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Famous Entrepreneurs and Freedom
“Independence Day” has a nice ring to it. In 1773 the young colonies were fed up with paying the tax on tea to King George without having any representation in parliament. Even more infuriating was the con job, (called “spin” today), coming out of London. The Brits assumed tea to be indispensable to the budding Americans and allowed it to only be shipped to Boston harbor where the tax was to be paid before it could be unloaded.
The bureaucrats of stogy old Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing St. did not realize that nearly all of the colonists were Entrepreneurs...that is why they went to America in the first place! Yes, the colonists loved tea, craved it, but “it is just a bloody drink!” 7,000 colonists murmured, fists were occasionally seen gesturing in the air and the hot steam of their breath bellowed ominously on that cold day in December, 1773 around the harbors of Boston. The mob could turn deadly at any second.
British war ships anchored firmly in the harbor and prepared for the worst. It was as though the entire area was a huge powder keg about to explode with the least encouragement. Thankfully, night came; the crowd dispersed, except for 200 patriots who painted themselves with coal dust and dressed as Indians. Armed with tomahawks and determination, they divided into three groups and descended onto the three ships.
Confidence and determination, (plus a tomahawk!) can do amazing things! No one stopped them as they hacked into each box of tea and then threw the broken chests overboard. The armed British ships did not even resist.
They could have simply stolen the tea and avoided the tax, but that was not the message! They wanted the tea but not with the price attached. They wanted The Prime Minister, Lord North and King George to get the message loud and clear! “You can take your tea and shove it!”
Morning found a lot of the chests bobbing in the harbor's cold waves. Word had spread through Boston during the night faster than today's TV newsflash! The nearest citizens manned boats and beat the chests until the salt water rendered the tea useless. The act of those 200 patriots was the critical mass that began the inevitable. Some would call it sedition, some patriotism. Some treason, some heroism. In the chain of events the crescendo built until Patrick Henry passionately declared, “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"
The die was cast, the course irrevocably decreed and the rest is history, so to speak. And now we come to a time to look inside ourselves and be grateful for what we have and what we represent.
I look back and wonder who I might have been, one of the 7,000; one of the 200; maybe a sailer on the tea ship? Being a resident Yankee I think I should have been one of the Patriots, but I wonder how courageous I could have been, how dedicated to that cause.
All I know is that I've been an Entrepreneur all of my life and I could not live under the tyranny the colonists lived under. Many thought if was “Just fine, we are safe with the British soldiers to protect us.” Many thought there was no tyranny, just security that the soldiers brought and the taxes were but a small price to pay for it.
Who knows. Maybe they were right. But for me? I dunno, I think I have to side with Patrick Henry and good ole Ben Franklin. Ben had some interesting ideas on those thoughts...and he wasn't even sure about the Constitution! But for all of its flaws and inadequacies, it was a miracle that a group could agree on THAT much! Ben said that if those colonists gave up their liberties for safety they would ultimately lose both.
“Independence?” Great concept.
Hmmm, maybe I should start drinking tea.
Make it an independent Doppelit Day,
D. Scott McGregor
Founder - Doppelit.com
The bureaucrats of stogy old Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing St. did not realize that nearly all of the colonists were Entrepreneurs...that is why they went to America in the first place! Yes, the colonists loved tea, craved it, but “it is just a bloody drink!” 7,000 colonists murmured, fists were occasionally seen gesturing in the air and the hot steam of their breath bellowed ominously on that cold day in December, 1773 around the harbors of Boston. The mob could turn deadly at any second.
British war ships anchored firmly in the harbor and prepared for the worst. It was as though the entire area was a huge powder keg about to explode with the least encouragement. Thankfully, night came; the crowd dispersed, except for 200 patriots who painted themselves with coal dust and dressed as Indians. Armed with tomahawks and determination, they divided into three groups and descended onto the three ships.
Confidence and determination, (plus a tomahawk!) can do amazing things! No one stopped them as they hacked into each box of tea and then threw the broken chests overboard. The armed British ships did not even resist.
