Smart Decisions about Money

Here is a re-post of one of the initial Advocacy Network blogs from Feb 2009, interesting now 4+ years later:

Feb 14, 2009

Today we take a look at the end of Reaganomics as we knew it. I remember as a young insurance professional in the early 80’s the public sentiment which was embodied in the actions of President Reagan, was for decreased taxes on the wealthy and decreased government involvement in the economy. Now, in 2009, public sentiment, which has been embodied in the speeches of President Obama, is for increased taxes on the wealthy and increased government involvement in the economy. The following are words taken directly from President Obama: “restore fairness to the tax code and provide 150 million workers with the tax relief they need and eliminate all income taxation of seniors making less than $50,000 per year.”

The Advocacy Network is committed to giving our members clear concise and non biased information that will assist our clients (members) in making smart decisions with money. We believe that practicing any political partisanship will not serve our clients. (that is not to say that we are not involved in the national and local political climate, as a responsible US citizen that is a fundamental right), yet our viewpoints are strictly towards events and how those will cause trends that all people need to be aware of in order to make smart decisions about money.

For every action there is an equal an opposite reaction, this is commonly referred to the Law of Unintended Consequences. Be prepared because there will be a mountain of unintended consequences in the decision to grow government involvement in the economy. That being said you can make these unintended consequences work for you instead of against you, it does however require that you be proactive in your decisions about money. Confidence is waning and that causes PROCRASTINATION. The most damaging impact that can be inflicted upon the market at any time is PROCRASTINATION, commonly referred to as the decision to make NO DECISION. These “no decisions” are in essence very powerful decisions which end up having huge impacts on the market place.

Let’s take a look at the present economic climate and potential impacts. The recent economic crisis has resulted in the Federal government taking substantial ownership interests in many of America’s Financial Institutions (whether you agree with this or not, it is what it is), this has led to an outcry for more governmental oversight as the public’s faith in private market solutions has been shaken. (More transparency should simplify this and hopefully allow people to regain confidence in the private market).

During the Reagan years with its lower tax rates on the wealthy (actually had the unintended consequence of choking off infrastructure investment (tax shelters) as much of the wealthy were willing to fund projects while at the 50% tax rate which while lowered was also hindered by the infamous passive income ceilings which in essence crippled the so-called tax shelter market) and its fundamental faith in the private market, saw a boom of innovative but increased risk products such as mutual funds and hedge funds. Now, many individuals see those products as too risky and are looking for safer places to put their money.

This will create a trend towards fixed rate products such as cash value life insurance and annuities. The trend towards protection products should have never decreased yet most of the buying public fell victim to a lack of clear transparency when it came to RISK. All investments are useful as long proper suitability is established. This suitability is reliant upon a client understanding the concept of RISK. No financial concept is more important to the American family then that of risk management. The financial risks of premature death, disability and living too long are the greatest risks our economy ever faces. So the movement back to protection products is not in any way a negative prospect.

Regardless of the given economic climate the great financial staples will always be tax deferral, guarantees and safety of principal. Once a foundation of protection is built then growth and accumulation can be directed and planned for. Getting back to basics of protection is a very positive thing.

The unintended consequences of the most recent governmental actions will be a strong market place for tax deferral, guarantees and safety of principal. Once again the communication and understanding of risk will be the most useful conversations individuals can have.

As to how the investment market place will be affected it is too early to tell, yet there are some factors that can give you a preview. Sectors to rely on will continue to be Technology, Financial and Energy. The recent government stimulus package included 50 billion for the energy industry, to put into renewable energy and clean energy programs. These programs will be driven by innovations in technology so it would follow that technology will enjoy and upward trend due to its causative relationship with energy. The Financial sector will be stabilized by the Insurance industry (mostly due to the previous points) but surely due to its consistent longevity and its basic economic fundamental to the American family and business owner as it pertains to risk management. Remember that the Life insurance industry has been around since just before the Civil War and has not just survived but thrived in such economic climates a World Wars, the great depression etc…, this industry has actually given the banking industry the tremendous opportunity establish itself. That very same banking industry has managed almost single-handedly to run our economy into the ground (discussion for another time).

We will continue to provide the latest and most prevalent economic information, our viewpoint will always take into account the principles of innovation, trending and clear transparency.

How Is Your Prosperity Consciousness?

Prosperity is a mindset which is commonly referred to as abundance thinking. The vast majority of financially successful people see the world differently from those who lack. The worldview of successful people is one of abundance, a state of mind that has been trained to expect, acknowledge and see prosperity and opportunities everywhere they look.

The polar opposite of this mindset is a scarcity consciousness. In this mindset people expect and acknowledge lack and limitations and they view everything in these terms. It is simply impossible to achieve financial success with this scarcity driven mindset. I always hesitate to use the word impossible as I believe impossibility is a rare happening, yet unfortunately when it comes to scarcity driven perceptions success is unattainable and therefore impossible.

Abundant driven people see opportunity in every event in their lives, they also are willing to share and give back as they know that this cycle will remain unbroken due to the belief in abundance. The world is filled with new and wonderful opportunities which will continue to multiply and be available for those who actively seek out opportunity.

Having a high prosperity quotient isn’t a naturally occurring event; it is a learned and acquired mindset. As with any learning process it requires work and practice.  Changing a scarcity driven belief system is hard work. It can be accomplished though if you will identify and admit that you suffer from a scarcity consciousness.

