How can you be what you own?

You know – "I am what you see, this is me I have made it"

Not possible right, how can it be.

I know this guy.

He WAS worth millions… stacks of cash.

He drove a top of the range cars of almost every kind.

He had the very best Rolex watch.

He wore hand stitched shoes paid for in the thousands.

His suits were hand made by the finest tailors of the finest type.

Everybody knew who he was.

He was the guy that had done really well for himself, the guy with everything and a brand new spanking Rolls Royce Phantom to match!

When he walked out heads nodded … he was THE MAN!

With the good stuff, the great stuff, the best stuff, the kind of stuff only money could buy!

But the problem was he believed he was that stuff. That stuff symbolized HIM.

And when the stuff vanishes … he is no longer who he thinks he was.

So how can anyone be possessions? We are birthed and delivered into a world that has taught us that collecting things is everything.

Yet when it goes and if we have built our lives around it … we are no longer the person we think we were.

So that raises a question.

Who really are you? Do you know? Because if the stuff that you had wrapped around you and your life vanishes the fact is, you remain. When I say you remain… your flesh and blood, your skin, your body remains.

So who are you?

I met a young man the other day I worked with just a few years ago. He told me how much he wanted a BMW M3… nice machine. He got one to go with… continue reading

Cheerless Valentine

By Alan Forrest Smith

There was a point in The Trueman Show movie when the main character Trueman realized all wasn’t quite what it seemed. Do you remember?

He was driving his car and at one point realized that everything appeared to be on a time piece. So at 3:24pm each day someone on a bike would ride past at the same place on the street.

He then jumped out of his car stood looking at everything, everyone and asked himself ‘how real is this?’

As I went shopping last night I walked into the huge store with my daughter Lily. The closer we got to the store, the more guys walked out of the door with flowers on their hands.

As we went through the main doors directly ahead of us was a mass of flowers. roses in red in semi bloom ,smelling of nothing as they had mostly been forced grown, forced fed with chemicals so as to defy the laws of nature.

All around the flowers were men. Well not sure if I would or could call them men to be frank, they were more like those pre-programmed characters on the Trueman show.

All looked embarrassed. All looked oppressed. All looked totally disheartened over the fact that they felt FORCED into getting to the store to buy flowers to pay homage to their wife, their lady for at least one day a year.

I swear – not one had a happy, rejoiceful, big-life outlook on their faces. They looked as miserable as a pigs backside in a bathtub!

And they are all are being forced into buying flowers and a crappy card with a meaningless message inside written by a stranger who knows nothing about their relationship with anyone – simply tools to… continue reading

Barak Obama …

Is he right?

Will he be the savior of the USA and the Planet?

Is he just another dressed up, polished over voice coming to a TV screen near you?

I have no idea.

But there is a lesson here.

As I write I face another birthday soon No. 46 in fact. I have no problem with that but after 46 years of life and 46 years of experience things happen to your mind.

It becomes shaped, molded, guided and set by things that take place, things that happen, experience that can battle scar any individual forever.

I watched Obama being sworn in, I watched and listened to his speech (brilliant), I sat and listened to how the American people have placed so much hope in this ‘new look’ President. I sat and listened to the global commentators as they asked other politicians from all over the world what they though this ‘new’ change would bring to the USA and the Planet?

Yes I still sat there and said to myself …

‘we’ll see!’

Cynical old fart .. I know!

However I was thinking about why I am like that and why others are like that. You see my opinion, thoughts and feelings are based on this one thing. Time and what I have experienced in my life over that time.

I have experienced more than a few politicians that have failed miserably. The promised and never delivered. The spoke the truth and gave us lies. They stood up strong and lay down weak. They presented ideals and took away ideals. They offered us hope and left us in despair.

I know … Cynical old fart again!

But… but and but…

If Obama delivers he will have done something amazing, incredible, dynamite, fantastic, stupendously brilliant.… continue reading

Spoon-Fed Selfdom

Is your world being run by spoon-fed egos, spoilt brats, selfish untouchables?

This is a bit of a rant but I hope you agree. I hope you can see my sense here. I hope you feel like taking action at some point. This is also about you. Your money. Your life.

You’ll soon know what I mean.

Years ago in one of my previous businesses I had a manager who we will call Peter for this email.

Peter seemed on the surface to be great!

After going over exactly what I expected from him Peter went away and started his management tasks.

In my businesses over the years he kid of did a decent job. Not brilliant but not bad either.