They could have simply stolen the tea and avoided the tax, but that was not the message! They wanted the tea but not with the price attached. They wanted The Prime Minister, Lord North and King George to get the message loud and clear! “You can take your tea and shove it!”
Morning found a lot of the chests bobbing in the harbor's cold waves. Word had spread through Boston during the night faster than today's TV newsflash! The nearest citizens manned boats and beat the chests until the salt water rendered the tea useless. The act of those 200 patriots was the critical mass that began the inevitable. Some would call it sedition, some patriotism. Some treason, some heroism. In the chain of events the crescendo built until Patrick Henry passionately declared, “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!"
The die was cast, the course irrevocably decreed and the rest is history, so to speak. And now we come to a time to look inside ourselves and be grateful for what we have and what we represent.
I look back and wonder who I might have been, one of the 7,000; one of the 200; maybe a sailer on the tea ship? Being a resident Yankee I think I should have been one of the Patriots, but I wonder how courageous I could have been, how dedicated to that cause.
All I know is that I've been an Entrepreneur all of my life and I could not live under the tyranny the colonists lived under. Many thought if was “Just fine, we are safe with the British soldiers to protect us.” Many thought there was no tyranny, just security that the soldiers brought and the taxes were but a small price to pay for it.
Who knows. Maybe they were right. But for me? I dunno, I think I have to side with Patrick Henry and good ole Ben Franklin. Ben had some interesting ideas on those thoughts...and he wasn't even sure about the Constitution! But for all of its flaws and inadequacies, it was a miracle that a group could agree on THAT much! Ben said that if those colonists gave up their liberties for safety they would ultimately lose both.
“Independence?” Great concept.
Hmmm, maybe I should start drinking tea.
Make it an independent Doppelit Day,
D. Scott McGregor
Founder - Doppelit.com
Recession? ... Why The Next President Is So Important!
With nearly every other article addressing a looming recession, a continuing downward trend in the housing market, the Dow Jones, the NASDAQ, the soaring Gold, the jobless rate...the bad news rants on! It would be no shock to find us all in a huge recession, if we believed the news!
With this omnipresent threat of recession as thick as storm laden clouds it behooves us to ask the question, "What effect will the next president have on the economy?"
It looks like we have a choice of Obama, Clinton or McCain as the Commander in Chief to be the third part of the Checks and Balance system. What should we expect of the next president? What talent and expertise should that leader bring to the table in this recession prone time? Should that person be conversant in the manipulation of the Fed's role in the M1, M2 and M3; their relationship to interest rates, consumer index of inflation and their respective relationship to borrowing? Should they be well versed in Harvard Economics 820 and have an intimate knowledge of each ledger entry of foreign debt?
Without taking sides, I have said for years now, what I felt was truly necessary. I was absolutely excited when a great Harvard professor of economics (former Senator), at the Kennedy School of Government agreed with me last month, (I love it when someone agrees with me). A Time magazine correspondent asked him, "What do you think are the greatest attributes, skills and knowledge that a candidate can bring to the table in this economy?"
The Professor responded solemnly, "The ability to instill confidence in the American people."
...and so much for economic theory!
The Entrepreneur is an individual who takes responsibility (accountability) for the outcome of her venture. That is a rare character, one who is the cornerstone of our freedom, the basis of our ethos. It is individual effort, based on the passion of individual belief that fires the passions of the masses.
The young people of America are more involved with politics and real issues in this election that ever before in history. They are not banding together to march and storm the administration building, but much more effectively, each individual is studying the issues, the candidates and their own role in the grand scheme of things.
It is the power of the individual, the Entrepreneur, that creates confidence in our world. I can only hope we elect the person as president who can best instill confidence in America, in our core values, in our system, in our freedom to live, speak, vote...it is that confidence that will drive this economy, not programs.
That's how I see it.
D. Scott McGregor
Rescession? ... Why The Next President Is So Important
Power of the Individual... the essence of the Entrepreneur
We spend billions of dollars a year trying to establish “democracy” throughout the world, whether they like it or not! If a country is not democratic, it is the enemy!
