One of my favorite business school classes focused on Emerging Market Economies.  We read C.K. Prahalad’s book called, “Fortune At The Bottom Of The Pyramid“, which basically described how entrepreneurs were finding cost effective ways to serve the poorest people in the world and also be profitable.

Conventional business wisdom states that one must go after those consumers with the deepest pockets and the highest propensity to spend.  Prahalad argues that we have a social responsibility to help the other end of the spectrum improve their living standards and not be afraid of going bust in the process.

One of the keys that came out of helping the poor in emerging markets is the concept of micro-lending.  Micro-lending is a fascinating concept which essentially pools together the funds of people in usually small communities, and lends out those funds to a select few.  Together, a community is able to help each other more impactfully than if they were separate.  What’s also very interesting is that the tighter the community, the lower the default rates compared to conventional banks because everybody feels a deep sense of responsibility.

THE YAKEZIE WRITING CONTEST

The Yakezie Network of 70+ personal finance and lifestyle blogs have pulled together their funds to provide more than $1,000 to be divided among three winning contestants.  If each of us gave just $15 a quarter, we would collectively be able to distribute at least $600, $300, and $100 to the first, second, and third place winners who will use these funds to further their education.  We hope to slowly raise much more than a combined $1,000 as our blogs flourish and the Network grows.

What’s different from the Yakezie Writing Contest is that we are not a micro-lender, but a micro-giver where we expect very little in return.  Whether the recipient ever comes back to the Yakezie Network to interact and learn is up to them.  All we ask is that they use the funds to help pay for their education.  Students often have very little income and rely on low wages or their parents to get by.  I think we can help them.

In terms of creating profits for this particular venture, the idea is to simply have corporate sponsors with a history of giving, support our initiative.  Running the Yakezie Network is an absolute loss-making venture if we were to put a dollar value on the amount of time we spend building, testing, marketing, and running the Network.  Hence, we appreciate any type of support we can get.  The good thing is that neither Chris, nor I, or the majority of our members rely on our blogs as sole sources of income.  We all do this for the love of community, the challenge of development, and the spirit of giving back.

SPREAD THE WORD AND PARTICIPATE

If you know of anybody who enjoys writing, and is looking for funds to help pay for their education, have them visit The CarInsuranceCompanies.com Yakezie Writing Contest today!  All they have to do is follow the directions and write an essay answering one of eight questions.  The submission window is from Monday, April 18th to midnight, April 22nd.  If you would like to pledge any money to help contribute to our micro-giving efforts, please visit the Yakezie Pledge Page.

It’s been six years since adventuring down to Rio De Janeiro for several weeks to study abroad and get a taste of real life micro-lending examples as discussed by Prahalad.  After a lot of thought and hard work, I’m so pleased to say that we’ve finally created our own sustainable micro-giving platform with the Yakezie Writing Contest!

Thanks for all the support!

Readers, have you had an experiences with micro-giving?  There have been a number of micro-giving initiatives in India in particular and I’m wondering if there are other countries that you’ve noticed this practice flourish besides India, USA, and Brazil?

Best,

Sam

It’s hard to imagine anyone never getting bullied through grade school.  Inevitably, there’s some immature, insecure kid out there looking to pick a fight.  Do you keep quiet or fight back?  You might be surprised to hear, but I’ve ALWAYS fought back until the bullying stopped.  I’m described as a very cheerful person who is always smiling, but when provoked, you will feel my wrath.

I remember growing up as a kid being taught to just walk away and ignore a bully.  For some reason, I could never listen to that advice.  I didn’t care if I got injured fighting back.  It was what I had to do to defend my honor.  What’s even worse than being bullied, is when you see someone you love get taken advantage of.  That’s when shit really hits the fan!

