Five Rituals

Five Rituals

by Charles Lamm

Our post-modern electric kool-aid acid world has swept most rituals into the compost pile. Even defining ritual is a struggle.

from Wikipedia:

“The purposes of rituals are varied; they include compliance with religious obligations or ideals, satisfaction of spiritual or emotional needs of the practitioners, strengthening of social bonds, demonstration of respect or submission, stating one’s affiliation, obtaining social acceptance or approval for some event — or, sometimes, just for the pleasure of the ritual itself.”

Dictionary.com has a number of definitions, including:

“any practice or pattern of behavior regularly performed in a set manner ”

I like to go a little more specific. I think of a ritual as a habit with an attitude, or a deliberate habit with a purpose.

Bad habits are easy to develop. Bad rituals are not. The secret is in the word “deliberate”.

I place the five rituals into the physical realm of what I refer to as critical activities. In each major area of one’s life – mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, financial, vocational, social – an individual can identify certain activities which are critical to success. Critical activities vary from person to person.

For example, if one is type II diabetic, a critical activity in the physical plane might be not consuming any processed foods containing sugar or flour. For other individuals, a trip to the donut shop is a treat, not an invitation to a sugar coma.

I work each day to turn what I perceive as my critical activities into rituals. The five Tibetan rituals make that job easier.

I started a new job recently with an online university where most of my co-workers are half my age. When I saw the ID badge they gave me, I wondered who the old man was in the photo. (Inside every old man is a young stud wondering what happened.)

We work 10 hour days in an intense environment. Without the lift I receive from performing the Five Rituals before work, I would not have the energy to keep up with the kids. Red Bull is not enough.

Proponents of the Five Rituals claim the following benefits:

• look younger
• feel younger
• increased energy
• live longer
• reduced stress
• increased vitality
• increased virility
• sense of well-being
• spiritual enlightenment
• balanced life
• unlock the potential of the brain
• positive outlook on life
• slow the aging process
• increased productivity
• boost in self-esteem
• heightened immune system
• less fatigue
• positive emotions
• less depression

Let’s face it. The promises are just about everything except the location of Jimmy Hoffa’s remains. I’m a skeptic. I don’t need everything on the list. If I have more energy, look a bit younger than that ID photo, and a touch more virility, the rest of the items in the list will take care of themselves.

Caveats:

1. Start with 7 reps of each ritual instead of 3. If you are basically healthy, 3 reps just seems to be too little. Max for each ritual is 21.
2. Ritual 6 is one you will want to add.
3. Ritual 7 is one most will avoid, especially if your virility has increased, if you get my drift.

If you find, as I do, that the Five Rituals are critical to your physical and mental well-being, you will find 10 minutes each morning to start your day right.

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Charles Lamm is an advocate for asset protection for the masses and living government free under the radar. His blogs include http://www.live-free-in-an-unfree-world.com and http://www.corp-llc-bct.com.

Asset Protection for Internet Businesses

Will Your Internet Business Be Destroyed?

Just a short note to drive home something that’s very important to how you do business online.

What you don’t know CAN hurt you.

You can have a very profitable website and still lose everything because you didn’t take the right steps to protect yourself.

As with the Asset Protection Iron Triangle, you have to be concerned if your online business is in your own name and vulnerable to attack. Mike takes it a step further and teaches Internet marketers how to protect their websites from being stolen or being burned in joint ventures.

Lawsuits. CyberTheft. Investigations…and worse.

Suddenly, everything you’ve worked so hard for is gone.

Now there’s a solution.

Attorney Mike Young, the Internet lawyer for many big online marketers, has written a great new how-to book called:

“Internet Marketing Legal Secrets Revealed: How Millionaires
Protect Themselves Online…And You Can Too!”

If you’re already a client of Mike’s, or have seen him speak at a seminar, you know that he provides practical solutions because he’s both an Internet lawyer AND an online marketer too. This means he’s one of us.

This book contains simple and easy steps you can take to reduce your risk of being sued or having the government come after you for breaking laws you didn’t know existed.