IF that is the case then we must be an enemy to ourselves!! We stand, place our hands over our hearts and solemnely pledge: “I pledge allegence to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic, for which it stands, One.....” Have you ever snapped yourself conscious and listened to what we are reciting? I did, and I was agast!
The United States of America was never intended to be a democracy! Whoa...Controversy! Let me restate that in case you thought I have lost my rocker: “The United States of America was never intended to be a democracy!” Don't worry, this is a historical fact and not a political one. The USA is founded on the principles of a Republic. A republic is based on individual liberties, individual action. Democracy is simply the vote of the majority, much like the crowd that turned on Socrates while Plato watched, agast; much like the crowd that turned on Jesus as his few friends watched, agast. It's been said that when God wanted to make a horse he appointed a committee. He got a camel! It is the individual that is the source of freedom, the source of power that moves markets.
Adam Smith also perceived the real source of the 'Wealth of Nations': “...have the courage to leave the design and construction of freedom to the invisible hand.”
Who controls that hand? You, I, and each Entrepreneur who seeks to profit by producing things that others desire, rather than live on the spoils of political victory. Through the success of Entrepreneurs we push forward freedom and become examples to others, thereby building a foundation for a better world. Entrepreneurs are the true source of individuality and freedom!! www.doppelit.com, long live the Entrepreneur.
D. Scott McGregor
Founder, Doppelit.com
IF that is the case then we must be an enemy to ourselves!! We stand, place our hands over our hearts and solemnely pledge: “I pledge allegence to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic, for which it stands, One.....” Have you ever snapped yourself conscious and listened to what we are reciting? I did, and I was agast!
The United States of America was never intended to be a democracy! Whoa...Controversy! Let me restate that in case you thought I have lost my rocker: “The United States of America was never intended to be a democracy!” Don't worry, this is a historical fact and not a political one. The USA is founded on the principles of a Republic. A republic is based on individual liberties, individual action. Democracy is simply the vote of the majority, much like the crowd that turned on Socrates while Plato watched, agast; much like the crowd that turned on Jesus as his few friends watched, agast. It's been said that when God wanted to make a horse he appointed a committee. He got a camel! It is the individual that is the source of freedom, the source of power that moves markets.
Adam Smith also perceived the real source of the 'Wealth of Nations': “...have the courage to leave the design and construction of freedom to the invisible hand.”
Who controls that hand? You, I, and each Entrepreneur who seeks to profit by producing things that others desire, rather than live on the spoils of political victory. Through the success of Entrepreneurs we push forward freedom and become examples to others, thereby building a foundation for a better world. Entrepreneurs are the true source of individuality and freedom!! www.doppelit.com, long live the Entrepreneur.
D. Scott McGregor
Founder, Doppelit.com
Credit Card Fraud and the Market
The market flows to satisfy a need, or scratch an itch! This year over $57 Billion US Dollars will be defrauded from just one segment of the credit/debit card market, the "skimming," or the copying segment.
The crooks see a "need" to grab your credit card number, make copies of it and sell it over the Internet to 1,000 people on a "wholesale" basis for $1.00 per number! It's over and done with and the first series of charges this month are completed to just under $2,000! (Why? cuz, over $2,000 the feds get involved).
HOW CAN THEY POSSIBLY DO THAT?? Answer: Because there is a market for it and the crooks know how to tap that market!
Wherein lies the opportunity for the Entrepreneur? Possibly at least two areas:
1. Either become a professional thief and start tapping the market; or
2. Find a way to stop the thieves and capitalize on it.
We're not going to stop the fraud by jailing all the thieves, because the market remains unchanged, (more thieves fill in the voids). To capitalize on a solution we have to change the entire market and take a small percentage for stopping the hemorrhage!
That means that if you came up with a product that changed the entire market, thus eliminating, (not reducing...eliminating!) credit/debit (copy) card fraud of $57,000,000,000 per year and just received a mere 3% fee, (or who is kidding me, any fee!), would your product be valid?
