Life is hard. Money is constantly tight, no matter how much you make, and the things we want for ourselves, our spouses and our children seem to grow further and further out of site. Constantly on the search for the best “deal” in town, the majority of us have become, what we would refer to ourselves as, ‘Savvy Shoppers.”
Hardly any of us purchase something the first time we see it. Whether it’s a car, a shirt, some khaki pants or a toy for our children. While the convenience of an easy buy seems justified, many of us are likely to pull out of iPhones in the middle of Toys R Us and check amazon to see if we can purchase the product for a lesser amount. While this “internet” driving shopping habit has, perhaps, saved families hundreds of dollars per year, the sad part is that it is starting to damage our local economies. Let’s look at a current scenario for a second and see how buying a product in person, at a store in your community spawns economic prosperity. Take that Toy your kids want. Let’s just say it was Christmas time and your kids wanted a Drone. Not a crazy expensive one, but one that you could easily buy in person without blinking an eye. Let’s say it cost $39.99 (unrealistic, I know, but for the sake of the argument follow along). You swipe your credit card for a total somewhere around $43.98 (tax included), give the nice young person at Toys R Us (or even better, your local independent toy store) a smile and you are on your way. You drive the 6 miles home to your garage, park your car and place the gift in the closet where your kids can’t find it. Now, let’s imagine when you arrived at Toys R Us, you saw the price and immediately hit up your Amazon Prime app on your phone. You see that the same Drone for sale through an Amazon approved retailer for $36.99 with free shipping and tax free. Instead of buying the drone for a total of $43.98, you decide to buy it through the app, leaving the store empty handed and the employees of the establishment none the wiser. You feel like you ‘Won” by not falling victim to the retail monster and got what you wanted for less coin. Congrats dude. Congrats. Now, obviously, a single transaction over the course of a year is not going to make or break the economic success of your community, but what if you begin to completely negate the act of shopping at your local stores, and in turn, begin to buy all of your necessities and “gear” online? While you may see savings of a couple hundred dollars over the course of a year, you may also begin to see some negative aspects as well. First off, the money you would have spent at a local store is now no longer going there. Which means, that store now has $19.99 less profit to help pay their employees. For some stores, that could be nearly 2.5 hours of labor wages paid to a deserving young person trying to save up to pay for college, a first car or a special gift to surprise their significant other with. Even worse, it could have been salary wages that would help pay for a single mother to buy diapers for her child, a retired person help supplement their Social Security check in order to pay for High Blood Pressure medication, or simply, your friend trying to make a living managing the local Toys R Us. Let’s take it a step further. If you completely stop shopping at local businesses, not only are you not spending your money at local establishments, but you “may” not be paying local taxes which help keep our roads safe, help pay for new football jerseys for our local public school sports team, and worse, keep funding out of our school system all together. (yes, I am aware that some store like Amazon still charge sales tax on certain items.) While each of us may save a little bit of money each month by shopping entirely online, the people being hurt are those directly in our communities who depend on us to frequent local establishments for the items and services we need. While I am an advocate for small, locally owned and operated businesses, I understand the value that large companies and stores, such as Wal Mart have on our local economies. Hundreds of thousands (perhaps millions) of dollars are spent each week at stores such as Wal Mart and Publix, thus, dumping a LOT of tax money into our local economies. They provide salaries to local workers and they provide fundraising materials to groups when needed. While I may not love corporate structures shutting down small businesses in my own community, I see their value. If 10,000 people would have decided to buy the drone in person, instead of through an Online retailer, each person would have spent only $6.99 more; roughly the cost of a fast food breakfast or a “fancy” Starbucks drink. If we are honest with ourselves, we would agree that we probably wouldn’t even notice that extra money being gone. However, if 10,000 people bought the drone in person, that would be a total profit (most retail items are marked up 100%) of nearly $200,000 being pushed into our local economy, and nearly $40,000 in tax dollars being raised. That means not only are we able to provide wages to local employees, but we are also able to provide better funding for our schools, better roads for our drivers, and better security through salaries for police, fire and EMT workers. While I fully understand that companies like Amazon do A LOT for their local economies, and the people that are involved in their system, we need to understand that it’s not the only answer. Perhaps saving $100 on a new TV for your teenager’s room is a justified purchase through Amazon. They do pay the workers at the credit card companies, they pay the people who make and distribute the boxes, and they pay their own employees. Plenty of money gets put into the national economy, and that’s a great thing. However, if we can buy ONE less item per month online and try to buy it locally, we might see our local economic issues slowly disappear.
