directly improve your way of life. If you are a plumber, study to become a master plumber. If there are certifications for which you can


study, earn them. Acquiring this type of knowledge is vital to moving forward in your chosen field.

Next, learn another language, or two. Language skills will always be in high demand amongst people in any field. I suggest learning two new languages. My choices are Chinese and Spanish. Mandarin Chinese is the most spoken language in the world. The second is English and third is Spanish. The broad brush goal in America should be to attain fluency in these two additional languages. The Spanish language is in-creasingly valuable in domestic businesses because of the in-flux of people from Spanish-speaking countries while Man-darin Chinese is increasingly necessary on the global market due to the growth of China as an economic superpower.

In order to reconquer America, we must learn these things with foresight in mind. By foresight, I mean thinking about the fact that the second largest economy in the world is Shanghai, having just surpassed Japan. China is poised to be-come the next global economic superpower and knowledge of the Mandarin Chinese language will give studious Ameri-cans opportunities above and beyond the norm.

The benefit of studying is to gain opportunity. It’s true that knowledge is power. Knowledge can get you hired or promoted, and can enhance your business or provide in-sight in your daily life. You will be able to help America retake its place heading the rest of the world. Like the horse-shoe and typewriter repairmen, you need to constantly retool your skills.

“My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.”–Hosea 4:6 NIV

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Q: What is the most important rule for success?

Hudson Flynt: Actually there are two: First, To have well defined, WRITTEN goals, and plans for their accomplish-ment expressed in continuous action. Second, to close your mind against negative voices and thinkers. The Chinese call this “Thick Face, Black Heart.” You can either have your dreams, or you can listen to the “crabs in a basket” trying to drag you back down. Your choice.

Q: What do you mean by “Ask a child anything difficult in five words or less”?

Hudson Flynt: I think it was Einstein who said that every-thing should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler. If you can’t communicate a concept to an intelligent child, you don’t really understand the concept. Too many people conceal their ignorance and confusion with an ava-lanche of highfalutin’ words. Forcing yourself to think: “how would I communicate this to Timmy?” cuts through the b.s.

Q: What do you mean by “Your own answer is buried in your asking.”?

Hudson Flynt: There’s a saying that a well-formulated ques-tion is half-way to the answer. I’ve found that to be extraor-dinarily true.


ACTION STEPS:

1) By the end of the week: write out your current situation and desires in AT LEAST the three basic arenas of your life: career, family/relationships, and physical health. Where are you? What do you want and need to achieve?

2) Rewrite this in language that a seven-year-old child would understand. What would you gain from achieving in each of these arenas? What do you stand to lose if you don’t master them? Imagine explaining your goals and reasons to your own younger self. Why should he or she care? Be clear, and passionate.

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Objective: Your mission, glad you decided to accept it, is to find an area of study, identify your best method of study and start applying new knowledge to your life. Take this in steps and become an expert in six months or less!

MY PLAN OF STUDY:

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INVEST LIKETHE WEALTHY

“The key to accepting responsibility for your life is to accept the fact that your choices, every one of them, are leading you inexorably to either success or failure, however you define those terms.”

–Neal Boortz

We need to make the distinction between being rich and being wealthy. Think about a lottery winner or any person who experiences a windfall of cash. These people can rightfully be considered rich because, very simply, they have a lot of money. In cases where people lack the wisdom of wealth, it is only a matter of time before they are broke, in debt, bankrupt, friend-less (of fair-weather friends), and disappointed in life. It is all too easy to go from rich to poor, but wealth can last a lifetime and through generations if we understand it. You do not have to become rich to become wealthy.


Consider the example of former Major League Base-ball player Jack Clark. During his 18-year career, he hit 340 home runs, played on the All-Star team on four separate occasions and won two silver slugger awards. Jack earned millions from his impressive career and, properly managed, he should never have needed to worry about finances again.

Unfortunately, Clark is as famous for squandering his earnings as he is for his career in baseball. In 1992, he filed for bankruptcy. The problem was that Jack liked expensive cars. At the time of the

filing, he was paying for 17 luxury cars and could not keep up the payments. In the unfortunate fiasco, he lost his $2.4 million home, his cars and his racing business. Someone who could have lived comfortably the rest of his life ended up broke because he lived above his means and failed to invest his riches well. Jack Clark had riches, but he did not possess the wisdom of wealth. Fortunately, Jack has recently gotten back on his feet financially. He has learned to live sacrificially to make his money go farther. He no longer owns so many cars and he still enjoys a good relationship with his family.

Here’s my definition of wealth: an abundance of valuable possessions, friends and time. That’s right; wealth is not defined only by possessing a large amount of money. The wisdom of wealth lies in recognizing the importance of each of these assets and taking care of them. Yes, it is about living sacrificially, as we mentioned in Chapter 1. You must understand the resources that bring wealth and invest them in what’s important to you.

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First of all, we know that money is a resource, and it is a very important one. It must be saved, invested and spent in a manner that causes it to grow over time. As discussed in Chapter 1, you work hard for your money. Live sacrificially and make your money go as far as you can. You use your money for possessions and property as well as security for your future and the future of your family. So make money and enjoy the opportunities America offers. Enjoy material wealth, but realize that money is not the only resource that must be invested well. You must also invest your time.

People often say that time is money. In my view, time is far more valuable than money. Time, like money, is a re-source that must be well invested. To gain valuable posses-sions, you must devote time to earning money. In the same way, you must devote time to developing relationships with family and friends.

It is important to strike a balance and diversify your investments of time. Time is a resource that, when properly invested, can yield far more valuable dividends than money alone. Do not over prioritize your investment into money. The old platitude says money cannot buy you happiness. While that is certainly true, happiness does not elude those willing to devote time and effort to rewarding relationships.

TAKE CARE OF THE PENNIES.

My father told me if you take care of the pennies the dollars will take care of themselves. You may think one of the advantages of being rich is that you do not need to be concerned about cost in your dealings. After all, being rich


is about being able to spend on luxuries. To contrast, the wealthy understand that taking care of the pennies is the best way to hold on to your wealth.

A trip to Hank Aaron’s home changed my perspec-tive on this. I was invited to Mr. Aaron’s home to finalize a business transaction. Walking in, I looked around at all the historical evidence of his achievements. He has been suc-cessful in baseball as well as business, and his home provides great evidence of that fact. Among the treasures in his home was a pair of Muhammad Ali’s boxing gloves preserved in a glass case, autographed photos from presidents, gifts from foreign dignitaries and a number of other amazing items. By my observation, Hank Aaron does not want for possessions, he has provided well for himself through his baseball career and successful car dealerships.

To my surprise, when we sat down his first questions were about how we could save money through our business transaction. He wanted to know the cost. I was amazed. Here was someone with great riches as well as the wisdom of wealth. He understood that taking care of the pennies would allow the dollars to take care of themselves. He is truly an American hero.

It should be apparent then that to invest like the wealthy you must understand the concept of saving money. In other words, you must learn to cut back, not only to live sacrificially, but to build the resources that can be spent wise-ly on the possessions you desire.

Believe it or not, people who are rich but also possess the wisdom of wealth do not buy luxury items first. First, they

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take care of the pennies, find how they can save money and invest it well. Then they plan purchases. In your own life, try to hold off on luxuries and invest well in things that are nec-essary first. Always try to save money and live sacrificially. This is how you take care of the pennies. Do this, and the dollars will truly take care of themselves.

Think about this in the investment of your time. Plug your time leaks. Save the minutes and the hours will add up as well. Get organized. Apply time management skills, and you will find that you save a lot of time. Then time can be reinvested in those things that are valuable to you.

FAMILY AND FRIENDS.

It is important to understand that relationships must be more heavily invested in than possessions because they often require more time. You cannot simply buy rewarding relationships. You must invest time and energy into them. Too often, people neglect this and tie up their resources dis-proportionately into possessions that have less of a payoff than investment in family and friends.

In my own life, I have struggled with this. I remem-ber how, many years ago, my legs were broken, financially speaking. I was temporarily homeless, light on money, and recently divorced. I didn’t have much in life to hold on to, so I held onto my children.

Because I did not have a place to take them to stay at night, I used to pick up my children from their mother’s house early in the morning and take them back at night. We would eat breakfast in my vehicle in front of a gas station.


We sang songs, played games and prayed together. We would spend time at parks and enjoy nature. When I could afford it, we would take trips to my parents’ house in a neighboring state. I did not have much to give them, but it was my great-est joy to give them my time.

In the case of my son, when he was a small child, I would come get him for lunch and we would go to fast food places near his daycare. We’d eat a quick lunch, talk and cut up. I cherished the times we spent together and all

the other kids envied him because his dad would eat lunch with him several times a week.

I joined my older children on field trips out of state or at parks. I went on almost all of them. They used to call me the classroom dad because I would chaperone every field trip to spend as much time as possible with my kids.

That was when I had nothing. My possessions were very limited, but I possessed great wealth in my relationship with my children. We often reminisce about those good old days when I was broke and homeless and had much more time to invest in them.

Today I have more possessions and money but have failed in continuing my tradition of spending time with my children. I have invested my time poorly with my young-est daughter, who had not yet been born during my hardest financial times. I realized this when she came to my office with her mother and sat on my lap to tell me about her day. She was excited about how she had milked a cow on her most recent field trip. I started reminiscing about field trips I had

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taken with my older children and realized that I have not made those memories with my youngest. In a sense, I have invested more of my time in material possessions and failed to invest properly in the relationship with her.

Today she is five and very clearly stated that she wants me to go on her next field trip and I can tell you, come hell or high water, I will be there. At the time of this writing I am motivated once again by my own words. I too am in a constant state of reconquering my America. I have made a plan to reprioritize my time and place more value on my family relationships.

In the case of my relationship with my daughter, until now I have not invested like the wealthy but like the rich, pri-oritizing my possessions over my relationships. The people whom I consider wealthy do not make these mistakes. The wisdom of wealth comes in the understanding and proper prioritization of resources with an eye on goals and an un-derstanding of the things that are most important. I can say that, for all the wealth of possessions I now have, I feel the greatest sense of accomplishment and joy from the relation-ships with my older children and the greatest sense of loss from my failure to properly invest in the relationship with my youngest daughter.

Of course, investments in people are more complex than those relating to possessions and monetary investments. Rather than just putting away money and seeing returns, rela-tionships require active attention and effort. So take time out of your day and invest it in your relationships. Understand that when it comes to riches; it’s just money. There is always


the potential to gain more money, but you may not get another chance to build a connection with the members of your family.

YES I CAN!

Habitize your life. I think many Americans probably fail in the same way I failed my youngest daughter. Maybe you are out of balance; you have not correctly prioritized the things that are important to you. Investment is about properly using your resources of time and money to enhance the most important aspects of your life. It is about incremental sacri-fice. You sacrifice money to your savings and time to your relationships. You must do these things regularly, plug your leaks, and live sacrificially to see the biggest payoff from your investments.

Think about your average Tuesday again. Hundreds of tasks are performed out of habit. You don’t think about how to drive or how to brush your teeth; you just do these things because they feel natural and necessary. In a blend be-tween the conscious and the subconscious, you accomplish hundreds of tasks every day without thinking about them.

This should be true of your investments as well. When it comes to money, you have probably already habitu-ated investments. Going to work day after day, for example, is an investment, as is putting away part of your paycheck in a savings account. You need to learn to invest your resources in the same way so you make a habit of investing in your priorities. The key to monetary investment is to regularly put away money that appreciates in some way over time. If you

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make it a habit or set up a way to do it automatically, you minimize the effort and eventually get used to sacrificing that money.

When you invest time into your family you find that relationships appreciate in a similar way. For example, your bond with your child improves because you invest the time to attend his sporting events or even a field trip. If you make this investment of time into your relationships, you will see a payoff. Whether it is a better connection with your children or a stronger marriage, you will find that your investment of time is truly worthwhile.

With friends, invest a listening ear. If your friends need you, be there for them. Help them work through bad experiences, start businesses, or work for a raise. Friends are a family we choose and, in many cases, can be closer than ac-tual family. Relationships with friends build in similar ways to those with family, and they provide similar rewards.

Next, understand what you are getting into when you take on an investment that involves both money and friends. Always verify your payoffs and keep close track of the re-sources that are invested. When it comes to doing business with friends, do not be afraid to trust them responsibly but also verify transactions. I follow this rule because of an ex-perience I had while doing business with a longtime friend.

I was paid $500 cash for a personal item and I did not bother to count his payment. After all, we were friends and I had no reason to mistrust him. The next day, he claimed he had accidentally given me $600. Unfortunately, I had spent


the money on living expenses without keeping track of the exact amounts. It never occurred to me that it may have been more or less than $500.

We were both at a sensitive time financially and could have each used the $100 in question. The tension was enough to end a long-time friendship. Had I the money to do so, I would have given it to him to save the relationship. If I had counted the money at the time of receipt it would have been simple to just return the overpayment or know for sure I had not been underpaid.

I trusted my friend irresponsibly. Take it from me, America. Keep your friends. Trust them, but verify.