You've got to be kidding! Let me rephrase that. Your product would totally eliminate copy fraud for all credit and debit cards in the world. In the USA alone that would be over $57 Billion per year that you would be saving the consumer. (Oh, the "banks cover that?" Not on your life...ultimately we do!). Our costs go down, taxes to recover that loss go down, and instead of bleeding $57,000,000,000 per year out the door to thugs, the banking industry would save ALL THAT and pay you, say, 1%.
Whaddya think? Would you have the world by the tail? Would the banks, Visa International, MasterCard, etc. be lining up to get your product for only 1% of what they now "pay?"
Fascinating: The thugs have a "need" to rip huge bucks out of you and me. WE provide the solution (money) for the thugs to "fill that need." It's all in the market! It seems that all I have to do is create a traffic director that stops the money from going to the thugs and redirects it back to us!!
What?? Am I nuts?? Well, I've been talking to this research technology company in San Francisco, and.....
-D. Scott McGregor
Founder, Doppelit
Doppelit.com exists to foster, encourage and sustain the spirit of the Entrepreneur. We dedicate the site to everyone who takes that leap of faith needed to be a successful Entrepreneur. If you are in a startup business and need support or looking for tips and tools to help you on your journey… www.doppelit.com is here… look no further!
The crooks see a "need" to grab your credit card number, make copies of it and sell it over the Internet to 1,000 people on a "wholesale" basis for $1.00 per number! It's over and done with and the first series of charges this month are completed to just under $2,000! (Why? cuz, over $2,000 the feds get involved).
HOW CAN THEY POSSIBLY DO THAT?? Answer: Because there is a market for it and the crooks know how to tap that market!
Wherein lies the opportunity for the Entrepreneur? Possibly at least two areas:
1. Either become a professional thief and start tapping the market; or
2. Find a way to stop the thieves and capitalize on it.
We're not going to stop the fraud by jailing all the thieves, because the market remains unchanged, (more thieves fill in the voids). To capitalize on a solution we have to change the entire market and take a small percentage for stopping the hemorrhage!
That means that if you came up with a product that changed the entire market, thus eliminating, (not reducing...eliminating!) credit/debit (copy) card fraud of $57,000,000,000 per year and just received a mere 3% fee, (or who is kidding me, any fee!), would your product be valid?
You've got to be kidding! Let me rephrase that. Your product would totally eliminate copy fraud for all credit and debit cards in the world. In the USA alone that would be over $57 Billion per year that you would be saving the consumer. (Oh, the "banks cover that?" Not on your life...ultimately we do!). Our costs go down, taxes to recover that loss go down, and instead of bleeding $57,000,000,000 per year out the door to thugs, the banking industry would save ALL THAT and pay you, say, 1%.
Whaddya think? Would you have the world by the tail? Would the banks, Visa International, MasterCard, etc. be lining up to get your product for only 1% of what they now "pay?"
Fascinating: The thugs have a "need" to rip huge bucks out of you and me. WE provide the solution (money) for the thugs to "fill that need." It's all in the market! It seems that all I have to do is create a traffic director that stops the money from going to the thugs and redirects it back to us!!
What?? Am I nuts?? Well, I've been talking to this research technology company in San Francisco, and.....
-D. Scott McGregor
Founder, Doppelit
Doppelit.com exists to foster, encourage and sustain the spirit of the Entrepreneur. We dedicate the site to everyone who takes that leap of faith needed to be a successful Entrepreneur. If you are in a startup business and need support or looking for tips and tools to help you on your journey… www.doppelit.com is here… look no further!
Entrepreneurs, More Powerful Than Politics?
Lay the groundwork. Put in the time. Grease the wheels. Hilary Clinton did it all and does it now complete with facial expressions. She has molded the expression of disgust into an art form, as seen so eloquently at the last two State of the Union addresses. She put in the time and talent with high school, including everything academic/sports in Chicago and on to Wesseley College where she excelled.
