“They who would give up essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security.”
– Benjamin Franklin

I wish every citizen of the United States of America could spend a few days in Philadelphia visiting the historical sites where the negotiations and decisions took place to declare independence from England in order to claim the rights of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

I perceive that we are currently a nation at war, an ideological war, among ourselves. And at stake is our liberty. I have two teenage daughters who still live at home; and instead of another “fun” vacation to Disneyland, I wanted to take them to the birthplace of this great nation. It was my hope that they would gain an appreciation of why so many were so willing to sacrifice so much for the ideal of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Especially at a time when so many in this country now seem so willing to give up their “essential liberty for temporary security.”

My daughters were not excited about using up their precious summer vacation time to do an “educational” trip. But after the Trolley tour of historic Philadelphia; the walking tour of the landmark sites (where the First Continental Congressed convened to discuss addressing the grievances with England; where the Declaration of Independence was drafted by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams; where the Declaration of Independence was ratified and signed; where the Declaration of Independence was first read to the people; where President George Washington took the Oath of Office; where John Adams took the Oath of Office); visiting Valley Forge (the winter encampment where General George Washington trained the troops) and Fort McHenry (in Baltimore where Francis Scott Key wrote the poem “Star Spangled Banner”) they had a change of heart and a change of attitude.

Learning about history in a classroom is good and necessary, but there is nothing like being at the sites and learning what took place on the very ground that you’re standing on. I felt a strong appreciation for the efforts and sacrifices of many men, women and children… sacrifices that I am now a beneficiary of. “We the people” are enjoying this liberty and pursuit of happiness far beyond those who made great sacrifices so that we can.

And then, to end the day in the hotel room watching the Olympics… what a treat! The United States of America is a country of great people. We are a people who, when resolved, can overcome all obstacles and rise to the occasion. Did you see the U.S. Women’s Beach Volleyball team come from behind to win a semi-final match? Did you see the Men’s Beach Volleyball team do the same? How about Michael Phelps winning his 7th Gold Medal by 1/100th of a second? And then go on to win his 8th Gold Medal. Phelps is from Baltimore and we were there night he won. Raven Stadium was full of Phelps fans to watch him. We weren’t at the stadium but we saw it on the local news.

As a country we can accomplish great things. As a U.S. citizen who has been allowed to exercise the God given right of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” you can accomplish great things. And when we work together as a team with a common resolve… we are unbeatable.

The founders of this great and independent nation pledged their lives and their fortunes to the cause of liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We are only asked to pledge our allegiance in order to enjoy the fruits of the sacrifices of so many who fought to get those freedoms and who continue to fight to preserve them. What this country needs a resurgence of national pride and a resolve to maintain the principles which our liberty and pursuit of happiness are founded upon. A good dose of that and we’d be back as the world leader in all area in no time.

Your Friend in Investing,

D. Scott Elder

“Would you live with ease, Do what you ought, and not what you please.”
– Benjamin Franklin: Statesman and Founding Father

I am a big fan of Benjamin Franklin. If you want to get into the head of one of the most brilliant men who ever lived, read Blaine McCormick’s adaptation of Franklin’s autobiography, Ben Franklin, America’s Original Entrepreneur and Walter Isaacson’s Benjamin Franklin An American Life.

My mind is on Franklin because I’m in Philadelphia with my family to visit the historic sites here. I am writing this from the Crowne Plaza Hotel located at 1800 Market Street; just a short distance from where the Declaration of Independence was signed.

I have to admit that I was concerned about watching the HBO mini-series, John Adams (based on David McCullough’s biography of John Adams). In writings about Franklin, Adams is characterized as a very smart, but also somewhat of an arrogant, person. I was concerned that in writings about Adams, that Franklin would be portrayed as the smart but arrogant one. My concerns were unfounded; in the John Adams biography, Adams remains as smart, but somewhat arrogant. And Franklin is still the brilliant statesman.

Take for example this quote above from Franklin. It appears simple and it’s a nice rhyme. But don’t under estimate the power in the meaning of this nursery-type rhyme. I can think of several other powerful quotes based on this same theme:

“The difference between a successful person and an unsuccessful person is that the successful person will do what the unsuccessful person won’t.”

“When you say yes to one thing, you’re saying no to another.”

