HALF A MILLIONAIRE

On June 14, 2009, I challenged myself to amass $500,000 in cash. My strategy is to “eliminate debt, grow wealth, and control expenses”. I want to make it clear that it is not about money, but, instead, it is about mental toughness. One is born. One lives. One gets sick. One becomes old. And, one dies. We all follow this pattern, and what separates us is the way we choose to live our lives. Everyday, I choose to be happy. And, to be happy, I am willing to take on my earthy responsibilities. In the end, happiness is the ultimate prize in life, not money. However, money can buy me more time to enjoy my life with my loved ones. Therefore, I am going after it. 

Our expenses have remained the same in the last several months. My wife and I have managed to stay within our budget. When we go shopping, we write down what we need to buy and stick with the list. If an item is expensive, we remind each other about saving money by voting “no”. For example, she wants to buy an expensive camera because she believes that it will produce more beautiful pictures. I tell her that we can afford it, but it is not the right time because the current one is still working, and she has been capturing perfect moments of our daughter’s life with the three-year old camera. Also, because we allow our daughter to play with our camera and laptop to stimulate her learning ability, I do not want to overpay these items. However, for the right item, I will not hesitate to buy. For example, when my wife informs me that our dryer is broken, I have it delivered to our house the next day. Of course, I never pick items with the highest price because I have realized that expensive things often require higher maintenance and usually cause more problems when they break. Our goal is to focus on each other, not on materialism, and, so far, we have achieved it.

In the last several months, I have been working about 60 to 70 hours per week because I have realized that cutting expenses alone will not bring me to the finished line. I have to increase my revenues, so I do overtime. I work 12 hours on weekdays and an extra 10 hours on Saturday when I am needed. Again, in life, it is not aways about money, but it is all about time. Because I want to spend the maxium amount of time with my daughter, I go to work very early in the morning while my loved ones are still sleeping. And, because I am an early riser, the working schedule fits me very well. What is the result? I have been able to increase my revenues by 100%. Of course, I know that the overtime will not last forever, but I will take whatever given because I want to win the game. And, to win the game, I must execute my game plan.

What do I do with the extra money? I have been paying down my debts and “cautiously” putting more money in the stock market. However, I have decided to stop buying more shares because the stocks that I own have become more expensive. How do I know? The prices have gone up by 30% compared to last year. I do not have a degree in finance, but I learn from reading and analyzing data on my own. Something is just not right. On one hand, I am trying to cut expenses, grow revenues and eliminate debts. On the other hand, President Obama increases spending, kills the labor market and borrows more money. I know that I can be wrong in my opinion because I do not have all the data, but on the surface that is what I am seeing. Our national debt is $12.8 trillion. I am not interested in hearing President Obama explaining that he and his administration are not responsible for our national debt. He needs to stop blaming the past because the American people needs him to solve problems. Yes, sir, we know that you are facing with difficult challenges. However, we need you to make the right decisions for our nation.

In my humble opinion, America needs more jobs at this very moment. America does not need to show the world her compassion at this very moment. America does not need to make new friends at this very moment because she is angry and not in the mood to hang out. There is nothing wrong with that because she has to focus on taking care of her own children at this very moment. Why does she have to show her compassion to the world at this very moment? She has always done that. Her true friends should understand her. She does not have to bow to anyone to show that she is respectful. She should be herself and others will follow. Her foes will always hate her because they envy her success and compassion. These foes will die because they have to follow the same pattern of life. And, there will be new foes. In the end, America should be herself because I love her just the way she is. I don’t want the government to shackle her because she has given me opportunities to grow in ways that I truly believe I will not be able to do anywhere else on earth.

During his tour of Europe, President Obama pledged to a large crowd in Prague that America would work together with Russia to reduce its nuclear arsenal, and the speech won him the Nobel Peace prize. The goal is to cut nuclear warheads to between 1,700 and 2,200 by 2012. On November 25, 2009, Iranian President Ahmadinejad, at the opposite end, vowed to enrich more uranium and continue to pursue his nuclear ambition. Why doesn’t Iran feel safe even though America is signaling to the world that she desires peace?

