Orrin Woodward LIFE

The Quest for the Philosopher’s Stone

Posted by Orrin Woodward on August 31, 2015

“The trouble with paper money is that it rewards the minority that can manipulate money and makes fools of the generation that has worked and saved.” – George Goodman

The philosopher’s stone was mankind’s quest to turn base metals into gold. Although there were several reasons for the quest, the main one was to increase the power of the sovereigns over their people. Kings and princes encouraged and rewarded alchemists from the Middle Ages to the end of the 17th century in the effort to discover the philosophers stone to no avail. Unfortunately, however, mankind discovered an easier way to turn valueless material into gold, namely fiat paper money and fractional-reserve banking. I cover the basics of these two processes in my book The Financial Matrix, but I wanted to share from Jack Weatherford’s informative book The History of Money to convey just how confused most people are about money. These are blue quotes are from Weatherford’s book with my comments below. Sincerely, Orrin Woodward – LIFE Leadership Chairman of the Board

Nero Debases Roman Coins:

Nero began to tamper with the coinage itself. In A.D. 64, in a naive attempt to deceive the populace, Nero decreased the silver content in the coins and made both the silver and gold coins slightly smaller. By collecting the existing coins and reminting them with his portrait bust but less silver, Nero produced a momentary surplus of sliver and gold. The same pound of silver that had formerly produced 84 denarii now produced 96, giving Nero almost a 15 percent ‘profit.’ He similarly increased from 40 to 45 the number of golden aurei manufactured from a pound of gold, thus rendering the coins about 11 percent less golden.”

Nero attacked private property by manipulating the measuring scale of money. Instead of a certain amount of silver making 84 denarii coins, it now made 96 denarii coins. The measure of how much silver in each coin was arbitrarily changed by the sovereign. This attack on private property is no different than the State owing a certain merchant 100 pounds of gold, and then paying the merchant only 50 pounds of gold. When the merchant complains, the State points to a new law that has changed the pound to half its former weight. Therefore, the State did pay 100 pounds of gold, but changed the definition of the pound to steal half the value of amount owed. In a sense, the State debased the weight of the pound just as Nero debased the denarii coins.

Law of Inertia: If Bad Behavior is not Punished, it Expands:

Roman Coin Fraudulent Debasement = Inflation

Thus over the course of two hundred years, the silver content was cut from nearly 100 percent to virtually nothing. The amount of silver previously used to mint a single denarius eventually produced 150 denarii, and as the silver content decreased, the price of good increased in direct proportion. Wheat that had sold for one-half a denarius in the second century increased to 100 denarii a century later, a two-hundred fold increase.

If the State is allowed to arbitrarily change the monetary units at will, inflation occurs and the price system quickly accounts for the debased purchasing power of the monetary unit. The State receives the benefit of the inflated money first, but they do so at the expense of later users of the money who now need more monetary units to buy the same production as previous. This is fraud perpetrated by the State upon society and one of the main reasons Rome fell. The people lost trust in the money supply because the State could not stop debasing the dollar to benefit itself. Accordingly, the late Roman empire devolved backwards to payment in kind and landlords protecting people rather than State. Once this occurred, society could no longer support the bloated State and the Roman Empire collapsed under its own weight.

The Roman Empire Kills Its Money:

In the last centuries of the Roman Empire, the emperors operated without a workable currency; like the ancient empires that had preceded it, Rome turned to conscription and forced labor to meet its needs. The government often would not allow its citizens to pay taxes in the debased money that it still issued; instead, officials demanded payment in good, crops, or labor. . . As tax (and monetary) policies continued to suppress productivity and commerce, the emperors found it increasingly difficult to supply their armies and the bureaucracy with the equipment and goods necessary to rule the far-flung but diminishing empire. The markets had withered; even the emperor could no longer depend on the open market to supply him with the sandals, armor, weapons, saddles, tents, and other goods that an army needed. Out of desperation, Diocletian created government-sponsored workshops to manufacture armaments and supplies. As privately financed shipping and other transport enterprises declined, Diocletian also had to create government transport companies to move the goods that were manufactured in the workshops. Well before the end of the third-century, these changes made the emperor and the government the greatest manufacturers in the empire, in addition to being the largest owner of land, mines, and quarries. Step by step, the imperial government took over the direct administration of the economy and crowded out the small, independent merchants, landowners, manufacturers, and entrepreneurs. . . By its last decades, Rome had become another state-administered economy, an empire without money and markets. It had reverted to a palace system more like that of pharaonic Egypt or imperial China than that of the republican system on which it had been built.

Rome fell because as the State expanded, it destroyed the monetary system and thus the commercial system that used it as the medium of exchange in trade. Through increasing inflation and taxation the State killed society to feed the growing bureaucracy and military. The originally thriving Roman society provided a level of systematic justice unknown to previous empires eventually became just like the other empires as it killed the monetary system through repeated unjust debasements and the commercial society reverted to a command and control empire without money. The Roman Empire died, in other words, when its money did.

Fractional-Reserve Banking is Fraud:

Under the new system a bag of a hundred florins that might once have sit idle for years in a noble’s strongbox could now be deposited for safekeeping in an Italian bank that had access to branches across the continent. The bank then lent the money and circulated the bill of exchange as money. The noble still had his one hundred florins, which were now one deposit in the bank; the bank had one hundred florins on its books. The merchant who borrowed the florins was richer, and the person who held the bill of exchange now had one hundred florins as well. Even though only one hundred gold coins were involved, the miracle of banking deposits and loans had transformed them into many hundreds of florins that could be used by different individuals in different cities at the same time. This new banking money opened vast new commercial avenues for merchants, manufacturers, and investors. Everyone had more money: it was sheer magic.

Actually, it is not sheer magic, but sheer fraud. In a nutshell, the banks creates a metaphysical representation (bank notes) of the actual money (precious metal commodity florins). This would be fine if there was only one banknote to represent the same commodity money, but fraudulently, the banks through FRB create multiple sets of banknotes to represent the SAME bag of florins. This is no different than a bank selling 10 people the same physical property by creating 10 separate metaphysical property titles to represent the land. Of course, in the property example, the fraud would be exposed because the owners would eventually show up at the property and realize, along with the the other “owners” of the property, that they were duped by duplicate property titles created for the same physical property. In the same way, the bank creates duplicate banknotes to represent the same physical commodity money. This is FRAUD. In the banknote example, however, all parties can use the banknotes representing the same bag without being aware that the others also have banknotes that represent the EXACT same physical bag of money.

