The Wheel That Doesn’t Squeak
May 16, 2010 | 20 Comments
ALERT about Larry on FACEBOOK!!!!!!!!!
Larry’s previous fanpage on facebook is gone. If you were a fan and would like to get his daily rants PLEASE join him or REJOIN him at
http://www.larrywinget.com/facebook.html
—–
The Wheel That Doesn’t Squeak
Most people do the right thing. Most people work. Most people pay their bills. Most people do a pretty good job of raising their kids. Most folks are fairly kind and charitable and do the best they can with the information they have. As tough as I am on people, I believe that folks are basically good somewhere down deep in their hearts. They may do stupid things from time to time, but they are good folks at a core level. At least I hope so.
But there are no headlines for these folks. The headlines and the news stories go to the few, not the many. The attention goes to the few who make the most noise, the squeaky wheels of society. The squeaky wheel gets the grease and the grease is attention. And sadly attention only makes the wheel squeak louder and seems to create even more squeaky wheels.
Every group from the NRA to the Tea Party Movement to the women’s groups and gay and lesbian associations, churches, most professional associations and organizations, from animal rights to civil rights - right down to both the Republican and Democratic parties. All have extremist faction that steal the attention from the people in the middle that the organization was intended to represent. Every group.
Every business has policies that punish the many because of the stupid actions of the few. Very few people write bad checks or return stuff after it’s been used and on and on but businesses write policies that will effect the 97% in a negative way simply because the 3% is stupid.
Ten Signs You Are A Bad Parent
January 25, 2010 | 37 Comments
There are many signs that parents aren’t doing a good job as parents. All you have to do is look around at the millions of people living out the results of their own bad parenting to know that. Take a moment and look at these ten signs and evaluate how you are doing:
Ten Signs You Are A Bad Parent
If you don’t know where your child is right now,
you are a bad parent.
If your child is obese,
you are a bad parent.
If your child has a television in their bedroom,
you are a bad parent.
If you don’t know your child’s friends,
you are a bad parent.
If you tolerate disrespect from your child verbally or physically, you are a bad parent.
If you promise consequences for either good behavior or bad behavior and don’t deliver, you are a bad parent.
If you don’t teach your child about money,
you are a bad parent.
If you don’t have open, honest communication with your child about sex; the dangers, consequences and joy of it,
you are a bad parent.
If your grown child still lives at home and mooches off you,
you are a bad parent.
If your own life is an example of what you don’t want your child to grow up and become, you are a bad parent.
Some of you are now spewing and sputtering and shouting “yeah but” at me because your kids are great yet they have a TV in their room or are overweight or blah, blah, blah-de-blah-de-blah! Okay, you can tell yourself that, and since I don’t know you or your kid I’ll step back and give you the benefit of the doubt. But I still don’t believe you. Just because you don’t see the harmful results of your action or inaction today, doesn’t mean that you won’t later.
“But I genuinely LOVE my kids Larry!”
I’m sure you do. But we have to stop pretending that the definition of being a good parent is “loving your child.” Parenting is MORE than love. Parenting is loving your child enough to make sure you produce a responsible, productive fit adult who lives a life steeped in honesty, integrity and respect. An adult with a strong work ethic who knows how to give her word and keep it even when it isn’t convenient. A person who knows how to be financially responsible by earning, investing, saving, giving and enjoying their money. That requires communication, involvement, education, discipline and punishment. It requires work. Love without the actions to back it up doesn’t really mean much.
If you want proof about the damaging effects of these ten signs and more, read my book, Your Kids Are Your Own Fault: A Guide For Raising Responsible Productive Adults. Go to www.yourkidsareyourownfault.com
What’s REALLY important?
December 14, 2009 | 10 Comments
Seems like such as easy question to answer. The average, normal person would quickly say “my kids,” or “my family” or “being healthy” and so on. I bet those answers are about what you came up with when you first read the question too.
It’s just that I’m not buying those answers. I’m not calling anyone a liar who recites those quick and easy answers, it’s just that I don’t buy that’s what is really important to most people. Why would I say that? Because their isn’t too much proof to suggest those answers are the truth.
