oh Jimbo, netflix does rock

 the all mighty dollar and the Almighty Himself.

10.27.09

Spring boarding from last week’s bellowing of Peter in Acts to Simon the Sorcerer that he can’t buy the gifts of God, let’s dive into this passage:     from the parable of Prodigal Son, Luke 15

“²⁸But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 31And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.”    -Luke 15: 28-32

In this story this is the older brother talking angrily to his father as the younger disobedient son has just came home after blowing much of the family fortune stupidly. The older obedient son is irate that the father hasn’t ever given him any prize (a skinny goat) to celebrate, but yet the disobedient son is getting the good stuff (a fat calf). This is often us, looking around and equating our situation with others and making judgments about God, ourselves and most likely others’ situations.

So where’s this all fit in with money? That key line: ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.’ This line infers several things vital to understanding in the spiritual economy:

1. The true riches of life are that we can be with our Father both now and in His presence forever (‘always with me’) in heaven. > Which nullifies any petty squabbling over one person having more than another, when our true riches are of no material means.

      2.    Perhaps the older son has never asked for anything, when the Father was always more than willing (‘all that is mine is yours.’) > James says “you have not, because you ask not”. (James 4:2-3) This is not saying we get whatever we want, but God definitely wants us to express all of our needs to Him. Even if they aren’t so easily expressed, like wanting God’s validation of our work for Him whether it’s a young goat or a letter/card from our child or a ‘I respect and love you’ moment from the wife or maybe it is a material thing.

       3.     Lastly, that everything is ours because we our sons. God is not poor. God literally owns everything “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it,” (Ps.21:1) or “for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.” (Ps. 50:10) Now the Devil is the ruler of this world, when ‘world’ means the systems of behavior/norms/sin we operate on, but God is still in control, power and ownership over the physical earth and increasingly we are giving Him ownership of our free willed souls. SO THE POINT is we are sons and heirs to everything, we can trust God with everything because HE HAS ALL THE NECESSARY MEANS TO SUPPORT US.

 If life was a game of middle school dodge ball and we could pick anyone or thing to be on our team, I’d pick God first to rely on. Who do we pick though each decision and moment in our days? Could we think of a better thing? Even picking $100 billion dollars, would that be safer? ….probably not, money could and ultimately will pass away…(think hyper-inflation or Revelation) Jesus even addresses this idea of trusting anything but Him : “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” – Matthew 24:35  

So who will we trust, experience, rely on, ASK and words to trust?  Trust Jim Cramer or Jim Cramer’s Creator/Redeemer/Sanctifier?  Comment on my friends!

Simon wanted to show Peter the money

This passage came in as a suggested topic, so let’s go for it:

 “ ¹⁸When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money ¹⁹and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”

 ²⁰Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because  you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!” -Acts 8:18-20

 I love this passage because it shows that people haven’t changed in thousands of years and that the Bible is more applicable than ever. Simon we know from earlier verses was a popular sorcerer of the time and probably was very accustomed to charging people for his services (just like witch doctors of today) thus naturally he offered cash for the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit is only given to those who believe by faith. In fact, Ephesians 1:14 says the Holy Spirit is a deposit of our salvation and salvation is through faith by grace alone. (Eph. 2:8).

 So we can’t buy God’s gifts, that’s why they are gifts. Gifts are only gifts if they are free. We can not  buy or earn salvation. Giving to our churches or to Alana and I will not earn salvation, or the Holy Spirit or any gifts. What price could ever even be enough to earn God’s favor? You think buying for the person who ‘has it all’ is tough, try buying for the Creator of all.  

 But the world tells us different everyday. We can buy security, freedom, happiness, pleasure and satisfaction. If we are really honest, we all know we have trusted things of this world to brings us these needs. Whether it’s buying the right vacation, right home, investing in right places, paying for extra insurance or being generous to hope God will be.

 These things aren’t bad in themselves, but they give us an opportunity to trust in things that aren’t God. And that’s bad. Simon was not unlike you and me, he trusted in this passage for money to be his ticket to God’s gifts. We think money will get us closer to God or get us things to satisfy where alone God can.

 But what if we had the opposite view of trust, God and money from Simon’s? We will explore more about money next week.

Watch this powerful video by Johnny Cash “Hurt”, shortly before his death in 2003. Can put money, fame, power in perspective.

There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt. But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand. As he came forth of his mother’s womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand. And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind? All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness. Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion. Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.

Ecclesiastes 5:13-19

Thursday, November 19th, 2009

The Good, bad and the master

The Greek Philosopher Aristotle unveiled the following truth for us to devour,

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

So if you are eyeing excellence in all that you do, then gulp the above quote in a single stretch and let it be a part of you throughout your life.

Good habits and bad habits are two great rivals and they produce exactly the opposite effect and their path is exactly in the opposite direction. Nevertheless, their basic character is the same. In other words, you form or break a bad habit exactly how you form or break a good habit.

You become what you habitually do, and what you habitually do confirms your success or lack of it.

It’s as important to break a bad habit as forming a good habit and surprisingly enough, when you form a good habit as a counter or an antidote to a bad habit, the bad habit is banished from your premises. The opposite is also quite true. Many good habits are lost amidst the storm of bad habits which replaced them.

People many times overlook the fact that bad habits could also be small things and not necessarily big things, which could hinder their success if not completely annihilate it.

Bad habits need not be something big like alcohol addiction, gambling or spending too much unnecessarily, seeking to fight with others, verbally or physically, smoking, drug addiction, pornography, etc. It could be nail biting, nose picking, over eating, procrastination, lack of self-control, unconsciously fostering anger, resentment, jealous, etc.

These small habits have every potential to put a full stop to a person’s success.

It’s always that “small temptation” or “the urge to check out” that ignites the bad habits. If you could and would resist or don’t  give in to the temptation knowing that this habit wouldn’t help you or support you but only see you decline, then by all means snap it at that moment with all your might as the next step!

PART 2

PART 3

PART 4

PART 5

Wish you all the riches to come with God’s blessings

Peter Anand

There is a famous proverb which explains the true color of bad habits vividly,

“Bad habits are like a comfortable bed, easy to get into, but hard to get out of.”

On the contrary, a man/woman who understood the role that good habits play in his/her success, would form all the habits that would support them and make their success journey a faster and a pleasant ones.

When you start forming good habits, you’ll be surprised by the fact that you have become different from the other people and other people see you as a role model and would be inspired, imitate those habits from you, for unfortunately there are few ones in comparison to the large population who has prominent good habits or ones who take the effort to cultivate good habits. Good habits and its formation has become a rare thing among the public.

Not only you could be a role model to others, but with each new good habit you are consolidating your own character and your personality, which are the very foundation for your success.

Tell you what, if you start forming good habits, people tend to help you more, be more amicable and want you to be successful. They start to help you and most of the people would move to the sidelines for you to proceed. In your office, in your social situations and at home, you’d be seen in astonishment, in good will as a friend not as a foe.

This is because they would see some sort of purity around you, an aura, and as a result don’t want a good, noble man/woman to fail or to suffer.