The foundational key to all financial victimization is a scarcity consciousness. Those with an abundantly driven consciousness do not fall victim to greed. The shortfall of greed exists only in a scarcity driven mindset. Scarcity always sees lack and limitation and therefore a desire to get as much as possible as soon as possible because there might not be anything available in the future. This can end no other way than with greed permeating one’s desires.

The prosperity consciousness is the elixir to greed. It allows one to feel comfortable within the knowledge that the world has an abundance of opportunity and material goods. There is no lack of financial gain nor is there a lack of personal achievement. The world isn’t based upon zero sum exercises which end with only one winner and the rest losers. This type of competitive belief system is scarcity driven and leads to the very lack and limitation that one believes in. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you have imprinted the belief that everything is a competition which has one winner and one loser then you are on the low range of a prosperity consciousness benchmark. Creation far exceeds competition as it is extremely easy and beneficial to tap into the abundance that exists as opposed to hanging on to the scarcity that is self-generated.

Developing a prosperity consciousness is available for everyone and the first step is to identify where you are on the prosperity consciousness scale. How do you see the world around you? Do you find yourself driven by competition and greed? If this is your reality then you are somewhere in the 1-3 range on a scale of 1-10. If you are sales professional check yourself and see how you view your sales environment. Is rejection a negative force in your sales process? Do you find yourself feeling there are a lack of prospects and a lack of money to go around? Have you ever been jealous or envious of another sales leader in your office? Have you ever told yourself that the successful producers are luckier then you because they know the right people or have the right contacts. Have you ever fought over a sales lead? If any of these circumstances are your reality then you are a scarcity driven person and you need to make the necessary adjustments to become an abundantly driven person. Once you make this change you will be heading to the top of the sales charts and you will never need to look back.

Lastly, if you choose to become a dominant prosperity driven person you will be able to give back to those around you. You will be well positioned to inoculate and insulate potential victims of scams, fraud and predatory sales tactics. You will be able to serve as an advocate for those you choose to serve as opposed to one who needs to manipulate others into poor financial decisions. Do you want clients or victims?

 

Risk Free is a Myth

The greatest myth ever perpetrated on a society is the concept of risk free. There is nothing that is totally free of risk. Daily living is a risk. Every event in your life contains some element of risk. When you eat a meal you take a risk that the food is cooked properly and is bacteria free. You also take on the risk that you will chew the food and successfully swallow it. You take a risk when you get on public transportation, get in your car or cross the street. It goes on and on as there are an infinite amount of examples about your life and risk.

For our purposes though we are strictly focused on financial or investment risk. How many offers do you receive daily that suggest they have a risk free opportunity for you? Some of these are not even sensible let alone reasonable. Why waste your greatest asset which is time even considering these ridiculous offers? The vast majority of scams are predicated upon the basis of being without risk. They offer incredible return for ZERO risk. Please, take a moment and consider how impossible this is. If you could get 800% return on your money in 5 days, why would the promoters need any more money? Why would they seek your capital? One investor at 800% every 5 days would be more than sufficient to provide a continuous stream of capital for ongoing trading. Why would any investor withdraw 100% of their capital when they can simply keep rolling over the gains each time and continue to make 800% with no risk?

Of course we all know the answers to these questions and yet everyday there are more victims created by the allure of risk free opportunities to double, triple, quadruple or even make 10x their investment.

All industries have created some form of the myth, the financial services industry has multiple versions of this myth all of which end up with you chasing your money.

At least degenerate gamblers find a bottom. Scam victims or marks as they are called never seem to find a bottom; they just continue to chase their money with one bad decision after another. We have all experienced a loss of money, yet the most important step is what happens next. If you become a chaser then you are doomed to continued failure and ultimate destitution. If you step back and identify what happened and how it happened you are on the road to recovery. Just as gains cannot be found overnight, losses can’t be recovered overnight.

Patience and discipline is the key to financial success. The discipline aspect includes the sensibility to review, research and complete due diligence before making a decision. The wisdom to have a third party non-biased set of eyes on any monetary or financial decisions is also priceless. A third party advocate can review your opportunities with no personal bias and also see the obstacles that most individuals will conveniently over look. The sub-conscious is an amazing power. If you ignore your intuitions you will become an easy prey those who are seeking victims.

Why is risk free impossible? There are many reasons, time however allows for us to cover only one. The concept of scarcity has long been fundamental to financial markets. If something is scarce it increases in value as the demand continues to chase a perceived scarcity. Risk is a component of scarcity. Without risk how could the value of scarcity increase? Over time the truth of risk has become a greater value is associated with the greater risk. When you are willing to take on greater risk you are entitled to greater rewards. If everyone could simply walk in risk free then the market cannot grow in value, it will become flat. For this reason the proffer of risk free doesn’t equate with the market place. If you decide to lend money to an associate who has little or no collateral then you have a greater risk that that associate will default on the loan and you will receive zero value in return. For this risk you are entitled to a greatly increased return on investment or ROI. The fact is that the other party has zero hard asset value to offer in return, and therefore the risk is measured upon the ability to return the capital you have laid out. This elementary concept is the foundation of all risk profiling. Anyone who tries to sell an exceptional return with zero risk is just a fool or a con man. Either one is equally dangerous for your financial future.

A simple investment rule that can help you avoid losses is don’t invest in fairy tales and myths. Risk free is a myth.

