Know the 7 Secrets

Dear Friend,

There really are 7 “Secrets” that you need to know and understand before you can successfully transform your life from where it is now to where it needs to be.

These 7 Secrets require that you change your long-held attitudes, your approach to living, and your priorities.  They also require you to discover a degree of emotional maturity within that few today know they can possess.

Comprehend and implement these 7 Secrets and you will dramatically transform the quality of your life.

The 7 Secrets to Living the Good Life are as follows:

1. Know thyself – You must understand your unique needs before you do anything else.  This is the beginning of happiness;
2. Develop a 21st Century Life Skillset – Be a skilled life “investor”- know the dangers, see the opportunities, invest in and build up skills, and diversify risks.  Learn to navigate today’s waves of change.  Think “worldly,” not provincially.  And protect and build “capital”.  These skills can be learned;
3. Wealth – Build ATMs – Earn as you go, instead of all at once.  This is a new approach to “wealth” building.  Also, ensure that multiple streams of income are always available;
4. Focus your everyday life around your loves, not around earning money.  Time is life – spend it wisely;
5. Priorities – Be present with who and what you love – otherwise, what’s the point?;
6. Follow your dreams – this requires courage, drive, and bold action; and
7. Love thyself – you are beautiful just the way you are.  Learn to eject the judgments of the world and just be you.

Master these 7 Secrets and you will never want of anything again.

In my coming posts I will go into detail exploring each of these Secrets.  Once we are finished here you will be ready to embark on the life you never had.

I hope that you are as excited as I am!

All the best,

Hugh

Peace Amid the Chaos

Dear Friend,

I am going to tell you something strange.  Perhaps even unbelievable.

I understand exactly what is going on in today’s world.  I seem to have a gift.  I can see the big picture where many others cannot.

I understand what is causing so much of this chaos that surrounds us.  I know why the stock market is so weird and why there is a financial crisis.  I called it all ten years ago, and my call has been right on.

I know why people are afraid, and I know why they don’t need to be – at least not for their long term future.  I also know that there are real dangers today in the near term – and not from the sources that you might expect.

I’ve understood this stuff for years.  I’m not sure why, exactly.  It just came to me over time.  And so far, I haven’t been wrong.

It is because I understand our world today that I am at peace with it.  I am not afraid.  Now, that doesn’t mean that I am just sitting around.  There is a real danger today, and a lot of people, real salt-of-the-earth people, are about to be hurt.  A lot of people are living unhappy lives.  And they don’t need to.  I know all of this and it kills me.

I also know that freedom is vaporizing all around us, even while it is freedom that we ultimately need most in order to pursue our true path.

I recently was talking to a friend of mine.  I was trying to explain to him why I blog.  And why I write.

I told him that I want to offer people an opportunity to make sense out of today’s chaos, to regain a sense of control over their lives, and ultimately, of direction.

People are scared.  They feel pulled into a maelstrom of chaotic change that even their “leaders” can make no sense of.  If this were an ancient civilization, the people would lose confidence in their kings and gods and the society would disintegrate, much as the Maya did when their crops failed en-masse and no amount of human sacrifice seemed to matter to the gods.

This change is not the end.  We are witnessing the birth of a new world.  Long lives, less fear, less disease, more spiritual understanding, all of these are just over the horizon.

People cannot see this future because they are blinded by the violent death of today’s world that is going down right in front of them, and they do not know where to look for these signs or what, exactly, to look for.  Also, they don’t know how to believe what I am saying, because so many charlatans have lied so many times, who knows what to believe.

I want to help people hold onto hope, and then to educate them so that they no longer fear the future.  I try to show them practical paths to this future.  Practical ways to avoid being injured by the writhing death of an old system, while preparing themselves for life in the new. I want to give them back a sense of control over their lives – ultimately, a sense of peace.

This is what I want to do for you.  Why?  Because it is what I was meant to do.  This is my purpose.

I hope that I am successful.  Wish me luck?

All the best,

Hugh

A Tummy Ache

Dear Friend,

For some time now, my daughter has had a tummy ache.  Yet she rarely complains about it.

Apparently it’s not much, but it always seems to be there.  Once in a while, if I ask her how she is doing.  She’ll say, “Fine.  My tummy aches but that’s normal.”