PERSONAL STORIES OF BEING BULLIED

Example 1: In the 6th grade, we’d always play a game of soccer during lunch period.  The teams always seemed to be split between the richer kids with all the nice toys, and the less well-to-do kids.  I was in the latter group.  Dribbling the ball mid-field one day, I got checked and then tripped by an annoying prick who had done this to my teammates multiple times before.  I had enough and rushed him, kicked his legs out from under him and watched him fall on his back.  He started laughing it off and cursed at me so I proceed to ram the heel of my sole into his solar-plex.  He began to gag, then cry.

We both had to “face the wall” during next period.  During that time, he actually turned to me and apologized.  That was the end of his bullying of me and my teammates and we became friends.

Example 2: In the 8th grade, I had been minding my own business shooting hoops when another bully snatched my ball and proceeded to kick the ball all the way to the other side of the outdoor court.  I told him to go get my ball a couple of times and each time he taunted me back saying, “What are you going to do about it?”  After his third taunt, I told him, “This is what I’m going to do about it” and opened my right palm outwards and with my entire weight behind me, I smacked him hard in his right ear.  He went to get my basketball, and then proceeded to go to the nurses office to attend to his burst eardrum.

I remember going back to my locker after finishing hoops to an angry girl who had a crush on the bully.  She started cursing at me because I had injured him.  I just walked on by.  By the end of school, the bully had his right ear wrapped when he came up to me and apologized.  “Sorry, my fault,” he said.  I accepted his apology and apologized that I burst his eardrum.  He said he would regain full hearing again in 30 days, and not to worry.

Example 3: I arrived early to 10th grade Biology class one day and had my pick of seats.  Before sitting down I decided to tie my shoe and propped one leg up on a chair.  In the midst of tying my shoe, one asshole, who is about 6 ft 3 inches tall and 220 pounds decided to annoy me.  He told me to “move out of the way” so he could take a seat behind me.  The classroom was empty, and he could have easily just walked around me, but nope.  I told him let me finish tying my shoe first, when he then proceeded to shove me while on one foot.  I fell to the ground, and needless to say I was pissed because my head could have smacked a sharp metal edge.  I immediately got up and punched him at an angle into his right eye socket so that his eyeglasses would smash right in his face before my fist upon impact.

We proceeded to RUMBLE, but was soon broken up by our school “Narc”, who was also my varsity tennis coach.   I got suspended for one day, and he got suspended for two.  When we returned, he apologized, I apologized and we moved on.

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO WHEN A BULLY STRIKES?

Based on my examples above, you can fight back to the point where the other kid relents.  The bully will probably then apologize, and then it’s up to you to be the better person and forgive.  However, the BIG PROBLEM with fighting back is that if you don’t thoroughly obliterate your bullies hopes in one swift attack, you encourage retaliation.  The whole point of fighting back is to show the bully you are the wrong person to fuck with, and to realize his or her messed up ways.

The BEST way to deal with a bully is to actually have a very calm and mature conversation with him or her.  Ask these questions sincerely: “Why are you doing this to me?”, “Please tell me what I did in the past to provoke you?”, “Is there any way we can be cool and get to know each other?”, “Can I buy you some Doritos and let’s go talk about it?”. It takes courage, but when they start to internalize these questions, there is a good chance they’ll realize what they are doing is completely idiotic.

If you catch the bully SOLO, you will have the best chance of breaking through and connecting with him or her.  Bullying usually occurs in front of a crowd, so that the bully can show off and feel good about himself or herself by putting someone else down.  Seriously, a lot of bullying is due to low self-esteem.  Get them by themselves and have a talk.  This is the secret, peaceful way to dealing with a bully, and for that matter racists too!

Readers, have you ever been bullied before?  How did you deal with it? What about work place bullying? Does that ever occur?

Thanks to Kevin from Thousandaire for evoking long lost childhood memories in his post,”When It Comes To Bullying, Nobody Wins.”

I’m 100% behind the Australian kid who got bullied. What kind of idiot bullies an older, much larger kid anyway? As you can see, the bully is trying to show off in front of his friends and girls. Speaking of girls, I love the girl at the end who says, “I think you need to back off alright!?”. Again, a solution to bullying is to get the bully solo and ask him point blank questions as to why he’s bullying! Both of them learned a lesson, and I’m sure the bully apologized and they’ll be better adults because of the incident.