Karl Schilling

www.theadvocacynet.com

321-250-1445 O

321-947-3220 C

Skype: karl.schilling5

Magic Silver Bullet Syndrome Continues

We all know the definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Well in the world of the magic silver bullet syndrome we see a new definition of insanity and that is believing that there is a magic silver bullet.

Below kindly see an email I recently received, notice the pitch which is one of the great magic silver bullets (passive income for doing NOTHING). Rule #1 is there is no magic silver bullet and this rule is founded upon the reality that there is no business income without sales and marketing. Products, services, information all require purchasers and in order to find purchasers marketing, advertising and sales are required. Anyone who believes there is income to be made without any sales or marketing is unfortunately a victim waiting to happen. Just read this closely and ask a simple question “How is this promoter earning money?”

Karl,

 

My friend Brad discovered an ‘underground’ money-growing loophole that wealthy insiders have been keeping to themselves for years.

It allows anyone to effortlessly start earning an extra $1,000, $3,000, $5,000 or even $10,000 or more in passive cash flow every month...
The best part is it doesn’t require any recruiting, selling or talking to anyone.

It’s all covered in a new video presentation that finally exposes the truth about passive income no one else is willing to tell you.

BUT…

I need to WARN YOU about it before you watch it...

It contains some very controversial information that will probably piss off some “gurus” in the internet marketing and home business industry.

==> Watch the video to find out why.

 

I especially love the “wealthy insiders have been keeping to themselves for years.” Remember, in order to sell the magic silver bullet there must be a secret that you can now take advantage of. The secret is of course been kept for decades, centuries or eons and now suddenly you can get this secret for some price. Those who have made millions are now willing to share their secrets with you for a small investment. This is the typical main theme in all magic silver bullet offers.

In order to avoid this pitfall just ask yourself, if you had a system that made you thousands of dollars a day and you worked many years to accomplish this and perfect the system which continues to provide you with millions of dollars of earnings a year would you want to sell it to others for small amounts of money? Would you want to spend tens of thousands of dollars in marketing costs to reach out to all these individuals when you could simply continue to use your system to earn thousands of dollars a day? I think you know the answer.

Karl Schilling

Founder

The Advocacy Network

www.theadvocacynet.com

321-250-1445 O

321-947-3220 C

Skype: karl.schilling5

 

Myths, Lies and Damn Lies

The advent of social media has proven to be both a blessing and a curse. The double edged sword of vast amounts of information freely flowing 24/7/365 is filled with myths, lies and damn lies.

The perpetration of scams, fraud and predatory sales manipulation is easier than ever before. Instant credibility is created through well-meaning organizations and operations. Unfortunately these entities survive on advertising dollars and therefore take a position of enabler. When an organization thrives through advertising money they have a mandate to look the other way. They have no responsibility to provide any due diligence or do even nominal research on anyone who is willing to pay dollars to advertise. Of course there could be the perception of a moral and ethical responsibility to protect the investors, consumers and public from bad advice, mis-information and flat out lies, yet the reliance is on the archaic advertising laws.

An incredible amount of the investor and consumer public live under the false impression that “everything on the internet is true; it must be because it’s on the internet.” This lie has been promulgated by the major social network operations which I won’t bother to name because you know who they are.

One such business based social network organization has myriads of groups which are started under the guise of a source of information and education. Conceptually this would be akin to Napoleon Hill’s master-mind group concept. Sadly, these groups rapidly descend to spam, scams and other manipulative sales motivations. A master mind group is formed to share insight, wisdom, and experience and through such to generate greater impact then the individual could accomplish alone.

Napoleon Hill would be rolling in his grave if he could witness what many social media groups have turned his precious concept into. The many groups are passed off as Angel Investment, Venture Capital, Investment groups, and many other business specialties well too many to list. In all of these groups the moderators (when there is a moderator) cherry pick based upon their own conflicts of interest. Rarely is there a truly educational and informational group in the mix. The most damaging issue of all is that these groups become fertile ground for scams and frauds to be perpetrated. Now, scammers and fraudsters don’t even need to invest in the promotion of their dark intentions, as they can simply slip into any social media portal and prey upon the 100’s of thousands of available potential victims.

This all can be controlled and easily avoided through the process of having a 3^rd party advocate. An advocate is only concerned with the best interest of their client. There are no conflicts of interest, internal biases or ulterior motives. The advocate exists to inoculate and insulate the client. Total inoculation and insulation is developed through education, media sourcing such as webinars, tele-conferences and virtual web based activities.

The Advocacy Network is your master-mind group formed to enhance your ability to make smart decisions about money.

Over the coming weeks I will be producing blog spots that will identify common myths, lies and dam lies in the financial market place. Believe me when I tell you there are too many to list and I could produce pieces for the next several years and not cover even a quarter of the scams, frauds and sales manipulations in the financial markets. As an investor, consumer or business you need to be aware of the potential abyss vying for your dollars on a daily basis. I look forward to serving you in your quest to make smart decisions about money.

 

Karl Schilling

321-250-1445 O

321-947-3220 C

www.theadvocacynet.com

Skype: karl.schilling5

Preeminence and Smart Decisions about Money

Jay Abraham has defined preeminence as “being totally focused on adding value for the other side and understanding what value looks like.” The most intriguing result of victimization in any scam, fraud or predatory sales tactic is the distinguishable lack of value transferred in the process. These events are always totally one-sided in that the only gain in the process is by the scammer or fraudster as they steal time, money and psychic energy.

