Privateer Nation Blog
The Privateer Nation is the first nation in history to be created by people who share a common philosophy, dreams and vision instead of common orgins, history or religion. The sole purpose of the Privateer Nation is to help you get rich in the profession of your choice, travel the planet and change the world. To learn more go to www.privateernation.com

How To Choose An Accountant by Gaebler.com

Filed under: GET RICH, LIFE LESSONS — admin September 5, 2008 @ 9:16 pm

GET RICH:
Big Bucks

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I made the decision a few days ago to figure out how to find an amazing small business accountant.  While researching I found this article on www.gaebler.com and it gave me some great things to think about…

Choosing an Accountant for your Small Business

Choosing the right accountant for your small business can mean the difference between success and failure. After all, it’s your financial numbers that make or break your business.

Unfortunately, once you’ve selected an accountant, it’s a pain to switch. Your accountant gains detailed knowledge of you, your business and your data —it makes it very tough to transition to a new accountant. The end result is that many businesses that work with mediocre accountants don’t make the change to a better accountant simply because the switching costs are too high.

Given the inertia that settles in after you’ve selected an accountant, it’s important to make a good choice the first go-around. Makes sense, right?

Surprisingly, most business owners don’t thoroughly consider their needs when selecting an accountant. That’s because many of us who don’t have a strong accounting background view all accountants as being equal.

But the reality is that all small business accountants are not created equal.

This article explains how accountants can assist your business and provides useful questions you should use to choose an accountant that truly can help your business grow, not somebody who just crunches the numbers.

What Do Small Business Accountants Do Anyway?

The increasing role of small business in the American business landscape and more powerful and accessible information technology has changed the role and importance of the small business accountant.

Why do you need an accountant? Some small businesses make due with a bookkeeper – someone to perform the tedious task of recording financial information and cranking that data into the necessary formats, like P&L statements and tax forms.

But a good small business accountant does much more than just record transactions and passively generate documents—they actively analyze, interpret and convert that data into actionable business intelligence.

Based on where you want to go with your business, they should be able to tell you how to get there. If your accountant is just showing you the financial tracks of where you have been, you’ve made a bad choice and you’re missing out on a great opportunity to receive good business advice.

To be sure, today’s small business accountant offers more than crunched numbers. They can be your primary resource for:

Tax Planning. Beyond simply preparing tax forms, an accountant should be involved in business planning throughout the year. They should be able to regularly advise the business so it functions with peak tax efficiency.

Business Consulting. A good accountant should be able to help your business grow. Talented small business accountants function as a trusted general business consultant, assessing business problems and offering specific solutions. They offer advice on internal controls, risk management, lease versus buy decisions, inventory strategy, pricing, and even marketing. In short, an accounting professional who really understands your business from the inside out should be a trusted business advisor who is highly motivated to see you succeed.

Personal Finance Advice. A good small business accountant understands that your personal finances are integrally linked to your business finances. They view the two holistically and offer advice on both fronts. For example, while serving as your small business accountant, they might offer retirement planning advice and estate planning advice that is ancillary to your small business activities but that will ultimately leave you in a stronger financial position.

Technology Know-How. Computing technology has dramatically improved small business capabilities as powerful business software is no longer only for corporations and the Internet provides a level of access to knowledge, customers and suppliers hardly dreamed of even ten years ago. A good accountant must — must! — absolutely be proficient in applying the fantastic and inexpensive information technology that turns business data into strategic intelligence. They need to be very familiar with leading small business management software packages from leading vendors like MYOB, Intuit and Peachtree.

Networking. While the strength of an accountant is still what they know, a mark of a successful pro is also who they know. Your accountant should be a good source of referrals as they should now precisely each of their clients’ strengths and needs. Need to get a loan for your small business? Your accountant ought to be able to introduce you to the right banker.

Questions to Ask Your Prospective Accountant

The bottomline is that you should expect today’s accountant to be much more than a bookkeeper. Most do add considerable value. The trick is to separate the wheat from the chaff.

So, with your raised expectations, how do you choose the right accountant for your small business? Like any relationship, it boils down to a compatibility of interests, experience and outlooks. Seek recommendations from your peers and ask prospective accountants the following questions:

Do you have a CPA? Business owners are often confused as to the certified public accountant (CPA) designation. A CPA has a surpassed accepted financial education levels, passed state-administered tests to prove competency and periodic re-certification exams. Certain situations, such as audits and many loan applications, require CPA involvement. Not surprisingly, CPAs can charge higher fees than a non-CPAs. But there are a great many non-CPAs who excel at small business accounting and financial and technology consulting. Again, getting to know them and your needs is the necessary first step.

