August 2023 - Page 2 of 9

Life at the Movies – The Art of Cinema Therapy

More and more counselors are turning the American past time movies into an effective therapeutic tool. I personally incorporated the use of Cinema Therapy with clients informally more than five years ago. Within the past two years, however, I have begun to use it more consistently as an adjunctive form of service when planning treatment. Movies deal with a range of life issues that are appropriate for all ages, cultures, and backgrounds. In the ongoing debate does life emulate the movies or do movies emulate real life? One thing is clear: Movies address many of our common problems. Some very practical answers and life choices are provided in the 90 to 180 minute reel. Therefore, movies often give clients insight into their own lives.

After seeing Field of Dreams in 1989, If you build it, they will come became my slogan for the year. Those words of inspiration and hope gave me encouragement to step out in faith and accomplish many goals. I am sure I have seen the film over 20 times and every time is like the first. I was flooded with emotion. The list of things I needed to build filled by mind. Sitting in that dark theater, tears streamed down my face as I identified the many things I wanted to do but was afraid to take the risk. I slipped past my friend, stepped into the aisle, rushed to the back of the theater, and cried like a baby. Periodically, I rent the video to remind me to follow my heart, to hear the voice within, and to forge ahead. The movie had an awesome healing effect. As clients connect with various characters, they are able to identify similarities to and differences from their own stories. This is often a great bridge from the reel to the real.

People Are Watching Movies: Cinema is a global phenomenon, seen by millions of people throughout the world. It has a powerful Impact, consciously or unconsciously, on the behavior of people. A 1993 Variety magazine survey reported that world box office receipts totaled $8 billion, and that home video rental is also a lucrative business. Of the top-earning 100 films, 88 were U.S. productions. We go to the movies for different reasons: some for the magic, others for the meaning. Movies can provide entertainment or a temporary escape from our reality. They can be relaxing or exciting, and for many, they have become a way to cope. As therapists and counselors, we can tap into these easily accessible and readily available old_resources.

What Is Cinema Therapy?

Cinema Therapy is the use of movies (current releases or videos) by counselors as a therapeutic tool in the healing process of clients. It is not a discipline requiring specialized training, such as art or music therapy. It should, however, be done by a mental health practitioner skilled at processing a clients cognitive, affective, and behavioral responses. Depending on the client, the concept may be introduced formally or informally at two different points during treatment. The first opportunity comes during the initial assessment when gathering historical data. Most new clients usually indicate behavioral changes (especially in leisure activities). At this time I ask, What do you do for entertainment? Or Do you like movies? This is also a way of establishing rapport with the client. I briefly share my interest in movies, their positive therapeutic value, and that other clients have benefited from the experience. The second opportunity to introduce Cinema Therapy is when the client discusses information that reminds the counselor of a particular film or video. I share some of the similarities in the storyline, viewpoints/mindsets, and suggest that the client view it. Then we plan to discuss his or her reaction at the next session.

Life Is longer Than the Movies: Though the worlds of life and fiction have similarities, they are also very different. Movies often cover a continuum of development from infancy to adulthood. Realizing that movies can cover an entire lifetime in approximately two hours, clients should be cautioned that solutions may take longer to implement than they do to watch. The real world does not always come neatly packaged. We do not know what will finally happen in our own lives. We can, however, become interested in fictional characters, find out what happens to them, and gain insight for our own problem resolution. Clients are usually capable of pointing out how someone else should have handled a situation. They will then go on to explain what they would have done differently. Movies serve as catalysts that stimulate discussion leading to transparency and disclosure.

From the Reel To the Real: When clients view movies they draw comparisons with their real-world knowledge of human behaviors and what seems to be a plausible, likely, or consistent response by a person in a given situation. If a client decides the actors emotions in the film are appropriate and convincing, given the narrative circumstances, he or she may be able to share in the characters emotions by way of empathy. Clients also engage in a complex set of evaluations about the moral and ethical acceptability of a characters screen behavior and sequence of events. As a result of their disclosure, you will be able to determine strengths and weaknesses in how the individual processes information as well as his or her ability to abstract, reason, and gather insights. When a client is viewing a movie for use in Cinema Therapy, there are several categories that may be used as catalysts to get the person thinking about his or her own issues. Five are mentioned here: Listen for one-liners (e.g., There is no place like home Wizard of Oz; You can’t handle the truth A Few Good Men; Make my day Dirty Harry; May the force be with you Star Wars). Look for themes (e.g., confronting your fears, taking revenge, getting a new start in life, extending forgiveness). Observe relational dynamics (e.g., obsessive-compulsive, codependency, poor boundaries). Identify significant issues (abuse, anxiety, marriage, chronic illness). Give each film the Bible test by asking, does the movie demonstrate a violation or application of Scripture?

Assigning Movies as Homework: If a picture is worth a thousand words, imagine the value of a movie. When movies are assigned as homework, the counselor should have a clear objective. Ask yourself, what do I hope to accomplish with my client through this film? Cinema Therapy is not just watching movies but viewing with a specific purpose. Selected movies should address issues (Figure 1) that clients are facing or be based on their areas of interest (e.g., action, drama, romance, comedy, western, science fiction, fairy-tale, etc.). Counselors should be cautioned that the movie rating system (G General Audience, PG Parental Guidance, PG-13Suitable for adolescents, R Restricted/no one under 18 admitted without pare not or guardian) does not always accurately reflect the content of a movie. Make sure you watch the movie first and advise your client of material that may be objectionable or offensive (e.g., profanity, nudity, graphic violence). Sound judgment should be used. Again, ask yourself, Is the film clinically, spiritually, and age appropriate? Clients may view a first-run movie at a local theater or rent a home video. There are advantages to both venues.

At the theater, they have wide-screen viewing and no intermissions (interruptions). Advantages of home video include the ability to pause and replay certain scenes as well as viewing in the privacy and comfort of home. Whichever venue your clients choose, ask them to complete a Movie Review Sheet (Figure 2). Beyond the obvious, clients may be moved by a variety of subtleties in the film. Be prepared to deal with concepts a client may identify that you did not intend to address. Clients may also view the film and not want to discuss it. No pressure should be applied to make something happen. Documented information from the Movie Review Sheet can be used in a later session. If the client has seen the movie, he or she has been Impacted (positively or negatively). Reality Sets In The Case of Caroline In the practice of Cinema Therapy, I have found that Reality-Based, Rational-Emotive, and Behavioral approaches are most effective. This does not limit the use of other theoretical orientations as preferred by some counselors. Below is a brief synopsis of a case using a reality-based therapeutic intervention in conjunction with Cinema Therapy.

Caroline is a 38-year-old mother of three girls between the ages of 5 and 10. She is recently divorced from a physically, verbally, and spiritually abusive narcissistic, bipolar man. During one of our sessions, Caroline was discussing how her spouse was both impulsive and obsessive. Several things she said reminded me of the film, As Good As It Gets. Prior to sharing the similarities, I asked if she had seen the film and her view on it. To my surprise, she had hated the movie (I have seen it five or six times and recommended it to several other clients). It was a great moment. Caroline became angry as she shared how unrealistic the movie seemed. She was concerned that Helen Hunts character would marry Jack Nicholson’s character because he was charming but that she could forget about his character flaws. Then Helen would end up like Caroline, 10 years later, wondering how she had missed the obvious signs of dysfunction. As a result of domestic violence, Caroline suffers from low self-esteem and severe depression. This was first time she had voiced a strong opinion about anything. We discussed the questions from the Movie Review Sheet right then in session. This opened a door through which we could work more effectively. Caroline was not angry with the movie, but with herself for poor judgment and wrong choices. Because she felt embarrassed and ashamed of her situation, she had withdrawn from others (even those who cared about her well-being).

The film helped Caroline acknowledge that although she had been deeply hurt, she needed to connect with people in order to heal. At the same time, she needed to establish new patterns of relating. She was also challenged to answer the question, What if this is as good as it gets? Caroline began to evaluate her current reality and ask additional questions, such as Who am I? What have I learned from my past experiences that can help me in the present? What do I want from life? What do I want from relationships? Will my present behavior help me accomplish my desired goals? What am I willing to change? Over the course of treatment, Caroline began to accept personal responsibility for her life and to make a plan. She is learning to venture out and trust her new found insights. Find a therapist to get solutions to your problems.

Whereas Cinema Therapy can be used with a wide range of clients, it is not recommended for those with serious psychiatric disorders. Counselors should be aware that watching certain actions in a film may cause clients to relive their pain. Be sensitive. Instead of assigning movies as homework, film clips (5 to 10 minutes) can be viewed in session. Then content can be processed Immediately. Cinema Therapy is an underutilized intervention that I believe will increase in popularity as its application and effectiveness is better understood. Our lives can be viewed as one long movie without an intermission. Consider the storyline of The Truman Show. Meeting a new client is like coming in on the middle of a movie. It sometimes takes a while to figure out what’s going on, even when the client provides flashbacks. Using Cinema Therapy is a way for counselors to engage clients in nonthreatening ways as they share the plots of their stories.

Presenting – St Aidan’s Church – Charity Comes Full Circle in Toronto’s Beach Neighbourhood

It’s ironic, just as I decided to do my first neighborhood portrait of Toronto, the Beach, my intended subject, was in the news a lot. For the entire month of January of 2007 newspapers, television stations and radio call-in shows were fascinated by one topic: the proposed Out of the Cold Program at St. Aidan’s Church at the eastern end of the Beach neighborhood.

The larger Out of the Cold network is an ecumenical project of a large number of Toronto-area religious communities, which open their doors to provide shelter, food and personal support for those in severe need in our City. These programs are coordinated so that there are always locations open during the winter months from November through April. Guests at overnight locations are served an evening meal, accommodated on mats and sleeping bags for the night, and served breakfast in the morning. Out of the Cold has been operating in Toronto since 1987 and originated from the efforts of Toronto social activist Sister Susan Moran and the students at St. Michael’s College School, who wanted to help the homeless.

At St. Aidan’s, the Out of the Cold program proposed to house 12 homeless men and women for 12 nights during the winter (all Monday nights) in an overnight drop-in program. Some residents in the area were concerned about the program and how it might affect children that are attending the day-care program at the Church, or whether it might have an impact on property values. The ensuing media coverage created quite a controversy, and some articles portrayed the Beach neighborhood in less than flattering terms.

By now I have personally spent about two months in the Beach, interacting with and interviewing a large number of non-profit organizations, volunteers, philanthropists and regular residents, and I have been nothing but amazed at the amount of community involvement, charity, neighborly assistance and humanitarian outreach that I have witnessed in the Beach. To mention just one example, I interviewed Arie Nerman, President of the Beach Hebrew Institute. His synagogue is part of the Beach Interfaith Outreach Program which hosts lunch drop-in programs for the less fortunate at five different houses of worship in the Beach every day from Monday to Friday for about seven years now. The spirit of helping the homeless is absolutely not new in the Beach. It was high time for me to visit St. Aidan’s and learn more about the Out of the Cold Program first hand.

I contacted the person in charge of the initiative: Father Stephen Kirkegaard, the priest of St. Aidan’s Anglican Church. His response was very welcoming and friendly, and he invited me to come in on Monday evening to see the Out of the Cold program in action. So right at 7 pm I showed up at St. Aidan’s, a beautiful church at Queen Street and Silverbirch Avenue that is going to celebrate its 100th anniversary this year. Several volunteers were posted throughout the hallways of the church and directed me into the basement where about 20 people were located, including guests of the Out of the Cold Program and volunteers. Two long tables were set up with food, and groups of people were sitting around tables, talking and playing cards. The atmosphere was quiet, pleasant and peaceful.

Right away I spotted Father Stephen; he was just in the middle of a euchre game with some of the guests and volunteers. He asked me to help myself to a bowl of soup and a drink and have a seat. I gladly accepted and helped myself to a hot steaming vegetable soup that on this day had been donated by the Quigley’s Pub and Bistro. The soup was flavoured with oregano and other interesting spices, and it was a delicious treat on a cold winter day.

After Father Stephen finished his euchre game we briefly went upstairs to discuss the plan for the interviews, and he explained that many of the guests who use this overnight homeless drop-in program are rather camera-shy and not very comfortable with the media. Also, there has been a lot of recent media attention, on some evenings there were seven over-night guests and 30 reporters. As a result many of the guests might understandably be experiencing a certain media fatigue.