Of course, this violates the laws of Logic. For two people cannot 100% own the same item at the same time and two people cannot be in the same spot at the same time. In a similar fashion, two people (let along 9 or 10 than FRB legally allows) cannot both have banknotes that metaphysically represent the same bag. Because this “magic” (read fraud) is allowed, the money supply is expanded metaphysically even though the physical money hasn’t changed size, just like the land was metaphysically expanded by the fake titles even though the physical land has not changed. Unfortunately, the scam is rarely detected because the banknotes are just transferred from person to person without anyone realizing their are counterfeit not not backed by real commodity money. The result is huge bank profits, huge societal inflation, and indebtedness for governments, businesses, and people. Of course, another result is the predictable boom/bust cycle that bankrupts many others when the money supply deflation from its previous inflation.

Fractional-Reserve Banking (FRB), in other words, is modern man’s solution to the Philosopher’s Stone. Add to it the Central Banks special privilege to purchase items by creating banknotes not backed by anything and one can see that the modern day elites have accomplished what the middle-age kings and princes only dreamed of – creating fools gold, but having the legal right to pass off fool’s gold as real gold and enslave the people in the process. The is the Financial Matrix! Like I said previously, the modern golden rule reads: He who controls the fool’s gold controls the fools.

Posted in Finances, Freedom/Liberty, Orrin Woodward | 20 Comments »

Leisure & the Pursuit of Wisdom

Posted by Orrin Woodward on August 10, 2015

A big secret to life is when you discover that learning is just as enjoyable as entertainment is, but with long term benefits. – Orrin Woodward

In the process of researching for my second book in the And Justice For All series, I stumbled across one of the most profound descriptions of the importance of education in a person’s life by Professor Ernest Barker. As I read the words below, I realized how important LIFE Leadership is in improving society. For LIFE helps people focus on achievement through a process of eliminating debt and building a community through serving others by pursuing wisdom and leadership. In effect, the size and speed of the results achieved is a measurement of the wisdom applied to their life and business. The Bible teaches clearly that all true wisdom begins with fear of the Lord and that Christians should seek righteousness and all others things will be added.

Unfortunately, however, few people apply these Biblical lessons consistently. Despite the numerous historical examples of people who applied Biblical wisdom to life and were blessed beyond measure, many still chase money rather than wisdom. In a capitalistic system, money flows to those who apply wisdom to business, but the reverse of this is not true – wisdom flows to those with money. For instance, Laurie and I have many monetary blessings, but none of these satisfy like sharing wisdom with others to stimulate breakthroughs in mentoring sessions or the “aha” moments of self-discovery when the veil of ignorance is removed and one sees clearly the principles to apply to move ahead. Indeed, once a person becomes a seeker of knowledge, he will never be bored again because there is always more wisdom to learn and apply. I love my life and wouldn’t trade places with anyone else because I have been blessed with the leisure to learn and grow. Even more importantly, I am blessed to share what I have learned with other hungry students seeking wisdom in life.

The Financial Matrix is a system of control designed to enslave people in their own ignorance. Hence, if one wished to escape the matrix, one must escape not only physically, but also mentally. To do this, a person must build a business asset to buy back his time because only then will he have the leisure to invest in a self-directed education to develop wisdom. LIFE Leadership is the vehicle to accomplish this where people can live their dreams by losing their debt? However, living your dreams requires a plan and a willingness to work hard. What is the reader’s plan to develop wisdom and seek righteousness? These two steps are foundational to having everything else added unto him to live his/her dreams. I pray you achieve all the success you earn.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

Our modern economic society, we have seen, requires leisure and education as its complements and its correctives. They are two things which should go together. Leisure is a time to be devoted — not wholly, for the body has its claims to relaxation, and the mind too needs its gentle indulgences ; not wholly, but at any rate largely — to the purposes of education and the gaining of that knowledge, not to be acquired in the course of work, ‘which brings wisdom rather than affluence.’ Education, on the other hand, should be a training — not again wholly, but at any rate largely — in the right way of using leisure, which without education may be misspent and frittered away. This vital connexion between leisure and education is a fundamental thing. Unless we grasp it, we are in danger of abusing leisure and misusing education. And in order that we may grasp it, it is necessary that we should have a right conception of the meaning of leisure;

One of the old Greek philosophers made a distinction which may help us here. He thought that we ought not merely to distinguish between work and leisure, but also to distinguish between leisure and recreation. Work, he thought, was something done not for its own sake, but as a means to something else — affluence, let us say, or at any rate subsistence ; recreation was rest from work, which took the form of play, and issued in the recovery of the poise of body and mind, disturbed and unbalanced by work ; but leisure was a noble thing, and indeed the noblest thing in life ; it was employment in some activity (we may almost say some form of work) which was desirable for its own sake such as the hearing of noble music and poetry, intercourse with friends chosen for their worth, or the exercise of the speculative faculty.

In this fine sense of the word, we may say that we live for leisure ; that it is the end of our being, which transcends work and far transcends recreation ; that it is the growing time of the human spirit, which in its leisure from necessary toils, and the necessary recreations they entail as their counterpoise, can expand in communion with its own thoughts and with the thoughts of others and with the Grace of God. The sad thing about modern English society is that there is so little leisure in this higher sense. It is not only that we work so hard : it is also that we play so hard. Perhaps the monotony and uniformity of work sends us in reaction to the hazards of games, or the excitement of watching them, or the still greater excitement of betting upon them : perhaps the urban aggregations in which men now live make them unhappy unless they are crowding together to some common game or spectacle.

Whatever the reason, poor leisure is far too often out in the cold, while recreation is romping about all the rooms in the house. One need be no kill- joy or Puritan to think or talk in this strain. Life is something more than a series of alternate layers of lean work and fat hearty play. It is meant for the growth and development of the human spirit. And that growth needs its growing time, which is leisure. If leisure be largely for education, education is also largely for leisure. We too often think and speak of education as something intended to fit us for life’s work. Ideally, it should rather be intended to fit us for life’s leisure. I do not mean that education should be humane rather than vocational.

Education may be humane, and yet directed to work and the better doing of work. I mean something more — that education should mean the filling of our mind with interests and possibilities of high delight, which we can develop for ourselves in all our leisure hours ; that it should be an initiation in the tastes and pursuits which will crown our leisure with fulfilment ; in a word, that it should be a training and a preparation for the right use of the time of the spirit’s freedom. Perhaps education has not hitherto been sufficiently adjusted to this end. Perhaps, if it had been, it would have been directed more to the awakening of a taste for art and music, in order that they might become the permanent possession and the abiding joy of later years.

Be that as it may, it is surely true that education is a necessity if men are to gain the faculty of using leisure easily, happily, and fruitfully. The use of leisure is a difficult thing. The majority of us, when freedom is given into our hands, fly to the excitement of some form of recreation. We must be ‘doing’ something — preferably something physical : if we are not, we are lost and without resource. We know the routine of work : we know the rules and the routine of different forms of play ; but we do not know how to move freely, originally, and by our own choice in the world that lies above work and play — the world of leisure. This is why holidays sometimes pall, and leave us at a loss : it is why men who have retired from work sometimes fall into melancholy, and find their reason for living gone.

