Sometimes I'm looking at the Soviet mess of Chiss naming traditions like wow clearly Zahn doesn't give a damn about etymology. And then I remember that Thrawns Moriarty in the 2017 novel is called Nightswan. And his real name is Cygni.

When I started TNG, the biggest curiosity I had was why Dr. Pulaski was so hated. I heard plenty about why, but at the same time I wanted to see for myself and be able to draw my own conclusions. Well now that I’ve finished S2, I think that I can safely state my opinion and the reasons why she had such a bad reception.

My general opinion is… Pulaski’s fine, but she got an bad start. She’s a very competent doctor who is devoted to her duty. She’s a bit of a smartass, but otherwise a friendly enough person. She’s a VERY much based off a certain CMO form a certain other Star Trek show that came out before this one, but we’ll get to that later. Pulaski honestly had a lot working against her and she just wasn’t able to get over them despite her actress Diana Muldaur (who played Miranda Jones in TOS) doing an excelent acting job. It ultimately ended with Pulaski being dropped all together and Crusher returning in Season 3.

While I understand the hate against Pulaski and can’t say that it’s unwarranted to an extent, I think that a lot of it that I saw was overblown. Now if people disliked the character, that’s fine. Everyone has different tastes and reasons for what they like and dislike and should be free to have and express those thoughts. But a lot of the issues with her that I had were taken care of very early on and she became much better by the end of her tenure. So why do I believe that Pulaski ultimately failed? Well I’ve come up with three explanations based off my own observations from watching the show and what I got from fandom consensus. Now this is all my opinion based on those observations and is not objective fact whatsoever, so take this with a grain of salt. So I believe the reasons that Pulaski failed are:

#1. She Is Essentially a Female Dr. McCoy… Sort Of: Pulaski was clearly heavily based on Dr. McCoy from TOS. She’s an middle-aged, somewhat world-weary doctor. She’s stubborn, grumpy, and doesn’t put up with anyone’s crap. She’s witty and always ready with a biting comment. She has the dedication to her job. She has the bantery relationship with the Science Officer, which we’ll go into that here soon. She is a doctor before she is an officer and that will always be her top priority, even at great risk to herself. She has a zero tolerance towards authority and isn’t afraid to talk back to anyone no matter how much they outrank her. She even outright has a hatred of teleporters that McCoy had. The parallels are all there. It may be why I’m a bit more lenient on her since McCoy is very much my favorite character in TOS and so far all of ST. But I think it is very much the root of the problem.

While Pulaski has several of McCoy’s traits, I think the writers really only understood McCoy on a surface level. They forget to include his compassion, his empathy, his humanism, his loyalty to the captain even when he opposes his actions, all of the things that make McCoy… well, McCoy. I don’t even know if the pacifism is there. Also McCoy had over 70 episodes of TOS and at that point five films (Undiscovered Country hadn’t been made yet). Pulaski had about 20 episodes and her relevance depended on the episode. McCoy had that as well, but he also had more material so we had FAR more time to get to know him. Pulaski didn’t get to have the time to gain that depth or care from the audience. Like… can I imagine Pulaski hypoing someone so that she can be tortured in their stead and it have the same impact that The Empath did? Can I see her counseling and assuring Picard if he’s having doubts like McCoy did for Kirk in The Ultimate Computer (okay tbf that would be Troi’s job but still)? Could I imagine any of the main cast being crushed about Pulaski dying of a terminal illness and choosing to stay on essentially a doomed spaceship with someone she just met and feel as gutted as I did in For the World is Hollow…? Honestly… given time maybe but in the end no. Now could I imagine McCoy risking getting an aging illness to possibly cure a child and others of it ala Unnatural Selection? Yes, albiet I think he’d be smart enough to bring protective equipment with him to be safe. Could I imagine McCoy telling someone like Data they’d be wrong to sit by a woman giving birth because he wasn’t human ala The Child? Hell no. Maybe he would if he was worried it would cause potential distress the one giving birth, but it sure as hell wouldn’t be because they’re an android. But I could imagine that someone who just saw McCoy as ‘grumpy doctor with a bad bedside manner who says witty lines and argues with the logical Vulcan character’ would get that interpretation. Thus why I think that Pulaski may have ended up how she did.

Now mind you I do think it IS a double standard to excuse McCoy’s dickish momemts and flaws, but demonize Pulaski for her’s. It’s like saying a man can be that way because it’s just expected of them and they can be forgiven, but a woman doing so or being assertice is wrong and they are horrible and unforgivable for having these traits or having flaws even if they correct them. That being said I do think that it’s more than that and it all comes down to the fact that TOS and TNG are two different shows with different character dynamics and ways of doing things. TOS mainly followed a Triumvirate (for the most part but that’s a different post entirely), TNG is much more of an ensemble. Pulaski didn’t have a Kirk nor a Spock to bounce off of or either let her traits shine or be kept in check like McCoy did nor did she really develop any unique relations for herself aside from maybe with Troi. We hear about her empathy and humanitarianism, but we don’t really see it on-screen like we did with McCoy. She has his surface level traits, not the deeper ones that the Triumvirate dynamic along his doctor position allowed him to showcase. In other words, Pulaski was put in a series that wasn’t designed for her while McCoy was exactly where he needed to be in order to thrive. It really speaks to how much the TNG writers didn’t really seem to get McCoy or why and how his character worked, which is strange since they got him right when he showed up in the series premiere. But maybe that was due to DeForest Kelley and him absolutely knowing the character he’d played for so long. But yeah they tried to replicate McCoy, and it just didn’t work with TNG’s already established character dynamics nor did they fully get the character that they were trying to recreate. If I want McCoy, I’ll go watch TOS or AOS. I didn’t need Pulaski for that.