Finally, I want to reinforce that investment must be well-prioritized. Put money away regularly, give time to your family daily and invest resources in your con-tagion constantly. The payoffs will be well worth the

temporary sacrifices. Prioritize the things that are important to you. If you want to strengthen the relationship with your family, do not spend all your time working for money. Bat-ten down the hatches and set sail on your journey to become wealthy! Invest your resources wisely and you will see pay-offs, and be well on your way to Reconquering America.

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Q: What do you mean by a “Rush to Planned Selflessness. It emancipates your children from deficits and endows liberty upon your grandchildren”?

Hudson Flynt: You pass along generational intelligence and finances. You have to plan on establishing security for your-self and your children. Start with yourself. You must have pa-tience. Structure your life for tomorrow.

Vietnamese immigrants often live in less than desirable condi-tions, multiple families often living in a single house. The old-est moves out to purchase a home as the family resources goes towards paying for it. The next oldest moves out and purchase a home, and so on. This creates a toehold in the country for the others to build upon. Selflessness is not foolishness.

Q: You say to “Live within your means and achieve financial patience. Riches grow from this vine.” What is “financial patience?”

Hudson Flynt: It is the proper use of cash and credit. Don’t buy depreciable goods on credit. This is what poor people do. On the other hand, wealthy people use credit to make invest-ments, or purchase items that appreciate—or better still, they buy with cash.


Q: How do riches grow from the “vine” of financial patience?

Hudson Flynt: The vine provides sustenance to the branches to the tree of your life, if you will. Achieving financial pa-tience, means waiting to buy something you can’t afford today. Not always doing things on credit. When you use credit, you give away some of your power to those who have had more financial patience than you. In a sense, you voluntarily enslave yourself and your family.

ACTION STEPS:

IF YOU HAVEN’T DONE THIS ALREADY: This month, purchase a copy of Quicken or another financial software program or use a free online service like Mint.com and begin to take control of your finances. If they are painful, if you engage in avoidance, it is even more critical that you spend this time on a daily basis becoming familiar with where and how your money is going, and where and how it is coming in. Like losing weight, until you know the patterns of gain and loss you can’t begin to staunch the flow of financial bleeding.

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Objective: Your mission, glad you decided to accept it, is to prioritize and habitize your life. Decide how to invest your time and money, investing and building lasting wealth. Whether this is time with family or money put aside, make it a habit to invest your resources well.

MY INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO:

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“The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed; and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other people have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have van-ished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was, exhibiting no decadence, no infirmities of age, no weakening of his parts, no slowing of his energies, no dulling of his alert and aggressive mind. All things are mortal but the Jew; all other forces pass, but he remains. What is the secret of his immortality?”

–Mark Twain

SURVIVE LIKE JEWS AND OVERCOME

LIKE AFRICAN AMERICANS


Survival, as a concept, implies struggle, the struggle to simply continue to exist. For the individual, this typically applies to the struggle to continue breathing. When it comes to a people, like the Jews, survival is about a culture and a way of life.

The Jewish people have been faced with the greatest of history’s trials. From the time of Abraham until modern times, the Jews have not only had their way of life threatened time after time, but have been faced with discrimination and even extermination.

Consider this brief chronicle about the survival of the Jews. (Excerpts from Ken Spiro’s Crash Course on Jewish History article for aish.com and simpletoremember.com)

1812 BC Time of Abraham begins (Mesopotamian & Egyp-tian civilizations also flourish)

1544 BC Joseph sold into slavery. The story of Joseph dem-onstrates a classic historic pattern of the Jew. The Jew arrives impoverished, works hard despite deprivation, and rises to the top

1428 BC Israelites enslaved in Egypt

555 BC Assyrians overturn northern Israel and introduce a new way of dealing with vanquished nations; exile

422 BC Babylonians conquer Israel and destroy the Temple

370 BC Jews return from Babylonian exile

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312 BC Greeks conquer Israel

245 BC Greeks persecute Jews and terror reigns

167 BC Jews revolt against the Greeks (Revolt of Macca-bees); it becomes the world’s first religious war

63 BC Romans invade Israel

67 AD The great revolt of Jews against Rome begins

70 AD Jerusalem conquered by the Romans

136 AD Beloved Rabbi Akiva is martyred and the Romans banish the Jews from Jerusalem, as well as renam-ing it after themselves

638 AD Islamic conquest of Jerusalem

1096 AD Crusades begin

1478 AD The Inquisition begins

1492 AD Jews expelled from Spain

1648 AD Chmielnicki massacres in Eastern Europe

1791 AD Jews are herded into Pale of Settlement in Russia, an area of Russia where they were most oppressed.

1881 AD Jews made scapegoats for Czar of Russia. In Czar-ist Russia, government-organized pogroms against Jews keep the eyes of masses off the corrupt regime


1894 AD Dreyfus Affair in France. Anti-Semitism runs ram-pant in France as a Jewish army captain is false-ly accused of spying. His conviction takes many years to overturn

1897 AD First Zionist Congress, a major event in the estab-lishment of the modern State of Israel

1933 AD Hitler comes to power in Germany (While Nazi Germany proceeds to systematically round up and execute Jews, the rest of the world closes its eyes and its doors.)

1942 AD “The Final Solution” plan begins and millions of Jews are gassed and cremated in six death camps, including Auschwitz

1948 AD Israel is declared a state on May 14 and the follow-ing day is invaded by the Arab armies of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon in what began the War of Independence

1967 AD Six Day War and reunification of Jerusalem. Fac-ing another large scale attack by surrounding Arab nations, they launched preemptive strikes and in just six days, Israel captured huge chunks of ter-ritory and won what is generally considered to be one of the greatest military victories in history. Since its founding in 1948, Israel has been in a constant state of war and yet it has achieved great economic success

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The Jews still exhibit this same spirit of survival to-day. The nation of Israel sits with its back to the Mediterranean Sea and is otherwise surrounded by nations that are largely hostile to the Jews. In Octo-

ber of 1973, Israel faced what can be described as the greatest modern military threat to its national survival when Egypt and Syria invaded Israel from the north and south.

A great deal of force and planning was leveled against Israel. Since it was Yom Kippur, the Israelis were celebrating and let down their guard. The small country was caught un-prepared by blitz tactics from two fronts. To put this into per-spective, it is important to remember that Napoleon’s French Empire and Hitler’s Germany were two militarily successful empires that fell due to fighting two-front wars. To catch an enemy off guard is to attack with an advantage. To do so while splitting the attention between two fronts should have resulted in overwhelming victory.

Amazingly, Israel not only survived this attack, they went on to beat back Syria and launch a counter-invasion of Egypt. What could have resulted in the demise of the entire nation actually ended in a relatively successful military cam-paign that forced the Egyptians to sign a ceasefire agreement. Through it all, the Jews persevered and, indeed, thrived. If we are to reconquer America, we must learn from the Jews and understand what it takes to survive, both personally and collectively.

So what is it that gives the Jews strength to survive? They understand the necessity of preparation. Despite the fact that attacks came at unexpected times, the military reacted


quickly and efficiently, just as they had practiced. Even com-mon Israeli citizens from across the country joined in mili-tary efforts to stave off attackers. Much like first generation immigrants, the Jewish people understood that their actions were tied to their survival. Just as immigrants must work and live sacrificially for the possibility of a better future, Jewish people prepared for the unexpected.

Americans must first understand the possibility of demise before we can understand what it means to survive. Like Israel, we must acknowledge the threats against us and prepare for them. Economically, politically and internation-ally, we face situations that may damage our status as well as bring our very survival into question. Unless we understand the very real threats against us, it is possible that this genera-tion will be the last to experience the greatness of America.

Next, we must comprehend the value of our American way of life. Our sacred liberties are unique in the world. Too often, we take them for granted without considering the cost paid or the alternative ways of life in other nations. Make no mistake: America is the world’s only bastion of freedom. Our system is the model worldwide for people who seek liberty. If we do not survive, the cause of liberty will have suffered a mortal blow.

America’s tomorrow is not promised. We do not have the luxury that generations past enjoyed – the belief that America would always be a bastion of liberty and freedom for the rest of the world. Daily we fight on all fronts. We live out

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of balance. Economically, we struggle to keep afloat in a sea of debt. Socially, many Americans live out of balance, and we are falling behind the rest of the world in our studies. The specters of incompetence and debt loom large over us. We have indebted ourselves too deeply. Change must happen now, or the great American beacon of liberty may grow dim and fade away to darkness.

OVERCOME LIKE AFRICAN AMERICANS.

All hands on deck! Once we commit to weather the storm, we can be more assured of our survival. However, there is still a great deal that we need to do as a nation to overcome. Who in America has overcome more than African Americans?

According to David Barton, author of Setting the Record Straight: American History in Black and White: “The story of African Americans is not unlike that of God’s cho-sen people, the Jews. Originally prospering in their homeland, they were taken to a foreign land where for centuries they lived in slavery until God delivered them and established them in a new land. Overcoming their tragic beginnings, African Americans have triumphed and prospered - or, in the words of Joseph, whose brethren sold him into slavery: ‘You intended evil against me, but God turned it for good.’”

Before I go further, I must address the description of African-American; it’s a misnomer. In this book I generally call African-American people Blacks or Black people, which are also misnomers since the color brown would be more ap-propriate. What’s more, Blacks are Americans, in the long and short of it; there is no need to refer to people by skin color


unless you need to make a point. There seem to be inherent divisions in our culture when we should only have one man-ner of addressing people: Americans. However, for simplic-ity and clarity I will refer to African Americans as Blacks.

The story of Black people is one of the best examples of overcoming. When our Constitution was written Blacks in America were typically used as slave labor and their vote was counted as 3/5th of a man. They were forcibly taken from Africa and sold as commodities to wealthy landowners. Though there were slaves in both the north and the south, the southern states benefitted more heavily from slave labor due to the agricultural nature of their commerce.

After the Civil War and the end of slavery, Blacks were free – in a sense. Though the institution of slavery was publically gone, they were still subject to the oppression of terrorists draped in white robes and laws designed to enforce hierarchical social structures. During that time, Blacks in the south were often tenant farmers, working and living on lands owned by Whites.

Segregation policies remained in effect across the country. In educational institutions, public facilities and private businesses, Blacks were treated differently from Whites. This typically meant that Whites were

given preferential treatment by private businesses and even the government. Yet Blacks overcame.

It must have been tough for Blacks drafted into the two World Wars to fight and die for a country that considered them second-class citizens. At home, separate drinking fountains,

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bathrooms and unequal opportunities awaited them. When Blacks took to the streets to protest the inequality, they faced down police forces armed with water hoses, dogs and batons. They marched fearlessly down hostile streets against a re-morseless enemy, demanding freedom.

In 1964, Congress signed the Civil Rights Act, guar-anteeing that the discriminations of the past would no longer be legally sanctioned. No longer would Blacks be forced to sit at the back of the bus or be barred from lunch counters. In theory, Blacks would now have equal access to the Ameri-can way of life. However, this struggle continues. Blacks still face problems from racism and prejudice to this day.

Sure, Blacks have been subject to a number of injus-tices. This has not, however, stopped them from overcoming prejudice and discrimination. Think of the Blacks from our history who have proven the American ability to overcome on their personal journeys to transform America, and their own lives. Here are a few of those great Americans.

HARRIET TUBMAN.

You may not know that Harriet Tubman suffered a debilitating brain injury early in her life. She overcame this brain injury in addition to the challenges of being born into slavery. She went on to famously conduct the Underground Railroad, lead military raids and even continue fighting for the cause of women’s suffrage after the war was over.


REVEREND HIRAM REVELS.

Hiram Revels was the first Black elected to the United States Senate in 1870. Though he was free born and college ed-ucated, Senator Revels faced the same discrimination as other Blacks of his time. After serving as a Chaplain in the Civil War, during Reconstruction, he was elected to the senate from the state of Mississippi.

DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is probably the most well-known civil rights leader in American history. He organized much of the movement as the leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Council, including famous acts like the Montgom-ery Bus Boycott. During this time, he delivered inspirational speeches that mobilized an entire culture. Though he died as an activist, his life continues to motivate people of all races today.

HANK AARON.

In addition to his dedication to frugality briefly outlined in the previous chapter, Hank Aaron had a very impressive ca-reer in professional baseball. He is known for his consistent performance from 1954 until 1976 resulting in his 1982 induc-tion into the Baseball Hall of Fame as well as three Gold Glove Awards.

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MUHAMMAD ALI.

Olympic Gold Medalist and Heavy Weight Champion Muhammed Ali earned fame for his personality as well as his athletic prowess. Like most blacks in the early part of the cen-tury, he was bullied as a child. This bullying encouraged him to invest his time and energy into learning to box and the rest is history.

OPRAH WINFREY.

Consistently ranked as one of the world’s most influ-ential people, Oprah worked her way up through network tele-vision jobs to her own show in 1986. She succeeded in spite of the fact that most talk show hosts at the time were white males. Her list of accomplishments includes Oscar nomina-tions, ranking as the world’s most influential woman by mul-tiple sources and her numerous charities, including the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

TIGER WOODS.