Experts say that a good habit could be formed in about 3-4weeks, if done consistently on a daily basis. Since we all share one factor which is common to all, regardless of our race or nationality, which is our MIND, this 21 days formula is uniform across all over the world giving the good news that you can start enlisting the good habits you want and start implementing them just as effectively as someone on the other end of the world.

That’s one of the main reasons why it is so important to be open to people and observe them, so that we could learn the good habits from them and know how a good habit is affecting their life positively. This notion equally applies for the bad habits as well so that one could avoid them at any cost, for they will cost dearly.

Some instances where you can learn from people to cultivate a good habit or to avoid a bad habit are:

–A person you know is a spendthrift, someone who spends money prodigally after which has worn out uses his/her credit card every other minute not minding about the interest rate but interested in buying at a faster rate, in bulk.

– A friend of yours who is frank in his/her dealings, and who doesn’t play favoritisms and is just and fair toward other people. Now that’s a gem of a habit.

– One of your associates is so punctual and has good manners toward other people such as being courteous and polite, not judging others, etc.

– Someone who overeats or gormandizes.

– You know of a man/woman who likes to belittle someone or use sarcasm as a weapon to their pleasure.

Breaking or making a habit may seem to be a tough affair. It’s those initial days of forming a new habit or ridding a bad habit that needs your will power. It’s like going against the gravity but after a certain limit, gravity becomes zero and we don’t have to struggle to keep ourselves floating in the air. It becomes easy and we start to enjoy the ride!

During these days of changing a habit or replacing it, just visualize the end result that you’d achieve once the habit is yours! Just think of the benefits that you’d draw from it. Also, it is wise to think about the ill-effects if the habit is practiced through out your life.

This visualizing will help to fly against the gravity and to reach the outer space and be free of your bondage or to be happier and more powerful than ever before.

PART 1

PART 3

PART 4

PART 5

Wish you all the riches to come with God’s blessings

Peter Anand

When you are getting away from a bad habit, just know that God hasn’t given you the mind to follow the bad but has indeed given you the mind to follow everything that is good, to lead a life that is full of blessings and nourishment.

He has given you every good in you, but it is up to you to use them. You already have patience, punctuality, confidence in you, but you need to activate them by working them out.

Never think even for a moment that you cannot come out of your spin or get out of the rut or cannot break a habit that has been torturing you for a long time. Many people before you had experienced the bad habit that you may have and have also gotten rid of them successfully.

You are not shortage of examples that preceded you in this area. So you can come out of your bondage at any time you wish. Think about it now, and take action about it the next minute!!

Good habit is a daily discipline which is simple to follow once formed but doesn’t give you simple results—but great ones. Successful people have habits that may be difficult on the surface but for them it has become a part and parcel of them and they practice all the good habits unconsciously or consciously  day  after day after day ensuring a strong foundation for their success. No wonder why they could EXCEL in any undertakings!!

Good habits are much pronounced in highly successful people than the bad habits. They consciously or unconsciously would have developed good habits that have supported them all through their success journey.

Good habits come into play in how you treat people, what you do all day long, what you read, what you view, how you perceive life, how you maintain your health and wealth, how you talk  and act with others and in all the activities that you carry out daily.

Good habits bring the best in you and equip you with things that give you the extra edge, to make you a better person who deserves every riches in all forms.

So just be watchful of all the bad ones that pull you down. Even nail-biting could give an impression of being clumsy and immature among the people you hang around.

Bad or negative habit really feels good but they ultimately collapse you leaving you with a big pain in your life; good habits may really feel tough or without “appeal”, but they are the ones which will come to save you when you are drowning, when you need help or when you desperately need an uplifting in your life, leaving you with pleasure that’s multi times better than the pleasure that the bad ones give you.

PART 1

PART 2

PART 4

PART 5

Wish you all the riches to come with God’s blessings

Peter Anand

It’s always better to have a small initial pain or discomfort when forming a good habit than to have a severe infinite pain as a result of the bad or negative habits!!

–It may be easy to be impolite or be angry with someone, but the aftermath effect would not be something to be appreciated.

– It may be “fun” or “cool” to drive at 100 miles per hour, or to smoke packs Marlboro after Marlboro, but at the end the sufferings  may not be something that could be undone, like one could do in a piece of  software!!

– It may be comfortable to sleep an hour extra after getting necessary rest. But that time could be utilized for a much better task or reading a good book!

The famous self-help guru, Anthony Robbins says,

“Repetition is the mother of skills”

So when you repeat a good habit you become skillful at it( A good habit which could be an act or a job that could very well support you), and after a while it becomes unconscious and embedded in you.

So repeat all the habits that you think are good or that which would help and support you.

In the same vein, if you stop exercising your bad habits they would have to eventually become extinct. It’s not just a notion but a fact that could be explained scientifically how it happens!!

Start seeing the good habits in the light of moral values. It’s a truth that the good habits have a strong nexus with morality and moral concepts. Think of yourself as becoming pure with each good habit that you develop. Your goal should be to become as pure as possible as you can now see, the benefits of good habits are umpteen and will be automatic.

And most important of all, give your grateful thanks whenever you reap the benefits of your good habits, for this one good habit of  expressing your gratitude, in itself, has the tendency to shower you incessantly with more blessings.

If someone said that they are proud of you for a good habit or you just earned some extra money by your good habit, just say thanks to God, that infinite intelligence, and wait curiously for more!!

So what are you waiting for dear ones? It’s your life, it’s your choice, and it’s your time now to have a go!

Check out this small list of both good and bad habits coming up next!!

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

PART 5

Wish you all the riches to come with God’s blessings

Peter Anand

Here is an example list of both good habits and bad habits– good habits which you can follow and the bad ones which you can avoid:

GOOD HABITS(to embrace):

– Feeding your mind with good messages from books, audios or any other form of input.

– Eating healthy diet, eating moderately and eating at proper time.

– Exercising daily according to your doctor’s prescription. (Any form of exercise that you like).

– Never-give-up in any situation on a daily basis.

– Telling the truth and being honest at all situations.

– Appreciate and compliment others where it is due.

– Being punctual and respecting others time.

– Opening up your spiritual account and putting savings in to it, day after day.

– Having a reading session with your family.

– Never retaliate or pay back anyone who has done some injustice to you.

– Having a great interest in ones family, and respecting ones spouses and children’s rights and being a good dad or mom by listening to a child’s need.

– Being a sincere student by completing tasks on time, taking real interest in the subject and helping others students with her or his studies.

– Making others feel comfortable and happy.

– Helping others whenever it is possible for you.

BAD HABITS (TO AVOID):

– Being over-indulgent any form of activities.

– Thinking that one has to win every single time to succeed in life.

– Passing judgments on others.

– Thinking that one has reached his/her limits in life and don’t have a chance to grow any further, may be because of age or economy or any other circumstance which one may think has put an end to his/her growth.

– Addicted to smoking and excessive alcohol consumption.

– Drug addiction of any sort.

