Liberty or Tyranny??

Liars and business go hand in hand, but why must liars and government be discounted as the price of doing business with unwanted thieves whose presence is neither required nor desired?

 

I exaggerate slightly in my prior statement about the liars in business. However, it does ring true in principle. If you disagree, I understand, however, what would you call a business negotiation that includes compromises?

 

Would that not be a misrepresentation of the requirements to ensure an increase in value to the point of maintaining profitability? This is called business, is it not? Something of value is obtained through a transaction or exchange of value most times personal treasure, or wealth.

 

I am not a businessman, though I did work in the child labor racket back as a kid. Creating value through my individual efforts by first delivering newspapers in Northeastern Ohio on time and in a scheduled routine with the help of my Father, Mother, and Sister, because “People want their paper on time”, my Dad would routinely say as he would wake his lazy ass Son up to distribute the news to the awakening Public prior to their worshiping their God, their own way.  At 1.3 cents a house during the week and 4.2 cents a house on Sundays., or something to that effect.

 

The moral of the story is to work smarter, not harder. You have your established and loyal customer base, a few who only require your service from time to time, which is ok, but they will be required to do so at an increased rate of transaction, aka a higher price. But those were the smart folks, they saw the Sunday newspaper as an investment with a high rate of return, there were coupons that reduced the amount of wealth it took to feed one’s family. So the Sunday paper was more mutually beneficial than reading about the mundaneness of life Monday through Saturday, plus the funnies came in color on Sundays too, a double bonus!!

 

During this time of performing a contracted function, I was fortunate enough to meet people who had primarily agricultural processes that they needed assistance with and offered me compensation at a rate that far exceeded pennies per pedaled powered delivery. It was seasonal and I was able to perform and accrue more personal value by being able to provide both services.

 

This was routine until I entered high school and interscholastic sporting events. As much as I wanted to be a businessman I still enjoyed competing in team based athletic competitions. So the Family said goodbye to the paper route and I was being torn numerous ways, scholastically, socially, athletically, spiritually, and many more. But, no matter how you spin it everything comes down to value and what you are willing to part with to participate in the values of academics, interpersonal relationships, sports, religion, and the list continues. Needless to say it is easy to mis-prioritize or even ignore something’s that are so self evident that only a fool would do. That is called personal growth is that not? When done for compensation it would be called professional growth, true?

 

The next gig was caddying at a local country club, increased value and freedom as well. With freedom comes responsibility along with accountability for ones actions. Let me tell you sooner or later it catches up with you, you may not recognize it, but it does. Those are missed or ignored growth opportunities, you ever wonder why people do the things they do? Think this may offer up at least part of an explanation, but to each there own.

 

Either way, value was primarily created through watching rich people hit and follow a golf ball and through agricultural labor, minus a neighborly stint for a nameless local business who paid me under the table for a short period of time, this is the work ethic my Father helped instill in me as a young man. For that I am eternally grateful, as his quick-witted comments are still fresh in my memories.

 

There was a time when the agricultural labor requirements became so intense and so short handed that I was able to negotiate a rate that far exceeded minimum wage at that time, for myself and a friend. We had a great prom that year, we were able to work through the cold and the rain of early spring, while others were forced to sit on the sidelines waiting for a break in the Northeast Ohio winter, spring weather transitional period.

 

Then I joined the military trying to use it to accomplish a few of my current aspirations. Well, like most my aspirations changed over time, which is normal I suppose. There came a point when I became injured that quite a few of my aspirations were eliminated, so prioritize are made and focus is recalibrated.

 

On through life this happens to all of us, opportunities presented before us that we have the Liberty to either accept the challenge or decline the opportunity.

 

I will tell you this much, do not be afraid of failure, if someone sees value in you they will not let you fail. They may provide you with the opportunity to fail, or even make you feel like you have failed, but it is all in the way that you present yourself to that presenter of the opportunity(s) in failure that defines who you are and the value that you have within you.

 

I don’t recall writing about government one time, so how are they so involved in the things that create value in our lives now? It doesn’t add up, not even at 7.5% or pick you sales tax rate and input here. If it does then you are lucky, buy a government sponsored lottery ticket, but I would advise to look out for lightening. After all luck is both good and bad.

 

Oh the good old days, how I miss them, but really how do really miss my Dad and the wisdom that he had, its all about seeing the forest through the trees, sometimes that takes patience.

 

In the end, business is about creating value, the amount of value you are worth is always up to you. That is why everything in life is a negotiation, well except when dealing with the government, then it is done by mandate, code, regulation, and laws in order too keep, our Liberties and property safe.

 

So in reality negotiations are not lies, and taxation may not qualify as theft in the legal sense, but I would be willing to bet that it meets a couple RICO statutes if done by a loosely connected group of individuals. Oh the irony.

 

Trust our neighbors or trust the multi-headed monster that is our government?

 

There is no price of doing business when dealing with our purveyors of safety and security in our own beings. They may have a carrot and a stick, but in the end. They eat the carrot and beat you with the stick, then have the audacity to charge your exhausted and depleted body for a small cup of water that doesn’t even quench your thirst. Then direct you to go buy more carrots and to find a new stick for them, since we are becoming so stubborn that it is often broken over our backs during the negotiation process with government.

 

God I Love This Country of LIBERTY. Is it odd that my life is now at its happiest pursuing my LIBERTIES? I don’t find that all odd, not from where I am currently, nor from where I hope to be in the future, wherever the opportunities’ of life take us.

 

Just pursuing away……..