Despite his recent personal problems, the famous golfer earned over $90 million in winnings and endorsements, making him the world’s best paid athlete. He is second only to Jack Nicklaus for number of title wins.


MICHAEL JORDAN.

Widely considered to be the greatest basketball player of all time and one of the greatest athletes ever, Michael Jordan was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009. He has gone on to run his own basketball team as well as a number of other business ventures.

BILL COSBY.

Before becoming a famous comedian and activist, Bill Cosby was a Navy Corpsman. Realizing the importance of education, he earned his doctorate from the University of Mas-sachusetts. He became a very influential comedian and social commentator. During his long entertainment and humanitarian career, he received numerous awards.

KENNETH CHENAULT.

The current CEO of American Express and the third Black CEO of a Fortune 500 company in history, Kenneth Chenault attended Harvard Law School then went to work at American Express in 1981. He also sits on the Council on For-eign Relations.

BARACK OBAMA.

The election of Barack Obama is a moment for which all Americans should be proud. Even if you find fault with his politics, we now know that once and for all the glass ceiling has been shattered and Blacks can achieve the highest office in our land.

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STOP BEING BELLIGERENT, BITCHING, AND BLAMING WITHOUT SOLUTIONS.

Don’t find fault. Find a remedy.

–Henry Ford

Black people, you have overcome a lot. Congratula-tions! It is important for me to point out that the following does not describe all Blacks and Whites in America. Blacks and Whites work together as equals every day all over the country.

Over my lifetime and especially in recent history, however, I have heard some Blacks express the following views concerning Whites: Whites are sneaky, smiling in your face while shanking you in the back. The white devil that has plagued every continent in the world is still employing his treachery on you and your fellow Blacks, talking about equal-ity while holding you down. His game is rigged, and you are meant to lose.

BUT HOLD ON.

Here are some views I have heard Whites express about Blacks: Blacks are lazy, have a lack-luster attitude about learn-ing, and are LOUD and ludicrous in their statements about inequity. Blacks are parasites that demand resources undeserv-edly. They exploit past injustices to bully the guilt-ridden into submission.

Stop it and stop it today, the both of you! You remind me of misguided children in the kitchen fighting over who stole


the cookie from the cookie jar. No longer can we allow the mal-adjusted few to set the tone for the national dialogue between Americans. The maladjusted have harnessed the beast of ra-cial tension and employed its strength for personal gain for too long. Their verbal spewing and unsupported bigotry have worked to drive Americans of different ethnic backgrounds apart for too long. We, as Americans, must wholeheartedly reject their rhetoric and strive to move forward.

Whether you like it or not, we’re in this boat together. Since the founding of our nation, Whites and Blacks have been in the nation together. Certainly, there is a rocky past and an uncertain future in America when it comes to race, but we cannot focus on old tensions. There are more pressing matters at hand for all Americans.

America is a melting pot. White Americans, Black Americans, Korean Americans, Russian Ameri-cans, Arab Americans, Cuban Americans and any and all other Americans: I have a message for

you. Got a complaint? Bring forward two possible solutions to the problem! The point is that you cannot overcome by complaining. Bring a solution and then you will be heard. Otherwise, your words are no more than seagulls in the wind or discarded plastic bottles bobbing in the ocean. As a matter of fact, your noise is verbal litter to my ears!

To me, overcoming is a continual process. If you hear silent racism or bigotry today, don’t listen to it! Learn the rules of the game and overcome that spirit of disunity in the same

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way that our nation has overcome its challenges. The hearts and minds of men are for God to deal with. Let’s move on.

IT’S NOT ALWAYS RACIAL.

During the Bush years, I was having a conversation with a business associate about the state of the economy. As I listened to this person’s story I was not surprised to hear him begin to blame Bush for his financial troubles. I said to myself, “I’ve heard this before.”

I was determined to get to the bottom of his frustration with the former President. Patiently, I listened as he vented his frustrations. Then I began a line of questioning designed to find out exactly how a president had such a personal impact on his life. I asked him, “What happened to your money? How did Bush deplete that?”

After about a minute of silence, he explained that he had given six thousand dollars to a friend who bought cars as investments at auctions at good prices. Instead of investing the money, his friend

had used the cash to pay off personal bills and debt that, as you probably have guessed, did not result in a return on his investment.

After I let his explanation marinate in the subsequent silence, I asked, “And what did Bush have to do with that?” Like many Americans, my associate took comfort from blam-ing his financial woes on a boogieman, in this case President Bush, instead of taking responsibilities for his own actions. I hope my associate learned a lesson that day and began to see


that his complaining failed to solve any problems. All Ameri-cans need to understand that personal responsibility and wise decision-making are keys to success. Blaming and complaining do no good.

YES I CAN!

In your life, you may be in survival mode. It could be that your ship has capsized, your personal finances are a wreck, and you need to swim to shore. How can you reconquer America if you are in such dire straits? First, focus on your own survival. Like the Jews, you have to live to see tomorrow and make sure that your way of life is preserved.

We must personally survive and weather the storm. Then we must overcome our national challenges. Our nation faces not only economic hardship but also threats from those that hate us for our way of life. The past fifty years have been good for America, but we are now facing unprecedented challenges.

In your own life, you must ensure that you can survive and overcome the challenges of today then you can circle back and give a hand to others facing hard times. This is important. As Americans, we are individualists. We value personal en-deavor and achievement, and we should. These are part of our American way of life. However, we must understand the need to help each other. Lend assistance to those in your contagion and encourage them to do the same. America will be reconquered by the survival and overcoming of tough times by her people.

Jews understand this principle. They band together to overcome threats to their existence. Blacks have also learned

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they could overcome hardships through unity. As we recon-quer America, we must understand the importance of assisting those in our contagion and encouraging them to assist others. How? Pay close attention to the following plan.

GET YOUR OXYGEN FIRST!

We have a lot to overcome in America. The challenges that face us demand that we shift our course and change the way we live. We must, first and foremost, get over ourselves and address our own unwillingness to adhere to the principles discussed in previous chapters. We must overcome the tenden-cy to spend ourselves into debt. We must live sacrificially and invest for tomorrow, both in possessions and in relationships. We must overcome our own laziness. Like the Jews, we must strive for excellence because our very existence depends on it. Part of that is gathering information and applying it. We must employ all the concepts previously mentioned in this book to survive and to begin to overcome the challenges we face.

Your first step is to ensure your own survival and that your own vessel is seaworthy. Think of it like this: if you are on a plane and the cabin loses pressure, you are taught to put on your own oxygen mask first then reach out to others. Pro-viding for others before securing your own future would be to harm, not only your own chances for survival, but also the person’s whom you hope to assist. You cannot assist others in overcoming if you are not able to overcome in your own life. If those around you start to lose their balance and begin to fall and you reach out to help them without a firm footing, you will both go down.


It is simply irresponsible to give heavily to charity or to over commit resources to members of your contagion when you are unable to afford essentials in your own life. Don’t do it. Keep those resources for your own survival. Like invest-ment, survival is about prioritization of resources. When it comes to your time and monetary resources, be sure that you appropriately provide for yourself, your business, and your family before you provide assistance to others.

This is not to say you must forsake your contagion completely. Certainly, the Jews or Mexicans could not survive without assisting one another. Give what you can, whether it is time, a listening ear or even a few dollars if appropriate. However, do not put yourself in jeopardy by giving beyond your means. This is part of living sacrificially and prioritiz-ing your investments. You must take care of your own needs first. Love your neighbor as yourself – yourself being in the supporting position.

When I was an adolescent, I was not a strong swimmer. Still, I spent my childhood summers in my hometown lake, splashing about and en-joying the water. On one warm summer’s day,

several friends and I were cooling off in the lake, swimming from one end to the other, when I noticed an acquaintance in my age group struggling in the water. In a display of youthful zeal and overconfidence, I decided to swim out to try to help him to shore. By the time I reached the struggling boy, I could tell he was exhausted, and so was I. He had gone out too deep and panicked, being unable to swim back due to his own fear and his quickly diminishing strength.

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I knew I was not a strong swimmer. I had never worked as a lifeguard or taken classes on rescue swimming. It became apparent to me that I had overestimated my ability to rescue the boy. As he latched onto me, his thrashing weight dragged me under the surface with him. I gulped water and began to panic myself. In a very real sense, I was in over my head! I struggled to escape the grip of the panicking boy, but he latched on more tightly. From his perspective, I was a lifeline but he didn’t seem to notice that I was drowning as well. My effort to save him would have been better spent getting some-one that could help.

Fortunately, a few of the other boys had rushed to the shore to inform some adults about the drowning boy and I was soon grabbed, along with the other boy, and pulled to shore. I was lucky that someone was there with the means to save both of us. I had rushed to aid someone who endangered my life as well. Helping others is often like that. You must take care of yourself and understand your own limitations before you rush to aid others.

HELP THAT LASTS CAN ONLY BE DONE WITH INTENT.

In America, the success of the nation relies on the suc-cess of individuals. When we commit to help each other, we contribute to the success of our contagion. This will result in a domino effect. Like a drop of water in a pond, the outward waves will affect those in our contagion who will go on to af-fect their own contagion as well. Economic prosperity, safety and the excellence of America all depend upon the actions of every citizen. So survive, then support your contagion. Make your own success waves ripple throughout the country.


Here are the rules I apply to effectively help someone expe-riencing hard times:

The first step is to identify the situation. You must understand as much as possible about those you seek to help. This will give you insight not only about the situation but about the hidden needs of the person. What does the person need? Perhaps a friend asks for money. What is he leaving out when he tells you his situation? Would it be better to help him find a job? Or would it help to put him up for a few days? Helping is not necessarily giving someone exactly what he asks; it is about assisting in the best way possible. That is not to say that providing resources is necessarily an inappropri-ate method of assistance, but realize that it is not always the best solution to a problem.

Next, determine if it is worth lending help. Find out if your friend is willing to go the extra mile to change his situ-ation. Would helping him be worth your investment? Would your effort and resources be wasted? You are on a quest to reconquer your America and those who are not willing to row may need to be thrown overboard. Do not invest in those who will simply squander your resources.

Once you decide to commit to helping, you must use your wealth of resources and time to affect change in that person’s life. Follow up is key and investments of time en-sure that material investments are put to the best possible use. Do not make the mistake of under-investing and ending up providing help that does not return results. This is a waste of precious time and resources. Let the following be a lesson to you.

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I had a friend named Matthew who wanted to open a busi-ness. He came to me for help. We sat down, talked a bit and devised a business plan. His ideas seemed very viable. Days later, I invested a few thousand dollars to get him started and gave him some space in my office building. I provided office technology and tools. But tools and money were simply not enough to make his business a success.

Unfortunately, his business never got off the ground. He had difficulty attracting customers and keeping his busi-ness organized, so he was unable to follow through and close his business deals. Though these are problems for many new businesses, they are areas with which I could have assisted him. However, I was unable to devote the right amount of time to help him.

Basically, I had invested a great deal of resources, but he was underfunded by me with time. By fail-ing to give Matthew the guidance he so desperately needed, I all but ensured that his business would fail

and that my investment of money and time would be ineffec-tive. I had committed to help a member of my contagion and, by doing so; I was obligated to commit my time. Setting up a system of acquiring new customers would have made the difference, but since I did not give it, I failed Matthew.

When you commit to helping someone, you must un-derstand the full extent of his needs and fully commit to him. I failed my friend; do not make the same mistake. Reconquering America is not a challenge that can be undertaken alone. We have no choice except to work together, commit to each other and take on this challenge as a team When you circle back to


help others come ashore, be sure that you can fully commit to follow through. At whatever level you choose to help, say what you mean and mean what you say.

Do not help those who are in greatest need first. It is most effective to help those who are closest to success. It is a natural inclination to want to help those who are in greatest need. However, we must prioritize effectively. Helping those closest to shore will allow them to recover more quickly and circle back to help even more Americans.

In our journey to reconquer America, we must think about the most effective ways in which to help others over-come. Getting yourself and others to shore is a survival step, but our goal is to overcome the situation and get our ship sail-ing toward our destination once again. Follow my direction and you too can become a great American.

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Q: You advise us not to “waste persistence on the lazy. Allow pain to sober him.” What do you mean by this?

Hudson Flynt: There are two major motivators in the world: love and fear. According to author Steven Barnes, you can take the “laziest” person in the world, and if you stick their head in a bucket of water, they’ll fight like a madman. There are no really lazy people: just people who are not yet in love with a dream, or not in enough pain to force them to act.

When we protect people from pain, we deny them the motiva-tion required to get them off their butts.

But “laziness” isn’t just lack of action. It is also a lack of thought, a tangle of conflicted emotions. Untangling this snarl is actually harder than action. Thinking is hard, hard work—which is why so few people do it.

Organizing and focus is the antithesis of laziness. Failing to organize your office or life allows you to substitute aimless thrashing for focused work. Let me give you an example. Back when I worked driving a service vehicle daily, I bought five cans of WD-40. I didn’t REALIZE I’d bought five cans. I thought I had two or three, maybe. Because I wasn’t orga-nized, they were rolling around under my seat and getting un-derfoot—because I hadn’t bothered to get organized.