To “live a life of ease” requires disciplining yourself to do the things that will help you achieve financial self-reliance rather than just doing what “pleases” you. Too much television, recreational activities, hanging out with your friends, etc. will result in a life-long confinement of reliance upon others for your financial needs.

Like most people, I have been reliant upon others for my financial needs. And now, having achieved financial self-reliance, I can testify that “doing what you ought” to achieve financial self-relicance is worth the effort.

Your Friend in Investing,

D. Scott Elder

Few American success stories can rival this one…

Templeton was born in Winchester, Tennessee in 1912 and was the first from his small farming town to attend college: Yale University.

However, with his family squeezed by the Depression, it appeared his tuition and board could not be paid. Yet, always a little sharper than his contemporaries, Templeton made up the shortfall with his dormitory poker winnings.

He graduated from Yale in 1934, winning a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University where he received a masters degree in law.

When war broke out in Europe in 1939, the stock market tanked. Templeton borrowed $10,000 and bought 100 shares each in 104 companies whose shares were trading at $1 or less. Four of them became worthless. He locked in dramatic gains in the others.

The following year he bought a small investment firm that became the foundation of his investment empire. In the years that followed, he launched and managed some of the world’s largest and most successful international mutual funds. Almost single-handedly, he pioneered the art of global investing, avidly seeking out the world’s most promising investment opportunities wherever they resided.

In the 1950s, for example, he poured shareholders’ money into the Tokyo stock market, buying then-obscure companies like Hitachi and Fuji. With the wounds of WWII still fresh, investing in Japan was about as popular with Americans then as the idea of funding the Taliban today. But as this battered economy was rebuilt, he earned outsized returns for his investors.

This is rarer than you might imagine. Each year, more than three-quarters of all equity fund managers fail to beat the market. Templeton did it regularly - and he did it for decades.

$10,000 invested in the S&P 500 fifty-four years ago, with dividends reinvested, would have turned into $2.8 million. Not bad. But the same amount invested in his flagship Templeton Growth Fund would have grown to $10.7 million.

During his long career, Templeton earned a reputation as one of the world’s undisputed money masters. Forbes magazine once described him as “one of the handful of true investment greats in a field crowded with mediocrity and bloated reputations.”

In 1999, Money magazine referred to him as “arguably the greatest global stock picker of the century.”

He sold his Templeton funds to the Franklin Group for $440 million in 1992. But he remained an active investor well into his nineties.

At the height of the Internet bubble, for instance, Templeton sold short dozens of young technology companies just before their shares came out of “lock-up,” the six-month cooling off period following an IPO. He made over $80 million in a matter of weeks. Years later he still referred to it as “the easiest money I ever made.”

Templeton knew what it meant to be a true contrarian. “To buy when others are despondently selling and to sell when others are avidly buying requires the greatest fortitude,” he said, “and pays the greatest reward.”

Over the years, Templeton’s money management skills and uncommon sense helped thousands of investors reach their investment goals. In the process, he became one of the world’s wealthiest men himself.

However, his investment acumen was only one reason people admired him. Another was his philosophy of life.

Templeton was a great believer that true wealth doesn’t come from accumulating money or things, but from fulfilling a purpose outside ourselves, whether that’s exercising our talents, raising our kids to be happy, productive adults, or contributing to our communities in some meaningful way.

As Templeton was fond of saying, “Happiness pursued eludes, happiness given returns.”

He wrote or edited 10 books on spiritual development. He endowed a business and management school, Templeton College, at Oxford. In 1987, Queen Elizabeth II knighted him for his philanthropy.

Twenty-one years ago, he established The John Templeton Foundation - with a current endowment of $1.5 billion - and created the world’s richest annual award, the $1.6 million Templeton Prize for new discoveries in the realm of the human spirit.

For Templeton, it was not enough to dominate the worlds of investing and philanthropy. He wanted to make an impact on the world of ideas. And his overriding goal was to reconcile the diverse and often conflicting worlds of science, philosophy and religion.

Today the Templeton Foundation gives out more than $70 million annually for academic research in such diverse fields as theoretical physics, cosmology, evolutionary biology, and cognitive science.

