Glen Of Scotland

The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer

Since the global recession ended, it is clear in most countries that the rich have become richer and the poor have become poorer. People are shocked and angry and the typical battle of them versus us has flared up again and all the fairness and unfairness that goes with it.

What I find shocking, is that people are shocked that the rich are richer and the poor are poorer, it can be no other way. I wont give you all that law of attraction stuff, or like attracts like stuff or even what ever you focus on expands, which a lot of people refer to as new age mumbo jumbo even if it's true.

I will give you this instead, generally speaking poorer people or those who have found themselves poorer from the recession hold on to things and  what has happened, instead of moving on. Rich people took their losses and moved on, generally speaking and for the most part didn't allow fear to cloud their judgment about moving forward into new or different investments or opportunities.

Of course it's not as simple and straightforward as that, there are many factors, it just so happens that I see and hear of this holding on rather than letting go a lot, there are many, systemic and other factors that contribute as well.

My focus instead is directed towards the, them versus us battles that ensue and how that is actually limiting poor people from making more and believe it or not how it actually holds back the rich from become richer. I know, the last thing you wanted the read, the rich getting even richer again! why not, there is no shortage of money or finance or wealth which many people think.

Consider this, we have more millionaires now than ever before, even in countries that had few or none before. Don't forget how poor China was considered before and now generally speaking is wealthy and yes they have a huge trade surplus, yet no country or countries are poorer by the amount that China has gained in wealth. So the poor can become richer and so can the rich, it's a win win.

However the them versus us, battles are holding this back from happening. Some wealthy people believe that some of the poor are lazy, don't want to work are free loaders and should just work harder. There is no doubt that is true in some cases but the percentage that applies to is small. Likewise some of the poor think that the rich are crooked and buy their way to success, that they don't pay their fair share in taxes, that they look for the loop holes and just get lucky, that there is a system for the rich and one for the poor and it's unfair. Again there is no doubt that some of that is true but the percentage that it applies to is small as well.

Yet in both cases when it does happen, it hits the news cycle in a big and disproportionate way and both sides are lulled into a false belief that the majority of each side behaves this way when it is simply not true. Politicians and other groups grab hold of this and exploit to serve their own cause a lot of the time, further fuelling the great divide and both sides become frustrated with each other, holding everyone back.

In most them versus us disputes, each side believes it's the other side who needs to, or must change, same is true whether its at home or work or in the national debate. How does that work out? Usually not well and when change does happen it's often an extreme change that in the long term is not beneficial. The truth is both sides are required to make changes as both sides in their imbalanced view point are overlooking their own weak points or areas that can or should be changed.

In the current rich versus poor battle, neither side wants to make real changes, no one wants to give up benefits they are receiving either through welfare programs or through the 70,000 page tax code. It's absurd to hear oil executives fighting to retain $2billion a year in tax breaks, when they will earn profits of $100 billon this year and it's absurd for union leaders who don't see the need to change a system that has $200k life guards and gold plated retirement packages.

Even if we were to confisicate all the wealth from to rich and divide it amongst all those with much less, it would not move that many poor people out of poverty or lasting wealth. Most charity efforts are geared towards survival, which is necessary of course, what if more were directed towards better training opportunities and skills, investing opportunities and skills to move more people into that rich category. There is very little attention given to that, instead it's the traditional poor versus rich and all the argument and politics that come with it.

It would be better to just focus on either getting richer or seeking ways to move from poorer to becoming rich, it is possible. Human nature though will often get you involved or at least being unable to escape what's going on and if that's the case, then you will be better focused on changes from both sides to not only feel better, but to actually stand a chance for progress.

This I feel is true no matter what the situation. As always look for examples closer to home, parents versus the kids, parent versus parent etc did you overlook what you could change and instead put all the change requirements on the other side? How long have you been holding on to that?

Truly Spectacular 2

After coming down the other side of the mountain, the next stop was Odessa Lake, I had an encounter with some nice people and a sole hummingbird who disappeared as soon as it arrived. This was the approach to Odessa Lake:

It got better as I continued:

And better

And better

Then finally Odessa lake:

Would this day get any better, of course. Come back again!

Limited Thinking 2

Other examples of limited thinking and beliefs applicable to current events are for example, a belief that you shouldn't start a new business or or launch a product line during a recession. Well Apple turned that one on it's head with the launch of the Ipad, not exactly a cheap device and has sold millions worldwide.

How often did you hear, let's wait until the recession is over before we do that?

Whenever there are polls or data about the happiest people in the world, at the top of the list are the Nordic countries. They are the highest taxed countries and at the same time offer great social benefits, free health care  etc. Yet in this country we rebel against higher taxes ( not that I would raise taxes until we become more efficient and cut a lot more waste out of the system) the belief being it would limit innovation and productivity.

Yet, when are people more productive and creative?  of course when they are happier!

This article examines the issue in Norway, it may allow you to challenge or at least examine your beliefs and open things up for change, much needed change don't you think?

Rising health costs are a frequent topic, losses at hospitals all lead to the belief that things are out of control. What doesn't get widely reported  are examples where costs have been reduced, losses turned to profits, a work force moving from rigid to flexible and patient satisfaction becoming a reality.

