RPF0394-On_Voting_Elections_and_Presidential_Politics
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00:00:29.460 | [Music]
00:00:31.460 | Radicals, I've just found some important news and I've got to get this to you as fast as possible because I just found out that
00:00:37.700 | there's a presidential election tomorrow, November 8, 2016.
00:00:40.460 | There is a presidential election in the United States of America and your life is going to be over if the wrong person wins.
00:00:47.320 | You're doomed if the wrong person wins that election tomorrow.
00:00:50.820 | You are absolutely going to be without a future.
00:00:54.400 | And so I've got to get you all the information that you need.
00:00:56.900 | I need to fill you in on all of the details so that you know who you can vote for and how you can vote.
00:01:00.980 | Because if you don't go out and vote tomorrow, the end of the world as we know it is upon us and...
00:01:05.540 | [Music]
00:01:06.620 | Oh, wait a second. Sorry, wrong show.
00:01:08.620 | [Music]
00:01:10.620 | [Laughter]
00:01:12.620 | This isn't that show. This is another show.
00:01:14.620 | [Music]
00:01:16.620 | [Music]
00:01:18.620 | [Music]
00:01:20.620 | Welcome to the Radical Personal Finance Podcast. My name is Joshua Sheets and I am your host.
00:01:25.780 | Generally not quite as caffeinated as that intro.
00:01:27.920 | This is the show where we tackle the subject of financial freedom,
00:01:31.420 | building a plan for financial freedom, while also living a rich and meaningful life now.
00:01:35.580 | And today we talk about voting, elections and their impact on your money and your life.
00:01:42.080 | And no, I hope you like my little joke, but I promise,
00:01:44.860 | none of that nonsense around here today.
00:01:47.380 | [Music]
00:01:53.380 | In case you haven't heard, and it's hard for me to imagine how you wouldn't have heard,
00:01:58.380 | although, I tell you what, if you didn't know, and you're listening to this,
00:02:02.380 | if you didn't know, listen to it currently, that tomorrow, November 8, 2016, is the 2016 presidential election,
00:02:09.380 | I would applaud your ability to be informed about things that matter to your life and to ignore everything else.
00:02:17.380 | I would applaud that. I actually would.
00:02:19.380 | But I dare say that there's nobody in the listening audience who's not aware of the election tomorrow.
00:02:25.380 | And as has been the case with the last dozens and dozens of elections that I'm aware of,
00:02:30.380 | this is, of course, the most important election in your lifetime.
00:02:33.380 | And it will remain that way until November the 9th,
00:02:36.380 | in which case the 2020 election campaign for presidential elections will kick off,
00:02:43.380 | and that again will be the most important election in your lifetime.
00:02:49.380 | So congratulations, enjoy this one while it lasts, and we can get ready for the next one.
00:02:53.380 | Now, lest I offend all of you who do care deeply about the 2016 election,
00:02:59.380 | I must tell you that I care about the issues involved in the 2016 election,
00:03:04.380 | and I do not say those comments in an effort to minimize the passion that you feel for your position.
00:03:12.380 | I really don't.
00:03:13.380 | And if you're not ready to hear this yet, then just pause and come back in a few days,
00:03:18.380 | because this will be every bit as relevant a couple days after the election as it will be today.
00:03:23.380 | And if there are those of you who don't like political discussions,
00:03:26.380 | I encourage you, this is a good place to use the delete button on your phone.
00:03:29.380 | And if you do like political discussions, I encourage you to recognize that at no place in today's show
00:03:36.380 | will I tell you what to vote for, who to vote for, or even to vote.
00:03:40.380 | Because my entire point with today's show is to demonstrate to you how.
00:03:44.380 | It's a waste of time for you to devote anything more than maybe an hour
00:03:52.380 | to go down and drop a ballot in the box and go back home and get on with your life.
00:03:58.380 | It's a waste of time for you to pay any attention to this whole debacle any more than that.
00:04:05.380 | And I'll tell you, instead of wasting your time moaning and whining and complaining about this stuff,
00:04:10.380 | I'm going to give you some activities that you can do that will actually make a difference
00:04:14.380 | and will be far more influential in your society and in your culture than your vote.
00:04:23.380 | Now, I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news and to come against the whole cultural conversation.
00:04:29.380 | It's really annoying.
00:04:30.380 | I went on YouTube this morning and YouTube tells me I'm supposed to go vote
00:04:33.380 | and Facebook tells me I'm supposed to go vote and Google tells me I'm supposed to go vote
00:04:36.380 | and can't go anywhere without being known that I'm supposed to go vote.
00:04:41.380 | They all wanted me to go and vote, and yet, is it really going to matter?
00:04:47.380 | Is there a difference that's going to be made in my life depending on who I vote for?
00:04:53.380 | Now, if you're screaming "yes" at your earpieces right now, I'd agree with you, yes,
00:04:57.380 | there is going to be something of a difference.
00:05:02.380 | Elections do affect your life to a very small degree,
00:05:07.380 | but it's nowhere near as much of a difference as those who are clamoring for you to go out and vote
00:05:15.380 | want you to believe that it is.
00:05:20.380 | It's nowhere near of a difference.
00:05:25.380 | Because I want you to recognize the fact that they need you to go out and vote.
00:05:33.380 | They need you to feel that it really matters.
00:05:36.380 | They need you to feel like it's the most important of your election
00:05:40.380 | because if you don't feel that way, then you won't pay any attention to them.
00:05:46.380 | By "them" let me define that.
00:05:47.380 | I hate when people refer to the "they" without defining them.
00:05:50.380 | "Them" being politicians.
00:05:53.380 | They need you for power.
00:05:56.380 | They need you for their power.
00:05:58.380 | They don't have power without you, the collective you, and your collective vote.
00:06:05.380 | But you, the personal you, the individual you, you don't need them.
00:06:12.380 | And thus, all of the power is in your hands, not in their hands.
00:06:20.380 | Yeah, they might have the guns, they might have the government,
00:06:24.380 | but you've got things that are far more valuable than that.
00:06:29.380 | You've got the freedom of choice.
00:06:31.380 | You've got the freedom of association.
00:06:34.380 | You've got the freedom of activity.
00:06:37.380 | You've got the freedom over your own thoughts.
00:06:40.380 | And depending on what you do with your life,
00:06:46.380 | you will either consistently give away your power to politicians,
00:06:52.380 | or you'll stand up and take a little bit back for yourself.
00:06:57.380 | Today I'm going to give you some ideas for how you can do that.
00:07:01.380 | And here's the cool thing.
00:07:02.380 | If you start doing some of these things, I've got 10 ideas,
00:07:05.380 | if you start doing some of these systematically, consistently,
00:07:09.380 | that will have a ripple effect on society.
00:07:13.380 | And if you care about seeing anything change in society,
00:07:18.380 | you can't start with them.
00:07:21.380 | You have to start with you.
00:07:24.380 | We're going to start with the depressing news,
00:07:26.380 | and then we're going to move on towards the hopeful things.
