Ponder the past

Think/talk/take do

Estimate/calculate/go

Get online/grab wallet/pay

Print ticket/wear jersey/drive

Park the car/approach gates/join

Find section/claim the seat/watch

Smell the food/purchase snack/eat

Buy a drink/wash down meal/grin

Groan some times/cheer a lot/live

Give high fives/meet others/grow

Your team wins/celebrate/leave

Remember/feel happy/wait

Smile/Sleep/Savor it

Make memories

Ayo my cousin's name is Ross, yes -

but that is just another process

that I am gonna be painting with my mind

and it's gonna be

fainting oh-so-fine

yeah

Yo a dose of my rhymes is gon' get you so hypnotized

you're gonna get caught-up, one with the sublime,

like my man Kant wrote about way-back-when

and maybe that was part of the soul, oh then

it's like Zen could be true

along with you

and me

and this

and WE

it persists it's a part of the story

I don't resist it, I know it's just glory

and I will keep on going with what I spit

because I think I just found my own rhythm

And I'm gonna be sittin' and positionin'

myself right in for the 10th innin'

'cause right now it's actually in the 11th

and it's gonna be goin' to the 2012

oh yeah I will be like an elf

goin' through the

Middle Lands of

realm

and legend

and yes yes yes, I'm in, the...

I'm out of rhymes for the moment

but I'm just gonna own that part of my soul and

keep on flowin'

Modern economics is heavily influenced by the concept of “property” – or “asset.” The value, capital, or liquidity of a given property/asset is determined by the market – the entirety of all economic participants, all buyers and sellers – and its ebb/flow of supply and demand.

Specifically, though, when determining a person’s networth, an institution or analyst calculates the combined value of all that individual’s assets, which is no different from the calculation of a business’ networth, cap, or valuation. Modern economy, law, and society acknowledge the following assets:

1) Land

E.G. 1 acre

2) Commodity

E.G. 1 diamond

3) Cash

E.G. 1 dollar

4) Stock

E.G. 1 share

5) Technology

E.G. 1 vehicle

6) IP

E.G. 1 patent

The sum of these assets minus the sum of all this person’s debts equals his, her, or its networth. The problem here is that modern economics’ definition of “asset” is limited in scope, overemphasizing physical over psychological, and consequence over potential. Modern economy, law, and society do not acknowledge the following assets, among others:

1) Initiative

I.E. “How tenacious, motivated, or determined is this person?”

2) Integrity

I.E. “How ethical, decent, or considerate is this person?”

3) Intellect

I.E. “How understanding, creative, or competent is this person?”

Problematically, a person can be worth $1,000,000 by today’s standards without having initiative, integrity, or intellect. Consider the example of a spoiled tobacco or oil empire inheritor who has never learned to honor and practice initiative, integrity, or intellect. On paper – legally – he or she is a millionaire, but compared to someone whose legal networth is – say – $500,000, but whose initiative, integrity, and intellect are abundant instead of poor, the millionaire still is more legally valuable than his or her counterpart is despite being extremely poor from a psychological, internal, or mental standpoint.

This limited valuation paradigm, which does not see the “whole capital picture,” is equally limiting for investors who make investing decisions based on it. Any investor should have the most comprehensive possible understanding of how valuable the person or people in whom he or she invests are. On top of this, any investor should realize that investing in a person directly is more lucrative than investing in just one of his or her ideas.

The logic behind this claim is simple. A person is the origin of all capital. Therefore, investing in a person is investing in all of his or her current and potential capital, whereas investing in a business that he or she has created limits the investor to that entity alone.

That in mind, the problem that today’s modern economy faces is twofold:

1) Its not accounting for wealth holistically, and

2) Its not permitting a public exchange in which people invest directly in people

The solution is an organization with such a “networth algorithm” and a portfolio of people, to whom this algorithm has applied, looking to fundraise in this unique, safe and lucrative way.

This algorithm, in general, honors four primary assets needed to determine a person’s networth, and expected value: Initiative, Integrity, Intellect, and Income.

Each of these primary assets is comprised of three sub-assets, the third of each being centered on a proprietary testing system aiming to calculate a person’s level of development for all types of intelligence – in this case, “Leaderic Intelligence” for Initiative, “Ethical Intelligence” for Integrity, “Cognitive Intelligence” for Intellect, and “Financial Intelligence” for Income.

The first two sub-assets under the four primary assets – each of which with three of their own sub-assets – are Achievements and Projects (Initiative), Deeds and Reviews (Integrity), Education and Skills (Intellect), as well as Moneys and Properties (Income).