I assured Father Stephen that I would completely respect the preferences of the guests and volunteers and only interview individuals who were comfortable with sharing their own story. The same would apply to photos: only individuals that would agree to have their picture taken would be photographed. This is a general policy that I apply in all my interviews.

Father Stephen explained that it would be a better idea to interview one of the guests first because they might actually get tired and want to go to bed. Then I was going to interview some of the volunteers and finally I would sit down with Father Stephen himself to get to know the Out of the Cold Program through his words.

So we went back into the basement and I sat down with one of the guests who had agreed to speak to me. Franklin started to tell me his life story: until very recently he was a fairly successful business person in the United States. He is originally from Toronto and owned a logistics company and decided to move to the Southern US to qualify for the Champion’s Golf Tour. Things were going well for him; he had good relationships with his customers, and he was working with his golf coach on improving his game.

Then the unthinkable happened: two of his major clients filed for bankruptcy, and along the way Franklin lost $100,000 of his own savings to pay his suppliers. In addition he suffered a severe knee injury which spelled the end of his golfing career. Two emergency surgeries drained him of another $40,000. At the end of these events Franklin himself was bankrupt and penniless.

So he returned to Canada in October of 2006. At the beginning he stayed with his brother who has his own family. Space was getting too small, so Franklin had to look for another place to live and he found short-term shelter with a friend in High Park. Ever since his return he has been trying to look for work and has been applying for numerous jobs. He has been looking for jobs in the golf industry, or as a driver since he has a perfect driver’s abstract and no demerit points. So far Franklin has not had any luck in finding a job, and he thinks that this has to do with his age: he is turning 56 this year. Franklin is finding that many employers simply are not interested in hiring older workers, despite the fact that he is well-spoken, has many years of management and business experience and a range of marketable skills.

Because his short-term accommodation options had run out and Franklin had no money and no place to stay, he was looking at other alternatives. He heard about the Out of the Cold program and decided to find out more about it. Franklin has been coming to St. Aidan’s Church for the fourth week in a row now, and he really enjoys the drop-in program at St. Aidan’s because it is such a small program. He added that some of the other facilities have 40 to 60 overnight guests and very limited bathroom facilities, something that affected him recently when he suffered from a stomach flue.

Franklin added that the people at St. Aidan’s are great and the food is outstanding. He is really grateful to this organization for the help that they give to people in need and added that he has a lot of respect and admiration for Father Stephen. In addition, a lot of the volunteers are just regular people from the community. Franklin enjoys the interaction with the locals who dedicate their time to help. To educate me Franklin pulled a piece of paper from his pocket that listed all the various religious organizations that are participating in the Out of the Cold Program. Every night of the week three or four different houses of worship open their doors to people who need a roof over their head. The organizations include Christian churches from a variety of denominations, synagogues as well as mosques. Franklin added that he has been to a variety of the synagogues as well as to one of the mosques, and he found the people in all these organizations extremely hospitable, friendly and welcoming.

Our conversation touched on modern city living in general, and Franklin was wondering how many people are living on the edge, how many people might be one pay cheque away from being on the street themselves. Many people today are living beyond their means, financing their lifestyle with credit cards. It does not take much to upset the financial balance in these situations.

Franklin said that two years ago he would have laughed if someone had told him where he would be today. He added that he is drug and alcohol free and is very willing to work. Right now he is worried about his grown-up daughter who just finished her degree at Concordia University and now wants to go on towards a graduate degree. It pains him to not be able to help his daughter financially right now.

Franklin’s story touched me and shook me up at the same time. As a small business owner myself I know how quickly things can change when major clients shut down, relocate or get merged away. Franklin’s story was definitely not the typical homeless story that most of us might think of.

Franklin was ready to join some of the others in watching “Pirates of the Caribbean” which had started to play on the TV in St. Aidan’s community room, so I thanked him for his time and we said goodbye. I was also interested in some of the volunteers who make this program work. Robert Saxon is a professor at the Ontario College of Art and Design and teaches advertising. Two years ago he relocated to Toronto from Syracuse University. Robert was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and has lived in major cities all across the United States, including New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Atlanta. About his new home town he says “Toronto is a great city, right up there with all the major cities. I love how safe Toronto is”. He continued to say that he now lives in the Beach and has fallen in love with this area: he is just 20 minutes away from downtown and really enjoys the distinct neighbourhood feel of the Beach.

Through his attendance at St. Aidan’s he has met a number of new friends, and that is also how he found out about the volunteer opportunities for the Out of the Cold Program. Robert considers himself very fortunate and feels he has not done enough community service throughout his life. He sums it up as “It’s time to give something back to the community”. As far as the homeless issue is concerned, he figured he could very easily be one of those people, it only takes a streak of bad luck to put you out onto the street.

Robert added that he read a book once called “Travels with Charlie” which was written by a homeless person. The book eloquently told the story of a homeless man’s life on the street, and ever since Robert read the book he always gives money when he sees a homeless person. Ever since he started volunteering with the Out of the Cold Program he wishes he could do more. Getting involved in the community in an unselfish way has been an important step for him, he realized late in life that he wanted to give back to the community.

Just recently Robert’s daughter went away to university. She had not been able to reach him, so she asked him where he had been. He explained that he had been volunteering for the Out of the Cold program and his daughter said “That’s great”. Maybe she was also considering doing some volunteer work herself, and both father and daughter were surprised at their new found interest in community involvement.

Matt O’Gorman is another volunteer with the Out of the Cold Program. He has been living in the Beach since 1984 together with his wife and three children. Matt has always lived in Toronto and has an engineering background: he is currently working on a train signaling project in Shanghai and also gets to travel to this interesting place on business. His wife also volunteers with the program and helps to serve breakfast to the guests in the mornings. Their three sons attend different schools in the neighborhood and are very involved in hockey, lacrosse, karate and music.

In addition to volunteering for the Out of the Cold Program Matt also dedicates his time as a lacrosse coach and as a manager in the Greater Toronto Hockey League while his wife is a coach in the local soccer league. Matt added that volunteering is fun, he gets a lot out of it.

Originally he heard about the Out of the Cold Program through an article in the Beach Metro News. Then there was a community meeting at St. Aidan’s in November, and Matt added “It seemed like a no-brainer”. He felt he should be more involved in the community, and this project was just perfect for him. Now that he is thoroughly familiar with the program he feels it is a wonderful thing and great for the community.

Jennifer Baird has been a Beach resident for 15 years and was also looking to give back to the community. A friend told her about the Out of the Cold Program, and she said “Sign me up”. Once she realized that there was some initial controversy about the program she became even more determined to help. Jennifer explained that today there are so many volunteers in St. Aidan’s program (over 100) that each one only needs to come out once a month. There has been an amazing amount of neighborhood support for this initiative.

During the daytime Jennifer works in sales, and in the evening she participates in community choirs and spends time with family and friends. She wanted to make time for community involvement, and ever since she started she enjoys the interaction with the guests of the Out of the Cold Program. Jennifer added she was quite open-minded to begin with when she went into the project, but even so she was pleasantly surprised by the nature of the program.

As far as the program is concerned, Jennifer explained that whoever gets here first gets a spot for the night. Tonight for example the 12 spots were filled up by 4:30 pm. At that point the program has to turn people away. The Out of the Cold program at St. Aidan’s is extremely popular with guests since it serves some of the best food in the city; in addition it is a small program with only twelve spaces, an aspect that many guests enjoy. The quality of the food makes a huge difference.

Jennifer herself describes her responsibilities as “hanging out and talking to people”. As the hostess, she has to direct the guests, clean up and help with organization. She also gets to play cards with the guests. One thing that is important, according to Jennifer, is to have sensitivity to be able to tell when people do and do not want to talk. Her years in sales have helped her recognize that. Jennifer feels it is important to recognize that this project is about the guests and their needs. Tonight for example she was dead tired, and thought for a moment that she did not feel like going out any more. But once she came to St. Aidan’s she enjoyed herself and felt good that she had come out.

Last but not least I was able to talk to Father Stephen Kirkegaard himself. He explained that he was born in Montreal in a family with a Danish background. He added he is supposedly related to Søren Aabye Kierkegaard, the 19th century Danish philosopher and theologian, who is generally recognized as the first existentialist philosopher. He was brought up in a religious home, was baptized and attended Sunday school. But during his teen years he started to find the church boring.

As a child of the 1960s he went to India and studied transcendental meditation under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. In his youth he travelled to Kenya and Zambia and also set up transcendental meditation centres. Today he is excited about Christian meditation, one of the great loves in his life. He enjoys teaching people how to be still and centered, an important skill in this hectic and frenetic life of ours. He adds “The heart is restless until it finds its rest in God”.

Interestingly, Father Stephen Kirkegaard was not always a man of God. For an entire decade of his life he was actually a businessman. He sold automated data processing services and was a sales training manager and a national training manager. Father Stephen values having been part of the business world since it is the compass of our culture of how we interpret the world. It certainly makes him understand his parishioners better.

After a prolonged absence from the Church, Father Steven’s interest in religion was rekindled in the 1980s. His fast-paced corporate life was based on a philosophy of working hard and playing hard, and he entered a serious life crisis: although he enjoyed a lot of outer success he was experiencing a deep spiritual poverty, even bankruptcy.

Project Shakti – A Win Win Situation

“Our partnership with HUL offers the rural entrepreneur a profitable business model while operating i-Shakti kiosks. Also, low cost delivery and customized products will result in higher benefit through enhanced economic gains for the rural consumers.”

~ Mr. Nachiket More

Executive Director, Wholesale Banking Group

ICICI

“There’s incredible potential in rural markets. That’s where the growth will come from.”

~ Sharat Dhall, Hindustan Lever’s director of new ventures and marketing services

Sankaramma, the leader of the local Kanaka Durga self-help Group (SHG) belongs to K. Thimmapuram village’s Muddaner Mandal in the Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh. The village has 350 households with a total population of 1200. Sankaramma’s 5 hectares of agricultural land was not sufficient for six member family due to severe drought in the region. She started a business in April 2003 with the Hindustan Unilever Ltd. By 2005, she had a regular monthly turnover of Rs.10,000 per month. Initially she sold door to door, but thereafter the customers started visiting her home for products. She sees Project Shakti as a mean for the bright futures of her children. Project Shakti also enabled her to provide mid-day meals at the primary school in her village. Today, Sankaramma has become a key development figure in her village.

Usha Sarvatai, a mother of 2, traveled 32 km everyday to work. Her husband’s income was not sufficient for the two children and their old parents. But the long distance and the odd timings of the job forced Usha to quit the job. Then she got a call from the Government dept. to attend a meeting, convened by Project Shakti. Usha became a Shakti Amma and started a new venture. In a short span the good relationships she developed with the villagers helped her do good business. She says, “I am happy fulfilling my family’s requirements and people give me a lot of respect today.” And she is now very eager to grow her business in the years to come.

The list does not end here. Hindustan Lever Ltd., a subsidiary of Unilever is counting on thousands of women like Sankaramma and Usha Sarvatai to sell its products to the rural consumers it couldn’t reach before. By 2005, around 13,000 poor women were selling the company’s products in 50,000 villages in India’s 12 states and contributed for 15% of the company’s rural sales in those states . The women typically earned between $16 and $22 per month , often doubling their household income which was used to educate their children. Overall, around 30% of Hindustan Lever’s revenue came from the rural markets in India

Started in the late 2000, Project Shakti had enabled Hindustan Lever to access 80,000 of India’s 638,000 villages . Hindustan Lever’s director of new ventures proudly expressed, “At the end of the day, we’re in business. But if by doing business we can do something positive, it’s a great win-win model.” Hindustan Lever was not the only company recognizing the vast marketing potential in rural India. With the saturation of urban market, the companies started reengineering their businesses and products to target rural consumers who are poor but are rich in aspirations fueled by the media and other forces.

Unilever in India: Business and Growth

Unilever was the world’s largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) company with a worldwide revenue of $55 billion in 2005 . It’s Indian subsidiary, the Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) was the country’s largest FMCG company with combined volumes of about 4 million tonnes and revenues near about $2.43 billion . HUL’s major brands included Lifebuoy, Lux, Surf Excel, Rin, Wheel, Fair & Lovely, Pond’s, Sunsilk, Clinic, Pepsodent, Close-up, Lakme, Brooke Bond, Kissan, Knorr-Annapurna, Kwality Wall’s etc. These were manufactured over 40 factories across the country .