00:07:29.380 | I always rather end on a hopeful note when I podcast
00:07:31.380 | rather than on a depressing note.
00:07:33.380 | But here's the depressing note.
00:07:36.380 | The 2016 presidential election is reflective of your culture.
00:07:52.380 | You own it. I own it.
00:07:56.380 | If you're frustrated and annoyed at the politicians,
00:07:59.380 | recognize the fact that you and I collectively chose these politicians.
00:08:13.380 | You and I went through the process of allowing these people to have our attention.
00:08:19.380 | We gave them permission to run their political candidacies.
00:08:26.380 | We gave them our attention, we gave them our votes,
00:08:28.380 | and collectively we bear the responsibility for them.
00:08:36.380 | Now, if that's not depressing, I don't know what would depress you.
00:08:41.380 | Because what it means is that everything you don't like
00:08:47.380 | about that political candidate,
00:08:51.380 | all the things that make you despise that person,
00:08:56.380 | guess what?
00:08:58.380 | Those things are what our culture is full of.
00:09:04.380 | So if it's arrogance,
00:09:08.380 | our culture is full of arrogance.
00:09:12.380 | If it's corruption, guess what?
00:09:16.380 | We live in a very corrupt culture where people can be bought for not much.
00:09:21.380 | If it's their lack of willingness to deliver anything truthful,
00:09:27.380 | we live in a culture that accepts lies on a daily basis,
00:09:30.380 | and we accept it.
00:09:36.380 | We put them there.
00:09:38.380 | So don't go yelling about the political candidate who you can't stand.
00:09:43.380 | Recognize the fact that you and I are responsible for them.
00:09:49.380 | Because if you and I hadn't given them power,
00:09:55.380 | they wouldn't be there.
00:09:57.380 | If you and I had stood up and not allowed them to have their place of prominence,
00:10:04.380 | they wouldn't be there.
00:10:06.380 | So it's our fault.
00:10:09.380 | Pretty depressing, huh?
00:10:13.380 | So what can you do?
00:10:15.380 | Because the depressing part is over.
00:10:17.380 | Now we're going to talk about what you and I can do.
00:10:21.380 | Remember, we can't do anything about anybody else.
00:10:25.380 | I can't control you.
00:10:27.380 | I can't control your actions.
00:10:29.380 | I can't make you do anything.
00:10:33.380 | Oh, sure, I could get a gun and come and stick it to your head,
00:10:37.380 | but that doesn't work.
00:10:39.380 | You might carry out the action that I command you,
00:10:42.380 | but as soon as the gun is gone,
00:10:44.380 | you're not going to do it anymore.
00:10:48.380 | So what can you do?
00:10:51.380 | Well, you can change you,
00:10:54.380 | and I can change me.
00:10:57.380 | And you can live how you want to live,
00:10:59.380 | and I can live how I want to live.
00:11:02.380 | And as you do that and I do that,
00:11:06.380 | there will be a change and an impact
00:11:10.380 | on the tiny little community around us.
00:11:15.380 | And then as dozens of other people do that,
00:11:19.380 | there will be a little bit more of a change and an impact
00:11:22.380 | on the little community around all of us.
00:11:25.380 | And then as many more hundreds and thousands
00:11:28.380 | and ultimately millions of people do that,
00:11:30.380 | there will be a little bit more of a change.
00:11:34.380 | Now, of course, some people have more influence than others.
00:11:37.380 | At the end of the show, I'll talk to you about that.
00:11:39.380 | But without question, there are those who seek to influence
00:11:42.380 | many millions, hundreds of millions, and billions of people
00:11:45.380 | with their power and with their message.
00:11:48.380 | And they have very effective ways of doing that.
00:11:51.380 | But don't start there.
00:11:53.380 | Don't start with trying to figure out how you can influence
00:11:56.380 | millions of people if you can't even influence yourself,
00:12:00.380 | or if you can't even influence the one or two people
00:12:03.380 | who are closest to you.
00:12:07.380 | There's a good visual metaphor for you and me to keep in mind
00:12:13.380 | as we consider the problems of our day.
00:12:16.380 | It's to recognize that power and influence flow out
00:12:20.380 | in a series of concentric circles.
00:12:23.380 | And they're the most influential when they're close.
00:12:28.380 | I think of it like a stone dropped in the middle of a pond.
00:12:32.380 | A friend of mine who is a poet, lives in New York City.
00:12:35.380 | His name is Jonathan Walton.
00:12:37.380 | He has a poem, and in one stanza of his poem, he has this lyric.
00:12:42.380 | He does it super fast. I'll do it slower.
00:12:45.380 | But he says, "We are people pebbles tossed into a pool.
00:12:49.380 | Every ripple I create in turn ripples you.
00:12:52.380 | So in unison we are rippling, a type of ripple rhythm,
00:12:55.380 | but we need to ripple in a way that benefits our living."
00:13:01.380 | Again, "We are people pebbles tossed into a pool.
00:13:06.380 | Every ripple I create in turn ripples you.
00:13:10.380 | So in unison we are rippling, a type of ripple rhythm,
00:13:14.380 | but we need to ripple in a way that benefits our living."
00:13:23.380 | So if you want to influence others, it has to start with you
00:13:26.380 | and it has to flow out through those who are the closest to you.
00:13:33.380 | So I want to give you some specific and practical ideas,
00:13:35.380 | things that will impact your finances, but that will help you,
00:13:40.380 | and some things that you can do that will actually be influential.
00:13:44.380 | So if you're frustrated and angry about the political election,
00:13:46.380 | if you're frustrated and angry about who it is that you think is going to win,
00:13:49.380 | or who it is who has now won,
00:13:53.380 | that's what is, and you can't change that
00:13:57.380 | because you have no influence over that.
00:14:00.380 | But here are some things that you can do.
00:14:03.380 | Here are some things that you can do and you can focus on in your life.
00:14:08.380 | And the ripples that will come out from some of these things
00:14:17.380 | will start to build a ripple rhythm with other people around you.
00:14:24.380 | Number one, and probably all-encompassing, is get free yourself.
00:14:31.380 | My number one suggestion for you, if you would like to be able to
00:14:35.380 | have an impact on other people, get out of debt.
00:14:39.380 | And here I'm not making the argument that one course of action
00:14:45.380 | is financially superior than another, or that there's no,
00:14:48.380 | I'm not making any financial argument here.
00:14:51.380 | I'm making the argument of freedom.
00:14:55.380 | If you owe other people money, your actions will be governed because of that.
00:15:04.380 | One of my managing directors, when I was with Northwestern Mutual,
00:15:07.380 | used to have the joke, remember he was managing a team of salespeople,
00:15:11.380 | he always used to say, "I love it when my sales guys go out and buy a brand new car."
00:15:16.380 | He said, "I love it. I love it when they go out and buy houses."
00:15:20.380 | He says, "Because guess what? Payments are good for business."
00:15:25.380 | Remember, he, as a managing director, he would get paid
00:15:28.380 | based upon the production of his agents, and his agents were all on commission.