There are 2 great examples you can read about, one from Oakland, here, which is quite amazing, especially how they addressed the issue with the union. The other from Denver, which you can read here, this one is notable not only how things changed, also how even further improvements came along later. A good confirmation that there is always ways to improve on everything.

Over the years, trillions of dollars have been spent on the war on drugs and housing prisoners, no one is declaring that the war has been a success and we continue to throw money at the same policies. With a conflict brewing between state and federal laws, as more states allow possession of marijuana it seems as if more money will be wasted in the right wrong battle.

Yet Portugal tried something different, 9 years ago, they decriminalized possession of drugs and focused instead on distribution and trafficking, you can read more about the results here, which were not as bad as first feared and not perfect either. Yet they tried something different and had some success which can be built on. I wonder how long before other countries waken up.

If limited thinking and beliefs are not addressed then what happens is stagnancy, little growth, being overtaken by others at the individual, corporate and country level, massive waste and inefficiency.

Look  back in time, what happened to all those Empires, look at the top companies, how many bit the dust, even in your own work place, what happened to some of those people?

If you are willing to look for possibility, open up your thinking, there are tremendous opportunities out there for you.

Truly spectacular

This was one of the most amazing days I had in the mountians. It was long it involved going further than before, past all the sprevious snow blocked trails and around the other side of the mountain. No time to worry about fatigue when all of the following was unfolding.

It started with this:

Then thanks to two nuns, yes nuns,I spotted my first pika, can you spot it?

Open meadow space and plenty of wild flowers, with great color.

Rocky terrain around the other side of the mountain

Just looking back

The best is yet to come!

Limited Thinking

I recently saw the movie "Made in Dagenham" it is based on the 1968 women's strike at the Ford car factory in England for equal pay. The strike eventually led to the Equal Pay Act of 1970 and was seen as a major step forward.

One thing that came up in the movie, was the response of Ford, their belief was that they wouldn't be able to make a profit, the cars would be too expensive and they would have to close the factories.

They were faced with a situation that involved change, that stretched their thinking and beliefs and the first response was that can't work. This thinking still goes on today whenever something happens that would involve change, or stretching the mind in even a small way.

Forgotten in all of that is that we humans are actually quite adaptable, sure with some resistance at times. As it turned out, Ford continued to make a profit and kept their factories open, they adapted to what the new reality was.

We adapt to high gas prices, food prices, taking our shoes off at the airport security and all that other good stuff, sometimes with a bit of kicking and screaming, but we adapt.

What if instead of saying that won't work or that can never happen, we looked instead to the possibilities and how can we get this to work, how can we adjust and make this happen?

I was speaking with someone recently and they were saying how they were happy where they were and then they talked about another part of the country and just lit up. I said why don't you move there and be even more happier. They said that the parents were getting older and it was best to be closer. I replied that was just a limitation they were using as an excuse, there were other family members close at hand, the parents weren't even that old as today's standard go and there were several flights from one place to the other each day.

It turned out there was more, the real reason was, it might not work out, it would be a big change etc, more limiting beliefs. It took a few minutes to show how this person was adaptable, how they had no trouble making friends and was very successful at what they do.

It  was a bit of an eye opener, it was clear how much power the limiting thoughts and beliefs were having and the person could see right through it. As luck would have it, the company bought another company in that state and a promotion and relocation was available and was gladly accepted.

Are you being held back by your limiting beliefs and thoughts, is your family, employer or country?

Hot on the trail 2

The pine beetle has been having an impact on the trees as you can see from theses photos, good news though, new trees are growing again and not all trees were hit.

The water created a nice and much needed cooling effect, I think this was the hottest day I could remember up in the mountains.

A quick look back before heading home

Mothers Day

Happy Mothers day to all the mothers out there, I hope you are receiving all the love flowing your way today, and everyday too.

I was thinking about the perfect mother the other day, you know the mother that would never raise their voice, or never make a mistake, or never get angry, or never need time away from the kids, or never ask you to wait a minute, or would never be late with dinner, or would never be late ever for anything, would never say the wrong thing at the wrong time, would never be wrong period, would never get hurt or sick, and would never ever be at a loss for words under any circumstances.

Wish I knew a mother like that! Of course I don't, no mother or person like that exists, yet mothers everywhere compare themselves to this fictional or fantasy mother and can never match up to that. Inevitably that leads to thoughts such as I am a bad mother, and a few hours, days or weeks of self hatred.

So to all the mothers out there and  I know many of them, give yourself a break, please. You are all good mothers, so relax and be who you are,   rather than some impossible fantasy character.

Enjoy the day!

Hot on the trail

It was a hot summers day on the trail, a good day to stay close to the trees for shade. The quiet was broken by the sound of a wood pecker, who put on quite a show, pecking and singing. Must have like the company I guess.

This trail had some nice open meadow spaces:

Things that matter

This video is from a passenger who was on the flight that landed on the Hudson Rover a couple of years ago. He spoke of what was going through his mind as the pilot said "brace for impact"

A couple of things, (there are a lot more) from the video is he regretted the time on things that didn't matter with people that did matter. He no longer tries to be right and chooses to be happy and the experiences he wanted to have and never did.

Enjoy the video and don't wait for things like this to happen in your life to awaken.