It was part of his job to use the business cash to create new business and keep us in profit.

I noticed the expenses were getting higher and higher. Some of the stuff being bought frankly wasn’t needed. I think he he’d even got into a habit of buying the latest magazines and I mean a huge pile of them weekly just to look at clothes and follow the lifestyles of the brainless brats covering Hello and other glossy trash every week.

So I spoke to him and asked he lower expenses. I also reminded him of his own wages, his bonuses and other benefits he got from me.

As time went on despite what we talked about on many occasions – Peter loved to spend my cash!

I fired him!

Peter was making me broke!

That’s the obvious thing to do isn’t?

They spend too much. They don’t do the job right. They leave you in a mess. You fire them right?

Because when a mind is the creator of chaos and confusion and… continue reading

PersuasYouthology

By Alan Forrest Smith

I have 4 kids. I love them all to bits.

One verges on genius and is an artist but he can’t see it. The other is a gentle giant packed and overflowing with love. The other is a punk and looks like he has just been with his band. The other is a crazy non conformist with only 10 years of life behind her.

They are all just kids, my kids.

Lily my 10 year old, nonconformist said to me.

"Dad my friend has just got a new iPhone and some new latest Ugg boots and a new wafer thin mac laptop and a new iPod and some new outfits and is now getting a new guitar"

Hmmm I thought.

Because I don’t know about you but when I was 10 years old I was climbing trees, building bikes and digging dens at the side of the old railway!

But you see in a quest for more, more, more and more sales the penetration from advertisers into the youth market is going at full pace!

Just the other day looking into my 10 year old daughters school bag I found an small pencil case from a computer hardware company with a huge logo on the side of it. I asked Lily where it had come from. She told me the teacher gave all of the kids one. That led me to ask myself the question…

"who gave them to the teacher?"

"what was the teacher getting from the company to place them into 10 year old schoolbags?"

As advertisers we might not feel the logo is everything. But at the same time that brings on another issue and question which is …

"why are these big companies willing to spend so much time… continue reading

Lived to Death

By Alan Forrest Smith

Julie is dead. She lived herself to death. She was murdered by advertising.

She looked gorgeous I mean really drop dead stunning.

Her hair was thick, long, red with beautiful Irish curls and would spring up and down and she walked along the street.

In most peoples eyes she was the perfect body shape with curves to die for. Her eyes were as green as the fresh grass of spring with lashes the longest you’d ever seen.

Her skin glowed like the warm sun on an early morning and was the envy of all her female friends.

She wore the best clothes, the very best. The labels, the brands, whatever you would see in the top magazine, she would wear it.

The guys loved her. Why not she looked incredible!

I swear whenever Julie walked out every single head would turn.

However Julies eyes hid a secret. You’d only see her secret if you could fall deep enough into her eyes. That was near impossible, Julie had become over protective of everything and rarely revealed or shared anything anymore.

Julie lived herself to death. She’s dead.

Julie is part of a generation that is told things like …

You don’t need sleep!

You can stay up all day and party endlessly all night.

Drink and drink and drink as much alcohol as you like then flush out with a ‘reviver’.

Smoke and play with drugs.

In fact do as you like, do as you want, do as you feel. Tomorrow you might die!

Julie was part of a fooled generation that has been led to believe that most actions don’t have a consequence.

She lived herself to death. Killed by over consumption of alcohol and fast living. Murdered by lies.

But… continue reading

Sam is like most people.

Sam might remind you of YOU?

It’s new year’s eve 2007 in the most beautifully strong country on Earth … Scotland. The time; 11:47pm. Only a few hours ago Sam had revealed his ‘resolve’ or resolutions for the coming new year. Out with the old ways, in with the new.

While Sam revealed his new resolve for 2008 he looked sounded and appeared determined he would reach his aspirations, hope and dreams. After all it was a new year!

One by one, Sam and his 9 friends all shared what their new year would look like and what they wanted to become.

10, 9, 8, 7, … 3, 2, 1… HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Fireworks served to fuel the passion and dreams. This was an exciting night for Sam.

After a very late night Sam woke up around 1:15pm on New Years Day. He was supposed to be at his parents but he can’t make it, Sam has a terrible hangover. He stays in bed. Here comes another year thinks Sam as he lies there almost helpless with brain-pain!

7 days pass. Then 14 days go by. Then 21 days. Before Sam realizes he is preparing for summer. 5 short months had flown by.