In 1931, Unilever set up its first Indian subsidiary, Hindustan Vanaspati Manufacturing Company . Thereafter the Lever Brothers India Limited and United Traders Limited were established in 1933 and 1935 respectively. In November 1956, these three companies merged and form HUL. Unilever’s share in HUL was 51.55% in 2005 and the remaining of the shareholding was distributed among about 380,000 individual shareholders and financial institutions. A foray of acquisitions followed thereafter . In 1984, the Brooke Bond joined the Unilever fold. Lipton was acquired in 1972 and Ponds in 1986 . HUL was following a growth strategy of diversification always in line with Indian opinions and aspirations.

The economic and political development in the 1990s had marked an inflexion in HUL’s and the Group’s growth curve. Economic liberalization permitted the company to explore every single product and opportunity segment, without any constraints on production capacity. On the other hand, deregulation allowed alliances, mergers and acquisitions. In 1993, HUL merged with the Tata Oil Mills Company (TOMCO) 1993 . In 1995, HUL formed a 50:50 joint venture with another Tata company, Lakme Limited .

The company had also made a string of mergers, acquisitions and alliances in the Foods and Beverages sector. Some of these were the acquisition of Kothari General Foods (1992), Kissan (1993), Dollops Icecream business from Cadbury India (1993), Modern Foods (2002), Cooked Shrimp and Pasteurised Crabmeat business of the Amalgam Group of Companies (2003) .

With 12.2% of the world population residing in the villages of India, the country’s rural FMCG market had a huge potential . The Indian FMCG sector was the fourth largest sector in the economy with a market size of $13.1 billion . The sector was expected to grow by over 60% by 2010. In 2005-2006 the urban India accounted for 66% of total FMCG consumption, with rural India accounting for the remaining 34% . However, rural India accounted for more than 40% consumption in major FMCG categories such as personal care, fabric care, and hot beverages . The Bid FMCG companies such as HLL, Nirma and ITC joined the foray to tap the huge potential.

In the 1990s, a local Indian firm, Nirma Ltd. started providing detergents to the rural poor at the lowest cost. The company had created a business system with a new product formulation, low-cost manufacturing, wide distribution channel, special packaging and value pricing. After a decade, Nirma became one of the largest branded detergent makers with a 38% market share and 121% return on its capital employed .

In 2002, ITC set up a network of internet-based kiosks, e-choupals, to help the farmers in their procurement process. The initiative began with the soya growers in Madhya Pradesh and then expanded to cotton, tobacco, shrimp etc. Starting with six e-choupals in June 2000, ITC’s Internet-based, rural initiative had linked 6,000 Indian villages with around 1,200 e-choupals by 2002. The setting up of each e-choupal entails an investment of Rs 1-3 lakh .The objectives behind e-choupals was to allow single place procurement and purchase point, allowing farmers to sell their products directly to ITC on the basis of updated current prices prevailing in the market. This eliminated middlemen and thus helped ITC to cut its costs.

In 2007, around 34% of the FMCG products sales came from rural areas . The number of households that used FMCG products in rural India had grown from 13.6 crore in 2004 to 14.3 crore in 2007 . This growth was achieved on an average 1.8% year-on-year growth in the number of households, which use at least one FMCG product. However, the growth in penetration level for the entire FMCG products was not same. According to one study by a market research firm IMRB, the monthly consumption of detergents and toilet soaps remained largely stagnant with a 92% penetration, but that of liquid shampoos grew from 68% in 2004 to 83% in 2007 . These figures revealed a shift towards higher-value products among the rural market, from toothpowder to toothpaste or from unbranded to branded products. According to the senior project director of IMRB International, Manoj K Menon, “One of the most significant changes, includes growing preference towards branded products. For example, in the food and beverages segment, penetration of branded atta has gone up year-on-year by 8 per cent and branded salt by 3 per cent. The penetration of unbranded atta has decreased by 1 per cent and salt by 3 per cent.”

The HLL Marketing Effort: Transition to Rural Market

HUL’s competitive advantage generated from three sources. First it’s strong well established brands, second, its local manufacturing capacity and supply chain and third its vast sales and distribution system. It was soon felt that HUL’s sales and distribution system which had protected it from competitors would be soon replicated by its rivals and to maintain its edge, the company had to increase its reach beyond the urban markets. So far the operations of HUL included more than 2,000 suppliers and associates. The distribution network, consisted of 4,000 stockists, covering 6.3 million retail outlets reaching the entire urban population, and about 250 million rural consumers .

Typically, the goods produced in each of the HUL’s 40 factories were sent to a depot with the help of a carrying and forwarding agent (CFA). The company had its depot in every state of the country. The CFA was a third party and got servicing fee for stock and delivery of the products. In each town, there was a redistribution stockist (RS) who took the goods from the CFA and sell them to retail outlets. By the late 1990s, the HUL management realized certain problems with the existing sales model. First, the model was not viable for small towns with small population and small business. HUL found it expensive to appoint one stockist exclusively for each town. Secondly, the retail revolution in the country changes the pattern the customers shop. Large retail self service shops were established. In the response of these problems, HUL redesigned its sales and distribution channel and the new system was known as ‘diamond model’ in the company. At the top end of the diamond, there were the self service retail stores which constituted 10% of the total FMCG market. The middle, fatter part of the diamond represented the profit-center based sales team. In the bottom of the pyramid was the rural marketing and distribution which accounted for 20% of the business .

Almost three-fourth of the total 1.2 billion Indian population resided in the rural areas and majority of them had a very low per capita income (around 44% of that of urban India) . Urban market had reached the saturation point, thus changing focus on rural India. In comparison to just 5,161 towns in India there are 6,38,365 villages in India [Exhibit I]. Moreover, more than 70% of India’s population lived in villages and made a big market for the FMCG industry because of increasing disposal incomes and awareness level.

Exhibit I

Distribution of Villages in India

Source: Kash Rangan, Sehgal Dalip et. Al., “Global Poverty: Business Approaches and Solutions”, http://www.hbs.edu/socialenterprise/pdf/3-Rangan&Rajan-Presentation.pdf

When HLL shifted to the rural India, it faced many problems. In contrast with a low per capita income comparative to the urban citizens, there were some areas with enough money but their awareness level and consumerism was very low. Secondly, rural FMCG demand was depended upon agricultural situation which was again depended upon monsoon. Transportation was also a major hindrance. Many of the rural areas were not connected by rail transport. The Kacha roads were unserviceable during the monsoon and interior villages get isolated. Besides transportation, there was a problem of distribution and communication facilities such as telephone, fax and internet. Moreover, the lives in rural areas were still governed by ethnicity and traditions and people did not simply get used to new practices. For example, even rich and educated class of farmers does not wear jeans or branded shoes. The buying decisions in villages were slow and delayed. They wanted to give a trial and buy only after being satisfied. And, finally the poor illiterate villagers viewed experience more important than formal education and they valued sales people who could provide practical solutions to their problems.

HLL approached the rural market with two criteria – the accessibility and viability [Exhibit II]. Around 40% of the accessible rural market had high business potential. To service this segment, HLL appointed a common stockist who was responsible for all outlets and all business within his particular town. In the 25% of the accessible markets with low business potential, HLL assigned a retail stokist who was responsible to access all the villages at least once in a fortnight and send stocks to those markets. This enables HLL to influence the retailers stocks and quantities sold through credit extension and trade discounts. HLL launched this Indirect coverage (IDC) in 1960s.

To cater the needs of the inaccessible market with high business potential HLL initiated a Streamline initiative in 1997. HLL appointed rural distributors and Star Sellers. The star seller purchased goods from rural distributors and distributed them to retailers in small villages using the local mean of transport. In this way around 35% of the inaccessible rural market came under the control of HLL. But a still untapped market – the inaccessible but low business potential market was left outside. The size of this untapped market was estimated to be around 500,000 villages with a population over 500 million . At this stage, Project Shakti was conceived.

Exhibit II

HLL’s Approach to Rural Market

Low Business Potential High Business Potential

Accessible Markets Indirect Coverage (25%) Direct Coverage (40%)

Inaccessible Markets Space for Shakti Streamline (35%)

Source: V. Kasturi Rangan Rohithari Rajan, “Unilever in India: Hindustan Lever’s Project Shakti–Marketing FMCG to the Rural”, http://www.caseplace.org/d.asp?d=244 – 27k

Project Shakti

HLL soon realized that although it was enjoying a greater penetration in the rural market when compared with its competitor such as Nirma and ITC, its direct reach was restricted to only 16% . The FMCG giant was desperate to increase this share. HUL saw its dream fulfillment in the vast Indian rural market. The company was already engaged in rural development with the launch of the Integrated Rural Development Programme in 1976 in the Etah district of Uttar Pradesh. This program was in tandem with HUL’s dairy operations and covered 500 villages in Etah. Subsequently, the company introduced similar programs in adjacent villages. These activities mainly aimed at training farmers, animal husbandry, generating alternative income, health & hygiene and infrastructure development. The main issue in rural development was to create income-generating prospects for the poor villagers. Such initiatives, linked with the company’s core business, became successful and sustainable and proved to be mutually beneficial to both the company ant its rural customers. However, much remained to be done. Project Shakti was conceived.

Following the pioneering work carried out by Grameen Bank of Bangladesh , Self Help Groups (SHGs) of rural women were formed by several institutions, NGOs and government bodies in villages across India. This group of usually 15 members contributed a small amount of money to a common pool and then offered a micro-credit to a member of the group to invest in a commonly approved economic activity. Partnering with these SHGs, HLL started its Project Shakti in Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh in 50 villages in the year 2000. The social side of the Project Shakti was that it was aimed to create income-generating capabilities for underprivileged rural women, by providing a sustainable micro enterprise opportunity, and to improve rural living standards through health and hygiene awareness. Most SHG women viewed Project Shakti as a powerful business proposition and are keen participants in it. There after it was extended in other states with the total strength of over 40,000 Shakti Entrepreneurs.

HLL offered a wide range of products to the SHGs, which were relevant to rural customers. HUL invested significantly in resources who work with the women on the field and provide them with on-the-job training and support. HUL provided the necessary training to these groups on the basics of enterprise management, which the women need to manage their enterprises. For the SHG women, this translated into a much-needed, sustainable income contributing towards better living and prosperity. Armed with micro-credit, women from SHGs become direct-to-home distributors in rural markets [Exhibit III].

Exhibit III

Structure of HLL’s Market Reach in India

Source: Kash Rangan, Sehgal Dalip et. Al., “Global Poverty: Business Approaches and Solutions”, http://www.hbs.edu/socialenterprise/pdf/3-Rangan&Rajan-Presentation.pdf

Shakti: How it works

In general, a member from a SHG was selected as a Shakti entrepreneur, commonly referred as ‘Shakti Amma’ received stocks from the HLL rural distributor. After trained by the company, the Shakti entrepreneur then sold those goods directly to consumers and retailers in the village. Each Shakti entrepreneur usually serviced 6-10 villages in the population strata of 1,000-2,000 people with 4-5 major brands of HLL – Lifebuoy, Wheel, Pepsodent, Annapurna salt and Clinic Plus. Apart from these, other brands included Lux, Ponds, Nihar and 3 Roses tea. The Shakti entrepreneurs were given HLL products on a `cash and carry basis.’ However, the local self-help groups or banks provided them micro credit wherever required. According to Dalip Sehgal, Executive Director, New Ventures & Marketing Services, HLL Project Shakti was adding up to 15% of HLL sales in rural Andhra Pradesh. He further asserted that given the largeness of the country and backwardness of its women, Project Shakti-like endeavor would place everybody in a win-win situation.

I-Shakti: Crossing the Border

Encouraged by the goodwill and success of Project Shakti, in August 2003, HLL launched an Internet-based rural information service, called I-Shakti, in Andhra Pradesh, in association with the Andhra Pradesh Government’s Rajiv Internet Village Programme. I-Shakti was an IT-based rural information service to provide vital information to the rural people in fields like agriculture, education, vocational training, health, hygiene and the like [Exhibit IV]. The objective behind the i-Shakti model was to give need based demand driven information and services in the villages.