 The grand loser in this is always the victim. There is no preeminence in this transaction, nor is there any long term relationship value. With this very obvious equation there remains an extraordinary amount of victims created on a daily if not hourly basis. How can this be?

It all starts within the victim; no one can scam, defraud or manipulate you unless you allow it. The power of avoidance always lies with you, yet the psychological triggers are rarely understood on a personal level. As such manipulation becomes a very simple process which leads to the greater risks of scams and frauds.

Predatory sales tactics are the invite to every level of scam or fraud. It all begins with a sales pitch. I want to make it very clear that professional sales people are vital to our everyday lives and our overall financial well-being. The grave obstacles lie within the industries which promote predatory sales tactics and strive to make sales revenue at any cost. The lack of value transfer is a poor decision about money.

A simple method in which you can make smart decisions about money is by minimizing your bad decisions about money. Losses are always more difficult to overcome than a simple “no” decision. By saying no you can greatly limit your potential losses, of course the next level is to make “yes” decisions so you can successful grow your wealth status.

The attraction to a “yes” decision is the thought of quick gain, fast money. It starts with an offer that seems to be risk free and offers “guarantees.” Everyone has a greed trigger and once it is initiated the launch code begins on a bad decision about money.

While making smart decisions about money requires a learning curve for each individual having a 3^rd party non-biased advocate provides you with a 24hr protection shield. Almost the last resort in spite of yourself scenario. Of course once you gain the mandatory self-knowledge which drives your financial decisions you can rely on self-dependence more readily. Having an advocate allows for you to pass off the sales pitch and early attraction button. The 3^rd party source is then able to objectively review and dig into the offer with full detachment and no personal bias. This level of protection is priceless as it will remove the initial level of bad decisions about money. This provides full insulation in that it is the stop sign on poor decisions about money.

The levels are financial decisions you make in a lifetime are multi-layered and any one of these decisions can set you back years and possibly lead to financial ruin. Look at all these areas in which your ability to make smart decisions about money can be the difference between financial freedom and total financial misery:

1.       Insurances: including Life, Home, Auto, Personal Liability, Commercial Liability, Health, Flood and many others.

2.       Medical concerns including Medicare, Medicaid, Health Insurance, Health Providers and much more.

3.       Housing, do you rent?, Own? Insurance protection, maintenance concerns, upkeep, liability exposure, Home Improvement, Furnishings, and many other financial decisions.

4.       Transportation, auto, travel, vacations, insurance, maintenance, and much more.

5.       Family care, children, elderly family members, illness of family members etc…

6.       Taxes, how to limit your tax liability, how to grow your assets tax-free, how to position your assets most advantageously and much more.

7.       Estate planning, how to pass on wealth, how to protect wealth, how to establish trust protection, how to legally protect your assets, how to best position retirement income, and much more.

8.       Identity (the most prevailing fraud in society today is identity theft which will destroy everything in points 1-7)

All these areas have the potential for you to be victimized by predatory sales people, scams and out- right fraud. When you least expect it you can be targeted and ultimately victimized.

Our mission at the Advocacy Network is to fully inoculate and insulate consumers, investors and businesses against scams, fraud and predatory sales tactics.

Karl Schilling

321-250-1445 O

321-947-3220 C

Skype: karl.schilling5

www.theadvocacynet.com

Psychological Triggers Exposed

So far we have discussed the normalcy bias, the silver bullet syndrome and the dangers of conformity. These diverse discussions all fit together in forming a puzzle of psychological triggers. The big picture can come together when you have all the pieces starting to fit together.

Earl Nightingale in his classic audio series “Lead the Field” told a story that fits this best.

“One day, a man was watching a professional football game on television. His five-year old son kept bothering him. So the man tore out a page of the Sunday paper. It was a full page airline ad that showed a picture of the world – the planet Earth as seen from space. He tore up the page into a dozen pieces and gave them to his son. He said to him, “Here, put this picture together with this cellophane tape, and show Daddy how smart you are.” He then went back to watching his football game. In a surprising short time, the youngster had taped the picture back together. It wasn’t very neat, but it was a very good job, indeed, for one so young. “Hey, that’s amazing!” the father said. “How did you put the world together so quickly?” The little boy said, “There was a picture of a man on the other side. I just put man together, and then the world was all together.”

The youngster was no doubt surprised by the big, warm hug he got. “That’s right, son,” the father said. “When the man is altogether, his world is altogether, too.”

Becoming aware of how the big picture comes together is a key component in making smart decisions about money. The small pieces that are torn apart are psychological triggers that come together to form the big picture. The sense that everything will return to “normal” (normalcy bias) is tied to the overwhelming hope that everything will work out well (the silver bullet syndrome), which leads directly into the complacency of conformity. It is the end result of conformity that leads investors running like lemmings toward a cliff.

These psychological triggers are ingrained in an individual’s thinking process. Napoleon Hill discussed this in terms such as accurate thinking, critical thinking and straight thinking. Hill, spoke in terms of rarity when discussing this form of thinking. Let’s briefly look at what Hill had written about “straight thinking.”

“Two great forces are working in the minds of all men to make them what they are. One is social heredity, and the other is physical heredity.

Physical heredity is the law of nature through which the sum and substance of all characteristics, traits and physical aspects of your ancestors, through the ages, have been handed on to you. You are unavoidably a product of all your ancestors.

