…our current circumstances. Rather than ignore the current economic problems, I choose to acknowledge this elephant in the living room during our Thanksgiving holiday.

We are bombarded with headlines like “What will fix our economic problems?” It is absolutely silly. The recession is the solution to the problem of the asinine acts of American government, corporations, and consumers. There is no galactic lottery that our country can win. We have to play by the rules of the game that we started. No person or government can perpetually spend more money than they earn. Such behavior can only be temporary and always leads to self inflicted unpleasantness.

I truly am thankful for our recession because it should help cleanse our government and society of self destructive behavior. We are now forced to return to thinking and doing things in the way that made the United States a prosperous country in the first place.

While the entertainment industry uses industrial psychology to lull us into vegging out at the cost of paying attention to advertisements all day long, it is a blessing for this economic crisis to wake us up and beckon us back to reality. We have become a nation of the most dependent people on earth. Dependent on:

• employment
• inefficient transportation
• inefficient sources of energy
• new clothes to make us look good
• new gadgets to make us feel good
• excessive amounts of food to comfort us
• the government to regulate everything we do

I see this economic crisis as a silent, involuntary re-declaration of independence. The illusion of safety and security being provided by employment is torn apart. People will learn how to create and sell valuable products and services to enrich themselves rather than an employer. As money is tight, sources of efficient energy and transportation will be embraced. Many of these sources have been there all along, but it sometimes takes household budgetary fear to try new things.

Many people will be forced to disrupt their pattern of indulging in food, gadgets, and clothes as means to find happiness… only to discover these indulgences are sometimes a source of unhappiness.

While we may let the government attempt to solve our problems in the short run, that is a path that eventually leads to the same undeniable fact that was the driving force behind the founding of our country: Wealth, safety, and freedom cannot be provided by any government… it can only be provided by the people themselves.

So become independent. Let’s turn this whole thing around. Over the past 30 years our population has consumed the natural and economic resources of the world. We’ve destroyed much of the wealth, prosperity, and resources of our existence… now let’s become a population that creates wealth and prosperity. The prosperity we desire can’t be won or handed to us – it must be created. Be thankful for the opportunity to be a part of what will go down in history as one of the most magnificent periods of mankind.

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I do a lot of things differently in an effort to enjoy my life. Sometimes I forget just how abnormal some of them are. This past week I co-instructed the IRA Association of America professional member enrollment course in Denver, CO. During a lunch conversation, one of our new members asked me what my secret is to accomplishing so much so rapidly. I half jokingly explained that I don’t watch TV. I guess this type of statement is more unbelievable than I had thought because a couple of hours later he still couldn’t believe it: “You really don’t watch any TV at all?”

“I don’t own a TV,” I explained. “I occasionally watch DVDs on my projector.”

I don’t watch TV for two reasons:

Mental & Physical Health – I believe that everything that goes into my body or mind becomes part of me. Turning on the TV means that I can choose to watch what’s available from a menu, but only if I also watch other things which I have no control over – commercials. Our thoughts create our reality. Having others’ thoughts shoved into my brain means letting other people create my reality.

Time – I want to enjoy my life. Every second is a decision. When I pit TV against snowboarding, snow skiing, wakeboarding, water skiing, bicycling, car racing, motorcycling, playing musical instruments, and traveling to new places… TV always loses. To afford some of these activities, I’ve had to work very hard in a field that I am very passionate about: investing. In that process, I’ve come to enjoy working, reading, writing, teaching, and learning. So any time I have the decision before me to watch TV or do any of these activities, I also choose against TV.

Years ago, as I first made the leap into entrepreneurship, my mentor forbade me to watch TV. He was a 30 year old self-made millionaire who I had agreed to follow without question.

Examining the effects of a specific behavior is only possible by contrasting it to its inverse behavior. In other words… I don’t think you could possibly understand the effect of watching TV unless you quit watching TV to have something to compare to.

The Challenge

Stop watching TV for 30 days.

Seriously. You wouldn’t be reading my blog if you weren’t out to accomplish something. What are you capable of accomplishing if you can’t do something as simple as not watch TV for a month? It may be hard, but it’s simple. If somebody in your household turns on a TV, go in the other room. Completely stay away from TV 100% for 30 days.

But what about the news?!

Anything life altering will be passed on to you from all your friends, family, and co-workers who watch TV every single day. I think you’ll find during this 30 days that nothing life altering will be reported anyways. The result? Instead of focusing on other people’s lives for several hours after work, you can pay more attention to your life.

Exceptions

This isn’t a TV reduction experiment. Don’t cut everything except your favorite 1 or 2 shows; cut everything.

This is an extremely simple task, and it will help you realize your willpower. For me, this was a first step in exercising my willpower into a muscle capable of accomplishing much more.

Magazines & Newspapers

To make the most of this test, eliminate magazines and newspapers as well. Before you start complaining about how absurd this is, you’ll need reasons. You can’t develop those until you experience both sides, and that is only possible by taking this challenge.

A 3 Step Program

1. For 30 days eliminate TV watching and newspaper/magazine reading from your life.
2. Come back here, and share your experience in the comments.
3. [I'll fill this in 30 days from now.]