MLK Day 2008

I watched Oprah's Martin Luther King Jr. Special this week, and it was great. I think about what he would think about how "The N-Word" is being used so much today, and whether or not he would wear one of our buttons.

I think he would. So I'll keep doing it too.

MLK Day 2008

I watched Oprah's Martin Luther King Jr. Special this week, and it was great. I think about what he would think about how "The N-Word" is being used so much today, and whether or not he would wear one of our buttons.

I think he would. So I'll keep doing it too.

Taxes...

The next time you hear a politician use the word "billion" in a casual
manner, think about whether you want the "politicians" spending YOUR tax
money.

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising
agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in
one of its releases.


A billion seconds ago it was 1959.

A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.

A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.

A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.

A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our
government is spending it.

While this thought is still fresh in our brain, let's take a look at New
Orleans. It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division.

Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D), is presently asking the Congress
for $250 BILLION to rebuild New Orleans. Interes ting number. What does
it mean?

Well, if you are one of 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man,
woman, child), you each get $516,528.

Or, if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans, your home gets
$1,329,787.

Or, if you are a family of four, your family gets $2,066,012.

Washington, D.C .. HELLO!!! ... Are all your calculators broken??

Tax his: land
wage
bed in which he lays.
tractor
mule
Teach him taxes is the rule.

Tax his: cow
goat
pants
coat
ties
shirts
work
Tax his dirt.

Tax his: tobacco
drink,
Tax him if he tries to think.

Tax his: booze
beers
If he cries, tax his tears.

Tax his: bills
gas
notes
Tax his cash.

Tax him good and let him know that after taxes, he has no dough.

If he hollers, tax him more, tax him until he's good and sore.

Tax his: coffin
grave
Tax the sod in which he lays.
Put these words upon his tomb, "Taxes drove me to my doom!"

And when he's gone, we won't relax; we'll still be after the inheritance
TAX!!

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Perm It Tax
Gasoline Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of the tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Tax
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Taxes
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax (truckers)
Sales Taxes
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharg e Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Tax
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the
most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had
the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the
kids.

What happened? Can you spell 'politicians'?

What the heck happened?????

Taxes...

The next time you hear a politician use the word "billion" in a casual
manner, think about whether you want the "politicians" spending YOUR tax
money.

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising
agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in
one of its releases.


A billion seconds ago it was 1959.

A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.

A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.

A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.

A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our
government is spending it.

While this thought is still fresh in our brain, let's take a look at New
Orleans. It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division.

Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D), is presently asking the Congress
for $250 BILLION to rebuild New Orleans. Interes ting number. What does
it mean?

Well, if you are one of 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man,
woman, child), you each get $516,528.

Or, if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans, your home gets
$1,329,787.

Or, if you are a family of four, your family gets $2,066,012.

Washington, D.C .. HELLO!!! ... Are all your calculators broken??

Tax his: land
wage
bed in which he lays.
tractor
mule
Teach him taxes is the rule.

Tax his: cow
goat
pants
coat
ties
shirts
work
Tax his dirt.

Tax his: tobacco
drink,
Tax him if he tries to think.

Tax his: booze
beers
If he cries, tax his tears.

Tax his: bills
gas
notes
Tax his cash.

Tax him good and let him know that after taxes, he has no dough.

If he hollers, tax him more, tax him until he's good and sore.

Tax his: coffin
grave
Tax the sod in which he lays.
Put these words upon his tomb, "Taxes drove me to my doom!"

And when he's gone, we won't relax; we'll still be after the inheritance
TAX!!

Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL License Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Perm It Tax
Gasoline Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of the tax)
IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Tax
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge Taxes
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax (truckers)
Sales Taxes
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharg e Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Tax
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY?

Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the
most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had
the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the
kids.

What happened? Can you spell 'politicians'?

What the heck happened?????

Horns and Punches..

When I was in the Choir in my junior high school, my best friend was Jason Paltrowitz. We had won a trip to go compete in some national championship, so all of us kids from new york city got on a bus and headed down to a town I won't name.