Regards,

Sam

I was driving home from grocery shopping one day when I saw this little boy in the picture holding a clipboard and smiling.  It was your typical, chilly 58 degree San Francisco day and the boy stood so patiently in his parka, saying “hello” to every passerby.  His presence filled my heart and I zipped Moose around the corner to park so I could see what he was selling.  Whatever he was selling, I was going to buy!

Little Henry was selling $1 raffle tickets to support his school choir so they could take a trip down to Los Angeles and perform.  Oh my goodness Henry, you are a star!  I pulled out my wallet and gave him my only bill and told him I’ll take 10.  His smile got even bigger as he gave me the clipboard and asked me to fill out my contact info.

“Thank you Mr!“, Henry said gleefully.  I smiled back at him asking if I could take his picture.  Of course he said yes to one of his best customers.

Henry, it is I who thanks you.  You’ve given me perhaps years of mental smiles and motivation that I so dearly need all the time.  Why do I love to blog so much?  It’s partly because of memories like this where I can capture, record, and come back to any time in the future.

THE DIFFERENCE MAKER

Everything about Henry made me want to open my wallet and support him.  As I think further, it was simply his smile that allowed every single passerby to at least acknowledge Henry and say ‘hello’ back.  I’m sure at the end of the day, Henry walked away with hundreds of dollars!

When I got back home, I began to really go through a myriad of emotions.  I remembered all the times I couldn’t go outside to play with friends because I hadn’t finished my homework yet.  I remember thinking as a kid how I never had enough money to buy anything the other kids had, such as a camera or a Nintendo.  I’d sulk in my room like a spoiled brat.  I then recalled a change in attitude in the 9th grade where I started taking responsibility for myself.  I got a job at McDonald’s for $3 an hour, opening up the store at 6am to bleary-eyed customers just so I could buy what I wanted.

The reason why I don’t believe in handouts and big government is because of kids like Henry who are out there working hard for what they want.  Someone had to tell Henry that if he wants to go to LA and sing in the choir that he would have to help his team raise some money.  It was apparent to me that Henry loves to sing and would do anything to make his trip a reality.

The reason why I’m so bullish on all of us is that we all have the power to make something happen.  We live in a free world where nobody is inhibiting us to go out there and achieve our goals.  I don’t have pity parties, and I certainly don’t pity anybody who complains about this problem or that problem.  Every time I hear a complaint, in my mind I think to myself, “Just try harder.“  Sometimes the thoughts get nastier such as, “STFU, you baby“, but essentially it always comes back to “just try harder“.

THANK YOU THANK YOU

Sometimes trying harder gets a little tiring, I admit it.  Burnout is an inevitable part of life.  What we need to do is try hard at something we enjoy.  We’ve also got to realize our strengths and weaknesses so we don’t go down a never ending path of failures.

The next time you feel like complaining, think about the Chilean Miners, or Henry.  These people are out there making the most of their situation and doing something about it.  They aren’t just whining about how life is unfair, or how somebody treated them poorly, or how another is gaming the system at their expense.  No.  They are focused on controlling what they can control, which are their own actions.

If you don’t want be broke, know that you can become rich.  If you don’t want to be out of shape, know that you can get in shape.  If love is what you want, know that there are millions of people out there looking for the same thing.  There is nothing we can’t do.  Thank you Henry for your inspiration!

Readers, share with us any little inspirations you might have come across.  Why do people complain so much instead of do something to improve their situation?  Does low self-esteem play a part in not allowing people to take action?  If not, what is it?

If you enjoy this post, sign up for my RSS feed.

Regards,

Sam

Hip hop hooray! With House Democrats agreeing to not hold the middle class hostage anymore, the tax bill passed 277-148!  It was a landslide victory, but still it’s interesting to see that there were 148 dissenters.  What’s more amazing is that Democrats weren’t able to lower the estate tax exemption amount of $5 million per individual, and raise the estate tax level of 35%.  Talk about bad negotiating!

