Posted by Canadian Dream on January 24, 2009
So I’ve been really bad about having the occasion link post. So I’ve decided to try doing a weekend post once in a while.
Zen Habits shows us have to have the best year ever.
Four Pillars talks about the US stimulus package.
Retired Syd asks if she is ready to volunteer (which is a much better message from a US president than go shopping after terrorists attacks).
So if you are looking for a new job check out the latest on Sqawkfox’s resume series.
Preet mentions he is not giving up his latte’s any time soon regardless of the factor involved.
Oh, one last thing. I’ve finally decided to try Twitter. So if you want to follow along I’ve added a widget to the site sidebar which will show more of the behind the scenes of the blog.
Posted by Canadian Dream on January 23, 2009
Well recently at work I came across an old concept when someone mention that good old phrase: you can’t push a rope. Now originally this phrase came into my life via my physics class when solving force problems with pulleys. Basically the intent of the phrase is don’t get so tried up in solving the problem that you forget the practical consideration: You can’t push a rope to solve the problem. It just doesn’t work.
So I feel that in general we have all been conditioned to something similar. When faced with any problem most people’s first reaction is to shovel money at it. Car making an odd noise, take it to the shop. Something broke in the house, buy a new one. Health care won’t function, give it more money. Our automatic reaction is to use money to makes things better. Yet shoveling money at the problem often ignores the fact you are in fact pushing a rope.
For example, your car is making a funny noise because there is too much snow in the wheel wells, knock it out. Instead of buying something new for the house, try living with out and see if you even miss it. Instead of getting more health care staff to deal with people getting older, do more preventative work to keep them healthy instead of treating them after they are sick. We ignore the practical solution because we are so focused on fixing something the wrong way.
Now this is actually a really wide spread problem. People are stuck in their patterns and are refusing to change. For example, ignore global warming for a second. Now isn’t the fact top soil depths are dropping in most of the world, species are disappearing at a rapid rate and the fact in general people are no more happy for all our stuff indicate to you that something is wrong with the way we live. We are collectively pushing the rope. We work hard to get money, then buy stuff we really not sure we need and spend large sums of money on entertainment to make us forget about our lives. Pardon me, why on earth should we want to forget about our lives? Oh right, they have no meaning for us.
So the solution is obvious isn’t it. Make meaning in your life. Ignore the stuff and the money for a second and ask your self how you want to live your life. Be silly here, it is ok. If you want to be a better cook, find someone to teach you or take a class. Got no time because of the kids? Get a babysitter or trade sitting with someone you know. Want to be a writer, then pick up a pen. Want to be published on a blog, send me post. (I have yet to reject a single guest post.) Stop making excuses for not having meaning and start making meaning in your life.
Why is this so important? Because once we are all living our lives with meaning and intent the rest of the stuff we don’t need won’t get bought. The mindless entertainment will be used less. The amount of resources use and garbage creation will drop off. They don’t make things that don’t sell you know (at least not for long). So find meaning and happiness in your life. Save yourself and the planet will follow.
Now isn’t that a good piece of news. The world really wants you to be happier. So what brings meaning to your life?
Posted by Canadian Dream on January 22, 2009
Well Canadian Capitalist and I must have similar posting schedules. He just posted his book review of this book yesterday with a contest as well.
Well it is rare to find a retirement book that gets me excited at all. After all when you have read dozens of them it starts to all blur together. Yet New Rules of Retirement by Warren MacKenzie and Ken Hawkins did manage to get me a little excited when in their introduction they stated:
Retirement is both a process and a life stage. In preparing for retirement, it is not enough to know how much money you will need, where you are going to live, or how you are going to spend your time. It is also necessary to understand that your attitudes, concerns, and emotions, as well as your financial needs, will change as you age.
I nearly dropped the book in excitement. Was this book at last going to be the one that strings everything I would love to see in a retirement book? No it wasn’t THAT good, but you know it is a damn close second. The book is just packed with interesting facts and statistics how how people live their retirement and factors people should consider when planning their retirement that don’t all involve money. They also spend a bit of time discussing how retirement has changed and evolved over the last twenty years so.
Another thing I really enjoyed about the book is the fact that during their discuss at the end of the book on either DIY investing versus getting help from an adviser (they do point out most people are actually using salesmen which causes a conflict of interest and typically high fees). It was a very well balanced discussion that points out in the end this is nothing wrong with either way. It’s a matter of choice.
Overall I did really like this book as it deals with how your retirement changes as you get older and how to prepare yourself for that a bit which is rare to see in a retirement book.
Now to the really good news, the authors kindly included a copy for me to give away. So to enter to win a copy of this book please leave a comment to this post with a vaild email address. As per usual one entry per person and only open to residents of Canada. This contest will close on Jan. 26, 2009 at 8 pm CST.
