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popwasabi · 5 years ago

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“The Other Guys” wants cops to go after the real criminals

Before director/writer Adam McKay pivoted into populist screed’s against capitalism and political corruption in films like “Vice” and “The Big Short” he was largely known as one of the many “dumb comedy” directors working in Hollywood.

In fact, with major productions such as “Anchorman,” “Talladega Nights,” and “Step Brothers” he could almost be billed as THE dumb comedy director or certainly THE Will Ferrell director at least.

(To a certain extent, THE John C. Reilly director too.)

Those movies are certainly divisive amongst some filmgoers, as you either fall into the “turn your brain off and laugh” category or the “this is pure nonsense” crowd. I’m somewhat in the middle on all of it but one McKay/Ferrell vehicle provided a bridge between the “dumb comedy” years and his more serious satires of American politics and that movie was 2010’s “The Other Guys.”

Billed as just another parody of buddy cop flicks, “The Other Guys” is a comedy that still holds up pretty well by today’s standards. Mark Wahlberg in many ways plays an unhinged caricature of every tough guy persona he has ever played in detective Hoitz and perhaps more brilliantly Ferrell, as detective Gamble, is allowed to be the straight man of the duo for change, finding humor in a more subdued performance. Together they form a kinetic duo that play hilariously well off each other in a film that is rarely dull from start to finish.

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(Flawless logic here in the famous Tuna vs Lion debate)

“The Other Guys” takes some decent shots at the violent nature of cop culture from excessive police overreach in the film’s hilarious opening scene to cops’ shoot first ask questions later approach with detective Hoitz backstory involving shooting Dereck Jeter during game 7 of the World Series. In between more typical Ferrell comedy flare involving hot wives and ex-wives, hobo sexy orgies, and TLC references there’s a lot of pointed, tongue-in-cheek humor at the police that one can find great humor in.

It’s a descent satire of the cop movie and the culture around law enforcement on this alone but McKay’s real target isn’t the police so much as it is who the police aren’t going after.

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(For the record, peacocks and cops, for that matter, don’t fly.)

2008 probably feels like eons ago to many of you at this point but it was the year I personally came of age. I had graduated high school, The Lakers were good again, “The Dark Knight” and “Iron Man” had just come out, I had hopes and dreams as I entered college at San Jose State and oh…the Great Recession had just started!

I’m not going to go into extreme detail here but our economy had it’s worse collapse since the Great Depression caused by the subprime mortgage crisis due to vast widespread failures in financial regulation, breakdowns in corporate governance, vast trading and over borrowing, housing bubbles bursting, and heads of businesses just vastly ill-equipped to handle their hubris in that moment.

Major businesses and banks were on the verge of collapsing and then at the last minute the US government passed a $700 billion, with a capital B, bailout to put them all back in the green.

Corporations like Bank of America, Citi Group, Morgan Stanley etc received between $10-$25 billion each for their struggles and were able to stay alive in the country’s ever worsening state. This was great, except 2.6 million average working-class people lost their jobs during this period, including my father.

By the way, a guy like Joseph Casano, an executive at AIG, got a $34 million bonus for helping lead companies such as his into the recession.

This is McKay’s real target in “The Other Guys.” The satirical cop humor is largely window dressing to draw audiences in to the theaters so that he can show all of them who the real criminals of this country are.

As the plot of the story starts to kick into full gear the more obvious culprits of a typical Hollywood cop movie are dismissed. Though Hoitz is convinced it’s more the usual cop movie style villains of “sex and drug traffickers” at first, Gamble slowly pieces together a plot of dastardly insider trading. What it ends up being is that the bad guy is really just a doofus hedge fund manager named David Ershon played comically by Steve Coogan who made one too many bad investments to bad people.

Ershon has put his people and the people he owes money to deeper into the red, not at all unlike the wealthy CEOs and bankers who messed up the country during the 2008 recession, and it has led him to take desperate action to get everyone’s money back. Ershon, of course, tries to get Hoitz and Gamble off his tale by bribing them in a variety of hilarious ways (one of the funnier sequences of the film) but eventually gets caught up with the SEC and those who prosecute white collar crime (who are unsurprisingly also in bed with the people he owes money to).

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(Somehow, I don’t think this is far off from reality...)

Hoitz and Gamble continue on the case but find that taking on white collar crime is…complicated to say the least but most importantly ineffectual as detailed in this scene.

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(Again, probably not far off from reality...)

The 2008 recession, wiped out millions of jobs, with rural parts of the country getting hit the hardest and in many ways still feeling the effects today. If you were a POC you were even more unlikely to not recover from the crash. Property values plummeted, student high education success rates dropped, opiod overdoses from “unemployment deaths” and many more awful things happened during this period of great economic distress.

And what happened to the folks largely responsible for causing this mess? They got a fat fucking payday and a dismissive finger wag largely by our own government.

“The Other Guys,” more or less, ends the same way. Despite putting away Ershon, the company he was swindling, who gambled their people’s money, was still bailed out by the US government. A real “happy ending” that is played as a dark, matter of fact, joke before the credits roll.

(Again, we laugh but how far off from reality is this really?...)

I graduated from college in 2013, tens of thousands in debt from student loans and trying to navigate a largely bereft job market where wages had largely not changed in as many years. In 2008 average rent cost about $850 a month, by 2013 it was $953, today in 2020 it’s $1,097. The average entry level salary (for a clerical/ office professional) between 2008 and 2018 went from $46,886 to $45,882 showing a decrease in value.

In 2008 the richest man in the world, Warren Buffet, was worth $64 billion. The richest man in 2020, Jeff Bezos, is worth $200 billion.

If the fact that Jeff Bezos is worth more than some countries on this planet doesn’t make you infuriated alone I don’t know what will.

Btw Buffet’s net worth increased as well to $79 billion himself, in case you think it’s “unfair” to compare him to Bezos.

Sometimes I think the reason people aren’t angrier about this worldwide is 1) a bunch of us think we are all one hard working day away from being filthy fucking rich ourselves, one of the many great lies of capitalism and 2) many of us don’t actually know just how big a BILLION dollars is, so here let me help you all out:

With COVID in 2020 we’re seeing it all happen again, just as it did in 2008. Record unemployment rates, small businesses closing, evictions skyrocketing because no one can pay rent and all we got for it was a $1,200 band-aid (assuming you did get yours). Meanwhile billionaire slugs like Bezos and Elon Musk saw their net worth rise sharply during this period, hell even the fucking Lakers got a $4.6 million dollar “small business” loan (though they did return it…only after getting caught…).