The i-Shakti kiosk was operated by the Shakti Entrepreneur. This was expected to strengthen their relationship with their customers. HUL expected that this would improve the productivity of the rural community and unlock economic and social progress.

Exhibit IV

A snapshot of the ‘i-Shakti’ website

Source: “HUL Shakti-Changing lives in rural India.”, http://www.hllshakti.com/sbcms/temp1.asp?pid=46802256 – 41k

I-Shakti was based on an interactive discussion technology developed & patented by the Unilever Corporate Research Team, U.K. The system enabled an in-depth understanding of each user needs and thereby improved the quality of services offered to them. The APonline , had tied up with i-Shakti to launch various services. Moreover, through i-shakti, the ICICI Bank and HUL jointly provided various financial products and services such as life and general insurance, investment products (Equity, Mutual Funds, Bonds), ICICI Bank Pure Gold (gold coins), Personal Credit, Rural Savings Accounts and Remittances to the rural customer.

Redefinition Rural Distribution: Changing Lives

Having successful in Nalgonda, in 2003 HLL planned to broaden Shakti to a 100 districts in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and UP. There were other plans such as to allow other companies (except HLL’s competitors) such as Nippo, TVS Motor for mopeds, insurance companies for LIC policies to get onto the Shakti network to sell their stocks. Sehgal was looking proud when he announced, “We wanted to first stabilise the project before we can look at other companies. It requires somebody with scale and size to build a platform and then invite other companies onto this platform.” He further emphasized that Shakti was creating a win-win partnership between HLL and its consumers.

There were about 4.36 lakh women SHGs in AP with almost 58.29 lakh poor women. AP alone had about half of the SHGs of the country. By 2005 the SHGs had mobolised Rs 1500 crore had mobilised as corpus. The rural women organised themselves into `thrift and credit’ groups with a saving of Re.1 a day which created a fund of more than Rs 800 crore. While the savings was there among the SHGs, there was no channel of investment. HLL tapped this huge overlooked network to launch Project Shakti. HLL has able tp provide a window of prospect to invest and earn.

The impact of HLL was not all of a sudden. HLL witnessed 15% incremental sales from the villages of AP, which accounted 50% of the total sales of HLL products in AP. Market analysts were perceiving a huge potential in the rural foray of HLL. Nikhil Vora, Sr. Vice President of research group ASK Raymond James believed that if there was one company that could take on the onus of developing the rural markets, it was HLL. He further continued, “HLL contributes 20 per cent of the total FMCG business in the country. So, clearly, the onus is on HLL to grow the market. Returns may not happen in the next five years, but a lot of consumer understanding and insights comes from an exercise like Project Shakti, which in turn can lead to product innovation.”

HLL acknowledged that for Project Shakti to be successful for the company’s rural penetration, dealers and communicators must be well trained. It was unclear how dealers would perform in an expanded infrastructure. Although HLL’s rural initiatives incurred huge costs to the company, it was expected that with the monsoon revival and greater rural incomes could decline the payback period for projects like Shakti. Moreover, the decreasing brand loyalty among urban consumers rural market had become an imperative. According to the Concurs K.N. Siva Subramanian, Sr. Vice President, Franklin Templeton India Ltd, “The (HLL) management had recognized the impending saturation of the urban markets some time back and launched aggressive plans to capture the rural markets. However, a slowdown in the agricultural sector resulted in rural incomes remaining flat and affecting sales. We believe that by targeting lower price points and further expanding the distribution network, companies can tap the potential of rural markets. Initiatives like Project Shakti will help them in establishing and consolidating their base in rural markets.”

HLL would have to determine whether Project Shakti could be repeatable in other countries. The Indian family structure and village interaction provide a unique diffusion mechanism that is an effective vehicle for Shakti. Whether this model could be successfully implemented in other countries must be further explored. Moreover, it need to find out whether the Project Shakti or e-choupal like initiatives could be increased. There was no doubt that the regional brands, or even larger FMCG companies, did not have the kind of distribution reach that HLL had established and in the long run, that could prove a winner for HLL.

IGR and Formalising the Informal Economy in Nigeria

Nigeria has had a tumultuous history, marked by decades of virulent political and civilian strife since its independence in 1960. The oil boom of the ’70s brought windfall profits to the emerging state, but corruption and gross mismanagement blighted economic indicators and rendered the vast majority of its population destitute. A reforms process initiated after the first democratically elected government was sworn to power in 1999 is beginning to show results, but hardly of the nature or scale that can reassure a country desperate to shake off its Third World heritage.

At the ground level, the extended economic stagnation and Nigeria’s persistent failure to enforce corrective policies spawned a flourishing informal economy – the aggregate of financial and business activity that operates outside government control, contributing neither in taxes nor in contribution to the country’s GDP. It includes everything from backyard employment and self-help finance to street vending and unregulated manufacturing. Nigeria’s vast informal economy of products, services and financial services was born out of necessity but is now estimated to contribute up to 65% of current Gross National Product. Even with a significant readjustment of the percentage, there is no debate that the state is losing out on millions in internally generated revenue (IGR) because of activity in the unorganised sector. IGR, or inland revenue, refers to state earnings from levies and taxes. Although current figures for Nigeria’s federal IGR are unavailable, it has been traditionally diminutive in relation to the country’s oil profits, which account for 85% of state revenue.

Across the African continent in general and especially in Nigeria, the informal sector no longer plays an auxiliary role but leads official economies in terms of maintaining livelihoods and creating new jobs. The present Nigerian government accepts that more than 90% of all new jobs are being created by this unorganised sector. The Lagos report in fact goes a long way to show that, even if only subconsciously, Nigeria is vitally dependent on its informal economy. Moreover, it needs to cultivate this sector and bring it under the tax regime if its long-term macroeconomic goals are to be achieved. The Nigerian informal economy is therefore critical on two counts: in terms of untapped revenue and, more importantly, as the driving force behind rapid enterprise development for durable economic growth. This is what the government can do to gradually subsume the informal economy under its jurisdiction:

* Devise innovative policy to bring unorganised activities under official purview through a system of sops, tax breaks and finance aimed at both existing and emerging unregulated businesses.

* Streamline tax and business regulations for universal applicability; crack down on systemic corruption through stringent penalties.

* Promote a credit environment sympathetic to small business realities. Government effort should concentrate on promoting lending through equity, not debt, because Nigeria’s informal economy is mostly about high-risk ownership businesses.

* Improve productivity in small businesses through infrastructure development and removal of trade and administrative barriers. Enhancing technical support and capacity building assistance to aid existing and emerging entrepreneurs.

* Transform education at the vocational and skills level to create a dynamic manpower base that is equipped to meet entrepreneurial challenges. Creating supplementary programmes for relevant technology and computer education.

Spain provides a sterling example of how it can be done right. Through the 1990s, the Spanish government pursued a radical reforms programme, easing corporate taxes and regularising labour laws. The outcomes was a drastic 40% fall in the unemployment rate over a period of six years, fuelled by massive job opportunities in the informal sector. Even though tax rates had been slashed, the government augmented revue collected from small companies by over 75% by bringing more of them under regulation.

Even though Nigeria has been the second largest economy in the continent after South Africa for years now, independent researchers have long been pointing out that the ranking is unrealistic in the sense that it takes no account the vast Nigerian parallel economy. The theory may not be unlikely but is near impossible to prove because sufficient relevant data for Nigeria is unavailable. There is no doubt however that the country’s future position in world affairs hinges considerably on the development and formalisation of its massive informal economy. In terms of attitude, what it requires foremost is the suspension of conventional perceptions with regards to the unorganised sector: in other words, a paradigm shift in economic policy outlook and execution.

The process of Nigerian economic reforms that began in 2001 has seen concrete steps aimed at boosting the private sector:

* A bank consolidation programme was initiated in 2004 to fortify financial institutions and enhance credit access to the private sector.

* Rapid disinvestment in large enterprises was started with the privatisation of mining, communication and oil marketing corporations.

* The government deregulated oil prices in 2007 and enforced the national Fiscal Responsibility bill and the Pubic Procurement bill.

Some of these measures have produced tangible results, cutting inflation and boosting international currency reserves. Their long term effects though are yet to be observed or examined.

In December 2008, the government of President Umaru Yar’Adua presented budget proposals for withdrawal of $200 million in African Development Bank trust funds to issue 10-year government bonds. The move was part of the treasury’s efforts to plug a substantial budgetary deficit amounting to almost 4% of GDP. Sadly, short term-measures such as this otherwise unremarkable decision have defined Nigerian economic policy for more than the last half century. What it needs in order to shed its Third World credentials is a unified, innovative strategy that reverses overdependence on oil and actively seeks to formalise its informal economy.

Specifically, Nigeria needs to come up with practical measures to convert its traditionally survivalist practices into entrepreneurial ventures that contribute revenue, create more jobs and provide innovative products and solutions. A number of Abuja’s policy directives in recent years have sought to reform the old economy to ostensibly promote small businesses and seed an entrepreneurial revolution. Besides its obvious contributions in terms of employment and income generation, the Nigerian informal economy is responsible for a number of positive effects –

* It allows a productive outlet for a huge population of Nigerians who are self employed by choice or necessity.

* It creates economic competition and promotes innovative business practices relevant to local realities.

* Most importantly, it mobilises Nigeria’s significant human resource pool that would otherwise be unused, or worse, ill-used.

In the Nigerian context, formalising the informal economy is synonymous with enterprise development and long-term macroeconomic growth. An endeavour of such moment calls as much for creative innovation in policy design as it does motivated implementation. In light of the country’s troubled past, its government would also do well to build popular consensus on important issues before trying to enforcing radical laws. Far reaching change, however, will only come with the realisation that leveraging the informal economy is key to resolving the age old Nigerian paradox – a country of enormous resources with extreme povert

National Debt History

Introduction

The United States has a long history of carrying public debt, dating back to the Revolutionary War. In fact, ever since Alexander Hamilton proclaimed “a national debt, if not excessive, will be to us a national blessing,” the US has only been debt-free for one year, between 1834 and 1835. Recently, the national debt has exploded, raising concerns that our country’s budget deficits are unsustainable.

In this article we discuss the United States’ public debt and the factors that contributed to its accumulation. We then compare the US to other heavily indebted countries such as Japan and post-World War II UK.

There are many parallels and a few differences between how the nations accumulated their very substantial debt loads. We review how Japan and the UK dealt with their situations and discuss the implications for the US.

United States

Deficit spending during World War II brought the ratio of total outstanding US national debt to the US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio to 121%, its highest level in history. The Debt to GDP ratio is a common way to measure the indebtedness of a country relative to the size of its economy.

From the 1950s to the early 1980s, modest budget deficits increased the national debt more slowly than inflation and productivity gains raised the GDP. As a result, the Debt to GDP ratio declined to a post-war low of 40% in 1982 and increased to about 60% in the late 1990s.

Over the past eight years, large deficits have become the norm as spending on the Iraq War, entitlement programs, and financial bailouts effortlessly outpaced tax revenues. The proposed health care reform and other new spending measures will almost certainly add to our budget deficit and therefore to our national debt.

Neither war spending nor health care reform and bailout packages are likely to be productive investments that will put our economy on a more solid footing. While some of these spending measures may have been necessary, there is virtually no chance that these investments will generate sufficient returns, either through higher future tax revenues or profitable asset sales, to pay off the debt incurred to finance them. We will see that this is a common theme when we look at Japan and the UK.

The most recent estimates put the Debt to GDP ratio at about 84%. This ratio is expected to increase to 100% by 2011. The US currently spends nearly 14% of the national budget in interest payments. Any significant debt issuance or interest rate increase will make the interest payments the largest expense in the US budget, surpassing military spending for the top spot.

The US currently enjoys a historically low cost of borrowing, especially for long-dated bonds. Two broad groups buy virtually all of the US government debt and they are willing to accept very low yields for different reasons.

The single largest buyer of Treasury Bonds is the Social Security Trust Fund, which holds, together with other government entities, about 50% of the national debt. The Social Security Trust Fund is willing to pay more for these bonds than other market participants would. This is a great deal for the government, because high bond prices translate into low interest rates, but it hurts all Social Security participants because low interest rates entail low returns on Trust assets. A key reason why the Trust is willing to overpay for Treasury Bonds may be that the Secretary of the Treasury is also the chairman of the Board of Trustees.

