Tomorrow is Valentine's day! All over the place I hear front doors slamming and car engines roaring to life as men everywhere rush out to the local supermarket or CVS to buy their girlfriend or wife a "meaningful" gift. Or are they?
Many married women have voiced the same sentiments about Valentine's Day, "Show me you love me on a day that's NOT Valentine's Day." It appears that the once a year remedy for all things wrong with relationships has lost its power with today's women. I think it's the stockpile of cheap, meaningless "gifts" that were purchased in haste and without much thought that have reaffirmed to women that they are not loved, cherished, or adored by their men anymore on this day than on any other day.
What happened to the storybook dreams of days gone by, when a night in shinning armor would sweep a damsel in distress off her feet and they'd live happily ever after. I know it's only a dream. But what is the dream of today? There is no consideration for understanding the opposite sex beyond what is told to us on television and the internet. Swipe-Right, one night stands, and baby-daddy relationships have replaced meaningful relationships based on mutual respect and a common life-long goal.
I know, I know...I sound like an old fuddy-duddy. But you know what? The tide is turning.
Women are realizing they have more power at work, in politics, and in relationships. Men, if you don't wake up and smell the roses, your woman is going to be more successful than you, more attractive than you, and she'll be the one leaving you in the dust (although you may not notice it until after baseball season is over). Think I'm kidding?
Look around at your friends. There is a saying that your wealth will be the same as your five closest friends. If they make on average $30,000 you will have difficulty making more than that. Why? Because we tend to hang with people of our same calibre, education, interests, and same level of motivation. People who are wealthy do not hang out with people who settle.
11 "Wealth from get-rich-quick schemes quickly disappears; wealth from hard work grows over time."
Proverbs 13:11 (NLT)
What are you doing to improve yourself? If your biceps are the only muscles getting exercised, you need to start woking on the muscle between your ears.
Recent poles show the majority of professionals in the workforce are women. Mom's are working, raising children, and are buying homes on their own. They are saving more money, getting more education, and are promoting faster than their male coworkers. Women are taking the once coveted positions reserved for "the good old boys." They have more business start ups, non-profits, and small businesses than their male counterpoints. They are the force behind a movement that has been gaining momentum for decades and men have been asleep at the wheel.
Men, all you have to do is look at your wife or girlfriend. Is she upward mobile while you sit on the couch every weekend watching sports? Is she networking and seeking personal improvement while you go to the gym and look in the mirror? Is she reading while you're watching mind-numbing reality shows? Is she living while you're just watching life from the sidelines? Are you the one on "Medical Marijuana" while she's the one taking care of things?
When I was in my 30's, a single mom, raising my daughter on a fixed income, a friend told me to read a book that changed my life: Rich Dad, Poor Dad, by Robert Kiyosaki (read more here). The book opened my eyes to how money works, how people's choices limit their futures, and how I could make better financial decisions than I had in the past. I believe that decision to read one book changed the trajectory of my life, and the life of my children, and the lives of their children's children.