The highest sum of cash ever stolen from a bank was $18.1 million (equivalent to roughly $30.1 million now) in 1997. These are the people cops and other “loose cannons” in popular actions movies are usually running up against. If you think stealing $30.1 million is a lot of money worth sending the cops over then $700 billion of our own tax dollars given to people who ruined the lives of millions of Americans should make you fucking furious. The only real difference here is one was made legal by our own elected government.

Adam McKay’s “The Other Guys” may be on its surface just another “dumb comedy” that mostly satirizes cops, but its villains are very real and unfortunately as American as apple pie. Under capitalism our labor only continues to get devalued every year (even the skilled positions), while the richest 1% of the human race only get fatter with their wealth. Things are only getting more expensive and the working man is getting priced out of more and more daily luxuries and even essentials. This way of life is not sustainable, especially for our environment which these dragons continue to plunder, and eventually we will need to actually hold our overlords accountable for letting it get this far.

If we don’t, they will continue to steal every penny in our pocket and bleed us dry until the next disposable drone can fill our place. If law enforcement won’t take this on, sooner or later we might have to…

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Remember, pimps don’t cry...

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neptunecreek · 5 years ago

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Future Ada: Tech Organizing Through an Intersectional Lens

Ada Lovelace's work on the first analytical engine helped lay the path for our modern world and continues to serve as an inspiration to people worldwide, including Electronic Frontier Alliance member Future Ada.

Based in Spokane, WA, Future Ada was founded in 2017 to advance opportunities and support for underrepresented genders in science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics. That same year, Forbes noted that closing the gender gap could increase U.S. Gross Domestic Product by two trillion dollars, yet work environments in many of these fields are so hostile to women that over fifty-percent will leave the sector as a result.

"Just because you're not a master at your skill or you don't have something published in your name, doesn't mean you can't bring something to your field."

Since their launch, Future Ada has grown into the understanding that establishing a genuinely representative sector requires an intersectional approach, and that creating inclusive spaces, where individuals from all diverse backgrounds want to be, is key to that mission. In the days leading up to our recent collaboration on panels at this year's HOPE and DEF CON conferences, I spoke with Rebecca Long and Emilie St-Pierre—respectively Future Ada's founder and Security Ambassador—to find out what they've learned since the group’s founding, and how they have adapted to the needs of their community and this unprecedented moment.

How did the idea for Future Ada come about? What inspired it and what were some of the first steps you took toward making it a real thing?

Rebecca: In 2017, I was really struggling with my career. As a woman in tech, I was dealing with some discrimination and sexism in my own career, and I wasn't feeling supported by the leadership in my company. Honestly, I was feeling like I should quit all of tech. I felt like, ‘nobody wants me here, I don't feel welcome, and the messages that I'm getting are that I am not good enough to be here—and no one wants to help me improve to meet whatever mysterious gap that no one will disclose, then maybe I should just go do something else.’ Thankfully, I ended up going to a conference called Write/Speak/Code that happened to be nearby in Portland that year. I went with another woman on my team who's a developer. At this woman- and non-binary-specific tech conference, they had everyone divide up into two groups. One was for the people who were newer in their careers, and one who was for people who were further along. I ended up in that [second] group.

Throughout the week, we had to come up with projects and talk about them. At first, I didn’t know what to do. Then I got a text message from an old boss—also a woman—and she was expressing the same feelings. That’s when I got mad. I felt like, ‘maybe I don't belong here, but I'm sorry, I know for a fact that you belong here because you're awesome.’ I thought, what kind of nonsense is this that we're both feeling like we're being driven out of tech? I have a ton of experience—over a decade of experience at that point—and she had even more than me. I felt, ‘we're well trained and we have every right to be here.’ So, I channeled that into this project at the conference. I decided I was going to create a nonprofit.

I was already running a user group called Spokane Geek Girls and active in the community. I had already been feeling like there was more I wanted to do to help people that were coming to me for mentoring, and help, and feeling similar to me. I had this idea of a nonprofit that would be what I’d need. But, I also felt like ‘no, I don't know how to do that. I have no idea how to start a non-profit or run an organization. That's just a ridiculous idea.’ But it was at this conference I decided, nope, that's not a ridiculous idea. This is really important and I'm going to find out how to do it. So, I bothered all of the organizers of this conference to tell me everything they knew. How do I do this?

I made some friends and they helped me develop our original mission statement and our name. They were all wonderful soundboards for me. There hadn’t been anything like this in Spokane. I just tried to channel all of my anger at the industry for lack of support and all that I'd been experiencing. I thought ‘we need to do better. We need to channel that into positive energy, and I want to help other people.’ It helps me to help other people and I know other people are in similar states. Maybe they don't feel comfortable speaking up, or maybe they just haven't woken up to what's going on around them. Maybe they don't understand why they're never getting that promotion or why they're not getting these career opportunities.

It sounds like maybe that conference was an awakening moment for you in the way that you and other women were experiencing Imposter Syndrome. Are there any tools or strategies that you've been able to use that help women identify that that's what they're feeling and overcome that?

Rebecca: Every speaker—and these are folks who are accomplished, wrote books, high-level management—and they're like ‘I also feel this way.’ And it was just like, ‘what!?” That's incredible. At some level, I'd always known that. But I think hearing it, and hearing it again, and hearing everyone share their stories, that was most powerful for me. Because you feel that you aren’t good enough right now, that doesn't mean that you actually aren't good enough. It's a facade that society or various things are trying to tell you and convince you of.

Hearing other people, who are very successful, talk about that kind of stuff, and share their stories and how they work through it—even if it's ‘I just powered through,’ that’s been really helpful for me.

I try and speak about this stuff and be open with my own experiences with people, and help others know that it's okay if you are also feeling this way. That doesn't mean that you have to stop. That doesn't mean that you don't belong here. It doesn't mean that you don't deserve a promotion or that nice salary or whatever your dream job is. You can still make an impact.

In the last few years, I’ve been picking up the storytelling mantra as a tool. I want to highlight other people's stories and give people a platform, so they feel safe to talk to me about their story and I can share, with them, my story.

One of the other things that, thankfully, Emilie was able to bring was an emphasis on security. Security has always been a passion of mine but it's always been on the side, because it's not really my main job. So, I've been really happy Emilie's been able to help bring some of that to our organization with our open office hours and with our security workshops. To really make these things approachable for the whole community. We want everyone to feel like technology and all of these things are safe, and you can do it. You don't have to be some math genius to do any of this stuff.