– Passing the buck—nothing beneficial could ever come when one blame others unreasonably or unnecessarily.

– Playing favorites and not treating others equally.

– Allowing your mind to think negative and lifeless low level thoughts.

– Thinking that others are superior or inferior to you.

– Not listening to others while they talk.

– Using sarcasm on others as a way to belittle them or to have fun.

– Having “borrowing money” as ones vocation.

– And trivial but significant things like nail-biting, hair pulling, nose picking, chocolate and ice creams as a regular habit.

“You put your efforts to form your good habits first, and then they put their effort to form you, your life and your success.”

The good habits make you beautiful and the bad habits make your life an ugly one, and it’s now certain that you are the master who is to have a bunch of good habits in your repertoire!

Good or bad, as a master yourself you choose them!!

PART 1

PART 2

PART 3

PART 4

Wish you all the riches to come with God’s blessings

Peter Anand

Silver in the Hair

Gold in the Teeth.

Stones in the Kidneys

Sugar in the Blood.

Lead in the Feet.

Iron in the Arteries.

And an inexhaustible supply of Natural Gas.

I never thought I’d accumulate such wealth!

(Clears Throat)

Ya Know, I was just Thinking — “My opinion on Money as been ALLL messed up virtuAlly my entire Life.”   I have never hated Money, and I actuAlly have almost always respected Money, however, recently I have been Seeing Money as a prison, a farce, a distraction.   Ever since I Became a “Spiritual” man.   I AM Now almost entirely finished reading Rich Dad, Poor Dad for my First time.   I say my First time, Because I AM going to read Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki many times in my Life — I AM SURE.   Why???   Because Rich Dad, Poor Dad is a great book!!!   Thanks to Me reading my Rich Dad, Poor Dad book, I have been awoken from my retarded ass irrational Belief about Money — ever since I Became a “Spiritual” man, that is. I Love Money.   And I AM Now UNafraid of yet another thing — and that is, speaking yet another One of my TRUTHS.   I LOVE MONEY!!!   One more time — I LOOOOOOVE MONEYYYYYY!!!!!!   And You are a Broke Liar if You Believe Money is bad.

Money is Not bad.   Money is empty.   Money is neutral.   Money is a tool…in fact, Money is a universal tool.   Tools are Not inherently bad or good or anything for that matter.   Tools … just …  ARE what they ARE.   Period. Here I AM Thinking that Now that Because I AM “Spiritual”, I do Not focus on Money, nooo, Money is a trap, Money is the root of All evil, Money is THEE anti-”Spiritual”.   Forget that.   You Know what Money is???   Get ready Because You are going to Be using and Hearing what I AM about to say for years to come.   Ready?!?!?!

MONEY      IS      WILL      POWER      IN      FORM.

Got it?!!

SpirituAllity is Nothing but developing your inner “Money” Source.   The Source that does Not run out.   “SpirituAllity” is developing your ability to Become YOUR OWN FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM — — — Creating “Money” i.e. — Choices, Free Will, Capability — — — OUT OF THIN  — FREAKIN —- AIR —— also Known as — THE VOID. Get this.   “SpirituAllity” & “MateriAllity” are Two so-called “opposite” masks on the SAME FACE.   NIETHER of them is Real.   BUT!!! “SpirituAllity” is RealER. Why???   Because SpirituAllity is Always Here.   SpirituAllity is the relatively invisible Source from which All relatively visible ‘Things’ are Formed.   Thought.   Emotion.   Imagination. — — —      — — —      — — — Books.   Speeches.   Cities.   Spiritual Always comes first AND material is Always on it’s way OUT of existence.   Once Spirit Becomes matter, it is in its latest cycles of growth and therefore is inching closer and ever closer to Death — return to Spirit.   The more material anything Becomes, the more immaterial that thing Becomes.   Cycles necessitate paradox.

So Spirit is just the better Form of Choice, Freedom and Will Power.   Why???   Because Spirit is the Source, which means that Spirit gets first dibs, Spirit runs out last and Spirit is Always fresh (i.e. “Present”).   Money is the Form Form of Choice, Freedom and Will Power & Spirit is the Formless Form of Choice, Freedom and Will Power.   That’s it.   Also, Money is the dependent Way do achieve greater and ever greater Free Will.   You must depend on something outside of You in Order to receive your Money……UNLESS……YOU are a Central Bank of the sort that can and does CREATE its OWN Money — THEN, THAT is the closest that You could EVER get to Spirit on the ‘Material’ Plane.   THAT is Material magic — pulling from The VOID — like a Shaman, Magus or New Age Manifestation SUPER Expert.

In conclusion, let Me TELL YOU that your Belief about Money is trash, UNless You Love Money ALMOST as much as You Love your Soul.   Why are You broke???   ARE You broke???   Why are You living from paycheck to paycheck to paycheck like a dog chasing its own tale???   Because Money is “bad” ???   Because “I Don’t Care about Money” ???   Because You are lying out your ass??? HINT: Always go for the Number 3.   Where on Earth did you LEARN about Money???   DID You learn about Money???   Where could You possibly have gotten your Self-sabotaging, insane, delusional Beliefs about Money???   Probably School.   Probably University.   Probably Society.   Probably Parents.   Probably stupid dumb ass poor ass “UNlucky” helpless broke folk that You are foolishly emulating.   Our gap between Rich and errrBody else is is widening like a Mother’s vagina during delivery.   That’s wide, dude.   EVERYTHING around You costs Money.   EVERYTHING. SO DO YOU THINK THAT IT IS TIME TO LEARN ABOUT MONEY AND START LIVING AS THE RICH FOOL THAT YOU DREAM ABOUT???   “Hell Yeah!!!!!!”, says my other Self.

So where o where do we start.   Well how bout, somewhere other than — FORMAL EDUCATION.   YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO LEARN HOW TO BE FINANCIALLY IN-DEPENDENT IN SCHOOL.   YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO LEARN HOW TO BE EXCEEDINGLY FINANCIALLY OUT-DEPENDENT IN SCHOOL.      Duh!!!      FinanciAlly in-dependent people with Minds capable of critical analysis and financial genius are PLAGUE to their Slave-Masters.   Thus, KILL THEIR SPIRITUAL WILL POWER FIRST — — — THENNN KILL THEIR MATERIAL WILL POWER SECOND (that Way they NEVER tap into their capacity for Infinite IN-dependence).   Perfect Plan.   And everyBody around You, except for those “special” few (few = 3), canNot THINK for themselves, canNot PAY for themselves, and canNot BE for themselves — — — just to have what they deserve, desire and are thus, destined to realize … … … but destiny can last forever, and Infinity is a pretty long time to Be patient, passive and imPerfect.

Just research.   Search for Financial Truth.

1)   DEFINE your financial goal.

2)   SEEK your financial goal.

3)   ENJOY your financial goal.

Simple.