What kind of creative business advice will you offer me? A good accountant can deftly handle data and numbers but should also be able to demonstrate quick and creative business acumen. Ask the candidate to offer three quick ideas on how your firm might be able to save money right now. Ask them for three examples in which they offered useful business advice to other clients that went beyond just tracking the numbers. While “creative accounting” is usually a negative, having a creative business mind can be a huge asset towards helping your company to grow.

Do you consider yourself to be tech-savvy? Small business accounting software has made powerful accounting tools available to everyone. But these accounting packages, most notably MYOB and QuickBooks, are only as useful as the person who installs them and runs the applications. Even if you are not a “tecchie,” do your homework to be able to determine whether the candidate understands the role computer technology plays in turning business information into business intelligence. For example, ask them how they will integrate your computer files with the technology in their office. What role will the Internet play in keeping in touch and interchanging financial information?

Who are your other clients? Imagine this scenario. You hire an accountant based on the assumption that he understands the basics of your business. Then, you find out that he’s never had a client like you before. Instead, he’s only prepared tax forms for wealthy individuals that don’t own businesses. Avoid that possible disaster by asking who the accountant works with. If they are businesses that are similar to yours, that’s a good sign. In asking about their clients, you will also want to understand how busy they are and whether they have the time and resources to support you adequately.

How do you calculate your fees? Ask the accountant what you can expect fees to be and will he guarantee that you will not exceed certain amounts that you agree upon up front. In a time-based fee structure, make sure to find out the hourly rate, as well as all fees for expense reimbursement. Find out now whether a simple two-minute phone call or a one page fax means an hour of billable time. If that’s the case, run for the door.

Are you active in the local business community? Who do you know that can help me? Find out whether your prospective accountant can introduce you to people who might be useful to you, including prospective customers, suppliers, bankers, and investors. Since talk is cheap, take it one step further. Ask the accountant for examples of introductions they’ve made in the past for other clients and how those introductions played out.

Why should I use you? As a final question, it’s always good to let the accountant make the case for why you should engage them. Find out whether your prospective accountant can introduce you to people who might be useful to you, including prospective customers, suppliers, bankers, and investors. Since talk is cheap, take it one step further. Ask the accountant for examples of introductions they’ve made in the past for other clients and how those introductions played out.

A COMPLAINT FREE WORLD

Filed under: LIFE LESSONS — admin August 26, 2008 @ 1:10 pm

CHANGE THE WORLD:
The End of Poverty

I’ve been taking the A Complaint Free World Challenge that was created by Will Bowen for 2 months now.  The results are incredible!  Read on to learn more….

HOW IT ALL GOT STARTED
Will is a pastor at a church in Kansas City.  Back in 2006 he came up with an idea for a sermon that discussed the nasty impact complaining has on a person’s life.   At the end of the sermon he threw out a challenge.  Everyone knows it takes 21 days to create a new habit.  Will challenged the audience to go 21 days with out complaining. To aid those that were willing to take the challenge he passed out purple bracelets.  The idea was that you had to switch the bracelet to the other wrist if you complained.  The goal was to keep the bracelet on the same wrist for 21 days, signifying that you had gone 21 days with out complaining.

REALITY CHECK
Now I’m going to say something that might shock you.

You have NO IDEA how much of a whiny, sniveling complainer YOU ARE.  If I were to ask each one of you individually, I bet all of you would say, “At the MOST I complain once or twice a week.” You’d be SHOCKED if I followed you around with a tape recorder for 1 day and then replayed what came out of your mouth.  And believe me I know because I’m speaking from personal experience.

BENEFITS
So let’s talk about the benefits you’ll get from creating the habit of not complaining…

We’ll start with Pat’s favorite word “Entrainment.”  We are constantly synching up to people around us.  When you complain you are “entraining” i.e drawing other complainers to you.  Think about the people in your life right now.  Are they complainers?  If so that means you are too.  Stop complaining and you’ll draw fun, joyful, loving people to you 

Complaining is talking about things you DO NOT WANT rather than what YOU DO WANT.  When we complain, we are using our words to focus on things that are NOT as we would like.  Our thoughts create our lives and our words indicate what we are thinking.

