Law 23 of Importance and Urgency

This is a simple law of nature, but one which is very handy:

It is surprisingly easy to overlook what is important for what seems urgent.

That's it.

What is urgent usually comes to our attention in the context of other people, work in progress, deadlines, and conflicting time demands.

What is important usually comes to our attention either when we are relaxed and thinking clearly about our lives, without interruption. Or, sadly, sometimes what is important comes shockingly to mind when we've just lost something important, probably because we failed to think about it.

If you spend your days stamping out forest fires, because they are urgent, and neglect what is important, then life can tend to be filled with urgencies, and little of importance. Reward urgent and you get more of it. Take time for important, and you'll have more of what you really want. And the lovely thing is that you get to choose.

Knowing this important secret of the universe, go forth and prosper.

Law 23 of Earning Money

This is a simple law of nature, but one which is very handy:

How much you have actually "earned" is how much you have still got.

That's it.

Nearly all humans today are confused on this simple fact, partly because other folks wanting to sell things have confused us with bogus concepts such as "investing" in a new gadget which of course is not an investment in any sense of the word, bur rather just a way for us to lose our money to them.

If you worked for five years mowing lawns and hauling garbage to the dump, and you earned a whole bunch of money and gave every dollar to other people, what have you actually "earned" from your five years of labor?

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Law 23 of Human Limits

This is a simple law of nature, but one which is very handy:

There is no limit to anything in the Physical Universe except for one thing: Your time.

That's it.

What is the limit of what a human can accomplish? The only limit is what the human can consider as possible. That is, if you can perceive the possibility, then the possibility exists. Simply put, this means that the only limit imposed upon you absolutely would be the limits of the Physical Universe.

Is there a limited amount of money in the Physical Universe? Not really. For all practical purposes, the possible amount is unlimited. Likewise there is no limit to the amount of land, water, sportscars, wine, women, songs, books you could write, or houses you could build.

Is there anything that absolutely limits you? You bet. There is only so much time in your life. Not one second more. And the funny part is: you never know in advance exactly how much there is. Isn't that a riot?

The strength of a chain is determined by its weakest link. The richness of a lifetime is determined by its most limited resource. That resource is the time alloted you. Add it up, and wisdom suggests: Make every moment matter.

Knowing this important secret of the universe, go forth and prosper.

Law 23 of Making Offers

This is a simple law of nature, but one which is very handy:

If your offer sounds good, the human will wonder what's wrong with it?

That's it.

It's human nature to worry if an offer sounds good. Since you know they're going to do that, make up a "downside", and make this downside clear in your offer. Anyone reading your offer will find this vastly reassuring.

For example, if you rent cars for less than the best-known brand, you might say something like, "We're only number two, so we try harder." In this successful ad from the 50's, Avis pointed out that they were not number one. It was a drawback, freely offered, a part of the headline. Readers of magazines stopped, and thought, and decided that they didn't care about Avis's drawback, being second. Readers concluded that the downside didn't matter, and then went out and, greatly reassured that they knew the reason for the lower price, rented Avis's cars by the thousands.

Knowing this important secret of the universe, go forth and prosper.

Law 23 of Savings and Earnings

This is a simple law of nature, but one which is very handy:

It is more profitable to save money than to earn more money.

That's it.

Whenever you earn money there is a certain amount of drag and cost. An example of drag might be government forms. Suppose you sell more retail merchandise. In that case you'll have to do some additional work calculating, collecting, banking, reporting, remitting, and bookkeeping the additional sales tax as part of your forced labor on behalf of your state, so that for every new earned dollar you must labor.

An example of cost might be your cost of goods. Suppose you sold more groceries or birdhouses or teddybears. For each one you sell, you must purchase the groceries or birdhouses or teddybears, so that each newly earned dollar has some cost.

But suppose that, instead of selling more stuff, you found a way to save. For example, getting a cheaper supplier, doing manufacturing with a less costly process, or shipping it more cheaply. In that case, each dollar drops directly into your pocket, with no drag nor cost. That's why saving money is usually more profitable than earning more money.

Knowing this important secret of the universe, go forth and prosper.