The real fun now begins where we all do rough pro forma calculations of how much more disposable income we’ll have in 2011 and potentially 2012!  First off, I’m glad to see that everybody will pay 2% less on the first $106,800 they earn thanks to a cut in payroll taxes (Social Security and Medicare) from 6.2% to 4.2%.

From $100,000 to $172,000 (28% Federal marginal tax bracket for singles), you really aren’t going to see much of a change in that money earned after, because the government wasn’t going after you guys. But, for all you lucky ducks who make $172,000-$380,000 (33% Federal marginal tax bracket for singles), and $380,000+ (35% Federal marginal tax bracket for singles), you’re in for a big treat!

THE PARTY TIME FORMULA!

All you’ve got to do is take whatever income you plan to make in 2011, subtract $172,000 and multiply by 3.5% + $2,136 to get your pro forma tax savings! The 3.5% is the estimated average amount the government would have raised the top two income tax brackets by: 33% and 35% would have gone to 36% and 39.6%, respectively.  The $2,136 is from payroll tax savings on the first $106,800.

Example: Let’s say you plan to make $1 million bucks in 2011.  Take $1,000,000 – $172,000 = $828,000 X 0.035 = $28,980 + $2,136 = $31,116.  I’ll take a guess that the millionaire will spend $10,000 on diamond earrings for the wife or a $10,000 home theater system for the husband and save the remaining $21,116.  Not bad for the economy!

What about married couples? Well remember, the government is sexist and doesn’t believe 1 + 1 = 2.  In other words, the tax brackets don’t double given they believe one spouse should be domesticated and not work.  Hence, instead of using $172,000 in the formula, replace it with the 33% tax bracket income level for couples of $209,250, and you’re good to go!  If the government wasn’t sexist, that number should be $172,000 X 2 = $342,000.

Note, If you make anywhere between $106,801 and $172,000 your disposable income only increases by $2,136.  If you make under $106,800, you’ll save whatever you make X 2%.  You may be more conservative and use lower than a 3.5% savings for your calculation as well.  Everything is a rough estimate, since taxes are complicated.  But, for the most part, follow the formula above and start partying!

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE BILL

Extension of Unemployment Benefits: The legislation extends emergency unemployment benefits at their current level for 13 months, preventing an estimated 7 million workers from losing their benefits over the next year.

The Child Tax Credit: The $3,000 refundability threshold established in the Recovery Act for the Child Tax Credit will be extended, ensuring an ongoing tax cut to 10.5 million lower-income families with 18 million children.

The Earned Income Tax Credit: The legislation continues a Recovery Act expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit worth, on average, $600 for families with 3 or more children, and reduces the “marriage penalty” faced by working married families.

The American Opportunity Tax Credit: A partially refundable tax credit worth up to $2,500 per student per year that helps more than 8 million students and their families afford the cost of collegewould be continued under the agreement.

100% Expensing: The agreement includes the President’s proposal to temporarily allow businesses to expense 100% of certain investments in 2011, potentially generating more than $50 billion in additional investment in 2011, which will fuel job creation.

Readers, what do you plan to do with your increased disposable income?  Will you be a patriot and spend the money instead or save it for a rainy day now that you have 2 years of visibility?  Many Republicans are upset because of the non-permanence of the tax cut.  Do you agree? I’d love for people to blow holes in my simple Party Time Formula.

Hip Hop Hooray! by Naughty By Nature circa 1991.

It took 63 days, but my mortgage refinance is finally over!  Back in the good times, a refi would take at most 40 days to complete.  Nowadays, banks are asking for every single document out there, making sure the borrower is legitimate.  Fine.  At least I can sleep well knowing that due to the new standards of due diligence, there will be a lower chance of another housing crisis in the future.  The same concept goes with airport security come to think of it.  Getting strip searched is a pain in the butt, but one should take comfort in a safer flight.