By not complaining you get play at the leadership level of Gandhi and Princess Di and your peers will see you as a leader at a higher level.

Buddah said, “We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think.”  Most of your complaints don’t even escape your lips but you are still thinking them.  Guess what you are becoming?

Stop complaining.  Change your words, change your thoughts, and you will change your life!  When Jesus said, “Seek and you shall find,” it was a statement of universal principle.  What you seek, you will find. When you complain, you are using the incredible power of your mind to seek things you say you don’t want but nonetheless draw them to you.  Then you complain about these new things and attract EVEN MORE of what you don’t want.

Now let’s hear from a couple of people who have chosen not to complain…

TESTIMONIALS
I suffered from chronic headaches.  Every night I’d come home and tell my wife how much my head hurt that day.  While taking the Complaint Free Challenge I realized that telling my wife about my headaches did nothing to lessen their occurrence or painful severity.  I decided to stop talking about them.  To my utter and complete surprise my headaches stopped.  Today I’m headache free.
        Tom Alyea

In 1999, at the very young age of 39, Hal was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer.  The doctors gave him 6 months.  In addition to his mortal diagnosis, Hal was facing other challenges.  Even though Hal had sold health insurance for a living, he had none.  His bills piled up and it was a constant struggle to keep the lights on and his family fed.  When Will (the pastor who wrote A Complaint Free World) found out about Hal’s situation he went out to visit him.  Will expected to find Hal in a pretty bad way but Hal spent the entire visit talking about how great his life was and how fortunate he was.  Will came back to visit him twice a week after that.  One day Will asked Hal, “How do you manage not to complain with all you are going through?”  Hal smiled and said, “Easy, it’s not the 15th of the month.  I decided that I’d allow myself to complain one day a month.  And you know what the great thing is? By the 15th of the month I’ve forgotten what I was going to complain about.”  Hal actually lived for 2 years past what the doctors gave him and he was an inspiration to everyone that even in the face of terminal illness you can choose to be happy.  That’s the health affirming power of living a life of gratitude rather than one of complaint.
        Will Bowen

This last one is my personal testimonial.  Like everyone else I thought that I complained very little.  Two weeks after putting my complaint free bracelet on I hadn’t even been able to keep it on the same wrist for one day.  Today I’m at 2 months and the longest I’ve gone is 3 days.  Now I know why the average time to win the Complaint Free Challenge is 4 to 8 months.  Even though I still have a ways to go to reach my 21 days I’ve noticed a dramatic increase in my daily happiness.  This was super surprising to me because I was already a happy person.  I feel like this huge weight has been lifted off me.  I’m floored and it keeps getting better.
        Namaste Faustino

In closing, when Will was being interviewed by an associate producer before he went on the Oprah Show he was asked, “What is your goal with all of this?”  He replied, “To transform the consciousness of our world.”  The associate producer looked at him and smiled sympathetically, “That’s a pretty big dream, don’t you think?”  He smiled and replied, “Do the math.”  The challenge started just over 2 years ago.  Today we’ve shipped over 6 million complaint free world bracelets to 80 countries around the world.  We’re now receiving over 1000 purple bracelet orders a day and those numbers just keep getting bigger.

It’s no accident that you are on this call.  You can change the world by simply becoming an example of positive change.  You can create a complaint free world.  As you become a happier person, you raise the overall level of happiness in the world.  You will send out a vibration of optimism and hope that will resound with others of similar intent.  And together–we will–change the world.

Go to www.acomplaintfreeworld.com and order your bracelets today.  However you can start immediately by simply putting a rubber band around your wrist and switching it when you complain.  Don’t wait.  Do it now. 

I promise you that it will be the most impactful thing you do this year. 

My Definite Major Purpose Updated

Filed under: LIFE LESSONS — admin August 21, 2008 @ 12:23 pm

EDUCATION:
http://www.goodmagazine.com/

I first read Napoleon Hill’s famous book Think & Grow Rich when I was 19 years old. In that book he explains that knowing your definite major purpose is the key to success. What’s a definite major purpose? It’s the thing that you desire most in life. Why is it the key? As Napoleon Hill says, “Our brains our magnetized with the dominating thoughts that we hold in our minds, and these magnets attract to us the forces, people and circumstances of life that harmonize with the nature of our dominating thoughts.”

