THE FINANCIAL PHILOSOPHER

Super Bowl Commercials as Reflections

"A vast sector of modern advertising... does not appeal to reason but to emotion; like any other kind of hypnoid suggestion, it tries to impress its objects emotionally and then make them submit intellectually." ~ Erich Fromm

Observing television advertisements can be a means of measuring the value systems of a society.  I say this because marketing is a scientific process that employs psychology as a tool to determine what images, words and sounds can be most effective in selling products and services to the masses. Therefore, the one single event watched by more people in the world than any other, the Super Bowl, can provide an abstract perspective of humanity -- a general reflection of ourselves.

I found myself laughing at some of the commercials (my favorite was the OREO whispering arguments in the library) but one particular advertiser was able to be effective without need for popularity, which is the reason it is most instructive in making my point.  I'm speaking of the Go Daddy Super Bowl Commercials.

"Society drives people crazy with lust and calls it advertising." ~ John Lahr

If you are fortunate enough to have missed them, Go Daddy featured two commercials, both with the same themes as in past Super Bowls. The basic formula is to use sex appeal and shock value to get people talking about their web-hosting service. The implicit message, primarily aimed at men, is that success is measured by making loads of money, which can then be used to purchase private jets filled with scantily clad women serving cocktails. Most importantly, this "success" is accomplished quickly and easily.

Although there were reports of disapproving Twitter comments of these ads, and rightfully so, Go Daddy posted its biggest sales day in history on the day following the Super Bowl. This helps answer a question I ask myself every year while watching this enormous cultural event: "How does such mindless idiocy produce enough sales to justify the multi-million dollar cost to be seen for 30 seconds?" Two words: It works.

"Paradoxically, what keeps the so-called consumer society going is the fact that trying to find yourself through things doesn’t work: The ego satisfaction is short-lived and so you keep looking for more, keep buying, keep consuming." ~ Eckhart Tolle

The larger point here is that advertising reflects the overall society but it also perpetuates and expands cultural values, without regard for its usefulness or potential for the advancement or decline of the society. If there are profits to be made, find out how to make them and proceed to implement the strategy quickly and effectively. This is the Go Daddy model, but it is also representative of all advertising.

If the society is getting sicker by the day -- gaining weight, degrading women, becoming desensitized to violence, and defining success by monetary, material and social means -- it is only an afterthought, if at all a thought, in relation to financial gain. This is not a complaint, just an observation with hints of cynicism.

Even if your mind is powerful enough to resist buying a product or service in direct response to its marketing presence, the society still grows sicker because of the indirect responses -- the marketing messages are still infused into our thinking, our culture. How many children watched the Super Bowl? Do you think they recognize the difference between illusion and reality? Why did Go Daddy have record sales after their mindless ads aired before millions of people?

I do not pretend to be morally "above" anyone or anything. However, I can tell you what I teach my two young boys: All advertising is designed as a "trick" to motivate you to buy something. If you recognize the trick, you win; if you do not recognize the trick, you lose. They understand this completely:

"If you recognize illusion, it dissolves and becomes entertainment." ~ Kent Thune

Go Daddy is a joke; Rush Limbaugh is a comedian; Barack Obama is a magician; and the evening news exists to sell advertising, not to provide facts. They are all marketers; they are all illusionists. When you see or hear marketing messages, you can laugh at them, you can be entertained... at least until you realize how many people are actually still buying the illusions.

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Related:

The American Awakening

The Illusion of Language and Politics

Wake Up! (Or What You Have In Common With Terrorists)

"The first test of whether you've been brainwashed and have introjected convictions and beliefs occurs the moment they’re attacked. You feel stunned, you react emotionally. That’s a pretty good sign—not infallible, but a pretty good sign—that we’re dealing with brainwashing." ~ Anthony De Mello

OK. This post falls under the Because Sometimes You Need to Be Slapped in the Face to Wake Up! category.  I've also recently finished reading an incredible book, Awareness: The Perils and Opportunities of Reality, by Anthony De Mello, and wanted to share some of its lessons with you.

When you observe in yourself that almost everything you think, say, and do comes from some kind of outside programming and conditioning, the illusion of not you begins to dissolve.  However, most people are not aware and are thus enslaved to outside influences.  They are even willing to defend words, ideas and concepts that are not theirs.