Mike also teaches you how to protect what you own online to prevent others from stealing your stuff and getting away with it. Just preventing one lawsuit alone will make this book the most important one you’ve read since you started doing business online.

In addition to this book being a must-read if you’re serious about doing business on the Web, Mike’s included six great bonuses so help you protect and grow your business.

The book’s foreword, written by Andy Bourland, should not be skipped. Andy describes how Mike helped him put together a new joint venture called “ClickBank University.” It will give you a flavor for what’s involved from a legal standpoint in putting together
your joint ventures the right way.

With the new year just around the corner, give yourself peace of mind like I did by getting a copy of this book by clicking here now:

http://beatdown.lawguru.hop.clickbank.net/

I recommend Mike’s book for all Internet marketers. Theft is easier on the web compared to face to face. Prevention beats trying to recover your hard work and profits from those who would steal from you.

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Charles Lamm is a retired attorney and owner of Trustee and RA Services Inc. in Coral Springs, Florida. His program – the Asset Protection Iron Triangle – can be found at: http://www.corp-llc-bct.com.

Identity Theft

After Hurricane Wilma struck Ft. Lauderdale in 2005, the entire county went offline. No power, no computer. No computer, no Internet. You couldn’t buy gas because the electric pumps were out. You could only buy what groceries were still on the shelf if you had cash. Credit and debit cards were rendered useless.Things always go wrong at the worst possible time.

At the worst possible moment, hackers struck my PayPal account, overdrew my connected bank account and credit card, and left me penniless when I was most vulnerable.

As more and more crooks and cons become Internet savvy, identity theft is now the fastest growing crime in the U.S.

Identity theft falls into 4 categories:

-financial (stealing goods and services)
-criminal (fake identity when arrested)
-cloning (pretending to be someone else)
-business (using another’s business to obtain credit)

We mostly think of identity theft when a stranger uses our credit to obtain goods and services, but the others can be even more devastating. Try applying for a job after someone gave your identity when they were convicted and jailed for a felony.

Identity Theft Prevention:

1.don’t be free and easy with your Social Security number

2.don’t print your SSN on checks

3.don’t carry blank checks or credit cards you don’t need – you may not miss them when they have been stolen

4.be especially careful about giving your SSN over the phone or online

5.don’t throw away official government letters or credit card statements without shredding

6.secure your mail with a locking mailbox if necessary

7.sign new credit cards as soon as you receive them

8.do not leave credit card receipts behind at restaurants, gas stations, or stores

9.choose tough-to-figure-out logins, passwords, and PIN numbers

10.use different passwords for different accounts

11.change your PIN numbers and passwords every 90 days

12. do not carry your PIN numbers in your wallet or purse

13. change the passwords often for services like PayPal which are linked to your bank account and credit cards

14. put your phone numbers on the national Do-Not-Call Registry (1-888-382-1222 )

15. don’t give your phone number to those who don’t need it (stores – pay attention)

16. do a Google search for your own name and SSN to see what you can find out about yourself

17. choose online vendors carefully – Google before purchasing with a credit card – look for a secure site button

18. keep an eye out for shoulder surfers in public transactions

19. be wary of skimmers wherever your credit card is out of your sight (restaurants)

20. be careful with file sharing software – it can give hackers access to your computer

21. limit the amount of personal info you divulge on social networking sites

22. keep a close eye on laptops and thumb drives that contain personal information

23. review your monthly bank and credit card statements carefully, or check more often online

24. review your credit report at least once a year for suspicious activity or inquiries

25. keep a master record in a safe place with account numbers and phone numbers should your credit cards be stolen

Identity Theft Recovery:

If your personal data has been subject to identify theft, act immediately.

1.if your cards or ID were physically stolen, file a police report

2.call the big 3 credit bureaus, place a fraud alert on your credit cards, and obtain a free credit report

3.close any bank accounts and credit cards you believe have been used by identity thieves

4.dispute any charges or checks or withdrawals you have not authorized

5.contact DMV for a new drivers’ license and number if yours has been compromised

6.ask for a letter from each account resolving the dispute and verifying that the identity theft accounts have been closed

After the Hurricane Wilma hack, it took weeks to get PayPal to reverse all the charges and chase down the fraud. The paperwork at the bank seemed endless. Citibank canceled the old credit card and sent the new one out in record time.