Leisure without faculty for its use may even be a mother of mischief; men may dissipate themselves in frivolities, and worse than frivolities, because they do not know how to concentrate themselves upon better things. A society which guarantees leisure is guaranteeing something which may be useless, and even dangerous, unless it adds, or at any rate encourages its members to add, the one thing which will enable the gift to be used — a continuous process of education.

The world offers to the mind of man many noble joys. There is a joy in knowing the flowers of the field, and calling them by their names. There is a joy in knowing tlie heavenly bodies which move above us, and in understanding the rhythm and the rules of their motions. There is a joy in knowing the past of our kind, and in unrolling the long record of human history which explains what we are to-day. There is a joy in entering into the vision of the poet and painter, who have seen the ideal beauty which is hidden from ordinary eyes. There is a joy in wrestling with the thought of great philosophers, who have pondered about the why and wherefore of this mortal world and our mortal existence in it. These are the joys of leisure ; and leisure is the growing time of the spirit because it is the time of these joys. But it needs an effort to catch these joys ; and you cannot catch them without hooks of apprehension.

You must know a little in order to want to know more. Blank ignorance is blank incuriousness, but a little knowledge may be the opportunity and the incentive for more knowledge. The facts presented to mere ignorance are facts which there are no hooks to catch ; but when a mind has had some little training, it develops tentacles of apprehension ; it is anxious to seize new stuff, to arrange it and co-ordinate it with the old stuff which is already there, and so to make a little systematic world of its own for its own high delectation. The mind which is furnished with these tentacles and hooks of apprehension is a mind which will never be embarrassed or dumbfounded by leisure.

It will begin to play at once, in the nobler sense of the word play: the hooks will grip more and more of things seen and unseen into its consciousness ; and in the growing time there will be growth. When we say, therefore, that education is a preparation for the enjoyment of leisure, we mean that it is an equipment of the mind with these hooks and tentacles, these curiosities and appetites. And from this point of view we may see that there is a large sphere for the education of the adult, and that education is in no sense only the concern of childhood. The child learns at school ; but the child learns at a time when real experience of life has not yet begun. He learns, and is often curious to learn ; but what he learns cannot be co-ordinated with, or grappled into, a first-hand experience, because such experience has not yet begun to be gathered.

When he goes out into the world, and begins to gather experience, that experience may seem to him the one essential thing, and the school time lessons may fade away into the outgrown occupations of a vanished childhood. It is at this age — the age of adolescence, young manhood and young womanhood — that everything turns on the rescue of young minds from being immersed in mere experience. It is now that they need to recover curiosities, and to be furnished with hooks and tentacles of apprehension, by which they can capture a knowledge which can now be co-ordinated with experience. History, for example, is one thing to a child — a record of exciting events which satisfies curiosity : it is another thing to an adult — a record of the moral experience of men and nations which can be compared with and interpreted by the moral experience which the adult has himself gone through.

But unless, in adolescent and adult years, the curiosity be reawakened and recovered, the adult mind may remain immersed in its own more immediate experience ; and the high contemplation which lifts it above such experience, and yet explains and interprets that experience, may never be attained. Adolescent and adult education are in this way of primary importance, if man is to rise to that height of his being in which he uses leisure for the purpose of contemplation of the world, in order to explain it, and his own experience of it, and to attain to the justification of faith in its purpose and operation.

Posted in Finances, Freedom/Liberty, Fun, LIFE Leadership | 27 Comments »

Austrian Business Cycle

Posted by Orrin Woodward on July 21, 2015

Jesus Huerta de Soto

The perpetual booms and bust we see in Capitalism are not caused by the free market. Rather, they are the direct result of interventions in the natural rate of interest by Big Banks and the State (yes, it’s the dreaded Financial Matrix). These centrally planned interventions into the free markets cause the booms and bust, but in an ironic twist, the free market is blamed when the predictable dismal outcome occurs. Hence more central planning is proposed to fix the allegedly broken free market. The illogicalness of this argument almost makes me lose my emotional intelligence. 🙂

For it reminds me of the story of a drunk suffering from a hangover who blames his pain, not on too much drinking, but rather believes his body’s natural systems are imbalanced. Thus, he surmises to drink even more because he must make up for his body’s deficient natural system. When the pain goes away temporarily, he proclaims his intervention successful because he is pain-free. Unfortunately, the party (boom) always ends and when tomorrow morning hits, the cycle will repeat itself with even more rationalizations about the inherently unstable bodily systems and the need for more drugs. Of course, this leads to even worse cycle of temporary joy and longterm pain until the drunk either wizens up or dies. I wish I were exaggerating here, but the drunk’s logic is the same as our modern day politicians and economists (owned mouthpieces of the Financial Matrix controllers) who increase interventions into the economy which cause increasingly disruptive boom/bust cycles.

Nonetheless, further government intervention within the free market is always the answer when the previous intervention fails. Regretfully, many seemingly intelligent people buy into this line of thinking because it is promoted across the mainstream media outlets by the hired hands of the elites. As for me, I could care less how many “authorities” state their opinions because no matter how many people with whatever titles say something foolish, it’s still foolish. Even a majority doesn’t change this because foolish plus foolish is foolish, not wisdom. As an aside, if anyone is seeking rational discussion on this subject, he or she need look no further than de Soto’s fantastic book on money, banking, and business cycles displayed on this blog post.

To wet your appetite, I will attach a short description of the Austrian Business Cycle theory that I found online. In my nearly 15 years of research into the Austrian School of economics, I have not found an economic philosophy that reasons clearer and states the facts better regardless of the political costs than this group does. LIFE Leadership is on a quest for truth and the Austrian School has much truth to share.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

The article below was written by Ben Best and describes the Austrian Business Cycle Theory:

Austrian Business Cycle

Austrian analysis asserts that in a world of hard money and free banking, the inflationary forces of credit expansion due to fractional reserve banking would not exist. If banks were warehouses of commodity money — gold, for example — then currency would consist of bank notes representing claims on the gold held by a bank. Any bank that made loans in excess of its reserves (fractional reserve banking) would soon find itself insolvent when other banks demanded hard money in exchange for checks & banknotes issued by that bank. This effect on banks is entirely analogous to the effects on countries that occurred after World War I when most nations attempted to implement a fractional reserve gold standard for their currencies. Countries issuing large amounts of currency backed by small amounts of gold found themselves in trouble when other countries sought to exchange currency to obtain gold. (See History of Modern Monetary Standards.) Banks in a free banking system would face similar pressures against fractional gold backing for their banknotes.

According to Austrian Economists, fractional reserve banking only became possible through the outlawing of private money and the creation of central (ie, government-controlled) banks — which allowed governments to control money supply and bank credit expansion.