00:15:32.380 | So his happy day was when his agents would pull up into the parking lot
00:15:39.380 | in a beautiful new car, or talk about that beautiful new house they bought.
00:15:44.380 | Because now all of a sudden, they got to get busy and make money.
00:15:50.380 | When you're in debt, when you owe other people money,
00:15:52.380 | those other people have control over your actions to some degree.
00:15:57.380 | Depending on the severity of the debt, depending on the type of the debt, etc.,
00:16:00.380 | that degree will vary.
00:16:02.380 | But if you are beholden to other people, your actions will be governed based upon them.
00:16:13.380 | One of the most valuable financial things that you can do
00:16:17.380 | is to get out of debt and stay out of debt.
00:16:22.380 | Because when you get out of debt and you stay out of debt,
00:16:24.380 | you'll experience a degree of freedom that you never knew before.
00:16:34.380 | You'll experience a degree of autonomy that you haven't known.
00:16:39.380 | And what will happen is, even if you could earn more money by being in debt,
00:16:45.380 | you'll experience an emotional freedom, and you'll start to see things
00:16:48.380 | that might matter to you more than money.
00:16:53.380 | You'll experience the ability to say what you want, to do what you want,
00:16:58.380 | to be responsible for yourself and for your family.
00:17:05.380 | And that has the potential of turning you into a radical person,
00:17:10.380 | has the potential of turning you into the type of person who can stand up
00:17:13.380 | and speak your mind in the midst of a lot of people who disagree with you.
00:17:21.380 | Number one, if you want to be a revolutionary, if you want to be a radical,
00:17:27.380 | if you want to see some change, give some serious thought and some serious effort
00:17:33.380 | to getting out of debt and staying out of debt.
00:17:39.380 | Number two, get off of and get out of governmentally controlled welfare systems.
00:17:49.380 | Disconnect yourself from dependence and reliance on the politicians' good favor towards you.
00:17:59.380 | Recognize that the politicians use money as a way of gaining influence and power.
00:18:08.380 | And they control vast swaths of people based upon the money that they either open up
00:18:14.380 | to allow to flow from the centralized coffers or upon the money that they cut off.
00:18:21.380 | Doubt me? Just think about the lobbyists that are sent in when the politicians
00:18:27.380 | are getting together and thinking about making some kind of legislative change.
00:18:31.380 | Just think about how if there's a welfare system that's trying to be changed.
00:18:37.380 | Just think about how all of a sudden entire voting blocks can be moved.
00:18:43.380 | If you are reliant on the flow of government funds to you, it's very difficult to be free.
00:18:51.380 | What you'll have a tendency to do is to want to step in and try to change how those funds are used.
00:18:59.380 | Well, start by getting out of the game.
00:19:02.380 | Make a plan and systematically get off of and out of any kind of governmentally controlled financial system.
00:19:14.380 | Try it. If you doubt me, try it. See how you feel when you're free.
00:19:23.380 | Number three, work to disconnect your income from the large centralized workplace
00:19:32.380 | and seek to build some sort of more independent and more autonomous form of income.
00:19:40.380 | If you have opinions and perspectives that are important to you,
00:19:47.380 | you will find that when you're working within a large centralized system of employment,
00:19:54.380 | it will be very difficult for you to express those opinions.
00:20:00.380 | However, if you're responsible for yourself, as in the only people you have to please are your customers,
00:20:08.380 | you'll have a much higher degree of freedom to express yourself as you want to do it.
00:20:15.380 | It wasn't until a year after I had left Northwestern Mutual that I realized what the freedom was
00:20:22.380 | of not having to deal with being beholden to an employer.
00:20:26.380 | Because as an employee, I think you have to be responsible with what you say.
00:20:32.380 | Certainly, you can say what you want in just about any kind of perspective,
00:20:38.380 | but freedom of speech, simply the first amendment that talks about freedom of speech,
00:20:46.380 | simply is supposed to protect you from being attacked by the government.
00:20:52.380 | It doesn't mean that you're not responsible for what you say.
00:20:55.380 | And when you're an employee of a large company or you're an employee of somebody who has an opinion
00:21:01.380 | different than your own, you will have to muzzle yourself and control what you say.
00:21:12.380 | It doesn't mean it's not worth doing.
00:21:14.380 | It doesn't mean you're by definition compromising what you believe.
00:21:18.380 | But if you can disconnect your income from a centralized large company
00:21:24.380 | with the forces of political correctness scared to appear in a certain way,
00:21:33.380 | you'll find that will be tremendously valuable to you.
00:21:38.380 | Now, those three things that I just gave you are absolutely monumental.
00:21:43.380 | I just lumped together action points that are years for some people, years of work to get out of debt,
00:21:50.380 | to get off of and out of governmentally controlled and influenced financial systems,
00:21:54.380 | and to disconnect your income from a large company and to move in a place where you have more control,
00:21:59.380 | where you're more individually responsible.
00:22:01.380 | Those things are huge and not easy.
00:22:05.380 | But they'll have a tremendous impact on your life.
00:22:15.380 | Now, the rest of my list is a little bit simpler.
00:22:17.380 | And these are not in order. These are just ideas meant to spark your creative juices.
00:22:23.380 | Number four is build local community and change your purchase decisions and vote with your dollars.
00:22:29.380 | Recognize the fact that you are funding the things that you care about,
00:22:35.380 | the things that are important to you.
00:22:37.380 | With every purchase decision you make, you are consciously choosing to fund something.
00:22:46.380 | Do some research into the things that you're funding and make sure that you're making those decisions intentionally.
00:22:53.380 | Make sure that you are proactive about choosing to do business with people that you want to do business with.
00:23:04.380 | Don't be scared to stand alone.
00:23:07.380 | If you want to boycott a certain person or a certain company or a certain practice,
00:23:12.380 | don't be scared to stand alone. Just because everybody disagrees with you doesn't make you wrong.
00:23:17.380 | You certainly should pay careful attention to what they say if everyone disagrees with you.
00:23:21.380 | But just because everyone disagrees with you doesn't make you wrong.
00:23:26.380 | You'll sleep well at night if you make conscious decisions to support the things that you care about,
00:23:32.380 | the things that you believe are right for the reasons that you believe them to be right.
00:23:38.380 | If you do that in a local community, you'll be able to build relationships with your neighbors.
00:23:44.380 | And your voice in a local community will be far more powerful than your voice to a large multinational corporation.
00:23:54.380 | Your voice to a local politician is far more powerful than your voice to the next president of the United States.
00:24:06.380 | Focus on building local community and use your dollars to fund the things that are valuable to you.
00:24:15.380 | Number five, transition your idea of the word investment so that it includes investing into things that you believe in
00:24:23.380 | and into people that you believe in.
00:24:29.380 | Invest into things that you believe in and into people you believe in.
00:24:36.380 | Look at the amount of money that you have under your stewardship.
00:24:41.380 | Pull out your balance sheet. Look at those numbers.
00:24:43.380 | Look at the amount of money that you have right now under your stewardship and ask yourself,
00:24:51.380 | "Does the way that this money is being managed reflect my values?"