One of my basic philosophies is that your time, your energy and your money go to what is important to you. So if kids and family and being healthy was as important as most people say, it would follow that is where people would focus their time, energy and money. Follow? Well, it isn’t happening. Look around and you’ll see that people are clearly not putting their actions into the important things in life. People are putting their time, energy and money into lots of things but more often than not, it’s the temporary, the mundane, and the instantly gratifying. The ridiculous occupies people’s time, saps their energy and seduces the money from their fingers. And the media helps with that fascination. But I don’t blame the media because they only give us what we beg to see. It’s not their fault they are capitalizing on our preoccupation with the stupid; it’s our own. Watching stupid stuff on television is voluntary participation. No one forces you to sit there and see who the newest stupid celebrity is and what he/she is doing. You choose to do that. People choose to participate in things of no importance and neglect what is really important. I dealt in great detail about this problem in my book, The Idiot Factor: The Ten Ways We Sabotage Our Life, Money and Business (formerly titled People Are Idiots and I Can Prove It.)
Are there exceptions? Of course there are so don’t get all fired up and write me a bunch of comments about how wrong I am and how my premise doesn’t apply to you. Fine. You may be the exception. Read this and be satisfied with how none of this applies to you and find some satisfaction in pointing the finger of blame at everyone else.
“I get it, Larry. So what is important?”
The Lazy Man’s Theory of Relativity
August 30, 2009 | 21 Comments
The Lazy Man’s Theory Of Relativity.
I want to make it clear from the start that this rant was inspired by Troy Sammons. He wrote me on Facebook with his comments that I have included below. It was so good that I suggested to him that he write more and put it out there somewhere but he said for me to run with it if I wanted to. So I am going to add a bit to what was already a great email he sent me, but I want to say thanks to Troy upfront for his inspiration.
From Troy: “It is my observation that there is a growing epidemic of excuses that I call the “Lazy Man’s Theory of Relativity.” Americans seem to continually measure their position or situation in relative terms that makes their lazy lifestyles appear more successful. Let me give a few examples: I am relatively thin compared to that fat guy; I’m relatively rich compared to that broke ass over there; I work relatively hard compared to the narcoleptic janitor; I’m a relatively great parent compared to that woman wearing the muumuu feeding her kid Twinkies for lunch; or the worst one—we are relatively free compared to people in other countries.
What has happened that has enabled us to give up on our ideals and settle for relative success or perfection? Why are we always on the search for that loser whose life sucks more than ours so we can remind ourselves how good we are doing. I can’t stand it when someone makes relative comparisons to make the current situation appear less painful or pathetic.”
The Five Things To Do When The Money Runs Out
June 8, 2009 | 40 Comments
I get a lot of email from people who have either lost their jobs or are losing their jobs. Their 401K is gone, their savings is zeroed out or maybe their unemployment checks have run out. This is becoming a common situation for a good part of our society as unemployment rises. Many people are facing a lack of employment and a lack of funds. Yet their family still needs to eat and the bills still have to be paid. Does this apply to you? I hope it doesn’t. But I am betting that you know someone who is in this situation.
It’s too late to tell people they should have saved more (six months cash set aside to cover your monthly expenses.) It’s too late to say you should have worked harder or smarter or better so you wouldn’t have been the one who got laid off (not always the case but it is often the case.) It’s too late to say that you shouldn’t have spent so much money on stupid stuff – that you shouldn’t have wasted money on things that gave only very temporary satisfaction – that you shouldn’t have gone out to eat 4 nights a week or bought that car you couldn’t really afford or that house you knew you couldn’t make the payments on if anything happened to your income. It’s too late to beat people up about any of that stuff at this point, so I don’t and I won’t.
Instead, it’s time to give folks some ideas they can use when it’s crunch time, they are scrambling and when survival is the main concern. So here you go:
18 Principles for
Success & Prosperity
( FREE Audio Program )
Take Responsibility
( Click to Listen )
Archives