When we met the other kids there, we all introduced ourselves, and said where we were from.

When Jason said "My name is Jason Paltrowitz, and I'm from New York City!"

The kids from this town got all excited. We asked them why:

"Well, Jason.... are you JEWISH?" one kid asked excitedly.
"Yeah, I am" he said, figuring they knew from his last name.

They giggled, and asked quite innocently: "Can we see your horns?"
..........

I was totally aghast. I hadn't even heard that myth before, but I could tell from their faces that they truly and sincerely thought that Jews had horns on their heads.

Like the devil.

They didn't mean anything by it; that's just what they had heard.

I was about to start yelling and screaming and throwing punches, but I was frozen. This was my BEST FRIEND they were talking about.

But then I saw an amazing thing.

Jason just said "Oh, I don't have horns. Jews don't really have horns; that's just a crazy story."

"Oh,... ok" the kids said, disappointed that they weren't going to see a free freakshow.

After that, we all just went out and played "tag" together- and made sure not to yell and mess up our voices!

That day has stuck in my mind forever, and I tell that story a lot to demonstrate the power of perception and how simple they can be changed. But today I tell it because I recently had a conversation (over email) with a wonderful girl who is so stuck in her own perception of herself, that she believes she has horns of her own.

If you met this (very gorgeous) girl, you would immediately see that she is smart, vivacious, witty and deep-feeling.

However, she is always in a drama of some sort, she feels victimized by her circumstances, and she keeps finding people who let her down in one way or another. It's so obvious to everyone around her that she LOVES the drama, even though it makes her feel worthless.

She is ADDICTED to the drama because it justifies her own self-hatred.

She believes the "crazy story" about herself being worthless, stupid, and ugly. So, she believes her personality is all a front and a lie. Which of course, she hates herself for feeling she has to lie to everyone, and so she punishes herself by whatever means necessary.

Mind you, I'm no psychologist, but it is so painfully obvious one doesn't need to be.

It also may be obvious to me because I see myself in her.

-Wait- not like that....

I mean that I recognize that I have some self-hatred, and some self-punishing that I do because I don't think I am worthy for some reason. I've been reading Louise Hayes' "You Can Heal Your Life", and watching the video, and she kinda says that self-hatred is the center of most people's issues. I've been seeing it everywhere lately.

In myself, in my friends, and especially in this girl.

Well, hopefully we'll all get to a point where we can change our perceptions of those "crazy stories" about ourselves so we can go out, quit the drama, and play tag!!!


Let Your Light So Shine Before Men!

Horns and Punches..

When I was in the Choir in my junior high school, my best friend was Jason Paltrowitz. We had won a trip to go compete in some national championship, so all of us kids from new york city got on a bus and headed down to a town I won't name.

When we met the other kids there, we all introduced ourselves, and said where we were from.

When Jason said "My name is Jason Paltrowitz, and I'm from New York City!"

The kids from this town got all excited. We asked them why:

"Well, Jason.... are you JEWISH?" one kid asked excitedly.
"Yeah, I am" he said, figuring they knew from his last name.

They giggled, and asked quite innocently: "Can we see your horns?"
..........

I was totally aghast. I hadn't even heard that myth before, but I could tell from their faces that they truly and sincerely thought that Jews had horns on their heads.

Like the devil.

They didn't mean anything by it; that's just what they had heard.

I was about to start yelling and screaming and throwing punches, but I was frozen. This was my BEST FRIEND they were talking about.

But then I saw an amazing thing.

Jason just said "Oh, I don't have horns. Jews don't really have horns; that's just a crazy story."

"Oh,... ok" the kids said, disappointed that they weren't going to see a free freakshow.

After that, we all just went out and played "tag" together- and made sure not to yell and mess up our voices!

That day has stuck in my mind forever, and I tell that story a lot to demonstrate the power of perception and how simple they can be changed. But today I tell it because I recently had a conversation (over email) with a wonderful girl who is so stuck in her own perception of herself, that she believes she has horns of her own.