00:25:01.380 | "Does the way that this money is being managed reflect the type of world that I want to live in?"
00:25:11.380 | "Does the way that this money is managed reflect the change that I want to see in the world around me?"
00:25:19.380 | If not, start working on taking small, simple, progressive steps to change
00:25:27.380 | and invest the money that's under your stewardship into the things, ideas, and people that you believe in.
00:25:39.380 | Number six, show hospitality to your neighbors and build local community where you can actually influence another person.
00:25:48.380 | I'm very concerned personally with the tone that we seem to take in our language with one another,
00:25:55.380 | especially when speaking in public, when speaking online, and the various forms for communication that we currently use.
00:26:02.380 | It's vitriol. It's absolutely horrendous.
00:26:06.380 | And I think there is some value to it. I have to be careful with my opinion because I recognize the value of being able to communicate.
00:26:14.380 | But it's very hard to get people to listen to you when you're just arguing through a keyboard.
00:26:20.380 | I reflect even on some of my own communications online and just wonder sometimes, "Is any of this valuable?"
00:26:28.380 | I think some of it is, but I often wonder, "Is any of this valuable?"
00:26:33.380 | You can argue intensely with somebody online and have nothing fruitful come from it.
00:26:43.380 | But you can sit down and have dinner with your next-door neighbor who's very different from you and have a productive and useful conversation.
00:26:57.380 | Set up a plan to systematically show hospitality to your neighbors and get to know them, whoever they are.
00:27:02.380 | If that means the people in your neighborhood, that would be great.
00:27:05.380 | If that means the neighbors in your community as measured and connected by some other connection,
00:27:11.380 | whether an area of social interest, an area of business interest, etc.
00:27:15.380 | Make a plan to invite people over and get to know them.
00:27:21.380 | You may be surprised at the impact that you can actually have with other people if you do that.
00:27:28.380 | As our world becomes more and more connected, it seems to me that the people in our world become more and more lonely.
00:27:39.380 | I've seen some data that would support that as far as measured sociological data.
00:27:46.380 | I couldn't prove that statement to you. That just seems to be the case as I look around.
00:27:51.380 | I recognize that as people become more and more connected, we're consistently becoming more and more lonely.
00:27:59.380 | But you can change that and you can have a huge impact.
00:28:02.380 | Even with something as simple as once a week, spending time with somebody that you don't normally spend time with.
00:28:09.380 | In my family, one of the things we try to do is one night per week, we do our best to have somebody different over into our home.
00:28:18.380 | One night per week.
00:28:20.380 | Whether that's somebody that we know from the community or a listener of the show or somebody that we know,
00:28:27.380 | next door neighbor, co-worker, acquaintance, etc.
00:28:31.380 | We have it on the calendar. It's there systematically. I have a recurring meeting.
00:28:36.380 | And it reminds me every week, "Okay, who are we going to invite over this week?"
00:28:40.380 | Well, think about it. If you do that, then you're probably not going to do it all 52 weeks.
00:28:44.380 | There are times at which you need a break.
00:28:45.380 | But let's just say you have somebody over 40 weeks out of the year.
00:28:51.380 | Think about the relationships that could come from spending time and having dinner with 40 or 50 brand new people over the course of a year.
00:29:02.380 | Think about the impact.
00:29:04.380 | Think about the conversation you can have that actually matters when you have 3 to 4 hours to visit with somebody over dinner.
00:29:16.380 | Those of you like me with young families, you might find, as we find, that your dinner invitations generally dry up when you have children.
00:29:25.380 | Don't worry about it.
00:29:27.380 | Just you be the one to give the dinner invitations.
00:29:30.380 | You be the one to use your home.
00:29:33.380 | Invite people over and spend time getting to know them.
00:29:36.380 | Not with the desire to change them, but just to understand them.
00:29:39.380 | If you don't first understand how somebody thinks and why somebody thinks that way,
00:29:44.380 | it's not possible for you to affect their thinking if you even should.
00:29:49.380 | I fear one of the biggest challenges I face, even with communication style and on the show here,
00:29:58.380 | trying to figure out how do I accurately represent how somebody else feels.
00:30:01.380 | It's difficult because I don't know who I'm talking to because I've got many thousands of people that I'm talking to.
00:30:09.380 | That's been really, really challenging for me.
00:30:11.380 | But you don't need to worry about the thousands of people.
00:30:13.380 | That's a nut I've got to crack.
00:30:15.380 | But with one person, you can understand what's important to another person.
00:30:20.380 | And if you'll systematically show hospitality to your neighbors,
00:30:25.380 | what will happen is you start to build local connection, local community,
00:30:29.380 | and you'll start to find areas where you can work together with them.
00:30:32.380 | And instead of everything coming down to which presidential candidate you vote for
00:30:38.380 | and either they're evil because they're going to vote for candidate A
00:30:43.380 | and you're evil because you're going to vote for candidate B,
00:30:45.380 | all of a sudden you find areas that you can't agree on.
00:30:49.380 | Don't get me wrong.
00:30:52.380 | I'm not saying that you have to somehow compromise in something that you believe.
00:30:56.380 | But the reality is that in normal, actual human life, normal people,
00:31:01.380 | you'll never find somebody else that you agree with.
00:31:04.380 | I'm not advocating for some kind of kumbaya ecumenical acceptance and tolerance of all people.
00:31:15.380 | I'm just saying in normal, natural relationships, human, personal relationships,
00:31:21.380 | you can disagree with somebody on all kinds of things,
00:31:24.380 | but you can find an area to work together.
00:31:28.380 | And that's a skill that we need to practice.
00:31:31.380 | It doesn't come out well in online political conversations,
00:31:35.380 | but that's a skill that you and I can practice over our dinner tables at home.
00:31:41.380 | Next, number seven, something you can actually do,
00:31:45.380 | theme, constant theme here on Radical Personal Finance.
00:31:49.380 | But if you haven't done it, may I strongly encourage you,
00:31:53.380 | pull your kids out of the government schools
00:31:57.380 | and choose a different solution that is appropriate for them
00:32:06.380 | and where they are and what they need.
00:32:10.380 | Pull your kids out.
00:32:13.380 | See, guess what?
00:32:14.380 | You are never going to change the school system.
00:32:18.380 | Not a bit.
00:32:20.380 | But you don't have to participate.
00:32:23.380 | Pull your kids out.
00:32:24.380 | There would be only a tiny subset of my listeners
00:32:27.380 | who would actually disagree with that statement
00:32:30.380 | because legally by law, they can't pull their kids out.
00:32:36.380 | And there are solutions there.
00:32:38.380 | But the vast majority of you, pull your kids out
00:32:41.380 | and find a solution that's going to work well for them.
00:32:45.380 | Whether that's home education or private school education
00:32:48.380 | or an unschooling approach or whatever it is,
00:32:51.380 | you are the parent of your children.
00:32:54.380 | You are responsible for them.
00:32:56.380 | Your decisions are going to dramatically influence
00:33:00.380 | and affect the outcome of especially the early years of their life.
