James L. Paris's Blog, page 101

Personal Finance Guru: Here���s What You Must Do to Change Your Work Life

There���s nothing worse than feeling like you���ve fallen in a rut at work. Doing so can prove profoundly harmful, in a number of ways.

For one thing, you���re, simply, unhappy at work, which means you���re unhappy for what may be the lion���s share of your waking hours each day.

For another, your feelings, your attitude���are likely coming across loud and clear to peers and supervisors, even if it seems to you as though you���re keeping your misery to yourself.

According to a piece over at CNBC.com, Ramit Sethi, a personal finance and career guru, and founder of GrowthLab.com, a website devoted to helping entrepreneurs succeed at developing online businesses, feels your pain:

���You wake up, you hate your job. You go there, you decide to spend an hour in the bathroom just so you can be on your phone away from your desk ��� I get it.���

Sethi, however, makes a point perhaps even more crucial than how being unhappy at work is affecting your happiness, in the present day.

According to the ���guru,��� it is also acting to keep you from ever getting out of the quagmire.

���Every day you are at your job that you're not being challenged, you're not being given more responsibilities, you're not building your skills,��� says Sethi. ���Every day you're at that job, your skills are actually deteriorating because there's somebody out there who's being given more responsibility.
���They're getting paid more and they're building amazing relationships.���

Furthermore, says Sethi, persisting in that condition essentially ensures that ���you���can't catch up��� with the people around you who are making functional progress in jobs that challenge them and from which they derive satisfaction.

As depressing as that sounds, though, Sethi has an answer for you.

���Get impatient with yourself.���

The answer, he says, is deciding you have, once and for all, had enough, and make the bold effort to seek out connections, even influencers, in the field in which you really want to be working.

���Once you have a vision of where you are going, then start seeking advice from those who have the job you want. Start taking people out to coffee. Start looking at other people who have built a career that you admire and learn from them.���

While it may not be in your nature to make such requests of people, don���t be shy. As Sethi points out, people, in general, tend to get excited when asked ���how they did it.��� People often like to have the opportunity to talk about themselves, including about their journeys to success.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

After Taking Cruel Poke at Widow of Navy SEAL Killed in Action, Former Clinton Volunteer Loses Job

Once again, progressives prove that they are anything but.

During Donald Trump���s address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, the president publicly honored the sacrifice of Carryn Owens, the widow of fallen U.S. Navy SEAL William ���Ryan��� Owens who was killed while participating in a raid in Yemen back on January 29.

Anyone who watched the nationally-televised speech could not help but be moved by the image of a tearful Mrs. Owens, still clearly deep in grief over the loss of her husband.

Well, almost anyone, apparently.

Dan Grilo, whose Twitter profile indicated that he was at one time a volunteer for both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, was unwilling to contain himself, or his crass leftist instincts, apparently, when he expressed this opinion of Carryn Owens as the speech was playing out:

���Sorry, Owens��� wife, you���re not helping yourself or your husband���s memory by standing there and clapping like an idiot. Trump just used you.���

The tweet, as you might imagine, went viral, and Grilo immediately found himself the subject of great derision on social media.

His second instinct, it seems, was to send out another message on Twitter apologizing for what he called a ���poorly worded tweet,��� but that wasn���t going to cut it with the quickly-growing number of people throughout the Twitter and social media universe who were enraged that someone could say such a thing about a war widow.

Soon after, his account went private, and shortly after that, he deleted his Twitter account altogether.

That was not, however, the end of things for Mr. Grilo, whose legion of enemies was growing with each passing second. When interested people tracked down Grilo���s LinkedIn account and saw he worked at a company called Liberty Advisor Group out of Chicago, Liberty���s various social media accounts were inundated with calls for Grilo to be fired.

And so he was.

According to Fox News, by Wednesday, Liberty had received the message, loud and clear, from a good deal of Americans fed up with the constant barrage of disrespect shown to the country and its most revered institutions.