My lender required two independent home appraisers for my refinance.  I don’t care so much because the bank is eating the cost, which is an extra $750 for 30 minutes of appraisal work.  What a joke.  The first appraiser was a man who I left alone to do his thing.  He took the measurements with his laser tape, asked some basic questions on home improvements, and took some notes.  A week later, I got the report in the mail and was pretty stoic.  The appraised value was right at the middle end of the range.

A week went by, and I started to feel a slight sense of panic because I kept hearing about people getting their refinances denied due to high loan-to-value ratios.  I started to worry that after 40 days, I might very well get rejected from my 3.625% mortgage refinance rate due to some appraiser who might be in a bad mood that day.

THE GAME PLAN

I wasn’t about to risk letting the second appraiser sink my chances at saving tens of thousands of dollars over the duration of the loan.  When Jen called to schedule an appoint, I asked her where she’d be coming from.  East Bay she said.  Ah hah!  Clue #1.  Then I asked her what time is most convenient for her.  She mentioned Saturday morning.  No problemo, even though I had to reschedule some meetings that morning.  I hung up the phone and anxiously waited for the next Saturday for her to arrive.

When Jen rang the doorbell, I greeted her with a smile and asked how her drive over was.  She said fine, and how much nicer the weather is in San Francisco because it’s over 95 degrees in the East Bay.  I asked her if she wanted something to drink and shared with her some of my favorite butter cookies.  After she downed a couple, I began introducing the house.  I made it a point to let her do her work and not over crowd her.  In addition, I mentioned all the home improvements we’ve made over the years that really boosted the value of the house in our eyes.

When her 30 minutes were over, I thanked her for her time and we started sharing stories about the housing market and reminiscing on the good old days.  Perfect, we were bonding.  I asked her all sorts of questions that made her feel like an authority.  Questions such as: What are some of things you’d recommend homeowners do in order to improve the value of their homes?  Can you share with me the recent refinancing trends and what is the biggest obstacle people face is?  What are your thoughts on the housing outlook?  My goal was to learn something from her, but also to really make her feel special too. So many times we just speak and don’t listen. I hung to her every word and maintained eye contact while nodding with enthusiasm.

THE REPORT

A week later, I got the second appraisal in the mail.  Success!  The house appraised for $75,000 more than the first appraisal.  Of course, none of these values means squat since the value of one’s asset is only what someone is willing to pay for it.  That said, what this second higher appraisal means is that there was no doubt about my refinance being able to close.

I took the time to accommodate Jen with her busy schedule and made her feel special by starting a conversation and providing her food.  I didn’t want to risk a poor second refinance to ruin my chances of saving a bunch of money so I made damn sure to please the appraiser.  Looking at the second appraisal in detail, there is virtually no difference between the comparable houses she used, and the cost to build.  The only difference comes from the subjective value of the house where she added ten thousand dollars here, and twenty thousand dollars here and there.

In conclusion, it’s worth making nice with someone who holds the key to your refinance future.  In fact, it’s worth making nice to anybody who can help or prevent you from succeeding!

Regards,

Sam @ Financial Samurai – “Slicing Through Money’s Mysteries”

Follow on Twitter @FinancialSamura and subscribe to our E-mail or RSS feed.

Watch Texas Rangers relief pitching if you want to learn how to NOT be clutch! Wow, I mean come on.  How does that one kid throw 11 balls in a row and walk two SF Giants batters in the 8th inning of Game 2 when the bases are loaded?  It’s absolutely unbelievable how bad the Texas Rangers relief pitching was, and it’s simply due to mental weakness.  Texas going from having a chance down 0-2 in the 8th to losing the game 0-9 is a 100% ass kicking.

I understand how difficult it is to close things out due to competitive tennis.  I’ve blown my share of 5-4, third set leads before, and 9 times out of 10, it’s because my mind broke down.  Tennis, like many one-on-one sports is a complete mind bend.  I started worrying and thinking about all the “what ifs”.  What if I shank the ball when going for it?  What if my calves start cramping?  What if he starts catching fire?  As soon as I start filling my mind with doubt, my body follows suite and then before I know it, I’ve blown the lead and lose.

