Age Is Not A Factor, Do Not Let Them Tell You Otherwise



THERE was this interesting experiment conducted to test animal behaviors.

In a big fish tank filled with water, a large sized piranha was put into it.

A piece of glass was inserted to separate the tank into two equal halves.

The piranha was in the left half of the tank and a beautiful goldfish was put into the right side.

Common sense tells us that the piranha, upon seeing the goldfish, will attempt to eat it.

So it did a swirl and rammed into the piece of glass.

After it hit the glass, it swam in a circle and tried to go towards the goldfish.

This continued for half an hour.

After one hour, the piranha was seen still swimming towards the goldfish but it pulled back just before hitting the glass.

The piece of glass was removed.

The result was that the piranha was observed to pull back even though there was no glass.

The goldfish swam openly and freely in the presences of the carnivore.

The piranha did not attempt to go close to it.

Then, a smaller sized piranha was dropped into the tank.

In seconds, the goldfish was no more.

This experiment provided 2 learning points.

1.Age and experience does not necessarily mean you will get a good meal.

2.If we stop trying just because we failed several times, we will never get a good meal.

A Simple Solution For A Complex Problem

WITH references to the wisdom in the book The Richest Man in Babylon, I ponder upon the solutions to the current economical crisis.

As the world can see, America is heavily in debt. The reason it is still standing as a nation is because of the faith countries all over the world are putting into it.

The US currency is no longer worth anything, it is merely a promise to worth that amount.

If we simplify the problem for illustration purpose, we can see America as a heavy debtor who has unlimited access to borrow as much money as he wants.

Who is lending America money?

The world.

Where did the money came from?

The faith the world has for US dollar.

America is printing money. A system that allows the government to print money at will is called fiat money system.

A money system that is sound is one that ensures true value of the currency. Each dollar should worth something tangible of that value.

However, the US dollar's value is the world's faith that it is worth that amount. There is no real value or insufficient value behind that promise.

US in the past was truly a wealthy nation.

Industrialization coupled with the start of world war II propelled US to become the strongest nation in the world.

Industrialization gave American goods the edge over traditionally produced products all over the world.

The invention of steam engine allowed faster trading world wide. The rising US suppressed the potential of other countries which was in constant chaos.

Using the chaos in Europe and Asia, America positioned itself as the savior of the world. A world power that can end the chaos. It provided loans to fund the war.

After the war, it provided more loans to help nations rebuild.

These loans are good debt that nations will repay in due time.

For a time, America received good return on their money from nations all over the world.

As the world stabilizes, peace promoted growth.

Japan started to overtake America in terms of technology and innovation.

China started to abandon communism and embrace free trade.

The world is starting to stand up on its feet.

They recognized a need for a standard currency to facilitate international trading. Thus, US currency was chosen.

The problem with fiat money system is this, when someone has the power to print money indefinitely, he often will.

Printing more money becomes the easiest solution to get out of deep shit.

But getting out of deep shit is only on the surface.

Its like the heavy debtor borrowing from someone to repay somebody else.

The debtor's income is insufficient to cover the debts he owe.

By constantly increasing the amount of money he has by printing money on faith, it is getting deeper into shit rather than getting out.

Instead of increasing its efficiency to earn, the US focuses on borrowing more to delay the inevitable fall of the faith in its nation.

The bankruptcy of General Motors and the wobbling banks in America showed the world crack signs in the once almighty nation they put so much faith into.

A change in leader is only a temporary hope that things will change for the better.

But actions taken by the new leader amplified the impractical solution past leaders has been trying to implement.

In desperation to maintain the faith, the US have to strengthen its ties with nations all over the world, even enemies that it once had.

A new leader provided the hope for reconciliation with old foes.

However, will it be sufficient? Or did its enemies pretend to extend the hands of friendship to position itself for the right time to strike hard?

Nothing lasts forever. Change is the only constant. The tides of change will erode those too stubborn to recognize it.

At this juncture, I believe there are 2 outcomes.

Either, the world will once again be thrown into turmoil, and another strong nation will rise up to replace the ailing US as the next world power, leading the world into the next era.

Or, US applies the wisdom of old to save itself from destruction.

Stop printing(borrowing) more money. Increase its earning capacities. Repay its debt slowly while putting a portion of all its earnings into investments that generates honest income.

To all of us that is not in the position of the US government, we have a choice.

We have the choice to choose where we will be when either of the outcome will occur.

This is the greatest tidal wave that this generation of savvy is waiting for.

It is the tides of real change.

Will you continue to put blind faith in the obviously ailing nation and ignore what is happening?

Or will you take actions to position yourself when the greatest transfer of wealth occurs?