Q: Can you give us another example?

Hudson Flynt: Sure. My son is fluent in Chinese, and had a trip to China planned. During the Christmas break, he was supposed to get up every morning and work for me to earn the balance of money to fund his trip. I warned him that if he kept this up he’d embarrass himself by not being able to go. As they days for his departure got closer, he visualized all the people he would have let down and the intense pain of embarrassment.

He did it! He was able to get together the rest of the money! Embarrassment is pain. Hunger is pain. Pain will sober the laziest person and get them back on track. In two words: TOUGH LOVE.

ACTION STEPS:

By the end of the week: Look at your financial picture. Is it improving or getting worse? Imagine what it will look like in a year if it keeps going in the same direction. Three years. Five years. Actually let yourself FEEL the pain of losing your home, your children being unable to go to college, ending up broke and alone and sick. Spend 15-20 minutes actually feel-ing, seeing, and hearing this.

Then stand up, and shake your whole body like a dog shaking off water. Sit back down, and visualize your life if you be-gin to make positive choices, take positive actions. In a year. Three years. Five years. Ten. Feel the joy, see the new home and happy family. Really spend time letting yourself feel it.

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Now...step back and look at the two different fates. Make your decision: which do you want? Commit to taking the better path, and NEVER allowing you to fall into those old habits again!

REPEAT THIS EXERCISE AT LEAST TWICE A YEAR.

Q: What is a friend? What you mean by, “Learn the definition of friend. Evaluate and replace their influence according to your goals”

Hudson Flynt: The people you spend time with might be con-sidered friends, but GOOD friends are the people who bring joy into your life, who you can trust and with whom you can share your feelings. They also encourage you to be the best you can be. Some you can just buddy with. Others are like treasured family.

If you have fifteen people around you, three might be close. If they’re going in the same direction, they can be close friends. If they change, but it’s not in your path, keep them as friends, but don’t let them be CLOSE.

This applies to relationships as well: love isn’t two people look-ing at each other; it’s two people looking in the same direction.



Objective: Your mission, glad you decided to accept it, is to prepare to survive and overcome the challenges of today and the future. Make sure that you are well-prepared then circle back and help others who could use a helping hand. Remember: don’t let helping others get in the way of your own survival.

MY SURVIVAL GUIDE:

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INNOVATE LIKE THE JAPANESE

WHY THE JAPANESE?

Japan is the home of some of the most colorful and in-teresting uses of technology in the world. There is something of a modern tradition among the Japanese of taking products that originated in the United States and improving upon them. There are businesses built entirely on this concept. One spectacular example is the Japanese Nintendo Corporation.

Though you may be familiar with the electronic gaming consoles made by Nintendo, you may not know that it began as a trading card company. As time went on, the popularity of their cards waned and new business models were necessary to thrive in the gaming market. Things changed in 1978 when Nintendo acquired the rights to distribute the American-made Magnavox Odyssey. This was the very first home gaming console, and its limited success changed Nintendo and home entertainment forever. The system was primitive compared to what we have today, but it set Nintendo on a new trajectory.


Nintendo began its innovation by releasing the more powerful Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985, which was wildly successful in Japan, America and Europe. Nintendo has continued innovating in this market for almost 30 years. The newest breakthrough is the Wii, another very popular gaming system, the first to utilize motion controls.

Nintendo has built an entire empire on the foundation of an American product. They improved technologically on the initial product while also creating the home video gam-ing business model. Without willingness to change and desire to improve, Nintendo would never have changed its business model nor improved upon its original product. If a Japanese company like Nintendo can harness the power of creative in-novation to build an entire industry, you can certainly harness creative innovation to reconquer your own life, and America.

May I suggest a new stamp for products:

Created in America Innovated in Japan

Made in China

As you are certainly aware, American innovation is alive and well. Since before Henry Ford famously revolution-ized manufacturing, America has been imaginatively innova-tive in industry and technology. There has never actually been a problem with American ingenuity or innovation. Companies like Apple and Google exist on the cutting edge of information technology. The iPad, iPhone, Droid and other gadgets have completely changed the ways in which we store, share and use information. Every day, American engineers and entrepreneurs seek to spark worldwide revolutions in fields such as energy;

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while amazingly talented doctors continue to make break-throughs in medical science. It is almost certain that the next breakthroughs in these fields will originate in the United States.

When it comes to accomplishing a goal of any size, Americans understand how to innovate to tackle problems. As mentioned in previous chapters, it’s often about a step-by-step process and study. Application of knowledge is the fastest way to innovate, and that is one reason I think the drive of Americans to study is one of the most important movements in our nation.

Technology, medicine and energy are just a small sam-ple of American innovation at work and, though you may not be professionally involved in these fields, you can still harness the powerful tradition of innovation in your life. The sugges-tion that we innovate like the Japanese is not meant to imply that American innovation has stalled, but to point out that the Japanese have based entire businesses on improving American products. In our daily lives, we tend to lack this spirit. If we are to reconquer America, we can learn a great deal from the Japanese about imaginative innovation.

From my own experience, there is a situation I remem-ber that demonstrated the power of applying principles of in-novation. A friend of mine, James, approached me with an interesting idea and was looking for advice. Fed up with his former boss, James decided that he no longer wanted to work for someone else. He sought self-employment. I was impressed by his newfound entrepreneurial spirit and was surprised to hear that he wanted to open, of all things, his own carpet clean-ing business.


James did not know the first thing about business or cleaning carpets. Until that time he had worked in a totally unrelated field. He had no experience, no existing business structure, and no truck or other equipment he would need to start his new business. However, I knew James well and I was sure his personal drive and determination to succeed more than made up for his inexperience. He would need knowledge, coaching and innovative ways to attract clients. So, he and I got right to work on developing his business.

I told him he needed to start studying, gather knowledge and apply it to overcome his lack of business experience. He leveraged his contagion to round up some books and other information about the industry. He read up on

various techniques for cleaning, reviewed the trends and got himself up to date on current industry standards. In no time at all, he knew all about the ins and outs of cleaning carpets.

He went online to check out the websites of local car-pet cleaning businesses. He gathered information on prices, standards, cleaning methods, certifications and expectations of companies in his area. His research yielded great insight on the business practices of the companies in his community and gave him a good idea about the business model he should adopt. He read all he could, gathering as much information as possible. Though I was there to advise him, he really had to take charge and learn himself. Over the course of a few weeks, he became an expert, not only on carpet cleaning, but also on the carpet cleaning business in the area. Before long, James had all the knowledge he needed to get started.

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There still remained the issue of equipment. James did not have a truck or equipment, so he started thinking about how to apply his knowledge in a way that he could earn imme-diate income without his own equipment. My suggestion was to carefully select small carpet cleaning companies who had little-to-no business and offer them a percentage as a subcon-tractor. This took care of the issue of equipment.

As for getting new business clients, his best asset was himself. I directed him to select three industries, go online and start calling them. Once you have an appointment, knock on all the neighboring doors. So, he got out there in the cold and started knocking on doors.

In effect, he started his business without financial capi-tal. He worked for several months using subcontractors for the actual cleaning while he sold the jobs. He built a number of business relationships during this time and managed to save enough money to buy his own equipment.

During this critical beginning phase of his business he called me often for ideas and concepts, some of which you will find in detail in the Appendix. First, he studied the indus-try and became an expert. Then, after gaining expertise in the fundamentals of the carpet cleaning business, he was able to hit the ground and start working right away, using nothing but his knowledge through innovation. He applied the principle of collaboration and discovered new clients everywhere.

Within two years, he was able to build on his initial investment and add several trucks, hire crews and add an ad-ministrative assistant. He has turned knowledge, innovation


and investment into a new life of profit for himself. Through his hard work, he went from lacking knowledge to expertise to making a profit in a new business.

CHART A NEW COURSE.

When Christopher Columbus set sail from Spain his goal was not to discover new lands, but to improve existing trade routes to India. In an effort to simply improve, Columbus is credited with a completely world-changing discovery.

In Chapter 2 we discussed the importance of studying and gaining knowledge. As you focus on your goal, you must consider how to harness the power of knowledge just as the wind moves your vessel toward reconquering America. Decide on a starting point in your own life. For example, some of the most creative innovation people conceive of is grounded in a need to save money. Think of investing and taking care of pen-nies, then think about new ways to accomplish that goal. If you need to save money then carpool to work or make your own coffee at home instead of buying it from the local coffee shop.

Innovate how you study as well. Get some books on tape (CD) to learn from while you commute. Long drive times (sometimes multiple hours) present excellent opportunities for thought or learning. Look at your investments and think of new ways to invest time and money into the things that are impor-tant to you. Can you rearrange your schedule in a new way to emphasize your family? Perhaps you are a business owner and you need to expand your business. Think about collabora-tion with other businesses. Share equipment; create a network through which you can share ideas. The sky is the limit, get started innovating in your own life today.

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IMAGINE.

If you were like me as a child, you would frustrate your parents at Christmas time. My mother used to always complain that she would buy me and my younger brother big toys at Christmas. Year after year, however, I always enjoyed the box more. For as long as she would allow me to keep the boxes in the house, I would climb into them and around them and use them as various aspects of the imaginary worlds of my childhood.

Sure, the toys were fun, but they were not as receptive to my imagination as a simple box. Think of your business, your life, or anything else as a box. How can you project your own imaginative innovation on these things in order to make them work better? The newest toys are great, but sometimes we get better results by being imaginative with nothing but the boxes.

When it comes to innovation, you may possess two types of imagination. You may be the creator, author, or inventor of a new concept. This is a type of imagination rooted in necessity. The

necessity typically generates an idea but the results are few and far between. This type of imagination manifests itself in many ways from products like the light bulb to services like picking up dog poop. Thomas Edison recognized a necessity for a good light source and that necessity created a business service concept. Next, there is an imagination that comes from improving existing ideas. This may come in the form of creating something new by combining two products, through innovation in emulating busi-ness models or streamlining technology by making it smaller, better and more convenient.


Take two seemingly unrelated products like the tooth-brush and the motor. When the two came together, the electric toothbrush was born and a new type of product was created. This has improved the efficiency of the toothbrush by innovat-ing its function.

For another example, take Office Depot and a service called Tech Trade-In, seemingly borrowing a model from the re-tail automobile industry. Like cars, you can trade in old comput-ers that still have value and put that value toward new product. In this way, Office Depot innovated its business.

The most obvious example of streamlining innovation comes in the computer industry. Where computers once took up entire buildings yet could barely act as calculators, now we have microchips no larger than the period at the end of this sentence that can now do exponentially more work.

As you can see, there are very good examples of inno-vation in everyday life. Think about how you can harness this power in your life and chart a new course.

COLLABORATION.

A large part of the process of innovation lies in the uti-lization of new resources. For example, if you want to start or reinvent a business (see Appendix), you may want to consider collaborating with other businesses in similar fields. If you are in the business of home or office cleaning, you may collaborate with a carpet cleaning company that can refer your business to those who need your services in addition to theirs.

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If you are a wedding photographer or videographer, it is unlikely you also feed the wedding guests. Pick up the phone, call catering companies and build some relationships. When a wedding party is looking for a number of services, a caterer’s referral can get you the job and you can reciprocate when the wedding parties approach you first. Referral of busi-nesses to customers is a type of imaginative innovation.

Your contagion possesses a wealth of thought, imagina-tion and intelligence that can be utilized to help you imagina-tively innovate. If, for example, there is a problem that needs to be solved in your business or your life, get a clear vision of your goal and get some members of your contagion together. Talk to them. Let them consider the problem and actively work with you on the solution. If you have properly invested in your contagion and influenced them well, the value of their input will appreciate over time. Value your contagion and utilize it. Do not let this great resource go to waste.

A quick note on diversity in collaboration:

One of America’s greatest strengths lies in our diver-sity. Innovation is only enhanced by the inclusion of imagina-tive, intellectual diversity. Collaboration and a wide berth of thought contribute well to success. More than likely, there is a wide range of backgrounds and ideologies in your contagion. The melting pot of America provides no shortage of points of view. At times it seems we value diversity for its own sake. You may think you need opinions from members of as many cultures as possible before moving forward, and you may be-lieve that you are failing to be inclusive if you do not accom-modate diversity for its own sake. Diversity for its own sake


is misused. Diversity is useful only when employed with the intent to glean the strongest fields from each culture; whether a work culture, ethnic culture or family culture. Do not utilize it simply to satisfy a perceived necessity for it.

BENEFITS.

If you take away only one point from this chapter, it should be that innovation is not necessarily about technology. You may not be an inventor or an engineer, but you can effec-tively utilize innovation and imagination in your life. Find new ways to save money. If you are imaginative, you can use your innovations to open doors to new opportunities. Thinking of new, better ways to accomplish tasks is an asset to any busi-ness venture. Do not be limited in your thinking. Instead, start in your own backyard. In other words, search your existing situa-tion and resources before moving beyond them.