Of course, that is not normal.  We took her to her doctor a while back, who checked her out and prescribed some antacids.  He did not think that there was anything serious for us to worry about.  Unfortunately, the antacids didn’t work.  And apparently this problem is not uncommon for young girls.  Doctors seem to think that this is just a side effect of youthful angst.

Unless we rode her close, she would never have told us how she felt, which made staying on top of this problem easy to forget.

One of the many reasons we came home was to try to finally put this issue to rest.

This past week we visited an allergist.  No doctor suggested this.  I just thought that we should rule out any possibilities, such as a mild food allergy.

Well, it turns out that she tested positive for a mild allergy to several foods.  The worst one was caffeine.  Cola and processed sugars also showed a slight reaction.  So Coca-Cola is off the menu from now on.

Hopefully we will be able to confirm this as the source of her discomfort through a diet adjustment.

I talked with my daughter about all of this last night.  I told her that it is OK to say ouch when she hurts.  In fact, it is necessary to do so if she is unable to do anything about what hurts her.

I also told her that her own happiness and love for herself should be her first priority.  And only when she stands up for herself, and makes herself a top priority, can she be truly happy.  Only then can she relax and truly love others.

She doesn’t want to bother us with stuff like this.  Or she is afraid that it might be her fault somehow.  I was determined to set her straight.

Sometimes I fear that I will come off preachy in these talks, but in the end she was all smiles and cuddles.

Today we also met with an attorney to revise our estate plan.  The big issue is, of course, who gets our kids should we both die.  Although we made a choice, I concluded that neither my wife nor I are allowed to die.  At least not until the kids are able to take care of themselves.  We just have too much to teach them yet.  I know that they need us, now more than ever.

I hope to prepare my kids for life by making sure that they know how to cook, clean, do laundry, and make decent money before they hit eighteen.  And that they have the self-pride to know that they have the right to be who they are, to stand their ground when necessary, and the responsibility to respect others’ right to do the same.

In fact, I hope that they have achieved much more than this by adulthood.  But that is up to them.  I just want them to be happy and at peace with themselves.

We are about finished with our work here.  A few more calls into the RV service center to speed up their work and we will get back on the road.

It’s been a good visit home.  Productive.  But I think it’s time to wander again…

All the best,

Hugh

Freedom!

Dear Friend,

As we welcome in the new year, freedom is singing its sweet music in far off Iran, where the younger generation simply refuses to accept tyranny over their lives any longer.

When I watch these brave souls fighting this tyranny in the streets of Tehran and elsewhere, I realize that freedom is really what I am all about.

Without true freedom, you would not be able to live your true, natural lifestyle.  You would be a prisoner of the common, accepted manner of living.  True freedom is the liberty to be you, without so much as a “by your leave” to anyone else.

In order to be you, you must be free.

Freedom is rising around the world, yet in Western countries it is on the wane.

Don’t believe me?  Consider the following brief quotation from Judge Andrew P. Napolitano’s excellent book, A Nation of Sheep ((c) 2007 Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee USA):

Imagine that the FBI wants to know more about you because you just happened to call your cousin who is studying abroad in, say, Nairobi.  This one call raises a red flag within the NSA wiretapping database.  Due to one simple call, any FBI agent can write his own search warrant not only to your cell phone provider, but to any company you associate with, in any capacity.  The agent, who could be a saint or a rogue, will know everything about you.  The amount of your last annual bonus?  THEY KNOW!  Your company password to log in at work?  THEY KNOW!  The ATM fee you accepted at your local corner deli?  THEY KNOW!  The attractive new co worker you Googled?  THEY KNOW  (and could give you her phone number)!  Afraid of pain, so you go to the new sedation dentist in town?  THEY KNOW!  Lactose intolerant?  THEY KNOW (because you use your credit card to pay for groceries and prescriptions)!  Didn’t make your high school varsity basketball team?  THEY KNOW!  Sent a Christmas package to Grandma marked “Fragile”?  THEY KNOW!  Late returning a library book in college?  THEY KNOW!  Just sped through a yellow light?  THEY KNOW (and have the picture to prove it)!  They will know whom you are contacting and who is contacting you, and precisely where you are located at any given point of time.  If you went to Disney, you can be sure they now have your fingerprint on file [Disney now requires an electronic fingerprint for admission to their parks].  And if you had a mole removed from your back and it came back as possibly cancerous, they know that too!  They have more information about you stored digitally than you probably have stored about yourself.