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Ever since I was little kid, if I was confused, heartbroken, torn or disappointed I would find solace and peace through writing. Whether it was creating songs about combusting friendships tottering on the brink of romanticism or simply writing an article on how to dress for your 8th grade dance, putting words onto paper has helped me cope with the disillusioned natured of my surroundings during difficult times. When I woke up on Wednesday morning and saw who our newest president elect would be, I was surprised to say the least. I was surprised not in a manner of disappointment or elation, but surprised in the revelation of incongruity alongside a culture that I have seen be created over the last 28 years of my life. Growing up in an upper middle class, two-parent household, I was sheltered from a lot of social injustice and fiscal poverty. I didn’t learn algebra next to hungry students nor did I have to hide my my new bike while passing by drug dealers as I tried to enjoy my youth. I wasn’t forced to work during high school in order to support a sick family member and I wasn’t oppressed due to my religious values. One thing that I did experience, however, was a culmination of values, a dissertation on equality and a formulation of a value system that guides me through daily life. I don’t have President Bush (Sr) to thank for my birth. I don’t have President Clinton to thank for my upbringing. I don’t have President Bush (Jr) to thank for any financial success I have experienced or may experience in the future. I don’t have President Obama to thank for my appreciation of the arts or my talents, which I am able to share with those that I care most about. The only people I have to thank for my ability to feel the emotions I do about the beliefs that I care most about are my parents. My parents taught me how to love unconditionally no matter who the person is. My parents taught me to give freely and lovingly in order to assist those who need our support. My parents taught me how to respect women and how to care for those who need our protection. My parents taught me the sanctity of life and how to protect the rights of all who embrace our nation’s creed. Most importantly, my parents taught me to be myself. I am no more like you than you are like me. I don’t want you to believe the same things I do. I don’t want you to trust in the same God I place my faith in. I don’t want you to believe the same future for our children is in their best interest. I don’t want you to be me anymore than I want myself to be like you. I may choose to protect my family through gun ownership and you may choose to protect yours through trust of our local law enforcement. I may spend my income on music education for my children while you invest in their athletic endeavors. I may spend lavishly on clothing while you may be forced to buy sparingly due to financial circumstances. You may invest your funding in experiences while I spend my income on changing my daily routine. No matter who we are, no matter what we do, and no matter what we believe in, we are the future of our communities. We are the people who can uplift the downtrodden and invoke change on our culture’s belief systems. Only we can create the America that we dream is should be. If you want to complain about change, educate yourself on new opportunities that might be present for you and your family. If you feel that social progress has taken a back seat in your communities, donate your time and efforts to those who need your leadership. If you feel the need to hate those who oppose your views, choose the hate the circumstances that lead to their decision-making. Do not wish for your neighbor to be like you. Do not wish for your government to create a system that only benefits your family. Above all, do not wish for anyone other than yourself to educate your children and cultivate their future as compassionate and freethinking individuals. Your public school will not teach your children how to respect women. Your preacher will not teach them how to establish financial security for their future family. Above all, your president can not create a route in life that will provide just fulfillment for your family. Instead of choosing to take a side or be a part of the fabric of the political system in the United States, choose, today, to be a better parent. Choose, today, to be a better friend. Choose, today, to be a better husband. Choose, today, to be embrace what it means to be an imperfect human. I don’t like the phrase “Make American Great Again,” because it implies it was bad before. While we may not all agree on how the past has played out, we can all agree on one thing. The future is ours, and ours alone. So stop hurting those who disagree with you, and stop wishing disdain on those who you feel have let you down. Accept change, accept the future and accept love over all else. I don’t care who you are, where you are from, or what you do for a living. Chances are you have noticed that our country, and the world as a whole, is not in the best state of sorts when it comes to humanitarianism. Now let’s get this straight… I am a fiscally conservative, social moderate who has stake in multiple companies and works for a leading international corporation. I’m not rich, but I’m not poor. I’m a parent, who believes in being able to protect my family through gun ownership, but I also believe that it is our human right, to lend a helping hand to those in their time of need. I believe people should be able to smoke what they want, but I believe it is my right not to get a free side of second hand smoke with my cheeseburger at my local eatery. I believe everyone should have a fair chance at building a beautiful life, but I believe that those who choose to use their own willpower to destroy happiness in other people do not deserve to be a part of the fabric of our world. In many cultures around the world, I am the enemy. In others, I am the American Dream. However, my experiences, which are somehow