I’ve since been able to calm some nerves that have helped me cross the finish line in tight situations before.  Here are some tips for keeping your head in the game.

* Think of nothing. During a competitive situation, my mind literally goes blank.  It’s as if I’m out of my body observing myself act.  From the service motion, to driving the top spin backhand cross court, there is nothing on my mind except the 100% commitment to win.  Some people call this act “zoning.”  To zone, I picture a pure white cloud of nothingness before each serve.  It fills up my entire mental surrounding.  There is nothing infiltrating my mind as I go ahead and act.

* Know that you will win.  In order for you to compete effectively, you have to already believe you have won.  You know this largely due to your preparation.  You don’t have to know that you are better than them at everything.  All you need to do is believe you are better than them at one thing.  I’m convinced I will be able to outrun my opponents and drive them into the ground.  They will collapse from exhaustion if they try and rally, so they try and go for more and make errors in the process.  Knowing that they will eventually wilt from exhaustion gives me confidence to succeed.

* Put everything in perspective. Once you tell yourself it’s just a game you start to relax.  When you know it’s OK to lose, you start swinging away.  Once you start swinging away you no longer worry about the little things because everything just clicks.  Having perspective is healthy in sports, work, blogging, and practically everything you do.  Once you know you are not an unattractive person, but a beautiful monkey, you start feeling great!

CONCLUSION

Being clutch is a complete state of mind.  Nowhere do you see more examples of clutch than with Olympic gold medalists.  They’ve done the moves time and time again during practice.  It’s those few moments that really count where they excel the most.  Playing competitive sports definitely helps one’s abilities in non-physical arenas such as work.  There’s a reason why so many firms look to hire student athletes, and so many CEOs are single handicap golfers.  They know what clutch is and how to deal with difficult situations.

Who knows who will win the 2010 World Series.  But, if I was a betting man, I’d go all-in on the San Francisco Giants baby!

Readers, what are some of the things you do to calm the nerves in crucial situations?  Have you ever surprised yourself with your clutchness?

PS For bloggers out there, it’s the same thing.  Survival is a tough one and it is a long slog.  How can you go straight to the top with so much content out there and competition?  You simply zone and write like no one else for a methodically consistent period of time.  And then you patiently wait for things to percolate.  You know you will win because blogging is easy compared to surviving in the Amazon jungle, naked, with no matches or food!

Regards,

Sam

Here’s a short 10 minute video I stumbled upon which eerily highlights several things I do and why (ie play guitar), as well as touch upon reasons why some people are willing to do things for free, and others strongly consider giving up big salaries to just work on a hobby.

NODDING MY HEAD

I find myself agreeing with pretty much everything the video has to say.  Money has become a secondary motivational factor for me over the past several years.  Something just happened where I’ve become satisfied in making what I make, oh my!  Sure, I have a “make $1 million bucks” goal for 2010, but that’s really just one of those fun, see if I can do it goals.  Autonomy, mastery, and purpose are things I look forward to now.

Progress is a wonderful feeling, which is why I try and play a musical instrument and sing in my free time.  Music also helps fill the void when I’m injured due to sports.  Going from not knowing the chords and the words of a song, to mastering a tune from memory that’s good enough to record is an unbelievable sense of accomplishment.  I’ve been working on getting the finger picking of Pearl Jam’s “Just Breathe” for the past month, and I can’t seem to get it right.  But dammit, I’m going to keep practicing because it’s such a beautiful song!

After you have a certain amount of money and experience, you definitely want autonomy.  You’re no longer a fresh college grad that is constantly micro-managed by senior colleagues.  A sure fire way for a company to lose a star employee is to restrict their freedom and ignore their good work.  Blogging is an incredible example of autonomy.  Nobody is going to tell me what to write and that’s so liberating.  I’ll thrive and fade with my decisions alone.