Creeped out yet?  You should be.

Freedom is under siege all across the US and in Europe.  If you really are dedicated to being in charge of your own life, and that of your family, I urge you be be aware, and be alert.

Let us hope and pray that 2010 will see a new awakening for freedom in the West at least a shadow as bright as we today see in Iran.

Happy New Year!

Hugh

Happy New Year!

Dear Friend,

The holidays have been a busy time around my house.  No doubt you can say the same?

After three separate holiday dinners, the last of the visiting relatives headed off today.

We are still doing the appointment thing, and the end of the calendar year brings a lot of last minute activities with our businesses.  But things have cleaned up nicely, and after a few more medical appointments (do I really need an eye exam?) I think that we’ll be wrapped up here.

I called the RV service center in Texas to check up on the Warrior.  They haven’t done anything yet.  I’m not surprised.  When you tell service folks that you are not in a hurry, your job gets pushed to the permanent back burner.  I put a new fire under their butts, so I hope that we’ll be back on the road in a few weeks or so.

How was your holiday?  Hope you are well and rested.

This has been a great, even a momentous year for me and my family.  We have done things and made decisions that I never imagined just a few years ago.  I am thankful for all that we have experienced.  I hope that our choices, and even our mistakes, will be an inspiration to your family.

I know that this is the season for New Year’s resolutions.  However, I usually don’t make them.  And so many resolutions are never taken seriously.

If you do decide to make a New Year’s resolution, then decide today to make this your year to discover a new and better life.

I’ll be here to help.  It’s what I do.

All the best to you and yours in 2010,

Hugh

Uncle Sam Thinks He's Santa!

Dear Friend,

As you may already know, I live in the USA.

I recently saw something online that really shook me.

It was about the national debt of the US.

Now, only a hermit doesn’t know that this country runs a budget deficit and has a debt.  But what I never realized is just how big it is.  Or, put another way, I never realized just what a burden that my children are about to inherit as a result of their parent’s and grandparent’s generations’ financial mismanagement.

The US national debt (the amount of money that the US government owes to other people and governments) is currently around $10 Trillion Dollars.

There was a time that I thought there was no such thing as “trillion.”  I was wrong.

I thought it might be interesting to figure out how much debt that my family might be responsible for paying off someday (assuming the bill came today – this debt just keeps growing).  So I figured the national population at about 300 million people.  I then divided 300 million into the 10 trillion figure, and then multiplied the result by six (the size of my family).

Two hundred thousand dollars in debt.  That’s my family’s inheritance.

And if you are a US citizen, it’s yours too.

Have you saved up that kind of money?  Are you ready to pay up?

How about your kids?  What will this mean for them?

As a parent, I feel that it’s my duty to understand these things and to do whatever I can to prepare my kids for the future that they are likely to face.

How do I prepare them for this?

All the best,

Hugh

Me and the Ones I Love

Dear Friend,

As I have traveled through life, I have discovered a few things.

I have always found it interesting how wrong many of my past opinions now seem to me, despite the fact that I was quite confident in those opinions so recently.

And, I quite expect many of my current beliefs to be challenged, and possibly overturned, in the future.

Some might say that I am too wishy-washy.  That we all need to have firm beliefs or else we don’t really stand for anything.

Well, there is one message that I always felt held truth.  Today, I am convinced of that truth.  But more than that, as each year goes by, I am realizing that this one message may very well be the only truth that I know.

What is this message?

Happiness cannot be found in the intellect.  The best that you can hope for there is a quiet sort of peace.  Like death.

True fulfillment lies in the emotions.  But so does agony.

Here’s the key:

The path to happiness lies in eliminating Fear and embracing Love.

Only when you fully embrace love will you fear no one and nothing.

Only when fear is overcome will you know true power.  Only then will success come naturally.  Only then will work disappear as all effort becomes easy.

Only by embracing love as the core definition of who you are will you find freedom.