00:33:07.380 | Don't spend time having them locked into a system
00:33:10.380 | that somebody else designed for their own purposes, not for yours.
00:33:15.380 | Don't waste your child's life having them stuck in a system
00:33:19.380 | that's custom designed for absolutely nobody
00:33:24.380 | when you have the resources to pull them out
00:33:28.380 | and custom design something for them.
00:33:32.380 | Talk about politically subversive.
00:33:34.380 | I've had this show on my to-do list.
00:33:38.380 | I can never finish my list,
00:33:40.380 | but I have all these long lists of things I want to talk about.
00:33:43.380 | There's like 10 politically subversive things that you can do to change the world.
00:33:50.380 | Number one is pull your kids out of the government schools.
00:33:53.380 | Just think about it.
00:33:54.380 | Do you go down and trot down to the communist car factory
00:34:01.380 | where they say, "Here's a car.
00:34:03.380 | Everybody's going to drive this car and you're going to like it"?
00:34:07.380 | You don't do that.
00:34:11.380 | Nor do you trot down to the one nationalized brand
00:34:14.380 | and choose among the three appropriate models
00:34:17.380 | as in we're going to put your kid in the advanced track,
00:34:20.380 | the gifted track, the standard track, or the slow kids track.
00:34:25.380 | You don't buy cars based upon what's being offered to you
00:34:29.380 | and the three menu options presented to appear that you have some kind of choice.
00:34:34.380 | You don't go down to the clothing factory where there's men's clothing,
00:34:37.380 | women's clothing, boys' clothing, and girls' clothing
00:34:39.380 | and just grab whatever is given to you.
00:34:41.380 | You make a specific customized choice.
00:34:45.380 | You choose clothing that's appropriate for you.
00:34:47.380 | You choose clothing that's appropriate for your children
00:34:50.380 | based upon what you want.
00:34:55.380 | When you're choosing a job,
00:34:57.380 | you don't take the job that the local apparatchik assigned you.
00:35:04.380 | You think about what's right for me.
00:35:07.380 | You go through the process of considering what you should do,
00:35:13.380 | what's right for you.
00:35:16.380 | Why should you do anything different for your child?
00:35:20.380 | If you want to be politically subversive,
00:35:22.380 | if you don't want candidate A or candidate B,
00:35:24.380 | that person that you can't stand governing your child's indoctrination,
00:35:30.380 | don't accept it.
00:35:35.380 | Get your kids out.
00:35:37.380 | Choose a different option for their educational track.
00:35:41.380 | Choose an option that you can control and affect.
00:35:45.380 | You have no control whatsoever over your local school district,
00:35:50.380 | your local government school district.
00:35:53.380 | But if you come together with a few hundred other parents
00:35:55.380 | and you guys establish a private school
00:35:58.380 | or you join into a private school that's already established,
00:36:00.380 | or you organize a neighborhood co-op,
00:36:03.380 | or you handle the education of your kids at home,
00:36:08.380 | guess what?
00:36:09.380 | You can have influence there.
00:36:14.380 | Number eight, if there is a political issue that you care about,
00:36:20.380 | why don't you start, instead of arguing about it with other people,
00:36:24.380 | why don't you start by getting to know other people who disagree with you
00:36:29.380 | and educating them on your opinion?
00:36:32.380 | Here's my example.
00:36:35.380 | If you're a gun owner and you care about the Second Amendment,
00:36:40.380 | have you taken any of your liberal friends shooting in this last year?
00:36:49.380 | That might be more useful than just about anything else that you can do.
00:36:56.380 | If there's an issue like that that you care about, make a plan.
00:36:59.380 | Let's say once a quarter, I'm going to schedule a day at the range
00:37:02.380 | and take one of your liberal friends from work
00:37:05.380 | or one of your liberal friends from the community
00:37:07.380 | or one of your liberal neighbors
00:37:08.380 | or somebody that wants to take away your gun,
00:37:10.380 | take them out and take them shooting.
00:37:13.380 | And then talk to them and ask them why they're opposed to your owning that gun
00:37:19.380 | or why they're opposed to your being able to go out and shoot.
00:37:23.380 | Because what happens is a lot of the conversations
00:37:26.380 | and various political debates are driven by fear.
00:37:32.380 | And fear paralyzes people.
00:37:35.380 | But oftentimes fear comes from lack of exposure, lack of awareness.
00:37:43.380 | Consider somebody who comes in from the middle of the bush
00:37:46.380 | and all of a sudden sees an escalator for the first time.
00:37:49.380 | They're not going to immediately want to jump on the escalator.
00:37:53.380 | But to you, you jump on the escalator and it's no big deal.
00:37:56.380 | And oftentimes when you look into these political conversations with actual people,
00:37:59.380 | I'm not talking about the ideologues who have an agenda
00:38:03.380 | of wanting to accomplish change A or accomplish change B.
00:38:06.380 | I'm talking about people, actual real life breathing people.
00:38:10.380 | Often what you find is that they have fear over a certain subject
00:38:13.380 | because of lack of awareness, lack of exposure.
00:38:17.380 | So if you have a political issue that's important to you,
00:38:20.380 | yeah, fine, send off your money, join the NRA or whatever,
00:38:23.380 | gun owners of America or whatever political thing it is.
00:38:29.380 | If you want to do that, great.
00:38:32.380 | But you'll do a lot more by just choosing another person
00:38:36.380 | and getting into their world a little bit, trying to understand them.
00:38:40.380 | Take them and expose them to what you're aware of.
00:38:46.380 | Do that with whatever issue you care about.
00:38:50.380 | I think you'll start to understand the other side a little bit more
00:38:53.380 | and you'll start to have some hope of affecting some other people.
00:38:58.380 | Next, if there's a political issue that you really care about,
00:39:03.380 | before you run out and vote for somebody who promises you something,
00:39:07.380 | ask yourself is there something that you can actually do that will change the situation.
00:39:13.380 | Is there a way that you can actually help, first of all?
00:39:19.380 | It's one thing to vote for the politician who promises,
00:39:22.380 | "Hey, I'm pro-life. I'm going to do something against abortion."
00:39:26.380 | It's another thing to have a child yourself or to adopt a child
00:39:32.380 | or to get involved in supporting a pregnant mother locally.
00:39:38.380 | It's absolutely insane that there are thousands and thousands of children
00:39:44.380 | in adoption agencies and foster care agencies all over the country
00:39:50.380 | who sit there year after year after year without a parent willing to step up and say,
00:39:57.380 | "We'll welcome you into our home."
00:40:00.380 | Meanwhile, those same parents systematically say,
00:40:05.380 | "Yeah, we're in favor of life. We're pro-life."
00:40:10.380 | Don't just talk. Do something. Do something that you can do.
00:40:16.380 | All of a sudden, if you start doing something,
00:40:19.380 | you pull down a lot of your opponent's arguments.
00:40:23.380 | So get involved.
00:40:25.380 | I'm not here to tell you what you can or can't do,
00:40:27.380 | but recognize that there's something you can do
00:40:32.380 | in whatever political area that you care about.