Social heredity consists of every influence with which you will come in contact, from the time you reach a state of consciousness until you die. Your mother’s and father’s influence, your education, the conversations you listen to, religious influences, political ideas, the newspapers you read, the shows you see – they all have and will help to make you what you are. They are your social inheritance. Very few persons have what it takes to pull away from these and do some independent, accurate thinking for themselves. A few cast off their social inheritance and dare to be different and individualistic. When this happens, the world has an Edison, a Ford, a Thomas Paine, an Ingersoll or a Jonas Salk. But the vast majority of people allow themselves to become victims of social heredity. This is why straight thinking is such a rarity.”  (Source: PMA Science of Success Course. Educational Edition. 1961. Pgs. 504 & 505

Independent, accurate thinking is the absolute benchmark for making smart decisions about money. The inoculation and insulation from scams, fraud and predatory sales tactics direct require you to learn how to become independent and accurate in your thinking process. The reality of victimization is that people are unaware of the natural bias they have formed toward conformity and the lack of independence in their thinking process. A major part of this redundant vicious cycle is the normalcy bias, the silver bullet syndrome and the ease of conformity.

 Karl Schilling

321-245-1445 O 321-947-3220 C

Skype:karl.schilling5

advocacybz@gmail.com

 

When Too Many Think Alike

"As a general rule, it is foolish to do just what other people are doing, because there are almost sure to be too many people doing the same thing."
   -- William Stanley Jevons (1835-1882)

One of the sure-fire ways to financial failure is conformity. There is nothing more damaging then following the crowd. For the most part the crowd is listening to someone else who is listening to the crowd. It is a vicious cycle that ends with a death spiral.

The economic climate we now live in is a highly evolutionary vehicle. Gone are the ties to the past and the trends that were in existence for the last 100 years. This is not a bump in the road which ends with everything happily and comfortably returning to “normal”; there is a new normal being created. It is a source of dramatic change with new rules and new patterns and trends.

The simple facts are those so-called experts are out of their depth as they have now become novices along with everyone else in this new age of geo-political driven economic events. The financial markets are being re-created and this requires all investors and consumers to become counter-intuitive in their thought processes. The financial decision making process that may have served you well in the past has been made meaningless into the future.

There are many dangerous myths built into your financial decision making process, we already covered the normalcy bias and the magic silver bullet syndrome, now you must confront the conformity of “everything old will be new again.”

"In speculation, as in most other things, one individual derives confidence from another. Such a one purchases or sells, not because he has had any really accurate information...but because some else has done so before him"
-- J.R. McCulloch 1830

The following is a story that best clarifies what is happening in the financial markets today:

Everyone has had a taste of success. The explanation for it all is "the world is awash in liquidity". Everyone is also feeling rather complacent & secure. It reminds one of the Red Indians....

"It was autumn, and the Red Indians on the remote reservation asked their new Chief if the winter was going to be cold or mild. Since he was a Red Indian Chief in a modern society, he had never been taught the old secrets, and when he looked at the sky, he couldn't tell what the weather was going to be. Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he replied to his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect wood to be prepared. But also being a practical leader, after several days he got an idea.

He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked "Is the coming winter going to be cold?" "It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold indeed," the meteorologist at the weather service responded. So the Chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more wood in order to be prepared. A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. "Is it going to be a very cold winter?" "Yes," the man at National Weather Service again replied, "It's definitely going to be a very cold winter."
The Chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of wood they could find. Two weeks later, he called the National Weather Service again.
"Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?" "Absolutely," the man replied. "It's going to be one of the coldest winters ever."

 

"How can you be so sure?" the Chief asked.
The weatherman replied, "The Red Indians are collecting wood like crazy."

Conformity in financial decisions leads to calamity!

 And, so the question is are you following “Red Indians” in the financial markets?

Karl Schilling

The Advocacy Network

321-250-1445 O

321-947-3220 C

Skype: karl.schilling5

The Magic Silver Bullet Syndrome

Great wealth for little or no effort, free money, quick returns, overnight success, zero risk, risk free, GUARANTEED! This is the rhetoric of the magic silver bullet syndrome. The one consistent behavior trait that supersedes even cynicism and skepticism is the belief that one can get rich quick. This has long been the implied promise in all scams, frauds and predatory sales tactics.

When you grasp a very simple concept you can let go of this tragically destructive belief pattern. In fact the ability to be inoculated and insulated against scams, fraud and predatory sales tactics is built upon a foundation of behavioral change. The ability to change any behavior pattern relies on the foundational change of a belief. Many times beliefs become deeply ingrained and as such are sub-conscious triggers which we are unaware of. When these triggers are launched the results are a pre-ordained decision-making process which has been built upon the underlying beliefs about any pertinent information.

The simple truth is if you believe the sky is black then you will make all your decisions based upon this information, regardless of the fact that the sky is blue. You ultimately see what you believe and therefore the sky is black and no amount of evidence will shake this ingrained belief.  The old adage goes I’ll believe it when I see it, but the truth is I’ll see it when I believe it. Now, of course this is a very extreme example but it highlights how the sub-conscious process works.

Beliefs about money are just as extreme, every individual has developed certain beliefs about money and all their financial decisions are made based upon their beliefs. If you have been ordained to believe that “money is the root of all evil” and to be wealthy would be destructive then you are repelling money on a daily basis and all you decisions are made with this simple belief driving your sub-conscious mechanisms.