Sam meets his friends again, the first time since new years eve.

One friend asks the group …

“c’mon then … who stuck to their New Years Resolutions then?”

As they went around the table when one at a time, each revealing his/her failed resolutions.

Something was taking place in Sam as each spoke. Suddenly like a bolt of reality -injection Sam realized he would never reach his resolutions. Like all of them Sam had high hopes. Now more than ever Sam felt doomed to failure unless …

… he had a… continue reading

I have this photograph of me as a kid on Christmas morning.

It’s around 5am on December 25th. I am kneeling down opening gifts from my mum and dad by the side of our tree.

The photo is interesting. It’s the 1970′s, mum and dad’s house is all orange and brown swirly wallpaper with a white space age dining table.

You can only see me in the photo wearing orange underpants only even though I remember the house being freezing.

My face speaks for itself. EXCITING!

I am only about 10 years old. In those days I used to do lots of fishing. In one hand I have a new reel and with my other arm I am leaning against my new fishing basket.

Magic times!

Back to 2008 then.

Yesterday I went into Manchester with my wee darling daughter, Lily. She is gorgeous and dresses very edgy with a great, happy, positive interesting attitude to life.

As we walked from the car we passed a young guy sat on the cold wet uninviting stone floor of the street!

He was a mess, a real mess.

His clothes were totally filthy. Honestly … he looked disgusting. His fingers were the dirtiest I have probably ever seen. One shoe was open at the front, his toes were exposed. His hair was matted, his skin had aged hom 30 years!

His eyes, face and manner were down, low, disheartened and had given up on life.

Lily looked at him with the innocence of a child and asked me who he was.

I told Lily …

"he is one of the invisible people, no one can see him"

Lily said…

"what do you mean dad?"

I replied … "darling lets stop and watch for a second". We… continue reading

Isn’t weird how the brain works?

You see what we think about continually in our brain usually sets our standards or levels in life. I really believe that, do you?

Let me illustrate.

Peter was a guy that work for me some years ago in one of my hair and beauty salons.

Peter was a really nice guy, great designer and good personality. He worked hard and put in long hours to make sure he got great wages.

Peter was a little addicted to buying new cars. It was his only real vice but he continually changed his car. When I say changed his car for me it was every 3 years or so. For Peter… I’d say twice a year.

The cars he bought we ok, just ok, no more, no less but the amount of cash he spent on them was massive.

I said to him one day …

“why don’t you get a BMW?”

Peter replied …

“I can’t afford a car like that and if I bought one of those things people around here would think I am a real snob”

How interesting!

I knew for a fact Peter’s repayments on his ever changing cars were getting higher and higher. I also knew if he went a bought a brand new low priced BMW it would work out lower than what he was paying to drive his other cars.

However Peter was struggling from one thing.

Peter was a … ‘Minimum Mentalist’

What is that?

It’s when we subconsciously preset our levels of anything.

We set them high, low in the middle and rarely unless we really want to will they change.

Peter’s minimum really was the minimum. Here’s a guy on very good wages yet he never believed he could like in a detached home.… continue reading

Who said money is the root of all evil?

Lies!!!

You see there was a  guy named David.

David had everything any man could want.

He was around 6 foot in height, dark olive skin, black wavy hair, deep green eyes and had the personality to go with it.

David also had cash, plenty of it.

He could pay for a car. Pay for clothes. Pay his bills. Pay off his credit cards. Pay for holidays. In fact David was in a position where he could literally pay for everything or anything he wanted.

One day when David was in his summer retreat he got an email from his bank. In fact it was his bank manager which that in itself was pretty unusual.

The manager was asking David to ring him. It was very, very urgent.

He rang him.

David was broke and didn’t even know it… absolutely B.R.O.K.E!

Davids first question was "HOW?"

His bank manager slowly tried to explain that the investment bank he had so heavily relied on had gone into administration. His investments had been lost, more than likely… forever!

Suddenly David’s whole world collapsed. He just didn’t see it coming.

In fact he had been living such a good life on the back of his invested cash he was spending like crazy and solely relying on his investment to keep him going into his last days!

After sometime and attempting to clear up his mess David was forced to go back and live with his mother. From living in his Swiss retreat of 7 bedrooms with a mountain view to a single bedroom with his remaining belongings in a box at the foot of his bed.

Now can I ask you a question…

Do you think David would prefer to… continue reading