In a free market interest rates are determined by subjective time-preference and the supply & demand of loanable money. If there is a low rate of savings the quantity (supply) of loanable money will be low and competition for this money (demand) by potential borrowers will result in high interest rates. High interest rates will encourage more savings and thereby bring the price of loans (interest rates) downward. As with supply & demand for any good or service, a free market will find a “clearing price” for the supply & demand of loanable funds. This clearing price is the natural rate of interest.

The natural rate of interest plays an extremely important role in the capital structure of an economy. Entrepreneurs/capitalists base decisions on whether to begin long-term capital projects based on interest rates. If interest rates are low, then borrowing to build a new factory, invest in a telecommunications network or assemble the capital goods for a new business venture appears feasible. Supply & demand of loanable funds will respond gradually to adjustments in business activity. If business investment (competition for loanable funds) rises, so too will interest rates — reducing borrowing for investment.

Central bank control of money & short-term interest-rates in national economies is at the root of contemporary business cycles. (For background on the mechanics of short-term interest-rate manipulation by central banks, see Money-Creation by Banks and A “Managed Economy” Under the Federal Reserve System.) When central banks artificially lower short-term interest rates below natural market levels, this results in two major distortions in capital markets. First, those who would save money receive less than the natural rate of interest — and this disincentive to save actually reduces the amount of loanable funds in real (as distinct from nominal) terms. Second, those who would borrow money for large capital projects are paying less than the natural rate of interest — thus encouraging borrowing investors to believe that capital projects are more sustainable than they really are.

Artificial lowering of interest rates by central banks is thus accompanied by expansion of the money supply — resulting in an artificial stimulus to spending for both consumer goods and capital goods. This artificial stimulus results in an inflationary boom which is not sustainable. Central banks are ultimately forced to raise short-term interest rates to counteract the inflation, resulting in a bust. Supporters of central bank monetary manipulation justify the practice as a means of leveling-out the business cycle when, in fact, central banker monetary manipulation is the cause of the business cycle!

In the 19th century, when money was based on gold & silver rather than government fiat, economic growth was mildly deflationary — because increased productivity lowers production costs. Inflation follows from government expansion of money supply and is not the result of an “overheating” economy that is growing rapidly. A distinction should be made between non-inflationary economic growth due to enterprise & technology and inflationary unsustainable booms due to central bank interest-rate cuts. Lack of clarity about this distinction has misled many economists into believing that there is an upper limit to growth (about 3%) above which growth is inflationary and unsustainable. Artificially low interest rates increase consumption spending, reduce incentives to save and increase investment spending with new fiat money that creates the illusion of new wealth. After having expanded the money supply with credit-expansion, central bankers worry that economic growth is “overheating” the economy, and the bankers then increase interest rates to “fight inflation”.

Posted in Finances, LIFE Leadership | 19 Comments »

Egalitarianism Leads to Unjust Inequalities

Posted by Orrin Woodward on July 7, 2015

I love providing a business where everyone has an equal opportunity. No one should be hindered from progressing towards their dreams because of race, religion, or sex so long as they also do not hinder others. Unfortunately, the proper quest for equal opportunity has now morphed into an unjust demand for equal results. This is not only impossible physically, but extremely dangerous metaphysically. For the only way to create equality of results is to coercively take private property from some to give to others. In other words, in the quest for equality of results, the quest for liberty and justice is thrown out the window.

As Chairman of the Board of LIFE Leadership, I know everyone who enters our business has equality of opportunity (they have the same compensation plan), but also know the results will vary based upon efforts, people skills, and leadership abilities. Thankfully, even if one starts out with little abilities in any of these categories, with persistency, he or she can still climb to the top. In effect, it’s not how bad a person is when they start that matters as much as how willing he/she is to change. If the dream is big enough, a person can change until the “facts” are in his/her favor. Indeed, I have seen this process occur many times in the LIFE Leadership community.

This, however, would all change if government were to mandate equality of results rather than equality of opportunity. For anytime equality of results is enforced, what ensues is a race to the bottom as each person seeks to do the minimum amount possible since no extra efforts are rewarded. This has been proven historically by the failure of every communist regime to even feed its people let alone prosper. Below, I attached a short article on the Greek myth Procrustes and a short section of Murray Rothbard’s brilliant article on inequality. Please share your thoughts below.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

Procrustes is the legendary Greek robber dwelling somewhere in Attica. Procrustes had an iron bed on which he compelled his victims to lie. Here, if a victim was shorter than the bed, he stretched him by hammering or racking the body to fit. Alternatively, if the victim was longer than the bed, he cut off the legs to make the body fit the bed’s length. In either event the victim died. Ultimately Procrustes was slain by his own method by the young Attic hero Theseus as a young man slayed robbers and monsters whom he encountered while traveling from Trozen to Athens. The “bed of Procrustes,” or “Procrustean bed,” has become proverbial for arbitrarily—and perhaps ruthlessly—forcing someone or something to fit into an unnatural scheme or pattern.

The New Coercive Elite

Procrustes Equality

When we confront the egalitarian movement, we begin to find the first practical, if not logical, contradiction within the program itself: that its outstanding advocates are not in any sense in the ranks of the poor and oppressed, but are Harvard, Yale, and Oxford professors, as well as other leaders of the privileged social and power elite. What kind of “egalitarianism” is this? If this phenomenon is supposed to embody a massive assumption of liberal guilt, then it is curious that we see very few of this breast-beating elite actually divesting themselves of their worldly goods, prestige, and status, and go live humbly and anonymously among the poor and destitute. Quite the contrary, they seem not to stumble a step on their climb to wealth, fame, and power. Instead, they invariably bask in the congratulations of themselves and their like-minded colleagues of the high-minded morality in which they have all cloaked themselves.

Perhaps the answer to this puzzle lies in our old friend Procrustes. Since no two people are uniform or “equal” in any sense in nature, or in the outcomes of a voluntary society, to bring about and maintain such equality necessarily requires the permanent imposition of a power elite armed with devastating coercive power. For an egalitarian program clearly requires a powerful ruling elite to wield the formidable weapons of coercion and even terror required to operate the Procrustean rack: to try to force everyone into an egalitarian mold. Hence, at least for the ruling elite, there is no “equality” here — only vast inequalities of power, decisionmaking, and undoubtedly, income and wealth as well.

Thus, the English philosopher Antony Flew points out that “the Procrustean ideal has, as it is bound to have, the most powerful attraction for those already playing or hoping in the future to play prominent or rewarding parts in the machinery of enforcement.” Flew notes that this Procrustean ideal is “the uniting and justifying ideology of a rising class of policy advisors and public welfare professionals,” adding significantly that “these are all people both professionally involved in, and owing to their past and future advancement to, the business of enforcing it.”