Emilie, have you had any experiences with Imposter Syndrome or starting to buy into folks devaluing your work or your contribution?

Emilie: Yeah, fully. To this day it comes and goes. I have to say, sometimes it’ll come back in moments where I'm going through something hard at work. But I definitely had Imposter Syndrome when I was new to the security industry. I'd hang out at conferences like DEF CON when I was still new. I was learning a lot, but even though I had some skills, I constantly compared myself to the security researchers that had found vulnerabilities. These people that were presenting at these conferences, I was like ‘well, I don't have something like that to bring to the table’ so I just figured I wouldn't belong. But just because you're not a master at your skill or you don't have something published in your name, doesn't mean you can't bring something to your field. I think it took me a while to realize that. Later on, training people that were new to the field helped me realize that. ‘Oh, I can easily tell this person what they can bring to the field so why is it harder to say that to myself?’ I've gotten better with that over time, but it's very relatable.

The name Future Ada, I imagine it's an ode to Ada Lovelace, but can you talk a little bit about how you arrived at that name?

Rebecca: Yeah, it is totally in honor of Ada Lovelace. I find her very inspiring. Our whole computer industry is thanks to her. We have a tendency—over history—to erase certain people from their contributions. She was one of them. Having her as part of our name, I get to talk about her. I can say, ‘hey did you know that computer science, the whole reason we have technology, is thanks to a woman? Did you know that?’ That's been really awesome.

I want our organization to help create future Ada Lovelaces. Ada Lovelaces of today, of tomorrow, of the next day. Our next generation. Where we're inspiring folks to go out there and break those molds. Because she definitely broke molds back in her day. That's what we need to be doing. That's how you get really awesome things and you can change the world. That's what we were going for when I came up with the name.

How did you find Future Ada, Emilie?

Emilie: Thanks to the Diana Initiative, which is a small conference that tags alongside others during hacker summer camp. So, DEF CON, Blackhat, and B-Sides Las Vegas. I had just moved to Spokane, and I had already been doing these workshops over in Las Vegas about security and privacy, and had been hosting crypto parties, and I wanted that to continue in Spokane. But, Spokane is different. There wasn't a hackerspace that was open weekly. So, I just focused on seeing what I could do with other folks. When I saw that Rebecca was speaking at the Diana Initiative and it said she was from Spokane, I was so excited. I went to see her talk, and then after the talk let her know I was also from Spokane and that I’d love to do something together. I told her that I’d been doing these workshops and was looking to bring them. She was super receptive and very welcoming. Since then we’ve been doing these workshops. Learning as we go along. Now we get to offer them online, which is really cool. So, yeah, it's been fun to see our partnership grow and where we took it from there.

What are some of the biggest challenges that you faced creating the group and finding the right people?

Rebecca: Maybe I shouldn't have been surprised, but I was surprised that I had people coming to me. I was trying to keep it kind of on the D.L. that I was doing this until I had it really formulated, but word started getting out, and people were saying ‘I want in on this,’ ‘I want to be on your board,’ ‘let me help you.’ That was really inspiring.

Challenges? I'm not a marketing person, that's not my specialty. We don't really have anyone on our board that's a marketing expert. So we learned a lot on that end. I feel like we're learning a lot by doing things wrong. Not wrong, but not very effectively. We think ‘this will work great’. And it works, sort of, but we want to have a bigger reach. Learning more marketing will help us on that front but that takes time. It is a challenge.

We want to be really careful with what we do. We want to make sure that when we expand our board, that we're bringing in the right people. That we’re really mindful about that. We’re also aware of our 100% white board. As we work to expand our board, and organization leadership, we are being mindful to diversify ourselves and bring in better racial perspectives. We are working as an organization to learn how to grow and best speak on the topic of race and injustice. It's a process and it's important so we aren't shying away from it.

Are there any other challenges that you didn't anticipate?

Emilie: Creating the workshops and letting people know that we are available to help them. We spend time creating these workshops. We spend the time to get volunteers to come to workshops and be there to help folks. I thought our biggest challenge would have been managing the demand, because we literally offer free tech support—and privacy and security support—but it's actually been very easy to do that. We have open hours for folks that we want to help, but we're obviously not reaching as far as we can. For me, marketing is like an alien planet. My background is really privacy and security. I think that's the challenge I've never faced before. And definitely the hardest one from my end.

Rebecca: We've had some really successful programs. We ran March for Science last year in Spokane. It was great. It was kind of a last minute thing. We came in to help as the new parent organization, and it was super successful. We had a huge turnout but that was one event. A one-day thing. And, then we've had other one-day events that have been really successful. But then our recurring workshops aren’t even an hour and we have low turnout. We haven't unlocked that piece yet.

Since moving online because of the pandemic, we've seen higher participation in our workshops, and I feel like we're going to have higher participation across the board. So, we're working to transition everything. Next year when we restart some of our year-long programs, they'll be online or a majority online. Maybe part of our problem is that Spokane is a little different and folks have different priorities, but attending something from home, where they don't have to worry about travel or parking, I think that kind of helps avoid it and it's less of a dent in their day. I'm really hopeful that this actually can be a really positive thing for our organization. and that it also expands our reach outside of Spokane. Anyone can participate. Which is really cool because it helps broaden our reach.

Are there any other partnerships in your area that you’ve found to be effective partnerships?

Rebecca: Emilie’s been working with Volunteers of America.

Emilie: Yes. With Crosswalk. We teach teenagers about privacy and security. Online privacy and security. We've even done some introductory cryptography stuff. I'm very big on making sure that it's something fun. It’s a puzzle. We actually use some of EFF’s crypto tools for that. At the end of the workshop I told our participants ‘did you know that crypto is math and you just did math?’ They thought it was really fun and really cool. For kids that are maybe told that they're not good at math, or are uncomfortable with the idea of math, after that they realize that there's all sorts of ways to look at math. That's a big partnership for us.

Rebecca: There's another nonprofit in Spokane, that is more of a general tech nonprofit called Inland Northwest Technologists (INT). Our original Vice President came from that organization. He had brought to Spokane, with INT, this event called Code in the Dark. The last two times that event has been held in Spokane, it's been a partnership between that organization and ours. We bring in more of a diversity, and really work to help and make sure it’s an inclusive space. The first few years they ran it, it was nearly all men that were participating. Only men were in the top three winners. October of last year, the last time we held it, was the first time we had a woman win the competition. It was amazing.

