by James Quinn
The Burning Platform
I’ve seen the graphic below a few times over the last several weeks. I understand its message and have essentially tried to follow the hard decision path for most of my life, while imparting the same advice to my three sons. I’m sure they got sick of me telling them that no matter what amount you make, if you spend less than that amount, you will get ahead in life financially. Of course, this graphic is too simplistic to describe the real world, where medical misfortune, bad luck, bad investments, or bad people running the country can and do prevent many hard working honest families from ever achieving the “easy life”.
We all know life is never easy, but it can potentially be easier if you make enough right decisions along the way. The graphic reminds me of a quote sometimes attributed to John Wayne, “This life’s hard, but it’s harder if you’re stupid.” I think that captures the truth better than hard decisions lead to an easy life. It does seem the level of stupidity across the general populace has risen to astounding levels over the last couple decades.