Over the years I’ve spent a lot of time figuring out my definite major purpose. And I’ve learned some things…

1. You have to really want it. If you have to force yourself to think about it 10 times a day then it’s NOT it.

2. It changes. I’ve achieved my definite major purpose before and now I have another.

3. Spending the time to figure it out is worth it because you get exactly what you ask for (or extremely close to it).

4. If you read your definite major purpose statement, and it does NOT excite you, then you need to change it. Why? If it doesn’t excite you then you won’t do what it takes to bring it into your life.

All of this year my definite major purpose was to make $4000 a month building/supporting the Privateer Nation. When I first wrote this statement it excited me. Two weeks later it didn’t and I kept putting off changing it because I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. Finally, I figured it out. It’s not the money that excites me. It’s the lifestyle the money will bring me that excites me. It seems like I’m being overly picky about words but in my experience you have to be. Here is my new and updated definite major purpose (by the way I carry this around with me at all times and look at it a couple of times a day)…

Say it out loud, “My definite major purpose is to be

living with my girlfriend near the beach

in an energy intense city in Florida

while making $4000 + a month building the Privateer Nation

before I’m 32 years old.”

For fun I included my notes on creating a definite major purpose….

Is it definite?

Does reading my definite major purpose make me excited?

Is it a burning desire?

Am I continually intensifying my desire for it in my mind?

The main thing, is the keep the main thing, the main thing.

Any idea that is held in the mind that is either feared or revered will begin at once to clothe itself in the most convenient & appropriate physical form available.

An intangible impulse of thoughts can be transmuted into material rewards by the application of known principles.

Truly “thoughts are things” and powerful things at that, when they are mixed with definiteness of purpose, persistence and a burning desire for the translation into riches or other material objects.

Our brains are magnetized with the dominating thoughts that we hold in our minds, and these magnets attract to us the forces, people and circumstances of life that harmonize with the nature of our dominating thoughts.

You may as well know right here that you can never have riches in great quantities unless you uncover the white heat of desire for the money and actually believe you can possess it.

Thoughts + Words + ACTION = Creation

People Come Into Your Life For A Reason, Season or Lifetime.

Filed under: LIFE LESSONS — admin August 17, 2008 @ 6:11 pm

EDUCATION:
The Celestine Prophecy

An unknown author wrote the following lesson.  People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person…

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.

They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support,

To aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend and they are.

They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,

This person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.

Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.

Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.

What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done.

The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.

They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.

They may teach you something you have never done.

They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.

Believe it, it is real. But only for a season.

Other people come into your life for a lifetime.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons,

Things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.

Your job is to accept the lesson,

Love the person and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life

It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant

Thank you for being a part of my life, whether you are a reason, a season or a lifetime.

Learn how to deliver a masterful Elevator Pitch by Startup Nation

Filed under: LIFE LESSONS — admin @ 5:56 pm

CHANGE THE WORLD:
Compassionate Capitalism

You can picture it – you step onto an elevator and standing right there is your dream financier. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Your pulse quickens. Your body temperature rises. You know this is your shot.

Elevator Pitch

To make sure you’re ready to seize the moment when fate puts you on that elevator with Mr. Moneybags, here we give you our advice on delivering an effective “elevator pitch” in as little as a one-minute ride. After all, Mr. Moneybags is always in a hurry and you’ve got to hook him quickly or you’ll never see him again!

You have to convey all the essential information in a clear and concise manner, communicating in a tone that’s likeable, passionate and also credible.
Remember, the elevator pitch is not designed to take the place of a solid business plan, but is simply intended to capture the attention of a potential investor. If you achieve that, the odds are good that you’ll get a chance to present your business idea in more detail at a later time (part of why having a complete business plan is also a must).
When you deliver an elevator pitch, you have to clearly and succinctly address the following points:

1. What’s the idea?
2. What’s the status of the idea or business?
3. What market or markets does the business address and are there any testimonials or customer feedback?
4. Why do you believe you have the advantage in the marketplace relative to the market needs?
5. What’s the competition in the marketplace?
6. What’s the revenue model (such as “e-commerce,” or “wholesale”)?
7. Who’s the team that’s going to make the business succeed?
8. What’s the longer term vision, the “end-game,” for the business and the projected return on investment for investors? (some examples are: “the business will distribute big profits to investors from cash flow by year X”, or “the business will be acquired by another company for $XYZ”)
9. What’s the total funding required to execute the business plan?
10. What amount of financing are you seeking initially and what are the terms of investment?

