Thursday, February 26, 2009

Earl Flormata - Canada Pensions down 30B

Hoo boy... down 30 Billion...

I remember reading from Kiyosaki's work that there's not enough pension to go round in the U.S. so when I saw the headline that Canada's pensions are down 30B since last year, I thought I'd do a little bit of digging in comparison.

From the Canadian Encyclopedia it states that from 1940 - 1960, there was an increase of 18% in the birth rate, or in numbers - an extra 1.5 million births that added to the population. With the baby boomers hitting the retirement age (around 8.6 MM) in that timeframe - let's do some simple quick math to find out how much they need to make it happen.

3.1 Percent average growth over 5 years, with 95.4B to work with averages around 2.9B to work with annually (suggesting also that it doesn't take another major hit or three). With 8.6 million people retiring, and say an average pension payment of around say $1000 a month - that adds up to 8.6 B to figure out. Now I know these are just arbitrary numbers and not an exact science, but last I checked, 8.6 - 2.9 = 5.7. A 5 Billion dollar shortfall even give or take a billion or two with my rough numbers is still somewhat worrisome. Being 28, and having the "proper retirement age" around 65-70 means that unless I do something for myself - I seriously doubt that the problem will solve itself by the time 40 years have passed.

This is one of the main reasons why I continue to read at a breakneck pace, and try to increase my financial IQ as much as possible, as quickly as possible so that I understand and can exercise as many options and start down the paths I need to run before time runs out.

With the current state of the economy, I've also been looking at more tangible solutions such as real estate with cash flow, and the idea of purchasing gold wholesale. I'm still pretty tax-centric in my research, but every little piece of the puzzle is what makes it whole.

Thanks for reading,
Earl Flormata


...now off to find that 5 Billion ;)

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Earl Flormata - FU Money book report: Dan "the man" Lok

I just finished reading Dan “The Man” Lok's soon to be New York times best selling book that hasn't even launched yet, and it's been one hell of a ride. The three things behavioural changes that I will either choose to strengthen and keep in my life, or change for the BETTER are as follows.

1) I resolve to NEVER chase after talent again, but instead become a talent magnet. I vow to create such a powerful team, and fantastic atmosphere that instead of me begging others to follow my lead, I will just show up and people will come from all around who want to work with me.

I know I've just recently used this quote in a previous post, but damned if it isn't a good one!

Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig.
- Robert Heinlein


2) Before the springtime comes, I resolve to make more money than I know what to do with so that I never EVER EVER!! have to mow the lawn ever again. Either that, or make so much stinking money that I will landscape everything to make mowing the lawn easier than breathing. (I'd actually enjoy it if the damn thing was level). I will stop trying to learn skillsets that I will never ever master - or enjoy for that matter, and instead choose to focus on what I am good at, and what I enjoy doing.

3) Mentors Mentors Mentors. Learn what I need to strengthen as FAST as possible by continuing to leverage masters that have already been where I want to go.

If Internet Marketing is something that could be or should be an interest of yours in the near future, I URGE you to take a look at this book for the "ready fire fire fire aim a little fire again" kick in the pants you need to get your ass off the couch and into profit. Hell, if you ever need a slap in the face for the truth about making your millions in ANY category – this book lights the fire that’ll get you started.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Earl Flormata - The 5 Classes of Entrepreneurs

This was an interesting article that I came across, and funny enough - the words that struck home the hardest were last few in the article.

"Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish."
-Steve Jobs

Up until a bunch of my product vendors fell through, I had thought that I was a Class 5 Entrepreneur. A Game Changer - raising 26MM in one year for a single cause. The issue is that I was a Class 5 in a Class 3's mindset, and body.

As a problem solver at heart, I enjoy breaking the system. In breaking the system - I feel that I expose the flaws with the current world, and leave it a better place once I've shown people how to make things more efficient. The biggest issue however was being a one man band. I'll admit - I got used to hearing the sound of my own voice - and that was a major downfall.

As I build my new company - and this time with a team - I have to wrap my mind around scalability, and duplication. Without these two things in mind, I cannot graduate to a Class 4, and eventually earn a spot in the Class 5 ranks once again. I'm looking forward to the next three months, where I must count on my team to deliver alongside me, the pieces of the puzzle to solve the problem - teach myself and learn how to share the greater vision with the team so that we're all moving in the same direction, and finally - to change the game in a way I know that's completely possible.

There's more than one way to the Infiniti Point. And I intend to find and share every path that I can to get there. Here's to me staying hungry, and staying foolish :)

Thanks for Reading,
Earl Flormata

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Earl Flormata - Even the sharks are starving

In a recession - even the sharks are starving.

Think about it - in a bad economy, people don't go on vacation as much I suppose. If that's the case, then there's fewer people in the resorts, fewer people at the beach, and fewer people in shark infested waters.

That's not to say that there still aren't some sharks out there - but at least their victims are fewer and further between. What are your thoughts on the upcoming economic times, and our multi-toothed friends?

Thanks for Reading,
Earl Flormata