In a statement, Liberty said that Grilo���s ���comments were inconsistent with the Company���s values," and that ���regardless of whether the comments in the tweet were intended to cause the hurt and anger that they ultimately generated, they were unacceptable to us, and the individual who issued the tweet is no longer affiliated with Liberty.���

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

Two Ex-Administrators at Harvard Accused of Embezzling $110,000 Earmarked for Disabled Students

Ah, Harvard University. Only that which is great and honorable emanates from there, right?

Well, not quite. It seems as if a couple of former Harvard administrators did not allow themselves to absorb during their terms of employment the greatness and altruistic tendencies for which the school, and so many of its graduates, are famous.

No, it seems these two were interested only in helping themselves���to a lot.

The ex-administrators in question, Meg DeMarco and Darris Saylors, have been accused of embezzling $110,000 from the school and spending the cash on all sorts of goodies, including phones, computers and tablets.

That���s not, however, a complete list.

As a matter of fact, Saylors is accused, as well, of spending some of the money on���sex toys.

Well, alrighty, then.

As crazy as the story is up to this point, it gets better. It turns out DeMarco and Saylors stole money that the school had set aside for the benefit of disabled students.

Really, people?

Speaking to Boston-area WBZ-TV about the allegations, DeMarco, said, in part, ���It was a big job and I made mistakes.���

Apparently, then, it is the job���s fault that she was driven to steal money from her employer.

According to the Daily Mail, DeMarco allegedly utilized a mobile card reader to move the dough from the school���s account to her own.

DeMarco also said to WBZ-TV that ���I never intended to harm the university.���

According to the Daily Mail article, both Saylors and DeMarco were to be arraigned on Wednesday in Cambridge (Mass.) District Court.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

Poll: Clear Majority of Americans Say Public Bathroom Use Should Be Linked to Biological Sex

Ah, that silent majority.

The one many of us feel is truly out there, but of which there seems to be little real evidence because they generally are, well, silent.

Here���s a little more proof it actually exists.

According to a new Crux/Marist poll, and despite all of the protests and other histrionics to the contrary, it appears that a clear majority of Americans supports the idea that use of public facilities ��� restrooms, locker rooms, and the like ��� should be determined based on one���s biological sex, rather than gender identity.

Results of the survey show, by a margin of 66 percent to 27 percent, that Americans are not of the opinion that ���someone who is transitioning to become the opposite sex��� should have the privilege of deciding which shower and locker room facilities to use.

Additionally, the survey also revealed that when it comes to public bathrooms, Americans, by a margin of 56 percent to 38 percent, believe that people should, again, be using those facilities earmarked for their biological sex.

The announcement of these survey results comes on the heels of another batch of results from a Rasmussen Reports poll that shows similar disdain, overall, by Americans for transgender-friendly bathroom policies. In that study, it turns out that a policy of ���allowing transgender students to use the bathrooms of the opposite biological sex��� was opposed by 49 percent of those polled; just 38 percent they were in favor of such policies.

So, what about all the noise?

Turns out it���s just that, noise.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

 

Survey: A Large Number of Americans Live in Fear of Retiring Poor

The degree of financial worry for citizens inside of one of the world���s richest nations is significant.

Results of a survey conducted by the National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) show that a majority of Americans are decidedly less than optimistic when it comes to evaluating their chances of retiring with genuine security. Among the pieces of data is the revelation, from nearly 76 percent of respondents, that broad economic conditions will diminish their ability to retire without fear.

The survey also found that 55 percent of Americans ���strongly agree��� with the idea that the United States is looking at a retirement crisis, 88 percent think that the federal government should be doing more to help ensure the nation���s citizens are able to retire securely, and relatedly, 80 percent of us think that workers ���cannot save enough on their own to guarantee a secure retirement.���

One might expect that these figures, when broken down on party lines, would see Democrats comprising the lion���s share of the majority opinions here, and while Democrats do tend to believe these notions in greater numbers, plenty of Republicans are obviously worried, as well. For example, on the matter of the 80 percent who say workers can���t save enough to fund their own secure retirements, although 85 percent of Democrats agreed with that sentiment, 77 percent of polled Republicans did, as well.