A good way to step outside of your programming for a moment--to see the construction of social conventions that represents your identity now--is to answer a few introspective questions:

When you get the urge to argue with people on social media sites, where does this urge come from? If you were born to a family with different religious and political views and raised in a country on the opposite side of the planet, would you hold the same beliefs, convictions and values as you do now?

If one of the terrorists who flew into the twin towers on 9/11 was adopted as a child and raised as a Christian in a small rural town in America, would he have carried out the same heinous act? What emotions or thoughts are provoked when you read words, such as Rich, Poor, Liberal, Conservative, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Asian, African, Indian, Mexican, Canadian, and so on? Where do the thoughts and emotions come from? Why?

...you’re always listening from your programming, from your conditioning, from your hypnotic state...  You are always a slave to what you are not aware of. When you’re aware of it, you’re free from it. It’s there, but you’re not affected by it. You’re not controlled by it; you’re not enslaved by it. ~ Anthony De Mello

The greatest challenge we face in the world today is not political bickering, economic recession or war.  These are only symptoms of a greater disease called unconsciousness, which breeds other potentially disastrous conditions, such as complacency, divisiveness, fear, greed, bigotry, racism, and on and on and on and on...

If you value freedom, wake up! And help your friends and family to wake up while you're at it!  Words, ideas, and concepts are not reality; they are only pointers, labels, and representations. A Chinese Proverb says, "When a finger points to the moon, the imbecile looks at the finger." You can begin to wake up if you admit that you are (or have been) an imbecile.

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Related: The Crisis in Consciousness

Begin With Hope (But Do Not Dwell There)

"The past and present are only our means; the future is always our end. Thus we never really live, but only hope to live." ~ Blaise Pascal

I recall my wonderful and late mother-in-law would always begin each year with the same proclomation, "This will be the year of change!" However, if she were alive today, I know she would agree, in honest reflection, that her annual New Year's message was really one of hope, not one of change.

My message to you today, dear reader, is that hope and change are competing interests; hope can be a beginning but it is not a means to an end, the change. When you say or think that change will come, you are attaching a positive and hopeful meaning to the thought.  However, you have not taken any meaningful steps toward change; hope is not a plan or a means of moving you toward the destination.

"It is indeed beautiful to see a person put out to sea with the fair wind of hope; one may utilize the chance to let oneself be towed along; but one ought never have it on board one's craft, least of all as pilot, for it is an untrustworthy ship-master." ~ Soren Kierkegaard

Hope, like money, can be a great tool to help you move along the way of your life travels when it is needed most.  However, both hope and material wealth can potentially cover your authenticity and thus paradoxically minimize the chances of arriving at that which you had hoped for -- to live a life of meaning and purpose.

Now go back to the featured Pascal quote at the top of this post. If the future is always your end, you never really live but only hope to live. Said differently, if you dwell in hope you do not dwell in reality; you are always Becoming but never Being; and thus you are not living; you are dying.

"Do I want the present moment to be my friend or enemy?  The present moment is inseparable from life, so you are really deciding what kind of relationship you want to have with life.  Once you have decided you want the present moment to be your friend, it is up to you to make the first move:  Become friendly toward it, welcome it no matter in what disguise it comes, and soon you will see the results." ~ Eckhart Tolle

To bring about positive change, the focus is not on past or future but on the present. Start taking steps now toward the things you had only hoped for in the past; notice what is happening around you and begin to really appreciate it; recognize what is not you and allow the authentic Self to emerge; stop making plans and begin living life now.  This is not the year of hope; it is the year of presence; and thus it is the year of positive change.

I wish you all the best in this New Year and I look forward to bringing you more perspectives for mastery of life, in the form of my first book, in 2013!

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Related:

The Goal is Not the Driving Force

Life Planning Part II: The Search for Meaning

10 Potentially Perilous Paradoxes on Planning & Life

WWJD? More Than You Think

"No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house." ~ Jesus Christ

This post speaks universal truths, which is why it certainly falls under this blog's central theme of "meaning before money, purpose before planning." 

Also, at a time of national tragedy, we need to dig deeper within ourselves, to move beyond the superficial lights and gifts, to connect and reconnect to the spirit of others, and to reflect on life's meaning and purpose.  This reflection is more than a question of what to do but one of how to be...