C = (((1a+1b)*(1c)) + ((2a+2b)*(2c)) + ((3a+3b)*(1c)) + ((4a+4b)*(4c)))

Capital =

(((Top 3 Achievements) + (Top 3 Projects))*(Leaderic IQ))) +

(((Top 3 Deeds) + (Top 3 Reviews))*(Ethical IQ))) +

(((Top 3 Educations) + (Top 3 Skills))*(Cognitive IQ))) +

(((Top 3 Moneys) + (Top 3 Properties))*(Financial IQ)))

Asset 1: Initiative

Asset 1a: Achievements (e.g. “Dean’s List”)

Asset 1ai: ...

Asset 1aii: ...

Asset 1aiii: ...

Asset 1b: Projects (e.g. “Taggle”)

Asset 1bi: ...

Asset 1bii: ...

Asset 1biii: ...

Asset 1c: Altitude (Leaderic IQ – Orange = 1, Green = 2, Turquoise = 3)

Asset 2: Integrity

Asset 2a: Deeds (e.g. “Guaranteed ROI for first employer despite resigning early”)

Asset 2ai: ...

Asset 2aii: ...

Asset 2aiii: ...

Asset 2b Reviews (e.g. (LinkedIn Recommendation(s))

Asset 2bi: ...

Asset 2bii: ...

Asset 2biii: ...

Asset 2c: Altitude (Ethical IQ – Orange = 1, Green = 2, Turquoise = 3)

Asset 3: Intellect

Asset 3a: Education (e.g. “Denison University”)

Asset 3ai: ...

Asset 3aii: ...

Asset 3aiii: ...

Asset 3b: Skills (e.g. “Sales”)

Asset 3bi: ...

Asset 3bii: ...

Asset 3biii: ...

Asset 3c: Altitude (Cognitive IQ – Orange = 1, Green = 2, Turquoise = 3)

Asset 4: Income

Asset 4a: Moneys (e.g. “$383,000 Google Stock”)

Asset 4ai: ...

Asset 4aii: ...

Asset 4aiii: ...

Asset 4b: Properties (e.g. “$15,000 2008 Prius”)

Asset 4bi: ...

Asset 4bii: ...

Asset 4biii: ...

Asset 4c: Altitude (Financial IQ – Orange = 1, Green = 2, Turquoise = 3)

It's in the night when the words flow smoother.

It's in the night when thoughts run wild.

It's in the night when I raise my hands to the keyboard.

It's in the night when I make up for the things left said in the day.

I grew up just one block in from Portland’s own 82nd avenue, the same drag of pavement they tried to rename “The Avenue of Roses” to mask the true images it evokes: used car lots, fast food joints, dingy strip clubs and Chinese restaurants. It gave me an intense desire to expand my horizons, if you know what I mean.

82nd is in fact the fastest way to get to PDX Airport, but the only plane trip I’ve ever taken was to Disney Land in eighth grade. In high school I satiated my traveling itch by hitching rides to Montana with my best friend. We swam in the clear water of Flat Head Lake but, other than her relatives, I never met any of the local Montanans. When I was sixteen I lived on my own in Seattle for five weeks during a dance intensive at Cornish College, but the friends I made there were all liberal young girls like myself. I figured I needed to get out of the Pacific North West to experience difference.

I followed the Willamette river south for college, physically attending University of Oregon while my brain fantasized about traveling Route 66. I studied philosophy in a naive attempt to learn about the East Coast through pragmatists like John Dewey. Maybe I should have thought more about gaining tools to get a job so I could afford to travel to the East Coast. After graduation, the only thing I was qualified for was a call center job an old friend from high school connected me with. She said the pay was decent so I couldn’t say no. I didn’t realize that phone was a ticket to my long awaited journey around the country.

You’d be surprised how emboldened people become when talking to a customer service representative on the phone. After a few weeks of work I found that I was just human enough in the caller’s mind that they knew I was listening to them, and just mechanical enough that they ignored the possibility of my emotive capabilities. With master training in the art of disguising my own location, people form different states assumed that I had the same background set of ideas as them. I had callers from Louisiana vocalize their racism and ask me to back them up; I had people from New Jersey flood my ear with legalese and become infuriated when I didn’t comprehend; a woman from South Carolina off-handedly stated that she had a third-degree murder charge against her, and possibly burglary, she couldn’t recall. I was thrown smack in the middle of callers’ intimate drama and learning more about the different people of this country then I ever would have by meeting them in person.