We have been trying to work with the YWCA in Spokane, to help bring some of these security principles and privacy principles to their domestic violence survivors. Emily and I are very passionate about that and we want to be supporting this group of our community. We know the YWCA has been very busy. Just in general. So getting the momentum to really get that partnership off the ground has been a little slow. We're still hopeful. We're not going to give up on it anytime soon.

Emilie: We are already available for service for survivors. When we have our open office hours on Saturdays we are ready to accept survivors. We have a clinical approach to detect compromise. So, we can accept anyone that is in that situation and help them navigate their technology or help them navigate compromises or any kind of stalkerware, spyware. We are ready to do that already.

I think switching to online has been wonderful for certain aspects of what we offer. The workshops are available to a larger population, and more accessible in some ways. My only concern is office hours. We would typically do them downtown at the Spokane Library. This also gave us the opportunity to help homeless folks. We had a few people come in that don't have a computer at home. Don't have a home. How do you make sure that you're helping that population? So that’s something that, when things start to open up, we'll definitely want to make sure that we're not overlooking certain segments of the population that we might be able to help. We said we're going to focus on being very online but not 100% online, because we don't want to miss those folks that we might be able to better serve that way.

No two communities are exactly the same. That’s one of the reasons it’s so critical to have groups like Future Ada that are rooted in and can adapt to the needs of their city or town. What are you finding are the core needs of your community? Is it different from what your original expectations were?

Rebecca: My original intention was really limited. The organization was focused on gender diversity. I thought we would just focus in on that. What I've found is you can't really solve that problem without taking an intersectional approach. If you care about women in tech, then great, you're gonna need to have an inclusive environment. Hey, you know what? That also helps all these other people. So, really, focusing on shifting our mindset to be inclusive and approachable really helps everybody. That's been kind of a shift for me that I guess I was a little surprised with, but I'm really happy that we've made this turn. I'm also learning how many people in our community could use more basic support. Not necessarily learning how to program, but ‘how do I fix this on my browser?’ Really turning folks from being afraid of technology to helping them feel that they can do this. That's been a little surprising to me, but I'm really happy that that's something that we can help with. Wherever the community is, that's where we want to be to help lift everybody up.

What is Future Ada’s decision-making process like? What are the voices that are involved? How do you work together to come to a shared path?

Rebecca: We have different committees. Anything security or privacy related, Emilie is in charge of that. So, anything she says we're probably just gonna back it. We have our career mentoring committee. One of our other board members is responsible for that. It’s the same thing, whoever is responsible for a committee we've entrusted them with leading that and reporting back anything that seems more pivotal or in need of a larger decision. But, generally speaking we meet once a month as a board, and we discuss things on a regular basis. I think we're all pretty much in alignment. We're also still a really small group, board wise, and our committees are still pretty small. Once we get bigger we're gonna need a more formal process, but at the moment we're all pretty well in sync, I think. Emilie, what do you think?

Emilie: I was smiling when nash asked that question, because I was like ‘how do we come to decisions?’ Well, first we share all of our cats and cat videos during our meeting. And once we've done that, then we start really having these discussions. But what I like is that everyone is very very receptive and generally considers everyone's point of view and opinion really well. It's been a really nice dynamic, and I think it has a lot to do with, you know, starting the meeting off with cat memes and showing off our real cats, if we can. It makes a big difference.

Future Ada’s work to lift up and support Spokane women in STEAM has extended far beyond their local area, while still being focused on the needs of their own community. As members of the Electronic Frontier Alliance they have been instrumental in contributing to the development of related work for allied groups throughout the U.S.

If you are a member of a community or student-led group in your area working to protect digital security, free expression, privacy, creativity and access to knowledge, consider joining the Electronic Frontier Alliance.

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artsoccupychi · 6 years ago

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The Vibrations of Money, Wealth, and Success

I was listening to my favorite marketing podcast recently, and the young man being interviewed was talking about money and how we respond to it on an emotional level, along with how our attitudes toward it help or hurt our desire to be successful, provide for our family, and climb the proverbial ladder.

During the interview, this young man said the following: “Money does not come from effort.”

I enjoyed the conversation overall, but I disagree with this statement. I think it’s false and even a little offensive.

In this article:

Our Mixed Feelings About Money

Believing in Abundance

The Value of Work

What Do You Really Believe About Money?

Money as Energy

Shifting Your Financial Energy

Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life

I believe many of us are our own worst enemies, when it comes to the “head game” around success, money, and wealth.

Our Mixed Feelings About Money

We have a complicated, love-hate relationship with money, don’t we? I believe many of us are our own worst enemies when it comes to the “head game” around success, money, and wealth.

Money has energetic frequencies. If you’re willing to let this conversation get pretty honest, maybe a little bit raw, let’s talk about what your own personal energetics are around this subject.

If you were raised Christian, you might have been taught Biblical sayings such as love of money is the root of all evil or it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven. If you then saw your parents spend many hours, almost every day, trying to get more money, the whole situation was probably pretty confusing.

The Christian religion I was raised in has given rise to far more than its fair share of millionaires and educated, successful, even wealthy people. Both of my parents and most of my 7 siblings have advanced degrees, and it’s no secret that the #1 reason people obtain post-graduate degrees is to increase earning power; all of my siblings are very successful financially.

The contradictions aren’t limited to religious folks; most people, regardless of background, make frequent negative statements about the pursuit of money and people who have lots of it—all while spending most of their waking hours doing everything they can to make more of it themselves.

So it seems worthwhile to explore the “vibration” of money—because, like everything else, money is simply energy (or vibration). The best energies are ones that flow without resistance. The energetic space you hold for thinking about, talking about, and pursuing money should ideally, then, be a flow state.

“There is plenty of money, it is abundant, there is enough for everyone, it flows like a river, it’s easy to earn, it’s easy to spend, it’s easy to give and share, and it’s easy to invest it well.”

Believing in Abundance

Consider this outlook:

There is plenty of money. It is abundant. There is enough for everyone. It flows like a river. It’s easy to earn. It’s easy to spend. It’s easy to give and share. It’s easy to invest well.

Read those words over and over again, and notice how you feel when you do.

Did any part cause your mind to trip? Did you feel any resistance?

What did it feel like — Shame? Anger? Self-pity?

