Occupy-continued from yesterday.

As I was saying yesterday, if our country went all-out to create jobs by setting a goal of becoming energy independent in the next 10 years we could employ possibly one million people within a couple of years and generate another million ancellery jobs; it’s true it might take us a decade to become energy independent. But the natural gas and oil explorers who drill and do the geological operations would start creating jobs immediately. These explorers would begin to invest billions now.

My cousin, Robert A. Hefner III, is one such explorer.  He discovered the Anendarco natural gas fields in Elk City, Oklahoma. He also wrote a book called, “The Grand Energy Transition.” This Book is one that I have just started reading. From what I have read so far, it’s about the bridge to the ultimate form of energy which is Hydrogen. We have enough undiscovered oil and natural gas on our continent and the continental shelves to last us for hundreds of years. When I was in school I was taught that one of the things that made America strong was that we had our own natural resources to last for a thousand years, maybe more. Somewhere along the line, we started importing fuel from other countries. I don’t know why; frankly I’m not that informed. But I have a hunch that the answer fits in with the idea of the World Economy and building new consumer markets.  The result was that we explored and discovered unbelievable supplies of oil in the middle East.  We have made the middle Eastern countries rich beyond belief spending trillions and trillions of dollars for their oil.  They paid us back by nationalizing the oil companies.  Over the last quarter of a century, they have created multiple wars that have cost us additional trillions.  It’s time that we started standing on our own two feet and taking advantage of our own natural resources while keeping the jobs in America.

As I said in the beginning, this may take 10 years, but the job creation will begin immediately.  Just maybe we can dig ourselves out of the hole we’re in by buying our own energy.

Until next time,

Ed Harding

Occupy

At first I was very angry when I saw the people occuping WALL STREET. Then I realized that most of the people were legitimately protesting a situation that should give cause to real anger. I don’t mean the anarchists, junkies, and all the other destructive people whose only goal was to wreak havoc on everything in sight.

I can certainly understand those young people who went to school and got educations. When I was young, a bachelor’s degree meant something. A young person with a degree could go out and get a great job which might lead to a real and lucrative career. Today those jobs have vanished, mostly overseas.  Today a bachelor’s degree will lead you to a minimum wage job.

One of the reasons is because since World War II, America has taken on the job of building or rebuilding the entire World. It all started after we had won the war and bombed Germany and Japan. We rebuilt both and then began to do the same all over the World. Not only did we rebuild cities, we exported our middle class jobs everywhere. Pretty soon our jobs were fleeing to every country that did not have unions, nor minimum wages. We simply could not compete with sweat-shop pay.

Corporations that used to have factories all over the United States outsoursed jobs to countries that produced all sorts of consumer goods much cheaper than they could in the U.S. — and that is our problem. Now, blue-collar, as well as management jobs, were going overseas and Corporations were no longer U.S. Corporations; they became Multi-National-Corporations.

In the seventies, there were constant union strikes for higher wages and greater benefits. I remember the constant strikes that forced prices up and caused inflation. We have gotten ourselves into a “rock and a hard place,” that will be very difficult to turnaround.

One category of jobs that cannot be exported are jobs that require the labor to be done in the U.S.A., such as exploration for oil and natural gas. We have natural resources that have to be produced in our own country. But they have been shutdown. WHY?

Wake up! America, let’s stand on our own two feet again. Another profession that has been forgotten is sales. Professional salespeople are never unemployed because they make money for their employers just as professional athletes.

Sales is the highest paid profession in the world! Nothing moves unless it is invested in by another person or entity who wants or needs to own the product. Salespeople are the “thoroughbred race horses” of every corporation. And they pay these thoroughbreds like Princes.

Wake up America, and be the great, inventive people we are. There is no reason for 50% of our country to be on the government dole. Even in the Great Depression people were ashamed to take money from the government.

Sell something (not drugs). Find a useful product that you believe in and learn to be a professional. There are hundreds of books that will teach you the principles and rules of influence. There are people out there waiting to teach you because if they teach you, they get override commissions on what you sell. It’s really the greatest occupation in the world.

THE INGREDIENT YOU MUST PROVIDE IS ACTION.  ACTION IS THE MAGIC!!!!!!!!!

We could create — God only knows — how many jobs in the Energy Business alone.

More to come later…

Ed Harding

Leverage

I’m the type of person that when I like a movie I watch it over and over again. I am sure that there are many of you who do the same. The reason is that brilliant and creative people produce these movies. Whether or not you consider Hollywood a hot bed of leftists or not, all stories contain (even if they are biased) both sides of every issue. There are always little subtleties that one catches with repeated viewings.