Domestic and foreign non-government entities each hold half of the remaining 50% of the national debt. There is still a prevailing perception that US Treasury Bonds are the safest investment available. Private entities often buy bonds in times of crisis, such as our current recession, which drives the prices up and the yields down. This, together with the high prices paid by the Social Security Trust, has kept long-term interest rates in the US near historical lows.

Japan

In the late 1980s, when Japan’s real estate and stock markets were constantly reaching new highs, the global consensus was that Japan would soon be “eating America’s lunch.” Then, in 1990, the Japanese real estate and stock markets crashed.

Initially, the government responded to the crisis by lowering interest rates to revive the Japanese economy. When this did not yield the desired results, the government attempted to stimulate the economy through massive infrastructure investments, bank bailouts, and similar measures. These programs contributed to several years of outsized budget deficits.

As in the US, only a small fraction of the bailout funds were used for potentially productive investments into useful infrastructure, education, fundamental research and other areas that can improve the competitive position of a country’s economy. Instead a significant portion went towares building infrastructure that nobody needed, the so-called “roads to nowhere.”

The Japanese bank bailouts in the 1990s, like their US counterparts, amounted to passing on the cost of past mistakes to tax payers. Some of these bailouts may have been necessary, but they are unlikely to be profitable investments.

The government’s response to the financial crisis inflated the national debt from 65% of GDP in 1992 to 180% in 2005. The Debt to GDP ratio has held steady near these levels since then.

Currently, Japan spends about 24% of their annual budget on interest payments. Any significant increase in interest rates would push this expense into crippling territory, but so far rates have shown little inclination to rise.

A decade of long-term interest rates in the low single digits should lead to inflation, but in Japan inflation has been very tame. We can understand why this is the case by looking at how money flows through the Japanese economy.

The first major difference between the US and Japan is that the savings rate in Japan is very high and many Japanese invest their savings into government debt. Ninety-three percent of the Japanese national debt is held internally. This would be unthinkable in the US because consumers are themselves over-leveraged and can’t lend much to their government.

Japanese banks tend to use deposits to buy government bonds rather than lending them out to consumers. Presumably this reflects a reluctance of individuals and businesses to borrow, and a reluctance of banks to lend to any but the most credit-worthy borrowers.

In effect, the Japanese population lends its savings to the government, either directly or by keeping its savings in a bank, which uses the deposits to buy bonds. Interest payments are usually reinvested back into government bonds.

This process creates significant demand for Japanese government debt, which keeps bond prices high and interest rates low. It also prevents inflation, because a lot of bank deposits are used to fund the budget deficit rather than consumer and business spending, which could drive up prices.

This unusual arrangement enabled Japan to sustain an inherently unstable situation for the last decade. If the Japanese population decides to spend money instead of saving it, or the banks decide to look for higher returns by lending to individuals and businesses, inflation and interest rates will rise and Japan will have to address its debt burden.

United Kingdom

Another example of an over-leveraged country was the United Kingdom after World War II. The cost of World War I had left the country heavily in debt, and World War II required the British to borrow even more to finance their defense.

An attack by a foreign power is surely one of the most compelling reasons for a government to run a budget deficit. Nevertheless, war spending is similar to the US and Japanese bailout programs in that it was unlikely to generate a return on investment that is sufficient to repay the incurred national debt. Because of this similarity, the post-war UK can shed light on what may be in store for the US.

By 1950, the UK had a Debt to GDP ratio of 250%, up from about 125% before WWII. About half of the run-up in debt occurred during the war and mostly reflects war spending. The other half includes rebuilding loans denominated in dollars that the UK obtained from the US and Canada in 1945. These loans amounted to about 30% of GDP in 1945. This portion of the national debt was used for infrastructure investments that helped restart the peace-time UK economy. Presumably these investments did generate sufficient revenues to pay back the loans.

Over the next forty years, the UK lowered its Debt to GDP ratio to 35%. Most of this decline is due to an average annual GDP growth of 9.4%. About 7% of this growth rate can be attributed to inflation. By 1990, inflation shrank the original debt of 250% of GDP to 5.8%. (We assume that none of the principal was paid back and ignore the exchange rate between the British Pound and the dollar, which is immaterial compared to inflation.)

While inflating away debt has worked for the UK, it has not been a smooth ride. Especially in the 1960s and 1970s, the government was struggling to keep inflation from getting out of control while not completely choking off economic activity. The resulting high unemployment caused social tensions and enabled unions to gain power. Frequent strikes and labor unrest further harmed the local economy and limited the ability of businesses to compete internationally. The UK economy lagged far behind those of most other European countries during those years because of the economic turmoil that ultimately stemmed from the need to inflate away an unmanageable debt load.

Conclusion

Both Japan and the US took out loans for projects that were intended to restart their respective economies, but which had little hope of generating enough tax revenue to pay off the debt. The UK, on the other hand, was forced to spend on self-defense during World War II and reconstruction after the war’s conclusion. Nevertheless, all three countries found themselves significantly in debt with dim prospects for paying it off.

The economic similarity between the US and UK suggests that the US will emulate the UK’s strategy of inflating away the national debt. It seems unlikely that the US will follow in Japan’s path. Japan’s ability to remain in a state of suspended animation for over a decade is partly due to high savings rates and a slow flow of money. In the US, banks, businesses, or individuals would eventually end the suspended animation by taking on more risk in exchange for yields higher than the 2.5% currently available in the Japanese government bond market.

If the US follows the same trajectory as the UK did after World War II, we should expect the next 20 to 30 years to bring some of the same difficulties that plagued the UK in the decades after the war. However, one important difference between the aftermath of WWII and the current situation is that there is no pent-up demand from rebuilding Europe to stimulate economic activities. Consequently, we expect that the UK’s economy in the years following its post-war reconstruction, rather than in the years immediately following World War II, will be a more indicative predictor for the United States’s present economic outlook.

Specifically, we should expect inflation significantly above historical averages. This helps devalue the outstanding debt in real terms as long as new deficit spending remains under control. The UK inflation rate of about 7% reduced the debt outstanding in 1950 to 1/16th of its original value by 1990. This is an example of inflation reducing a formerly unmanageable amount of debt to a sum that could be paid off fairly comfortably.

Inflation is very good for debtors, but it can destabilize the economy and it is hard on individuals. Normally, it hits lower-income brackets hardest, because wages tend to change more slowly than prices rise. For low-income families, this can make paying the bills difficult until wages adjust. Perhaps this is the reason why inflationary periods tend to coincide with periods of social unrest, such as the labor unrest in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s. As we work our way out from under our still rapidly expanding national debt, it is likely that inflation will squeeze low-income families, as well as retirees with fixed incomes that do not adjust for inflation.

The US government will have to return to some semblance of fiscal responsibility. If this fails to happen because government officials decide it is good for the country, it will happen because borrowing costs jump when inflation sets in. During the 1970s, 30-year UK government debt yielded around 14% per year compared to just 4% currently. Running large deficits becomes impossibly expensive when interest rates are this high.

In order to pay back existing debt, reduce the budget deficit, and meet the ever expanding list of obligations, the US government will have to raise taxes. In the UK and the US, the top income tax rates until the late 1970s were well in excess of 80%. It is highly likely that tax rates across the board will rise dramatically from the current historically low levels.

Governments have more financial tools at their disposal than individuals do, but even with this expanded toolbox there is no painless way to excape from too much debt. The most useful tool is the ability to print money, which causes inflation and reduces the effective debt load without having to pay back a single penny. The current Debt to GDP ratio of the US is alarmingly high and it is expected to get much worse in the near future. Nevertheless, by printing money, returning to fiscal responsibility and drastically raising taxes, the US should be able return to a sustainable situation.

Learn How to Make Money Online With No False Promises

If you want to learn how to make money online the right way, with no hype and no false promises, then you will have to make the effort to ignore all these seemingly unbelievable offers that are being made to you. If you have recently lost your job, then you are vulnerable, and prey to every shark in the internet waters – and there are lots of them.

I know what it is like because I was like you. I lost my job, and tried to make it online but found it very hard. I spent a lot of money trying to learn how to make money online: one lump sum of $6,500 to be taught what I now know was elementary stuff. I was taken for a ride, and when I eventually found out that the Corey Rudl that I paid for this was one of the most well respected internet millionaires online, I was disillusioned.

These guys have no shame. They are still at it. I have just been offered an unbelievable opportunity, only about 40 slots left, to learn how to make $300 a day that can expand to many times that. The guy selling his ideas that made him so much money is doing it because he wants to ‘give something back’. Why do I find it difficult to believe that?

Why not just carry on earning his ‘many times’ 300 bucks a day? Why go to the bother of having a website designed and everything else involved in marketing his offer when he is already earning at least $30,000 a month if we are to believe him? Personally I am sick of it all, and after a few years in this business trying to make a living have concluded that they are all in it together; there is a clique of well-known names, and I know them all; they help each other to screw the rest of us.

You won’t learn how to make money online from these guys. The way that I did it was to teach myself, and then to figure out what these guys were actually doing. Many of them were software engineers, designing software to carry out keyword research, or to enable you to check your website statistics or something else in that vein. Others were ex-sales guys who knew how to lie, and yet others would come up with a good idea, run it to death till it was no longer working, and the sell it to us showing how much money they made from it – only it couldn’t work any more because:

a) Google had banned it, or b) Clickbank had banned it, or c) Technology and rules had changed and it was no longer any good.

These are the only circumstances under which these guys are going to give you their internet secrets. That’s a fact. So what is the best way to learn how to make money online? Honest truth? There is no best way. I have found that there are several ways, and they can be made to work, but they won’t earn you 300 bucks a day.

Perhaps two or three together might, and if you used each of them you could make a good living online. It’s the old saying: make $20 a day from one website and all you need do is to do the same with another 50 websites and you have a grand a day. Sure – only the guys that say that aren’t doing it. So why not if it’s so easy?

You can learn how to make money online if you are prepared to accept that you won’t do it overnight. If you are prepared to learn the groundwork, and then build up from a solid foundation, it is possible to make a good living. That’s what I found, and part of the way that I do that is what I am doing right now: writing this article. Article writing, article marketing, call it what you want. It doesn’t matter. It lets me advertise free.

That might not seem a lot to you right now, but it will, believe me. Free advertising is worth every penny you pay for it, and that’s not all that there is to online success. It’s taking every opportunity that comes, knowing what to do with it and making the most of it. You don’t have to make a fortune from every opportunity, but you should remember what I said earlier: make $20 dollars from one website. . .

Suddenly it looked possible to me, and do you know what the major factor in all this was? Education! I don’t mean college education, though I have that. I mean learning how to get things working online. How the internet works. How the World Wide Web works, and how to use what I learned about marketing and advertising and designing websites to actually sell stuff online.

Not just my writing skills that I did as an article ghostwriter, but how to use the online tools that are available free to everybody, and the genuine information available, not that trash given to us by millionaires that feel like screwing us for another million. How to use all that to make money online.

It can be done. You can learn how to make money online. I had my fill of false promises and being sold redundant software and redundant ideas. I did it and so can you. You might just survive with your online home business, but you must learn the basics – that’s where the strength of your home business will come.

Zimbabwe: Illusion, Intuition, and the Truth

I have been in Harare Zimbabwe for a week. I am sitting at the very modern and quite well laid out airport waiting for my flight home. I live in Northern California and it takes 4 flights and over 35 hours (including stopovers) to get from Harare to Sacramento. I live on six beautiful wooded acres. I am in the majestic California mountains half-way between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe. Having traveled all over the world, I know I am one of the luckiest people on this planet. I live in a mountain paradise.

A few weeks ago I came to Zim for the first time. I had read much about Zimbabwe in the American press and was expecting to come to a repressive, military run country, where soldiers could be found on every corner harassing the impoverished, unhappy people.

I have been to many African and Asian countries, and have seen my share of poverty, filth and deprivation. I expected the infrastructure of Harare to be beyond repair and for the roads to be potholed and crumbling. I thought I would see the sick and beggars everywhere. I was sure Zim would thrust in my face, the suffering of humanity as I have seen in other third world countries.

