I'm going on article hiatus for a few days as I am switching the back-end of this site.  Unfortunately, I am not very happy with the platform that I chose. 

For some great Fastlane articles, please visit our discussion forum which is constantly updated with fresh, life-changing content.

Cheers,

MJ 

Is Failing Economics A Prerequisite to Being a Democratic Politician?

As crude oil approached $150 a barrel, it's obvious that there must be some covert doctrine hidden in the DNC's safehouse-- a doctrine that reads "Before taking office, all Democrats must fail a introductory economics class to foster policies that accelerate economic crises"

"You can't drill your way out of the problem."
Bill Richardson, Democrat (NM)

Oh really? FAIL. Thank you Bill for showing your report card on economics.

Everyone fails. How you react to failure is what defines you and your path to success. While "never giving up" seems to be the favored mantra, "giving up", or as some say, "quitting" sometimes is the best course of action.

If you had a dream of flying like a bird without the assistance of a machine or a contraption, and jumped off the roof of a barn 40 times, making no adjustments in process, would giving up be the prudent choice? Or would you continue to make the jumps, crutching yourself on the mantra of "Never Give Up"?

Back in my early 20's, I joined a network marketing company called Amway. I'm sure you've heard of it. One of their proverbial mantras for motivation was "Never Give Up". After spending 2 years of "Never Giving Up", spending a fortune in time and money, and assessing my time investment at around 80 cents per hour, I finally "Gave Up".

Dead-End Shit Jobs: How Many Have You Had?

Dead-end jobs are a necessary evil. We all have bills and obligations to pay. Sometimes dead-end *shit* jobs are just the bandaid we need to pay the bills while our greater focus is put into our efforts on business growth.

So with that said, what Dead-End *Shit* jobs have you had? Do you currently have?
I was thinking back to all the crap jobs I've had and I am amazed I had the fortitude to endure it all.

My list:

Has Social Networking Reached A Saturation Point?

How many more can we contribute too? I've been watching the new websites popping-up at KillerStartups.com as well as the magazines that I receive (I have free subscriptions to Fast Company and Entrepreneur, Conde Nast Portfolio, and a few others) and I have to wonder, has Social Networking (SN) formed a top?

Every start-up seems to be centered around SN which obviously is at the core of Web 2.0. However, I have to speculate that all SN's have their applicable limits in the scope of how many people can actively contribute to them.

There are so many now that I have to wonder, how many hours can one person allocate to SN websites? And how many?

Facebook? MySpace? LinkedIn? Digg? Stumble? Ning? Niche SN's?

While watching Tiger Woods limp his way to victory in the US Open, I couldn't help but extract some great life-changing themes that Tiger Woods can teach all of us, including myself. Some immediate Tigeresque strategies that come to mind:

1) The only enemy to victory is you.

Amidst a bum knee, Tiger found the resolve and fortitude to rise above the pain and cross the finish line, victorious. I have to ask myself ... in that pain, would I have given up? When Rocco Mediate took the lead on the back nine, would your mind take over and surrender to the pain? The strong not only survive, they win. When your competitors are breathing down your neck, how do you respond? How would Tiger respond?