00:40:35.380 | You may not be able to adopt a child,
00:40:38.380 | but can you go and help a mother who is pregnant and who is struggling?
00:40:44.380 | Can you go and make a car payment for her every month?
00:40:47.380 | Can you go and take food or organize a group of people to take food to her
00:40:51.380 | four or five days a week to make sure that she's cared for?
00:40:55.380 | Can you help to provide for her?
00:41:00.380 | You can do that.
00:41:02.380 | So if you have a political opinion,
00:41:04.380 | I use that just because it's very important to me,
00:41:07.380 | and I try to talk from the heart about things that are important to me,
00:41:10.380 | and I try to take my own medicine.
00:41:12.380 | But if you have a political issue that you care about,
00:41:17.380 | see before yelling about it.
00:41:20.380 | See if there's something that you can do.
00:41:23.380 | And don't try to go and pass a tax
00:41:27.380 | and coerce everybody in your town to join up with you and do something.
00:41:32.380 | Just get a couple of your friends involved.
00:41:37.380 | Your hope for the future will be destroyed
00:41:40.380 | if your hope depends on organizing 150 million people
00:41:44.380 | in the United States of America to agree with you.
00:41:49.380 | Again, your hope for the future will be destroyed
00:41:53.380 | if your hope depends on organizing 150 million people
00:41:59.380 | in the United States of America to agree with you.
00:42:04.380 | Just making that number up because it's about half of the U.S. population,
00:42:07.380 | somewhere about that.
00:42:10.380 | Don't start with 150 million
00:42:12.380 | if you can't get your next-door neighbor to work with you,
00:42:17.380 | or if you can't get your friends at church to work with you.
00:42:23.380 | Again, pick on adoption because it's important to me.
00:42:28.380 | In my state, there are tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands,
00:42:35.380 | of people who come together as a local church body.
00:42:39.380 | Those churches contain anywhere from a few to hundreds or thousands of people.
00:42:44.380 | And yet there are a few thousand kids
00:42:47.380 | sitting on the Florida State foster care rolls,
00:42:53.380 | unloved, unadopted.
00:42:57.380 | That, my friends, is unacceptable.
00:43:02.380 | So do what you can do.
00:43:04.380 | You may not be able to open your home to a child,
00:43:07.380 | but can you get two or three of your neighbors
00:43:09.380 | and make some food for somebody in your church
00:43:12.380 | or community who is fostering a child?
00:43:16.380 | Can you help some of those moms who are struggling?
00:43:23.380 | If you think that voting is going to change something, you're wrong.
00:43:27.380 | It doesn't change anything.
00:43:30.380 | What happens is people change things,
00:43:33.380 | and the votes are reflective of those changes,
00:43:37.380 | which leads me--I've already stolen my own thunder--to number 10.
00:43:42.380 | Start with yourself and focus on one area of influence
00:43:47.380 | where you think you can actually make a change.
00:43:50.380 | Recognize this.
00:43:51.380 | You can't help somebody else
00:43:55.380 | until first you've squared away your own problems.
00:44:00.380 | Jesus said it like this.
00:44:02.380 | Take the log out of your own eye
00:44:08.380 | before you try to worry about the speck that's in your brother's eye.
00:44:13.380 | Now, there are two things implied in that.
00:44:15.380 | Number one, and in context with that scripture passage,
00:44:18.380 | number one, you've got to actually take the log out of your own eye
00:44:21.380 | before going and taking the speck out of your brother's eye.
00:44:26.380 | But number two, there is a place,
00:44:28.380 | once you've taken the log out of your own eye,
00:44:30.380 | where you have to go and work on the speck.
00:44:35.380 | But don't try to go and fix all the problems of the world
00:44:38.380 | until you've started with one very simple problem
00:44:41.380 | in your own life and in your own family
00:44:45.380 | and with your next-door neighbor, whoever that is.
00:44:49.380 | You can't help the poor if you're poor.
00:44:53.380 | Let the rich help the poor and you help yourself.
00:45:00.380 | Don't try to vote help to the poor.
00:45:02.380 | Just help yourself.
00:45:04.380 | And then, once you're not poor anymore,
00:45:07.380 | go and help somebody who's poor.
00:45:10.380 | And if you help one person who's poor,
00:45:12.380 | then go and help another person who's poor.
00:45:14.380 | And over time, you might be able to help three or four.
00:45:16.380 | And let the people who've helped a few thousand people who are poor
00:45:19.380 | go on and help the millions to not be poor anymore.
00:45:26.380 | You can't help your neighbor with food if you don't have any food.
00:45:30.380 | You can't help your neighbor with their marriage problems
00:45:34.380 | if your marriage is a mess.
00:45:36.380 | You can't help the kid on the street if your kids are a mess.
00:45:42.380 | So start with yourself and focus on the one area of influence
00:45:45.380 | where you can actually make a change.
00:45:48.380 | I'm convinced that there's a continuum
00:45:50.380 | between those who talk about problems and those who solve problems.
00:45:54.380 | And the people who talk incessantly about problems
00:45:57.380 | are probably the ones who are the least engaged in actually solving problems.
00:46:01.380 | And the people who are the most engaged in actually solving problems
00:46:04.380 | are probably the ones who want to talk the least.
00:46:09.380 | I must confess that I myself have far too often
00:46:14.380 | been at the wrong end of that spectrum.
00:46:17.380 | A lot of talk, very little action.
00:46:25.380 | So I'm starting and have started with me for a long time now.
00:46:29.380 | But I'm encouraging you to do the same thing.
00:46:32.380 | It's fine to talk, but your talk must be borne out in action.
00:46:42.380 | So begin with those closest to you.
00:46:44.380 | Begin with yourself, begin with your family, begin with your neighbor.
00:46:49.380 | And don't worry about the rest of the country.
00:46:52.380 | Because the rest of the country, unfortunately,
00:46:56.380 | is just a reflection of all the other people in it.
00:47:00.380 | And you can't do anything about them.
00:47:04.380 | You can only do something about you.
00:47:10.380 | I want to read a quote because it's just a friend of mine,
00:47:14.380 | a buddy of mine actually here where I live in Florida.
00:47:17.380 | And he wrote this as a Facebook post during the recent election cycle.
00:47:21.380 | And I just thought it was so powerful.
00:47:24.380 | It talked about the most powerful thing that the central government has stolen
00:47:30.380 | from you and from me, from the people of these United States.
00:47:36.380 | Here's what it is. Here's the quote.
00:47:38.380 | I used to say we just need more people paying attention to what's really going on.
00:47:43.380 | The problem is human attention is most attracted to the biggest and the loudest things,
00:47:52.380 | not the smallest and most important things.
00:47:56.380 | And so there is self-indulgent activities that I used to participate in all the time,
00:48:01.380 | convinced that by participation in those activities,
00:48:04.380 | those big, loud, obnoxious activities, I was actually making an impact.
00:48:10.380 | The most powerful thing that the central government has stolen from the people
00:48:16.380 | of these United States is human attention.
