Tiger,

When I was a child my dad was in prison. My mom worked two shifts as a waitress in a small truck stop, in a small town, in Oklahoma. We received government subsidies to help get by and my grand parents would help from time to time as they could. For all practical purposes I was one of those children you see in the pictures from Appalachia, no shoes, mostly only underwear to wear.

Dad got out and worked hard, and I mean hard. He labored physically for long hours for little pay. From my ages of about 7 to 11, dad worked two jobs, one 8 hours, the other 10 or so hours. He would sleep 3 hours a night and all weekend.

Over time he did good. All from the labor of his hands. The distance he traveled from being a laborer who worked at hauling hay and clearing land by hand for $10 a week to owning a couple hundred acres and his own quite successful business is astounding.

I started my first business, cutting and delivering firewood, at 16. After a stint in the Navy, I started my second business at 23. Ive owned 3 business so far and am looking forward to starting a 4th in the next few years.

Ive done the work that illegals and their supporters claim Americans wont do, and I worked harder at it, and I was better at it. Ive been a rock hauler, wood cutter, a dozer driver, a burger flipper, a sailor, a technician in several forms, an exterminator, a janitor, a bum, a welder, a foosball shark, and am presently a potter.

No, Im not independently wealthy. I make about 11 dollars an hour as a potter. I have a couple of rentals that buff that income up a bit. My wife is self-employed and works out of the house. We make a house payment of about 1300 a month, I put 18% of my work income in a 401k, I drive a 94 Toyota pickup, and I work when I go to work. I mean hard, all day, physical and mental, as fast as I can.

Im an American from the old tradition. I believe a hard days work is worth a good days pay. I have never collected unemployment, even when unemployed. I believe that it isnt how much you make that builds your wealth, it is how much you save.

If you want to get ahead in life, do these things: Get rid of your credit card debt. Dont drink or do drugs. Work hard, even when no one seems to notice, in fact, work the hardest when no one seems to notice. Dont try to screw your employer. Dont assume your employer is out to screw you. Believe in a higher purpose. Love your family first, your friends second, and your job third. Learn loyalty, it isnt about what others expect from you, loyalty is about what you expect from yourself. Loyalty is a matter of self respect, not obsequience.

Spend your money wisely. By in bulk when things are on sale. Find the car that best fits your needs and your income. Ignore the Joneses, they are fools on the path to perdition. Your exceptional people will appear to be anything but exceptional. Exceptional people dont have to advertise to be exceptional. Those that advertise are common, not exceptional.

If you are just starting out, in your 20's, and you are poor, that is normal. If you deal with it well it will pass. If you dont it will persist. That is just life. Real people arent immune to it, only propaganda props are. Love your poverty as your strength for it will be the single greatest demonstration of your strength when you overcome it.

I believe these things help to be the best you can be. If most Americans did them, every country on earth would marvel at our prosperity and health. Those of the world who love freedom would flock to our shores. And, we wouldnt feel the need nor even the desire to import slaves from third-world countries to cut our lawns and pump our fans.

Joel.