Take the wheel. Chart a new course for your journey to reconquer America. Collaborate with those in your field, listen to your contagion and thrive through innovation.

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Q: Innovation, technologically, politically or economically, means to go against the established order, something most people are loathed to do. Can you explain “Revolt righteously”?

Hudson Flynt: To revolt righteously (he laughs). To under-stand that which you disagree with, and put together a plan to effectively make a change - revolting against a teacher or someone in a public office. Staying stuck in the squalor of life does not equal freedom. But don’t “tear up the place”—do it honorably.

ACTION STEPS:

Make a list of three things in your environment you want to change for the better. Then make a list of three actions you can take with each of them, today or by the end of the week, to get started.

Make a list of three habits of thought and action WITHIN YOURSELF that you will have to change in order to reach your desired level of success.



Objective: Your mission, glad you decided to accept it, is to think and stay free! Start applying your knowledge to find new ways to accomplish your goals in life. Do not be satis-fied with inefficiency or waste. This is part of plugging the leaks and improving your life!

THINK AND STAY FREE:

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BE EXCELLENT LIKE GERMAN

INDUSTRYWhen it comes to reputation, excellence breeds longev-

ity, and nobody has a reputation for excellence that can equal German industry. Take the Volkswagen brand as an example. This company has been around since the 1930’s based on the simple principle of creating quality, affordable cars for working class people. Similarly, the German company BMW is one of the top luxury automobile manufacturers worldwide. In a sense, Germany is reaping the benefits of its industrial reputation. Car companies like Volkswagen and BMW are known worldwide for quality. It’s about reputation and consistent quality.

These companies are successful, in large part, due to upholding Germany’s reputation for industrial excellence. In-deed, the German automotive industry is head and shoulders above others. Even the American carmaker Buick is selling its 2011 Regal based on the fact that it is the first German engi-neered Buick. Why should an American company benefit from claiming that its car is foreign engineered? Where have we gone


wrong? Does America lack the reputation, the consistent quality or both?

AMERICAN PRINCIPLES OF EXCELLENCE.

“A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.”

(Proverbs 22:1)

It is important to define what we mean by American excellence. The most obvious tradition of excellence comes from the work ethic and sacrificial living exhibited by our first-generation immigrants and the tenacity to survive and overcome obstacles that would impede their progress. We must live up to those standards consistently.

We must learn to follow the examples from the first gen-eration immigrants discussed in Chapter 1. Hard work and sac-rificial living are parts of the foundation for excellence in your personal life. Live simply and work consistently toward excel-lence and you will arrive. You must also impart this principle in others and maintain your most valuable asset – your reputation.

A good reputation is simply a positive side effect of ex-cellence in your life. If you always strive to do your best, gather knowledge and apply it through hard work, people will notice you. Opportunity accompanies reputation. Americans knew this in the past. They lived and worked for the benefit of their good name. They understood that shady business practices and irre-sponsibility ruined people. Times have not changed as much as you may think. A good reputation, recommendation or referral can open doors to new, profitable opportunities. Do not lose

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your reputation for you may also lose your opportunity. But how do you build your reputation? You do this by striving for excel-lence in all aspects of your lives and upholding our American traditions.

One major part of the American tradition of excellence lies in our social interactions. When we imagine the most Amer-ican of heroes, the cowboy, we think of him as rugged and self reliant. But there is more. The cowboy is polite and chivalrous. He stands for a lady, opens her door and shows respect to all who deserve it. Daily, he employs the social virtues that many would now consider quaint or dated. It is not his ruggedness alone that we value, but his social graces as well. This is part of what makes him excellent in heroic standard.

Are the words “ma’am” and “sir” regular parts of your vocabulary? Have you passed these phrases on to our children? It is important to do these things because you are known by how you treat others. Social graces have largely been set aside as unimportant. Understand their power and they will make you stand out among others who pay less attention to the importance of showing respect.

When it comes to excellence in business, there is evi-dence of decline in certain areas, particularly customer service. Why do our largest telecommunication companies rely on ineffi-cient automated voice systems? More than likely, you have expe-rienced the frustration by being given the run around at a depart-ment store or facing less than courteous attitudes from customer service workers. These are more than minor annoyances. They are evidence of real problems in America. Our nation’s success depends on the success of our people and our companies.


Why does Buick need to tout its German engineering to sell cars? When it comes to excellence in industry, why is Germany’s reputation better than America’s? Imagine a fu-ture in which German carmakers tout American engineering in their cars. The potential, the resources and the abilities are there, and believe it or not, their implementation starts with you. Be excellent yourself and give those in your contagion a model to emulate. When those in your contagion begin to take on the excellent aspects you display, they will influence their contagion as well. On a large enough scale, we can begin to change things in America.

It is imperative that we start now. The principles of American excellence are adrift in the current state of our coun-try. Be excellent yourself and foster excellence in your conta-gion. Like a smile, a laugh, or a disease, it will spread to the rest of the nation.

YES I CAN!

On our voyage to reconquer America, excellence is our beacon. High standards will take us on the high seas to our destination! We must move with all haste toward this goal. But it is not as simple as hoisting your own sails. You must also keep your fellow Americans on course. We must foster excel-lence in those around us. We do not have the right to bemoan poor customer service when we do nothing to encourage good customer service and ensure that it is rewarded.

I briefly mentioned the telecommunication industry’s reputation for poor customer service. I hate calling 800 num-bers. I hate sitting through the automated system and pressing

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the buttons trying to enunciate clearly enough for the machine to understand. By the time I get to a live person I’m already frustrated.

How many calls have we been on where we wanted to shout an angry tirade laced with profane impre-cations because the person on the other end barely speaks our language or because they’re just plain

unhelpful? I’ve had a lot of those calls. As part of striving for excellence, I understand the importance of holding my tongue and I manage to get through the experience without spreading negativity.

Then, there are times when I make that dreaded call and get someone surprisingly cheerful on the other line. The process is easier and I find that I can enjoy the experience of talking to the person. When this happens, the excellence in customer service I received encourages me. I am happy to say that these experiences usually come from the systems that still employ American workers.

It’s my belief that everyone needs to have a positive in-fluence on his or her contagion whenever possible. When some-one provides good service to you, you should ensure that they are recognized for that service. Everyone likes to be recognized by superiors. Maybe not everyone thinks to do this. Maybe everyone should.

When it comes to good customer service over the phone, I ask to speak to a supervisor. After waiting through an extra 30 seconds of repulsive elevator music while the supervisor is fetched, I speak to a man or woman who is, more likely than not, expecting to hear a complaint of some sort. Instead, I rant and


rave about how one of the call-takers made an almost certain negative experience a positive one. The fact that I’m extending a compliment of stellar customer service has an effect.

In a sense, I have encouraged excellence by ensuring that it does not go unnoticed. Think about the effect this could have on that customer service representative’s job and on his or her commitment to excellence. Spread it like a contagion and it will begin to catch on. This is just one method of encour-aging excellence. Think of other ways to spread it.

For example, if you want to encourage excellence from your elected officials the most obvious starting point is to let your voice be heard by voting. As David Barton says, “Citi-zens most vote righteously - and this first assumes that they are voting. This responsibility to vote - and to vote righteously - has been made clear from generation to generation…Yet no one from any background - whether political, religious, or ra-cial - should ever love any political party above principal.” We do not have the right to complain about the state of affairs of our government unless we are willing to become an active participant in it through our vote.

LOVE YOUR SPOUSE; DISCIPLINE YOUR KIDS.

As you seek to spread a commitment of excellence to those in your contagion, you must make a special effort to ensure excellence in your family. In most cases, these are the most important members of your contagion and those with whom you have the most influence. Be excellent to your fami-ly, and they will learn to strive for excellence in their own lives.

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In your own household you will sometimes have to take what I have previously referred to as the sacrificial leap. This is part of the investment that you make in your family relationships. You must, at times, put your personal needs on hold to ensure that your family is not only cared for physically, but happy. Give when you don’t feel like giving. Find the love in your heart to devote time to your family even when you are exhausted. This is not just a path to excellence for yourself, but a beacon for the people you care about to follow on their own journeys.

Men, do all the things that keep peace in the home. Show respect for your wife by putting down the toilet seat, taking the trash out every day and taking care of things like gassing up her car. Go shopping with her and make sure she knows the depth of your love for her. Here’s a suggestion: make every Tuesday a listening-first day. Commit time to just listen to your wife. Tues-day will become anticipated and exciting for her.

When it comes to your children, you must discipline them and have a system of reward and penalty. Don’t have a knee-jerk, angry reaction to their misbehavior but instead control your tem-per and schedule the discussion and the punishment. You can even schedule it two or three days out, and remind them daily or twice a day. This allows the penalty to graft into your child’s psyche and shows him or her that actions have lasting consequences.

When the time comes for the penalty to be administered, stop what you are doing, give them your full attention and discuss the situation with them. Teach them temperance, ensure that they understand their actions and lay out a plan to correct it. In many cases grace may be applied here and you may not even need to punish them. They will have learned the lesson you tried to impart.


For any of this to work, you must first have the right to discipline your child. What I mean is that you must have a re-lationship. Just as you strive to encourage excellence in the rest of your contagion, make special effort to reward your children when they deserve it. Be active in your child’s life, not only to invest in the relationship, but to guide them on a path toward excellence.

Schedule rewards as well. Make sure you spend as much time rewarding good behavior as punishing missteps. I have employed these principles in my own children’s lives and I sug-gest that you employ them as well.

As I said before, you must direct your child’s contagion. Do not be afraid to discipline other people’s children as well. You should apply the same principles of correcting inappropri-ate behavior to people in your contagion and your family’s con-tagion.

I briefly spoke in Chapter 1 about dealing with another child in my son’s contagion. The boy in question convinced my son to sit in the back of the class, which was unacceptable to me. I called the boy’s parents and scheduled a time to speak with them about the issue. We got together; spoke briefly and I laid out my feelings and administered the punishment: my son would not be associating with their son as long as he would sit in the back of the class.

This is not always easy. However, to ensure excellence for your children you must direct their contagions, and this means that you must enforce your expectations with other par-ents. Schedule a time and inform them of your decisions. Do this and your family will be seaworthy.

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RUN YOUR FAMILY LIKE A BUSINESS.

Conducting your family as you would a business does not mean that you gear your family members toward making a profit. What it means is that you mimic the organizational model of a company. Establish a family mission statement. Your mission statement must reflect your devotion to fostering excellence.

First, understand that you as a parent or guardian are part of a board of directors. You may be a single parent and thus the only member of the board, but you still must under-stand your role at the top. You are responsible for the over-all decision-making and direction of the company. You are responsible for the success or failure of your family and its members and you must take that responsibility seriously.

When it comes to your children, do not treat them like employees, but understand that their role in the family is simi-lar to that of an employee. They must fulfill certain obligations like homework, chores and other activities that are expected of them. Like employees, understand their needs and provide for them, but do not tolerate their indiscretion or failure to complete their tasks. Provide incentives and punishments to encourage excellence. Do not slip on this. Doing so will make you a liar as your words are not reliable.

Make sure everyone in your family is well informed of the family policies. Hold meetings and disseminate informa-tion whenever something changes. This is the perfect time to interject your familial expectations and pass along generation-al intelligence as discussed in Chapter 2. I like to bring guest


speakers (dinner guests), as I call them, to dinner for family meetings. This is an attempt to introduce diversity and informa-tion to my family. During other meetings, discuss family activi-ties such as vacations and other trips, and make sure that your children understand the reasoning behind family decisions. Al-low them to give input, but never lose sight of the fact that you are ultimately in charge and thus responsible for the decisions.

There are many reasons I say you should run your fam-ily in this way. For one, it is an efficient model. In addition, it teaches structure and professionalism to your children through every day activities. Finally, when everyone understands his or her role in a household, it takes away any uncertainty as to what is expected. If they understand the level of excellence expected they will reach it more easily.

This structure allows you to prepare for what I call the rogue wave. Explain to your family the plans for emergencies and the contingency plans for when things go awry. If you bring this out in meetings and through explaining a child’s role, he or she will be better prepared to handle the unexpected. In addition, you will be able to plan fully for contingencies. Do not allow disaster to come to your family because you are un-prepared; ensure that everyone knows his or her role.

GO TO CHURCH; BE THE CHURCH.

One of our greatest American assets is God Almighty. From the time of our Declaration of Independence, Americans have known that our fortunes and successes were endowed upon us not by our institutions, but by our Creator. There is no source greater or more excellent than the Divine and no suc-cess that is not first based in His grace.

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If we are to believe in America, we must have faith that there is more to our journey than simply improving our own lives. We must live for His purpose. This is not a call to politicize or change your faith. My message is simply that you do not let your faith fall overboard in your voyage to-ward excellence. Your faith in a higher power is the compass that leads you when beacons grow dim. Embrace your faith and you will sail more truly. Your life will be more fulfilled.

I have seen the power of faith at work. During the hardest financial time in my life I found out firsthand the im-portance of giving to the church and the ability of the church to act as a beacon in my life. I was ready to get back on my feet, but had been knocked back down by recent events.