With this awareness you can now understand the common urge to find quick money and find shortcuts to success. On a conscious basis the vast majority of individuals want to believe that there is a magic silver bullet that will take care of all your needs and get you out of any difficulties. It is simply a natural mindset to feel comfortable with the chance to win the lottery and have all the problems melt away. Of course the statistical probability of winning the lottery is just a tad above zero, but the chance is the addiction. We are addicted to chance. We want to believe and we want to win with no sacrifice, no risk and want a guarantee that if we fail we came be made whole immediately.

The reality is there is no winning without work, there is no success without sacrifice and there are no guarantees in life. One of the greatest tools in a scam artist’s tool bag is the impression that there are guarantees and there are risk free opportunities to become immensely rich and have everything you ever dreamed of. This fantasy is portrayed time and again in every commercial venture you are exposed to. It is played out emotionally in scams, fraud and predatory sales tactics though.  

So what is the simple answer to this tragically destructive belief? Here it is:

There is no such thing as a magic silver bullet!

The magic silver bullet in any deal, opportunity, marketing proposals etc… doesn’t exist.

Debating interplanetary aliens, Big Foot, the Loch Ness Monster and the many other real or unreal is good for scientific and intellectual debate none of these beliefs directly endanger your financial future. (Unless of course the scam or fraud is driven around a space trip or a big foot excursion).

The existence of a magic silver bullet keeps scams and fraud alive and well. When you give up this one belief and accept that success is possible through a structured work ethic, great financial results can be had through the use of solid due diligence, intelligent use of time, capital, and rate of return you can eradicate the magic silver bullet myth. That financial success can be had through the oversight of risk profiles and how risk relates to return and how growth expands when risk, return and chance are properly executed. When you remove the magic silver bullet you can think logically and rationally. You can attach your emotional connections to the elements of your life that require strong emotional support. Money is simply a concept it is not a living breathing organism and it does not have any emotional value. Unfortunately most people have attached an emotional value to money and it is this emotionally driven impact that gets in the way of making smart decisions about money. Money can be an ally or a great misery. The choice is up to the individual.

Repeat after me: “There is no magic silver bullet”

 

Karl Schilling

The Advocacy Network

321-250-1445 O

321-947-3220 C

Skype: karl.schilling5

www.smartdecisionsaboutmoney.wordpress.com

 

Power of Advocacy

One that supports or promotes the interests of another is how Merriam-Webster defines the word advocate. In comparison an Advisor or Adviser is defined as an expert who gives advice. That definition should add that usually the advice from an advisor has a price attached to it.

Can you fully trust an advisor, agent, representative, consultant or any of the other many designations worn by sales people? The sales professional is a very important fabric of the capitalistic free market environment. Sadly, the vast majority of the sales industry is populated with more amateurs then professionals. The self-directed sales amateur is a perpetrator who preys on investors and consumers alike. This is the legal level of scams, fraud and predatory sales tactics.

How can you be assured that your best interests are the only concern within any transaction? Great question and the answer is having an advocate who can keep all the others honest. An advocate is a watchdog who shields your best interests in all investment and consumer based decisions.

Identifying the internal bias and conflicts of interests is not a simple process. The most prevalent obstacle to making smart decisions about money is the lack of transparency provided throughout a sales process. It is almost as if major entities go out of their way to ensure a lack of disclosure and clear transparency. This is a major mistake as it defines and creates a lose/lose scenario.

A smart decision about money comes from a consistent process which is driven by due diligence. At the Advocacy Network we define due diligence as full disclosure, complete compliance and clear transparency. Any quality financial product, investment vehicle or offer should easily pass due diligence.

So, what exactly is the problem? The major problem is that people do not have the time or the desire to complete a proper due diligence process. We are creatures of habit and we also want to trust people. The desire to trust others is simply human nature. This becomes an issue when we become lazy and allow others to use persuasive techniques to get us to alter or short-circuit a consistent decision making process.

When you have a decision making process you are shielding yourself from poor decisions. An Advocate becomes your coach in the development and initiation of a process to make smart decisions about money. The advocate is not commission or fee driven. The benefit of a commission or success based fee structure creates an unconscious bias which consistently enters into any negotiation or sales process. This is an on-going conflict of interest as the sales person’s best interest is a buying decision. The sales person gets nothing of value in a non-buying decision.

When there is an established need fulfilled by a competent solution then both parties win and value has been successfully exchanged.  This would be the best result of any sales process. An advocate simply assures that the client/member is always on the winning side of any financial decision. The advocate successfully inoculates and insulates the client/member from scams, fraud and predatory sales tactics. (We are not an instead of the sales professionals, we are an addition to, geared to keep the sales professionals honest)

How do you know the advocate is trustworthy? The advocate is always trustworthy because there is no ulterior motive in the advocate’s role and responsibility. When a member pays an annual membership fee for services they are fully vested with the advocacy outreach. None of the services provided by the Advocacy Network are dependent upon success fees, commissions or advertising fees. This assures the membership that their best interests are our only concern. All of our Alliance partners are fully vetted and pass the most strict standard of due diligence.

To be fully inoculated and insulated against scams, fraud and predatory sales tactics an advocate is the only answer. When you become part of the Advocacy Network you receive all the necessary tools and information to make smart decisions about money. We provide full preventative services along with timely information about investment opportunities and the best solutions within the financial products market place.

Call today to speak with us about how an advocate can fully inoculate and insulate you against scams, fraud and predatory sales tactics.