“No human has yet grasped 1% of what can be known about spiritual realities,” insisted Templeton. His foundation exists to promote character development, ethical living, and greater spiritual understanding.

As he told BusinessWeek in 2005, “I grew up Presbyterian. Presbyterians thought the Methodists were wrong. Catholics thought all Protestants were wrong. The Jews thought the Christians were wrong. So, what I’m financing is humility. I want people to realize that you shouldn’t think you know it all.”

In his 1994 book “Discovering the Laws of Life,” Templeton argued that the laws of human behavior operate nearly as predictable as the laws of science. The exercise of truthfulness, reliability, perseverance, forgiveness, gratitude, tolerance, reverence, humility and compassion will almost certainly attract good things in your life, just as surely as their opposites bring trouble and misery.

Templeton wanted us to know this. He made it his mission. “I’m only going to be on this planet once, and for a short time,” he said. “What can I do with my life that will lead to permanent benefits?”

Templeton knew a great deal about how to make money, how to invest it, and how to give it away. But he also understood deeper realities.

In his book “The Templeton Plan,” he quotes 19th century abolitionist and social reformer Henry Ward Beecher:

“No man can tell whether he is rich or poor by turning to his ledger. It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich according to what he is, not according to what he has.”

Sadly, John Templeton is dead. Long live John Templeton.

Your Friend in Investing,

D. Scott Elder

“He that can have patience can have what he will.”
– Benjamin Franklin

Many years ago I sat down and listed out principles and practices that I felt had contributed to the success I was experiencing. The purpose was to identify these key principles so that I could more consciously apply them in my life and accelerate my progress. As I started writing them down, I noticed that they all started with the letter P except two: responsibility and action. I easily remedied this by adding “personal” in front of responsibility and “proper” in front of action. These additions made these two principles more accurate.

I like this quote from Benjamin Franklin about patience because it describes why patience made the list of my “10 Prosperity Ps. I believe these 10 “P” words hold the key to success in any endeavor. Here they are:

1. Perception. You must be aware of the opportunities around you. Contrary to a popular expression, I don’t believe that “your ship only comes in once in your life.” I believe you have opportunity ships coming in all the time. But until you believe that and start looking for them, you’re missing opportunity ships on a regular basis. When you got involved with Stock Investor you boarded an opportunity ship. Where you take that ship is up to you.

2. Personal Responsibility. You must take personal responsibility for your life. You have to stop blaming others or circumstances for where you are in life. You need to be accountable for your decisions and actions and not allow yourself to fall into the downward spiral of “victimitis” where one thinks that the world, and everyone in it, is out to get them.

3. Purpose. When you find a big enough “why” you will find a way. What drives you? What are the desires of your heart? When you live life on purpose, doors open and miracles happen.

4. Plan. Planning helps you chart your course. When your mind can see a clear and logical path, your imagination can be inspired with hope and creativity to help make it a reality. It’s been said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. The journey actually begins with the idea and the plan to take the journey.

5. Preparation. With a plan in hand you can begin preparing yourself to achieve it. This might require learning a new skill; specialized training; getting the right tools or equipment; building up your savings account; etc.

6. Proper Action. Taking just any random action will not help you carry out your plan. In fact it might hurt you. Your actions must be the proper actions. If you plan on making money in the stock market and think opening up an account and taking investment advice from well-meaning friends and relatives is the right action, you’re wrong. This will most likely lead to losses and the eventual abandonment of investing in the stock market as a way to build wealth. The proper step in this case is getting the right tools and the right training and then practicing with a paper-trading account.

7. Persistence. Once you start your journey, you must persist “until” – until you succeed. Everything worth doing, everything that brings about a substantial reward will not be easy. You will not have “over night success” you will not “get rich quick.” But if you persist you will eventually succeed and you will eventually get rich if that is what you desire. It’s like Dory said in Finding Nemo: “Keep on swimming.” Challenges and trials are the test from life to find out if you’re really serious about achieving your desire. If you’re not, you will drop out early.

8. Patience. Even when you’re doing everything right, achieving success in any area takes time. If you know you’re not going to quit, then you know you are going to eventually arrive at your destination. When you know this you can turn frustration into anticipation and get excited knowing that with each obstacle you overcome you’re another day closer. And as Benjamin Franklin said: “He that can have patience can have what he will.” You can’t have it all right now, but you can have all that you want eventually if you persist with patience.