The report bluntly explains that ���if current trends continue, the U.S. soon will face rates of poverty among senior citizens not seen since the Great Depression. Of the 18 million workers between the ages of 55 and 64 in 2012, more than four million will be poor or near poor at age 65. This includes 2.6 million Americans considered middle-class prior to retirement.��� Additionally, says the report, ���Americans are united in their anxiety about their economic security in retirement and in their dissatisfaction with national policy makers��� inaction to address the nation���s retirement crisis.���

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

Millionaire Who Works 95 Hours Per Week Shares the Secret to Avoiding Burnout

Multi-millionaire entrepreneur, real estate tycoon and best-selling author Grant Cardone works a lot.

A lot.

In his estimation, according to CNBC, he works at least 95 hours each week.

That���s at least 95 hours per week.

His attitude about that, however, is very straightforward, very blunt:

���There are 168 hours in a week. You should be working most of them,��� Cardone tells CNBC. ���If you want to change your condition, you have to work.

If you can outwork the rest of the population, you're going to get lucky.���

No concerns about work-life balance for this guy.

To repeat: ���There are 168 hours in a week. You should be working most of them.���

Wow.

Even for a highly-motivated person, that���s still a whole bunch of hours. So how in the world does he avoid getting burned out as a result of all that time spent devoted to his labors?

His answer is as simple as it is revealing.

���Any time you're feeling burned out ��� any time you're exhausted ��� look for your purpose.

"People burn out for one reason: Because they're off purpose.���

Cardone says the key lies in remaining cognizant of ���what it is you're here to do. You've got to find that rich part of you, the reason you're here, and go out every day and chase it down, hunt it down, and bring it into focus.

���Most people quit the game because the trophy's not big enough. Me and my wife sit down and ask, ���What's the trophy now?��� You make a million dollars. OK, what's the new trophy? What's the new game?

���You do not get tired when you're having fun. When you're winning, you don't get tired. When you're scoring, you don't get tired. The game can go on forever. But when you're not winning, you're not scoring, and it no longer matters, then you get exhausted.���

And there you have it.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

Despite Trump���s Low Approval Rating, 60% of Americans Say They���re ���Hopeful��� About the Future

In a new poll conducted jointly by The Wall Street Journal and NBC News, and reported on by the Washington Examiner, President Trump���s approval numbers make him, in the words of the Journal, ���the first president of the post-World War II era with a net negative approval rating in his first gauge of public opinion.���

The survey results show Trump���s approval rating to be sitting at 44 percent, while his disapproval rating is at 48 percent.

Not good, not by a long shot.

But there���s something else, something that might be, in its own way, even more revealing.

According to the same poll, when asked the question, ���When you think about the future of the country, would you say that you are mainly hopeful and optimistic or mainly worried and pessimistic,��� a full 60 percent of respondents answered that they were hopeful, and not pessimistic.

What���s more, if there is any doubt that the clear feeling of optimism is directly connected to the Trump presidency, despite his own low approval numbers, one need only review the answers given to the same question asked by the Journal back in August��� 54 percent���and again in December: 56 percent.

Pollster Bill McInturff told Byron York of the Examiner that the 60 percent figure ���is a strong number being driven by very high numbers among Trump voters who express optimism across a number of measures on the poll, including higher economic confidence.���

That said, as York points out, a ���60 percent of Americans��� chunk of the electorate has to include people who did not vote for the current president���and therein is the truth that likely belies Trump���s lousy approval numbers. That is, in response to a ���how���s he doing��� question formed outside of the context of Trump himself, a majority of Americans cannot help but admit that they like what is going on right now in the country.

How about that?

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

Marco Rubio: Not Doing Town Halls Because Paid Activists Simply There to ���Heckle and Scream at Me���

Marco Rubio is not doing town halls at this time.

The Republican U.S. senator from Florida and candidate for the 2016 Republican Party nomination for president has seen what is going on at other town halls across the country, and is simply not bothering with one of his own.

 

Chatting with CBS Miami on Sunday, Rubio laid it out there.