Your Elevator Pitch

Note that the order of these points can be changed around depending upon what your strongest points are. If, for example, you’ve got the most amazing and experienced team members, by all means, bump that up in front. Or, if you’ve got incredible initial sales results or testimonials, then mention that earlier. Whatever you believe is most compelling, you have to try to mesmerize Mr. Moneybags before he gets off the elevator!)

Example Elevator Pitch

Read the pitch out loud and time it - you’ll see that it can be done in 60 seconds or less. You’ll need to be able to pitch your idea in the same amount of time.

“Our company is called ConstructionBoots.com, an e-commerce website that sells brandname construction boots. There are currently no companies serving this niche exclusively. ConstructionBoots.com will drive traffic to the site by linking to other websites catering to the construction industry as well as through word-of-mouth. In industry surveys, over 90% of construction workers have these three traits: 1) they have a favorite brand of boots, 2) they know their size, and 3) they hate shopping at stores. In our own polling, over 70% indicated that they would prefer to buy their boots online and have them delivered. Accordingly, we expect a great market response and rapid sales ramp-up.

We need $1.5 million in funding to get to the point where the company is self-sustaining. This should happen in the middle of our second year. Right now, we’re seeking $500,000 of initial funding in exchange for a 30% ownership stake in the company. I am the CEO with lots of operational experience and deep contacts with boot manufacturers. Our Marketing Director was instrumental in the growth and recent sale of a very successful e-commerce clothing company. If we hit our numbers, we expect to be able to sell ConstructionBoots.com to a ‘brick and mortar’ retailer within 3 years.”

A Story About Why Harsh Times Are Necessary

Filed under: LIFE LESSONS — admin July 12, 2008 @ 5:32 pm

EDUCATION:
http://www.goodmagazine.com/

To give credit where credit is due this story came from Pat Finn at Rubicon Results.com…

A man found a butterfly cocoon. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.

The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If we were allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!

As you go into your fully relaxed meditation mode, imagine you are in a cocoon. Imagine that it is the physical representation of some challenge in your life that seems to have you trapped. First, get present to that feeling of being stuck. Then start to think about what you have done or are going to do to breakthrough. Think the thoughts, feel the feelings, and do the actions necessary to get out of that stuck situation. And as your non-conscious mind reveals to you what to think, feel and do; imagine you are seeing the light and breaking through the cocoon. Maybe that’s why we call it a breakthrough. Then feel how great it feels to be unstuck, to fly.

I HAD A BREAKTHROUGH AND THAT’S HOW I FLEW

I HAD A BREAKTHROUGH AND THAT’S HOW I FLEW

I HAD A BREAKTHROUGH AND THAT’S HOW I FLEW

4 Hour Work Week Blog On How To Get The Attention Of A Mentor

Filed under: LIFE LESSONS — admin July 4, 2008 @ 10:22 pm

GET RICH:
The Power of Nice

5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

Posted: 19 May 2008 07:43 PM CDT

Even after outsourcing my e-mail to a virtual assistant, there are still a few messages that come over the transom.

Since the success of the book, I’ve been able to see some of the worst e-mail pitches out there. Here is an example of how to do it properly, with 5 tips and good template phrases bolded:

Hi Tim,

I hope all is well (and I gather from your celebrity that it is—I can’t seem to go a week without seeing your book or name somewhere).

I know you place tremendous value on your time so I’ll be brief. The website I launched last fall (www.SmartRaise.com) has evolved into a much more far-reaching venture: a software company that provides fundraising optimization and online advocacy solutions for nonprofits. I’m raising $500-750k for the business, called Donor Loyalty Corp, and have a meaningful percentage of that already committed from various Angel investors.

Naturally, I’m courting a number of prospective Angels from my personal network to hopefully fill out the rest of the round. However, I was curious if your experience has taught you any lessons about identifying seed-stage investors and, more specifically, if you’ve come to know any Princeton Alums or other individuals who have an appetite for deals like these. I’ve attached my fundraising deck for some context.

I understand if you’re too busy to answer in depth or would prefer not to discuss the topic given our limited interactions in the past. However, if the professor in you has any pearls of wisdom or specific thoughts, they would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance and I hope we can connect.