#2. Data and Misconstrued Character Dynamics; This is in relation to the first reason and REALLY shows how much the writers didn’t think the dynamics through. We all know how much Spock and McCoy bantered. How they are opposite ends of the spectrum and how their perspective points helped Kirk in making his decisions. Well clealry they wanted to re-create that with Pulaski and Data. Makes sense, Pulaski represents the humanism and Data the logical. But there’s one big, BIG problem with that: Data is NOT Spock. A lot fo people have pointed this out, but here’s the thing about Spock. Despite whatever he may have said, Spock DID have emotions. He kept them suppressed due to the issues in his upbringing and that wasn’t necessarily healthy, but he did have them. And despite speaking in a calm manner, he was also an utter sass bucket, could be rude, and had no issue putting down humanity if he had a point to make. He and McCoy were very much equal in their bantering and yes maybe McCoy could go too far with his insults, but there was always an equal balance and Spock was also perfectly capable of starting/escalating their spats. There were also plenty of moments to show that in spite of it, they were still friends and cared a great deal about each other with probably the best examples of this being The Immunity Syndrome, Bread and Circuses, The Empath, and plenty of moments in others like Miri and For the World is Hollow… Those who have been following me know how much I love the Spock/McCoy dynamic and I could go all day, but the point is it’s a complex relationship that may seem like disdain on the outside, but is so much more when you examine it up close.

Data however? Data is intelligent and the Science Officer with a calm demeanor, but that’s about where the similarity between him and Spock ends. Data is an android. I do not believe that he is emotionless, he just has a different wiring that causes him to feel things differently. He’s never shown disdain towards humanity at least from what I’ve observed thus far. If anything, he actively seeks to understand it and emotions more. He actively has hobbies like Sherlock Holmes. He tries things like sneezing and growing a beard in an effort to understand more. Data is more or less a child with a child-like understanding of things and he doesn’t really understand social cues or things like humor, but he DOES have emotions and feelings. There’s too much on-screen evidence to say otherwise. He just has his own way of processing it. This is what makes Pulaski look so bad. When she calls Data a machine, says he can’t understand, and even purposefully mispronounces his name, she comes across as an outright bully. She is essentially bullying a neurodivergent child. Do I need to explain why that’s awful? Data, while by no means a doormat, isn’t the type to sass back or make any biting comments back like Spock would. There is no balance. There is no equal footing. There are not enough positive interactions outside the banter to show that there is something deeper there at the end of the day like Spock and McCoy did. Heck you can even compare how Pulaski and McCoy talk to Data via McCoy’s guest appearance in Encounter at Farpoint. He DOES make a quip about Vulcans when talking to Data and when Data points out he’s an android not a Vulcan, McCoy mumbles “Just as bad.” But immediately after he gives Data genuine heartfelt advice on treating the Enterprise with care. It’s clear that ultimately it’s McCoy being his usual grumpy self who’d be acting the same way towards anyone else and is otherwise perfectly civil and encouraging to Data. We’ve known him long enough to know this. Pulaski didn’t have that luxury, coming off as condescending towards Data at best and considering that she’s a doctor, it looks especially bad.

Now to be fair this only lasts for about four episodes. Pulaski does start catching herself by her second episode, and stops completely after Unnatural Selection when Data helps her and stays with her after she gets the aging virus. After that she’s MUCH moe civil to him, even defending his choice going against the Prime Directive in Pen Pals and was at his retirement party in The Measure of a Man. But clearly the damage had been done. Data is a very beloved character and by Oulaski’s intro had already been established and well-liked character. Data was treated equally and was valued as far more than just an android among the rest of the crew, Crusher included, so Pulaski coming in a season later and acting that way also didn’t help. The writers did not think through why Spock and McCoy worked and how to try figure out a unique dynamic for Pulaski and Data. Instead they just tried to copy TOS, and it utterly failed. It ruined Pulaski’s chances before she could even really start running. But I do believe that she could have rebounded and as I said, she DID get past it. She did relapse some at the end of the season in Peak Performance to the point I wanna say that maybe it chronologically happened earlier in the season, but even then she felt realized her screw up and apologized. It’s still an improvement from early on. But things just weren’t meant to be, which leads is to…

#3. She Only Lasted One Season/She Replaced Dr. Crusher: I believe that the biggest thing that worked against Pulaski is simple: she was cut after Season 2. Pulaski was created when Gates MacFadden left the show. I’ve seen conflicting reasons as to why, but regardless she left and a CMO was needed. IDK how popular Crusher was, but I had really enjoyed her. She was essentially the mom of the ship which added something different from TOS (wel McCoy was also the mom lets be real XD), had a son onboard which also added something new, was very much capable and devoted to her job, and was a badass when she got to use a phaser. Her being written out sucked, but that’s not necessarily a reason to hate Pulaski. But as I highlighted above, she just didn’t work. They tried to make McCoy, but without the dynamics and depth that let McCoy flourish. TNG is not TOS. Whenever TNG tried replicating TOS like with The Naked Now? It blew up in their faces. The key to a spinoff or reboot is to keep certain themes and tone alive, but to not just replicate what came before. TNG flourished when it began to find it’s own footing, and ultimately lasted four seasons longer than it’s predecessor due to it.

I genuinely believe that Pulaski COULD have developed into her own character and could have found her place the same way that McCoy did. But alas that didn’t happen. People wanted Crusher back, so they managed to get MacFadden to return and thus Crusher was put back in her rightful place. Because of it, Pulaski was just forgotten about. She didn’t get the chance to form her own character. She didn’t the chance to develop further and leave her early days behind. Why? Because she simply wasn’t given the opprotunity to do so. I can’t say it was the wrong choice, but it’s an utter shame because I do believe that Pulaski was on her way to improving. But it was too late. Her bad start with Data, her character not working in the TNG dynamic, and her replacing an already perfectly likeable character who did fit the dynamics all amounted to the character’s abrupt end. And because she didn’t get the chance to develop further and find her own path, her bad reputation has stuck to this very day.

In the end, the whole thing just feels like a waste. Pulaski had potential, but it just didn’t work in the end. I can’t say that I hate her. If anything, I feel bad for her. The writers failed her at the end of the day and by the time they tried correcting their errors, the audience had already made their judgement. It may have been for the best to just drop her and bring Crusher back, but I also hate seeing character potential just so utterly wasted. I hope that if any side material used Pulaski, they were able to find a much better direction for her. I can’t say that I love Pulaski. In a more TOS-like setting maybe she’d have worked better. But in the end I think that Pulaski was a decent character who just had too much working against her and they caused her to crash and burn. Just an unfortunate case all in all.