00:48:22.380 | You might be thinking they've stolen my money or they burden me with regulations
00:48:26.380 | or they've messed up educating our children or something else.
00:48:30.380 | By giving the federal government the responsibility of all those things,
00:48:34.380 | you have essentially made it impossible to actually get them back to where they belong,
00:48:41.380 | which is in your hands.
00:48:45.380 | During the revolution, it was not said we should replace the king in order to get our freedom.
00:48:49.380 | Rather, it was said we should remove the king's power in all of our local communities
00:48:56.380 | so that we can be free.
00:49:00.380 | How did they do this?
00:49:02.380 | One, anyone who was sent by the king of England to their local communities,
00:49:05.380 | they made it very uncomfortable for them to stay.
00:49:08.380 | Two, any business that was supporting the king of England was immediately on the list of the people
00:49:13.380 | to no longer purchase goods or services from that business.
00:49:17.380 | Three, they transferred all of their wealth that they had possession of
00:49:20.380 | into the hands of people they trusted locally.
00:49:23.380 | Four, they prayed fervently for victory.
00:49:26.380 | Where will your attention continue to go?
00:49:36.380 | End quote.
00:49:41.380 | Powerful, isn't it?
00:49:44.380 | The most powerful thing that the central government has stolen from you
00:49:49.380 | and from me is our attention.
00:49:58.380 | See, the sad truth is that in the United States, the federal government is bankrupt.
00:50:03.380 | Now, it will continue on just about like it is for the coming decades.
00:50:07.380 | And who knows when that bankruptcy will be evident?
00:50:11.380 | Who knows when it will actually be reflected?
00:50:13.380 | It will probably look nothing like the dramatic thing that a movie
00:50:17.380 | or your latest greatest favorite dystopian fiction paints it out to be.
00:50:22.380 | Bankruptcies are often very slow until they're quick.
00:50:28.380 | And over the coming decades, I expect to live through the systematic bankruptcy
00:50:32.380 | of the United States federal government.
00:50:36.380 | But here's the question.
00:50:40.380 | When the federal government is clearly acknowledged by you and by me to be bankrupt,
00:50:47.380 | who or what will be ready to take the place?
00:50:51.380 | Will it be another tyrant ready to stand up and say, "Vote for me
00:50:55.380 | because I'll make everything great again"?
00:51:00.380 | Or will it be you and me and millions just like us in our own little communities
00:51:08.380 | having stepped up and done what needed to be done?
00:51:13.380 | Not in the name of tyranny and control and coercion, but through service.
00:51:24.380 | Get out of the trap of thinking that if you can just control enough other people,
00:51:27.380 | everything will be great.
00:51:30.380 | That is not the way to victory.
00:51:32.380 | Oh, sure, a few people can get there over time.
00:51:36.380 | But over time, their deeds are exposed and they will lose their influence and control.
00:51:41.380 | So although they may seem to have control and they may seem to have power,
00:51:44.380 | their power and their control will be short-lived.
00:51:49.380 | Instead of that, recognize that the way to gain power is through service.
00:51:59.380 | The way to gain influence is not through forcing or coercing other people,
00:52:06.380 | but through leadership.
00:52:10.380 | If you're still listening to this show, 51 minutes and 45 seconds in,
00:52:15.380 | and if you care about anything I have to say,
00:52:17.380 | which I assume by the fact that you're still listening, you do,
00:52:21.380 | please notice that I have never once coerced you to do so.
00:52:26.380 | I didn't come and strap your headphones to your head and say, "You must listen or else."
00:52:31.380 | I didn't bring a gun to your house and say, "You've got to listen to Radical Personal Finance."
00:52:35.380 | Not a single time have I ever coerced you in any way.
00:52:45.380 | I've actually tried. I haven't necessarily tried to make it hard for you to listen,
00:52:49.380 | but I've put up roadblocks in your path.
00:52:55.380 | There are things that I've done that I could do differently that would have made this far more palatable
00:53:00.380 | and far easier for you, but you're still here.
00:53:04.380 | You're still listening of your own free and voluntary choice.
00:53:12.380 | I didn't coerce you to be here.
00:53:16.380 | I served you and you chose to be here.
00:53:21.380 | Now, go and do likewise.
00:53:29.380 | Why do all the politicians care if you vote?
00:53:33.380 | Because they get their power from you.
00:53:37.380 | So, they rile you up and they incite your emotions and then they do absolutely nothing that they said they're going to do.
00:53:47.380 | They try sometimes.
00:53:52.380 | I guess I was a little bit overstated when I said they do nothing they said they're going to do.
00:53:56.380 | They do a little bit of it.
00:53:59.380 | But all of that was a line of lies that they fed you to get you emotionally engaged in the process.
00:54:06.380 | Why? Because if you're not emotionally engaged, you don't show up to vote for them and then they don't have any power.
00:54:14.380 | Because half of these men and women couldn't do anything if it weren't for that one skill of getting you angry enough to vote them into office.
00:54:22.380 | They can't produce anything.
00:54:25.380 | All they know how to do is accrete and exercise political power.
00:54:33.380 | They need you for their power.
00:54:39.380 | But you don't need them.
00:54:45.380 | No matter who wins the election tomorrow, you can do any of those things above that I said.
00:54:52.380 | Nothing will change with your ability to change.
00:55:00.380 | So, I recommend that you ignore them and you focus on you.
00:55:06.380 | Remember, back to Stephen Covey's example.
00:55:10.380 | He was not original with him but he popularized it.
00:55:13.380 | You have your circle of concern and you have your circle of control.
00:55:19.380 | The circle of concern is all the things that you care about in the world.
00:55:24.380 | Of which there are for you and for me thousands, tens of thousands of things.
00:55:30.380 | I care about many, many things.
00:55:36.380 | So do you.
00:55:39.380 | That circle is huge.
00:55:42.380 | And if you think about that circle, it's so utterly overwhelming you don't know where to start.
00:55:48.380 | But there's another circle and that's called your circle of control.
00:55:52.380 | Your circle of influence.
00:55:55.380 | The things that you can actually do.
00:55:58.380 | So you might be concerned about global climate change but you can't do anything about that.
00:56:05.380 | What you can do is plant some trees and flowers in your front and back yard.
00:56:13.380 | You might be concerned about how workers are treated in China.
00:56:18.380 | But you can't do anything about that.
00:56:21.380 | What you can do is think about how you're treating the person that you've hired.
00:56:28.380 | You might be concerned about the national debt but you can't do anything about that.
00:56:35.380 | What you can do is do something about your own debt.
00:56:40.380 | So the secret to power and influence and growth is to focus exclusively on that circle of control.
00:56:51.380 | And not to worry too much about the circle of concern.
00:56:55.380 | If you need to read a newspaper or keep an eye on the morning headlines just so you feel connected, that's fine.
00:57:01.380 | But don't think you're doing anything by it.
00:57:03.380 | Just recognize I'm kind of just keeping my interest titillated.