���They are not town halls anymore,��� Rubio said. ���What these groups really want is for me to schedule a public forum, they then organize three, four, five, six hundred liberal activists in the two counties or wherever I am in the state.���

According to the senator, he recently became familiar with what is essentially a ���how-to��� manual for protesters put out by the ���Indivisible��� movement that appears to be behind all of the upheaval at recent town hall events. What he quickly learned is that no one hosting any of these town halls has a chance. As Rubio put it on Sunday, there is just no useful reason for him to put on a town hall that will be targeted by leftists whose whole purpose for showing up is to ���heckle and scream at me in front of cameras.���

As the senator puts it, the tactics of the group include arriving at the designated location early, and in enough numbers, to take up the lion���s share of available seats. ���They spread themselves out. They ask questions,��� said Rubio. ���They all cheer when the questions are asked. They are instructed to boo no matter what answer I give. They are instructed to interrupt me if I go too long and start chanting things. Then, at the end, they are also told not to give up their microphone when they ask questions.���

Rubio, is, of course, absolutely right. They are no longer town halls; just demonstrations in anarchy by a bunch of petulant children. Naturally, it is the earnest constituent who suffers, but until enough of those folks band together to ensure the anarchists will not be able to continue hijacking the proceedings, then there will either be no town halls whatsoever, or free-for-alls.

In either case, the democratic process remains the loser.

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

Facebook Issues Apology to Homeschooling Mom for Suspending Her over Post on Homosexuality

The Christian Post is reporting that Facebook has issued an apology to a popular Christian video blogger for suspending her account in connection with a post she had written about the Bible���s views against homosexuality.

Elizabeth Johnston is an outspoken Christian conservative and homeschooler of 10 kids, as well as the person behind ���The Activist Mommy,��� a website that features videos and other content of Johnston sharing her strong opinions on a variety of issues near and dear to Christians and conservatives across the country. She is known, as well, for the companion Facebook Page of ���The Activist Mommy,��� and it is there Johnston ran up against the powers that be at Facebook.

It seems that Elizabeth Johnston had made a post over six months ago that itself was a ���thread��� response to someone who had come to her Page and challenged her views. Johnston���s response to the other person involved, in part, citing Scriptural passages that address homosexuality, including quotations from the Book of Leviticus that describe homosexuality as ���detestable,��� as well as an ���abomination.���

Well, that was, apparently, way too much for the folks at Facebook, and when word of Johnston���s post finally made it back to them (no doubt by way of a ���concerned citizen���), her account was suspended on Feb. 9, specifically because it didn���t ���follow the Facebook Community Standards.��� She was out of action for three days, and the ���offensive��� post was entirely removed by Facebook.

When Johnston was able to resume her Facebook Page activity on Feb. 12, she created another post to explain to her followers what had happened, and that entry included a screengrab of the original, offending post.

Well, THAT did it, and she was suspended again, this time for a period of seven days.

Johnston was in no way quiet about what was taking place, and her story went viral, to include being picked up by such outlets as The New York Times and Fox News. Not long after, Facebook restored both her Page and the posts that had been removed, and issued an apology, saying their actions were made ���in error.���

Johnston, however, isn���t buying that anything was done ���in error,��� and remains strident in her belief that Facebook was very purposeful in what it had done to her. In a February 24 post on her Page, Johnston wrote, in part:

���Average conservative facebook users are being censored in droves! That's NOT an accident and has to stop! Most victims of Facebook's arbitrary and biased censorship don't have the luxury of getting a media response from facebook. I am on a mission to expose this and see it changed.���

By Robert G. Yetman, Jr. Editor At Large

 

Author Says Anti Trump Witchcraft Rituals Should Be Taken Seriously

The Great Inception: Satan's Psyops from Eden to Armageddon - You stand on a battlefield, surrounded by an enemy that you've been told doesn't exist. This is a classic example of a PSYOP a psychological operation, a mission to change what you believe by feeding you information that is inaccurate, incomplete, or an outright lie. This PSYOP is one of many by entities who've been at war with God since the Garden of Eden. The Bible calls them gods. God Himself calls them gods. But we've been taught that they're imaginary, so we stumble around the battlefield completely unprepared to defend ourselves.