ARE YOU MIDDLE CLASS?

It is safe to say that most people in America identify themselves as middle class.  The middle class has always been the backbone of this country and the place where most families would not mind settling.  But do you know how much money it takes to be considered middle class?

Research has shown that location plays a major role in determining whether a family is middle class.   Thanks to data from NPR and the Census Bureau, we are able to see what the middle class incomes are from the 30 most populous cities in the United States.  Look at the chart below to find your city and see where you stand on the totem pole.  

Read more about this topic here.

21 Hour Work Week!?!?

Would a 21 hour work week actually work?

Before you think that I am on some type of drug (just high on life) and close this blog post, I really would like you to view this video presented by the New Economics Foundation making the case for the 21 hour work week.  The 21 hour work week model, the NEF explains, can improve employment, ecological outcomes, and our quality of life.  We would even be able to reduce our carbon footprint.

If we were able to make a decent wage off of 21 hours per week just imagine all the things we can do.  We can take more vacations, start that new business we never had time for, and most importantly more time to sit back, relax and enjoy life. 

Find more about the 21 hour work week ideology and other matters at neweconomics.org

Prison Is The New Slavery?

From the Plantation to the Penitentiary (Trailer)

"There are more blacks incarcerated now than there were slaves back in 1850."  This is just one of the many shocking statistics this trailer describes in the highly anticipated documentary that is still in production.  "From the Plantation to the Penitentiary" focuses on the daunting relationship between slavery and prison, and the high profits corporations make from it.  With incarceration numbers that far exceed any country we really need to ask ourselves, is America really the land of the free?  

Throwback Thursday: Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell: The Secrets to Success

Here is one of my favorite authors discussing one of my favorite books called "Outliers".  In the book Gladwell dissects what it truly means to become an "overnight" success by analyzing legends like the Beatles and Bill Gates.  Watch this small clip and go purchase the book afterward!  

DAILY INSPIRATION

MESSAGE OF THE DAY

                  "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new."                                                     -Albert Einstein

One of the biggest fears we have is the fear of failure.  The fear that if we tried something out the ordinary and fail at it we will set ourselves up for public and internal humiliation.  Anyone who became successful in life has come across failures.  Michael Jordan missed 26 game winning shots in his career.  Thomas Edison failed over 10,000 times while making the light bulb, something that we now use so commonly and take for granted.  It's not about how many times you fail, but how many times you get back up after.  So get out of your comfort zone and try something new.  If you fail just pick yourself back up, smile, and remember that you are one failure closer to success!  

TRY SOMETHING NEW!

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DAILY INSPIRATION

MESSAGE OF THE DAY

"I am not a product of my circumstances.  I am a product of my decisions."

                                          -Stephen Covey

When an idea or a dream comes to mind, we often disregard it by saying things like, "I don't have the time, I don't have the money, maybe if my family and job situation was better."  We begin to think of all the reasons why we can't succeed instead of the reasons why we can.  Those dreams and idea's within you are not bound within your circumstances, they flow freely with your decision to act.  Don't let your circumstance divert you from becoming the person you were destined to be.  This is the best time for you to start working towards your dream.  That dream was embedded within you for a reason.  Step out in faith and watch how opportunities suddenly make its way towards you!

STAY IN FAITH!

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POWERED QUOTE OF THE WEEK