I was involved in the church and confided in one of the church leaders that I needed to work for extra money, or even borrow some. Tough times were heavy on my shoulders and I was not going to make it alone.

Later that week the church announced that there was a money surplus of $800,000 sitting in the church coffers. This money had been gained through donations of individual members of the congregation. After the service in which the surplus was announced the leader in whom I had confided earlier in the week approached me. He asked if I still need-ed help. I reluctantly responded that I did. He ushered me back to his office and sat at his desk. “Who do I make the checks out to?” he said. In the end, he wrote me three differ-ent checks made out to utility companies then gave me some money for personal expenses. He could sense my reluctance to take money from the church. I had always seen the church


as a place to give money. But he explained that people gave money in order to help people in situations like mine.

In that moment I understood that my church was really about God’s business: loving your neighbor as yourself. Today I am fortunate enough to be able to give to charity. In the spirit of circular giving, I give to the church for the excellent oppor-tunity to grow a budget surplus that can be used to help others who are in tough situations like I once was.

This is part of what makes America great: personal charity and giving in God’s name. So be a beacon of light for those on their journey to reconquer America. Go to church; be the church. Do not let yourself and your family fall victim to a loss of faith. Excellence cannot follow a path that has not been traversed by faith.

STRIVE!

As Americans, we must strive for excellence on a daily basis. Whether it is in your work life, your family life, or your day-to-day affairs, you must always try to stand out. This will pay off for you. In a nation where excellence is on the decline, if you show this spirit, employers and potential business part-ners will remember you. When you instill this in your children, they will be noticed as well. Opportunities arise for those with solid reputations for excellence. Do this for yourself as well as for America.

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Q: What do you mean by “Don’t buy cheap, it costs too much?”

Hudson Flynt: I’ve bought cheap furniture, come on: we all have. And you know damned well that it doesn’t even survive a single move. Reconquering America is not about short-term solutions or re-arranging deck chairs on the Titanic. It is about quality actions over quantity, and we have to train ourselves to think this way in every arena of our lives.

ACTION STEPS:

By the end of the week: Make a list of the times you were sorry you took the easy path, or went for a “bargain” over quality. Why? What went wrong? What was the actual price you paid for that “bargain”?

Visualize that disaster, and and internalize the resulting pain until you resolve to NEVER make this mistake again.



Objective: Your mission, glad you decided to accept it, is to strive for excellence in everything that you do and encourage it in others. Do not sit idly by while American excellence de-clines. Start making a difference in yourself, your family and your contagion!

MY PATH TO EXCELLENCE:

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CELEBRATE: PLAN IT SMALL,

PLAN IT BIG“I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the

greatest fulfillment of all that he hold dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.”

—Vince Lombardi

The truth is that reconquering America will be an ongo-ing voyage for the foreseeable future. We will struggle to recover financially, and to survive and overcome the challenges that face us. However, it is important that we understand the importance of pulling into port, docking and enjoying some time on shore.

Throughout your life, be sure that you plan celebrations. This is part of plugging the leaks in your life. If you celebrate out of proportion, you will end up leaking money, time, or creat-ing a pleasure leak for yourself. Instead, make a plan and bud-get your celebrations. Invest the appropriate time and you will avoid the pitfalls. Celebrate in proportion.


Imagine going to a home football game. On a first down, the crowd cheers. On a touchdown, the crowd cheers loudly. These are small celebrations. Where there is a small victory, there is a small celebration.

Now, imagine that your team wins the game. You may go out to celebrate with your contagion. Fans love to enjoy pizza after a good game. Now let’s say your team wins the big game. You would most likely be celebrating for days.

You know about living sacrificially, studying, investing and overcoming life’s hurdles with innovation in order to strive for excellence. When you apply these principles, success will come. Of course, you must celebrate the big game wins of life, but you must also take a moment to exhale and enjoy the first downs even when life seems like a tight game.

For example, if you are a college student and you do bet-ter than expected on a test or a paper, take time to grab a bag of chips, sit back and relax for awhile. If you are praised for your performance at work, go out to dinner. These small celebrations help to incentivize your small goals, which in turn feed the larger goals in your life philosophy.

When it comes to bigger celebrations, remember to plan them well and time them appropriately. A large milestone calls for a large celebration. Go on a honeymoon to celebrate your marriage. Take a vacation to celebrate completing a large project.

Celebrate the achievements of your contagion as well. If you have invested time and effort into growing relationships within your contagion, you can rightfully consider ways to enjoy your child’s successes in school or friends’ accomplishments in

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business. Help them achieve and enjoy their accomplishments as you would your own. You may find that these are the most enjoyable celebrations of all.

So turn the TV back on and enjoy it for awhile. Taste the victory and feel the success. Enjoy yourself and refuel. Re-member how it feels so you can continue to motivate yourself to reach the next small or large milestone on your journey.

COACH SOMEONE.

Celebration does not mean your journey is complete or even on pause. For this reason I feel that you must celebrate your successes by passing along information to others. After all, you need not expect your journey to be taken alone. Instead, you must share the tools you have acquired with those who have taken on the task as well.

Do not start with those who are most in need of help. Those who do not understand the need for sacrificial living and striving for excellence will only lend difficulty to your voyage. This may sound counter-intuitive but it is important that effort and advice be given to those who find it most useful rather than those beyond your help.

The point is to affect change in people’s lives as quick-ly as possible so that those people can pay it forward, coaching others and hastening the reconquering of America. You will be able to affect change in more people’s lives more quickly and they will be able to affect change in more people’s lives, and so on.


AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL.

I was on a business trip overseas in a former Soviet Bloc nation. While touring around the town with friends and a business associate I noticed a lot of really nice, late model cars. To me, it seemed to imply that people in that country were do-ing really well. I inquired about the cars and was told that real estate has paid off big and the economy was booming. People were able to buy things they could not afford in the past and their standard of living was improving all the time.

That’s when I noticed that these very nice cars were absolutely filthy. Without exception, every one of the cars seemed to be neglected. I asked an associate why the cars were so dirty. She said the owners only washed them twice a year. She further told me that the standard price was 60 to 70 dollars (about 45 to 50 euro). Wow, I thought, this would be a great place to start a carwash business. To me, it was a business opportunity.

I said, “I could open a car wash here and charge lower prices so they can get their cars washed more often.” At that point another associate politely advised me, “They will kill you if you keep talking.” I was distressed at these words, but thought it must have only applied to that specific area. Once I returned stateside, I was having dinner with several associ-ates and shared my story of a carwash idea. Before I could complete my story and relate how upset I was about the illu-sion of opportunity, an associate who was born in that same former Soviet Bloc nation interrupted while laughing, “…and they will probably kill you, too.”

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It was then that I realized the greatness of America. The spirit of individualism and the freedoms we enjoy are things to be celebrated. As a citizen in America I can recognize an oppor-tunity and take a risk to improve my life. That is something most countries around the world lack.

Nobody braves the shark-infested waters to swim to Cuba with a plan to improve their lives. I’ve never heard of any-one wanting to leave the United States for Shanghai, the world’s second largest economy, with just the shirt on their back for the promise of freedom or a brighter future. This is it! America – Land of the Free – Home of the Brave.

So, one thing to keep in the forefront of your mind during your celebrations is how you are celebrating your nation. Many achievements in life would not have been possible outside this great nation, and I try to remember that whenever I celebrate them. I am constantly moved when I think of the promise of our great nation. With hard work and sacrificial living anyone can hope for a better tomorrow. With study and investment anyone can create a brighter future. This is the American dream. We have survived and overcome so many challenges in our past that, when I see the sky lit up every Fourth of July, I understand God truly blesses America and her citizens. I implore you to use your wealth, be creative and be all you can be as you continue your voyage to RECONQUER AMERICA.

“We want everybody to succeed. You know why? We want the country to succeed, and for the country to succeed, its people – its individuals – must succeed.”

—Rush Limbaugh


SING WITH ME!America the Beautiful by Katharine Lee Bates

O beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majestiesAbove the fruited plain!America! America! God shed His grace on thee,And crown thy good with brotherhoodFrom sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet,Whose stern impassion’d stressA thoroughfare for freedom beatAcross the wilderness!America! America! God mend thine ev’ry flaw,Confirm thy soul in self-control,Thy liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife,Who more than self their country loved,And mercy more than life!America! America! May God thy gold refineTill all success be nobleness,And ev’ry gain divine!

O Beautiful for patriot dreamThat sees beyond the yearsThine alabaster cities gleam,Undimmed by human tears!America! America! God shed His grace on thee,And crown thy good with brotherhoodFrom sea to shining sea!

If your state of affairs demands that you weigh anchor and set sail, swim to shore, or celebrate small and big upon arrival, just do it. Whatever your stages of progress, just remember to do it with courage, perseverance and faith and you will succeed!

Stay free my friends, Hudson Flynt

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Q: What do you mean by “Keep your hands out of your neighbor’s pockets?” And why might their dollars be covered with sweat?

Hudson Flynt: From the work of earning it! Envy is poison. Covetousness is a sin. “Thou shalt not covet” is the 10th Com-mandment, for goodness sake. How much clearer could it be that this behavior rots the soul? As you succeed, and celebrate that success, it is inevitable that you will begin to attract the human crabs. People will pop out of the woodwork that think they are entitled to some of your success—even if they’ve done none of the work. Maybe then you will understand that you should never have envied people in the first place...but it may be too late.

Start now. Today. Be happy for the success of others, and as-sume that, like the parable of the ants and the grasshopper, they toiled while you were singing in the sun. Plan to join that circle of winners in the near future!

ACTION STEPS:

Take another look at the list of mentors and role models you cre-ated. What price did they pay for their success?

Remember that the most important rule is to know your goals? Develop a daily ritual of clarifying your goals and your reasons for achieving them. Live to serve your highest good, your fam-ily, your country, and Almighty God.


Rewrite those goals every day, without referring to the previ-ous day’s list. As you do this, the unimportant goals will fall away, and your most important values will clarify, like steel being refined from iron. That fire of clarity will transform your actions, your emotions, your spirit...and prepare YOU to be the kind of warrior who can RECONQUER AMERICA...one committed citizen at a time.

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Objective: Your mission is to enjoy yourself! Do so appropri-ately, celebrate big for big achievements in life and celebrate small for the smaller ones. Do not let the opportunity to enjoy the American Dream pass you by.

CELEBRATIONS BIG AND SMALL:

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Recommended Reading List

1. Armey, Dick and Kibbe, Matt. Give Us Liberty: A Tea Party Manifesto. New York, New York: Harper Collins Publishers Inc, 2010. Print.

2. Bach, David. Start Over, Finish Rich: 10 Steps to Get You Back on Track in 2010. New York, New York: Broadway Books, 2009. Print.

3. Barton, David. Setting the Record Straight: American History in Black and White. Aledo, Texas: Wall Builder Press, 2004. Print.

4. Blanchard, Ken and Johnson, Spencer. The One Minute Manager. New York, New York: Harper Collins Publishers Inc, 2003. Print.

5. Carlson, Richard, Ph.D. Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff – and It’s all Small Stuff. New York, New York: Hyperion Books, 1997. Print.

6. Covey, Stephen R. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York, New York: Simon and Shuster, 1989. Print.

7. Favorito, Garland. Our Nation Betrayed. San Diego, California: Black Forest Press, 2000. Print.

8. Gingrich, Newt. To Save America: Stopping Obama’s Secular-Socialist Machine. Washington, DC: Regnery Publishing Inc, 2010. Print.

9. Hannity, Sean. Conservative Victory. New York, New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2010. Print.

10. Heath, Chip and Heath, Dan. Switch. New York, New York: Broadway Books, 2010. Print.

11. Hill, Napoleon. Think and Grow Rich. New York, New York: Barnes and Noble, Inc. 2008. Print.


12. Kiyosaki, Robert T. Rich Dad, Poor Dad. New York, New York: Grand Central Publishing, 1997. Print.

13. Levin, Mark R. Liberty and Tyranny. New York, New York: Threshold Editions, 2009. Print.

14. Limbaugh, Rush. See, I Told You So. New York, New York: Pocket Books, 1993. Print.

15. Limbaugh, Rush. The Way Things Ought To Be. New York, New York: Pocket Books, 1992. Print.

16. Morris, Dick and McGann, Eileen. 2010: Take Back America. New York, New York: Harper Collins Publishers Inc, 2010. Print.

17. Putnam, Robert D. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, 2000. Print.

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APPENDIX

A1 Opening

A4 How to Get a Job

A11 How to Get a Raise or Promotion

A13 Start a Business

A14 Start Your Business Again

A15 Jews and the Founding of America


OPENING.

A few years back, an associate of mine encouraged me to attend a Tony Robbins event with her in Colorado because she was a volunteer and had received free tickets. While I was somewhat skeptical, she promised that it would be an exciting experience, something to remember. I reluctantly agreed, and was on my way to the event.

She was not kidding; the event was certainly something to re-member. During my three days, I met a large number of interest-ing people. The focus of the event was on overcoming obstacles in your life. I really related to Tony, and his business of coaching people to get through tough times and come out ahead, since I do that on a fairly regular basis myself. It is an interesting busi-ness that he runs, and his methods are pretty impressive.