Purpose is something that can either be questioned before you start your journey or after.  You can be a high school or college student who has no freaking idea what you’re supposed to do in life.  Or, you can be a 20 year veteran in the workforce who has built a great resume, as well as financial security, but realize you’re middle aged now and wonder if there’s more to life since you’ve already conquered insecurity, be it financial or otherwise.

The purpose of this site was never to make money.  The purpose was to just create something tangible that serves as a creative outlet for someone who was once creative.  I want to be that kid in pottery class again, molding that wet clay on a rapidly rotating swivel stick.

Readers, what are several motivating factors for you in your life or in your job?  Have you noticed money increase or decrease in importance as a motivational factor?

Regards,

Sam @ Financial Samurai – “Slicing Through Money’s Mysteries”

Follow on Twitter @FinancialSamura and subscribe to our RSS or E-mail feed.

Even at 7:30pm the night is hot.  That’s what happens when you go barbecuing somewhere in the South Pacific in the middle of summer.  You can almost taste the grilled chicken from the remnant fumes simmering off the grill.  Dinner is served!

The family gathers around the picnic table.  We take a deep breath and begin to eat.  In just the first bite, my father freezes, tries to swallow and let’s out a little gag.  We ask him what’s wrong, and he shakes his head not knowing.  One of us gives him a glass of water, and still, no change.  My father raises up his hand, excuses himself and says that he has to go to the emergency room.

DOUBT AND CONFUSION

Is it really that bad I think to myself?  It’s not like he was convulsing or anything.  “Shall I drive Dad?” I ask.

“Nahh,” he responds and tells me to enjoy my meal.  Dad lumbers to the car and drives his usual slow self away, careful not to run any stop signs.

Five hours later at about 12:30am I hear a car pull up to the driveway with a loud car door thud seconds later.  The brakes, oh how those brakes squeak, reminding us to replace.  I rush downstairs and ask Dad if everything is OK.  He pulls out a little plastic vile, starts to jiggle it back and forth, and reveals a prideful grin.

“What’s that Dad?” I ask incredulously.

“This son, is a site to see!” as he opens up the vile and pulls out a piece of gauze.  “Come look closer.” As I inched my way closer to the vile I noticed something long and grey.  “This son is a once inch steel bristle from the steel brush we used to clean the grill!  It was lodged in my throat!”

“Holy sh*t Dad!  You weren’t kidding when you said you needed to go to the ER.”

“Nope.” My dad then proceeded to carefully lay the metal bristle back on the cotton gauze, and back into the vile.  Like saving a bullet from a bullet wound, Dad will always save this thorn.

INDEPENDENCE

Many of us really thought he was faking his injury because of his demeanor.  It was almost surreal how calmly he excused himself from the picnic table.  If you had an inch long metal bristle piercing the front side of your throat, and couldn’t swallow, what would you do?  I’ve had contact lenses disappear into the back or the bottom of my eye sockets and I’m in a frenzy.

Dad would be the perfect candidate to shoot a real life Animal Planet commercial on what TO DO when a grizzly bear attacks.  Without witnessing countless examples of his Zen-like responses, I’d be less balanced.  My face would probably contort more when people are late, and I’d probably panic more at things outside of my control.  For this, I’m thankful.

Of all things, independence is what I’ve learned most from my father.  He gave me the leeway to do whatever I wanted in life, all the while exposing me to a myriad of his interests, so that perhaps some would rub off on me one day.  He never forced me to choose, but instead gave me the freedom to make the right choices.  He showed me not to count on handouts and to believe in myself.  When he drove himself to the emergency room and waved us off, I was reminded of independence once again.

Thanks Dad and Happy Father’s Day!

Readers, what are some of the things your father have taught you in a direct or indirect way?

Regards,

Sam @ Financial Samurai – “Slicing Through Money’s Mysteries”

Follow on Twitter @FinancialSamura and subscribe to our RSS or E-mail feed.