For example, when people ask, "What would Jesus do?", what are they really asking?  More importantly, what is the answer? This question is so famous it has its own acronymn (WWJD?).  But in the opinion and observations of your humble author, most people completely miss the underlying message, which may be the most powerful and life-changing for the individual and for the world, regardless of religious orientation.

In my forthcoming book, to be published early 2013, I address the same question at length. Here's an excerpt from the chapter on life-purpose:

Consider the popular Christian creed, "What Would Jesus Do?" It is too common, that by focusing on the word do in this question, that some may overlook a greater guiding purpose. There is nothing wrong with virtue and morality, what some call good deeds. However, if one is to really do as Jesus did, they will not focus first on life-actions but on life-purpose. To do as Jesus did, one’s life-purpose will be a guiding force for all actions: Purpose leads, actions follow.

If you act virtuous just for the sake of being virtuous—religious for the sake of being religious—you may overlook your purpose for living on earth because you focus too much on how you exist and too little on why you exist. You may find redemption but lose yourself along the way—a paradox.

I humbly submit to you this: To serve God is to fulfill one’s life-purpose, not just to fill one’s life with good deeds. As Jesus said, "No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house." Your purpose is the lamp; and it is only the authentic Self that can produce the light, whereas many act as if the light produces the lamp; the action is placing the lamp well. Again, purpose leads; actions follow. 

Ask the question a different way: What would Jesus not do? He would not tell you to ask another person what they would do and then plan life accordingly; instead Christ, or any other great leader, might tell you today: "Find your purpose and fulfill it; this is what I did; this is why I was successful; and this is what you can also do."

Christ's message is universal; it is spiritual, not just religious.  His example is a shining light that benefits anyone and everyone, regardless of religion or life philosophy.  Define things for yourself and stop leading your life by abstract meanings, social conventions, and financial pursuits. 

Be your own light. Focus first on be; then the do will take care of itself...

Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy New Year and best of anything and everything you celebrate.  2013 will be the year you shine your light brighter on the world.

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image by Shannon

Related Posts:

The Goal is Not the Driving Force

Self-Actualization is Success in Life and Money

The Only Place Where Conflict Exists

"You know, most people around the world believe that there is a great conflict in the universe, a conflict between good and evil.  Well, this is not true.  It's true that there is a conflict, but the conflict only exists in the human mind, not in the universe.  It's not true for the plants or the animals.  It's not true for the stars or the trees, or for the rest of nature.  It's only true for humans.  And the conflict in the human mind is not really between good and evil.  The real conflict in our mind is between the truth and lies." ~ Don Miguel Ruiz,The Voice of Knowledge

I'm trying my best to finish my first book, which will be an extensive annotated book of quotations. (This explains my light posting schedule lately).  The quotes, along with my notes in the book, will cover a wide range of topics and come from some of the greatest human beings that lived over the past 2500 years. 

The featured quote in this blog post from Don Miguel Ruiz is a good representation of a primary theme of the book, which is to bring about awareness that humans tend to complicate things with words and concepts and are thus misled by them.

If asked the question, "Why do you do what you do?" and the answer is, "Because that's the way it's always been done," you may have a problem waiting to happen.  This is where conflict begins.

For example, people follow abstract concepts, such as retirement and financial freedom but never form their own definition.  They spend decades of time and tremendous financial energy on something that is not only impossible to accurately foresee years in advance but is also something defined by social conventions, not the individual.  This behavior is paradoxical--it is contradictory because people desire freedom but they uwittingly enslave themselves by following abstract concepts--things they didn't define for themselves--and thus they are not free and may never be free. 

On a larger and more damaging scale, people argue and fight wars over political ideology and religious dogma. Put simply, these conflicts arise because people do not follow their own path--they accept ideas, concepts and ideology without question and thus the conflicts are preventable and not necessary.

"To be a light to oneself is not to follow the light of another, however reasonable, logical, historical, and however convincing." ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti

Conflict does not exist in Washington, D.C. or in Syria or in Gaza or in Egypt.  The only place where conflict exists is in the human mind; the conflict is between truth and lies; the Self is truth; and the crowd is untruth.  The prevention of conflict can only begin with you.  If you do not follow your own light, you dim the light of the world.

I'll expand on this theme and many more in my book.  Now I must go back to writing!