That the necessary consequence of an egalitarian program is the decidedly inegalitarian creation of a ruthless power elite was recognized and embraced by the English Marxist-Lenist sociologist Frank Parkin. Parkin concluded that “Egalitarianism seems to require a political system in which the state is able to hold in check those social and occupational groups which, by virtue of their skills or education or personal attributes, might otherwise attempt to stake claims to a disproportionate share of society’s rewards. The most effective way of holding such groups in check is by denying the right to organize politically, or, in other ways, to undermine social equality. This presumably is the reasoning underlying the Marxist-Leninist case for a political order based upon the dictatorship of the proletariat.”

But how is it that Parkin and his egalitarian ilk never seem to realize that this explicit assault on “social equality” leads to tremendous inequalities of power, decisionmaking authority, and, inevitably, income and wealth? Indeed, why is this seemingly obvious question never so much as raised among them? Could there be hypocrisy or even deceit at work?

Posted in Freedom/Liberty, LIFE Leadership | 26 Comments »

Developing a Financial Plan

Posted by Orrin Woodward on June 19, 2015

“The only man who sticks closer to you in adversity than a friend is a creditor.”

It’s impossible to consistently win in any endeavor without a plan. Unfortunately, most people in life do not have a financial plan; therefore, they struggle financially. The Financial Fitness Program is a step-by-step plan to help someone develop a plan for defense, offense, and understanding the playing field (The Financial Matrix) of financial success.

Why start at zero and have to spend years learning the principles of financial success when a person can invest $99 dollars and have access, not only to a winning financial plan (thousands have eliminated their credit card debt), but also the LIFE Leadership community to help one stay accountable to his/her goals and dreams? Life is tough inside the Financial Matrix. That is why a supportive community of people with the same objective – to escape the Financial Matrix – is so vital.

Here is a segment of a talk I gave in Wisconsin on the importance of having a plan, working the plan, and persisting in the plan until victory.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

Posted in Finances, Freedom/Liberty, LIFE Leadership | 15 Comments »

The Manufacture of Consent?

Posted by Orrin Woodward on June 15, 2015

The ownership and control of the Mass Media is one of the key ingredient in the ruling elites plan for control of Western Civilization. Most of the news, as a result, fits the “manufactured” world-view that the elites have carefully constructed for mass consumption. Before you think I have gone off the deep end, let me share some of thoughts from some of the best minds of the topic of media and control. Austrian economists Joseph Salerno described the ruling elites agenda in his brilliant introduction to one of Murray Rothbard’s classic works on money:

The ruling class, however, confronts one serious and ongoing problem: how to persuade the productive majority, whose tribute or taxes it consumes, that its laws, regulations, and policies are beneficial; that is, that they coincide with “the public interest” or are designed to promote “the common good” or to optimize “social welfare.” Given its minority status, failure to solve this problem exposes the political class to serious consequences. Even passive resistance by a substantial part of the producers, in the form of mass tax resistance, renders the income of the political class and, therefore, its continued existence extremely precarious. More ominously, attempts to suppress such resistance may cause it to spread and intensify and eventually boil over into an active revolution whose likely result is the forcible ousting of the minority exploiting class from its position of political power.

This is why the elites capture the society of every nation following the same 3M formula – Money, Media, Military. First, the ruling elite captures the Money supply, then it purchased the Mass Media, and finally, it buys the politicians to use the nation’s Military for its egregious ends. Is anyone surprised that the ruling elites, once they have captured the Money supply, would quickly use the fake money to buy controlling interest over the Mass Media. For the role of the Mass Media is to persuade the “dumbed down” people that society needs the ruling elites oversight. To illustrate, has anyone else noticed how often the Mass Media quotes intellectual experts to prove the validity of its messaging? Of course, what’s not revealed is that nearly all these so called experts in the university/corporate system are also bought and paid for by the ruling elites. Salerno, again, explained this phenomena:

Here is where the intellectuals come in. It is their task to convince the public to actively submit to State rule because it is beneficial to do so, or at least to passively endure the State’s depredations because the alternative is anarchy and chaos. In return for fabricating an ideological cover for its exploitation of the masses of subjects or taxpayers, these “court intellectuals” are rewarded with the power, wealth, and prestige of a junior partnership in the ruling elite. Whereas in pre-industrial times these apologists for State rule were associated with the clergy, in modern times—at least since the Progressive Era in the U.S.—they have been drawn increasingly from the academy. Politicians, bureaucrats, and those whom they subsidize and privilege within the economy thus routinely trumpet lofty ideological motives for their actions in order to conceal from the exploited and plundered citizenry their true motive of economic gain.

Noam Chomsky

As I researched the Mass Media’s influence within society, I think I was most shocked by the elites’ level of hubris. For instance, Walter Lippmann, the two time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and author, wrote one of the classic works on why the Mass Media must manipulate public opinion. In the appropriately named book, Public Opinion (1922), Lippmann described the masses as a “great beast” and a “bewildered herd” that needed the governing class to direct them. Not surprisingly, he defined the ruling elite as “a specialized class whose interests reach beyond the locality.” Lippmann believed the ruling elites (a class of experts, specialists and bureaucrats) needed to circumvent the primary defect of democracy, the impossible ideal of the “omni-competent citizen.” In effect, the “bewildered herd” is mesmerized by the ruling elites into being merely “interested spectators of action,” rather than active citizens. Lippmann explained that participation should only be for the “the responsible man”, not the regular citizen.

The Mass media, subsequently, is no longer about reporting facts or highlighting competing visions for the future. Rather, it is used to produce ruling-elite approved propaganda to mislead the public into supporting initiatives that benefit the elites at the masses expense. Lippmann even coined the term “manufacture of consent” to explain how the elites manipulate public opinion through Mass Media. In other words, the Mass Media reports what the ruling elites want you to believe, not what necessarily is the truth. But don’t take my word for it, let’s have Lippmann explain “manufacture of consent” in his own words from his book, Public Opinion:

That the manufacture of consent is capable of great refinements no one, I think, denies. The process by which public opinions arise is certainly no less intricate than it has appeared in these pages, and the opportunities for manipulation open to anyone who understands the process are plain enough. . . . as a result of psychological research, coupled with the modern means of communication, the practice of democracy has turned a corner. A revolution is taking place, infinitely more significant than any shifting of economic power. . . . Under the impact of propaganda, not necessarily in the sinister meaning of the word alone, the old constants of our thinking have become variables. It is no longer possible, for example, to believe in the original dogma of democracy; that the knowledge needed for the management of human affairs comes up spontaneously from the human heart. Where we act on that theory we expose ourselves to self-deception, and to forms of persuasion that we cannot verify. It has been demonstrated that we cannot rely upon intuition, conscience, or the accidents of casual opinion if we are to deal with the world beyond our reach.