I was absolutely shocked and amazed to find a modern, clean city. There were no beggars, sick, or indigent anywhere to be seen. The roads were in good shape by African standards and the only soldiers I saw were outside the President’s residence compound. Interestingly, when you pass the President’s residence you are not allowed to take any pictures and absolutely forbidden to point your fingers or hands towards the guards. I drove by his residence twice, and each time I was warned by my taxi driver. I later found out that the guards were under great stress when people pointed at them as they drove by because they could not tell if someone was just pointing their finger or if they might have a gun in their hand. You could imagine the stress if you were on guard duty and people kept sticking their hands out the window at you as they drove by. Guards, who are less stressed, are less likely to make mistakes and are more likely to go home to wife and family a lot calmer.

Some of the African countries I work in are friendly to foreigners, some, not so much. My experience in Zimbabwe has been that the people are warm, friendly, and respectful. I met people in various levels of society and felt welcomed by all I met. This is not to say everyone in Zim loved me. One man on a street corner glared at me with anger in his eyes. I smiled back knowing he must have read some of my other articles and is a critic.

The reason I describe Harare is because I am not happy with the misinformation I have received through the press and thought people show know the truth. Harare is a nice city and the people are sweet-natured.

The President, Mr. Mugabe has his admirers and his detractors. Amusingly, some of his supporters I spoke too raised concerns over some of his policies, and some of his detractors praised him. I am not a political commentator on the policies and procedures of countries I visit. I am not a political commentator on American politics and procedures either. I cannot afford to be a target of the NSA or the I.R.S.

This article, if I ever stop rambling, is about doing business in Zimbabwe now that the E.U. sanctions have been lifted. I use LinkedIn and my website to reach prospective customers from around the world. Because of my high visibility, I often receive offers to go to Zim to purchase rough diamonds. Up until recently, this was not possible. Just as a quick side-bar, the sanctions imposed upon Zimbabwe have been effective in creating a great deal of damage to the economy.

I know the sanctions are imposed to try and affect regime change, but that strategy has been counter-productive. The people I spoke with don’t blame Mr. Mugabe for their suffering and hardship, they blame the West. The banks have a severe liquidity problem and the poor and the average person are the ones who are paying the price for the sanctions. White, black, green or yellow, everyone I spoke to about the sanctions wanted to tell the West that it is they the folks, who are suffering and paying the price.

Back to diamonds. As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, I am approached to buy Zim diamonds at least once a week. Everyone tells me how easy it is to buy in Zimbabwe. They tell me they can bring me vast quantities of goods of the highest color, shape and clarity. Not having any experience in Zim, it was quite difficult to determine the truth. At any rate, I was not allowed to go to Zim and did not feel any need to find out the truth.

The American government has now removed the restrictions from the country and you can now bring in Zimbabwe diamonds into the U.S. The caveat is, there is a 25 page list of individuals who Americans cannot do business with. Perhaps, because I am not accustomed to trying to get information, I found it difficult to find out who is on this list. I spoke to my contact in the Ministry in Zim and was told there is only one mine; The River Range that is not on the list. Incidentally, it is closed. You cannot bring Zim goods into the US without risking the stones will be seized indefinitely.

A few weeks ago, a British-South African group hired me to go to Zim to pick and evaluate diamond parcels for them. They had substantial orders. They were working with two seasoned, professional gemologists from South Africa, but needed my help to prepare the parcels for the customers. After much consideration, they kindly allowed me to bring forward some of my customers. I know how my customers work and I know their needs and concerns. We worked together to try and match the needs of their sellers with the needs of the buyers. If any of you have ever had any dealings with wealthy and powerful sellers and equally wealthy and powerful buyers, you know this can be a challenge.

We were able to work out a deal for two of my buyers that were acceptable to each side. We placed the order for our demands and were given a price that was agreed upon. The banking, terms and shipping were to everyone’s satisfaction and SPA’s (Sales Purchase Agreement) were signed.

The British-SA company was also new to working in Zim and was instructed on the requirements of the Zim government in order to purchase diamonds legally in ZIM. They soon realized it would take more than a few days and decided to send the three of us gemologists home while they completed the country requirements.

In the meantime, one of my good friends, also a client, had contracted to buy a very large parcel of rough in Zim. He needed a gemo to do the picking, evaluation etc. and hired me to go to ZIM.

I arrived here last Wednesday. I really did not want to go, because I had Thanksgiving plans with family and friends and was really looking forward to the Thanksgiving weekend. My friend told me that he had an appointment at the MMCZ (Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe) the channel for the export of all Zimbabwe’s minerals and metals, and that I absolutely, positively, had to be there on Thursday. He had worked on this for many weeks. I owed him a large favor. In addition, I was promised a very, very substantial amount of money to do the deal. ($3,000,000).

I made my apologies, to my wife, kids and friends and totally disrupted the family dinner plans. You see; I am the cook at my house, and I say with some false modesty, that my cooking is relished by my friends and family.I left Monday, and spent the next 40 hours flying and waiting and flying and waiting. I arrived late Wednesday and was pretty damn tired.

The sellers were to come pick me up Thursday morning. I did my best to sleep, which is difficult when you are on a 10 hour time difference. I awakened, worked out, showered, ate quickly, and dressed in suit and tie. I received an email. The seller’s rep apologized because his flight from South Africa was delayed and he would not be at the hotel until 12:30 P.M.

It is what it is, I sighed, and waited, I waited and I waited. 2:45 P.M. No one showed up, no call, no email.

Not until late that night did the seller’s people contact me and tell me there were some “issues” they had to deal with that caused the delay. It is better to overcome the issues and not show up, then to show up and have issues. They told me they rescheduled the meeting for the next morning. I thought to myself, they must really have some pull at the MMCZ in order to miss an appointment. Getting an appointment at the MMCZ is no small matter. Maybe I really am dealing with people who are on the “Presidential Level” as I was told. It was my understanding that new customers never missed an appointment with MMCZ. If they did miss the appointment, it would be highly unusual to receive another one the very next day.

Okay, it’s Africa… Hurry up and wait.

Friday morning, I repeated my routine and sat waiting for the seller’s rep to take me to our new appointment at MMCZ. I waited, and I waited, and I waited. No one showed up, no one called, and no one emailed. Now, I have never been called the brightest bulb in the pack,but even I know you do not stand up a government agency two days in a row.

Later that night, I was told that the seller’s rep had not come because he was working on my behalf to fulfill the government requirements for gemologists to enter the vault. When I asked why this had not already been done, he at first could not answer and then mumbled some bull. I asked him why he had not called, and again more lies. He then said he came to my hotel at 6:00 P.M. but could not reach me. This was surprising as I was sitting in my room eating dinner.

I am a patient man. A gentle man, but I cannot stand liars. I refuse to deal with people who lie to me. I did not know what was really happening, but I knew these people were not for real. I wrote to my customer and to the seller’s with a simple sentence; “I am done!”

For the next seven hours the sellers begged to talk to me. They called my hotel phone until 1:00 in the morning. They Skyped every 15 min. My email was filling up fast. Finally, I responded on my email and said; “Let me make this crystal clear, I am done. ”

Now I am getting emails telling me they have a definite appointment on the next day, a Saturday. Since the MMCZ is closed Saturday, they would have to have an extremely powerful person to get the MMCZ to open. Especially, since they had missed two appointments already. In addition, they are telling me I should be a man of my word since I had told them on Thursday night that I would give them until Saturday to get me into the MMCZ.

I pride myself on the use of logic and reason. I try to make important decisions after carefully weighing the situation, looking at my options and anticipating the outcome or results of any actions I may take. In this case, they swore they were not lying, just delayed. Rude yes, but liars, no!

As you can imagine, everyone in this deal was raging mad at me, especially, my friend who had much to gain and a lot to lose. Put yourself in their place, this deal took weeks and many man hours to put together. Costs were incurred to provide an MT199,(Proof of Funds doc) and MT799 (Blocked funds doc) and other expenses that go with putting together a deal in the hundreds of millions. So many people, so many dreams of wealth.

For me it was in some ways difficult and in some ways easy to decide what to do. On the one hand, all these people were completely dependent on me to make this deal a reality. I did not have any empirical evidence that would convince me not to go forward. After all, maybe they really did have the connections and power to do this deal. Anyone who can put hundreds of millions of dollars of diamonds together would have to be very, very powerful. In addition, if the deal worked I was a rich man. All the money I have lost over the years would be in my bank account by next week. Indeed, if I was wrong about stopping the deal, I would severely and permanently damage my reputation. To make a bad situation worse, I would probably be sued by multiple parties with deep pockets and $500 an hour lawyers.

For those of you who use intuition to guide your decisions, this decision would be a no-brainer. My intuition was screaming at me to get the hell out of Dodge! Logic and reason be damned. When you spend a lifetime taking risks and putting yourself in dangerous situations you come to rely on your intuition more than on what appears to be. In this case, I just knew this deal was no good and despite the risks and losses, I was not going to go through with it. I was going to bet the farm on my intuition.

Just then, I decided to phone a professional friend of mine in Zimbabwe on an unrelated matter. After discussing the situation I was in without divulging the details of my clients, I asked for a second opinion on how deals are completed in Zim. According to the regulations my friend cited me there seemed to be, as I suspected, some serious problems with this deal. I was advised of the correct procedures governing the exporting of rough diamonds from Zimbabwe, and that if my deal did not follow legal regulations I could end up in jail!. I had already decided to follow my own intuition and abort this deal.

The next day, I took a cab to the Emirates Airlines office in Avondale, a beautiful suburb of Harare. The houses are stately and the grounds beautiful and well maintained. In the middle of this residential area sits the Emirates office. I was tired, stressed and just wanted to go home. Of course, as luck would have it, the flights were booked solid for weeks and I had no choice but to stay until today, Wednesday.

Somewhat depressed, I took the cab back to the hotel. Once at the hotel, I emailed my client and informed him I would eat the $4000 cost of the trip. Now, I not only did not make money, I was out $4000 for my trouble.

The calls and emails stopped. I spent Saturday and Sunday thinking. I decided that since I could not get out of Zim, I would utilize my time by finding out all about the diamond business in Zimbabwe. I found the numbers for the Government Geological Department, and the Ministry of Mines.

I have gone through this process in several African countries and am familiar with the processes of these ministries. I find it wonderful that the people who work in these departments are happy to hear from foreigners who come to their country and want to know how to do business legally and ethically. I was somewhat surprised and very happy to make an appointment with Zimbabwe’s top geologist who allowed me to come to his office for instruction on the diamond resources of the country.

The geologist was a slight man in his 40’s with bright, kind eyes and was obviously very passionate about geology. His office was a typical office, except he had shelves going across two walls which were filled to capacity with maps, reports and rocks of all sizes and shapes. It could not help but look messy. However, when he went to show the different maps he had, he was able to instantly find the right geological maps.

Like all great teachers, he explained in methodical detail the various diamond areas. All of them were clearly marked and even the diamond concessions were drawn and detailed. He showed me each diamond bearing area and described the geological formations and peculiarities of each mine. There is even a region where the diamonds are elongated or strangely shaped octahedrons. He explained that the diamonds in this unique region had formed more than a billion years ago and had then found themselves under great heat and pressure causing them to liquefy and warp and bend into unique shapes.

The contracts that were presented to my clients were 5-20 carat, D-I color, VVS-SI. They were supposed to be Sawable 1, Sawable 2, Makable 1 and a small percentage of Makable 2. (See Google for descriptions and pictures of these diamond shapes), However, all of the stones were supposed to be without the typical iron coating that covers most Zimbabwe diamonds.

I asked the geologist if Zimbabwe produced diamonds in abundance without the heavy coating. He told me there were only two mines in Zim that produce diamonds without the coating. One produces very small gems under one carat and the other is currently undergoing Ownership changes.

The question arises; how could these suppliers have hundreds of thousands of carats of large uncoated Zim stones when the geologist who has been to every mine in Zimbabwe says that do not exist? There are two possible answers; the suppliers are lying, or, the goods are not from Zimbabwe and have been smuggled into the country illegally.

The likelihood of smuggling in such huge quantities is quite unlikely. Too many people would know about it, and it would require the corruption of everyone in the MMCZ and the Ministry of Mines. The manifests and deals being offered with transparent stones are scams.

I now knew my intuition was correct. I was right to walk away from the deal. No one can blame me now and some owe me. My next appointment was with the new Minister of Mines, I met him for all of 10 seconds. Our appointment was canceled because the President had summoned him and he had to go immediately to the President’s office. The Minister’s secretary is a kind lady and directed me to a gentleman she felt would be very helpful in answering my questions.

