Great article! I too have been focusing reading more biographies of great men. Much more useful than self improvement books by business gurus.
mythago
· 9 months ago
Great post, J.D. I particularly appreciated seeing the emphasis on generosity. Sharing doesn't just give you a warm, fuzzy feeling, but it comes back and rewards you in ways you never expected.
Mr. Jones
· 9 months ago
I appreciate the strong admonition against debt. It's funny because as a college history professor each semester for years when I'd talk about the history of consumerism, I'd show my students a graph of the national savings rate. At the end of the graph the bars would dip below the zero line and I'd explain that the country now had a negative savings rate--on the whole, Americans we're spending more than they were taking in. And I'd say something like, "Of course this isn't sustainable. We're heading for a disaster because there's eventually going to be a day of reckoning." And here we are sadly.
Robert
· 9 months ago
This is just what I needed to read this morning. Thanks, JD.
Steven Copley
· 9 months ago
I thing this article is great. It's clear we can learn things that are still applicable from those who have gone before. Just one thing though.. You mentioned debt being useful in business and I have to disagree here. Businesses are defined as people according to our laws and as we shouldn't as people, seek debt, businesses should likewise not seek it either. Debt is a scourge on the last few generations of Americans. As the professor above me said, the day for reckoning has come. Debt in all forms is bad.
Art Gonzalez
· 9 months ago
I would rephrase rules "Pay Yourself FIrst" and "Give Generously" by following the Biblical model for financial stewardship:
1. Pay God First. God doesn't need our money but is a sign of obedience. And it must be 10% (tithe) of your income given to the purpose of evangelization. Malachi 3, 8-10.
2. Pay your three yearly offerings. See Deuteronomy 16:16
3. Pay yourself second. Save and be dilligent. Utilize Joseph's model of saving for a rainy day. Save 20% of your income. Genesis 47, 26
What we're going through as a nation has been something you've been warning us against for years. I'm grateful for your insight and helpful tips on Get Rich Slowly. And I love this post. What a great reminder of the things that really matter. I love the quote by Henry Ford. We often neglect trying to be good in our efforts to be rich, successful, powerful and inspirational. Being good and having good will towards others is the only thing that will make any of these other things matter.
Jsthegr8
· 9 months ago
Thanks
Harold Shaw
· 9 months ago
Great post and a lot of useful information to remind us of things we should have been and should be doing especially in these "interesting" times. Many of the things that are mentioned here are things that in the last 8 years, my wife and I have tried very hard to practice. I especial liked the link to Joe's Goals, I have been looking for a training log that is simple yet powerful and this looks to cover what I want it to do.
Thank you for your posts, they are excellent and yes this blog is one that I actually stop and read, not skim.
Not sure about generosity...
· 9 months ago
I recently turned 20 and from this vantage point, generosity seems like the quick way to the poor house. If I'm generous with knowledge, people pick my brain for free. If I'm generous with emotion, people abuse that generosity. If I'm generous with money, people continue to be lazy. Why should I be generous?
Sarah
· 9 months ago
I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don't know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.
Generousity isn't necessarily giving everything you have to others in sacrifice of yourself. It can mean helping someone who is struggling, particularly when you are in a position to lend a hand. I helped a friend talk out problems he was having with his business, threw him some ideas just to break the logjam he was in and get his thoughts flowing. If he suddenly started coming to me weekly, then I might accuse him of "picking my brain" or I'd start mentioning he had to put me on his payroll, but that didn't happen. Similarly, taking time to help folks out via volunteering some of my time to a charity is fine. Having some of those folks show up on my doorstep expecting me to provide for them is abuse. You need to draw those lines, people take from you what you're willing to give them. If you never say no, people will continue to ask and demand more from you and then you really do end up in the poor house.
Garry, Ontario ,Canada
· 9 months ago
I find it ironic that the quote in the 'Avoid Debt' section is from Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson was an accumulator of stuff - a shop-aholic of sorts. Spending sprees and constant upgrades and renovations to Monticello eventually lead to heavy debt. In his dying days he was planning a state lottery to help pay off creditors. Upon his death, Monticello, his remaining landholdings, and slaves were sold off in order to recoup his $100,000 plus owings.