Lippmann, however, was not alone in revealing the ruling elites plan at the beginning of the 20th century. Although the ruling elites have learned to be more careful, it still isn’t too difficult to piece together their revealed agenda. Perhaps no one was clearer than Edward Bernays, the nephew of Sigmund Freud and father of “public relations”. Without apology, he applied his uncle’s teaching and techniques to alter the subconscious of the customers of his client’s product to encourage a buying decision. Bernays boasted of his ability to control the masses in his ruling elite classic book Propaganda:

The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of. This is a logical result of the way in which our democratic society is organized. Vast numbers of human beings must cooperate in this manner if they are to live together as a smoothly functioning society. Our invisible governors are, in many cases, unaware of the identity of their fellow members in the inner cabinet.

The final example of Mass Media control is my personal testimony. It was 2008, in the middle of a multimillion dollar legal dispute between a billion dollar company and the top leaders of my company, when I was contacted by Forbes Magazine. Needless to say, I was shocked to hear this large corporate magazine (that reports upon billion dollar companies) wanted to write about a leadership company which barely surpassed 40 million dollars at the time. When I first asked the reporter why she picked us, she replied she was interested in network marketing and the leadership and Christian principles I utilized. I thought this was odd but naively agreed to help. After interviewing me for over six hours, she had the gist of our business, the dispute with our former supplier, and any supporting evidence I had. Strangely, over the course of our discussion, it came out that she knew nothing about network marketing (the business I was in), had never heard of John Maxwell (the number one leadership trainer and author), nor had ever heard of Pastor Bill Hybels (the pastor of one of the largest churches in America (even though she lived in Chicago where his church is located) who had selected Chris Brady and my NY Times bestseller Launching a Leadership Revolution as one of his best books for 2007.

Curious, I asked her why she would do an article about three subjects she admittedly knew nothing about. At first, she started explaining that her superiors asked her to write it, but then I think she realized this wouldn’t jive with what she previously had said. She abruptly broke off the conversation and simply said she was doing her job. Of course, now I realize the article could have been written without interviewing me at all since it included practically nothing from what we discussed. Something, however, wasn’t adding up. Why would someone write a nonsensical article in a major magazine on subjects she admitted to knowing nothing about nor have any interest in? I smelled a rat. Several months later, I found the rat. In the strangest of coincidences (I smile when I say that 🙂 ), I discovered the company I was in the legal dispute with had run expensive centerfold advertisements in Forbes magazine. Whoa! Now I understood how Mass Media manufactures consent first hand. 🙂

Nevertheless, one of the key lessons a leader learns on his journey is how to turn the lemons of life into lemonade. In this case, my personal exposure to Mass Media shenanigans led me to study the role of media in controlling what and how people think. This eventually led to the Financial Matrix through the control of Money, Media, and the Military. With our liberties at stake the masses can and must learn to think for themselves. And, despite what the ruling elites have done to “dumb down” our educational system, the people are still capable of learning, doing, and teaching leadership. In fact, I believe the key to breaking the Financial Matrix is for a group of men and women to launch a leadership revolution through serving others rather than manipulating or coercing as the elites do. While this isn’t an easy task, I know it’s possible because I have spent the last 20+ years of my life helping people lead themselves, their families, and their businesses.

I reject the theory that the masses are sentenced to be part of the “great beast” the “bewildered herd” which must leave all the thinking to the elites. Instead, the LIFE Leadership founders created a company that believes everyone is called to lead wherever they are and can with the right information applied consistently. Don’t be scared of the word leadership, for it merely means serving others. We can all do that. I cannot imagine a better purpose to fulfill in life than building LIFE Leadership and helping people break free from the “bewildered herd” that are trapped in the Financial Matrix.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

Posted in Finances, Freedom/Liberty, LIFE Leadership, Orrin Woodward | 62 Comments »

Escape the Financial Matrix Scam

Posted by Orrin Woodward on June 9, 2015

What is the Financial Matrix?

The Financial Matrix has captured nearly everyone within its web. The system of control works by seducing people into debt by “easy” monthly payments. The monthly payments accumulate until the people can no longer afford their own opinion. Instead, they must do the bidding of their creditors because, as the Bible stated long ago, “The borrower is slave to the lender.” The Financial Matrix book explains this is much more detail for those who haven’t read it.

I am not saying that the loaning and borrowing of money, in itself, constitutes a scam. For the Financial Matrix scam goes much deeper than that. Indeed, the Financial Matrix, through the Fractional Reserve Banking (FRB) system, supported by Central Banks and National Governments, is allowed to create money out of thin air to “loan” to the people. In a word, fake (fiat) money is loaned out to people who must pay back the interest and principal with real production. This is the Financial Matrix Scam.

How Does a Person Escape the Financial Matrix?

The plan to escape the Financial Matrix is simple to explain but difficult to implement, namely, stop taking on debt. A person must learn to live below his current income even if that means foregoing some of the things he desires. For just because a person wants something doesn’t mean he should sell himself into financial slavery to purchase it. Quit buying items today, in other words, on income that a person plans to make tomorrow; instead, the correct approach is to buy items today on income he made yesterday.

Unfortunately, most people have not learned this key financial literacy principle. In fact, this isn’t by accident, but by design. Think about how much education the average person is receiving today and yet how little financial literacy education they receive. I have met doctorate level graduates in many fields, with 10 plus years of education, who do not understand the rudimentary principles of compound interest, nor delayed gratification. This must change.

How to Play Defense Against the Financial Matrix?

Financial Fitness Pack

Anyone truly seeking a change in his/her financial situation must realize the need to apply new principles. The Financial Fitness Program (FFP) (Now available as a continuous education program for accountants) will teach a person step by step how to live below his current means. Many customers of this pack have escaped the Financial Matrix Scam by learning how to say no to the instant gratification purchases. It doesn’t matter how much a person makes as much as how much he spends. In fact, the Financial Matrix system loves high income earners because they typically carry more debt and service it longer.

The great news is once a person changes the financial paradigm, the compounding effect of debt reduction becomes an enjoyable game. Instead of thousands of dollars per month being poured down the Financial Matrix hole, that money now remains in the producers hands to either wipe out more debt or start to purchase items in cash. As a result, the average person can break out of the Financial Matrix by just playing defense in a 15 to 20 year plan and be debt-free including his mortgage. However, some people choose to go faster.

How to Play Offense Against the Financial Matrix?

This is the purpose of LIFE Leadership community. When customers realize how effective the Financial Fitness Program (FFP) is to help them get out of debt, many choose to share this program with others. LIFE created a compensated community to reward the people who help others escape the Financial Matrix Scam. In other words, the worst that happens to a person who joins LIFE Leadership and applies the principles taught is they lose their debt. On the upside, the go-getters who choose to share this financial program with others are rewarded for doing so.

LIFE Leadership then starts with a simple premise, namely, that being in debt and stress is not good for people. Accordingly, LIFE provides the FFP to teach financial literacy and a plan of escape. Meanwhile, for those who want to escape the Financial Matrix faster, LIFE offers people the opportunity to own their own business and build a business asset. A person can start by playing defense and utilizing the community support group to help him make better decisions financially. And, at any time in the process, he can choose to go on offense and share the financial products to others who could benefit by better financial literacy. Win-Win-Win.