grand in nature for only being 28 years old, have taught me a few things about how we all think, feel, love, hate and move forward with the way we, as human beings, believe we should live. Recently, there has an outbreak in all of us forgetting that we are, in fact, “human beings.” As a creature, we thrive off social interaction, we will suffer for personal validation, and we will sacrifice what is necessary to obtain what we believe we deserve. That is what makes us human. Our ability to survive hardship, our ability to endure pain, and our ability to see beauty and peace through death and darkness is what allows us to find solace and overcome hardship. The truth behind our nation’s struggle, or at least the truth between my own ears, is the fact that we have become disconnected to what being a human being truly means. We drive our bodies through the day as if we have taken a defensive driving course on life. We feel everyone is the enemy, and we watch our backs for who is trying to take away the successes that we have earned. The most successful person I have ever had the opportunity to meet was an “Ex” Hospital Administrator turned gang prevention missionary. He gave up his amazing salary to put his love of people first in hopes that his efforts would build success in others, as he, himself, enjoyed success. He was proof that we can enjoy our own successes, relish in our achievements and even splurge on the things we want due to our hard work and dedication. However, at some point, self-fulfillment subsides to our innate desire to help others. We can either allow man nature to take over and share love throughout the world in and effort to destroy hatred, violence and self-deprecation, or we can turn our backs on others and find harmony in our own greed. Greed is not purely attributed to monetary lustings, however. We can be greedy with our time, greedy with our talents, and greedy with our love. Choosing to eat alone, while another human is longing for companionship is far worse then fiscal confinement. Our issue as a world is not our lack of “heart.” We love our families, we love our jobs, we love our favorite drink at Starbucks, and we love downloading the latest apps on our smartphones. As humans, we are truly, 100%, definitely and uncontrollably capable of Love. We simply chose not to apply this ability towards the strangers in our life. If we would simply stop viewing the entire world as a competitor trying to strip away our own individual glories, and begin viewing everyone we have not become friends with yet as a companion, we would achieve a lot more in this world than we are seeing now. Remember the kid that no one wanted to play with on the playground in kindergarten? Chances are he sat on a bench or in the corner with a sad look on his face. He wasn’t excited to be by himself, and the fact that he was cast aside destroyed his sense of self-worth. Solitary beings do not find fulfillment. We are not born into the world preferring to be singular in our daily interactions. We are designed, by nature, to be social, to be civilized, to be one system of love, happiness, and care. Only through solidarity, and destroying self-contained perceptions of grandeur over others, can we move forward with building a better world for a children, theirpeers, and the friends we have yet to make in the crazy world we call home. _ Now go make the world a beautiful place. Kick it off by listening to one of my favorite songs. Oftentimes, we find ourselves losing sight about what it means to be in a client centric profession. We are ready to list our qualifications, our level of experience and our success stories, but in the end, is that what is really pushing our career forward? When it comes to developing a business that places 100% of the profit on client engagement and conversion, becoming interested IN your clients is nearly 100% of the battle. Whether you are in small business marketing, human resources for a large corporation, or a personal trainer, becoming interested in your clients, and their personal lives, will ensure that the relationships you are building will lead to a better retention and higher conversion rate for the future of your business. When people ask my why I decided to leave an office job full time and take on the stress of a 100% client focused business, I say, "it’s because I love people." Let’s get this straight. No, I do not love soccer; I could care less. No, I do not care for ballet; I simply never did get it. And finally, No, I do not like Dave Matthews Band, or The Beatles, or even Van Halen. However, do I care that my clients are going to Chicago this weekend to watch a major league soccer game? Heck yes I do! I’ll tell them the best places to drop in and get a work out during their stay, and let them know what I know about the city. Do I care that your three year old is having her first ballet recital next Friday? Of course I do! I want to see the photos and I want to see how proud you are the next morning. Do I care that you spent 1/2 of your bi-weekly salary on Dave Matthew tickets and are going to New Orleans to see the show? Abso-frickin-lutely. I love being involved in the lives of my clients, and I love learning about new things through my conversations with them. I love that fact that people have their own unique passions, their own interests, and care enough to share them with those close to them; including me. So the next time your client tells you about how they spent the entire weekend seasoning their new iron skillet, don’t ignore the conversation because you have no clue what they are talking about. Take the time to listen to what they have to say and use it as an opportunity to learn something new. Who knows, maybe one day I will find myself at a ballet recital where everyone is dressed in ML Soccer jerseys and everything is choreographed to Dave Mathews Band tunes. It may not have been my first choice of ways to spend my Saturday, but I will be happy that I know what the heck is going on, and will be sure to tell my clients about it.
