I saw this on the back of a Chevy Blazer at  (of all places)….WAL-MART.

Just the fact that i saw it there in and of itself is a bit funny and ironic,  given some of the scary pictures going around the internet captured at that little Arkansas based discount chain.

That being said, I thought that perhaps a few “stupid” quotes would be good for a friday!

“Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.”
-Anonymous

“Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I’m not sure about the former.”
-Albert Einstein

“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and consciencious stupidity.”
-Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Men are born ignorant, not stupid. They are made stupid by education.”
-Bertrand Russell

“Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change.”
-Confucius

“The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.”
-Bertrand Russell

“Success in almost any field depends more on energy and drive than it does on intelligence. This explains why we have so many stupid leaders.”
-Sloan Wilson

“A stupid child is ruin to a father, and a wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.”
Proverbs 19:13

AND MY PERSONAL FAVORITE…………………

“Stupid is as stupid does.”
-Forrest Gump

Everybody have a safe and fun July Fourth….AND DON’T GET TOO STUPID!

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Ran across this pic somewhere online…can’t remember now where I got it.

Remember folks:

YOU MUST HAVE FULL DISCLOSURE!

Course then again, you may get a slander suit slapped against you with a sign like this.

lol

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I am reading a book right now called “How Capitalism Will Save Us” by Steve Forbes and Elizabeth Ames and it reminded me of something that happened in the early 80’s when I was fresh out of High School and full of naive enthusiasm, endless energy, and not a lick of business sense , was attempting to work on my first million.

Back then I had dreams of grandeur to say the least.  I had read a book called “Megatrends” by John Naisbitt and another called “Nothing Down” by Robert Allen.  I thought for sure I was going to be a Real Estate Tycoon. 

My first brush with reality happened when I went down to the Savings and Loan where I had a bank account and told the loan officer there my fantastic idea.  She was very nice and patient with me, in fact she complimented my “go get ‘em” attitude, suggested I attend college and dismissed me. I talked with a few more folks and figured out pretty darn fast that I pretty much knew absolutely NOTHING about business, money, or anything having to do with investing. 

Any of you who actually have met me and especially those who know me personally know that I am not the type of guy to give up easily.  Truth is, that “fight or flight” mechanism we all have is in my case largely all fight, and I do not typically take “no” for an answer.

A couple of people had suggested that I take a minute to learn about business, and although most told me to find a four year university, one buddy told me about a project he was working on called Amway.  So, I watched a bunch of circles one night, forked over I think about $100 bucks (big money for an 18 year old in 1984) and started on the road to riches

Don’t laugh guys, Amway is one of the oldest and most well known MLMs out there.  Many well known money gurus today including Robert Kiosaki absolutely recommend MLMs as an awesome way to learn the basic ideas, principles and practices necessary to be successful in your own business.

Well, the way things turned out a bunch of people quit in my up line, and Jeff (my buddy) and I found ourselves taking our financial counsel from three VERY successful men. The first was a Vice President for General Motors named Jeff. Next was a financial planner whose clients were some of the mega rich in the San Francisco Bay Area. His name was Tom. Above him was a Triple Diamond in Amway, a guy worth many millions who was from Tulsa, Oklahoma. His name was Keith.

One night during a convention I got the opportunity to have dinner with this man Keith, Tom, and a group of highly successful “Amway-ers”. My friend Jeff and I were probably the only non-millionaires at this table of 15 or so men. For that matter, we were probably the only ones under 40 as well. Honestly, I was a wee bit intimidated, and did not say much but this turned out to be a good thing. I got more info that one night on how to really network, communicate, and conduct business than any other single night in my adult life.

Keith said only a few things directly to me that night. All have shaped the way I do business. However, one stands out above everything else, and it has become one of the main codes I use in my own businesses daily.  He looked at me and in his Midwestern country twang he said, “Son, If I could give you one piece of advice it would be this: Never accept ‘somethin for nothin’.  In fact beware when somebody offers you ‘somethin for nothin’. See here’s the problem; when you get ‘somethin for nothin’; that means somebody else got ‘nothing for havin’ done something and that just ain’t fair”.