What Makes LIFE Leadership Different?

I have studied the data of LIFE members and I am blown away by what I discovered. It takes less than six months for the average member to save more money from the Financial Matrix than they are investing in their own business. This is what makes LIFE Leadership different than most traditional product companies – the Financial Fitness Program (FFP) saves the consumer more money than it costs to purchase. The FFP is, after all, only 99 dollars. In the coming months, I plan on interviewing many of the people who have reduced their debt to highlight their stories. The testimonials of people who have wiped out $10k, $25k, $50k, and some over $100k in less than six months simply need to be shared with the world!

What other organization can a person join where the worst that happens to him is he wipes out his debt and the best that happens to him is he builds a business asset, develops his personal leadership, and makes friends for life? Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not saying everyone who joins LIFE Leadership will get debt free. For merely joining an organization doesn’t make someone successful anymore than merely buying an exercise bike causes one to lose wait. After all, YOU have to use the financial principles and the exercise bike to accomplish the desired objective.

Fortunately, most of the people who purchase the FFP (about 75%) reduce their financial debt. Moreover, around 10% of that group start making money by building a business asset. What about the other 25%? I don’t know if I could answer this any better than John Wayne did, “Life is tough, even tougher when your stupid.” 🙂 Ok, I know that was politically incorrect in today’s sensitive age. But seriously folks, how can the FFP help someone eliminate debt if they won’t open it up, read the materials, and apply its lessons? LIFE even has a community support group to encourage them in the habit changing process. A teacher cannot teach until the student is ready.

Despite what the modern media tells you, success is NOT a lottery. Indeed, people don’t luck their way to success, but rather learn their way into it. If you are tired of waiting for your ship to come, then perhaps its time to join the LIFE Leadership ship. Whether as a customer and learn to play defense to avoid the Financial Matrix or as a member and learn how to play defense and offense to avoid the Financial Matrix is totally up to you.

What I know is with the proper financial principles, you too can escape the Financial Matrix and live the life you always wanted.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

Posted in Finances, Freedom/Liberty, LIFE Leadership, Orrin Woodward | 29 Comments »

The Financial Matrix Controls People, Companies, and Nations

Posted by Orrin Woodward on June 1, 2015

The Financial Matrix does not just control individuals since many companies and governments are also hopelessly in debt. The Bible admonition clearly states that the borrower is slave to the lender which makes governments, companies, and individuals all pseudo-slaves to the money powers. In effect, the State has acquiesced to subserviency in order to have access to the funds necessary to maintain its power base. Accordingly, it supports the Fractional-Reserve-Banking (FRB) fraud of creating money out of thin air (fiat money) so that it can receive low interest loans from banks who then turnaround and loan the same money to companies as well as individuals. The central banks partnership with the Big Banks FRB system allows the same fiat money to be loaned to at least 10 different customers at the same time.

Can anyone else see how this system inflates the money supply and creates unbelievable profits for the banking system? This inflation robs the purchasing power of your dollars and causes prices to increase since the money supply is increasing faster than the productive capacity of society is. The bankers inflation causes a boom that always leads to the crack up boom and society’s entrepreneurs and borrowers always suffer the consequences as the bank forecloses on the real property securing their fiat loans. Is it any wonder the banks always have the biggest buildings in every big city. 🙂

Inflation, however is just the final consequence of borrowing fools gold from the banking system. There are, in fact four others. First, when society allows the State/Big Banks money cartel to loan out fools gold as spendable money within society, the society suffers irreparable harm when forced to pay back fools gold (fake wealth) with real production (real wealth). Furthermore, when governments take on debt, they are forced to raise taxes to service the growing interest charges. This means the subjects in the Financial Matrix have their wealth siphoned off directly (in their personal debt) and indirectly (in the taxes paid to service governments debt).

But there are still more siphons. For when companies also take on debt to the money powers, they must increase prices in order to service the interest. Here is a third way the Financial Matrix reaches into the peoples pockets. Dismally, there is still another Financial Matrix siphon on people’s production (The Matrix movie siphoning off people’s energy wasn’t far from the truth), namely, the price increases companies roll out to pay their corporate taxes. Unless, the corporation is an international conglomerates owned by the money powers (in which case they pay little to no corporate taxes because they do accounting in international tax havens and use tax loophole laws in their favor), the corporation must pay taxes that cause an even higher price on products/services because all the cost associated with a product is ultimately passed onto consumers or the business would not survive.

In sum, the people are subjected to four separate siphons on their income due to the Financial Matrix – 1) personal interest charges, 2) personal income taxes to pay government interest charges, 3) prices increases on products needed to live to pay company interest charges, and, finally, 4) prices increases on products needed to live in order for the company to pay corporate taxes so that government can pay its interest charges. All the income losses and increased living expenses results from the Financial Matrix’s power to loan out fake money to be paid back by real production. Simply put, this is the greatest form of control ever created by the elites. True, a person trapped in the Financial Matrix is not directly coerced by his creditors, but the fear of drowning in a deluge of debt causes him to obey just the same.

The Financial Matrix works so effectively because it so difficult to understand the rigged game. For instance, did anyone teach you financial literacy in school or teach you that the banks can digitize debt (fiat money) with State support and that the people must then pay it back with real production. Not 1 in a 100,000 even comprehends the Financial Matrix, let alone knows how to resist it. This is why I wrote the Financial Matrix – to teach people how to live free from the most effective matrix of control the elites have ever produced. Unfortunately, the dumbed down educational system has done it work well, leaving many so hopelessly inured to the debt system that they will fight to maintain it. Others merely shrug off the fact that year by year they work harder for less as their debt loads continues to increase.

Few seem to understand that as debt increases our liberty decreases. Our once free nations under God has now become a bound nations over drawn. Thankfully, however, there is a growing movement within society of people who are taking personal responsibility. Justice can only be served by ending the practice of fiat money and FRB banking and stabilizing the money supply by ending the State/Big Bank money cartel. The market would quickly return money to a commodity standard (typically a combination of gold, silver, and copper) that cannot be manipulated at will by the elites. With a stable money supply, entrepreneurs can begin calculating cost and profit accurately, speculation profits at society’s expense will end, and the people’s money will not be inflated away unbeknownst to the majority of them.

Perhaps the best commentator on the State/Big Banks unethical alliance in the 20th century was the economist and historian Dr. Murray Rothbard. His insights and thoughts led me to discover the Financial Matrix. Dr. Joseph Salerno wrote a fascinating introduction to one of Rothbard’s books that describes why the State always ends up abusing society’s members even though it was designed to protect them.