I see it everyday. My peers “retiring” from the corporate workforce just weeks after joining the newest, hottest sales craze and finally getting the “job” they always dreamed of. Endless commission possibilities, being able to work your own hours, and logging your hours at home building strong relationships with your kids. I get it; it’s an awesome scenario that I wish worked out for everyone.
More regularly than not, as of late, I see people giving up their “comfy,” although oftentimes boring, careers and deciding to work their asses off to build a business that they are “passionate” about. Love yoga? You should quite your 9-5 and open a studio! Does painting provide you with a healthy outlet and let you forget about the stresses of your corporate job? Great! Quit that stupid-ass job and open an art gallery! So many millennial these days are giving up on the 9-5 lifestyle and following their dreams towards the life they want, and the lifestyle they feel they deserve. Sometimes, however, it’s a little too soon for it to really work out. Let’s backtrack a bit here… Before you say I am a “dream squasher,” hear me out…I love the idea of entrepreneurs. Hell, I am an entrepreneur! I love my companies, each of them allowing me to do things that I would have never thought imaginable with my skills, passions and personality. I leave nearly everyday feeling that I gave it my all, and I would never take that away from anybody. For me, taking the risk to open a business or join a business that you feel offers great potential to your market is not only a bold step in the planning of one’s life, but it also requires a lot of work, hustle and willingness to “give up,” the things that you actually enjoy doing. That last part is what most people don’t understand. Giving up a “boring job” can actually force you to give up on the things that you enjoy doing the most. Maybe that whole “Do what you love and you will never work a day in your life” idea was all bullshit, right? When a 26-year-old decides to leave his middle management position at a moderately sized national company, complete with a solid 401K plan, a flexible 5 day a week work schedule and possible overtime pay in order to open his own prohibition era style bar and lounge, I usually say say “more power to that dude!” Mainly because that’s a place that I would happily spend 12 dollars to drink mediocre craft beer that his buddy is making in their duplex’s garage; but that’s for another day at another time. Quitting a job that you feel is diminishing your “dreams” in order to feel the freedom of being your own boss is irreplaceable. You can not replicate the feeling that being able to write yourself a paycheck, no matter how small, makes you feel in terms of success and personal validation. Before we go further, I want you to ask yourself one thing: Why is there this cultural shift towards wanting to be your own boss? Is it an feeling that our parents passed on to us which makes us feel that we are “better” at something than we might actually be? Is it the fact that colleges are so overrun with applicants these days that “everyone gets a prize” once they graduate, mo matter the actual skills they leave the collegiate atmosphere with? I believe the truth is that our generation of adults is so focused on living the life they want “now,” that they are not concerned with where their current situation can take them in the “future.” Gary V posted a vide earlier today telling someone to get a job that pays the most and requires you to do the least, in order for you to build your business on the side while taking care of your responsibilities in the meantime.
THANK GOD SOMEONE SAID IT! I see so many people get a $500 check from selling the latest and greatest weight loss supplements and suddenly they “retire” from their 3 years at {INSERT RANDOM NAME} Elementary School and start following their “passion!” The fact of the matter is, if your dream does not pay the bills, it becomes a nightmare you would not wish on your worst enemy… ok, maybe on Carl, that guy deserves what’s coming to him.