Also, what I AM about to say is somewhat UNrelated to my most recent points, but this is just wunuh dem thangs that is pissin Me off Because it is just so stupid.   I AM a Salesman.   “Oooooo, Run AWay!!!   Ahhhhhh!!!!!!   Fuck You!!!   You HEARTless lying crook!!!   You scumbag!!!”   Yeah, yeah, yeah, Why don’t You go sleep in your empty bank account…and Trust Me, it only takes One Per Cent more than Ten Per Cent of us to take out All of our Money from our bank accounts and You would See just how empty your bank account REALLY is.   Regardless, I AM a SalesMAN.   People EXPECT and most importantly, people “KNOW” that I AM only interested in their Money and would sell them their own feces if I could.   People Know that I do Not really Believe in what I sell — “Sales people are Hustlers, don’t You “Know” that??????“   Wrong!!!   Hustlers are Hustlers.   Sales people do what got You everything that You own and everything around You…UNless You were stupid enough to get tricked by a Hustler, which happens to ALL of us — it’s Name is GOVERNMENT, & HEALTHCARE & PHARMACEUTICAL DRUG DEALERS.

Let Me tell You somethin.   If You and your people that YOU Know, would apply your  Same principles about Money and anything from a Sales person Being a mixture for INSTANT Say-tanic ‘Conflict of Interest’, then y’All would Not Trust … …. …

1. POLITICIANS — (“Trust” Sales Person)
2. FOOD & DRINK SUPPLIERS & PRODUCERS — (“Energy” Sales Person)
3. TOBACCO INDUSTRY — (“False Inner Peace” Sales Person)
4. MUSICIANS — (“Sound” Sales Person)
5. PHARMACEUTICAL CORPORATIONS — (Mutha F**k*n “DRUG Dealers” — “Lack of Inner Strength” Sales Person)
6. DOCTORS — (“Health” Sales Person)
7. EMPLOYERS — (“Carrot On A Stick” Sales Person)
8. SOCIETY — (“Identity” Sales Person)
9. ‘NEWS’ MEDIUMS — (“InFormation/Thought” Sales Person)
10. BANKS — (Insatiable Loan Sharks — “Credit, i.e. Empty Confidence” Sales Person)
11. CHILDREN’S MEDIA — (Toys, Cartoons, Movies… — “Kick ‘Em While They’re Down” Sales Person)
12. UNIVERSITY — (“Good Employee/Slave Mentality” Sales Person)
13. MILITARY & POLICE — (“Fight for Peace” & “Security” Sales Person)
14. WOMEN — (“Look at Me, Look at Me, Don’t Look at Me!” Sales Person)
15. YOUR SELF — (“Competition” Sales Person)

See what I mean???   Hahahahahahahahaha.

AnyWay, take that smile on your face and brighten someBody’s day with it.   Learn how to achieve, maintain and expand your financial in-dependence.   Remember how to achieve, maintain and expand your Spiritual in-dependence, i.e. DUST OF YOUR FREE WILL and Be easy.   Live YOUR most Perfect Life, so that You don’t project your discontent on your environment and perpetuate UNnecessary dis-ease resulting from Self-sabotage and foolish Ignorance of Self-Reflection.

“If another ‘I’ can See something in You that You canNot See in yourSelf — — — — — — You got work to do.“

— Me, mutha$^#%@

I AM posting SIX of my best Sources of Financial Consciousness at my bottom.

Thank You,

In the NAME of my BALANCE, the WORD of my LOVE,

Jelani Asar

Void) THIS is how IIIIII make Money.   ONE Way, that I make my Money.   I SELL OxySilver.   Join with Me and Sell Life-Saving and Sustaining Solutions to non-Super Success!!!   OxySilver is the MOST AMAZING supplement that exists outside of You, (and thus, is based on a System of out-dependence,) THAT I HAVE FOUND THUS FAR — and I AM a DEVOTED researcher and Mind-Body-Spirit NUT.

I ALSO make my Money by Writing my Blogs, Writing my Freelance Articles and Writing my Book on … … … You guessed it … Mind-Body-Spirit — FREEDOM & SECURITY & BLISS. I also have Created my very own GOURMET Cookie company Named — Jelani’s Signature Gourmet Cookies — look out for Jelani’s Signature Gourmet Cookies over (y)our Holidays!!!   I AM still developing my website to Perfection, however, I can certainly direct You to my Business Partner —Mr. Kevin “Delicious Delights & Catered Cakes” Ashford’s — Website — http://www.cateredcakes.com/home.cfm?view=main&link=3. Just so You Know, I bake my cookies with my finest glorious golden Ghee (look it up if You are UNfamiliar with “Ghee” — Ghee is our greatest and most UNIVERSALLY beneficial OIL – ON OUR PLANET.   See if I AM lying.) , my Honey, my Agave Nectar, my Natural& Organic Ingredients and my Love, and my FREE SPIRIT —— All for You babay. I AM ready to grace, add to or SAVE your “Thanks Giving.”   I give Thanks to You.

LOOK into OxySilver and You can See what I AM All about — — — OxySilver — — — by Dr. Leonard Horowitz, Mr. Jelani Asar DuBois Snipes & Mrs. Healthy World LLC — MY Homesite — www.OXYSILVER.com/1319

People with RICHES in their EYE do Not ally with poor products, of any sort.   See Why I chose OxySilver as ONE of my THREE main means of Cash Flow generation.   Thank You.   — www.OXYSILVER.com/1319

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1)   Great Intro to Thinking like the RICH B**CH that You are destined to Become — — — Rich Dad, Poor Dad — — — by Mr. Robert T. Kiyosaki — Amazon.com — http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_0_7?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=rich+dad+poor+dad&x=0&y=0&sprefix=rich+da

2)   Great Way to dissolving your Beliefs that make You AFRAID of Money instead of IN LOVE with your Money — — — Breaking The Money Barriers (and Workbook) — — — by Dr. Michael J. Duckett — Amazon.com — http://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Money-Barriers-Michael-Duckett/dp/0966810708/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258298173&sr=1-1

THREE)   Great Way to Know how You get when You get Money and property in your hands and how HIGH You get off Money — — — Monopoly — — — by The Parker Brothers — GameHouse.com – Computer Ed. — http://www.gamehouse.com/mac-games/macintosh-monopoly-here-now-edition

4)   Great Way to really really really LEARN how You and your BeLoved MONEY treat each other as You play this Game of Life and do your best to fly aWay from ‘The Rat Race’ — — — CashFlow 101: How to Get Out of The Rat Race — by Mr. Robert T. Kiyosaki & his Wifey — Homesite — http://www.cashflowboardgame.com/

5)   BEST Way to Know the TRUTH about Money, Banking and World Government — — — The Creature from Jekyll Island & (Book & Seminar) — — — by Mr. Edward G. Griffin — Homesites — (Book) – http://www.realityzone.com/creature.html — — — (Seminar) – http://www.realityzone.com/cr4.html

SIX)   Hardcore Truth about Money, but DO NOT allow these Words and Sounds and scenes to draw You back into your conditioned Money hole.   Number 5 and Number SIX reMind You that everything, even Money is Illusory and ULTIMATELY Not Real, which is Why I AM posting this Knowledge LAST.   HOWEVER, regardless of how “UNReal” Money is, it is God on your “Material” plane, REMEMBER THAT — — — What Is Money? — — — by Mr. David Icke — YouTube — 

Void) THIS is how IIIIII make Money.   ONE Way, that I make my Money.   I SELL OxySilver.   Join with Me and Sell Life-Saving and Sustaining Solutions to non-Super Success!!!   OxySilver is the MOST AMAZING supplement that exists outside of You,( and thus, is based on a System of out-dependence,) THAT I HAVE FOUND THUS FAR — and I AM a DEVOTED researcher and Mind-Body-Spirit NUT.