00:57:10.380 | The more you focus on your circle of control, on the things that you can actually change, the more those things will change.
00:57:20.380 | And then you start to harvest the power of the compound effect.
00:57:25.380 | See, money compounds over time but so do many other things in life.
00:57:31.380 | And all the little actions that you take in your circle of control will compound.
00:57:36.380 | And over time, your circle of control will become much bigger.
00:57:40.380 | If you're faithful with a little, the time will come when you have a lot.
00:57:46.380 | So you can't do anything about the national debt but you can do something about your debt.
00:57:51.380 | And as you're doing something about your debt, your next door neighbor will get inspired as you share your story with them.
00:57:56.380 | And they'll do something about their debt.
00:57:59.380 | And then as they do something about their debt, then all of a sudden, they'll inspire a couple of their neighbors and a few of their neighbors will do something about their debt.
00:58:11.380 | All of a sudden, you have all kinds of people who are increasingly becoming debt-free.
00:58:15.380 | And all of a sudden, as they start to experience less control by their creditors and by the people that they owe money to,
00:58:23.380 | all of a sudden now those people will systematically feel more emboldened.
00:58:28.380 | And they won't live their lives in constant fear thinking, "Well, I need the government to step in and bail me out.
00:58:33.380 | I need the government to step in and pay off my student loans.
00:58:35.380 | And if we don't elect the right person, I'm going to be facing destruction because of my student loans."
00:58:43.380 | You can't do anything about global warming but you can plant a garden bed in your backyard or in your front yard.
00:58:50.380 | And what happens is that as you do that, maybe your next door neighbor will.
00:58:54.380 | All of a sudden, you're growing some food and they're growing some food and you're making your community beautiful.
00:58:59.380 | You're pumping some oxygen into the environment.
00:59:02.380 | You're taking out some carbon dioxide and that has a ripple effect.
00:59:09.380 | So, all these little actions compound.
00:59:12.380 | Now, once you've taken care of yourself and your family and your next door neighbor and a couple of your buddies,
00:59:17.380 | then maybe go ahead and you can expand a little bigger.
00:59:21.380 | But don't go too big.
00:59:24.380 | And certainly don't go too big too quickly.
00:59:31.380 | I encourage you if you're listening to this before going out and voting on November 8th, go and vote.
00:59:37.380 | That's what you need to do.
00:59:39.380 | Vote as you feel you need to vote for the reasons that you think you need to vote.
00:59:43.380 | But don't delude yourself into thinking that your vote has any meaning or impact more than simple symbolism.
00:59:53.380 | And don't ignore where the power actually is.
01:00:02.380 | And then when you're done voting, come on home and sit down and make a plan for something that you can change in your own life.
01:00:13.380 | Something that you can change that will actually be valuable.
01:00:16.380 | Something that will actually make a difference.
01:00:19.380 | I think you'll be glad you did.
01:00:24.380 | That's the end of today's podcast for the majority of you.
01:00:28.380 | But I do have one just very short encouragement.
01:00:31.380 | I know I said when I talk about religion that would be a good time to hit fast forward.
01:00:34.380 | This will not be relevant to you.
01:00:35.380 | But I know many of you in my listening audience are Christians.
01:00:41.380 | I want to just encourage you with a couple of simple thoughts.
01:00:46.380 | This election season has been incredibly challenging for those of you like me who are disciples of Christ.
01:00:54.380 | Incredibly challenging.
01:00:56.380 | The issues at stake are monumental.
01:00:59.380 | Seeking to discern what is happening is so incredibly difficult.
01:01:04.380 | The rancor and the divisiveness goes deep.
01:01:08.380 | And the arguments are on every hand.
01:01:13.380 | I just want to encourage you with one simple passage of scripture that I think is incredibly powerful.
01:01:20.380 | I think there's a lot of instruction.
01:01:23.380 | Here in the United States we seem to be in a period of time where more and more those of you who have a desire to stand for God's truth will face more and more challenges.
01:01:36.380 | I don't see, although the world situation is very different than the U.S. situation, that much seems apparent to me.
01:01:46.380 | That means there's a time of testing.
01:01:50.380 | Testing is good.
01:01:52.380 | Trials are good.
01:01:54.380 | Testing is to be welcomed.
01:01:57.380 | But oftentimes it means, it leads to a question of what do I do?
01:02:01.380 | I encourage you, go back and if you haven't read it recently, go back and read the book of Jeremiah.
01:02:07.380 | And I'm just going to read one very short passage that, especially in light of my comments today, for those of you who are Christians, I think is incredibly valuable.
01:02:16.380 | Remember, much of the context of Jeremiah is where the people of Israel are sent into exile.
01:02:23.380 | God judged them for their collective sin and they're sent into exile for hundreds of years.
01:02:29.380 | And they're sent into slavery.
01:02:31.380 | But here is the instruction that came to them through the prophet Jeremiah in chapter 29.
01:02:40.380 | I'm keeping this very short.
01:02:42.380 | You go and read the book for yourself and figure out how and whether to apply this to your own life.
01:02:49.380 | But this is important.
01:02:51.380 | "Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
01:02:59.380 | Build houses and live in them.
01:03:03.380 | Plant gardens and eat their produce.
01:03:07.380 | Take wives and have sons and daughters.
01:03:10.380 | Take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage that they may bear sons and daughters.
01:03:16.380 | Multiply there and do not decrease.
01:03:20.380 | But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile and pray to the Lord on its behalf.
01:03:30.380 | For in its welfare, you will find your welfare."
01:03:36.380 | It continues on. I just emphasize that again.
01:03:38.380 | "Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile and pray to the Lord on its behalf.
01:03:46.380 | For in its welfare, you will find your welfare."
01:03:52.380 | As the acrimony of this election season has mounted,
01:03:57.380 | I encourage you to be one of those who is diligently engaged in seeking the welfare of the city where you are.
01:04:10.380 | Don't constantly be one who stands up and has nothing but negative words to say.
01:04:16.380 | Be one who's active, who's doing actively engaging in all of these things that I've said here in today's show,
01:04:23.380 | and who's carefully and diligently seeking the welfare of your family, your friends, and your neighbors.
01:04:33.380 | Finally, if you're a Christian, be very careful to guard your attitude.
01:04:39.380 | It's easy when you're put upon, it's easy when you're attacked to respond and to revile back out of a sense of righteous indignation and justice.
01:04:49.380 | But recognize that you're called to be humble, and I'm called to be humble.
01:04:55.380 | We're called to have a response that's different.
01:04:59.380 | If you'd like a valuable book to meditate on as we go into election day, whether it's the night of election night or whatever,
01:05:05.380 | take eight or nine minutes and go back and read the book of 2 Peter.
01:05:09.380 | Encourage yourself with the attitude that God wants you to have, and be very thankful that God is slow.
01:05:19.380 | Not because He is slow, but because He has a desire, as 2 Peter says, that each person would be able to come to a place of repentance.
01:05:30.380 | So don't gloat, don't despair, just get to work.
01:05:37.380 | And do it with the right attitude and the right purpose of heart.
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