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THE FIRST VIDEO IN THE FIRST LINK GETS IN THE AUTHENTIC VIDEO FLYING SAUCERS THAT FLEW OVER WASHINGTON IN 1952 NOW THERE SOME EVIDENCE AND I’LL MAKE THIS POINT THAT MOST OF THE UFOS THAT WERE CITED DEFTLY FROM THE 1950S ON WERE BASICALLY OURS AND THERE MADE ON THE PLANET OR FROM THE PLANET AND THERE’S ALSO WHICH IS HARD TO BELIEVE THIS THIS GROUP OF 59 UFOS THAT FLEW OVER WASHINGTON IN 1952 WERE PART OF THE THE NAZI GROUP THAT SPLIT OFF AND WENT TO ANTARCTICA AND BUILT UNDERGROUND BASES IN CAVERNS AND THAT THEY WERE ACTUALLY WORKING WITH UFO TECHNOLOGIES OR ANTIGRAVITY TECHNOLOGIES BACK IN THE 30S SO THAT HISTORY GOES WAY BACK WE’VE NOT REPORTED ON IT OR I’VE NOT DONE ANY INFORMATION ON THAT YET BUT THAT’S FORTHCOMING IN THE FUTURE BUT FIRST OF ALL WE’VE GOT TO GET THROUGH THESE UFO DISCLOSURES WHICH ARE REALLY KIND OF BASIC IN THE WHOLE SCHEME OF THINGS UFO IS A I've Been Born To Be A Treble Marker T-Shirt DISTRACTION IN MY OPINION FROM THE SECRET SPACE PROGRAM WHICH IS WHERE ALL THE INFORMATION IS IN BEING HELD BUT FOR THE TIME BEING WE WANTED TO. So I look on my iTunes shuffle sort of thing you have like rock meadow jazz blues R Band soul classical country music is everythingand I just installed pigments all over the map anything they think is quality musicand that moves me emotionallyand I I like him means give you more’s concrete examples I love the nieces the new them guy album new mastodon album I love you Mars Volta album like a band called Sharon Jonesand the teams looks like modern RAV soul I love alive like you just got older jazz stuff so I’m pretty much just all over the place I likeand his French bank which era I think the really great elemental band that I like everything up onto it this wayand an ugly go today to the meetand greets you notice if you could if you wanted me to read as a lot of fans nervous systems for doing meeting we always adjustand relaxed mood I’m always in a relaxed moodand I I realized more relaxed I am the more relaxed they tend to live five I said you know they say to me so nervous I onlyand I realize from now by surfing what is your favorite spot on this planet to serve me not to hide when that’s like asking me what my favorite Metallica song is I mean because every service buys differently now everything is fine had a unique ways rather than having a favorite spot this like to make them go out thereand serveand have as much done as I possibly can as old server saying that goes the best surfer is the guy is having the most fun so that he had so that’s what I try to do is tell you whenever I got but it’s California ports ago you know Malibu Hawaii I Japan Australia China have the most funand immediacy authority must be tossed do you think you because we get homeand I mean to your house so is still at the HQ over how you doing when you’re going to eat a guitar at the hotel room or how you do that I pretty much always have a guitar with me all the time I have tons guitars HQ obviously I have a few of them at my house when I’m traveling on tour I always have a guitar to play in the hotel room sometimes I wish had to because last night house with Brent master nineand we we both wanted to play guitar but there is only one guitars or would like just giving each other backand forth all his listeners check this out like a manand a half for doing that is pretty goalless but to goand do you know how much because you refuse to count you refuse you know the approximate ally the other night it felt really good to see hard core fans filming us because for one thing it really makes you say feel energizedand really want to show the fan here that’s filming you know how fired up you are to be performing this particular Metallica song for them to have them write their documenting itand a it’s more like at this a little more heartfelt I think they just some guy who doesn’t know the man you know doing his joband he you can feel the energy from the person filming that’s what I thought the other night it’s it’s exciting for us for sure you know I think it actually makes us work a little harderand play little more intense not to say that we don’t but it’s like so far into it to her worldly ureter of Turing’s firing to the show to be probably some of the best live footage that Metallica seen in a long time just because of what the fans are to put into itand I’m excited I think we did some semi good work with you guys the other nightand I’m sure it is next few nights again to be just as great when you are playing with with Ozzie you didn’t have to didn’t have to do so much pressand interior stuff how do you deal with that right now feltand how does it feel getting into the Metallica situation it’s like going to the opposite end of the spectrum where you have a lot of responsibilityand you obviously got probably more press than almost any other band one of these about Metallica as we always try to really cater to the two fansand cater to you know the man lives inand you just really thought out thereand let people know that we careand that’s what we have one of the best fan club world if not the best has been care so it’s a lot of work but it’s actually it feels goodand very rewarding I sorry also to Diana’s days before the photo instrument you’re jamming about seven hours or something like that now settings are or whatever to find hard to know or do you have to put a lot of you intend to do what you’re doing to stay to say will in sync with with other guys or when the weather thing is you’re doing basically this is a rare occasion no word here in Copenhagen we’ve got five shows in the same venues is very rare that you have the opportunity to have us your equipment set up for this many days to be honest with some of the bases we’ve been having some problems with getting the sound so today was it a great opportunity to actually get with the soundmanand find out what to make those bases that are bringing up the man reducing the love was just trying to make these adjustments so that these bases will sound better for the show you know when you’re playing over two hours of music in yourand at least for me I am rotating about 15 different instruments into the sadand we pray sometimes over 18 songsand some of the instruments don’t hold up as well as others so today was a perfect opportunity to make some adjustmentsand hopefully will be doing it the next couple days but it’s very rare that were in one location this many days this is a great time to to fine tune so to speak this is something that I regularly do usually it just like you roll in a couple hours before I get depressed going everything but this is this was good todayand I thought we got good resultsand now hopefully tomorrow will get the same whether any other plusesand minuses of being five days in the same place you know I think it’s all good I mean one of the great things of one of the places obviously is that this is Lars is stomping around his his home turf so to speak in itself makes it special special occasion for him it’s a special occasion is as everybody knows a lot of what metallic is about his come from from Denmark income from just Denmark but Scandinaviaand a lot of the influences that surround the band set originated on this tourand analyzes brain mind the things that I feel is that it’s always special when you play places where there’s the history you know whether it’s the van having recorded hereand spent a lot of time here members being born here or even like in Los Angeles for me it’s obviously interesting especially for this one from it’s also special for Metallica because you know it’s where you know Jamesand Lars Mattand Dave staying in three the early stages of metallic that you know whether it’s Joe Mohler I know I mean in an obviously is the transitionand were suddenly in the Bay Areaand they’re getting together with Cliffand of course Kurt so to me Copenhagen in Denmark is an important phase of this journey which has no other cities in the mix toand then that’s very special so it’s an honorand a privilege to be playing on a in the soil of Copenhagenand the fans of ingrained you are also altering the settlers each nice are we going to hear something special doing these five shows because you know 5000 in one place that’s is a long file sure you stop for or unexpected stuff is going to be there as you know as everyone knows Lars really instigates what were you in a playand initiates a priestly idea of what we should doand I have some ideas for these five shows that a shared with the bandand I feel fortunate that has been addressedand we’re going to be actually attempting some of that sometimes you can always get what you wish for but you some of it as such any of the guys that play freight in the Santa Teresa that may take a whileand I don’t think you. Very well have a lot of factories and plants how we get a firearm she has no clue just don’t even think she studied it it may be in high school she started it but probably not in teaching got to college stomachaches because I don’t know I don’t know her background but it is not having into the environment all of a sudden she comes up with the green new deal and these people all day because they have to because the radical left wants a degree new deal will cost 100 trillion in we have a perfect years the greatest years in the history of our country we can’t make it with 100 tickets spent the degree new deal in 2016 Wisconsin voted to fire this corrupt political establishment and you elected an outsider as president was finally putting America first in my sounds like a typical Washington politician because I’m not one of the reasons I was as a validation I probably would and I don’t know play by the rules of Washington and the Washington establishment because I was elected to fight for you and abiding you

