What is Hope?

Maybe before talking about what hope is, I should ask, “what is faith?” The Hebrew writer says this in 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (ESV).“

Now back to hope. I recall back in college, one of my Bible professors pointing out that our use of the word “hope” is completely different from the way people used it long ago.

For example, if you were to go by a lottery ticket and think to yourself, “I really hope I win,” you probably don’t expect to win. When people such as the apostle Paul used the word “hope”, they used it with a sense of expectancy. Having hope in God, was not a matter of “it might happen,” but rather it was a matter of “let’s make plans because we know God is going to live up to his promises.”

Hoping in something should not be equated with having good luck. Hoping in God is more than that and that is what leads to faith.

Please…comment.

How to become the richest person in the world

Today I stumbled upon Boomj Finance and saw where they had a list of the world’s 20 richest people along with a few facts. I thought some things were interesting.

• Only 7 out of 20 completed college.
• 17 out of 20 were married. 1 was single. 1 was widowed. 1 was divorced.
• 18 out of 20 had 2 or more kids. 1 had 0 kids. 1 had 1 child.
• 13 out of 20 fortunes were self-made. 1 was N/A. and 6 were inherited.
• 4 out of the 7 who completed college, inherited their fortune.
• Their average age is 64 years.
• 5 of them live in the US. 2 live in Germany. 2 live in the UK. 2 live in France.

Let me sum this up. If you want to be the richest person in the world you may want to consider dropping out of school, move to the US, get married, have 2 kids, don’t expect an inheritance, and you’ll be one of the wealthiest people in the world by age 64.

Good luck!

The Unwritten Laws of Business

In 1944, W.J. King wrote a book entitled The Unwritten Laws of Engineering. Interestingly enough, CEO William H. Swanson, came out with a self-published pamphlet, Swanson’s Unwritten Rules of Management that was largely inspired by King’s book. Swanson’s pamphlet was well received by individuals such as Jack Welch and Warren Buffet.

This is all to say that James G. Skakoon did a rewrite of King’s original book and has now published The Unwritten Laws of Business. It’s great how basic principles of management and leadership hold up after 60 years. This little book is short and simple, provides a wealth of knowledge for new managers, and serves as a great reminder for the veterans.

The Traveler's Gift

For my birthday a few weeks ago my wife gave me a copy of The Traveler’s Gift by Andy Andrews. Today, I sat outside during lunch and finished it up while enjoying a GORGEOUS day. The book was an enjoyable read.

It’s about a fellow who feels like his life is falling apart. Well, it is falling apart, but in the midst of one major crisis, he finds himself visiting famous people of both past and present who share with him some wonderful little nuggets of wisdom.

Advanced Rhinocerology

Scott Alexander has written two books about how people who succeed are like rhinos. The first book is Rhinoceros Success, and the other is Advanced Rhinocerology, which I just finished.

The books are a little cheesy and steeped in rhino metaphors. However, both books do serve their purpose as motivational reads. There are a lot of things that Alexander talks about that will challenge your traditional thinking when it comes to work. I will also tell you, that if you are in a government job and like it, don’t read this book. But if you are in a government job and hate it, read this book.

There were several little nuggets and challenges I am taking away from this short read and I would recommend both of these titles to you.