Think about that for a minute guys. Let it soak in.

When our government taxes us to pay for social programs the American people, largely the middle class, get ‘nothin for having done somethin”, and the recipients of the program, whether it be Section 8 housing, Medicaid, or welfare get ‘somethin for nothin’.  When a black man, or a vet, or a woman with less qualifications is hired over anybody who is more qualified in the spirit of “Equal Opportunity” then they got ‘somethin for nothin’ and the fella who worked his butt off to get a degree and build his resume just got ‘nothin for havin done somethin’.

Right now, the government and the media would have you believe that business is bad, businessmen are greedy and evil, and this whole mess just proves that capitalism doesn’t work.  Well, if you want to believe the government or the media, I suppose you can; they both have a GREAT track record of never lying to us.

See, the way I look at it, entrepreneurs and businessmen have built this country.  They build businesses that allow those who do not have that “creative spark” to work and make a living too.  In this hierarchy everybody prospers because everybody produces something. The only problem occurs when government officials want to “help us all out” and get in the way.  They want us to give them some of our hard earned cash so they can “help out the less fortunate”; oh and of course keep the ever growing government  paid as well…..yeah right.

Perhaps if or fearless leaders would stop printing money, and start producing results we might be able to climb out of this financial mess we are in as a country.  Perhaps if instead of social programs that hand out money we had social programs that handed out garbage bags and told the check recipients,  “you get your check when you bring back two bags of garbage from the side of the road and pass a drug screen”, we might find a few less willing participants in the welfare programs.  Perhaps if we decided to make something free it would be the state funded Universities so that those who want to learn can; rather than paying people to be unemployed and remain unemployable, we might find that we gain a couple more productive citizens.  See, perhaps if we started requiring that nobody is allowed to get ‘somthin for nothin’, we might, just maybe find that most people would rise to the occasion and start being impressive rather than impotent.

I have been rich and I have been poor, (rich is way better  by the way); I have lost numerous times with numerous business ventures; but one thing is clear. I have always been able to rebuild, even from scratch, and I really believe it is because of a very rich and successful man who once told me that I did not deserve ‘somethin for nothin’.

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I found a few facts pretty interesting, and they are really the subject of this post.

For example, did you know that when we landed on the moon back in the 70’s we left allot more than just a flag and some footprints? Apparently the LEM (Lunar Excursion Module) has two parts. There is the part where the astronauts actually sit, and then the base where the legs and such are located. There are no less than 6 of these bases sitting in various spots on the moon; it seems we had to leave that part behind in order to get off the surface when it was time to go. Also, the “lunar rover” vehicles, which were the “dune buggy like” 4 wheelers used in the Apollo 15, 16 and 17 missions all had to be abandoned as well. Every probe we brought up there is still on the surface as well. Souns a whole lot like “littering” to me. Don’t feel TOO bad though, It seems both China and Russia have done the same thing.

Perhaps the most interesting “artifact” left by Americans on the moon are the three golf balls hit with a Nine Iron by Alan Shepard. Now I understand that people love their sports and all, but come on now guys…Exactly what scientific purpose was NASA exploring when they let Shepard do this? I mean really guys, the Space Program has cost us BILLIONS and for what; golf balls on the moon? I guess I am just too serious about life ’cause I think that is just plain silly.

So it seems that if you litter on a federal highway, you get fined $1000 but if the federal government litters, it is called science. And remember, a $1 Titleist becomes a priceless artifact if it is hit by the right guy in the right place with the right stuff.

Humans are scary.

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This set of signs is near the Krogers in the Heights, here in Little Rock.

Is it just me or does this seem a wee bit confusing?

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As the leaves begin to show signs of turning their brilliant shades of amber, orange and red, I begin to see more and more trucks heading down the freeway with trailers attached. Trailers carrying campers, and 4 wheelers, and deer stands and 55 gallon drums of corn feed. It is fast approaching “Hunting Season”.