Best,

Robert J. Moore ‘06

###

Here are a few notes on this e-mail and what makes it more likely to get a response:

1. It’s short and what he’s requesting is clear. No “let’s jump on the phone for 10 minutes; it’ll be worth your time.”

2. He made an impression in our initial meeting, and he hasn’t irritated me with zero-content “keeping in touch” e-mails. He hasn’t worn out his inbox welcome.

3. He makes it clear that he’s doing his part and has explored other avenues before asking for my help. It’s amazing how many would-be mentees or beneficiaries ask busier people for answers Google could provide in 20 seconds. That puts you on the banned list. Explicitly state what you’ve done to get answers or help yourself.

4. He used the executive recruiter referral trick. Seldom will a headhunter call a gainfully employed CXO-level executive and ask them to take another position. They’ll instead ask the exec if they know anyone who might be interested in position X. The intention is clear (might you consider this job over your current employer?), but it gives the executive a comfortable decline option.

5. He makes it clear that it’s OK if I can’t help or if I’m too committed elsewhere. This — paradoxically — makes it much more likely he’ll get a response, which he did.

The above 5 tenets should be considered for any e-mail to someone who probably deletes more e-mail in a day than you read in a week. If they appear in media regularly, assume that you are competing against at least 100 similar requests.

E-mail is like food. Good recipes produce good results, but you need to follow the proper steps.

Us and Them by David Berreby

Filed under: LIFE LESSONS — admin @ 10:08 pm

GET RICH:
Think and Grow Rich

I picked up a book today called US and THEM by David Berreby. The tag line of the book is Understanding Your Tribal Mind.

My first experience with “thinking tribal” (tribal thinking is when you think of yourself as belonging to 1 kind of people and everyone else as belonging to another kind of people who are less) was years ago after listening to an audio series by Jerry Clark called MURPHY’S COMMITTEE. Listening to this audio series caused me to seek out and read Scott Alexander’s books RHINOCEROS SUCCESS, ADVANCED RHINOCEROLOGY, and RHINOCEROTIC RELATIVITY. The audio series Murphy’s Committee by Jerry Clark and the books Rhinoceros Success, Advanced Rhinocerology and Rhinocerotic Relativity all put forth the idea that there are 2 kinds of people in the world. The first group are Rhinos. These kind of people charge through the jungles of life having fun, making money and living their dreams. The second group of people are Cows. These kind of people seek safety, make great employees and live dull boring lives like the cattle in the fields.

I was seriously hurting when I listened to Murphy’s Committee by Jerry Clark and read Scott Alexander’s books RHINOCEROS SUCCESS, ADVANCED RHINOCEROLOGY, and RHINOCEROTICRELATIVITY. I was running my first real world business (I owned a business in high school) and the cows of the world were beating on me every chance they got. I’d dropped out of college to start this business. I expected my family to be behind me but they were not. Every time my family got together I got to hear the question, “When are you going to stop wasting your life and go back to college?” Or I’d be asked, “When are you going to get a real job?” I wasn’t doing well in my business and that made the questions sting even more. In time those questions become my “Mad Dog Questions.” What’s a mad dog question? It’s a question you ask a person that causes them to go from zero to violent in 1 second. I nearly lost it on my mother one day after she asked me for the millionth time, “When are you going to go back to college?” I had to walk out of the room. I was so tired of my dreams being attacked. I’d hit my breaking point. Thankfully I walked out of the room to cool down but it took everything I had to do that. If it had been a male relative of mine I’d have joyously beaten him within an inch of his life. I had so much rage inside me from being attacked all the time for heading down the road-less-traveled.

It was around the time that I nearly lost it on my mom that I listened to Murphy’s Committee by Jerry Clark and read Scott Alexander’s books RHINOCEROS SUCCESS, ADVANCED RHINOCEROLOGY, and RHINOCEROTICRELATIVITY. Jerry Clark’s audio Murphy’s Committee and Scott Alexander’s books RHINOCEROS SUCCESS, ADVANCED RHINOCEROLOGY, and RHINOCEROTICRELATIVITY changed my life and likely saved my dreams. That was the good part. And I’ll be forever grateful to those two men. From that point on every time someone started bagging on me I simply thought, “What a pathetic cow.” Their opinion of me and what I was doing no longer mattered. I knew they were never going to do anything great with their lives and so like all cows do they tried to bring down the people who were out there trying. The bad part was it caused me to look at everyone who was employed as worthless cattle. Looking down on people is dangerous. You stop seeing them as people. Worse you stop treating them as if they are even human. I became a serious a-hole rhino. It took me years to get to the point where I didn’t look down on people who were employees.