You see, I’m a shy person by nature but at work I suddenly had no choice other than to converse with everyone. I met a 78-year-old Arizonian woman who had been trying for a month to track down a lawyer that had previously worked with. “Do you know where I finally found him? It was through a Native American listing. I like the Indians. You know, of all the minorities they have been the most screwed over! So I donate a lotta money to ’em.” Another moment I remember fondly is when learned what a roustabout was by chatting to an ex-oil rig worker in the South. It probably took me about five minutes to unravel it from his Texan tongue, but now I’ll never forget that he worked out at sea doing odd jobs on the rig, risking his life by exposing himself to asbestos. Then there was the day-to-day joy of Southern Hospitality in the form of a sweet young woman wishing me a happy weekend, and the inspiring entrepreneur spirit in twenty-year old men seeking patents for their new tech businesses in California.

In my head there gradually formed a matrix of United States caricatures and truisms: No one lives in Montana, as I NEVER received calls from area code 406. People from New Jersey are ass-holes, but usually whip smart. People from New York are always in a hurry, no matter what. All old women think the world revolves around them and their needs must be met immediately. Children as young as four can use telephones to call their moms at work, and often do. There are a lot of people getting divorced in this country. There are a lot of lovely immigrants who just want their visas in order. When someone from the East Coast begins their sentence with, “Hey, how you doin’” this is not an invitation to actually respond, they are going to keep talking. Middle-aged men from Texas yell, old men from Texas mumble in hushed, incoherent tones. People from the West Coast don’t take calls after 5pm and are often out of the office for yoga. People on the East coast answer their cell phones until 8pm, and are almost always in the office. What struck me the most was how much I enjoyed the rare call from people in the Pacific North West. They took the time to chat with me and appreciated when I asked them how their day was. People in Jersey would get huffy like I was wasting their time. I also related to the responses of my home town locals. There was no need to pretend that I was used to six feet of snow in the winter, or that I was a construe of buffalo meat. It was a relief to say, “Yeah, it’s still raining, but I love it!” and “Have you tried that vegan restaurant yet?” To take an actual trip around the country and see how these people act in real life will be great when I have the funds. In the meantime, I learned I’m an Oregonian and a Portlander by conscious choice, not just birth. This is where I feel impassioned to stake my claim, the venue where I can vocalize my citizen concerns to like-minded individuals. I realized how much I value state’s rights. Americans are all so unique that its impossible to group us all together and get us to vote alike. This isn’t to say I’m pro “States Rights” as defined by radical conservatives or Tea Partiers. I’m just happy that I don’t get calls from Romney for President on my cell phone like people in the Red states do.

Merlin continued the story, and Arthur listened:

"There was a time, long ago, when humans existed at a very high level of consciousness. We were interdimensional, and were very psychic. We communicated through thought and emotion, much like how animals do, rather than speaking or writing – which would seem very primitive. We lived primarily on a large string of islands called Lemuria. But there was a consciousness shift. We moved up in consciousness and the islands of Lemuria sank beneath the oceans. At the time of this shift, a new continent rose out of the waters. We called it 'Atlantis.'

"Back in the early 1900s, the spiritual path of the United States was similar to what’s happening today. People began to learn about meditation and study ancient lands like Atlantis and Lemuria. We actually found quite a bit of evidence that Lemuria existed, and it had to do with coral. See, the ocean floor does rise and fall. Coral can exist up to 150 feet under the surface of the water. In 1910, the surface of the ocean was probably higher because they were able to see coral rings heading away from Easter Islands for a great distance. These rings were estimated to be found at 1,800 feet, which means that for them to have existed, they would have had to be much higher and sunk slowly. Probably more important, they also found the exact same fauna and flora from the Hawaiian Islands all the way to the Easter Islands. This is a great distance. But if you look at a map, you’ll see a long string. That string, according to Thothe, used to run along the Western shores of Lemuria. It is only on these islands that have the same flora and fauna – same trees, bugs, bacteria – everything.

"Science can only explain this if there were closer land bridges between these islands at one point. Although we were studying this at that time, World War One began soon after and we lost interest in spirituality and the ancient lands for a very long time. After the sinking of Lemuria, and the rising of Atlantis, at first the human race became scattered. We moved to various islands and continents all over the world because we didn’t have a home, yet. We didn’t know where to go. At that time, there were but 1,000 humans at a very high consciousness – more than all of the rest. They were called the Naacals. Today, we know them as Ascended Masters. The Naacals began preparing Atlantis to be our new home."

"Well, Merlin, you're successfully blowing my mind right now. As crazy as this story sounds, it's entertaining. So continue, please. You have my attention."

Thus Merlin continued.

...