I ALSO make my Money by Writing my Blogs, Writing my Freelance Articles and Writing my Book on … … … You guessed it … Mind-Body-Spirit — FREEDOM & SECURITY & BLISS. I also have Created my very own GOURMET Cookie company Named — Jelani’s Signature Gourmet Cookies — look out for Jelani’s Signature Gourmet Cookies over (y)our Holidays!!!   I AM still developing my website to Perfection, however, I can certainly direct You to my Business Partner — Mr. Kevin “Delicious Delights & Catered Cakes” Ashford’s — Website — http://www.cateredcakes.com/home.cfm?view=main&link=3 — — — Click on the sub-title — “Specialty & Gourmet Desserts” under the “Menu” title. I bake my cookies with my finest glorious golden Ghee (look it up if You are UNfamiliar with “Ghee” — Ghee is our greatest and most UNIVERSALLY beneficial OIL – ON OUR PLANET.   See if I AM lying.) , Honey, Agave Nectar, Natural& Organic Ingredients and my Love, and my FREE SPIRIT —— All for You babay. I AM ready to grace, add too or SAVE your “Thanks Giving.”   I give Thanks to You.

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Freebee (Numer-ology – Our Study of  Letters & NUMBERS):

M – O – N – E – Y

M = 4

O = 6

N = 5

E = 5

Y = 7

MONEY = 4 + 6 + 5 + 5 + 7 = 27

27 = 2 + 7 = 9

MONEY = 9 =Universal Service

REMEMBER That.

I’ve just read this on  a university chat board:

If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?

Sadly, our first impulse is to try to answer the question.

Then we do a double take.  Are we trying to sell happiness?  Aren’t happiness and money two different currencies?

Then we get the real meaning.  What would you do that would make your friends jealous?

Happiness is not consistent with raw competition.

Happiness is consistent with good ’sportsmanship’ and fair play, yes.  We can  be competitive when competitiveness is kept within the bounds of pleasure and fun.  As soon as winning becomes so important that we care neither about how we behave nor how our actions impact others, as soon as competition becomes excluding, then happiness is inconsistent with the project.

When happiness means oneupmanship that is not happiness.  It is just the pleasure – the pleasure of meanness.

When we win we should be deeply grateful to the losers

This one always baffled my students.  When we win, we should be grateful to the losers, for without their willingness to engage in a race with us, we could not win.  The three cheers for the losing team is not a ritual.   When the three cheers  is not longer more important than the game itself, then maybe we should stop playing the game.

People won’t play when the refereeing is bad

When a game gets too rough, in it or in the consequences after the finish, people stop playing.  They simply won’t come back.

We can bribe some greedy players to take part, true.  The world is a big place and if we have enough money, we can always find enough people who are unscrupulous, unsightful, greedy or masochistic.

Sometimes we are dazzled by their participation to think that something is acceptable. After all, why not take the money and worry about the morality later?

Go on, then.  Do it.  But when you come back to play with us, remember that we will not necessarily be impressed by your spoils.  We won’t give you a headstart in our game when you return ~ because headstarts are not what it is about. Fitting in is what it is about.  Taking part is what it is about.  Playing a game that everyone enjoys is what it is about.

If you don’t fit in now

If you don’t fit in now, you won’t fit in later just because you ran away to prove you could do something.

You have three choices:

• Stay and make your way with us by fitting in.
• Leave and find a group where you fit in and you feel you can be loyal and they to you.
• Leave and take part in a race where winning and losing is what it is about ~ but enjoy the race for its own sake.  No one else will be impressed.  They aren’t impressed that you won it. They want to win to lord it over you. Get it?  So if you race, just enjoy it.

Race for the sake of it, not for the sake of money or happiness

So race because you want to.  Don’t race to get rich or to be happy or to impress anyone.

And if you enjoy the race so much, do it here!  Now!  If you just like racing and you don’t want to hurt anyone, they will enjoy your enjoyment and you will fit in.

And if someone insists on racing .  .  .

But if someone is racing against you and hurting you, if you cannot protect yourself, if your really, really cannot, then maybe it is best to leave and find a place where you can be yourself.

Leave to do what you must do but not because of them. Leave them to their misery and meanness

Happiness is just not competitive

Really it is not.  It is about finding a group where you are loyal to them and them to you.

Dans ce dossier, inspiré du livre “Where Keynes went wrong” de Hunter Lewis, je traite des principales idées de Keynes. La première partie traitait des taux d’intérêt, la seconde partie traite de l’épargne.

Je commence par citer Keynes directement: “Consumption is the sole object of all economic activity”.

Tiens-tiens, ne blâme-t-on pas régulièrement le capitalisme comme étant à l’origine de notre “société de consommation”? C’est plutôt des décénies de politiques gouvernementales keynesiennes qui nous ont amenées dans cet état. Voici comment.

 Keynes méprisait l’épargne. Il était plus spécifiquement contre l’épargne stagnante (idle savings), c’est-à-dire l’épargne qui n’est pas investie, puisque celle-ci réduit l’activité économique et crée du chômage. Keynes a même été jusqu’à déclarer que les guerres et les catastrophes naturelles ont, au cours de l’histoire, créé de la richesse en réduisant l’épargne stagnante. Il est cependant préférable de réduire l’épargne stagnante en consommant plus ou en travaillant moins. Selon Keynes, plus nous devenons riches, plus nous épargnons, c’est-à-dire que notre propension marginale à consommer diminue, ce qui est un problème majeur. On peut régler partiellement ce problème en taxant plus sévèrement les riches, leur soutirant ainsi cette vilaine épargne et la donnant aux moins fortunés qui eux vont dépenser et faire “rouler l’économie”.

Finalement, Keynes a introduit le paradoxe de l’économie (paradox of thrift), qui stipule qu’en temps de récession, les gens se mettent à épargner au cas où ils perdraient leur emploi. Cette réduction de la consommation engendre une baisse de la production, qui engendre du chômage, ce qui réduit encore plus la consommation, et ainsi de suite… Il faut donc que le gouvernement dépense à la place des gens pour stimuler l’économie et stopper ce cercle vicieux.

Réfutation:

Premièrement, qu’est-ce que de l’épargne stagnante? C’est l’argent que vous mettez dans votre coffre-fort ou sous votre matelas. Parions que vous n’en avez pas tellement! En effet, même l’argent qui gît dans votre compte-chèque est réinjectée dans l’économie par les banques sous forme de prêts. Ce concept est donc une illusion. L’épargne est très rarement stagnante, elle est constamment redirigée dans l’économie.