9. Perspective. Keep your failures and successes in the proper perspective. You are learning and growing as you persist with patience. It really isn’t about how much stuff you can acquire in this life, it’s how you can use your experiences to grow and progress as a person… and help others to do the same. At some point along the way you will realize that you can acquire as much material stuff as you want. The test after that is to stop wanting to, and to start using what you have learned to help others enjoy lives filled with abundance.

10. Prayer. This step is optional depending upon your religious beliefs. I used to leave it out, but don’t any more because I believe prayer is instrumental in helping me to do the other nine. I believe in a higher power, my Creator, who cares about me and wants to help me achieve the righteous desires of my heart.

Your Friend in Investing,

D. Scott Elder

This poem by Henry Van Dyke provides valuable insight to how powerful our mind is:

Thoughts are Things

I hold it true that thoughts are things;
They’re endowed with bodies and breath and wings.
And we send them forth to fill
The world with good results, or ill.

That which we call our secret thought
Speeds forth to earth’s remotest spot,
Leaving its blessings or its woes
Like tracks behind it as it goes.

We build our future, thought by thought,
For good or ill, yet know it not.
Yet, so the universe is wrought.

Thought is another name for fate;
Choose then they destiny and wait,
For love brings love, and hate brings hate.

Method, the method is the process for implementing your plan. There is a path that leads to wherever you want to go in life. Find someone who has already walked this path to achieve what you want to achieve and deconstruct the steps they took to get there. Once you’ve deconstructed the steps back to where you currently are, you’re ready to begin your journey on those same steps.

Management, the management of two key resources, your time and your money, are essential to achieving your objectives. With the steps clearly defined, the journey will require an investment in yourself of time and money. But it usually doesn’t require time and money that you don’t have; it usually just requires better management of these two precious resources.

A few years ago when Utah was suffering a terrible drought, a state official made the comment that Utah doesn’t have a water shortage problem; Utah has a water management problem. This can apply to time and money. Most people don’t have a time and money shortage problem, they have a time and money management problem. By simply watching less TV in the evenings and saving money that is otherwise spent on unnecessary depreciating consumer goods, eating out, and other frivolous spending, most people have the time and money they need to change their lives.

Let’s apply the Mind, Method and Management principles to achieve financial independence:

First, make up your mind that you want financial independence. Commit to yourself that enjoying financial independence is the better use of your the time and money. Believe that you can achieve this objective.

Now determine the method by which you will achieve this vision. Investing in the stock market should be one of the methods to achieve financial independence. To be a successful investor requires specific knowledge, investing tools, and an investing system. Stock Investor has the training, tools and system.

Finally, you will need to manage both your time and money. Always keep this saying in mind: “When you say yes to one thing, you’re saying no to another.” Constantly ask yourself if the activity you’re involved in and how you’re spending your money is saying yes or no to financial independence.

To be a successful stock investor requires time to find and analyze stocks with the best money-making potential and to manage your portfolio. The good news is that the Stock Investor tools automate much of this process and require much less time than other trading platforms.

Investing also requires money. You will need to manage your spending so that you have more money to invest. Is an expensive car with big car payments more important than financial independence? This is the type of question you will want to ask yourself every time you make a purchase. Also, when trading, you need to manage your trades so that you can maximize your profits and minimize your losses. Learning and applying proper money management rules for trading are essential to becoming a successful trader.

These three simple words, mind, method and management, contain the keys to achieving whatever it is you want to achieve in life… including financial independence.

Your Friend,

D. Scott Elder

“The Secret gives you anything you want: happiness, health, and wealth.”
– Bob Proctor, Philosopher, Author, and Personal Coach

…or does The Secret give you false expectations? The answer is: “it depends.” Most everyone is familiar with the mega hit DVD and best selling book, “The Secret.” If you’re not, go to www.thesecret.tv to learn more.

The basic premise of the secret is “the law of attraction.” This is, that which you think about you will attract into your life. Think positive thoughts and you’ll attract positive into your life. Think negative thoughts and you’ll attract negative into your life. The basic premise is sound.

