What’s the role of CEO of America? Is he responsible for your personal economy? Are you blaming him for not having a job?
Here’s the scoop — American President is the most powerful person on this planet. But he is not responsible for where you are in your life today. No matter who is in the Oval office, you can change your financial landscape by relentless dedication and awesome work ethics.
This is an election year. Political pundits from the left or the right are doing best job to convince you that what is happening in your life today is the culmination of all the actions your President has taken from the Oval office. The truth can’t be any further than their rhetoric.
Immigrants from all walks of life have come to this land of opportunity and lived American dream no matter who is in the Oval office. These immigrants were busy building their American dream when President Franklin D Roosevelt was dealing with the worst depression in American history; and, they have done fabulous job of building their American dream all the while President Carter was dealing with tough economy of late 70’s.
Let’s put things in perspective. The largest company in the world — Apple — has market capitalization of $461 billion. American economy is over $15 trillion.
The role of the President is to lead by character. It is to emphasize what makes America a great nation — individual liberty and freedom to pursue your wildest dreams with passion and maddening dedication.
With that in mind, I wanted to share timeless financial wisdom from some of our great Presidents.
Never spend your money before you have it. — Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson’s nugget of wisdom directly relates to most of the financial problems that exist in our society — Our desire for instant gratification; our desire to keep up with the Joneses.
Don’t most of our financial woes come from our desire to spend beyond our means to repay what we borrow? When we spread our legs beyond the reach of our blanket, we’re prone to harsh treatment from nature.
If we learn to possess only what life demands, if we learn to dream only what we can achieve with the capability and resources at our disposal —- we can find true, inner happiness. Our worries and problems that we’d rather not discuss with others come from our insane desire to dream without any regards to either our financial or physical means to achieve these dreams.
A penny saved is a penny earned. — Benjamin Franklin
Although Benjamin Franklin was never a President of the United States of America, he was financially savvy statesman. His words of wisdom reflect the fact that there was no income tax in his lifetime. So, a penny saved is more than penny and half earned in today’s world. Think about it. When you spend a penny on anything that is not life essential — you are going to work over time to make that money back!
Every penny you spend takes away your freedom to become financially free by not allowing it to grow.
If you invest it otherwise and let it grow at 8% a year, you can let Albert Einstein’s rule of 72 to double your money every 9 years.
Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. — Franklin Roosevelt
Anything we do in life just for the sake of making money is doomed to fail miserably. Warren Buffett lives in a small 3-bedroom house that he purchased more than 50 years ago.Warren Buffett never travels in a private jet despite the fact that he owns the largest private jet company. His character and way of life speak volume about his greatness.
Andrew Carnegie, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are three most successful businessmen in the world. All three have given away most of their wealth for the causes of philanthropy.
When you work passionately –with maddening dedication– money comes as a dividend for your efforts.
..that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. — John F. Kennedy
These words define true character of America. No matter how difficult the state of our economy is, we all have invaluable gift of liberty to pursue our goals.
President’s job is to defend our liberty so that we can pursue our utmost human potential. Our President can inspire us to live the life of highest virtues. It is up to us to throw off the bowlines and sail away from the safe harbor.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
Very nice writeup.
Many wisdom from different presidents here, but none beats Mark Twain 😉
Mark Twain’s definitely my favorite. 🙂
some great quotes and good advice, but a couple of points:
Unfortunately Jefferson didn’t follow his own advice in that quote. He died deeply in debt and all his property was auctioned off. His daughter was left in poverty and lived on charity. Still, a great man and a great president.
While a Founding Father, Franklin was never actually president. But he certainly is a wonderful role model for handling money and living a full life.
Cheers!
JC
JC,
Thanks for the info about Benjamin Franklin. I will make the corrections. I didn’t know about Thomas Jefferson’s later years.
Shilpan
no worries, and I forgot to say I love the premise of your post:
people succeed (and fail) under every presidential term.
“Immigrants from all walks of life have come to this land of opportunity and lived American dream no matter who is in the Oval office.”
I’ve often wondered if this is why some native-born Americans have a hostility towards immigrants. It’s hard to claim the political situation has killed the American dream for you when all these new folks are showing up and living it.
As for the early presidents a surprising number of them, like Jefferson, went from wealth to debt over the course of their lives. In those days the debt was usually used to expand their landholdings. This leverage put them at risk any year the crops failed.
Jefferson had this problem along with his obsession in the very expensive construction of Monticello.
Yes, that’s the gist of the post. It’s good to get excited about Presidential election. But it really is up to us to chart our own course regardless of who is in the Oval office.
Thanks again for your valuable input.
Great post! I live by “A penny saved is a penny earned.” The problem comes when I feel like I’ve been good all week and want to spend the pennies I’ve saved 😉
Thanks for stopping by. It’s alright to spend some money once in a while. 🙂
Great angle on this topic. Immigrants usually come from places where it is far tougher to make money so they really appreciate the opportunities available. I suppose you can take it for granted if you are born in the US.
But all a country can do is provide a platform for you to be able grab your opportunity. The hard work must come from you – you must take your opportunity. It’s no use blaming external things. The rest of the world are busy trying to look after themselves and aren’t here to spoon feed you.
Once you take responsibility for your own success then it just might come!
Jon,
You’ve articulated my viewpoint very well. Thank you.