This young man is also in his early 40’s. He is very articulate and you can see a keen intelligence in his eyes. The wonderful thing for me, is this man is a high ranking official with duties in every sector of the diamond industry. He knows all the procedures, laws, requirements, banking, KPC regulation, and most importantly, he knows the banking and shipping laws and procedures. In other words, I had hit the jackpot. All my questions could be answered.

Lets go back to the question of coated stones. I asked him the same question about coated stones that I had asked the geologist. As you would expect, he gave me the exact same answer. He also told me he had heard rumors that large quantities of uncoated goods were being offered in the market. He said it was a complete scam as they do not exist.

In addition, it is impossible to buy CIF in Zimbabwe. They do not use, or accept an MT199, MT799, na MT103, S.B.L.C. or an ICBPO. The law states that no diamonds can leave Zimbabwe unless it is paid for first. This means my clients deal could not possibly happen legally. He had arranged an MT199 and and SBLC to buy CIF.

One other thing, when you buy from the MMCZ, you must be approved for purchases. There are a number of requirements one must meet and if you pass those requirements, an invitation is sent directly to the buying company. IT IS ILLEGAL TO BE A CONSULTANT IN ZIMBABWE. This means that the company who is buying is the company whose name will appear on the government invoice, shipping and KPC, and is the company paying for the diamonds. Anyone who tells you anything different is lying or ignorant of the truth.

This nice man cares greatly about his country and its reputation. They outlawed consultants finding no other way to rid themselves of the scammers. If you want to buy in Zimbabwe, you must apply and be accepted by the Zimbabwe government. You cannot pay for it after it leaves the county, there is no Brink’s or Malca-Amit office and there are few uncoated stones.

If you or a loved one are currently involved in a deal to purchase Zim diamonds and are told any of the above lies, then walk away quickly. If you are in the middle of one of these deals and my article saves your rear, reputation, valuable time, money, and energy, then you can pay me back by donating $1.000 to your favorite charity in your name. This will show you are thankful for the blessing and you are not foolish, ignorant, and greedy.

For those of you who wish to do business in Zimbabwe or other African countries. Do your due diligence. If you do not have the connections, skills and experience to do so, then hire a rough diamond gemologist who does.

How To Communicate Like A Pro

Here are six techniques you can use to help you say things simply but persuasively, and even forcefully:

(1) Get your thinking straight. The most common source of confusing messages is muddled thinking. We have an idea we haven’t thought through. Or we have so much we want to say that we can’t possibly say it. Or we have an opinion that is so strong we can’t keep it in. As a result, we are ill prepared when we speak, and we confuse everyone. The first rule of plain talk, then, is to think before you say anything. Organize your thoughts.

(2) Say what you mean. Say exactly what you mean.

(3) Get to the point. Effective communicators don’t beat around the bush. If you want someone to buy something, ask for the order. If you want someone to do something, say exactly what you want done.

(4) Be concise. Don’t waste words. Confusion grows in direct proportion to the number of words used. Speak plainly and briefly, using the shortest, most familiar words.

(5) Be real. Each of us has a personality — a blending of traits, thought patterns and mannerisms — which can aid us in communicating clearly. For maximum clarity, be natural, and let the real you come through. You’ll be more convincing and much more comfortable.

(6) Speak in images. The cliché that “a picture is worth a thousand words” isn’t exactly true (try explaining the Internal Revenue code using nothing but pictures). But words that help people visualize concepts can be tremendous aids in communicating a message. Once Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative became known as Star Wars, its opponents had a powerful weapon against it. The name gave it the image of a far-out, futuristic dream beyond the reach of current technology. Reagan was never able to come up with a more powerful positive image.

Your one-on-one communication will acquire real power if you learn to send messages that are simple, clear, and assertive; if you learn to monitor the hearer to determine that your message was accurately received; and if you learn to obtain the desired response by approaching people with due regard for their behavioral styles.

Your finesse as a communicator will grow as you learn to identify and overcome the obstacles to communication. Practice the six techniques I just mentioned, and you’ll find your effectiveness as a message-sender growing steadily.

But sending messages is only half the process of communicating. To be a truly accomplished communicator, you must also cultivate the art of listening.

If you’re approaching a railroad crossing around a blind curve, you can send a message with your car horn. But that’s not the most important part of your communication task. The communication that counts takes place when you stop, look and listen.

We’re all familiar with the warning on the signs at railroad crossings: Stop, Look and Listen. It’s also a useful admonition for communication.

It’s easy to think of communication as a process of sending messages. But sending is only half the process. Receiving is the other half. So at the appropriate time, we have to stop sending and prepare to receive.

A sign on the wall of Lyndon Johnson’s Senate office put it in a down-to-earth way: “When you’re talking, you ain’t learning.”

Listening Pays

Listening pays off daily in the world of business. Smart salespeople have learned that you can talk your way out of a sale, but you can listen your way into one. They listen to their customers to find out what their needs are, then concentrate on filling those needs. Skilled negotiators know that no progress can be made until they have heard and understood what the other side wants.

Listening Requires Thought and Care

Listening, like speaking and writing, requires thought and care. If you don’t concentrate on listening, you won’t learn much, and you won’t remember much of what you learn.

Some experts claim that professionals earn between 40% and 80% of their pay by listening. Yet, most of us retain only 25% of what we hear. If you can increase your retention and your comprehension, you can increase your effectiveness in the 21st century’s Age of Information.

Listen With Your Eyes

If you listen only with your ears, you’re missing out on much of the message. Good listeners keep their eyes open while listening.

Look for feelings. The face is an eloquent communication medium. Learn to read its messages. While the speaker is delivering a verbal message, the face can be saying, “I’m serious,” “Just kidding,” “It pains me to be telling you this,” or “This gives me great pleasure.”

Some non-verbal signals to watch for:

– Rubbing one eye. When you hear “I guess you’re right,” and the speaker is rubbing one eye, guess again. Rubbing one eye often is a signal that the speaker is having trouble inwardly accepting something.

– Tapping feet. When a statement is accompanied by foot-tapping, it usually indicates a lack of confidence in what is being said.

– Rubbing fingers. When you see the thumb and forefinger rubbing together, it often means that the speaker is holding something back.

– Staring and blinking. If you’ve made your best offer and the other person stares at the ceiling and blinks rapidly, your offer is under consideration.

– Crooked smiles. Most genuine smiles are symmetrical. And most facial expressions are fleeting. If a smile is noticeably crooked, you’re probably looking at a fake smile.

– Eyes that avoid contact. Poor eye contact can be a sign of low self-esteem, but it can also indicate that the speaker is not being truthful.

It would be unwise to make a decision based solely on these visible signals. But they can give you valuable tips on the kind of questions to ask and the kind of answers to be alert for.

Good Listeners Make Things Easy

People who are poor listeners will find few who are willing to come to them with useful information.

Good listeners make it easy on those to whom they want to listen. They make it clear that they’re interested in what the other person has to say.

Driving Under the Influence – The Impact, Fatalities and Casualties

DUI – driving under the influence, or DWI – driving while intoxicated, has become prevalent in the news headlines lately; from celebrities, to teenagers, to college frat parties and so on. This has become very common between adults and teenagers. Lindsey Lohan, Mel Gibson, Tony Rock (Chris Rock brother), Mike Tyson, Rebecca De Mornay, Nick Bollea, Parris Hilton, Nicole Richie, Ray Liotta, Vivica A. Fox; Tony LaRussa, Warren Moon, and Shia LaBeouf are just some of the celebrities who have been caught in the Celebrity DUI Spotlight. Apparently we are not paying much attention to the statistics and the news because on average, someone is killed every 40 minutes by a drunk driver.

DUI or DWI has become prevalent in our society today. In 2002, 2.3 Americans 18 years and older were surveyed and reported alcohol impaired driving. When compared to the 1997 survey of this same population, the number for that year was 2.1. According to the National Commission Against Drunk Driving (NCADD) over 20% of all traffic fatalities in the United States each year is cause by drunk driving. DUI or DWI is proving to be deadlier than we previously knew. Drivers often over look the fact that DUI or DWI is dangerous. People do not take the time to understand DUI and the tragic consequences underlying this hazard.

I understand that we live in a very secular society and that partying and good times are a part of human nature, but the simple key is responsibility. I am sure you have heard some MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) and SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) campaigns out there. MADD is a non-profit organization that seeks to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and overall push for stricter alcohol policy. The organization was founded in 1980, in Irving, Texas by Candice Lightner, after her 13-year-old daughter was killed by a drunk driver, Clarence Busch. On the other hand, SADD, founded as Students Against Driving Drunk in 1981 in Wayland, Massachusetts, has grown to become the nation’s dominant peer-to-peer youth prevention organization with over 10,000 chapters in middle schools, high schools, and colleges in the USA (United States of America). In 1997, in response to request from SADD students themselves, SADD expanded its mission and name, and now sponsors chapters called Students Against Destructive Decisions. SADD continues to endorse a firm “no use” message related to use of alcohol and other drugs. With its expanded focus, SADD now highlights prevention of all destructive behaviors and attitudes that are harmful to young people, including underage drinking; substance abuse impaired driving, violence and suicide.

Most campaigns states drink responsibly. Being responsible includes planning your party booze ahead of time. This entails getting a designated driver, planning to sleep over a friend’s house if the party is being held there, or sleeping in your car if you find yourself at a bar or club. Do not become a statistic or a part of statistics. We need to be responsible enough to understand the consequences and the impact that drunk driving places on you as an individual and society. I like to introduce some families to you. Here is my first family. Picture yourself, your 3 children and mother attending a great family reunion and on the way home, your kids are ridding with their grandmother and their car is ahead of you. All of a sudden, a driver going the wrong way, drunk, hits your family head-on. Your 3 children and mother dies instantly right in front of your eyes. Imagine this pain, hurt and suffering that you will have to endure for the rest of your life. Someone decided to take a chance with his life, and took the lives of four instead of his own.

This is what happened to Cassie Crapps a 26 year, on February 6, 2008 in Arkansas. Her 3 children and mom were killed by a repeat offender who decided to be irresponsible. He wanted to party and take a chance. “You cannot eat your cake and have it.” This saying is so true. When it comes to human lives, especially where others are concern, you cannot take chances. Life is not about gambling; LIFE IS SO PRECIOUS. It is one of the things that you cannot give back to someone when it is taken; you do not have that power. You can hurt someone by saying the wrong thing and apologize to them, and they will forgive you. Though you hurt a person’s feelings, there will still be a way to make him or her understand through your apologies. You may damage something from someone and be able to pay back in cash or other products and services. However; when you injured a person or take a person’s life, you will never replaced the devastation, hurt, disappointment, pain, anguish and suffering felt by the love ones left behind to carry this burden or to care for the injuries. It is a pain that is indescribable. The hole is so deep that no matter how many condolences received, it cannot fill that place that person once occupied.

On September 19, 2008 I lost someone very dear to me, my husband. My nightmare all begin September 14. My husband called me on his way home from work and this was the conversion:

Smain: Hi Sweetie,

Lydia: Hi Smain. How are you?

Smain: Are you awake?

Lydia: Yes. I just woke up. I spent all day at the salon. I need to find a different salon. They are too slow at the current place I’m going.

Smain: Did they do a good job with your hair?

Lydia: yes, it is pretty.

Smain: Sweetie, you will not believe what happened to me.

Lydia: What? Are you okay? Are you stuck in traffic?

Smain: No. My car is overheating, I don’t understand it. I just took it for servicing.

Lydia: Where are you?

Smain: I am on 695. I am at exit 23, on the left hand side, on the shoulder. I have turned off the car to help cool down the engine.

Lydia: Sweetie, I think you should turn around and try to go to Mom’s house. You are not far from there and then I will meet you there.

Smain: No Sweetie. It is late to go to your parent’s house. They are all sleeping. I am too tired. I just want to come home.

Lydia: Do you want me to call the tow truck?

Smain: No. they will take forever. You know what? Come and meet me. Bring some antifreeze and I will use that to cool the engine and you can drive behind me. If it continues to give us problem then we will call for a tow truck.

Lydia: okay sweetie, I will see you in a few.

Smain: and oh sweetie, bring me some water to drink, I am thirsty.

Lydia: okay I will be there soon. Bye sweetie.