Today I was watching, “Wall Street, Money Never Sleeps”. A line was spoken which reminded me of a twenty-five million dollar refinance we did in 2007. The reason that this was interesting to me was that the majority of our investers wanted to take out maximum leverage so they could get their hands on some cash. At that time our loan to value was about 25%. I, as managing member and largest share holder, said,”N0”, but I did allow each investor to take out their down payments so that they had, “ZERO” dollars invested.  Therefore, the checks they received every month were simply found money because they had nothing invested. Folllow?

As things turned out, when the “CRASH” hit in 2009, our investments were not over leveraged. The result was that (thank you God) we have remained profitable every month and have not had to lay people off or cut saleries. Yes, people have complained because their monthly checks went down twenty to forty percent. The beauty of it was our partners had nothing invested.

Hopefully, as things turn around, the equity will rise and the monthly checks will increase. By the way, we are invested in multy-family housing, and because of the mess at Freddy-Mac, and Fanny-Mae there won’t be any houses built any time soon. And banks are not lending on houses unless the buyer is very well qualified.

So back to my original point… By watching good movies over and over, one can pick up subtleties that may give good guidance. In this movie, the particular subtle line was,”The mother of all evil is speculation, leveraged debt, borrowing to the hilt”. Now for those who think nothing good comes out of Hollywood, thank you Oliver Stone and your writers.

Ed Harding

WOW!!!

I have just finished reading,”Think And Grow Rich”, for the second time. What an eye opener. As my Friend and Mentor, Joe Martin, used to say,”One of the hardest things to do if you want to remain successful, is to remember what you’ve forgotten.” Joe passed away in 1998, but everything I ever learned from him I remember like it was yesterday. God bless you Joe wherever you are; I know it’s a good place.

As I was saying, having just finished, “Think And Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill for the second time sure brought back memories. For example, one day I was sitting in my 1957 De Soto that I had start by lifting the hood and putting a screwdriver up to the starter solenoid and make connection to turn over the engine. (What a pain!) This particular day was a Saturday, and I was sitting at a phonebooth,(no cell phones in those days). It was pouring rain and the sky was black. I was trying to read, “Think And Grow Rich” using my trusty flashlight while I waited for our dispatcher to phone me with a lead. My head was so negative that I knew it was going to be a lousy lead, even though logically it should have been a good one because people stay home when it’s raining. It made no difference to me.  I was negative-negative-negative!  I couldn’t have given the product away for free.

But at least I was there doing the right thing. My faith was really at the level of a mustard seed.  At the time I was 27 years old.  I had wasted the previous 10 years, and I had never been good in school anyway.  I was not cut out for academia, so it was obvious that I was not going to become a doctor, lawyer, or engineer.  My options were limited:  succeed at sales or be a bum!  I decided that I would succeed at sales and started doing everything necessary to become a professional salesman.  The first thing I was told to do was read “Think & Grow Rich”  — which was where we started in the 1957 De Soto.  The result of being a successful salesman meant I was paid by commission.  Therefore, in sales, the reward for success was money, and I made money my burning desire.  I didn’t mention that during this period I had a very serious problem with alcohol.  It seems as though I got arrested for drunk-driving at least once a month.  In fact, it was Robert Shapiro who handled all my drunk-driving cases.  I had 2 files as thick as phonebooks.  He said he was sick of me and got me sentenced to AA.

Now things begin to change… I was already #1 salesman in my company as well as #1 district manager, but I felt that I was living in the myth of Sisyphus.  Sisyphus was a character in Greek mythology who was doomed to Hades.  In Hades, his punishment for eternity in this underworld was to roll a boulder up a mountain.  Every time he got to the top, it rolled back down, and he had to start all over again.  That seemed to be my fate as long as I continued to drink.  I was initially sentenced to AA in 1972 but didn’t really get sober until 1976.  It took me 4 years because I was such a fast learner…  This presented another problem because I was afraid that I couldn’t talk to people without drinking.  I was then told that whatever I could do drunk I could do better sober.  Thank God I listened — because it was true!  After I quit drinking, I became in independent distributor with our company, and everything turned to gold!  I couldn’t believe how much money I was making.  In 1977 I hired Tony Robbins.  The first time he ever heard the phrase “positive thinking” was from me.  Tony worked for me for about a years and decided he wanted to be in the seminar business.  He went and got a job with a guy named Jim Rohm.  They had some kind of dispute, and Tony started his own seminars.  The rest is history!  He has gone on to great heights, and I’m very proud that I gave him his first introduction to positive thinking and the rules of influence.

As I read “Think & Grow Rich” again, I find myself rejuvenated and remembering things that I had long since forgotten.  I guess they always really were a part of my life because my greatest teachers were Joe Martin, J. Douglas Edwards, Napoleon Hill, AA, and Emmet Fox — not specifically in that order.  I found myself growing more and more successful.  By age 36, I was a millionaire and national sales manager of our company.  I continued to become more successful by instigating the creation of our own finance companies.  So at this point, I guess I was pretty much an equity partner with my friend, Joe Martin.