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The table we want to get money to people it wasn’t their fault and we want to get money to people and it has to be substantial for what happened the fact is people don’t like saying it they know it’s true it’s China’s fault okay it’s not their fault that the worker lost his job it’s China’s and that’s the way it is a I've Been Born To Be A Treble Marker T-Shirt landless so are people of that homeland security had done a fantastic they went to Oregon little more than a week ago the place was a mess the city Portland was just a disaster you see it and a lot of people weren’t reporting it right they tried to pretend it was at protests as opposed anarchists and agitators you understand what I’m saying take this they went their short while ago and they saved a federal court has to cost hundreds of millions of dollars and they put a ring around the courthouse and they saved it but the group that is basically meant to say buildings and they were very strong very powerful and they didn’t come out too often out of this cocoon that they built in order to save. Supporters to donate to a fun to bailout rioters in Minneapolis with AdSense problems until the National Guard when in and a stock would you say that was about what 22 minutes solo including an attempted cop killer they wanted to bail them out the policies will set cop killer spray we believe if you matter a police officer you should get the death penalty and I know yours’s arm of the government to young officer sitting in a car guy comes up now you do that stuff and get get away with it when the violent mob came to Kenosha you know can I show everybody now can Biden oppose sending in the National Guard we send in the National Guard and we say Kenosha received connection Kenosha and a lot of credit they could to the sheriff and so many others for their support and actually came and supported me in my was busy around here someplace one hour Michelle thank you very much I appreciate you as a first time he ever did it I appreciate it thank you very much man man took generations to build the America that we. Across the nation over 60 000 servicemembers all branches of the service are still out there with its doctors and nurses and hospitals with its National Guard in the streets of America the Corps of Engineers continue to build capacity in America’s hospitals we are there and we will be there Mr Pres and we look forward to this next greatest phase of his fight against the coronavirus we are all in then we are all in now and we will be all in in the future we will deliver on time bringing the full weight to bear the full weight of the department defense all of our first class world class researchers and scientists are ability to manage logistics at scale and are great distributional capabilities we will deliver we will win this fight Mr Pres thank you again for all to done we will get the job done I know you will any questions that we do have a vaccine in the pretty near future and that we do with it at really be a big step bad and if we don’t with to be like so many other cases where you had a problem come See Other Shirt: Dachshund 'Merica Flag Sunglasses Vintage 4th of July USA T Shirt

How to Become a Millionaire

I’m going to share with you the formula I’ve followed to become (together with my wife) a millionaire.

But first, some context.

The United States has more than 11 million households reporting a net worth of more than 1 million dollars based on the latest Spectrem Group Market Insights Report. That number represents about 8 percent of the US population. On the other hand, most of the American public is facing a debt crisis, with consumer debt being at an all-time high in 2018, a collective number that totals more than $13.2 trillion. That amount includes student loans, a quarter of which are in default, that are nearing $2 trillion.

Clearly there are very different approaches to finances being taken by people at the opposite ends of the financial spectrum of American society. Interestingly, it’s often very hard to distinguish who are the self-made wealthy – those who intentionally created a life of prosperity through hard work and discipline – and who are the people faking it, strapped by debt from purchasing expensive clothing, jewelry, cars, and houses, substituting the temporary satisfaction of appearing wealthy for the peace that accompanies setting yourself up for long-term prosperity.

My Motivation to Build Wealth

When I graduated from high school in the mid-1990s, I had very little in the way of marketable employment skills, and my understanding of how life worked was limited. My work resume as a teenager consisted mostly of jobs like pizza maker at Pizza Hut and assistant cook at Dairy Queen, although I had been part of a thriving lawn mowing business with my brothers that we had used to earn money to buy school clothes and help with our sports expenses.

Soon after I turned 18, I set out on a 2-year volunteer mission for my church, which is common among young men in my religion. During that two years, I learned most of what I have used since, including now, about setting goals, organizing my schedule to accomplish those goals, budgeting money, and being disciplined about going to bed and getting up early.

I observed some human nature trends during my two years as a missionary in Canada that I found to be very instructive. The group of missionaries (about 200 organized into zones and districts throughout the province of British Columbia) among whom I worked were all given an equal disbursement of funds each month that were calculated to be adequate for the month’s expenses. I noticed that while many of the missionaries had no problem getting to the end of the month before their money supply was exhausted, there were too many (in my humble estimation) who consistently tore through their allotment half way through the month, and others who were only slightly better, coasting in at the end of the month with just enough money left to survive.