Where in your body did you feel resistance to the idea that money is free-flowing and abundant?

I hope you’ll spend a minute thinking about any part of that statement that you found yourself pushing against, instead of flowing with. Because all of those things are true. Money is a manmade concept. Human beings create the physical tender itself.

As you know, most “money” is flowing via digital transfer these days anyway. The value of Bitcoin went from $327 in November 2015 to $19,650 two years later, then back down to $3,183 today. Cybercurrencies are literally creating money. It’s nothing more or less than energy, and if this is true, then it’s worth exploring what your own energy blockages may be.

The Value of Work

When the speaker on that podcast said, “Money does not come from effort,” I think he meant to challenge our parents’ and grandparents’ advice: “If you want to succeed, work hard.”

However, of all the twisty and conflicted beliefs we may have around money, I think that message is one we should keep.

Stonehenge, Machu Picchu, the Colossus—all the great feats of humankind have involved massive effort. Sometimes unthinkable, thousands-of-hours, if-they’d-known-how-much-work-it-was-I-wonder-if-they-would-they-have-done-it work. Hardcore labor.

I think the young speaker dismissing the idea that money and success flow from hard work may have had a valid point underneath his words. There’s such a thing as working smarter, not harder. If you’re a business owner, you must learn to delegate, leverage systems, and get the most from your team in order to not kill yourself in building a business.

But let’s not throw the baby out with the bath water! I’ve never achieved anything without a massive amount of work. I love the idea that work creates wealth. We’ve all seen that in action.

I also think that working hard for something that matters creates quality, principled humans. Are we really able to value the things we achieve if we don’t work hard to achieve them? That’s exactly what I’ve done every time I’ve “birthed a baby,” whether it was a new book, a new business, or a new product line.

If the “green-eyed monster” of jealousy invades our consciousness relative to material wealth, then we may need to accept that we value money more than most of us are willing to admit to.

What Do You Really Believe About Money?

Have you ever felt critical towards or said harsh words about someone who achieved great financial success? Perhaps you went to high school with them or were at the same financial status once, and now they’ve outpaced you.

Have you noticed that you don’t go after big financial or professional goals because you fear your family and friends will criticize you or see you differently if you out-earn them?

Are you known to say self-sabotaging things about material success? Examples include statements like, “Money doesn’t buy happiness anyway,” or, “I didn’t really want to succeed at X anyway because it would be too stressful.”

Do you really believe that a rich man can’t get into heaven?

Do you believe that the wealthy are innately more sinful, or less good and kind, than others?

Whatever your feelings about money may be, they can be changed to flow with more peace and abundance. All it requires is a little intention and practice.

Money as Energy

When I was 24, I set some ambitious financial goals for myself and planned to achieve them by the time I was 42. When I finally got there (at 48 instead of 42 — just a little behind schedule!), I understood that the idea of “financial freedom” I originally set out to achieve is elusive, if not entirely a myth.

Most people who achieve 7-figure net worth will tell you that in the acquisition of their wealth, they’ve become acutely aware of how quickly it can disappear. This can lead to the sense that the original goal, “financial freedom,” or “financial stability,” may be impossible.

The more they work and acquire, and the older they get, the more they become aware of thousands of years of human history where the rich became poor, assets crumble overnight, and entire national economies fluctuate–even created or destroyed in just days or months. (We all watched the stock market tumble in 2007.)

Many of the most wealthy among us report having more anxiety around money when they’re worth $5 million than they did when they were young and working near the poverty line.

This may be due to becoming clear about how illusory and transitory money is.

If wealth is just digital transmission of energies, and it’s just a concept that we’ve all agreed to, why do we use it as a barometer around which we feel pride, shame, fear, guilt, and almost endless anxiety?

If money is in constant flow, and if we can either be in or out of that flowing river depending on the energies we choose, aren’t we all better off choosing to be more abundant?

Now that I’ve gotten entirely philosophical about the green stuff, you may be thinking, “No, Robyn. Money isn’t energy. Money is a cold, hard fact of life that I need in order to have food and a place to live.”

Fair enough. But there are billions of dollars, mostly in the form of little digital data bits flowing across wires buried in the ground, that we can create more of. There is no actual scarcity.

Money flows to those who work, who do so diligently, who finish their projects rather than just dream about them, who put their time and effort into “highest and best” uses.

Plenty of people work very hard, harder than wealthy people do, and never earn any significant amount of money. Many people expend a tremendous amount of effort on a variety of things, while avoiding putting their labor into activities that will actually lead to material success due to their fear or aversion around money.

So, because there’s more to becoming wealthy, or financially successful, than what your parents may have told you (“Work hard!”), we must examine another aspect of whether you could be more successful than you are.

Shifting Your Financial Energy

You can absolutely have more money and wealth than you have now.

Because money is energy, and because spending it creates lots of ripples and flow in the larger energetic system known as “the economy,” you can create money and wealth, without taking it from someone else who needs it!

The idea that “effort does not create wealth” is disrespectful to over 90% of the human beings on the Earth for whom physical labor pays for their food and shelter and their children’s needs. We have most of what is available to us due to someone’s physical effort, so I don’t think it serves to devalue that.

But in addition to acknowledging the value of effort, shifting your energies and thought patterns towards money has the power to completely change your financial status when added to hard work and being a “finisher” of your projects. What if you challenged these commonly-held beliefs:

that money is something to fear

that entrepreneurs and people who work more than 40 hours a week are “workaholics” and therefore pathological and need to change

that you aren’t capable of obtaining enough money

that people who obtain money and spend it easily are somehow bad or obsessive or misguided

that you shouldn’t bother to try to earn more money because you’ll just lose it somehow

that if you become financially successful, your friends and family will turn on you

that because money can’t buy happiness, then staying where you are is actually better

that only shallow people care about money

that because people who are “satisfied” with their financial state are the happiest, you should decide to be satisfied with your financial struggle rather than pursue success

Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life

I hope you’ll try a little experiment: when you have a negative thought about money (whether the thought is judgmental, jealous, or fearful, consciously replace it with a positive statement.

When you see someone who’s obviously had financial success and think to yourself, “I bet that guy has stepped on a lot of people to get where he is,” make an internal shift to something like this: “I’m learning to get in the stream of flowing money and to both give and receive it willingly.”

Instead of settling for, “That car she’s driving is fancy, but I don’t need a flashy car to feel good about myself,” tell yourself, “I view others with money positively because I want those positives to flow into my life as well.”