As I read “Think & Grow Rich” I am reminded of the 13 steps to riches and the pathway to grow a success consciousness.  I was reminded of the power of the subconscious mind and how that power, once unleashed in a person’s mind, can create miracles.  I was reminded of all the fears that destroy a person’s ability to succeed.  I learned that faith is the language that communicates thoughts to the subconscious powerhouse.  The most important thing of all is that my thoughts are my own.  No one can take them away from me.  No one can influence them unless I allow them to.  I am also reminded that thoughts are things — very powerful things.  From these thoughts come ideas that, in many cases, create the power to actually change the world.

So in going forward from here, I intend to stay close to my old friend, Napoleon Hill and the book he gave 25 years of his life to create which is “Think & Grow Rich.”  I suggest that anyone out there who finds himself in a position where he/she feels as negative and as low as I did, buy a copy of “Think & Grow Rich” and read it.  Once you’ve read it, read it again.  Then put those principles into action, and watch the changes that begin to take place in your life.  I hope that you attack the process with as much determination and vigilence as I have.  Today I find myself in a position where I’m complete — spiritually, physically, and mentally.  I have many people to be grateful to for being in my life.  They include my grandmother who never gave up on me when I was a drunk; fortunately she experienced her faith fulfilled before she passed away by being able to see me become successful and knowing that her selfless sacrifice was not wasted.  Also included is my friend, Joe, for reaching out his hand and giving me a chance when no one else would.  The teachings of J. Douglas Edwards, Napoleon Hill, and Emmet Fox dovetailed into a method for success that has allowed me to help many people make that difficult change from a loser to a winner.  And my wife, Paula, who has been there by my side for 14 years has supported our business and given her tremendous ability to all my endeavors and helped me continue to remain successful even during these most difficult times.

Until next time… I love you all and wish you great success step-by-step until you cross that bridge and realize fulfillment in whatever your burning desire might be.

Ed Harding

 

MASTERMIND GROUP

DO YOU KNOW THE FEELING YOU GET WHEN YOU HAVE COMPLETED A BIG JOB AND  YOU TURN TO WITNESS YOUR MAGNIFICENT ACCOMPLISHMENT, ONE THAT MAY HAVE TAKEN MONTHS TO FINISH? WHAT A GREAT FEELING HAVING OVERCOME ALL THOSE OBSTACLES!

WELL, THE REAL FACT IS THAT BY YOURSELF YOU MAY HAVE PLAYED ONLY A SMALL PART IN MAKING A BURNING DESIRE BECOME REALITY. MAYBE IT WAS YOUR IDEA OR YOUR PART WAS ORGINAZING EVERY ONE INVOLVED TO WORK IN HARMONY TO COMPLETE THE TASK. IT COULD HAVE BEEN YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE THE PRODUCT LOOK PERFECT OR TO PUSH THE WHOLE ENDEAVOR OVER THE LAST BUMP IN THE ROAD.

WHETHER YOU KNOW IT OR NOT, YOU WERE PART OF A TEAM, AND IF THIS TEAM WORKS TOGETHER ON MORE THAN ONE PROJECT, IT IS CALLED A MASTERMIND GROUP. THE MASTERMIND GROUP CREATES POWER —  WHICH IS NECESSARY TO ACCOMPLISH ANY GOAL. ONE NECESSARY INGREDIENT IS POWER. THIS POWER IS APPLIED BY THE MASTERMIND GROUP.  IDEAS AND PLANS ARE  USELESS WITHOUT SUFFICIENT POWER TO TRANSLATE THEM INTO ACTION. HOW MAY AN INDIVIDUAL ATTAIN AND APPLY POWER?

POWER MAY BE DEFINED AS “ORGANIZED AND INTELLIGENTLY DIRECTED KNOWLEDGE.” ORGANIZED EFFORT IS PRODUCED THROUGH THE COORDINATION OF THE EFFORT OF TWO OR MORE PEOPLE WHO WORK TOWARD A DEFINITE END IN A SPIRIT OF HARMONY.

THE MASTERMIND GROUP PROVIDES INFINITE INTELLIGENCE, CREATIVE IMAGINATION, AND ACCUMULATED KNOWLEDGE. THESE MAY BE CONVERTED INTO POWER USED TO CREATE DEFINITE PLANS, AND THE GROUP THEN EXPRESSES THESE PLANS IN TERMS OF ACTION. NOW THE MASTERMIND BEGINS TO FEEL THEIR ACCUMULATED EXPRESSION OF ORGANIZED POWER. VOILA! THE BELIEF SYSTEM THAT GIVES BIRTH TO THE MASTERMIND GROUP BECOMES A REALITY!

UNTIL NEXT TIME…

ED HARDING