Smain: bye

In my wildest dreams, I never imagined this being the last conversation that would transpire between my husband and me. When I got to where he was, all I saw was flashing lights, ambulances and police cars. The interstate was shut down. It is about 3-4 lanes on the highway and they were all closed about 1/2-1mile before the crash. I called my husband about a million times and then, it dawn on me that he must have been involved in the crash. The tears started flowing; my legs became weak and numb. I could not feel the pedal beneath my feet. My heart was racing and my pulses were faster than my thoughts. I felt like I was about to pass out. I called my mother. She came running to my aid. I did not know if I wanted to move forward or stop. I knew my world had been turned upside down but I did not know the full details. Finally, after 1 hour or 1 and 1/2 hour, the traffic started to move. I could not wait to see the scene. I was praying and hoping and then I saw my husband mustang. The car windshield became the roof. I just wanted to know my husband where abouts. I was told he was helivac (emergency medical helicopter) to shock trauma. I am a registered nurse therefore; I knew that this could not be good. I raced to the hospital and my husband had been resuscitated x 1 already. My tears were pouring like rain. I could fill a house by then. I was praying like I had never prayed before.

My husband suffered a pelvic fracture, he was greatly losing blood. He also sustained damages to his lungs. He needed immediate surgery. I told the doctors that he was a full code. This meant that they needed to do everything they could and knew to save his life. My husband made it out of surgery but we were still in grave danger. I was praying. He was intubated but that was not enough. He started dying, blood was everywhere. I am used to this and I find myself in the mist of it all. The doctors and nurses initiated another set of CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation). From 2am-7am, Smain had been resuscitated x 4. He was placed on an eckemo because intubation alone was not enough. This machine works as an external lung and heart to keep the circulation going. At least that is what I was told. His kidneys started failing. Blood transfusion was started. In fact, the blood transfusion had been initiated in the OR (operating room). From 2am-12pm, Smain received about 30units of blood.

Within 2 days he had received about 80units of blood. I was really scared and only voiced this to my mom. I refused to leave the hospital. I was sleeping on the floor along with my sister-in-law in the visitors waiting area. The hospital could not give any room on the unit because every bed was valuable. I did not want to be away from my Smain, my “Sweetie”. When I got put out of his room, I go back and pray, I present every part of his body in pain and anguish to my God. By the third day, which was a Tuesday, Smain went for another surgery. I still did not know what happened at the accident scene. I was on my knees and he made it through. The doctors said to me, I don’t know what your family is doing but keep doing it. We were all praying for healing. Thursday, I was sitting beside Smain and telling him that I love him. I told him that God would heal him and all he did was cried. All I saw were tears rolling down his cheeks. I knew he could feel my presence, and touch even though he was in a comma. I tried to be strong when I was around him. I did not want him to hear me cry and give up. I said to him, Sweetie, why are you crying? I love you and I always will no matter what. God will heal you for me. His sister was also talking to him.

It was about 10 or 11pm. The pulmonologist on call was paged. Everything started to go wrong and it did not look like Smain would survive. They called a code (Code= a medical emergency). They began the 5th and final CPR. I was right at his bedside. I was watching and imagining previous codes that I had been in when others lost loved ones. I was praying to God. I was watching my husband die. With all my knowledge and skills as a nurse, when it came to my own, I was helpless, hopeless, weak, weary, faint, sad, angry, hurt, cold, hot, and losing balance. Unable to stand on my feet because they were so numbed, I dropped to the floor. At that point, I felt like I would pee on myself. My body dropped to the ground because I could no longer hold myself up. I was told that it was the end. My sweet, loving, wonderful, husband Smain Aboubakar Abbo was dead at 0047 (12:47am), on Friday, September 19, 2008. He was only 27 years of age. I started searching for answers to some of my questions about the accident. The first thing I learned was that my husband had been hit by a drunk driver, Wayne Arthur Matabar, while parked on the shoulder. Mr. Matabar had geared off the left lane onto the shoulder of the road hitting my husband car from the rear. He had been put through all of this misery by a drunk driver. He had parked on the shoulder wide enough to hold 2 cars to be safe and because someone made the choice to drink and drive, to be “under the influence”, to “drive while intoxicated”, he took my precious flower, the only one that I loved in the botanic garden.

I started to think about the dreams we had and would have had together. I started to think about the life he had lived as a person. I thought about the number of children we wanted to have and the names we had chosen. I thought about the day we talked about life and death. I thought about his favorite line every time I was angry with him; “Sweetie don’t be mad and refused to talk to me. I could go out and something terrible could happen. You don’t want this to be your last words or actions towards me.” The only good thing I found and chose to call my own was gone with the wind. Smain was 3 classes away from his bachelor degree in accounting. He was majoring in accountant and his manor was business administration. I thought about the day we discussed with my neighbors on the porch about his CPA exam and what he had hoped to achieve. He would have completed December of 2008 but instead, a drunk driver shatter our lives and he was taken away September 19, 2008. I thought about his parents, his brothers and his sisters and the respect and love they share for each other. I thought about his faith and his love for God. I started to think this life was so unfair to me. The void that is in my heart, I don’t know when it will ever be filled. I am not sure if I will ever be able to move past the mental picture of Smain’s death. I cannot move past the last resuscitation. No one tried to shield me from that mental anguish and pain. The nurses and doctors expected me to be brave and stand and watch because I was a fellow colleague. What they failed to realized, I was on the other side of the table and not at work. All I kept hearing was, she is a nurse, and she can handle it. No one can ever handle the death of a love one, especially a husband.

Today, I am 26 and in 2 more days will be 27. That is why I chose the story of another, who experienced something so tragic at 26 years old; to share with you. Her mother and three children were killed by a repeat offender and mine was a first timer. There is no time that it is acceptable to drink and drive; there is no time that it is acceptable to “drive while intoxicated” or “drive under the influence”. Every single injury and death caused by DUI or DWI is totally preventable. The people that are driving on the roads and those streets have someone they belong to. No one is an outcast. They are just like you. When you are drunk or when you are impaired and decide to make that choice to drive, think about your unique situation. Ask yourself, who am I? If you start to get answers that you are a father, a son, a daughter, an aunt, an uncle, a cousin, a nice, a granddaughter, a friend or whatever name to which you associate your relationship, I want you to remember that the consequences of your actions will have a major impact on those lives around you, and the lives of those who are injured or killed by actions. See everybody else on those roads and streets as you would see yourself. I pray that the man who hit Smain and his family will never experience the hurt and pain that our family experiences daily. I pray that another woman, mother, father, sister, brother, and in-laws will never lose someone as valuable as Smain to someone “driving under the influence or someone driving while intoxicated”.

It is illegal in all 50 states to operate a motor vehicle with a BAC (blood alcohol content) of 0.08% or greater. I like the fact that we have a set value but every individual knows him or herself. You may feel impair before even reaching this value. Get to understand yourself, your body, and know your limits. Every state has different laws. For example, some states collect taxes and others don’t. BAC of 0.08% or greater is unique and universal to all states. This shows the significance and the message that MADD and SAAD and other organizations like these will continue to sent nationally. DUI or DWI remains a serious national problem that tragically affects thousands of victims annually. I am sure you have heard, “teach them while they are young”; “each one, reach one.” If we can follow any of these, we will be able to decrease the statistics and numbers yearly. We will prevent families and friends from being or becoming a part of a statistic. Protect lives by never driving if you think, or anyone else thinks, that you might have had too much to drink or had taking a drug that will impair your driving. Also, don’t let anyone else drive under these conditions. Be a brother’s keeper. Let us treat people the way we will want to be treated. Do not be control by your drinks. You need to take control of your decisions and actions because every move you make from consumption will have a consequence; be it good or bad. Some choices may be detrimental to you or someone. Every choice to drive while intoxicated or under the influence, will affect someone; this includes your close family members and best friends. For every action or decision, there will be a consequence. It is stated in the book of Proverb 20:1 that “Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.”

It’s Okay NOT to Be OKAY

What a fricking year this has been! We have all been battered and thrown around like a piece of driftwood in a tumultuous sea of chaos, confusion and uncertainty. It’s a fact! Some of us have come out more scathed than others, but regardless it has been horrifically rough in some way for every one of us!

Depression and Anxiety are a daily experience for many and Alcohol consumption is at an all time high. Suicide rates are through the roof and school age children are experiencing spontaneous crying due to the heavy and unidentifiable emotions they are experiencing.

As we all “just keep swimming” through life as this year wraps up, I was out running some errands the other day, just to get out of my mind and my house. It was an emotionally rough day for me and it took everything I had to keep the tears from oozing out like a leaky faucet.

During one of the stops I made, the gentleman clerk asked me how I was doing. My response, with a cracked fake smile behind my mask was, “I am doing great!”

I knew it wasn’t the truth, and likely, he probably would have called my BS had he known me better. Regardless, I mustered through the rest of my errands quite anxious to get back to the safe place I call home. All I wanted to do was bury myself under a blanket and pop on some Netflix to distract myself from the heavy emotion. I’m pretty sure I went to bed at 7:30 pm that night just to get the day over with.

The next morning I woke up and the brief interaction with that store clerk came to mind. I thought to myself, “No Tracy you are not fine and why would you say that you were?”

While I know that nobody want ts to hear a sob story, I certainly could have been a little more honest and vulnerable.

Then I continued to ponder what that conversation would have looked like on my end had I been 100% honest with that man, and more importantly myself.

Pardon the rant but there is a message in all of this. I actually felt 100% better after I had my little rampage. It was about honoring and acknowledging parts of myself that needed to be heard.

It would have gone a little like this…

Store Clerk: How are you doing today?

Honest Tracy: I’m NOT good, this year has sucked. It has been the worst year of my life. Things have been brutal and confusing and devastating. I have never been so beaten down as I have this last year. Everything has fallen apart and I have never felt so alone and isolated from the world.

My primary business in International Education came to a screeching standstill and I had no idea where future income would come from. My kids and myself have all gone through depression and I could barely keep my own head above water to take care of them.

My entire belief system about who I was and the world around me came crashing down. I had to face some dark shadow sides of myself and deal with so much change that I didn’t know what to do with myself. I felt like I don’t matter.

Important relationships of mine fell apart and left me feeling more alone than before. I have 3 kids depending on me and I can’t even tell them what they want to hear. I have no family that lives anywhere near me and I have no one to count on.

It has been a real sh** show of a year and everything that I once knew in my life has changed. There is no sense of normalcy or predictability or consistency anymore and I feel like it is never going to end. I feel hopeless and helpless and just want to disappear! So, THAT’S how I am doing! NOT good! NOT good at all!

(applause from the higher beings)

Now please don’t think this is the victim attitude I carry through life because I am very optimistic and grateful. My point in sending out this message is that I actually felt so much relief when I got honest.

While I did not dump all this on a stranger, I took the time to share my vulnerability and rawness with myself. I gave myself permission to talk about how sucky the last year was and the impact it has had on me.

I know most of you are like me and want to remain positive and hopeful, however, it is important to assess the impact that all of this (COVID, BLM, the riots, the fear, the fires, the election, the empty grocery store shelves, the lost jobs, the quarantines, the deaths, the broken relationships, the loneliness, the drama, the conflict) and anything else has impacted your life in any way.

So as a Self-Love Mentor, I am giving you permission to get honest, get raw, and get vulnerable with yourself. This year has sucked! This year has been hard! And this year has been like nothing else we have ever been through or ever want to go through again!

So give yourself five minutes, open a blank WORD document or pull out a piece of paper and a pen and start dumping. Have your own rampage about what you have been through. And you dont even have to limit it to 2020. You can throw in some old stuff if you need to from 10, 20 or even 40 years ago.

Let it flow and if the emotions come too, allow yourself to feel what you need to feel. This is a healing exercise that every single one of us needs right now. Get sad, get angry, get frustrated… but most importantly get HONEST! You owe this to yourself.

Encourage those around you to do the same. If you have children, let them share by writing, talking or drawing a picture. Let the energy move.

We have all been witness to a “natural disaster” and we get to process what we have been through and assess the damage. Take the time to honor yourself and your feelings. Yes, it may be uncomfortable but there is pain when you are removing the splinter that has been festering under your skin for a long time.

You are worth it! You got this and you are stronger than you think.

Sending each of you much love and encouragement and please let me know how I can support you in any way! You will get through this, this will end, and everything will be okay!