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Related:

Dogma Deconstruction and Abstraction Subtraction

The Greatest Deception in the History of Finance

A Thanksgiving Proposal

"Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you." ~ Lau Tzu

It's interesting and ironic how in America we have this annual ritual of giving thanks for all that we have by consuming large quantities of food then going out the next day to buy more things that we don't need. 

However, to be thankful is to be content, which is to say that one is satisfied--they have enough. 

But what kind of looks do you think you might get from your family and friends gathered around the table when you stop eating after only one serving of Thanksgiving dinner?  Imagine the reaction you might receive after announcing: "I'm satisfied; I don't need any more food. Oh, by the way, I'm not joining you for Black Friday shopping tomorrow because I already have enough things; and so do all of you!  Why don't we give money to charity instead this year?"

Are you laughing yet?  I am.  However, what makes this little anecdote not so funny a moment later is that, although it sounds like a joke, it's not really a joke.

I won't suggest here that we Americans change the entire tradition of Thanksgiving but I do propose that we do our best to help our fellow Americans and friends around the world to really think about the essence of the word and act of thanksgiving, not just the holiday.  Let's celebrate the tradition once per year and indulge in a few well-deserved small pleasures; but let's also do our best to remain thankful every single day of our lives.

Will you join me? 

Try to incorporate into your daily life some type of thanksgiving routine.  You can say aloud, pray, read or meditate on something that reminds you of how thankful you are to be alive one more day, to have your health, your mind, your family, your friends, your garden, your music and anything and everything that gives you true wealth and fulfillment.

An annual tradition that I've continued for at least 5 years on this blog is to share some of my favorite quotes on thanksgiving and contentment:

"I love to go and see all the things I am happy without." ~ Socrates

"As you walk and eat and travel, be where you are. Otherwise you will miss most of your life." ~ Buddha

"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have." ~ Frederick Keonig

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for." ~ Epicurus

"If thou wilt make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires." ~ Epicurus

"Money often costs too much." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Freedom is not procured by a full enjoyment of what is desired, but by controlling the desire." ~ Epictetus

"What is important in life is life, and not the result of life." ~ Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

"There is no calamity greater than lavish desires. There is no greater guilt than discontent. And there is no greater disaster than greed." ~ Lau Tzu"

"Slow down and the thing you are chasing will come around and catch you." ~ Zen saying

"My opinion is that you never find happiness until you stop looking for it." ~ Zhuangzi

"The wise man knows that it is better to sit on the banks of a remote mountain stream than to be emperor of the whole world." ~ Zhuangzi

One year a reader said he printed the quotes from my Thanksgiving blog post, cut them out separately, and then had his Thanksgiving guests each draw one from a hat and read it aloud.  That can be in impactful beginning to my Thanksgiving proposal.

Give thanks; live thankfulness; and be thankful every day.  You will soon notice a positive difference in your life and in the lives of those around you.

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Related: The American Awakening

As children look out upon the world...

...with wide, uncritical, undemanding, innocent eyes, simply noting and observing what is the case, without either arguing the matter or demanding that it be otherwise, so do self-actualizing people tend to look upon human nature in themselves and in others. ~ Abraham Maslow


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Related:

Self-Actualization is Success in Life and Money

Quotes on Contentment

How to Know You Are Part of the Political Problem

"...those who wish to know in what direction they are going would do well to give their attention not to the politicians but to the philosophers, for what they propound today will be the faith of tomorrow." ~ I.M. Bochenski

In light of today's US Presidential Election, I thought I'd take the opportunity to provide some reflective and introspective points to be sure my readers find themselves above the problems of politics rather than immersed within them.

In the event you did not already know this nearly meaningless bit of information about your humble author, I do not care for politicians, at least not any in the recent past. 

My favorite president of the United States is George Washington, primarily because he is the only president (to my knowledge) who never plotted or planned to be president; he belonged to no political party; and he did not ask for any compensation for serving the country.

Fast forward to today and we have a broken system; but I don't entirely blame the politicians; I believe that separation, categorization, right vs wrong, dichotemy, and ideology are all the collective antithesis of the values America was founded upon.  In short, our primary enemy is ego, not each other.

Therefore, in this spirit, I hope you'll find this impartial but introspective list either somewhat enlightening or somewhat entertaining (but not in any way partisan or personal):

You Know You're Part of the Political Problem If...