Let us look at the number one more time. By 2012, we will “only” have about 2,200 nuclear warheads (not including the unlisted or concealed weapons!). That is not a lot (!). In my opinion, the denuclearization plan between the U.S. and Russia is meaningless because it does not guarantee peace. Even if all nations agree to completely rid this world of nuclear weapons, America still has thousands of tanks, planes, submarines and other bombs. America is still in control. And, this is the reason why Iran and other weaker nations want to have nuclear weapons. They fully understand that they will never be able to match up directly with America. Therefore, they just want to have enough nuclear warheads to protect themselves. Let us use Iran as an example. Ahmadinejad knows that he is being cornered by the international community because Russia is no longer on his side. Tactically, Iran is surrounded by American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. He knows that if he makes one wrong move that gives the U.S. a reason to attack, the game will be over. He has to continue playing the “delay” card because he knows the U.N. is nothing but a theatrical show. He is also letting the U.S. know that “if you attack me, I will retaliate on your friend, Israel.” The questions are: Did President Obama really mean “peace” when he announced America’s nuclear reduction plan? Or, did he do it to gain Russia’s favor and to further isolate Iran?

In my honest opinion, it is hypocritical of us to try to convince others to stop pursuing nuclear capability when we, Americans, never stop developing new weaponry. On the contrary, I suggest that we should allow everyone to have nuclear weapons because when we all have them, we will never have the courage to use them on each other. Perhaps, we will appreciate each other more, and we will learn to live together. I know that it does not sound right, but I don’t think we have a choice because I know that we are selfish creatures. Although self-preservation is the force that pushes our species forward, but it can also destroy us when we are unable to celebrate our differences. In conclusion, with or without nuclear weapons, we can “never” rid this world of “wars” because we are depleting our planet’s natural resources. And, eventually and sadly, we will kill each other to survive. Homo sapiens, the ugliest living things ever walk the earth.

The New York Yankees are champions, again. They have done it twenty seven times. However, it amazes me when I realize that most of my friends at work and many others hate the Yankees. And, when I ask them for the reason why they harbor so much hatred for the baseball club, I receive the most absurd answer–”because they have so much money and win all the times”. I do recognize that there is some truth in the answer. However, I do not believe that money is the only factor that helps them win “all the times”. There must be something special about the organization. Personally, I believe that the Yankees’ constant success is the byproduct of effective management and leadership. And, therefore, instead of hating the winners, we all must love them, study them and become like them. So, why don’t people like the Yankees?

I would like to share a personal story before I attempt to answer the above question. I grew up in a communist country where I was taught to hate the United States of America because it was an evil empire that only wanted to conquer and destroy its neighbors. However, the truth was that my home country was poor because the communist leaders were corrupt and uneducated. They did not care for the people. They just wanted to fill up their pockets with the people’s sweat and blood. When I came to America, I began to see the light. After I had learned more about the game, I understood why the U.S. was the winning team. Capitalism, freedom to compete, encourages creativity because each individual wants to win and harvest the fruit of his labor. On the other hand, communism is just a stupid idea because it suggests that everyone works and shares the fruit. In the beginning, the communist comrades work and share. However, after awhile, they start to question the system because they see that there are many who do not work as hard but still enjoy the same fruit. Therefore, eventually, everyone will stop and the system breaks down. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, I was so happy because it proved to me that I had understood the game. The sad thing is that communism is still ruling my home country because the communist comrades still refuse to change. They are holding on to their power because they still have empty pockets which they plan to fill up with the people’s bones and skulls.

Sometimes, we see others succeed, but we still stubbornly refuse to accept the fact that they are better than us because we know that we are weaker and afraid that we can never become like them even if we try. Many of us hate the Yankees because we know that our favorite team can never become like the New York Yankees. Perhaps, some of us want to defect and become Yankee fans, but we are afraid that others will label us as “traitors”. Therefore, we force ourselves to like our losing team by lying to ourselves–”it is ok because I am a true fan”. We choose to enjoy the pain and humiliation of defeat every year while the Yankees fans are celebrating.

For those who hate the U.S., please look at your own government. Are the leaders of your country corrupt? Perhaps, they are the evil individuals who take away your food and shelter. If you still hate the U.S., please study harder or become smarter to help your country compete with us. If you still hate the U.S. and do not know what to do, I would like to suggest that, first, you learn from us and then you use that knowledge to beat us. If you are still stubborn and refusing to understand, I would like to offer this simple analogy: Imagine that you are running a marathon and the U.S. is the leader. You must gather your strength and courage to beat the U.S. because you know in your heart that the U.S. will not slow down to let you win. The U.S. will always go after the gold medal even though it has won it many times. It competes because it constantly wants to advance human civilization.