Change, “He’s got a really nice house, but I wouldn’t want a mortgage payment that big,” to, “I don’t need to make a judgment about expensive things or the people who own them, because it doesn’t serve me.”

Go from, “I’m sure I’ll lose this business/house/car eventually,” to, “My energies around money help more of it flow to me and the people and causes I care about.”

If you find yourself saying, “Money can’t buy happiness,” replace that thought with, “I want more wealth, and I’m not afraid to say it.”

Stop judging those who work hard as somehow broken or inferior and start seeing money as the ability to use your time the way you want to.

The words, thoughts, and emotions we have about success, money, and wealth directly affect whether we are in the stream of wealth and abundance or straining to get a drop from a turned-off faucet that drips now and then. Money flows to those who work, who do so diligently, who finish their projects rather than just dream about them, and who put their time and effort into “highest and best” uses.

Read next: 14 Ways I Optimize My Health and Energy Every Day

Robyn Openshaw, MSW, is the bestselling author of The Green Smoothies Diet, 12 Steps to Whole Foods, and 2017’s #1 Amazon Bestseller and USA Today Bestseller, Vibe. Learn more about how to make the journey painless, from the nutrient-scarce Standard American Diet, to a whole-foods diet, in her free video masterclass 12 Steps to Whole Foods.

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on December 7, 2017; it has been updated for accuracy and relevance.

Disclaimer: This article may contain affiliate links, which allows you to support our mission without costing you extra.

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#infrared saunas #healthy

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jcals40-blog · 6 years ago

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My Quest for the Perfect Gym

I can’t imagine life without exercise. I started to become seriously interested in taking care of my body by exercising and eating healthy about five years ago. It’s in my blood. Both of my parents have continued to stick to rigorous workout routines and healthy diets since they were teenagers in the 1980’s, so that has inspired me to do the same. My father is 57 years old and still runs five miles 2-3 times a week as well as lifting weights and going to yoga twice a week. My mother teaches fitness classes and does small group personal training as well as crossfit and high intensity interval training on a regular basis. My parents have never forced me to exercise or diet but they encouraged me in a healthy and positive way. The fact that they are both in their 50s and in much better shape than probably 99% of college students in America is amazing to me. To be able to continue to take care of your body for 40 plus years straight is something many people do not have the discipline to do. Do you? I believe this discipline carries over into other aspects of life such as career and personal life.

The first time I had to really test my discipline is when I tore my ACL in high school. In order to still be able to participate in sports, I had to get surgery and do a LOT of physical therapy. Even though I was disappointed to be injured, I enjoyed seeing the progress I was making during the physical therapy. I was running, jumping and lifting weights and it definitely boosted my confidence. When I was cleared to play sports again, I noticed I was able to throw harder in baseball and hit harder in football.

Exercise is also important because, contrary to popular belief, it can actually increase energy levels. It can also improve skin and bone health as well as help with relaxation at night and falling asleep faster. As a teenager with ADD who had a hard time falling asleep at night, it was appealing to know that if I worked hard to burn calories during the day, than I would have a much easier time falling asleep at night. Not to mention the release of endorphins that gave you that exercise high.

So it’s no secret that I love to workout. It’s a priority for me. If I don’t workout I can get pretty grumpy. Since my schedule is very busy, I need my workout place and routine to be efficient. Finding the right place to workout is very important to me. If I only have an hour to spend at the gym, I don’t want to be disappointed. Thus my quest for the best gym.

For someone my age, I have been to many different gyms. I have been to Lifetime Fitness in Houston, Texas which is the largest gym I have ever seen. I have also been to a gym in Winter Park, Florida that was half outdoors and half indoors. I have been to gyms at different colleges and different gyms in Massachusetts and in Maine. Through all my gym hopping, the one I frequent the most is Yang’s Gym in Andover, Massachusetts where my mother works as a fitness instructor. It’s that friendly neighborhood gym, where everybody knows your name - kind of like the neighborhood pub, but healthier.

I definitely prefer small, privately owned gyms such as Yang’s over big gyms such as Planet Fitness. In fact, in my opinion, Planet Fitness is by far the worst gym chain in the world. There, I said it. I’m not judging anyone who goes there, but come on now, their commercial slogan is “We’re not a gym, we’re Planet Fitness.” But at the end of the day, they are a gym, and not even a good one. They earn a large chunk of their profits from people who join because of the cheap monthly payment but rarely ever actually go to the gym. I once went to a Planet Fitness to join for a month, which they advertise is only 10 dollars. But this is simply not true. I was told I had to pay a 200 dollar “initiation fee” and that the first month was 20 dollars. They don’t even have barbells, benches or squat racks. It’s basically a cardio factory. If you want to walk on a treadmill for an hour, it’s the perfect gym for you. No personal attention, no heavy weights, no fitness classes. Not my kind of place.

Another negative experience I had at a chain gym was when I went to Gold’s Gym, which is known for having members who take their training very seriously (the opposite of Planet Fitness). I was anxious to try it out for a day and hoped I would find a perfect fit. Most private gyms allow you to have a one day free pass or even a one week free pass to go there, try it out and then decide if you want to join or not. The manager at Gold’s told me, “We don’t just allow people to walk in and workout for free”, like that was a foreign concept to him. He was pressuring me like a used-car salesman. Needless to say I was very disappointed.

My experiences at smaller, private gyms have been much more pleasant. In addition to Yang’s, I’ve enjoyed working out at Cedardale Fitness Center which is also in Andover. It was not expensive to join and they did not pressure me into to joining immediately. They allowed me to workout for a week completely free before I decided whether I wanted to join there long term. They also let college students put their memberships on hold while they are away at school. Now that’s the kind of customer service I’m talking about.

Yang’s Fitness Center is equally as accommodating, but they take it even a step further as the owners are on site 99% of the time. If you have any questions or concerns, they are being addressed immediately. It’s not like you have to wait for an answer from “corporate”. (Ahem, Boston Sports Clubs). And speaking of waiting, you don’t have to wait to get on a piece of equipment or sign up a week early to get a spot in spin class. The equipment is good, the price is right, but the people make the place. Yang’s has some of the best personal trainers and fitness staff around. They genuinely care and they notice when you haven’t been there for a while. I recently sat down with owner Diana Kiesel to do a little Q&A.

Hi Diana-

1. How long have you been in the fitness industry? For 30 years if you count martial arts as a part of "fitness" but if not, we've owned the gym for 13 years.