I am also a firm believer in the fact that you need to have a separation between the things you love the most, and the things you are good at. Case in point: I love dogs. I have two rescue dogs that I love very much. However, does that mean I should quite my job(s) and begin being a dog trainer? Hell No! Why? Because I SUCK AT TRAINING DOGS! Anyone that has ever met either one of my wild beats knows I would instantly fail. Luckily for me, I know this is the case, so I’m not at risk; but are you? When it comes to trying to cash in on your passions, no one should tell you not to do it. If you are passionate about helping companies build a business plan, design beautiful stationary or help a couple build a pinterest-worthy menu sheet for their upcoming wedding, there is a need in the marketplace for your services and you should offer them to the public. However, does that mean that you should automatically give up on your 9-5 job? At some point (and I blame it on the ever increasing “lackluster” atmosphere surrounding most collegiate programs these days), millennials stopped trying to build a “future” for themselves and their families and started to focus on building the “present” they wanted, “like, yesterday.” We gave up on the idea of working for 10 years at the same job in order to gain experience and annual pay increases, because we didn’t feel “fulfilled.” Do you think your grandfather felt “fulfilled” everytime he left his family and went to work in a coal mile for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week for 45 years? I really effing doubt it. However, do you think it was worth it, in the end, to be able to pay for this children to go to college with cash, be able to retire at the age of 62 and now drives around with your grandma visiting the world’s largest collection of Elvis Impersonator wigs in their $500K motor home? Hell Yes, I think he would say it was worth it. Instead of thinking about your career as simply “giving up on your passion to become a Jewelry maker, slinging your ‘art’ on Etsy,” you have to remember why and who you are working for. We are all getting married later in life, having children later in life, and thinking about retirement later in life. However, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be planning for those things today. We are a generation raised to believe that we need it all NOW, and that Tomorrow isn’t promised, “so we shouldn’t even really worry about it, right?” My Biggest advice to young entrepreneurs who want to make an impact on your community is this: Work hard at your job, no matter what it is. Educate yourself to be better than anyone else doing the work you aim to do, and when your family is making enough money that they don’t “need” your income, transition into a new career that you feel passionate about. When you finally are able to look at your bank account and think, “God, what am I going to do with all this money,” you can say, “Dude! I should finally launch that blog I always dreamed about,” or “Man, my friends love my cooking, maybe I should open an eatery!” A Career will always be more satisfying when you end the day loving what you do, however, you don’t always have to love what you do today, in order to build a life that you will love in the future. Cheers, Adam I remember the look that fell onto my wife’s face, when we saw on the ultrasound that we would be welcoming two bundles of joy into our family, not just one. The look she had was one of excitement, surprise, fear and joy all at once.
My face shared similar sentiments, but there wasn’t a mirror, so I can not be 100% sure - for all I know I looked like I had just stepped on a nail. As we have been preparing for our twins to arrive (in December) for the past few months, we have been entertaining the same questions over and over: “How are you going to do it? Is your wife going to quit her job?” When my wife and I met in 2012, our goals were very aligned. We knew we wanted a family, and we were willing to work hard to provide them with a great life. Through a series of lucky circumstances and blessings from those surrounding our lives, we were finally ready to begin building out family, this year. The one thing I knew I always loved most about my wife was her ability to embrace struggle and overcome. When she couldn’t find a job in the rotten economy following college, she decided to go back to school and educate herself until the right opportunity came along. Luckily for us, that situation arose sooner rather than later. Through a few job title changes and years of hard work, she has grown into an employee that her company values. So when people ask me, “Is your wife going to quit her job?” my answer is simple - “No.” This answer is usually followed up by “How are you going to do it?” This is where the job is placed upon my shoulders. Raising a family is not soley the wife’s job, any longer. Raising a family takes compromise, it takes patience, and it take support. My job, as a loving husband, is to embrace my wife’s success and support her in any way possible. While my wife is at work, being the superstar leader she has become, I will be focusing on making the right decisions for our children. While my wife is with the kids and I am at work, it will be her role to mentor and guide our twins towards success. See, I don’t feel as if my wife working will be a detriment to our family. As we welcome both a boy and a girl into our lives is it as important a time as ever to show both children what strong, powerful women, and men, do to be successful. The role model that my wife will be for a children will be one of love, one of power, but overall, one of discipline and hard work. While I originally felt it best for our children to have a full time stay at home parent, I have come to embrace and cherish the notion that my wife is willing to sacrifice her time away from the children and the home to ensure financial safety and success for our family. For everything she is, and everything she does, I will always cherish and love my working wife. |
Adam P. PfaffCurrent Musings. Incessant Ramblings. Enjoy. Archives
December 2018
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