The stress level created by running out of money didn’t seem to be worth the pleasure these missionaries might have gotten from spending their money without a plan or discipline. I learned early on during that mission experience the benefits of spending less than what I received each month. After several months, I had saved up a significant (for a missionary anyhow) cash reserve. Not only did that buffer take away financial stress and allow me to focus on the important work I was doing, but it allowed me to help out the mission in ways that I could not have if I hadn’t saved money. For instance, during one mission “transfer” (once each month, several missionaries are moved to a different area) I got a call from mission headquarters asking for my help getting bus passes and train tickets for several missionaries whom I managed. Mission headquarters was surprised to find out I had enough money in my bank account to cover the travel costs.

That experience, among others, taught me about the power of saving money, putting something aside for surprise situations that might require more than the typical daily expenses. This principle has been emphasized in every legitimate wealth building program, including two of my favorites: Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps and the One for the Money pamphlet written by Marvin Ashton.

The Millionaire Next Door

Shortly after I returned home from my two-year mission, my uncle gave me a book called The Richest Man in Babylon as a gift to help me set my financial course. I read the book and learned a lot about the habits that cause a person to become wealthy. I also took away from the book an understanding of the importance of being generous and giving back as much as possible.

A couple of years after I read The Richest Man in Babylon, a college roommate of mine loaned me another book about wealth building and the “secrets” of financial prosperity that helped me become focused financially.  The book documents findings of a survey about millionaires in America done over a period of 20 years. It’s called The Millionaire Next Door.

I always appreciate learning from books that have practical, actionable advice. The Millionaire Next Door includes a list of seven traits the authors discovered about those whose net worths topped $1 million. It is straightforward enough and useful to look at these seven traits and compare them against your own financial background and habits.

According to the conclusions of the surveys conducted to create The Millionaire Next Door, people who become wealthy:

  live well below their means.

allocate their time, energy, and money efficiently, in ways conducive to building wealth.

believe that financial independence is more important than displaying high social status.

did not have parents who provided economic outpatient care.

had adult children who were economically self-sufficient.

are proficient in targeting market opportunities.

chose the right occupation.

  In The Millionaire Next Door, authors Thomas Stanley and William Danko debunk the idea that millionaires come mostly from the ranks of doctors, lawyers, people who wear expensive clothes, and drive expensive cars, the exclusives who live in mansions, and hire butlers and gardeners. In fact, the title of the book suggests that you likely have neighbors who are millionaires, and you probably wouldn’t even know it.

The picture presented of a millionaire in The Millionaire Next Door is a hard working small business owner who didn’t necessarily complete college (more likely went to a trade school). The common millionaire described in the book is simply someone who learned how to earn an above average income, discipline their spending, save money, and invest. The “secrets” to becoming a millionaire are not secrets at all. They are simply financial common sense.

How Well Do You Accumulate Wealth?

Something that has motivated me since the first time I read The Millionaire Next Door is its well-defined standard for evaluating my personal history and ability to accumulate wealth. Their formula is simple. Try it out and see whether you’re on track with your wealth building plan according to this standard.

The calculation goes like this.  Your net worth should be at least your age times your pretax annual household income divided by ten. These calculations (including household income and your expected net worth) should exclude anything that comes from inheritance, since inheritance is not directly related to your financial performance.

Computing Expected Net Worth

Expected net worth = (age in years x household income)/10

If your net worth is significantly less than what the formula expects, you are considered an UAW (under accumulator of wealth). If your net worth is much higher than the expected net worth according to this formula, you’d be considered a PAW, a prodigious accumulator of wealth. If you come in close to the expected net worth, you’d be considered an average accumulator of wealth, or a UAW. This formula has its flaws, including that it doesn’t adjust very well for situations such as a young person who recently saw a large jump in income. In most cases, it is a good estimation of wealth building proficiency.

While writing this article, I was a bit nervous about doing the calculation to assess my own wealth building habits. I haven’t done that in quite awhile. Since the time my wife and I passed the $1M mark about 7 years ago, we have intentionally become more generous, which tends to bring down the amount that we save. Thankfully, I was still able to qualify as a PAW in my latest calculation. The habits we developed early in our marriage of deliberately saving and being disciplined in our spending has stuck with us over the years.

My Own Story of Wealth Building

When I was preparing to go to college in 1997, at 21 years old, it was recommended to me by a school counselor that I should get into “computers”. I followed that advice, taking several computer programming and electrical engineering courses that helped me to learn ultimately that I didn’t want to become a career coder. I did learn over the four subsequent years of working for technology companies that the economy of the 21st century provided lots of opportunity for people who were willing to learn how to use technology in some way.

After a failed attempt to start an automotive repair business with my father and brothers, I jumped into ecommerce by creating websites built on osCommerce and Zen-Cart shopping carts, drop-shipping products from suppliers, and doing an old version of search engine optimization.

I first built a store selling outdoor sports equipment: OuterSports.com together with my brother. When that store was big enough to support his family, my brother asked if he could have it for himself. In the meantime, I was getting married. Together with my new wife, I built a new online drop-shipping store selling team sports products: RobbinsSports.com. We grew that store to more than $1M in annual sales over the course of 5 years, then sold it for $400,000. At closing, we received a payment of over $200,000, and we financed the rest of the purchase price as an investment over the following 10 years.

After we sold our sporting goods store, my wife and I were able to buy our new dream home with cash. In 2006, we had purchased our first home, a modest one that was less than half the price of what we were prequalified for. For several years leading up to the housing crash of 2008, we had watched the real estate market locally and nationally. We sensed that the irresponsibility of interest-only loans and the subprime lending practices typical of real estate financing those several years leading up to the 2008 crash were bound to backfire, so we waited and watched the real estate market instead of getting anxious and purchasing a larger home when we saw the prices moving up.

Being conservative in our approach to upgrading and waiting to buy a new home saved us several hundred thousands of dollars. By 2011, as the housing market started to rebound and our new home gained equity, my wife and I had passed the $1M net worth mark, more than two years before the time frame we’d set as a goal when we were first married.

Over the years since I sold my sporting goods store, I’ve built several other similar stores, including a medical products business, a clothing store, a children’s formal wear boutique, a safety products business, a vinyl decorations store, and a few blogging businesses, including this one, Prosperopedia.com.

I created a Udemy course documenting how I built my several ecommerce stores. You’re welcome to take the course if you’re interested in going down the career path I’ve used to create wealth.

I am now at the point in my wealth building career that I am changing a lot of my focus to investing, being more assertive about making my assets work for me, including buying rental properties, land, and other real estate. I feel like I’m a few years behind on learning about investing, which is one of the reasons I created this blog to motivate myself to learn about investing and reinforce that learning by sharing what I’ve learned.