2. What's the biggest change(s) you have seen over the years? Low cost competitors (box gyms that charge a very low monthly fee like Planet Fitness, Workout World, Choice Fitness, etc.) have devalued fitness memberships so the single owner facilities (aka mom and pop gyms) are finding it hard to compete. Prospects who are new to fitness are unable to differentiate between low cost competitors who do not provide services (training, classes, etc) from those that do but the ones that do are slightly more expensive so have lost market share to the low cost clubs. Then the other extreme are the big corporate gyms (like Equinox and Lifetime) that are very expensive (upwards of $100 - $150/mo) which have swallowed many single operator facilities. Third change are the boutique clubs (those that only offer one specialty service like Spinning, Barre, Cross Fit) which have also taken market share from the single owner operator gyms.

3. What have you done to stay competitive and what sets your gym apart from the competition? Service ... by providing personal services and classes to members. Personal Training, Small Group Training, Team Training and workshops.

4. What are some of the advantages of belonging to a gym where the owners are present? I learned a long time ago that no one else cares for your business as much as you do so when the owner(s) are present, their philosophy and culture they want their business to reflect trickles down to the staff. They role model after what they see the owners are willing to do to service customers.

5. How do you attract new members? Mostly through referrals/word of mouth and social media (facebook and most recently instagram). Newspaper advertising is no longer the best use of advertising dollars.

6. How do you retain people and keep them coming back? By providing outstanding customer service and demonstrating to the members that they are not just a number, their health and well being are important to us.

7. What type of advertising do you do? On occasion newspaper, magazine and direct mail but mostly social media (facebook boosts) and like-kind (donations).

8. What do you think are your members biggest motivators? Our staff ... they notice when a member has gone missing and reach out. By demonstrating that we notice they aren't coming keeps them accountable.

9. Can you share a few sentences from a couple of success stories about your members and how Yang’s Fitness Center played a part in their journey? We have a 58 year old member who has undergone several cancer treatments and has told us if it weren't for the personal training she had received in the years leading up to and during her treatments, her recovery would not have been as quick and her treatments would not have been as aggressive to treat her two cancer occurances.

A retired public school principal joined our gym a few months after her retirement having never been a "regular" gym member her entire life and admittedly didn't really enjoy organized exercise and primarily joined to find a social circle. She thanks us almost every time she comes in now for her love of fitness and her new social circle. She comes 4-5 times a week and is our group exercise class ambassador now. Always there to welcome and encourage new members.

A 69 year old man currently going through his 3rd cancer diagnosis comes every day to cycle on his own just to stay strong during his current treatment and to find some distractions to occupy his mind. He feels welcomed and not judged based on the limited amount of exercise he may or may not be able to perform each day based on how he feels. To have your members feel welcomed regardless of how much or little they can do that's "fitness" is special since most people have a fear that going to a gym means you'll leave beat up and limping.

10. Do you feel like your gym focuses on the whole person - both their mental and physical health? If so, how? Definitely, we offer a variety of mind-body programs, Yoga being one, where the teachings in a class are not focused just on the participant's physical ability or condition. Additionally, we offer Tai Chi, Qigong (Chi Kung) and meditative classes and workshops on an ongoing basis. Those who participate in training are more exposed to mental aspects of their well being that those who perform workouts on their own but we attempt to reach out (via email, phone or in person) whenever we can and especially if we witness or hear of any personal struggles.

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foursproutwealth-blog · 7 years ago

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UK Gas Crisis: Out Of The Frying Pan Into The Fire

New Post has been published on http://foursprout.com/wealth/uk-gas-crisis-out-of-the-frying-pan-into-the-fire/

UK Gas Crisis: Out Of The Frying Pan Into The Fire

Authored by Kent Moors via OilPrice.com,

For the ministers and officials assembled, it was an embarrassment all around.

Late last week, as we were at the annual Windsor Energy Consultation (WEC) just outside London, British Gas Plc confirmed that the nation was facing a natural gas shortage as freezing temperatures grip the country.

You see, blizzards, strong winds, drifting snow, and bitter cold recently brought Britain to a standstill as the weather system nicknamed the “Beast from the East” combined with winter storm “Emma” to create some of the most testing weather the U.K. has had to face in years.

Now, I can attest first hand that this cold snap was not something to take lightly.

As a regular attendee of the Windsor Energy Consultation over the past decade, a visit that includes spending three days each year at the royal residence, I know that Windsor Castle can be drafty in any weather.

But this time around, it was positively frigid.

“Frosty” Windsor Castle grounds (St. George’s Chapel on the left), March 2, 2018; photo: Bill Arnold

And nationwide, this “big freeze” has brought to light a very serious problem.

And it’s one that is only getting worse…

Bitter Cold Adds (Further) Fuel to the Flames

The unfolding gas crisis has brought about a renewed immediacy to a major political issue that has been percolating in the U.K. for some time now.

You see, for the third year in a row, a portion of my two briefings (one to the plenary meeting; one to the ambassadors), was devoted to the growing global need for a new “energy balance.”

Simply put, that balance involves two related advances.

The first is an expansion in the number of reliable (and distinct) energy sources. The second addresses the extent to which these sources provide a genuine interchangeable network of availability from such sources.

The rise of renewable sources (solar, wind, biofuel, even geothermal) has been the most visible manifestation of the developing balance. But the crucial element to remember is the balance nature of it all.

As we have noted in the past, this is not an exercise in finding a “silver bullet” to wean the market from a dependence on any particular energy source.

All energy sources are required. It’s the integration of these sources that translates into the most efficient, cost-effective, and best solution for both producers and consumers.

Now, among the assembled officials and sector dignitaries at this year’s Windsor meeting, there was a widespread agreement that a global “energy balance” is necessary.

But you wouldn’t know it looking at the situation developing currently.

In fact, despite that agreement, the current gas crisis emerging in the U.K. actually results from a shocking referendum decision back in 2016…

Planning Limbo

Delays in moving on still contentious (and well over budget) nuclear power plants combined with ongoing pipeline problems from the North Sea offshore fields has left any “energy balance” forward planning very much in limbo.

Yes, the increase in wind power in the U.K. has occurred more rapidly than expected, but it still lags behind the rise in demand.

The majority of demand in the U.K. is still covered by natural gas – both from the North Sea, which is becoming increasingly questionable when it comes to extractable volume, and expanded liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports.