U.S. Government statistics estimate it takes about 600 hours and $1,200 to counter identity theft and restore your good name and credit.

Prevention beats cure every time.

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Charles Lamm is dedicated to asset protection for the masses using his Asset Protection Iron Triangle program at http://www.corp-llc-bct.com . More information on prevention of and recovery from Identity Theft can be found at: http://corp-llc-bct.com/identity-theft/ . You can reach him at: asset-protection@corp-llc-bct.com .

Asset Protection Iron Triangle 1 Minute Seminar

View the video by clicking here.

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If I am a creditor, judgment lien holder, ex-spouse, or an IRS agent coming to take your stuff, and you own it outright in your own name, you really don’t own it anymore.

I do. You just don’t know it yet.

How do you protect your house, property, cars, boats, vacation homes, stocks, bonds, and cash from all of the predators out there? How do you protect yourself from me?

The key is control, not ownership.

You don’t have to go offshore. You don’t need a prenup. And you certainly don’t need some untested, unproven tax dodge that sets off IRS red flags.

All you need is a no-asset C corporation, a manager-managed limited liability company, and a beneficiary controlled trust – all specially designed to work together for maximum asset protection.

Find out more at:

www.corp-llc-bct.com

Before the predators come stalking.

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Charles Lamm is the distribution trustee for Beneficiary Controlled Trusts. Discover the Asset Protection Iron Triangle on his site at http://www.corp-llc-bct.com and how to protect your valuables from creditors, judgments, lawsuits, ex-spouses, the IRS, and the coming economic meltdown.

Inside an Old Fart

Inside every old fart, there is a young man wondering what the hell happened.

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Charles Lamm is a retired attorney and owner of Trustee and RA Services Inc. Learn how to protect yourself from lawsuits, creditors, judgments, ex-spouses, and even the IRS at http://www.corp-llc-bct.com.

Asset Protection – Who Needs It?

If you own something you would like to keep and it’s not protected – a car, boat, or piece of property – and I’m coming after it, you no longer own it. I do. You just don’t know it yet.

Would you like to learn how to protect yourself from me?

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Charles Lamm is a retired attorney and owner of Trustee and RA Services Inc. Learn how to protect yourself from lawsuits, creditors, judgments, ex-spouses, and even the IRS at http://www.corp-llc-bct.com.

Asset Protection From the Trust Up

Asset protection against the causes of wealth depletion – lawsuits, judgments, creditors, ex-spouses, financial mismanagement, and the IRS – can be avoided or eliminated by the use of a Beneficiary Controlled Trust, created by someone else as Grantor and you as the Beneficiary/Investment Trustee.  A spendthrift provision and a second Distribution Trustee shields your assets from predators.

Full Story:   http://corp-llc-bct.com/2008/02/18/asset-protection-from-the-trust-up/

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Charles Lamm is a retired attorney and owner of Trustee and RA Services, Inc., in Coral Springs, Florida.  His asset protection articles appear on his blog at:  http://www.corp-llc-bct.com.  To learn more about how to combine a corporation, LLC, and Beneficiary Controlled Trust for maximum asset protection and tax benefits, please email him at:  asset-protection@corp-llc-bct.com.

Asset Protection Iron Triangle

The Asset Protection Iron Triangle uses a no-asset C Corporation, Limited Liability Companies, and a Beneficiary Controlled Trust to protect individual assets against lawsuits, creditors, judgments, ex-spouses, and the IRS.

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Asset protection is not just for the wealthy any longer. When a middle class home can easily run a half million dollars in Florida, and over a million in New York or California, anyone can become a target of lawsuits, divorce courts, and the IRS.

You have to dig a well before you are thirsty, or in this case, build a legal fortress before invading barbarians reach your gate.

Your tools to protect your assets are:

* “no asset” corporation
* limited liability company (LLC)
* beneficiary controlled trust

C-Corp:

A “no asset” C corporation will be the management company for your LLC.  The two work together to protect your property from those who would take it from you.