If you met this (very gorgeous) girl, you would immediately see that she is smart, vivacious, witty and deep-feeling.

However, she is always in a drama of some sort, she feels victimized by her circumstances, and she keeps finding people who let her down in one way or another. It's so obvious to everyone around her that she LOVES the drama, even though it makes her feel worthless.

She is ADDICTED to the drama because it justifies her own self-hatred.

She believes the "crazy story" about herself being worthless, stupid, and ugly. So, she believes her personality is all a front and a lie. Which of course, she hates herself for feeling she has to lie to everyone, and so she punishes herself by whatever means necessary.

Mind you, I'm no psychologist, but it is so painfully obvious one doesn't need to be.

It also may be obvious to me because I see myself in her.

-Wait- not like that....

I mean that I recognize that I have some self-hatred, and some self-punishing that I do because I don't think I am worthy for some reason. I've been reading Louise Hayes' "You Can Heal Your Life", and watching the video, and she kinda says that self-hatred is the center of most people's issues. I've been seeing it everywhere lately.

In myself, in my friends, and especially in this girl.

Well, hopefully we'll all get to a point where we can change our perceptions of those "crazy stories" about ourselves so we can go out, quit the drama, and play tag!!!


Let Your Light So Shine Before Men!

Choirs, Myths and Ambassadors...

When I was in the Choir in my junior high school, my best friend was Jason Paltrowitz. We had won a trip to go compete in some national championship, so all of us kids from new york city got on a bus and headed down to a town I won't name.

When we met the other kids there, we all introduced ourselves, and said where we were from.

When Jason said "My name is Jason Paltrowitz, and I'm from New York City!"

The kids from this town got all excited. We asked them why:

"Well, Jason.... are you JEWISH?" one kid asked excitedly.
"Yeah, I am" he said, figuring they knew from his last name.

They giggled, and asked quite innocently: "Can we see your horns?"
..........

I was totally aghast. I hadn't even heard that myth before, but I could tell from their faces that they truly and sincerely thought that Jews had horns on their heads.

Like the devil.

They didn't mean anything by it; that's just what they had heard.

I was about to start yelling and screaming and throwing punches, but I was frozen. This was my BEST FRIEND they were talking about.

But then I saw an amazing thing.

Jason just said "Oh, I don't have horns. Jews don't really have horns; that's just a crazy story."

"Oh,... ok" the kids said, disappointed that they weren't going to see a free freakshow.

After that, we all just went out and played "tag" together- and made sure not to yell and mess up our voices!

That day has stuck in my mind forever.

Why am I telling you this story? Well, two reasons:

1- You are in a business that most people don't understand. If they REALLY did, they'd be involved in SOME sort of Network Marketing company somewhere. I am in three myself, but Agel is the only one I build. I believe that in the future, network marketing companies will be as popular as franchises are today.

Our challenge is educating people correctly. Jason just kept his cool, and very calmly explained that crazy horn story. I recently had a guy tell me that he "Wouldn't want to 'DO Neywork Marketing' TO his friends" because network marketing was a scam and shameful (by the way, that same guy said he was willing to "Do it" to strangers). I obviously have no desire to sponsor him, but I did challenge him to get some REAL information on our industry. I should find out if he ever did, or if he just stayed in his ignorance.

2- You are in a business where people from all over the world come together to help each other, and work together despite their perceived differences. I remember at Agel World '07, one of the Leaders in Israel said that his mission with Agel was to bring Peace to the holy land. Wouldn't that be amazing? "Sorry, I know we've been fighting for eons, but we had better figure out how to stop because there's too much money invested here!"

Now THAT is a mission.

So, when you're out building your business, let's remember that what we're doing is EDUCATING people on our industry and our business, and that YOU are the ambassador.

That way, if someone asks to see your horns, maybe you can explain that you don't have any, and that in this business, you're just trying to:

Create Wealth
Have Fun
Help Others