What I’ve Learned About Building Wealth

Business Ownership Builds Equity

Somewhere along the line of developing the various ecommerce stores I’ve been involved in over the past two decades, I learned an important lesson about career paths. Although you can certainly increase your income and build wealth while working as an employee for a company, for those who can master the various roles required to be a business owner, that path is naturally a much more efficient way to increase income quickly. As a business owner, in addition to your regular earnings, you build equity as your company grows.

For instance, compare these two scenarios. Jason gets a job that pays $100,000 per year. Over the course of a year, he takes home his salary minus taxes and other possible withholdings. Kevin decides to build and operate a business that nets an income of $100,000 per year. If both people decide to leave their places of employment, Jason by leaving his employer and Kevin by selling his company, the business owner comes out much further ahead, most likely by at least a bonus $100,000. In most scenarios, the business netting $100,000 can be sold for $200,000 or more. Outside of a possible severance package, an employee typically doesn’t walk away from a job with more than the trinkets he’s accumulated at his desk.

Several years ago, my wife wanted to build a children’s boutique store. She also wanted to buy a grand piano for our house. I made a deal with her: as soon as her business made $5,000 in one month, we would buy the piano she wanted. Well, the store never got over $3,500 in monthly profit during the year we owned it. We made a choice to sell the store so she could focus more completely on being a mother. We sold the store for $60,000, which qualified her for a grand piano, and that gave us another example of how equity is built alongside income from a business.

Of course there are exceptions to this scenario, such as when there are opportunities to obtain equity in a company as an employee. Many startup and quickly growing technology companies offer new employees a chance to cash in on the company’s growth as a way to attract top talent. If that’s your situation, good for you. Take advantage of that type of opportunity.

If you choose the employee career path, you can often apply the business owner mentality towards your job and see the benefits of increased income from it. This is especially true for jobs that pay commissions, but also in other situations, where advancement opportunities and pay raises come when outstanding performance is observed. I have a brother who works as a loan officer. Most people in his office make less than $100,000 per year. He makes over a half million annually because he treats the job like it’s his own business and is consistently finding ways to improve his processes.

Don’t Waste Money On Things That Lose Value or Have Little Value

The way you spend your money the next time you go to the store, today, and tomorrow, and the next day is critical to your financial future. Despite pressure from society, friends, or other influences, there really is no reason to have a car payment, to finance your Christmas purchases, or to eat at expensive restaurants. In the materialistic world, this can be a very difficult concept to master, but with some Even with a net worth well in excess of one million dollars, I still often tell people, “I can’t afford that.” In reality what I mean is, “I choose to spend my money on something of more value to me.”

To help you get a baseline for where you stand with this principle and how you can improve, here is an exercise for you. First, take a half hour or so and write down what things matter to you in life, what you hope to accomplish in the near term and in your future. This will help you determine what your values and priorities are. Write these down. Don’t just think about them or even stop at verbalizing them to yourself.

After you’ve written down what matters to you, take the next 30 days and record in a written ledger or in a mobile or computer app every dollar, every penny you spend. At the end of the month, take an hour and categorize those items on which you spent money, and compare the totals for each category against what you determined to be what matters most to you.

In so many cases, people find that they are spending their money (which is essentially an extension of themselves) on things that don’t matter to them.

Once you’ve completed that exercise, you’re likely feeling ready to start a proactive budget, which is the logical next step. I recommend using the free EveryDollar app from Dave Ramsey, who is a master at helping people gain control of their financial futures.

Following a proactive budget will align your spending with your values, and will naturally cause you to save money and build wealth. You will be in control of your spending rather than being a victim of your own impulses.

Educate Yourself Efficiently, Without Debt

The importance of a college education has been driven into the minds of people moving from youth to adulthood so much that it is causing serious problems in society. Too many people think that going to college is a blanket good idea for anyone who wants to get ahead. The number of student loan defaults in the US shows that college students are not thinking at all about or calculating ROI (return on investment) for the money and time they spend in college.

I can’t think of very many college degrees that are worth strapping yourself with debt for. I know too many doctors, pharmacists, and other people in medicine, attorneys, and others with advanced degrees who, because of their constant struggle to catch up to their debt, wish they could have another shot.

If your plan for college doesn’t involve a robust financial evaluation (along with a mental and emotional commitment to a plan) of how well your four or more years of secondary education will pay off for you, don’t do it!

There is so much useful, income-enhancing education available outside of expensive university institutions. Most 4-year degrees require you to sit through hundreds of hours of courses that you would not choose to take based on their own merits and that have nothing to do with what you’ll be doing in your job. Most of what I’ve learned to build my current Amazon business I learned on YouTube, from Amazon’s seller help guidelines, and elsewhere online for free. There are thousands of small, one-person businesses that can be built using free information from the internet. I’d much rather see someone spend a few hundred or a few thousand dollars on some courses that take a few months, then build a business netting $100k+ than to sit in classrooms accumulating debt in exchange for an education that only qualifies that person for a $40k/year job that hardly covers living expenses outside of the student loan that has to be paid back.

Work Hard, Really Hard

While my wife and I were operating our sporting goods business, there were nights where we would switch off sleeping and working whenever we had deadlines that we absolutely had to meet.

On one occasion, a customer ordered 1,000 jackets that each had to have patches sewn onto the sleeves. The order had to be shipped within one week of the date that the order was placed. We had only a single-head embroidery machine on which to do the work. We calculated the time that would be required to get the job done, then we set up a schedule that would allow us to alternate sleeping shifts between the two of us in order to keep the machine going 24 hours a day. In this case, as with many others, we met the deadline. We made a lot of money on the order. We worked really hard. We then took some time off to recover.

Some people interpret this principle to mean that they have to always be working, even at the expense of relationships of a spouse and children. I absolutely don’t advocate for that. What I do strongly recommend, a strategy that has worked well for me, is to remove from your schedule those things that are not important, and that you spend the time that you are working having intensity and purpose. Instead of blowing four hours on a college football game (or eight hours on two of them) as I did when I had more time available or wasn’t as ambitious, I now watch either just a portion of the games I’m interested in, then catch the highlights online at night.