Deuxièmement, je ne pense pas avoir vraiment besoin d’ajouter quoi que ce soit au sujet des guerres et des catastrophes. Si vous ne comprenez pas, vous n’avez qu’à lire le sophisme de la vitre brisée de Bastiat. Le gros bon sens vous reviendra rapidement.

Troisièmement, veut-on vraiment travailler moins pour réduire cette fameuse épargne stagnante? Si on travaille moins, on produit moins et donc on est moins riche. On ne s’enrichit pas en travaillant moins, c’est le gros bon sens.

Quatrièmement, est-ce vraiment un problème que les gens deviennent riches et qu’ils épargnent? L’épargne nourrit l’investissement, qui permet d’augmenter la production et l’emploi. Cette affirmation basée sur la propension marginale à consommer n’est qu’un autre sophisme de Keynes provenant de ce concept erroné d’épargne stagnante. Ce n’est qu’une manière fallacieuse de justifier des impôts élevés pour les riches. Comme le montre la courbe de Laffer, cette façon de faire ne fera que réduire l’activité économique. Les riches ne sont pas riches pour rien; ils ont une habileté à créer de la richesse pour la société. En les imposants outrageusement, nous les décourageons à faire ce qu’ils font le mieux.

Finalement, le fameux paradoxe de l’économie est une théorie totallement déconnectée de la réalité. Si le gouvernement taxe les riches et se met à dépenser l’argent pour stimuler l’économie, les entreprises ne vont pas se mettre à embaucher et à investir pour autant puisqu’elles opèrent significativement sous leur capacité de production (comme c’est le cas présentement). Comme vous pouvez le voir ici, elles ne vont qu’utiliser du temps supplémentaire et de la main d’oeuvre temporaire (si nécessaire) pour satisfaire la demande gouvernementale, puis on retourne à la case départ. Elles n’investissent pas et n’embauchent pas, puisqu’elles ont amplement de capacité de production excédentaire pour satisfaire cette demande et savent pertinemment que ce n’est que temporaire. Ainsi, le taux de chômage n’est pratiquement pas affecté par ces monstrueux déficits gouvernementaux.

Disclaimer.
Before you criticize me and judge me as a hypocrite or sinner, know this! I am both.

“Now Lot, who went with Abram, also had flocks and herds and tents.  And the land could not sustain them while dwelling together, for their possessions were so great that they were not able to remain together.  Genesis 13:5-6

The scriptures point out two reasons why Abram and Lot part ways:  1) their material possessions were of such great abundance that it was difficult to ’share’ the same space, and 2) their shepherds were not getting along.  Abram specifically said to Lot “Let there be no strife between you and me” so it appears there was some discord in their relationship as well.

It is indeed unfortunate when money or material goods becomes a source of division in relationships, even that of blood relatives. We know that Abram brought his possessions with him when he left Haran (Gen. 12:5) and he obtained even more from Pharaoh (Gen. 12:16), and Lot had his own possessions too (Gen 13:5).  So plentiful were their camps (including livestock, goods and even people) that despite the vast amount of land before them, it was not enough.  It was an issue of resource consumption on one hand, but it seems their camps were not getting along in general.  At some point just having more elbow room is not enough when people aren’t getting along.  Proverbs 25:25 reads “Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.”

Even today where there is wealth, there is separation.  Famous and wealthy people often sequester themselves away  from others in large homes with a large area of property, or even on a yacht perhaps.  In the case of Lot and Abram, both men had abundance, so if their friendship was lacking, they had no reason to be near one another.  If Lot were poor and Abram rich, one can’t help but think Lot would have done whatever was necessary to keep the relationship close.  But, as neither was in need perhaps their true colors shown.

We can develop two types of attitudes toward wealth:  We can manage it with an attitude of stewardship, or we can let it drive our desires and consume us.  Abram is the embodiment of the former, and Lot illustrates the latter.  Here are are only seeing the beginnings of it; two men with abundance quarreling and in need of their own space.  When they part ways, Abram is indifferent to the land he gets and lets Lot have his pick and takes the fertile land.  Lot moves closer and closer to Sodom, a large city center in that time which attracted Lot, whereas Abram stayed in the less populated Canaan.  Ultimately Lot’s choice of where to live resulted in him being taken into captivity as Sodom and Gomorrah, along with other cities were in subjection to some of the surrounding nations, and when they rebelled the resistance was crushed and captives taken.

This can be a lesson for us spiritually speaking, that a love for wealth can sever relationships and ultimately cause us to become enslaved.  With Abram we see quite the opposite; even after he rescues Lot and is offered payment by the king of Sodom, he does not accept it on sheer principle.  In addition we see Abram acknowledging that God is the actual owner of everything (Gen. 14:19), and giving Melchizedek, who was both a king (of Salem, believed to be Jerusalem) and a priest of God, a tenth of all – the first tithe in the scriptures.

Think and Grow Rich is has been around since 1937 and still going strong! Napoleon Hill has some absolutely great principles that we can glean from. As a Christian there are some aspect of Hill’s book that I don’t necessarily agree with. However, there are a great deal of the principles that he teaches can be trace to biblical principles and they are truly awesome. The spiritual laws will work for whomever uses them consistently and has faith or belief in them.
I wanted to list these 16 points that Hill makes concerning persistence whether it’s a business, family, or personal goal I think these are some points worth looking at, which why I have made this post. It is an eye opener and requires genuine soul searching to see if perhaps one or all 16 points are what has kept you or myself from experience the level of achievement and success that we desire.
1. Failure to recognize and clearly define exactly what you want.
2. Procrastination usually backed up by a formidable array of excuses.
3. Lack of interest in a acquiring specialized knowledge.
4. Indecision. The habit of passing the buck on all occasions, instead of facing issues squarely.
5. The habit of relying upon alibis instead of creating definite plans for the solution of problems.
6. Self-satisfaction.
7. Indifference – usually reflected in one’s willingness to compromise in all occasions, rather than meet opposition and fight it.
8. The habit of blaming others for one’s mistakes and accepting unfavorable circumstances as unavoidable.
9. Weakness of desire due to neglect of motives that impel action. (Not having a strong “Reason Why”).
10. Willingness, even eagerness to quit at the first sign of defeat, based upon basic fears.
11. Lack of organized plans, placed in writing where they may be organized.
12. The habit of neglecting to move on ideas or to grasp opportunity when it presents itself.
13. Wishing instead of willing.
14. The habit of comprising with poverty instead of aiming at riches. General absence of ambition to be, to do and to own.
15. Searching for all the shortcuts to riches. Trying to get without giving a fair equivalent.
16. Fear of criticism of what others will think, do, or say.
I have read online but I recently got a free brand hard copy of Think and Grow Rich and all I had to was paid $4.59 for shipping. If you don’t own your own hard copy, you can go to http://www.FreeTGRbook.com/timetosoar

Par Mathieu St-Onge

Qu’est-ce qui relie notre ancêtre de Cro-Magnon à Paris Hilton? Non, ce n’est pas la propension à s’afficher peu ou pas du tout vêtu. C’est plutôt… le goût du luxe!