So when I recently was told by a friend, Dave Blanchard, that The Secret has done more harm than good, I was a bit surprised. Dave is the CEO of the Og Mandino Group which teaches people how to live successful and abundant lives through the teachings and principles of Og Mandino www.ogmandino.com

The problem that Dave shared with me is that only about 3 percent of the population knows how to properly visualize and correctly implement the law of attraction. The other 97 percent think they’re visualizing but in reality they’re fantasizing. These people end up spending their lives in frustration because “this stuff doesn’t work.”

There is a big difference between visualizing and fantasizing. A person who visualizes knows that effort is required to turn a mental picture into a reality. A person who fantasizes thinks about having whatever it is they want but put little or no effort towards obtaining it. They think that by sitting around watching TV at night, that checks will start coming in the mail instead of bills; that their old car will magically change into a new car; and that they’ll wake up one morning in the home of their dreams. That is fantasizing.

Here’s an example of how visualization and the law of attraction has worked in my life. Many years ago I received a sweepstakes postcard in the mail. It had a picture of a cabin in the mountains. The caption read: “Scott, is this your dream cabin?” With a red felt tip marker I wrote under the caption “YES!” I kept that postcard sitting on my desk at home and would look at it every evening when I went into my office to work new business ideas and preparing myself for success.

Having a cabin for my family to spend time together was part of my bigger vision of providing a better quality of life for my family. It’s what helped me to discipline myself to read books, listen to audiotapes and watch videos on self-improvement and work on ideas for new business ventures rather than do time-wasting activities such as watching TV at night.

When one of my earlier business ventures started doing well, the first thing I did was look for property in the mountains that fit my vision of where I wanted to build a cabin. Within days of telling myself that I was ready to buy cabin property, I saw an ad in a local magazine advertising mountain property for cabins. I made an appointment with a sales person. He showed me many lots that didn’t fit my vision. When I told him what I was looking for he said he knew of a piece of property that had just come available in a different development that had been sold out for years. The minute I saw this property I knew it was what I was looking for and bought it.

I didn’t have enough money to build the cabin yet, but I had the most important element, the property to build it on. And although it took several more years to finally build the cabin of my dreams… which by the way ended up being much nicer than the cabin on the postcard, I did turn my vision into reality.

A person fantasizing about having a cabin might have a picture of it in his mind, and even may see his family roasting marshmallows in the fireplace on Christmas Eve while the snow gently falls outside. But if he puts no effort into achieving this dream, just sits around every night watching T.V., it’s not going to happen.

You can know if the picture in your mind is a vision or a fantasy by the amount of effort you’re putting in to make it a reality. Little or no effort… then it’s a fantasy and it’s not going to happen. There must be movement and effort for “The Secret”, the law of attraction, to work.

Next week I’ll share with you the three word secret to turn a vision into reality.

Your Friend,

D. Scott Elder

“No Man is Rich Enough to Buy Back His Past.”
– Oscar Wilde

Each of us has said or done something that we regret. One regret that many people have as they approach their retirement age is that they wish they had invested more money when they were younger. You don’t have to have this regret. If you’re not already investing in the stock market, start now. If not now, when? The last thing you want to do is get down the road a few more years and have an anxiety attack because you don’t have enough money to retire. You may be able to keep the job you have, or find another job, and never really retire. But what fun would that be?

Now is the time to look ahead in your life and determine what regrets you could have. Now come back to the present and decide what actions you can take to not have these regrets. If one of these regrets is not having prepared for retirement sooner, then now is the time to build your retirement nest egg.

With the Stock Investor software and the 3-Step Investing Process you have what you need to build wealth and become rich enough that you won’t need to buy back your past. Well, at least not for the reason of regretting not investing enough to enjoy a financially rich retirement.

Your Friend,

D. Scott Elder

“Energy and Persistence Conquer All Things.”
– Benjamin Franklin

Procrastination is an enemy to building wealth. It’s too easy to put off working your brain and resting your body at the end of a long day at work or taking care of the house and kids all day. But then days turn to weeks, weeks turn to months and months turn to years. And before you know it you’re seeing your retirement years quickly approaching on the horizon. Will your retirement be coming in a luxury cruise ship bringing travel, leisure and financial security? Or will it be a rubber raft with oars, requiring you to continue rowing through your retirement in order to keep afloat on the waves of life? Or perhaps it’s something in between.