After reading Mises, Rothbard, Salerno and others, I realized the fools gold loans from the money powers was creating fools of the borrowers who were selling their liberties for things. LIFE Leadership has created a Financial Fitness Program that can walk any person step-by-step through a plan to escape by learning to play defense, offense, and understanding the Financial Matrix. Read Salerno’s description of the State’s power grab and ask yourself what is your plan to break free from the Financial Matrix.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

Dr. Joseph Salerno

At the core of this generalization is the insight that the State throughout history has been essentially an organization of a segment of the population that forsakes peaceful economic activity to constitute itself as a ruling class. This class makes its living parasitically by establishing a permanent hegemonic or “political” relationship between itself and the productive members of the population.

This political relationship permits the rulers to subsist on the tribute or taxes routinely and “legally” expropriated from the income and wealth of the producing class. The latter class is composed of the “subjects” or, in the case of democratic states, the “taxpayers,” who earn their living through the peaceful “economic means” of production and voluntary exchange. In contrast, constituents of the ruling class may be thought of as “tax-consumers” who earn their living through the coercive “political means” of taxation and the sale of monopoly privileges. Rothbard argues that economic logic dictates that the king and his courtiers, or the democratic government and its special interest groups, can never constitute more than a small minority of the country’s population—that all States, regardless of their formal organization, must effectively involve oligarchic rule. The reasons for this are twofold.

First, the fundamentally parasitic nature of the relationship between the rulers and the ruled by itself necessitates that the majority of the population engages in productive activity in order to be able to pay the tribute or taxes extracted by the ruling class while still sustaining its own existence. If the ruling class comprised the majority of the population, economic collapse and systemic breakdown would swiftly ensue as the productive class died out. The majoritarian ruling class itself then would either be forced into productive activity or dissolve into internecine warfare aimed at establishing a new and more stable—that is, oligarchic—relationship between rulers and producers.

The second reason why the ruling class tends to be an oligarchy is related to the law of comparative advantage. In a world where human abilities and skills vary widely, the division of labor and specialization pervades all sectors of the economy as well as society as a whole. Thus, not only is it the case that a relatively small segment of the populace possesses a comparative advantage in developing new software, selling mutual funds, or playing professional football, it is also the case that only a fraction of the population tends to excel at wielding coercive power.

Moreover, the law of comparative advantage governs the structure of relationships within as well as between organizations, accounting for the hierarchical structure that we almost invariably observe within individual organizations. Whether we are considering a business enterprise, a chess club, or a criminal gang, an energetic and visionary elite invariably comes to the fore, either formally or informally, to lead and direct the relatively inert majority. This “Iron Law of Oligarchy,” as this internal manifestation of the law of comparative advantage has been dubbed, operates to transform an initially majoritarian democratic government, or even a decentralized republican government, into a tightly centralized State controlled by a ruling elite.

The foregoing analysis leads Rothbard to conclude that the exercise of political power is inherently an oligarchic enterprise. The small minority that excels in wielding political power will tend to coalesce and devote an extraordinary amount of mental energy and other resources to establishing and maintaining a permanent and lucrative hegemonic bond over the productive majority. Accordingly, since politics is the main source of their income, the policies and actions of the members of this oligarchic ruling class will be driven primarily by economic motives. The exploited producing class, in contrast, will not expend nearly as many resources on politics, and their actions in the political arena will not be motivated by economic gain to the same degree, precisely because they are absorbed in earning their livelihoods in their own chosen areas of specialization on the market.

Posted in Finances, Freedom/Liberty, LIFE Leadership | 19 Comments »

All Grace Outreach: LIFE on Life

Posted by Orrin Woodward on May 24, 2015

Chris Swanson is new Spokesman for All Grace Outreach

I am so excited to share with you this announcement: All Grace Outreach (AGO) has appointed Chris Swanson as its new spokesman. Chris Swanson is a dynamic Christian leader and servant who has faithfully served communities in need for decades. He has spoken as a guest speaker on LIFE Leadership’s stage and tore it up with his engaging and enthusiastic speaking style. Indeed, few speak as passionately from the heart as well as Chris Swanson.

AGO runs a very tight ship with the LIFE Coaches and office staff volunteering their time so that over 97% of available funds flow directly to charities, rather than be eaten up in overhead costs. LIFE Leadership gives 100% of the corporate profits from its AGO subscription series (which includes a Christian book and CD) to AGO, but now it has decided to go even further. LIFE CEO Chris Brady and Chris Swanson announce in the video below that LIFE Leadership has committed to give one dollar for every LIFE Leadership subscription sold every month across across the world!

This is significant, for as LIFE Leadership grows, this will flow millions of dollars into AGO to impact the world. LIFE Leadership is about having fun, making money, and making a difference and the following video describes a key aspect in making our vision a reality. What role are you going to play in having fun, making money, and making a difference in LIFE Leadership?

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

Posted in Faith, Freedom/Liberty | 26 Comments »

Productive Investments and Entertainment Expenses

Posted by Orrin Woodward on May 21, 2015

Truth is only sweet to the ears only after a person is sick of drinking the vinegar of repeated failures.

Warren Buffett once said that learning is one of the few things that compounds faster than interest. As a result, understanding the difference between an investment and an expense is an essential part of financial literacy and success. Unfortunately, however, the modern world suffers from the effects of compound interest working against them while having little compound learning working for them.

Nevertheless, the truly successful people apply Buffett’s principles by minimizing compounding debt and maximizing compounding learning. Essentially, this describes LIFE Leadership and its top selling product – the Financial Fitness Program. Here is a short video from a talk I gave in Wisconsin describing how to focus on production through enterprise rather than escape through entertainment.

Sincerely,

Orrin Woodward

Posted in Finances, LIFE Leadership, Orrin Woodward | 19 Comments »

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The Quest for the Philosopher’s Stone

Nero Debases Roman Coins:

Law of Inertia: If Bad Behavior is not Punished, it Expands:

The Roman Empire Kills Its Money:

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Leisure & the Pursuit of Wisdom

A big secret to life is when you discover that learning is just as enjoyable as entertainment is, but with long term benefits. – Orrin Woodward

Austrian Business Cycle

Austrian Business Cycle

Egalitarianism Leads to Unjust Inequalities

The New Coercive Elite

Developing a Financial Plan

“The only man who sticks closer to you in adversity than a friend is a creditor.”

The Manufacture of Consent?

Escape the Financial Matrix Scam

What is the Financial Matrix?

How Does a Person Escape the Financial Matrix?

How to Play Defense Against the Financial Matrix?

How to Play Offense Against the Financial Matrix?

What Makes LIFE Leadership Different?

The Financial Matrix Controls People, Companies, and Nations

All Grace Outreach: LIFE on Life

Chris Swanson is new Spokesman for All Grace Outreach

Productive Investments and Entertainment Expenses

Truth is only sweet to the ears only after a person is sick of drinking the vinegar of repeated failures.