Vera Verba

“Life can be a banquet, but the average guy doesn’t know where the table is.” — Grandpa

I’ve encountered several gurus who did in fact change my life.

One was the TV preacher “Reverend Ike” who said if you are unhappy with a situation or a relationship you could and should change it. He also said that making money was a very worthy goal and not at all “evil.” Thus inspired, I got out of my then boring dead end job, changed towns from an unpleasant climate to a warm & sunny place, changed girlfriends. Started my own biz. And yes, things got a lot better for me. Simple advice, but most people who are “stuck” and unhappy don’t realize they can — easily –get
out of their ruts.

Then there was Douglas Casey with The International Man. The whole PT idea seems to be “get out of the jurisdiction if they don’t treat you right” & be self-employed. Most people never have any idea of the
many options open to them! Life can be a banquet, but the average guy doesn’t know where the table is.

The single biggest secret for PTs to learn is this: If you never register for anything in the country where you live –no bank accounts, no cars, no home ownership, no voter registration, etc. — then they don’t know you exist and nobody bothers you or your family because you are out of the system. If you can’t figure out how to do it, read BBBB and check out this U-tube presentation about the Paskowitz family who, with 9 kids, lived outside the system for many decades: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmhxRVR9dqI

Harry Browne’s book How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World was a more detailed version of Reverend Ike’s ideas. Finally, Harry Schultz wrote an inspiring Newsletter called HSL. Harry lectured about the “Perpetual Traveller” or PT life under his “3 flags” of 1) Citizenship 2) Residence 3) Offshore Money Havens. This was around 1975, in the first incarnation of PT. His idea was that as far as any government was concerned, you were just “Passing Through.”

That in turn inspired Hill’s book “P.T.” around 1980, who in turn inspired Peter Trevellian with Invisible Investor, Gene Wonko of Expat World, Roger Gallo who published Escape from America & ultimately
me– Grandpa [Bye Bye Big Brother].–

Without all or some of those Gurus I suppose many of us would not be PTs today. Check them all out with a “google” search. You can get the best of these books from me on a c.d. for $50. postpaid with money back guaranty (as always).

If one calls advice givers & role models “gurus” I don’t know what/who else inspires people and changes their lives.

This chap is not a P.T., There was one professional Guru, motivator & public speaker with a very unlikely name: Zig Ziglar. He, like another marketing chap, Jay Abraham gave me ideas for relating to customers and friends that changed my life. Just for one example, Zig Ziglar told this story: He stayed in over 250 hotels per year. Very seldom did they offer to upgrade him to their best rooms or suite. He’d always go for an upgrade since his hosts picked up his hotel bills anyway. Moral of Zig’s story was that in any
business, no customer minds being told that “for a little more money you can get something a lot better.” Most customers will in fact upgrade. They will be glad & appreciate you gave them that option! I have used that concept for years. Jay Abraham’s big idea for me was “perceived value.” If your customer
feels that he is getting something worth more than he is paying for, and that he never has any risk (because he can return unwanted goods) he will more readily buy. If happy with your product or services, the customer or client will return again to see what other deals are available.

Anyway, depending on what you call a Guru, I have certainly been inspired in a life-changing ways by them. Some I paid to hear or consult with, some wrote books that I bought. Sure there Yes, there is a lot of dumb, worthless advice out there, but plenty of life changing Gems too. You need good common
sense or a “bullshit detector” to recognize and reject the trash.

Bottom Line? When stuck in a rut, you need good new ideas. Consider the source! Is it reliable and sensible? Just because they are trying to sell you something doesn’t mean they are bad –or good either. Try out new ideas & products too. If they work for you, embrace them, use them, and let them change your life for the better.
Grandpa@secureix.com & nadaaqui@googlemail.com

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