I came to Arkansas from the San Francisco Bay Area in 1986. I have noted many differences some which are nearly invisible others though, are so shockingly in one’s face as to cause what some people here refer to as “Culture Shock”. The attitude toward hunting is one of those issues in this state which I truly believe contributes to if not drives the basic financial and political climate. The University of Arkansas Razorbacks is another, but that is a different story.

Now, don’t think me a complete novice, I have done a bit of hunting. Years ago my brother-in-law took me deer hunting, and I have also been duck hunting; which for those not it the know is the number one sport in this state. I understand that Arkansas is the duck hunting capital of the world and people come from all over the United States to kill ducks and geese in the swamps and rice fields of this great third world nation….er…ah…state.

I would like to take a minute to give all you hunter types out there a “city boy’s” perspective on hunting.

Let’s start with deer hunting, since that is the first season to open here in Arkansas. So, if I understand deer hunting correctly, you want me to get up several hours before dawn, and trek out into the middle of nowhere in the dark. Then, I am supposed to take a high caliber weapon, carry it over my shoulder and climb twenty feet up into a tree. Next I need to pour deer urine all over myself so I won’t smell human. Then I have to sit up there, and be absolutely still while the temperatures is a balmy 30 degrees and pray that there is a buck out there stupid enough to pop his head out of the brush just after first light so I can put a bullet in his skull. Can’t drink coffee, the deer will smell it. Can’t talk to a buddy the deer will hear it. Can’t play video games on my blackberry, the deer will see the light from my phone; all this while hanging out with a bunch of people also out in the woods doing the same thing, half of which are drinking excessively.

Now if that is not stupid enough for you let’s look at duck hunting. Well, hey at least with duck hunting you can hang out with your buddy and talk and have a cup of coffee to stay warm.  I went duck hunting once. I stood in water which had bits of ice floating around in it and was just above my groin.  I’m surprised I can still father children I was so freakin cold! My buddy, Mike said I would get used to it. Okay, so, the waders had a small leak, after about 15 minutes, it wasn’t a big deal I could not even feel my left leg, guess that’s what he meant by used to it. So we put out the decoys and we are both leaned up against this huge hickory, and the wind is blowing and I’m freezing my freakin ass off, when I here ducks and of course shots to the south both approaching at a rapid rate. Next thing I hear is all this crackling in the trees, almost like it is hailing but the sky was clear. I ask Mike what it is and he tells me it’s the other hunters shot. It is WHAT?! I am being pelted by the bb’s coming from somebody else’s gun.  Sure, I guess you guys who do this all the time are used to all that, but guess what….even in the GHETTO we don’t willingly go out in the street to get hit by other peoples shot!

Which brings me to Turkey Hunting. I will be honest I have not tried this particular sport; however, if I understand it correctly what we do is get into camouflage  so serious as to make ourselves absolutely invisible to the turkey. No orange here like in duck hunting, we want to ‘”blend” Next we all get on opposite sides of the woods with shotguns and these really strange looking whistles that make a turkey sound.  Then we “call in” turkeys and hopefully fill our pot for Christmas dinner. Now, let’s think about this logically for just a moment shall we?. You can’t see me and I can’t see you and we both sound like turkeys and we both are carrying loaded shotguns, and we are essentially shooting toward each other. Does anybody else see a problem here or is it just me?

So while the rest of Arkansas heads for the deer woods and the state for all practical purposes closes down for the next two months, I will stay in town and concentrate on making a little money. Actually that has always been the best think about hunting season for me. So many folks in this state are out in the woods getting back to nature that I have always had my busiest months in October and November.

Well boys, have at it! You fellas go hunt for Bambi, I’m gonna hunt for another house to buy. And while you are gutting your beast and carrying it out of the woods, I am going fill my gut with a good glass of wine after I carry a t-bone out of the local Kroger’s. I’m not too worried about getting pelted with shot there…Kroger’s is in the good section of town.

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