On the second day, for example, I had the pleasure of watching him talk to a woman who was emotionally distressed. When she stood up, we learned that she was in a deep depression and having a hard time coping with the recent loss of her twin sister and being blamed for the death by her parents. Tony was able to effectively coach her, employ his methods right there in front of us, and make this woman come alive again. After a brief talk and his advice, she started feeling better almost immediately. I was amazed at the power of the mind to influence the body. Tony certainly provides an interesting and effective service. The next day this woman sat next to me and I did not recognize her. She physically looked different, like a completely new per-son. Tony Robbins’ methods had worked wonders.

On the final evening of the event, along with more than 700 other people in attendance, I was asked to overcome my

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apprehension and walk across hot coals. Like most other people in the group, I had a feeling of nervous excitement. I knew that it was possible, and I knew that young children had even managed to take the walk. Nonetheless, I felt more than a bit apprehensive about the idea of putting my bare feet on burning embers.

That feeling did not fade while I waited in the lines. In fact, as I got closer I could feel the heat flowing in waves from the burning wood embers. Despite watching many others success-fully cross the coals, the heat and anticipation of the pain were enough to make me more than a little hesitant for the sake of my feet.

It was almost my turn and I could feel the heat more strongly as I got closer to the lines of embers. When I was about three spots from the front, Tony Robbins approached the line next to me and, feeling that the heat was not intense enough, asked that a few of the volunteers shift the embers to ensure that the heat was intensified. So they approached, equipped with fire retardant sleeves and shovels, and shifted the embers about, intensifying the hot orange pulp in each line.

Finally, my turn arrived. I stepped up and my senses seemed to become finely attuned to the situation. I could smell the burn-ing coals and see the people around me, watching and waiting. My heart raced as I stood there, now focused on the heated path ahead of me. Then, I took my first step on a successful and ful-filling walk across the coals.

You may be like me. You stand before a pit of fire or in my case, a line of coals, and all you need to do is take the first step on a journey that, while painful, is the path to reconquering your America. So step up to the heat and take the messages in this


book to heart while employing some of the following strate-gies. Whether you need to get a job, raise or promotion; start a business or restart your existing business, America is a nation of opportunity. This appendix will give you some information on these four activities.

HOW TO GET A JOB.

Objective: 1) Display suitability and 2) Be Memorable. So here’s the thing, this system is not for the faint of heart. It requires that you pull yourself up by the bootstraps, gathering all of your determination and, of course, apply the principles of this book. If you expect a job to come to you by filling out an application online or sending in a resume by email or fax, this will not apply to you. The system does not work if you only do part of it. You must do it all. This is one of the keys to reinforce your suitability and be remembered. Make every-one who comes after your interview look like a lame duck in comparison.

Preparation:In your preparation for the job interview, you must first ID and study the industry. In order to understand the industry prop-erly, it is necessary that you write an industry report. This is a tool to help you gain and organize pertinent information for your job search in that industry. Be thorough, since you will present this information to your potential employer. This is not meant to inform your employer, but to display your relevant knowledge during the interview.

Start by studying the industry. On a spreadsheet, lay out infor-mation about the market, names of companies and differences

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between competitors. You must also know all the factors that make up the industry. For example, if it is a product or service industry, you must know what type of customers the industry services. Is the industry focused on new customers, emergency customers, repeat customers or all of the above?

Study the industry technology and trends. Find out how these trends may affect your potential employer and how technology is used. Find out how the industry has changed over time. You must understand how the industry has evolved over time and how it continues to evolve. These trends fall into two basic cat-egories: I call them functional trends and service trends.

Accounting and bookkeeping, for example, was all done on paper just a few decades ago. Today, the industry would cease to exist without electronics. File sharing, internet access, and databases are all now fully integrated into the industry. This is what is called a functional trend, dealing with how the industry functions. Think of the nuts and bolts of operation in a com-pany and what is required. Find out how exactly these tasks are carried out, and then give yourself a history lesson to under-stand how the current methods differ from the past methods.

This understanding will empower you with the infor-mation on how an industry works. If you seek a job in an industry in which you have experience, you can still benefit from this study, and you may even

uncover some new information to include in your presenta-tion. Spreadsheet this information and put it in your industry report. This will be helpful to both of you as you show your potential employer your suitability to the position.


Service trends pertain to how the industry serves its customers. For bookkeeping and accounting, communication technology affects how customers access information. Customers can now access their information remotely, and even print them at home without the need to actually visit the bookkeeper. The same tools that affect how accountants function have lead to greater access for customers. You must understand these things about your in-dustry and take note. Report this and show your employer that you understand the history and present state of the industry.

Much of this information will come out through research on recent historical data. You need to understand the most recent history of the industry, preferably within the past five years. Think about researching legislation that has affected the indus-try, trends and economic changes.

ID the company and find your job.Once you have completed this research and organized your knowledge on the industry, you can apply the same type of re-search to your chosen company itself. Find out the current sta-tus of the company, its standing among competitors and gain an understanding of the major and minor markets for the company.

Most larger companies have a website with some of this infor-mation available. Find the current status. What is the company’s current missions statement? If you can find historical data on the company, that’s great!

Larger companies will have an investor relations section on the website as well. You can find a lot of information on the com-pany through this tab. Find out how they do business with other

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companies and you will gain insight into the major and minor markets.

Take the UPS Company out of Sandy Springs, Georgia as an example here. You probably know that their main business is to ship and manage packages across the globe. They receive packages at stations all across the world, and use those recog-nizable brown trucks to deliver them to their customers. This is the major market for UPS.

Some research into the company would reveal that they are also involved in tracking packages and partnering with other companies to develop tracking methods and resources. They sell this type of information services to their vendors and sup-pliers as a secondary source of profit. In addition, due to the nature of their business and the stress placed on their trucks, they have an excellent system to deal with the purchase, in-stallation and maintenance of tires and other automotive parts. Find your position in any one of these areas or departments.

As another example, consider the company Ariba out of Sunnyvale, California. Their major market is facilitating transactions between buyers and sellers by driving sales, controlling spending and manag-

ing cash. As a minor market, they develop and sell software solutions to those same buyers and sellers. There are many in-teresting and unexpected market types in some of the biggest companies in the world. Do your research and you may find opportunity where it is least expected.


It’s your job, go get it!When employers place an ad for employment, they are lim-ited in what they can say. You must fill in the blanks as you blend industry and job information. If you have identified the company for which you’d like to work, check the listings of competitors with similar positions to find out how they describe similar jobs. Strive to get the whole picture of the job before you apply or interview. Tailor your resume and presentation to the job you seek. The more you understand the job, the better suited you will appear.

You must get a full depth of knowledge about the job and the specifics of the company. Develop some questions to ask. Ask about job specifics for clarity as well as about job cycle responsibilities (daily, weekly, monthly, seasonally, annually, etc.) Include these questions in your presentation, when pos-sible. Questions serve a number of purposes besides gaining a great deal of job insight. You will also appear more suitable and memorable for the position by being engaging.

Present Yourself as the Solution.There are many tools for presentation; my personal favorite is a product by Apple called Keynote, which is the counterpart to Microsoft’s PowerPoint.

Present the key factors of your presentation in the following order:

1. The Industry 2. The Employer 3. The Job

4. You 5. Your suitable integration into the company

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Show how you integrate yourself into the company as a so-lution. Focus on the job and your understanding of its place in the company. Your knowledge of the big picture will show the employer your capability to understand the smaller picture, specifically your job.

If you are to present yourself as a solution, you must fulfill the employer’s need. If an employer has sought out someone to fill a job position, they are seeking to fulfill a specific need. You must find out why they need to hire someone. For instance, if they are seeking a bookkeeper, find out if they are replacing, expanding, or downsizing. Anticipate their need and have re-levant answers prepared.

If, in your research, you find that the company is seeking to reduce financial inefficiency, you could present yourself as a solution to that very problem by showing that you have already researched possible solutions. Your ability to compile this in-formation and present it will show your ability to gather know-ledge and understand complex situations in addition to your job qualifications. If you understand the industry, the employer and the job itself, you will discover insights into the needs of the company and how you can fulfill them.

Review your own skill set.Experienced: If you are an experienced worker, your experi-ence must echo profitability. Sound experienced and eager, but not expensive. Avoid sounding as though you are set in your ways. Understand that you must perform your job the way the employer wants it performed. Blend your experience with ea-gerness to learn to perform the job their way.


Especially in today’s economy, you must make sure that you dis-play the right experience for your price. Come in at a low cost; get in the door. You will quickly show your worth to the company in a short time. Document your performance and corresponding benefits carefully and regularly. You will need it later when asking for a raise or promotion.

Inexperienced: If you are inexperienced, show eagerness to learn. If you have followed the method laid out here, you will have shown that you can learn the industry, the company and the job itself. The only aspect left is you and your willingness and ability to learn the job itself.

Understand that you do not command the highest dollars in the industry. Play that card to your own advantage. Use your eager-ness to show that you are not expensive. Leverage your ability to learn about the new job and industry and contrast that with your relatively low cost as a new employee. You must present yourself as profitable.

Remember, you are presenting yourself. Understand that you must have a good resume, dress appropriately and actually have a skill set that is appropriate. Following the Hudson Flynt method will make you stand out and appear more suitable. If you apply these principles, you will have no problem getting a job.

Tips:Leverage your contagion. There are people all around you with a wealth of knowledge that can provide you with tools to get your job. Do not hesitate to ask them for assistance. This book is not a place to find how to dress for an interview or create a resume. There are far more comprehensive resources available to help you gather that knowledge.

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HOW TO GET A RAISE OR PROMOTION.

In this economy, there is uncertainty about whether or not you will even have a job from one day to the next, so it is impor-tant that you reinforce your value to the company. You must let your employer know your worth through hard work and consistent performance. Consider how you have performed your job as well as how you are viewed in the company be-fore asking for a raise or promotion. Make sure that you have a good track record, and show it through documentation.

You must consider whether you want to get a raise or a promotion, which are not always the same thing. The two are not necessarily related either. A promotion is simply an increase of responsibility

or position. Though you may not get a raise in pay, you will open up doors to new opportunities.

Your first step is to study your employer, this time from the inside. This will garner you even more information than you gained in your research for the job. Understand the ins and outs of how your company conducts business and the quali-ties that they value in employees. Understand the overall company, as well as your co-workers and supervisors. Un-derstand what it takes to succeed in your company.

Know your immediate supervisors, keeping human nature in mind. If you are going to show your value and ask for a raise or promotion, you have to start with your immediate supervi-sor. He or she may not have the authority to give you a raise or promotion, but they can certainly keep you from achieving your goal. Understand the nature of jealousy, fear, strife and


misunderstanding. It may be that your supervisor sees you as a threat to his own position. Understand this and tailor your approach to downplay that aspect. Present yourself as a means by which your supervisor can enhance his own po-sition. You have to understand what they want out of being with the company. Perhaps they value their time or they need a person with a certain skill set on their team. Like getting a job, you must identify a need and ask if you can take on ad-ditional responsibility.

You must understand what the military calls the chain of command. If it is a large company there will be a handbook. Follow the handbook. Follow your chain of command and take the appropriate steps. Ask for permission before climb-ing the ladder beyond your supervisor.

Choose the moment. Make the presentation.Approach your supervisor. At first approach, you will not present yourself. Do not attempt to present although your su-pervisor may indicate they have time available. Schedule it. Scheduling offers two benefits to you. For one, your supervi-sor will consider your meeting more important than a quick water cooler chat or brief office visit. Make sure that you are scheduled for enough time; be polite but insistent. Take your supervisor to lunch if reasonable, making sure company policies are followed. Secondly, you will have time to appro-priately prepare. Preparation is a major key to success. You already have the company familiarity, but research and docu-ment fully. Getting a raise or promotion is about controlling your destiny. Your employer should not be in control of your destiny; you must take control.

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Make your case. Do so with documentation to support your value to the department, coworkers, and thus the company. However, do not expect instant results. Do not follow up on the meeting. You must not give the impression of being dissatisfied. Get back to work; nothing has changed. Though you may not come out with a raise or promotion, you will show your value to the com-pany and eagerness to advance. This may end up saving you from being downsized in a round of layoffs.

Tips:Special note: Social networking sites. Employers now do research on employees’ opinions and comments on sites like Facebook and Linkedin to find out employees’ views on life and whether they have broken company policy. There are ways to know. Consider anything on the internet as public. In addition, you may be moni-tored anytime you are on your work computer, desk phone, or on company property.

START A BUSINESS.

This is not a blueprint about how to start a business. Instead, it is a discussion about why you should start a business now, timing. When the right idea meets opportunity with preparation and at the right time, then success is very near.

Why now? Everything is cheaper.It’s not what you make, but what you keep. In this economy em-ployees, equipment and advertising are all going at a great rate. Because of the problems that many companies are experiencing, they have shut their doors, leaving discounted or free equipment. Workers are willing to work for less, at least to start, and office space is going at low rates too. Advertising is cheaper because


there are a lack of companies advertising. Overall, the cost of doing business is much less than it was.

