John, Paul, George and of course Ringo

I remember the Beatles as nothing short of transformative. I remember hearing them for the first time as kind of a throw away on the Rick Shaw show.

Then of course there was Ed Sullivan's three shows, they filmed one in Miami, my home town.

We were so hip!

I still think the Beatles were a fantastic Rock and Roll Band, Rubber Soul and Revolver are two of my favorite albums of all time.

Fame and fortune seem to be flames many, maybe all of us, seem to be drawn to. For those who have really gotten close to the flame, the heat ... it seems to consume almost everyone.

I haven't read You Never Give Me Your Money: The Beatles After the Breakup yet but is going on my reading list today. I have attached a wonderful review http://www.newsweek.com/2010/06/04/a-hard-day-s-night.print.html

I guess reading it is akin to watching a car crash ... I can't look away.

The Beatles changed my life forever.

I recently had the opportunity to have dinner with some musicians who have achieved a wee bit of success (3 Grammy's). They were talking about a contemporary of theirs who had achieved hyper stardom. They referred to it as "they took the blue pill and went down the rabbit hole, we didn't". That said there lives are different than the average guy and always will be because they have touched the flame.

One of the things I have enjoyed about Face book is that some of the people I lived those times through with are back in my life and for that I feel that I have been truly blessed.

If you haven't listened to Revolver or Rubber Soul in a while do your self a favor on this fabulous Sunday and turn them on, they'll return the favor. JD

Goodbye Coach

One of histories greatest sportsman and philosophers died today at age 99.

the great John Wooden is a legend. His success as the coach of the UCLA basketball program has never been equaled.

His example of how to live your life is more important.

I'm a wrestling fanatic and have always disliked basketball, we had to compete for space, time, recognition and funding with them.

That said, I have always admired and respected John Wooden. He has inspired generations and as the earth will be less with him gone, heaven will have one more great angel today.

Here are some words from the Coach that I have always loved;

"Be true to yourself, help others, make each day your masterpiece, make friendship a fine art, drink deeply from good books -- especially the Bible, build a shelter against a rainy day, give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day."

advice from Coach John Wooden

The Emperor wears no clothes!

Author and blogger Virginia Postrel, in an interview in the June issue of Reason magazine:

"Glamour is a particular form of illusion. It's an illusion that tells a truth about the audience's desires, and it requires mystery and distance. During the campaign people projected onto Barack Obama whatever they wanted in a president or even in a country. Lying is usually a bad thing, but they would project onto him that he was lying about his positions because he secretly agreed with them: 'Anyone that smart has got to be a free trader at heart. He's just saying this to pander to those idiots. He can't really mean it.' . . . There is always this capacity for disillusionment. People have projected so much of what they think, including things that are sort of impossible, onto a glamorous figure, that when any flaw shows up the glamour is dispelled and suddenly he becomes terrible."

Just Breath

Do these seem like crazy times to you?

Maybe it's just that we are so connected, what happens on the other side of the world is instant news to us.

What happens in New York is news in little old Gainesville, not in the time it took for news to be hand delivered but in the instant it happens.

I know that in the investment business it is probably the worst thing that could have happened. We have gone from investors to traders.

In my experience people don't get rich overnight.

The overnight success has been at it for 15 years. there is always the exception, the person who inherits a fortune or wins the lottery (maybe there the same thing?)

As a respected friend recently said to me, "If I were king I would only price stocks once a year and maybe even not that often".

The feedback is causing most of us more problems than it is solving.

Maybe it's time to take a step back and catch our breath.

Technology

Technology is advancing at such an amazing pace.

I'm driving through South Carolina right now, on my way to meet with my Study Group, The Hole in the Wall Gang.

So while Donna drives, I have been writing and answering emails. connected to the Internet so my laptop gives me all the options I need to be productive while driving 70 (well actually donna is driving so if you know her you know we are traveling a wee bit faster than that) mph on I-95.

Smart phones are giving people access to their email from anywhere as well as an opportunity to go right to the Web.

Donna and Rachel have an app for their Iphones called Knock.

Last week were walking thru Ring Park, the Nature Preserve with Hogtowne Creek running through it behind our home. Donna called Rachel, put it on the speaker phone and then using Knock she was able to connect via video to Rachel's phone and talk to her as well as let her see where we were going.

Not two way yet, just a matter of time and two way will be available.

So enjoy these wonderful options, make them tool for your productivity, don't become slaves to them.

If you happen to go out with out a phone or not have your laptop with you it might just be a nice break.

Time

Where did the time go! Every day seems to fly by, hours are minutes, weeks are days and last month seemed like yesterday!

Time doesn't seem to be slowing down.

I wonder how fast it can get?

Then again maybe I don't.

Maybe this is some perverse trick I am playing on myself and instead of stomping through the roses with cleats on, smelling the puree of rose in the air I really may want to, maybe I need to stop and smell the roses .... ahhh, I don't think so.

At least not today.

As Scarlet said in Gone With the Wind, " Tomorrow, I'll think about it tomorrow".

For today, it's full speed ahead!

Saving a million dollars!

A few years ago I was walking through an airport, I don't even remember where, and an attractive young woman started asking me to apply for a credit card. I told her no thank you but she insisted that it was a contest and she only needed a couple of more applications to win.

I had my identity stolen a few years ago so there is a block on my credit reports. I have to be contacted before they give out information which I explained. No problem she said. Well a few weeks later I got a new credit card from US Airways (Lehman Brothers) with a $25,000 credit limit.

I used it once to pay for some tuition for one of my sons when cash flow was tight. Had the best of intentions to get it paid off and then the bottom fell out of the financial system. The $25,000 credit limit fell to essentially what I had outstanding, approximately $5,000.

As a small business man the last 18-24 months have challenged us all. It's getting better every day but in an attempt to manage the cash flow during the crisis I was just paying the minimum and I was holding on to the cash.

I really wasn't paying attention because when Lehman Brothers fell they were acquired by the Barclay's Bank and my nice little 7.9% interest rate went to 30.9%!

I know, I know, I'm a CFP. I should have been paying attention.

Unfortunately I was focused on the 85,000,000 I oversee and I took my eyes off my own "shtuff".

Wow, long story to tell you that when I realized that the balance wasn't going down I checked the statement. Credit card statements now have the information on what it will take to pay off the balance in 3 years and how long it will take to pay it off at the minimum balance and how much you can save by paying it off in three years.

I'm not even going to ask you to guess, I do with clients when I tell this story. At the minimum payment it will take 1,761 years to pay off the balance of less than $5,000.

And the savings if I paid it off in three years ..... $1,055,630.

I think we'll write them a check this month. Then I can tell Donna I saved a million bucks!

A lesson to be learned here, pay attention to the credit cards, set yourself a goal if you have debt and pay it off.