I have assertively looked for and found other ways to reallocate time so that I can get lots done without being overwhelmed. One program I’ve heard good things about is discussed in a book called Getting Things Done by David Allen. I’m planning to try that methodology in the next year to see if I can squeeze out even more productivity by reducing waste in my schedule.

There are tons of strategies available for being more productive in less time. I use a combination of a daily and weekly schedule, a calendar, and time blocking to balance getting lots of work done, coordinating with several partners, spending time as a volunteer, and fulfilling my top priorities of being a husband to a woman who is my best friend and a father to six very involved children.

You Can Choose to Become a Millionaire

Perhaps my favorite thing about life is the ability each of us has to choose our own path and be accountable to ourselves and our loved ones for the person we ultimately become. Especially in this modern age when freedom and opportunity are always within reach, there really is nothing keeping almost anyone from deciding to work hard, get the right education, pursue a rewarding and highly-compensating career, and ultimately become financially independent.

I hope this article motivates you to get going on your own millionaire story.

The post How to Become a Millionaire appeared first on The Handbook for Happiness, and Success, and Prosperity Prosperopedia.

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“The Name’s Bond.”

“James Bond”

These classic words from the debonair 00 British Secret Service agent are known around the world.  Based on Ian Fleming’s 12 novels, the legendary James Bond first appeared on theatre screens in 1963, when the first movie – Dr. No – was released. The franchise has been the longest-running film series in history!

For more than 50 years, this suit wearing MI 6 division commander saved the world ~24 times.

His manners are top notch; coinciding a luxurious lifestyle that’s attributed to his knowledge of top-shelf alcoholic drinks, love of fast European manufactured cars, confident demeanor, and cultured characteristics that have stood the test of time as the standard for being a true gentleman.

Times have changed since Sean Connery took on the now famous James Bond role, so we must ask ourselves the following question:  Is James Bond’s lifestyle still the epitome of an elegant gentleman??

James Bond History and Numbers from the Legacy

Ian Fleming was irked by the inability to live the life he dreamed of. Motivated by his brother being in the military, he authored the ultimate spy stories! Personally, I find the books to be more enjoyable than the action-packed films; but, I feel that both are time well spent!

There is no mistaking that the movies have filled the Eon Production’s money coffers to the brim!!! Let’s look at few stats taken from 007james.com

The numbers are adjusted for inflation and in accordance with the CPI

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The James Bond character has been played by 6 different actors; each one making bank!

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Now the debate begins – who was the best Bond?

I thoroughly enjoyed Sean Connery’s performances, and the movies back in the early days had a better feel to them in my humble opinion. It felt much less based on action and much more on the plot, let us really see the character of Bond — demonstrating the characteristics so well known today. Pierce Brosnan came in a close second, but the action based movies to me didn’t give enough time to enjoy more punch lines (an example coming later in the post). [Note from Jack: Brosnan is the quintessential Bond.]

Unfortunately, in the bond series, there are various scenes between him and the lovely bond ladies that are a bit too aggressive to us. Maybe this is why I feel pretty strongly that Dukes are the better gentlemen these days.

Who’s your favorite bond? Let us know in the comments!

What Makes James Bond a Gentleman?

Top Shelf Indulgences

“Vodka Martini…….shaken not stirred”

Throughout the movies, 007 orders various top-shelf liquors, sometimes stating preferences for limited edition bottles.

Here are a few examples:

Champagne Bollinger R.D. 2002: ~$300 / 750ml bottle

Belvedere Vodka: $80 /1.75L bottle

2005 Château Angélus Premier Grand Cru Classé Saint-Émilion: $430 / 750ml bottle

Macallan 18-Year: $240 / bottle

Drinks from the movie Spectre, written up by www.eater.com 

Groomed, Tailored, & Irresistible

Tom Ford or Brioni Suits

Even as 007 loses suitcases, changes countries, and continuously escapes imminent danger – he always finds a way to look dapper. His tailored suits from Tom Ford are quite the quality….and price tag: ~$5,500 each!!!

Image from: http://www.jbsuits.com

Manners and Confidence That Always Get the Girl

In each movie, Bond is able to use great manners, confidence, and mysteriousness to woo any girl he encounters. It’s as made up as the Axe Effect. He’s calm and composed. Always the man with the plan, knowing what to do even when the situation looks dire. James Bond never gives up and always, always goes back to save the girl!

M (his manager) gives him the opportunity to take leave on the government’s dime after saving the world, and the movies never show him doing so without a companion along for the adventure.

As stated above, we don’t condone the aggressiveness in some of the interactions he has. We treat our other halves with respect and love at the Duke of Dollars Kingdom.

5-star Only World Traveller

Not only does Mr. Bond stay in beautiful hotels in fabulous places, he does so in the best rooms such as the presidential or VIP suite. Here are a few places he stayed in the different films:

The Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas: ~$500 / night

Hôtel du Cap – Eden Roc in France: unknown

Hotel Danieli in Venice, Italy: ~$500 / night

The Langham in London: ~$700 / night

Drives fast expensive cars

Here are just three of the many cars throughout the bond movies. The prices below are the current price, not the prices from the past. In the books, James Bond actually drove a pre-war Bentley, but Goldfinger made one of the cars below famous: any idea which?

1. Aston Martin DB10

2. Aston Martin DB5

3. Toyota 2000 GT

Aston Martin DB10 – ~$500,000

Aston Martin DB5 – $1,000,000+

Toyota 2000 GT – $560,000

The answer is the DB5 – the most famous car in the world thanks to the Bond movies.

Always Completes the Mission

In our culture, the commitment and consistency bias mental model is a staple of being successful. We want to be friends with and trust people who are consistent and do what they commit to.

How many missions has James Bond failed out of the 24 we’ve had the opportunity to watch? 0.

This important trait is very gentleman-like because of how valuable that is with a future partner.

Technologically Sound

One of my favorite scenes that show the relationship between 007 and the quartermaster. It is a challenge to stop laughing after the punch line @~1:20 :

“Just took a few seconds Q…”

The New Age Gentleman – A Master Duke!

In this essay, we’re stating that standards for being a gentleman have changed. It’s time we define a new class of gentlemen; we’ve stated our reasons below.

It Costs too Much to live like Mr. Bond!!