In addition, existing companies are having a hard time staying alive. Banks have limited lending; so existing companies are experiencing a diminishing ability to finance new equipment. Also, existing debt is not being refinanced. The debt problem these companies are experiencing means that there are market gaps that lead to loosening of competition. This would be a good time to break into those markets since overall competition is reduced.

If you plan to start a business, don’t wait until the economy turns around because the prices will go up for everything. This is the opportunity that you have been waiting for. So get to work! Op-portunity and hard work lead to success. Opportunity is avail-able; it is just a matter of getting to work and starting your own company. So get out there and set sail!

START YOUR BUSINESS AGAIN.

For the same reason that now is the time to start a business, it is necessary to start your business again. More than likely, if you own a business, you have been affected by the recent economic problems in America. The good news is that your competitors have as well. Take advantage of the new low prices offered on la-bor, advertising and office space. Expand your business, or restart it. Tailor your business to the new market. Use your expertise to fuel a revival of your company.

Write out your story of why you went into business. Update your plan. New economic situations call for a new strategy. Consider the possibility of expansion to take advantage of deals and discounts.

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Tips:Start a website. You don’t want to end up like the typewrit-er repairman, with technology running you over. So many small companies lack a website, for example. People use the web to find businesses and information all the time. Besides, many consider you a legitimate business when you have an updated website.

JEWS AND THE FOUNDING OF AMERICA.

The following is an article written by Rabbi Ken Spiro entitled Jews and the Founding of America. It is part five of the History of Judaism (Crash Course) on Aish.com.

The amazing story of Jewish influence on the founding of Amer-ican democracy is a well-kept secret.

The creation of the United States of America represented a unique event in world history - founded as a modern republic, it was rooted in the Bible, and one of its earliest tenets was reli-gious tolerance.

This is because many of the earliest pilgrims who settled the “New England” of America in early 17th century were Puritan refugees escaping religious persecutions in Europe.

These Puritans viewed their emigration from England as a virtual re-enactment of the Jewish exodus from Egypt. To them, England was Egypt, the king was Pharaoh, the Atlantic Ocean was the Red Sea, America was the Land of Israel, and the Indians were the an-cient Canaanites. They were the new Israelites, entering into a new covenant with God in a new Promised Land.


Thanksgiving—first celebrated in 1621, a year after the May-flower landed—was initially conceived as a day parallel to the Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur; it was to be a day of fasting, introspection and prayer.

Writes Gabriel Sivan in The Bible and Civilization (p. 236):

“No Christian community in history identified more with the People of the Book than did the early settlers of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, who believed their own lives to be a literal reenactment of the Biblical drama of the Hebrew nation...these émigré Puritans dramatized their own situation as the righteous remnant of the Church corrupted by the ‘Babylonian woe,’ and saw themselves as instruments of Divine Providence, a people chosen to build their new commonwealth on the Covenant entered into at Mount Sinai.”

Previously, during the Puritan Revolution in England, (1642-1648) some Puritan extremists had even sought to replace Eng-lish common law with Biblical laws of the Old Testament, but were prevented from doing so. In America, however, there was far more freedom to experiment with the use of Biblical law in the legal codes of the colonies and this was exactly what these early colonists set out to do.

The earliest legislation of the colonies of New England was all determined by Scripture. At the first assembly of New Haven in 1639, John Davenport clearly stated the primacy of the Bible as the legal and moral foundation of the colony:

“Scriptures do hold forth a perfect rule for the direction and government of all men in all duties which they are

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to perform to God and men as well as in the government of families and commonwealth as in matters of the Church ...the Word of God shall be the only rule to be attended unto in organizing the affairs of government in this plan- tation.” (1)

Subsequently, the New Haven legislators adopted a legal code—the Code of 1655—which contained some 79 statutes, half of which contained Biblical references, virtually all from the Hebrew Bible. The Plymouth Colony had a similar law code as did the Massachusetts assembly, which, in 1641 adopted the so-called “Capital Laws of New England” based almost entirely on Mosaic law.

Of course, without a Jewish Oral Tradition, which helped the Jews understand the Bible, the Puritans were left to their own devices and tended toward a literal interpretation. This led in some instances to a stricter, more fundamentalist observance that Judaism had ever seen.

Jewish influence on education.The Hebrew Bible also played a central role in the founding of various educational institutions including Harvard, Yale, William and Mary, Rutgers, Princeton, Brown, Kings Col-lege (later to be known as Columbia), Johns Hopkins, Dart-mouth etc.

Many of these colleges even adopted some Hebrew word or phrase as part of their official emblem or seal. Beneath the banner containing the Latin “Lux et Veritas,” the Yale seal shows an open book with the Hebrew “Urim V’Timum,” which was a part of the breastplate of the High Priest in the


days of the Temple. The Columbia seal has the Hebrew name for God at the top center, with the Hebrew name for one of the an-gels on a banner toward the middle. Dartmouth uses the Hebrew words meaning “God Almighty” in a triangle in the upper center of its seal.

So popular was the Hebrew Language in the late 16th and early 17th centuries that several students at Yale delivered their commence-ment orations in Hebrew. Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Brown, Princeton, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Pennsylvania taught courses in Hebrew - all the more remarkable because no university in England at the time offered it. (In America, Bible study and Hebrew were course requirements in virtually all these colleges and students had the option of delivering commence-ment speeches in either Hebrew, Latin or Greek.)(2)

Many of the population, including a significant number of the Founding Fathers of America, were products of these Ameri-can Universities - for example, Thomas Jefferson attended William and Mary, James Madison Princeton, Alexander Hamil-ton King’s College (i.e. Columbia). Thus, we can be sure that a majority of these political leaders were not only well acquainted with the contents of both the New and Old Testaments, but also had some working knowledge of Hebrew.

Notes Abraham Katsch in The Biblical Heritage of American Democracy (p. 70):

“At the time of the American Revolution, the interest in the knowl-edge of Hebrew was so widespread as to allow the circulation of the story that ‘certain members of Congress proposed that the use of English be formally prohibited in the United States, and Hebrew substituted for it.’”

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Jewish symbolism in America.Their Biblical education colored the American founders’ atti-tude toward not only religion and ethics, but most significantly, politics. We see them adopting the biblical motifs of the Pur- itans for political reasons. For example, the struggle of the an-cient Hebrews against the wicked Pharaoh came to embody the struggle of the colonists against English tyranny. Numerous ex-amples can be found which clearly illustrate to what a signifi-cant extent the political struggles of the colonies were identified with the ancient Hebrews.

• The first design for the official seal of the United States recommended by Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Thomas in 1776 depicts the Jews crossing the Red Sea. The motto around the seal read: “Resistance to Tyrants is Obedience to God.”

• The inscription on the Liberty Bell at Independence Hall in Philadelphia is a direct quote from Leviticus (25:10): “Proclaim liberty throughout the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.”

• Patriotic speeches and publications during the period of the struggle for independence were often infused with Biblical motifs and quotations. Even the basic framework of America clearly reflects the influence of the Bible and power of Jewish ideas in shaping the political development of America. Nowhere is this more evident than in the opening sentences of the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with


certain unalienable rights that among them are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Whereas, these words echo the ideas of the Enlightenment (see Part 53), without a doubt, the concept that these rights come from God is of Biblical origin.

This and the other documents of early America make it clear that the concept of a God-given standard of morality is a central pil-lar of American democracy. The motto “IN GOD WE TRUST” first appeared on U. S. currency in 1864 and a 1956 Act of Con-gress (largely passed as a counterforce to Godless communism) made it the official motto if the United States.

Many more things can be said about the Jewish influence on the values of America, but this is, after all, a crash course. We next turn to the Jews themselves.

Early American Jews.The history of Jews in America begins before the United States was an independent country.

The first Jews arrived in America with Columbus in 1492, and we also know that Jews newly-converted to Christianity were among the first Spaniards to arrive in Mexico with Conquistador Hernan-do Cortez in 1519.

In fact, so many Jewish conversos came to Mexico that the Span-ish made a rule precluding anyone who could not prove Catholic ancestry for four generations back from migrating there. Needless to say, the Inquisition soon followed to make sure these Jewish conversos were not really heretics, and burnings at the stake be-came a regular feature of life in Mexico City.

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As for North America, the recorded Jewish history there be-gins in 1654 with the arrival in New Amsterdam (later to be known as New York) of 23 Jewish refugees from Recife, Brazil (where the Dutch had just lost their possessions to the Portuguese). New Amsterdam was also a Dutch possession, but the governor Peter Stuyvesant did not want them there. Writes Arthur Hertzberg in The Jews in America (p. 21):

“Two weeks after they landed, Stuyvesant heard the complaint from the local merchants and from the Church that ‘the Jews who had arrived would nearly all like to remain here.’ Stuyvesant decided to chase them out. Using the usual formulas of religious invective—he called the Jews ‘repugnant,’ ‘deceitful,’ and ‘enemies and blasphemers of Christ’ - Stuyvesant recommended to his directors...‘to require them in a friendly way to depart.’”

The only reasons the Jews were not turned out was that the Dutch West Indian Company, which was heavily depended on Jewish investments, blocked it.

Jews and the American Revolution.By 1776 and the War of Independence, there were an estimated 2,000 (mostly Sephardic) Jews (men, women and children) liv-ing in America, yet their contribution to the cause was signifi-cant. For example, in Charleston, South Carolina, almost every adult Jewish male fought on the side of freedom. In Georgia, the first patriot to be killed was a Jew (Francis Salvador). And addi-tionally, the Jews provided significant financing for the patriots.


The most important of the financiers was Haym Salomon who lent a great deal of money to the Continental Congress. In the last days of the war, Salomon advanced the Ameri-can government $200,000. He was never paid back and died bankrupt.

President George Washington remembered the Jewish contri-bution when the first synagogue opened in Newport, Rhode Island in 1790. (It was called the Touro Synagogue and it was Sephardic.) He sent this letter, dated August 17, 1790:

“May the children of the stock of Abraham who dwell in the land continue to merit and enjoy the goodwill of the other inhabitants. While everyone shall sit safely under his own vine and fig-tree and there shall be none to make him afraid.”

Note the reference to the “vine and fig-tree.” That unique phrase is a reference to the words of Prophet Michah proph-esying the Messianic utopia:

But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow to it. And many nations shall come, and say, ‘Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for Torah shall go forth from Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.’ And he shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide concerning far away strong nations; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not

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lift up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree; and none shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken it.

This was an interesting choice of words on the part of Wash-ington, but, as noted above, it is not surprising in light of the enormous influence that the Hebrew Bible had on the pil-grims and on the founding fathers of the new nation.

American ambivalence toward the Jews.It must be noted however that some of the other founding fathers were a bit more ambivalent about the Jews than was Washington.

John Adams, who said some highly complimentary things about the Jews,(3) also noted that “it is very hard work to love most of them [the Jews]. And he looked forward to the day when “the asperities and peculiarities of their character” would be worn away and they would become “liberal Unitar-ian Christians.”

Thomas Jefferson thought Jews needed more secular learn-ing so that “they will become equal object of respect and favor,” implying that without such learning they could not expect to be respected. Writes Arthur Hertzberg in The Jews in America (p. 87):

“Jefferson was thus expressing the view of the main- stream of the Enlightenment, that all men could attain equal place in society, but the ‘entrance fee’ was that they should adopt the ways and the outlook of the


‘enlightened.’ Jefferson did not consider that a Yiddish- speaking Jew who knew the Talmud was equal in usefulness to society with a classically trained thinker like himself.”

This idea that there was freedom for you in America as long as you were not “too Jewish,” kept most Jews away. Un-til 1820, the Jewish population of America was only about 6,000!

This changed in the 1830s when Reform German Jews, who had scrapped traditional Judaism and were not “too Jewish,” began to arrive. The great migrations of poor, oppressed Jews from Eastern Europe would follow near the turn of the century. But before we take up that story, we must look to see what was happening to the Jews of Europe.

(1) Abraham Katsh, The Biblical Heritage of American Democracy, (New York, 1977), p.97.

(2) Ibid., 51-72.

(3) John Adams in a letter to F.A. Van Der Kemp, 16 February 1809: “... I will insist that the Hebrews have done more to civilize men than any other nation. If I were an atheist and believed in blind eternal fate, I should still believe that fate had ordained the Jews to be the most essential instrument for civilizing the nations. If I were an atheist of another sect…I should still believe that chance had ordered the Jews to preserve and propagate for all mankind the doctrine of a supreme, intelligent, wise almighty sovereign of the universe, which I believe to be the great essential principle of all morality, and consequently of

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all civilization… They are the most glorious nation that ever inhabited this earth. The Romans and their Empire were but a bauble in comparison to the Jews. They have given religion to three quarters of the globe and have influenced the affairs of mankind more, and more happily than any other nation, ancient or modern.” As quoted in: Allan Gould, What Did They Think of the Jews, (New Jersey, 1997), pp.71-72.

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