Many people have heard the popular phrase “climbing the corporate ladder” in reference to the development of a person’s career.  This conjures up mental images of pushing people out of the way to claw your way up to the top.  This hyper-competitive view of the world has created a dour image of professional success in the minds of many people.
It is most certainly true that there is an element of “dog eat dog” competition when it comes to careers, but it is also true that there are many people who …

Throughout the lexicon of financial advice in the marketplace, there are many different views regarding the role of debt in our lives.  The traditional view is that debt causes us to make interest payments that deplete our wealth and erode our ability to build wealth.  In the case of the current mortgage crisis, many lending institutions and government agencies encouraged excessive lending to borrowers that were in very high risk of default.  This has even prompted some financial authors to proclaim that all debt is bad, regardless of what it …

A persistent situation has developed among the current political and economic climate that forebodes of large potential problems in the future.  This situation finds its source in a phenomenon that we refer to as “Evading the Obvious.”A  The way this effect manifests itself is a stalwart refusal to recognize and adapt to the economic realities.  This issue is modestly problematic when constrained to people and absolutely catastrophic when employed by the political authorities.
The reason for this is because people are limited in the extent to which they can impact the …

If you take the opportunity to walk into a bookstore and wander over toward the section on business books, you will see a vast multiplicity of titles on all manners of business, investment, and strategy.  Many of these books outline a ‘system’ for acquiring wealth that involves some clever means of generating superior profits from what appears to be a minimal amount of work.
However, there is a relatively simple principal that is the basis of all business success.  That principal is that you should always seek to offer a product …

In the game of blackjack, you can ‘double down’ on a hand by doubling your bet for one more card from the dealer.  (When playing blackjack, your goal is to create a hand that is as close as possible to 21 without going over)A  This action allows you to take additional risk for an immediate payoff.  Within the community of people who enjoy the game of blackjack, most will tell you that it is advantageous to double down on an eleven, or possibly a ten.  The principal reason for this …

One of the ideas that has become quite pervasive within the minds of investors is the notion of a “good stock” or a “good property” to own. A This notion stems from a general desire on the part of most people to own things of quality. A In our personal life, this frequently manifests itself as a desire to own a comfortable home, and a reliable automobile. A Quality gives us a feeling of safety and security. A Thus, it seems completely natural to want our investments to be the stock of a high …

The recent rise of gold prices and volatility within the economy has begun to challenge the notion of wealth, productivity, and output that many people hold in their minds.  The typical situation for most people, is that they think of wealth as being measured in money.  For people like Ben Bernanke, money means currency.  For people like Bill Bonner, money means gold.  However, in both cases, wealth is something much deeper.
Wealth as Money
It is not surprising that most people view wealth and money as being the same thing.  After all, …

One of the trends that many people experience in the world of investing is a noted tendency to become ‘gun shy’ when they experience volatility in their investments.  The reason for this is because our psychological makeup is much more afraid of loss than joyful over gains.  This leads many people to either become irrationally risk averse, or to take risks that they are not aware of in a desire to achieve safety.  The problem this creates is that fear of loss can make people blind to the opportunity for …

Recent disappointing economic growth figures have brought a halt to what some had perceived as a budding economic recovery.  The narrative had been that a rapid expansion of government spending in 2009 had “stimulate” the economy into recovery.  Not surprisingly, the same people who supported government stimulus before are now clamoring for even more spending.  However, the burgeoning national debt, and lack of significant improvement in employment and economic growth has caused some to call the effectiveness of government stimulus into question.
According to the economic philosophy of John Maynard Keynes, …

The financial planning profession has a long history of demonstrating the power of compounded growth to clients who are looking to invest for the future.  Typically, a chart will be shown that shows the difference between investing $100 per month at 1%, 5%, 8%, and 10% rates of return for 20, 30, and 40 years.  As expected, the results are typically astounding.  The extended impact of compounding for a longer period of time at a higher rate of return creates a tremendous difference in the amount of compounded returns after …