Karl Schilling

321-250-1445 O

321-947-3220 C

Skype: karl.schilling5

advocacybz@gmail.com

Value of Research

The truth is the free market has always been the staple success of capitalism. There market allows for winners and losers, of course there are many market manipulations that have long permeated the scene. These manipulations have broadened the loser pool in order to enrich a small group of winners.

There is a reason for successful manipulation though and it is in the basic premise of laziness. Unfortunately for losers they are simply lazy and dependent which turns them in to investment victims. The manipulation I am discussing here is perfectly legal and it plays within the rules, yet it is a tilted game and the losers are unaware they are being manipulated.

So what is this manipulation and how does it occur? The simple answer is financial media. In general investors rely upon many different levels of financial media for their information. Most of the time this information touted through the financial media is enticement for investors to buy whatever in order to enrich those who have paid for the media platform. If you as an investor rely on the pundits who are paid via advertising, or even company remuneration then you are receiving biased information meant to entice you to use your money at the risk level and allow others to have a risk free ride on your losses. This is simple supply and demand and it shows itself in the concepts such as pump and dump schemes and the oldest loser in the history of the markets which is buy high and sell low.

So how do you get a fair chance at making money in the markets? The answer is the old fashioned way. Your research should begin with basic business principles on how good companies become great. From that platform you can then look into industries and sectors that are leading the way. Once you have this basic education (all of which can be self-taught) you will reverse engineer the process. By reverse engineering you will start top down, which is looking at industry first, then the overall market for that industry drilling down until you find companies that are leading market share in those specific industries. Once you land on these companies you begin to reverse engineer their internal fundamentals and then their stock history.

This sounds like a lot of work and in some cases it is, yet this work is non-biased (of course you will have to identify your own personal bias level, but that is another story line) and it will be work that pays off in your financial decision making process.

Now, the information you need is all available in public filings for any companies you want to research and there is incredible amounts of information available on industries and sectors as well. (Simple Rule #1 is NEVER invest in a company that does not produce public filings) All the information you need is readily available and if you can read and comprehend some basic tenets of markets and business you will be able to identify your own winners. In doing so you are providing a reasonable risk profile for your investment opportunities. When you rely on others for these decisions you are increasing your risk profile by taking on the potential underlying bias and conflict of interest that is under the surface. This invisible manipulation is what introduces you to a zero sum game in which you have been set up to lose by design.

Does this mean you dismiss your advisors or brokers? NO, it simply means you have a process to vet their recommendations. If you find that their recommendations continually fail your due diligence process (research) then fire them and find new professionals to work with. The point is to uncover and reject manipulation when it appears.

Lastly, the financial periodicals ( I won’t name them, but you can find them on any newsstand) including the penny stock, small cap issues that appear in your mailbox are all PAID for and have underlying motives. Those motives are simply to tout the companies, funds etc.. that pays the most for the ink on the pages. In the case of the freebies that appear in your mailbox these are often paid for by non-affiliate shareholders of the company being touted. These shareholders are often paying for the media piece in order to solicit buyers who they can sell off to while watching the stock rise on the back of the new buyers.

The end game is your money deserves the best chance for success, this is always dependent on your making smart decisions about money. The best chance you have is to do your own homework.

Why having a Counter-Intuitive Approach to Investing is a Must

Whether you are a high net worth investor or an average Joe, you must reconsider all you think you know about investments. The economic climate has undergone an unheard of evolution. Common sense financial staples no longer contribute to the growing trends in the markets. Change has always been a purveyor of obstacles, yet most of these obstacles are self-inflicted.

The ability to embrace change and actually warm up to it has always been a gift of being counter-intuitive. The vast majority of our population doesn’t take well to change. The obvious emblem of this was the vastly popular book “Who Moved My Cheese” in which Ken Blanchard made the case for counter-intuitive thinking.

I submit that we are now in the greatest time of change that our society has witnessed over the last century. Everything old is not going to become new again. Unfortunately we raced towards moral hazard and have accepted the fate that comes along with ignoring the simple and common sense principle of moral hazard. The issue is not debating the virtues of moral hazard, the issue is accepting change and enriching your life through a counter-intuitive mind set about investing.

Hockey Icon Wayne Gretzky said that his success was due to the fact that his philosophy on the ice was to “go where the puck was going to be and get there first” now this is highly counter-intuitive behavior. Well, as an investor you need the same philosophy, “understand where we are headed and make decisions based upon this forecast.”

Here are several points to consider in your counter-intuitive approach:

1.      The US will be heading into recession once again.

2.      Invest in companies that are recession proof and thrive during recessionary periods.

3.      Avoid all dividend paying companies that are not recession proof.

4.      The US will continue to expand debt at an unheard of pace.

5.      Follow the financial products and services that correlate positively with increasing debt.

6.      Commodities, oil&gas, precious metals all trend upward as debt increases.

7.      The US government has set their sights on the qualified retirement plans (401k, IRA, SEP, Keogh, any ERISA based plan) which have approx. $13-16T in assets under control.

8.      The government snatch on these plans will begin with a plain vanilla tax reform act which will reduce maximums, limited tax deductions and moderate the percentages of investment vehicles.

9.      The second stage assault on qualified plans will be a mandate on what types of investment vehicles the funds may invest in (The government will require a huge percentage be invested in US treasuries)

10.  The final assault will be a GRA (government retirement account) much like social security this account will freeze your principal funds and turn them into an annuitized retirement payment with you having no control over your funds.