Joel M
· 9 months ago
Very nice. Thanks for the insight. I think many of us know of these principles, but being reminded/encouraged is almost as powerful as learning them in the first place.
Earlier this year I got my tithe/offering statement from my church, and I couldn't believe how little I gave to the on of the things in my life that is so important. I'm committed this year to giving more than I ever have. I encourage others to do the same... and not necessarily to a religious organization, but any cause you have a heart for.
If you want a true layman's account of monumental events in US History, Studs Terkel can't be beat. He will change the way you see these events.
Hard Times (Great Depression) Good War (WWII) are my favorites. He has so many others:
Please send this article to Obama and all the other maniacs bankrupting us.
Rod Newbound
· 9 months ago
Well compiled JD. My personal favorite is the Golden Rule, but that doesn't make any of the others of less value.
I've noted in some movies, including the recent on about John Adams, that Ben Franklin is portrayed as a heavy drinker and a womanizer. Given his commitment to his thirteen virtues, I suspect this is another case of Hollywood trying to bring down the memory of great men.
Thanks for writing this. I'll pass it on to my children, grandchildren, nieces & nephew.
mythago
· 9 months ago
Rod - it's well-documented that Ben Franklin was something of a hedonist, though I don't doubt that Hollywood exaggerated. This doesn't really make him any less of a great man. I'm willing to be corrected, but I'm not aware of any source that suggests he treated women poorly or thought of them as conquests.
Not sure about generosity....: If every time you've given to others they genuinely abuse that gift, then I'd gently suggest you take a hard look at yourself to find out why you choose the friends/acquaintances/significant others that you do. I'm not saying that it's your fault or that you 'deserve' bad treatment in any way; only that you may be exercising poor judgment in friends or partners, and need to direct your generosity elsewhere. As Peter wisely noted above, generosity doesn' t mean "give it away until you hurt"; it means sharing of yourself, particularly when you are blessed and others are not.
Pinny Cohen
· 9 months ago
JD, fantastic article - I particularly liked your warren buffet quote about patience - that's one true fact of life explained in a very funny way.
Jared O'Toole
· 8 months ago
"do the right thing" if you are always looking out for others and doing the right thing you will have success.
All Comments
1. Pay God First. God doesn't need our money but is a sign of obedience. And it must be 10% (tithe) of your income given to the purpose of evangelization. Malachi 3, 8-10.
2. Pay your three yearly offerings. See Deuteronomy 16:16
3. Pay yourself second. Save and be dilligent. Utilize Joseph's model of saving for a rainy day. Save 20% of your income. Genesis 47, 26
Many blessings,
Art Gonzalez
Quantum Knights
Thank you for your posts, they are excellent and yes this blog is one that I actually stop and read, not skim.
Sarah
http://www.lyricsdigs.com
Earlier this year I got my tithe/offering statement from my church, and I couldn't believe how little I gave to the on of the things in my life that is so important. I'm committed this year to giving more than I ever have. I encourage others to do the same... and not necessarily to a religious organization, but any cause you have a heart for.
If you want a true layman's account of monumental events in US History, Studs Terkel can't be beat. He will change the way you see these events.
Hard Times (Great Depression)
Good War (WWII)
are my favorites. He has so many others:
http://www.amazon.com/Studs-Terkel/e/B000AQ44SI
I've noted in some movies, including the recent on about John Adams, that Ben Franklin is portrayed as a heavy drinker and a womanizer. Given his commitment to his thirteen virtues, I suspect this is another case of Hollywood trying to bring down the memory of great men.
Thanks for writing this. I'll pass it on to my children, grandchildren, nieces & nephew.
Not sure about generosity....: If every time you've given to others they genuinely abuse that gift, then I'd gently suggest you take a hard look at yourself to find out why you choose the friends/acquaintances/significant others that you do. I'm not saying that it's your fault or that you 'deserve' bad treatment in any way; only that you may be exercising poor judgment in friends or partners, and need to direct your generosity elsewhere. As Peter wisely noted above, generosity doesn' t mean "give it away until you hurt"; it means sharing of yourself, particularly when you are blessed and others are not.