Whatever ship, boat, or raft you end up boarding when your retirement arrives, it will be of your choosing. But the choice won’t be made at the day of your retirement… or even 10 years before your retirement. It will be made daily. You’ve already been making the choice and each day you continue to choose how your retirement will be. What kind of retirement you have will be the result of the choices you make each day compounded over weeks, months and years.

It takes “energy and persistence” to conquer procrastination; your enemy to building wealth and an early and rich retirement. Your desire to enjoy a retirement of leisure and financial security can be your fuel. Each day make the choice to use your Stock Investor software to go through the 3-Step Investing Process. Persist in doing your searches, research and portfolio management on a daily basis and you will end up on the luxury cruise ship of retirement.

Your Friend,

D. Scott Elder

“Formal education will make you a living; self education will make you a fortune.”
– Jim Rohn

Colleges and Universities are good places to learn about a lot of things. And a lot of what you learn can help you make a good living. But the one thing that these institutions of higher learning are not good at teaching is how to build wealth… real wealth.

Wealth-building skills are usually learned on your own. They can be learned through self-learning programs, in seminars, in workshops and through one-on-one mentoring from an expert or coach. These skills usually involve leveraging and compounding your money in some fashion. Common ways to do this is starting your own business, investing in real estate and investing in the stock market.

Most people consider anything that involves leveraging money as risky. Risk is a relevant concept. The amount of risk involved in any venture can be inversely proportionate to the amount of knowledge you have regarding the venture. The more you know about the venture, the less risky it is. For you, building a hotel and casino costing several hundred million dollars would be a huge risk. For Donald Trump it’s not… he knows the hotel and casino business. For you, trading calendar spread options may be a big risk. For Ross it’s not… he’s an expert options trader. But neither one was born with the knowledge and expertise they each now possess. And neither one learned these skills in college. They both learned these wealth-building skills on their own and from others who possessed the expertise they wished to acquire.

Recently a friend, whom I’ve known for many years, said to me “It’s been fun watching your success grow over the years. I wish I were a risk-taker, but I’m not so I’ll never be as successful as you.” I told him I wasn’t a risk-taker. Actually, I am extremely conservative and risk-adverse. I told him the only thing I risked was my time. We all have the same number of hours in a day. I determined how many of them I needed for sleeping, eating and family and used the rest to learn how to build a successful business and invest in the stock market. I then told him that anyone can do it… I’m living proof. I don’t think he liked my response because it put the burden of responsibility and accountability squarely on him.

I have a Bachelors degree from a top University. I also have an MBA. So I can speak from personal experience. My formal education could have made me a nice living. But I chose to add to it self-education through home-study programs, seminars, workshops and mentors to learn how to build wealth. Here’s something else I learned, and for you to consider: My formal education cost a lot more than my self education. I’m getting a much higher return on my investment in self education. You can do the same. You can build wealth investing in the stock market. The more you learn about investing, the less risky it will be for you and the more successful you’ll become. It’s really that easy.

Your Friend,

D. Scott Elder

The soul attracts that which it secretly harbors;
that which it loves, and also that which it fears.
– James Allen: writer and poet

By now most people have seen or heard of the The Secret which was original released as a video and his now a book. The basic premise of The Secret is the concept of the Law of Attraction. The Law of Attraction states that we attract into our lives that which we think about, whether it be positive or negative; we create the events and the conditions of the world in which we live in.

This is not a new concept. Many of today’s success philosophies have come from the Bible, James Allen’s As a Man Thinketh, and Napoleon Hill’s classic, Think and Grow Rich. In fact, Allen’s title came from the passage in the Bible, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7).

Allen wrote As a Man Thinketh around 1904 and Hill wrote Think and Grow Rich in 1937. This philosophy of success, that we attract into our lives that which we think about and desire in our hearts, has been around for a long time. It just continues to be repackaged and delivered by more charismatic success gurus.

It’s really a simple, yet powerful and effective, principle that doesn’t require you to spend thousands of dollars to learn and apply in your life. Nightingale Conant has an excellent Napoleon Hill program for under $40.00.

If you learn and apply the principles in this program, your life will change.

Your Friend,

D. Scott Elder