According to CNBC, it would cost $1,500,000 to live like James Bond in the movie Spectre – an $800,000 apartment, $250,000 car, $6,000 watch, $4,000 suit, $2,100 hotel, $850 phone, and that doesn’t even include the plane tickets!

The movie is only 2 hours long! To achieve FIRE using the 4% withdrawal rate, Bond would need more than 5 MILLION dollars invested.

SN – the movies fail to mention that Bond was only able to spend like this while on missions. His focus for most of the year is on paperwork and intelligence. When duty calls for an out of state assignment (once or twice a year),  he uses the unlimited bankroll of the British Government to fund his lifestyle.

On the other side of this lavish spectrum comes the Dukes of the Duke of Dollar Kingdom. Although the opportunity to take on some Extreme Dating does happen within the budget, our life choices are not even close to the luxurious Mr. Bond.

Because Dukes live frugally and live with end goals in mind, we are able to spend much less – reducing the FIRE number we require. Why does this matter? Because instead of fancy vacations, expensive cars and watches, we indulge in our newfound time by building relationships in our lives – increasing our overall happiness!

We want to also note that once we have achieved our kingdoms, saving up and going to extravagant places can be on the bucket list! Tell us in the comments some of the ideas you have for FIRE. What will you do with your new time?

Do Cars and Clothes Matter? Stability is better!

The Financial Independence lifestyle might not create the most extravagant dates or the designer clothes and suits, but it allows for the most important things in your life.

Have you always wanted a classic car or fancy suit but don’t think you can afford it?

Once your kingdom is built, we say go for the gusto! Financial Independence isn’t about withholding from the dreams you have; it’s quite the opposite, leading you to better control your life to get the things you truly want. All it takes is a commitment, some creativity, and lots of hard work!

[Jack: sometimes my wife and I will dress to the 9’s and “play fancy” for a date. This doesn’t always involve a huge dinner bill or ritzy hotel, but we make a point to adopt overly debonair mannerisms for the night. Netflix in PJ’s is just as fun

The best part of being a Duke? You don’t NEED the fancy life. You can hold the door of a Camry for any lucky lady and she will love you just the same!!

In Millionaire Next Door, the fancy clothes and cars that the U.A.W.s (Under Achievers of Wealth) have are not quite so fancy to the bank account. 

Late on a car payment? How about struggling to pay off the car? How about the mortgage? These are things of the past…Dukes use their wealth to rid themselves of the gremlin armies of debt!

By doing so, we open up our lifestyles to focus on passions instead of stressing out to pay those we owe. We budget, we invest, and we prepare for curve-balls. This financial stability leads to knocking out one of the biggest stresses in relationships – finances.

Like the great Bobby McFerrin wrote for us…don’t worry, be happy.

Happy Families Require Commitment

Time with family is an imperative part of your life. You can’t help one of your family’s mini-dukes as they learn the basic multiplication tables if you’re not there when they begin studying them. Dinner at home with the family leads to healthier and happier family members.

Working overtime and long hours once you’re out of the “grind years,” does nothing but take time away from those you care about the most. Our journey to a financial kingdom contests this!

Once you have that F-You money, overtime is a thing of the past – allowing you to focus on priority numero uno – your family!

Dukes Build Homes Not Bachelor Pads

There is a huge difference between real, unwavering, and trust-filled love relationships compared to quick, passionate, fly-bys. Builders of a financial kingdom understand the importance a spouse in their life, so they choose carefully. They add to their happiness for years vs minutes or hours.

You may not get every girl you want or have them automatically at the drop of your name. Ladies may not unrealistically fall in love with you after hours stuck on a train, but you will have that very special person in your life who gives you gifts money just can’t buy!

By being a Duke, instead of a 00 womanizer such as Bond, the only thing you chase after are brave, intelligent spouses with longevity as the motivation to build a wonderful life. One of the most important decisions you make in your life is who you marry, not who you hook up with!

Dukes build homes, not bachelor pads.

It’s like the old question to any gentleman goes: “If you had a daughter or son, how would you want them to be treated?” I’d prefer an answer from those who have financial kingdoms and respect in mind.

Are Fancy Dates a thing of the Past?

We’d never suggest such a thing!

Going on a date with your loved one doesn’t require a fancy car or even a fancy dinner. A fancy date with suits and a beautiful dress, make-up, and candles can be an extravagant experience every once in awhile – plus it’s super romantic. We, of course, are fans of the Extreme Dating policy.

Dukes can afford this without having to suffer the consequences due to their overall financial stability mentioned above.

Just as fun, heading to the grocery store in your sweats and buying your favorite foods (and dessert of course!). Getting back home, you turn the Bluetooth speaker volume up, preheat the oven, and let the cooking collaboration begin…adding in some dances to your favorite song with your other half as you wait!

Disclaimer – I can’t do this LOL [Jack: me neither, but I try]

Once the meal has finished and you both have sung too much and danced until your feet hurt, light the candles on your dinner table, dim the lights, and enjoy the fruits of your labor!

Concluding Thoughts

Our responsibility, motive, and passion has been and will continue to be passing on the values to live that successful life so many dream of. Being a gentleman doesn’t require unlimited funds from the British government.

We hope to have convinced you that the new age of being a gentleman has begun, join us as we change the culture to appreciate the truly finer things in life: time, communication, trust, respect, and fun.

Lastly, although the idea of being a gentleman feels like it mostly relates to the behavior of men, in actuality women have the choice of accepting the different traits that men strive for. In other words, it is just as important for women to decide what the definition of a gentleman is because men are incentivized (as in, they want to find a spouse) to acquire the behaviors associated with that definition. If women ever fawn over men in high heels, you won’t be able to hear yourself think over the click-clack of 5″ manpumps. Likewise, a dating culture that frowns upon objectification and womanizing will help to encourage young bucks to max out their respect games. We are hopeful that the cultural winds are blowing in that right direction.

What gentleman traits do you think are most important to exhibit or require? Do you agree or disagree with our case study?

Tell us what you think by leaving a comment – we’d love to discuss it with you!

Image resources:

Header: Deviant Art

DB10: Top Speed

DB 5: Wikipedia

Toyota 200 GT: https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1967-toyota-2000-gt/

Case Study: Who’s the Real Epitome of a Gentleman – James Bond or Master Duke?? "The Name's Bond." "James Bond" These classic words from the debonair 00 British Secret Service agent are known around the world.