Le luxe des cavernes

Trente mille ans avant notre ère, un homo sapiens particulièrement futé, qu’on appellera plus tard Cro-Magnon, invente le luxe. Pour la première fois de sa Préhistoire, l’homme fabrique un objet totalement inutile à sa survie. Nous sommes encore loin du sac Vuitton; il s’agit d’une petite statuette de pierre, aux formes vaguement féminines, sculptée grossièrement à la pointe d’un silex. Pendant ce temps, un proche cousin plutôt moche et poilu, l’Homme de Néandertal, crée le culte de la beauté. Le corps lui-même devient objet de luxe. Entre deux accouplements particulièrement féroces avec sa compagne de grotte, notre Néandertalien se pare d’éclats d’os et de bois de cervidés fraîchement dépecés.

Le coquet homo neanderthalensis finit par disparaître, laissant à son vaniteux contemporain sapiens le soin de développer seul le goût du luxe. Quelque 7500 ans avant J.-C., notre homme devient sédentaire, un nouveau mode de vie qui lui permet d’accumuler des biens matériels et d’inventer l’art de la céramique et de la métallurgie. C’est aussi à cette époque que notre ancêtre fait la découverte d’un précieux minerai qui le marquera à jamais: l’or. À sa seule vue, il devient fou, le métal brillant devenant rapidement pour lui synonyme de beauté et surtout… de pouvoir.

Le luxe antique

L’Antiquité est une époque très faste pour le luxe. L’homme y invente de nouveaux concepts (la propriété, l’esclavage, la guerre) qui lui permettent d’accumuler encore plus de richesses. À ce titre, les Égyptiens et leurs pharaons ne donnent pas leur place. Régnant sans partage sur les abords du Nil pendant plus de 3 000 ans, ils développent un goût prononcé pour l’ostentatoire. Les bijoux, qui indiquent le rang social, se déclinent en boucles d’oreilles, colliers, bagues, amulettes et plaques pectorales d’or et d’argent. Les femmes de familles aisées portent des robes à l’étoffe brodée de fils d’or et de perles, tandis que les hommes riches s’accoutrent des jupes aussi élégamment décorées (comme quoi Dubuc et son paréo n’ont rien inventé). À l’époque, les parfums sont importés, donc dispendieux et réservés à l’élite. Les effluves les plus prisées sont le lotus bleu, le lys blanc et le henné. Si les plus riches et puissants des Égyptiens vivent très bien, ils consacrent le plus clair de leur temps à préparer leur mort. Le luxe suprême des pharaons est d’ailleurs la construction de leurs sépultures titanesques: les pyramides.
Au panthéon du bling-bling, les Grecs ne sont pas en reste. Péricles, au Ve siècle avant J.-C., entreprend de faire construire les chefs-d’œuvre de l’Acropole et mandate le sculpteur Phideas pour réaliser les statues d’Athéna et de Zeus, tout en or et d’ivoire. Pendant ce temps, les citoyens les plus aisés se font construire de vastes demeures de marbre blanc. À l’intérieur, les murs sont décorés de fresques représentant les héros de l’Iliade ou les dieux de l’Olympe. Outre les vases grecs qui sont particulièrement prisés, les poteries de faïence et les plats de bronze, d’argent ou d’or trônent dans la cuisine en attendant le prochain festin grec.

Le luxe moyenâgeux

Après le pillage des trésors de l’Antiquité par les peuples barbares, l’Europe n’est que ruines. L’Église en profite et convertit peu à peu les royaumes affaiblis du Nord. C’est grâce à elle si le luxe perdure : Dieu exprime sa puissance grâce aux richesses du clergé et aux édifications des gigantesques cathédrales. Les Croisés, quant à eux, reviennent au pays chargés des merveilles de l’Orient: joyaux, soieries et épices. De nouveaux objets, très hauts de gamme pour l’époque, font leur apparition dans les châteaux: horloges, miroirs et chandelles de suif. Et malgré la culture guerrière du Moyen-Âge, l’habit des courtisans gagne en finesse. Le manteau d’hermine doublé de vair fait fureur.

Le luxe renaissant

La Renaissance est aussi renaissance du luxe. La quête du superflu nécessaire, d’après la formule que trouvera plus tard Voltaire, prend un véritable essor avec la découverte de nouveaux continents, sources de métaux rares, de pierres et de bois précieux, d’essences et d’épices exotiques, le tout transformés en autant de parures, parfums, vêtements et mobiliers fastueux. L’Italie tire particulièrement bien son épingle dorée du jeu. Au XVe siècle, la ville de Florence, gouvernée par la riche famille de Médicis, rassemble à sa cour les plus grands artistes et intellectuels de l’époque. Le mécénat se développe: luxe et art se confondent. Le Mécène entretient l’artiste par ses innombrables commandes, le plus grand privilège du noble étant de faire immortaliser son image par le portrait. . L’ornementation a elle aussi la cote. Les meubles sont sculptés et peints par de grands maîtres (dont Botticelli ne fut pas le moindre),

Le luxe hexagonal

Le luxe italien débarque en France au XVIe siècle avec le mariage d’Henri II et Catherine de Médicis. Telle une contrebandière de luxe, celle-ci introduit dans l’Hexagone art ornemental, soie brodée, tabac et parfum, ce dernier servant à masquer les odeurs corporelles particulièrement tenaces à l’époque. Mais le luxe des rois de France s’exprime d’abord à travers leurs châteaux, le plus magnifique d’entre tous étant celui construit à Versailles par Louis XIV, dit le Roi-Soleil. L’architecture même devient expression du luxe. Le palais de Versailles compte (seulement) 700 pièces, dont la somptueuse Galerie des Glaces et ses 357 miroirs. Or, tout ce luxe ne serait rien sans les nombreuses fêtes organisées par le roi pour divertir sa cour; toute la noblesse française accourt à Versailles pour assister aux pièces de théâtre et aux opéras qui y sont présentées. Le luxe est encore affaire de monarchie, ce qui n’empêchera pas plusieurs têtes couronnées de bientôt rouler dans de modestes paniers en osier.

Le luxe moderne

Malgré la montée en puissance de l’Angleterre, colonialisme et évolution industrielle obligent, Paris devient – et demeure – la capitale du luxe tout au long de la modernité. Les expositions universelles de 1879, 1889 (pour laquelle est érigée une certaine Tour d’un certain Monsieur Eiffel) et 1900, attirent la noblesse et la haute bourgeoisie du monde entier dans la Ville Lumière, permettant aux artisans du luxe français de rayonner comme jamais. Depuis longtemps, ceux-ci ont compris que les grands de ce monde préfèrent l’objet «fait main» aux reproductions en série inventée par la révolution industrielle. C’est ainsi que naîtra, dans les années 1850, le concept de haute couture avec le premier couturier, Charles Frédéric Worth. Celui-ci innove en ouvrant un premier salon de couture et en faisant porter ses créations à des mannequins vivants. Une tendance qui sera suivie de près par Poiret, autre grand nom de la mode, qui y laissera lui aussi sa griffe.