• You see compromise as failure.
• You vote against rather than for.
• You've ever repeated a political talking point without substantiation.
• You place blame or give credit to a president for your total well being.
• You're quick to identify differences but ignore the similarities among political parties.
• Your candidate didn't win and you hope the opposing candidate fails as president.
• You teach your children that only one political party can be "right" and therefore the others are wrong.
• You believe "Better off than you were four years ago" is measured by money, matarial wealth or social status and it is the basis for your voting decisions.

Can you think of others? As I said in a recent post, The Illusion of Language and Politics: What the world needs is not a great leader but rather more individuals who have a firm grasp on reality.  When there are many who do not recognize illusion, there are many illusionists.

Vote (or not); be safe; be well; recognize illusion; and be authentic.

The Anti-Columnist Part 3: The Art of Not Reading

"In the cultivation of the mind, our emphasis should be not on concentration, but on attention. Concentration is a process of forcing the mind to narrow down to a point, whereas attention is without frontiers." ~ Jiddu Krishnamurti

I was pleasantly surprised to learn I made it into the final round of the MarketWatch "World's Next Greatest Investing Columnist" competition. 

The surprise (and what made it pleasant) was that 3 finalists were voted in by receiving the most Facebook "Likes" and another 3 were selected by editors; I was in the latter group, which I believe to be a more respectable distinction. 

With that said, those of you who voted on Facebook certainly helped me get noticed by the editors.  Thank-you!  So please vote again in this final round (see how to vote at the bottom of this post).

The next challenge I faced was thinking of a column topic worthy of a final round submission--something instructive and useful but not distracting--and something in my natural voice.  It only took a few minutes for me to arrive at the idea, which would remain within the anti-columnist frame of the prior two contest submissions...

"The art of not reading is a very important one. It consists in not taking an interest in whatever may be engaging the attention of the general public at any particular time. When some political or ecclesiastical pamphlet, or novel, or poem is making a great commotion, you should remember that he who writes for fools always finds a large public. A precondition for reading good books is not reading bad ones: for life is short." ~ Arthur Schopenhauer

To paraphrase Buddha, "You are what you think."  In different words, there is certainly a "junk in, junk out" result that comes from the information you consume.  Therefore, to think well, it is imperative to read well; and one's information diet needs to be mindfully balanced for it to be healthy.

For the article, I decided to add value by interviewing some prominent bloggers, Barry Ritholtz from The Big Picture and Tadas Viskanta from Abnormal Returns; and there was no surprise that they have observed among investors a high correlation between poor investment returns and poor information diets.

The solution is to allocate the attention so as to minimize the potential for poor judgment that often arises out of an overabundance of information.  To begin this healthy allocation, one simply identifies and eliminates the bad sources of information and attempts a less is more, quality over quantity approach to information consumption.  The art of good reading begins by learning the art of identifying not reading the unhealthy sources.

So please read my MarketWatch article, The Price of Paying Attention, and don't forget to vote by clicking on the "Like" button near top of the article's web page.

Thanks!

Vote For George Carlin: The 'Anti-Columnist' Part 2

"When someone asks you, A penny for your thoughts and you put your two cents in, what happens to the other penny?" ~ George Carlin

Thanks in part to you; I've advanced to Round 2 of the MarketWatch "World's Next Greatest Investing Columnist" contest.  The competition gets really tough at this stage.  Therefore, I had no choice but to bring out one philosopher skilled at being the most entertaining anti-establishment individual I've encountered--Mr. George Carlin.

The greatest comedians are not unlike the greatest philosophers throughout history. They inspire us to think about our thinking and often present their thoughts in the form of questions, for those of us who will listen, to answer for ourselves. The audience is thus enabled, not only to laugh at their own folly but to engage in critical reasoning.

Here are but a few examples of Carlin's funny philosophical questions:

When someone is impatient and says, 'I haven't got all day,' I always wonder, How can that be?  How can you not have all day?

What if there were no hypothetical questions?

Why is the man (or woman) who invests all your money called a broker?

For more George Carlin and to vote for us in Round 2 of the MarketWatch competition, please go to my new article, The Funny Truth: 5 Investment Lessons From George Carlin, and hit the "Like" button on that webpage.

Thanks.  I'll be back next week...