You are employed by the C Corp, not the LLC.  You can also be the sole shareholder and hold all of the officer positions.  Your corporation owns nothing but a checkbook.

Your corporation can pay for:

- medical insurance for the officers
- life insurance ($50 thousand limit)
- retirement plan

As an officer, you can be reimbursed for out-of-pocket medical expenses through a medical expense reinbursement plan (MERP).

Entertainment expenses directly related to the business can include:

- training expenses
- travel
- meals
- computer expenses
- phone expenses
- business gifts up to $25 per recipient

Never let your corporation pay for personal items.  Commingling of funds could pierce the corporate veil and make you personally liable for corporate debts in the event of a judgment against the corporation.

This is just a partial list of deductions for your corporation.  Consult your CPA or tax advisor for the latest changes in allowable deductions.

LLC:

Your limited liability company is where you earn your income.  Your LLC should also own any vehicles, equipment, computers, copiers, printers, and real property.

You want your Operating Agreement to make your corporation the Manager of your LLC.

Your LLC should also pay the bulk of your operating expenses for your office, supplies, travel, fuel, utilities, phone, computers, and more.

Your interest in the LLC will be as a 99% member will be owned by the trust.

Beneficiary Controlled Trust:

A beneficiary controlled trust is the crown jewel of asset protection.

While I will not go into detail here, a BCT works like this:

Someone other than yourself establishes an irrevocable trust with you as the beneficiary and as the Investment Trustee.  A second entity or person is required as the Distribution Trustee.

My company, Trustee and RA Services, Inc., can act as your Distribution Trustee if you want to keep your affairs private from your friends and relatives.

We are located in Coral Springs, Florida, and we usually situs the BCT in Florida to take advantage of Florida’s excellent trust laws, as well as no state income tax.

The Grantor can put up to $12,000 per year into the trust without gift tax considerations, and you have an immediate right to withdraw the money as it is a Crummey defective grantor trust.

It’s complicated, but the idea is to leave the assets in the trust and use the trust to own the LLC and to take care of your needs.

The trust can purchase property, pay for your education and medical expenses, and take care of your physical well-being. You have full control over the trust assets without actually owning anything.

As the Investment Trustee, you control how the assets are used, and you can replace the Distribution Trustee at any time.

We often refer to this as the CakeTrust, as in “have your cake and eat it too”.

Summary:

You are now isolated from lawsuits, creditors, judgments, ex-spouses, and the IRS.

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Charles Lamm is a retired attorney who owns Trustee and RA Services, Inc., in Coral Springs, Florida.  His asset protection blog can be found at http://www.corp-llc-bct.com.  You can also reach him by email at asset-protection@corp-llc-bct.com.

No More Resolutions

Instead of New Year’s Resolutions, I suggest you consider making a list of critical activities for personal success in 7 areas of your life:

1. mental
2. physical
3. emotional
4. spiritual
5. financial
6. vocational
7. social

Each area should have no more than 1 to 3 critical activities. Any more than that will lead to failure because it will seem overwhelming.

Start with physical and vocational. You need energy and money to burn.

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Charles Lamm is a retired attorney and lifelong scanner. His latest projects can be found at http://www.virtualjoefriday.com and http://www.affiliatemarketingforscanners.com.

Is the Recession Already Here?

One business that usually does well in down economic times is do-it-yourself or home improvement stores. You take on projects yourself like painting and lawn care that you would normally hire others to do when times are good. You might even take on bigger projects you would not normally consider.

If you make $1000 a week, why scrub your own toilets?

I see landscapers everywhere in South Florida. Mostly immigrant crews. Legal or illegal? I don’t know and frankly don’t care.

But Home Depot’s sales are down 26% from last year. I was in to purchase some materials a few days before Christmas, and the checkout lines were not even long.

If a so-called recession proof business is already in a recession, are we now in a depression without knowing it?

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Charles Lamm, retired attorney and lifelong scanner, posts articles on his Virtual Joe Friday blog. His latest project is Affiliate Marketing for Scanners.