At the Advocacy Network our goal is to inoculate and insulate investors and consumers from scams, fraud and predatory sales tactics. This is a preventative process, not a reactionary one. In order to fully insulate you requires a counter-intuitive approach. Most people will not agree as they will stay put in the normalcy syndrome continuing to believe that things will return to the same as they once were. The rubber band has snapped and we are not going back to any familiar circumstances. The change is already occurred and is continuing to evolve, don’t allow it to consume you. Self-reliance will be at a premium and those who take a proactive counter-intuitive approach will be the biggest winners.

www.karlschilling.net

Victimization is all in the Behavior

Are you familiar with the concept of “the Mark”? A mark is slang for the identified victim of a scam or fraud. Most investors don’t think they can ever become a mark. Yet, the vast majority of high net worth individuals are easily identified and often targeted. The reality is stunning because this particular pool of victims is rarely recognized. The reason for this is these victims rarely report their losses. While there are many reasons for this behavior it is mostly related to the common emotions of shame and guilt.

All victims suffer shame and guilt, yet the higher the profile the greater the threat that shame and guilt is socially motivated. The social networks of High Net worth families are closed societies and life style is one of the highest priorities. They are targeted more not simply because they have the wealth, but even more importantly they will usually not publicize their losses and therefore become almost a victimless crime opportunity. Conmen love High Net worth marks.

This doesn’t mean that scams, fraud and predatory sales tactics are isolated to High Net Worth victims solely; unfortunately everyone is subject to being victimized.

One of the constant staples of victimization is your financial decision making process. This process is fully ingrained and it is behavior driven. The behaviors that determine your financial decision making process have been seared into your sub-conscious and can easily be identified and manipulated by scammers and fraudsters. In fact the reason that so many people are victimized is that they are simply unaware of the psychological triggers that make up their financial decision making process. This makes investors and consumers easy targets for predators.

Our greatest advancements such as social media and communication on demand have made scamming and defrauding investors easier than ever. In the past cons needed to work hard to identify ideal marks, today in less than an hour they could come up with dozens of potential marks. They can also easily identify all the necessary psychological triggers needed to successfully manipulate their identified marks.

If you aren’t fully aware of your financial decision making process and how the psychological triggers can be manipulated you will have a total blind spot and never see the scam coming. Everyone believes the old adage “it can’t happen to me” and unfortunately they would be very wrong. At the Advocacy Network we provide our members with the information and tools necessary to completely inoculate and insulate investors and consumers against scams, fraud and predatory sales tactics. Wouldn’t you enjoy the peace of mind of knowing that were 100% protected from scams, fraud and predatory sales tactics? It is about prevention not reaction.

www.karlschilling.net  321-574-6562 O  321-947-3220 C

 

Psychological Triggers in Action

Today I am going to display the psychological triggers in action from a legal brief recently filed by the SEC against a classic scam artist. The complaint brief displays the depths of desperation victims’ face and the rationalizations those victims will resort to in order to recoup their losses.

Once the psychological triggers are pulled the results are consistently evident. The only solution is to be fully inoculated and insulated from scams, fraud and predatory sales tactics. Without this basic education and understanding of your financial decision making behaviors you will consistently and persistently be open prey for scams, fraud and predatory sales tactics. Victims ALWAYS believe it can’t happen to them, because they are too smart and sophisticated to be lured into an obvious scam or fraud, and yet the lists of victims grows exponentially larger on a daily basis.

Most scams are not exposed for at least 13 months and many last for decades before full exposure and legal action is taken.

Let’s look at a recent SEC criminal and civil complaint against a scammer (no names will be used but a link to the SEC filing will be provided for your review)

“From April 2009 to Feb 2011 (Defendant) obtained more than $12M from 3 individuals as private advisory clients. (Defendant) made misrepresentations to these investors regarding the historical and current rates of return that (Defendant) earned for advisory clients. (Defendant) also misappropriated approx. $185,000 from these investors.”

(Red Flag number one for the victims was they did no due diligence and could have easily found that the defendant held no securities registration or license to act in an advisory role)

These victims recruited several other victims and also invested in 4 separate entities created by the defendant. This behavior displays the desperation phase once a victim has learned they were duped. Each of these investors had simple due diligence tools at their command but they were SOLD on the opportunity to make great returns with limited risks and they dove in full force. The desire to gain huge returns with no risk is the consistent bell weather of all scams and frauds and investors continually are attracted to fairy tales. Once their psychological triggers have been manipulated there is no turning back because the next level of psychological pain is guilt and shame for being victimized. At this point victims would rather become part of the scam then to take accountability for their mistake.

The link for this legal action is http://www.sec.gov/litigation/complaints/2012/comp-pr2012-235.pdf read it through and look for the countless mistakes made by the investors (victims)

This process is consistent and can be stopped before it even gets started, but it requires knowledge of how the process is used and how as an individual you are susceptible. Without this education and self-knowledge you remain exposed and will be an on-going target for scams, fraud and predatory sales tactics. The Advocacy Network can permanently inoculate and insulate investors and consumers against scams, fraud and predatory sales tactics. You can choose whether or not you become a victim, it requires a proactive preventive financial decision making process though. Once you have done this work you will be fully inoculated and insulated from scams, fraud and predatory sales tactics and the Advocacy Network can be your third party totally non-biased advocate who provides this preventive shield around your wealth.

www.karlschilling.net