Looking back I’ve never been able to determine if I could have stayed on the road-less-traveled with out Murphy’s Committee by Jerry Clark and Scott Alexander’s books RHINOCEROS SUCCESS, ADVANCED RHINOCEROLOGY, and RHINOCEROTICRELATIVITY. I needed a way to protect my dreams and these men gave it to me. However it was so damaging (as all tribal thinking is in my opinion). Suddenly everyone was either a rhino or a cow. I went out of my way to help rhinos and I also went out of my way to brutally stomp on cows. As I mentioned it took me almost a decade to start looking at everyone as people again. I was able to do this (start thinking of people as just people) because just like Jerry Clark said in the Murphy’s Committee and Scott Alexander said in the books RHINOCEROS SUCCESS, ADVANCED RHINOCEROLOGY, and RHINOCEROTICRELATIVITY my skin became “spear and arrow proof.” My rhino skin became so tough that no insult (insults were referred to as spears and arrows in the audio and book series) could hurt me anymore. Maybe one day I’ll be able to answer that question…

Alright so going back to the original reason I started this post which was to discuss the things I’d learned in the book Us and Them by David Berreby. The first thing of interest I found was a study done at New York University that uncovered the fact that people’s altruistic impulses are quite sensitive to subtler differences in their experience. One group of people was asked questions about comic-book superheroes. The other group of people were asked specific questions about Superman. Later when the different groups were asked to volunteer for community service the group that has been asked questions about superheroes in general signed up to give more time than the people who were asked questions about Superman. Why? It seems that thinking about an amazing person apparently made people feel like they could not measure up. However when asked to think about people who are altruistic and good they wanted to act a bit a more like those people themselves.

This is a huge lesson for me. I’m going to make sure that the stories I use to build the culture of the Privateer Nation are about privateers in history who helped other people. I want the Privateer Nation to be made up of people who live by the Golden Rule (do unto others as you’d have done unto you).

The next study I read about was one of the most famous studies for proving that circumstances change behavior. It was conducted at Stanford University in the 1970’s. The psychologist Philip Zimbardo and his colleagues divided a group of male college students into “guards” and “prisoners” in a simulated jail. In less than a week, the men changed their behavior to fit their categories (us vs them tribal thinking). The “prisoners” sank into despair and helpless rage. The “guards” looked down (this is the serious danger of tribal thinking) on their former fellow-students clothed in prison uniforms and a third of the guards actually abused them.

This is another huge lesson for me. One that I’ve already learned. I use to promote the domain names www.employeesareslaves.com, www.sillycorporatemonkey.com, and www.fuckcorporatelife.com. I stopped doing this because I did not want to promote a “cow vs rhino” philosophy. My target market for the Privateer Nation are aspiring entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs and non-traditional entrepreneurs (musicians, actors, writers, comics etc). However I decided to make the Privateer Nation open to anyone who is willing to face their fears so they can have fun getting rich, traveling the planet and changing the world. I did NOT want to create a nation of entrepreneurs who looked down on their employees. And I knew the only way to do this was to take out the words “seeking entrepreneurs” and replace it with the words “seeking people who are willing to face their fears in order to have fun getting rich, traveling the planet and changing the world.” We will not likely attract a lot of employees but I never want people who are employees to be looked down upon.

The third lesson I learned (and this is super cool) is something that I’ve believed all along. You can NOT categorize people by race, language or education. For example you can’t assume that all white people do something just because they are white. Or that all educated people will act in a certain way because they are educated. If you must categorize people then categorize them based on their beliefs (the way they think).

I love this because it confirms my belief that the only war worth fighting and winning is the war of ideas. People act the way they do because of their environment. No one is good or bad. The enviroment they are in determines the beliefs they adopt and the way they in turn behave. This means that the Privateer Nation will be able to have a massive effect on humanity as it grows. One day we will be a nation of millions of people who BELIEVE in getting rich the right way, BELIEVE in traveling the planet for fun and understanding and BELIEVE in making a difference for others and leaving a legacy that continues to make a difference when we are gone. Who knows how great an impact a million or more winners who hold these beliefs can have on the world?