When you love you, you need no one else.  Yet, by loving you, you radiate love, which becomes compassion, and which lights a fire that surrounds you with others who share in your love and share their love with you.

When you love you, you separate yourself from others who are too lost in their own fear to do anything but douse your warmth.

When you love you, other’s counter opinions are no threat.

When you love you, your faults are funny, not embarrassing.

When you love you, the beauty of others shines much more brightly to you.

When you love you, you live in the light of God.  Religious doctrine means nothing.  No one else holds the key to Heaven, for you live in Heaven every day.

When you love you, life is a pleasant breeze.  Suffering lifts away.  And the suffering of others becomes something that saddens you, even if they show that suffering by trying to hurt you.

You never need suffer another day in your life. You just have to decide to stop trying to control your life.  Instead, envision life as a rough sea.  You can fear that sea, or you can embrace the thrill of surfing it to unknown destinations.

Either way, the sea will not change.  You cannot control your world.  You can only choose how you will react to it.

No one wants to suffer.  And it’s easy to let go.  It’s easy to embrace love.

So what do you have to lose?

Love and Blessings This Holiday Season!

Hugh

Dad and Son

Dear Friend,

Yesterday, I spent a good part of the day with my dad.

My dad will be 78 years old next month.  He is becoming more aware of his mortality.  He talks a lot about his estate and getting things straight before he dies.

As his son, that stuff is hard to hear.  But I am also set to be his executor, so I have to be a part of it.

My dad has always been a practical man, who likes to tie up loose ends.  I think that doing so gives him a sense of peace.  I believe this because I am the same way.

What I wanted to write about today was not all of that.  It wasn’t what we talked about or what we did.  What struck me yesterday was how I behaved.

No, I wasn’t inappropriate or anything.  Nothing like that.  It was just that I hung around.  For a long time.  I didn’t feel the need to get back to my work or whatever.

I had no other plans yesterday.  My dad had asked me long ago to come by and help him load some stuff in his truck, as he and my mom were heading off this morning on their annual pilgrimage to Florida.

But yesterday, something was different.

I didn’t feel rushed.  There really was no other place that I needed to be more at that moment.  And, for a lot of reasons, I knew that I was at the right place for me.

That was a very new feeling for me.  It was really a lack of anxiety.  A lack of being pulled, or tugged, in some other direction in which I had to go whether I wanted to or not.

This was one day after my family had declared official independence from the shackles of a conventional life and set ourselves adrift on a new journey that is, I believe, the real meaning of life.

And this was one of the first, tangible results of this decision.  Life is no longer about doing what I have to do, but rather about doing what really means the most to me.

I talk about this stuff all the time.  You know that. 😉  But this was one of the first times that I felt it before I thought it.

And I’m telling you now, this kind of freedom feels wonderful.

Trust me, do whatever you have to do, but dump you old life if it is controlling you.  You deserve so much better.

Discover the peace and the quiet power of living your life on your terms, and at your own pace.  And of doing what really matters with your life.

Once you experience this, your life will never be the same.

All the best,

Hugh

Freedom

Dear Friend,

Today, my wife kids and I declared our freedom.

My wife and I made a huge decision today.

We had a meeting scheduled with our kids teacher at school.  The Head of School was also there.

My wife and I were supposed to talk to them about getting our kids re-enrolled and back into the routine of their real life.

Just before this meeting my wife and I sat down to decide what we were going to say to these folks.  We talked about our life before our trip.  We talked about how our relationship as a family had changed.  For the better.  About how much our kids had grown, matured, really, as a result of this change in lifestyle.  This new lifestyle of family freedom.

And then we told the school that our kids will not be coming back.

Instead, we will continue our journey in January, with no end commitment whatsoever.  Our kids are now officially homeschooled.  And we are officially back on the road, with no return date.  Family freedom is ours.

Now, we haven’t left home yet.  Christmas is coming.  But being on a journey isn’t just about driving.  Or discovering new places.  Or hanging out in an RV.

Instead, our journey is the experience of being together as a family.  We are now our number one priority.  Not work, or school, or other “commitments.” We just decided to put us first. We just declared our own family freedom.

So that’s it.  Come January, we are back on the road.

As of now, we are a family with the freedom to simply be.  It’s a great feeling!

We are free. 🙂

All the best,

Hugh