She says Yale Law School was a choice over Harvard because of a crass Harvard Prof., but, hey, what can I say? She put in the time and again excelled. She hooked up with Bill and later trucked on down to Arkansas. She evidently played a few hands at being an entrepreneur, and some wanted to “whitewash” the escapades...but Nixon paranoia, it was not!
“First Lady of Arkansas,” and then moved to Washington, D.C. to be “First Lady” for 8 years! Head strong and controversial, she did gain experience, and in every way!
And how about moving to New York? Representing New York as a brand new citizen?? Don't ya just love it? She reportedly spearheaded over $2.3 Billion (that's with a “B”) into private development in New York and received enormous contributions to her election campaign...all disclosed and legal, of course.
What in the world does this have to do with Entrepreneurs? Well, at www.doppelit.com we foster the spirit of the Entrepreneur, the individual effort that has made this country so great. The point is, look at how much good old Hillary has put into the groundwork and planning for this presidential campaign. It is virtually unmatched in world politics!
Whether Hillary has a moral compass or not is up to you to decide. But her competence within “the system” is demonstrated.
Along comes a competitor in the Democratic race, Barack Obama, a relatively inexperienced politician that speaks well, represents hope and was trailing Mrs. Clinton's formidible machine by at least 20 points!
And then, AND THEN steps in the Entrepreneur, Oprah Winphrey, who makes a rational choice (from her perspective), and endorses Obama.
Immediately stadiums full of people turn out to hear Obama, (in reality to see Oprah), and because of one person's influence, Obama closes the gap!
At www.doppelit.com, the Entrepreneur represents the cornerstone of freedom, the creator of industry, and, now, the creator of presidents?
Doppelit.com exists to foster, encourage and sustain the spirit of the Entrepreneur. We dedicate the site to everyone who takes that leap of faith needed to be a successful Entrepreneur. If you are in a startup business and need support or looking for tips and tools to help you on your journey… www.doppelit.com is here… look no further!
-D. Scott McGregor, Founder of Doppelit
She says Yale Law School was a choice over Harvard because of a crass Harvard Prof., but, hey, what can I say? She put in the time and again excelled. She hooked up with Bill and later trucked on down to Arkansas. She evidently played a few hands at being an entrepreneur, and some wanted to “whitewash” the escapades...but Nixon paranoia, it was not!
“First Lady of Arkansas,” and then moved to Washington, D.C. to be “First Lady” for 8 years! Head strong and controversial, she did gain experience, and in every way!
And how about moving to New York? Representing New York as a brand new citizen?? Don't ya just love it? She reportedly spearheaded over $2.3 Billion (that's with a “B”) into private development in New York and received enormous contributions to her election campaign...all disclosed and legal, of course.
What in the world does this have to do with Entrepreneurs? Well, at www.doppelit.com we foster the spirit of the Entrepreneur, the individual effort that has made this country so great. The point is, look at how much good old Hillary has put into the groundwork and planning for this presidential campaign. It is virtually unmatched in world politics!
Whether Hillary has a moral compass or not is up to you to decide. But her competence within “the system” is demonstrated.
Along comes a competitor in the Democratic race, Barack Obama, a relatively inexperienced politician that speaks well, represents hope and was trailing Mrs. Clinton's formidible machine by at least 20 points!
And then, AND THEN steps in the Entrepreneur, Oprah Winphrey, who makes a rational choice (from her perspective), and endorses Obama.
Immediately stadiums full of people turn out to hear Obama, (in reality to see Oprah), and because of one person's influence, Obama closes the gap!
At www.doppelit.com, the Entrepreneur represents the cornerstone of freedom, the creator of industry, and, now, the creator of presidents?
Doppelit.com exists to foster, encourage and sustain the spirit of the Entrepreneur. We dedicate the site to everyone who takes that leap of faith needed to be a successful Entrepreneur. If you are in a startup business and need support or looking for tips and tools to help you on your journey… www.doppelit.com is here… look no further!
-D. Scott McGregor, Founder of Doppelit