Unfortunately, the nation’s supply issues have been complicated by one event that has overshadowed everything else for more than a year and a half.

I’m talking about “Brexit,” the British decision to leave the European Union.

And the supply issue that followed this landmark decision is creating a major problem for British energy consumers.

But after a sidebar conversation with a British Gas executive at Windsor, the reasoning behind my original argument has become even more compelling…

Why Brexit is Hiking U.K. Power Prices – and the Worst is Yet to Come

As I explained back in July 2016, history tells us that the winter of 1946-1947 was one of the worst experienced by the U.K. in a century – and the coldest in three.

Coming so soon after the end of World War II, an already crippled economy felt the full impact of freezing weather that killed both livestock and crops, while jamming roads and railways with snow.

It got so bad that at one point, Winston Churchill observed that he couldn’t even get his favorite cigars.

But the main concern was the provision of electricity. Not a single power-generating station in all of England had escaped wartime destruction, and a return to “normalcy” in the power sector was still years away.

So during the cold winter of 1946-1947, the entire British population had to hunker down.

Now, the current situation is hardly as dire.

But ever since the U.K. voted to separate from the EU on June 23, I’ve been waiting for the initial signals that this divorce will have consequences in the energy sector.

Now we have one, with dire consequences for British consumers…

Brits Should Expect (Much) Higher Power Prices

The signal shows a coming double whammy for British natural gas users, as a result of the post-Brexit decline of the British pound sterling to more than thirty-year lows against the dollar.

This decline has prompted two energy moves in very different directions. Unfortunately, neither is good for anyone living in the U.K. as temperatures decline…

First, the descent of the pound sterling has prompted U.K. retail natural gas distributors to forego discounts moving forward. This is, of course, based on the same reasoning that will certainly result in another round of appreciable electricity price hikes by the major national utilities.

Maintaining profit margins will be impossible at current levels, given the forex pressure on the bottom line. Most observers also believe that increased taxes are now inevitable, as the unexpected currency (effective) devaluation has made revenue an important factor.

Fact is, even before Brexit, this was placing additional pressure on an already strained power sector.

But in a post-Brexit world, this is leading to some serious difficulties, both for end users and domestic power distributors, with problems – some Brexit-related, some not – hitting all British energy sources…

The U.K. Cut its Winter Gas Reserves – Just in Time for the “Big Freeze”

Chief among those concerns are the profitability of North Sea production, and a decimation of renewable alternatives (for example, over a third of all jobs in U.K. solar have vanished).

The British end user, however, is going to feel the pinch in an additional way…

You see, in June 2017, utility giant Centrica plc announced plans to close the offshore Rough storage facility, which currently accounts for about 70% of all British natural gas storage capacity.

Immediately, the news caused a spike in winter-month natural gas futures prices, as fears of a natural gas shortage come winter began to swarm.

Fears that seem to have come full circle…

An Ill-Timed Outage

In the midst of the “big freeze,” Centrica announced a 12-hour outage at the Rough facility.

As a result, gas prices for immediate delivery more than doubled to their highest level in almost a decade as the arctic chill, and high snowfall levels drove up the demand for heat and electricity. In fact, demand for gas was so high last week that the National Grid Plc asked large industrial customers to scale back consumption.

“The closure of Rough has changed the landscape for U.K. gas storage. and today that landscape looks very bleak for major energy users such as U.K. manufacturing industry,” Mike Foster, chief executive officer of the Energy and Utilities Alliance told reporters. “Prices have rocketed, hitting British industry particularly hard. If supply is interrupted, it will be the industry that has to stop production to protect consumers and their heating needs.”

In previous years, Rough acted as a buffer for supply shocks like the U.K. is currently dealing with. In fact, the Rough facility was previously able to meet as nearly 10% of the nation’s daily peak winter demand.

But with its impending closure, Centrica now is only withdrawing gas that remains at the site, and even that process is subject to hiccups like they saw last week.

And that’s creating a knock-on effect.

You see, in the summer, U.K. demand for natural gas comes primarily from gas being pumped into storage for winter heating.

And that has introduced the second major post-Brexit energy move…

British Gas is Being Exported – Only to Be Reimported Again at a Premium

The dramatic change in cross-currency valuations following the Brexit decision has resulted in the U.K. exporting more natural gas to Belgium.

The “spare fuel” being exported is actually coming primarily from volume that would have gone to Rough for storage…

Except that the weaker pound means that it’s now more profitable to send the gas along the east-west North Sea pipeline to the terminal center at Zeebrugge on the Belgian coast instead.

However, just about all analysts agree that the rising exports from Britain to Europe are more a result of the collapse in currency value than the impending Rough closure. A Brexit-induced “pounding of the pound” has provided some nice profits for European importers… and Centrica has obliged.

But for the average Brit back home, hoping to heat their house during this year’s “big freeze,” the short-term future may require a traditional British stiff upper lip.

Now, due to its limited natural gas storage capacity, the U.K. has tried to counteract its supply woes with increased LNG imports from Norway, Qatar, and the U.S. In fact, the National Grid welcomed its first LNG import from the U.S. last summer, as this super-cooled fuel continues to find new buyers abroad.

But even that has come with its own set of challenges this winter.

Truth is, even with the influx of supply from the U.S., LNG imports have been scarce across Europe this season, as a surge in demand from China and other Asian counties have driven up the cost of this super-chilled fuel.

Which left the U.K. with little maneuvering room when the cold arrived last week.

In other words, we’re looking at a nasty cycle: today’s rising exports of British gas will go to European storage, with some of that returning as higher-priced imports when the weather gets colder.

Now, Britain isn’t suffering alone.

Gas prices in the Netherlands have surged to more than four times the levels it saw this time last year, according to data from the Pegas exchange, after demand rose there with the cold.

But this isn’t the first time that natural gas price shocks have left U.K. consumers out in the cold this winter. In fact, the market was roiled by an explosion at one of Europe’s major gas trading hubs combined with a major outage at the North Sea Pipeline just before the Christmas holiday.

The bottom line here is, as I mentioned back in 2016, the energy situation in the U.K. is quickly heading from bad to worse.

A predicament that has only intensified over the past 20 months since I first wrote about it.

Which only goes to show that a global “energy balance” is more imperative than ever.

And as the rest of the world slowly starts to catch up to what we’ve been saying, this means one thing.

The next few years will be brimming with “energy balance” plays.

#Wealth

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foursprout-blog · 7 years ago