C’est également à cette époque que sont fondés la plupart des grandes maisons de luxe, dont plusieurs portent des noms qui résonnent toujours aujourd’hui. C’est le cas du parfumeur Guerlain (1828), du sellier Hermès (1837), du malletier Louis Vuitton (1854) ou encore des joailliers Cartier (1847) et Boucheron (1858). Un phénomène jusqu’alors inédit marque également la culture du luxe: le tourisme. Grâce au développement des réseaux de transports, nobles et bourgeois envahissent les ports de plaisance de la Méditerranée. Le tourisme permet l’apparition et le rayonnement de deux grands noms de l’univers du luxe: Louis Vuitton et César Ritz. Le premier a l’idée de génie de développer la maroquinerie haut de gamme (Ze fameux sac Vuitton), le second fonde le Ritz Hôtel Syndicate et ouvre son premier complexe hôtelier, place Vendôme, Paris, en 1898. Plus tard, un certain luxe «prêt-à-porter» s’incarnera dans la silhouette bien habillée, coiffée et maquillée de Coco Chanel, pour qui «le luxe n’est pas le contraire de la pauvreté mais celui de la vulgarité».

Le luxe aujourd’hui

Au milieu des années 1990, les maisons de luxe familiales et artisanales deviennent des marques regroupées aux seins de quelques grands groupes financiers, lesquels se partagent aujourd’hui plus de 70 % du marché du luxe. Ce dernier se trouve dominé par les groupes français (LVMH, Christian Dior, Hermès, Chanel), puis italiens (Prada, Armani, Bulgari, Valentino Fashion Group) ainsi que, dans une moindre mesure, américains (Estée Lauder, Ralph Lauren, Tiffany). Tout en haut du peloton, avec un chiffre d’affaires de plus de 15 milliards d’euros, le groupe Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy est sans doute le meilleur exemple du nouveau visage du luxe: multimarques et multiproduits. Des vins et spiritueux (Veuve Clicquot, Moët & Chandon, Hennessy, Dom Perignon) aux cosmétiques et parfums (Guerlain, Kenzo, Dior), en passant par la mode (Givenchy, Donna Karan, Fendi, Louis Vuitton) et les montres et la joaillerie (Tag Heuer, Zenith, Chaumet), LVMH est un empire mondial aux nombreuses ramifications. Pourtant, cette mainmise des géants du luxe n’a pas empêché que se développe à côté toute une industrie parallèle et parasite: celle de la contrefaçon. On estime que le marché du faux représente aujourd’hui 5 à 7 % du commerce mondial et que près du quart des produits de luxe vendus sur Internet seraient des imitations.

De la procession de chaussures Manolo Blahnik dans Sex and the City aux montres Rolex de Sarkozy, du «Parce que vous le valez bien» de l’Oréal aux frasques de Paris Hilton à Dubaï, le luxe est aujourd’hui apprêté et servi à toutes les sauces, vraies ou fausses. Le luxe semble ne plus être ce phénomène marginal seulement réservé à une élite fortunée: il prétend descendre de son piédestal et se démocratiser. Par l’intermédiaire de ses marques, à grands coups de publicités et de copinages avec les stars d’Hollywood, le luxe continue chaque jour d’élargir son bassin de consommateurs et de rallier plus de riches et de pauvres à sa «cause». Or, si pour beaucoup de gens, il suffit de goûter au luxe par procuration, en zieutant les magazines people et autres Paris Match, d’autres n’hésitent pas à s’endetter pour se payer du luxe. Au risque d’y perdre leur nouvelle chemise Armani…

Stealth wealth

En réaction au phénomène de démocratisation du luxe et à la culture bling-bling, une nouvelle tendance s’est développée depuis quelques années chez les ultra-riches de ce monde: le stealth wealth, ou la «richesse discrète». Une riche idée qui permet aux PDG, vedettes de cinéma et chefs d’État de dissimuler les signes ostentatoires de leur opulence aux yeux du grand public et de ne se reluquer qu’entre (riches) initiés privés. Bref, le nec plus ultra en matière de luxe serait désormais de faire comme s’il n’existait pas. Mais attention, nous sommes loin de la simplicité volontaire: les adeptes du stealth wealth préféreront par exemple à une voyante Rolex une montre Vacheron Constantin, plus discrète, disponible au coût modique d’un demi-million de dollars…

Texte: Mathieu St-Onge & Gabrielle Briggs

Billy Cannon runs for an 89 yard LSU touch-down

On October 31, 1959, one of college footballs premier teams, the LSU Tigers, won a closely contested game with an amazing punt return by a Heisman trophy winner named Billy Cannon.

I was introduced to the Louisiana culture as a child, since my mother and her family for five generations were a part of it. This story over at ESPN is pure Louisiana culture if it is anything. But it is much more: it is the culture of the South and the place sports, especially football, plays in that culture. The folk heroes are more often than not, the football stars.

But Billy Cannon’s story-about a young married football star who seemed to have it all, after spending eleven years in the NFL, returned home to take up his life as a Dentist, and fell from grace. He was found guilty of counterfeiting $100 bills and sent to prison.

The Redemption of Billy Cannon is an excellent article that fully explains every factor in this story to the depth of infamy after the pinnacle of fame and the long road back to finding a place of honor in the State of Louisiana and beyond at age 72. No, you won’t find any mention of religion or religious faith in this story- it’s not that kind of redemption. I would rather call it a great example of redemption American vintage cultural style.

Be sure to read the whole story and watch the video of Cannon’s famous punt return at The Redemption of Billy Cannon. Thank you Wright Thompson and ESPN for the memory and the lesson on the American football culture.

May the very words of Christ change us.

Luke 12:13-21 ”Someone in the crowd said to him (Jesus), ‘Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”  But he said to him, ‘Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?’  And he said to them, ‘Take care, and be on your gaurd against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.’  And he told them a parable saying, ‘The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’  And he said, ‘I will do this:  I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’  But God said to him, ‘Fool!  This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’  So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Proverbs 11:4 “Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.”

Matthew 16:25-26 “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?”

Revelation 3:18-19 “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.  I counsel you to buy from me gold refinded by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may bot be seen, and salve to annoint your eyes, so that you may see.”

Matthew 6:19-21,24 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in a nd steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do notbreak in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart (or passion) will be also… No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and money.”

Matthew 13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up.  Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”

Words of Paul in Philippians 3:8 “Indeed, I count EVERYTHING as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.”

Hebrews 10:34 “You joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.”

It amazing me that this is only a fraction of the scriptures that adress the issue of whether we treasure Christ as our ultimate value in life, looking forward to heavenly and eternal things or whether we treasure the things of earth, and the fleeting pleasures of sin.  One ends in eternal life and one in eternal death.  The bible says you CAN’T serve both God and money.  My, does this probe my heart. 

What do you think?  What is the treasure in your heart today?  Is it Christ above all else?