I love the lyrics from Sixx A.M.’s song – Life is Beautiful

You can’t quit until you try
You can’t live until you die
You can’t learn to tell the truth
Until you learn to lie

You can’t breathe until you choke
You gotta laugh when you’re the joke
There’s nothing like a funeral to make you feel alive…

Despite all the talk about class warfare between poor and rich these days, I do not find that we can really use poor and rich to be real dividing categories for people.

Really, the amount of money that each of us make in life is a lot more dependent on luck and chance than we’d like to think. Yeah, I know that this is blasphemy for people who argue their success all due to their hard work and blah blah blah but this is a topic for another day.

Truly, if I must use one thing to “measure” someone, I look to how wise they are.

And such thing as wisdom, though abstract, is something that is only accumulated by someone who use their heart (not just with a thinking mind). Someone with wisdom does not simply repeat others say-so, do not simply rehash made-up concepts that sound so right but are fundamentally flawed.

Doesn’t seem like it’s easy to tell. Here’s the real differences.

A wise person seems to gain without overexerting. They seem comfortable, confident without an overbearing alpha attitude. They are genuinely happy. They laugh relatively more.

A less wise person hoard money yet don’t seem to know how much he has. He’s insatiable and is unable to cherish things and people. They find drama and always seem anxious.

Here’s the truth. I want to be a wise person and I had done a lot to become one over the years. I am and want to say as someone who everyone wants to converse and discuss many topics in life with even as I get old.

I will show that I care without reciting motivational slogan and self-improvement concepts with you. I will analyze without making the decision for you.

I may even let go of you if I must. So that only when you’ve completely fallen, when you are fully capable of listening to new advice, I can share with you wisdom and other life lessons.

As the lyrics at the beginning shows, we cannot understand the other side without the contrast of worst. (If you thoroughly understand this sentence, you share the wisdom I want to say…) Without ever feeling suffocated, we cannot understand the preciousness of air.

Without wisdom, we will always stumble. In a world that is overwhelmed by the voice of the unwise, inevitably we stumble and will continue to do so unless something changes. As wisdom is lacking, so does courage.

Courage is understanding thoroughly.
Courage is making the choice that others may not.
Courage is letting yourself and others make mistakes.

Courage is completely dependent upon wisdom.

That’s why I find it essential to have time to be still and put our heart and mind back together daily, let myself read, and learn, and digest, let myself integrate not just information but feelings… to grow my wisdom daily.

That is how I have courage… an imperturbable courage to face each moment that is to come.

These days, every time I read a blog or some online article where people simply preach about 401k or are celebrating their annual max out of 401k contribution, I… just chuckle. That’s me being polite.

People, please stop blindly echoing and following each other. Do some studying, learning, thinking for yourself. There are certain things you need to consider, keep reading.

First thing first, if your company provides 50% or 100% matching of certain amount or percentage of your contribution, by all means, take advantage of it. Beyond that, perhaps you should re-consider the benefits and the (over)hype of 401k.

Now, pay attention to the points below. For each, take a minute and pause and see if it makes sense. Don’t just take my words for it.

• The MAJOR premise of using [traditional] 401k is for the delay of income tax so that more of our money can grow until we withdraw. However, at the rate our national debt is going, do you think a bet on having low income tax rate in the future is a smart bet? Especially when income tax rate for low to medium income households are very low currently.
  Update 03/24/2012: A counter to this point would be to use Roth 401k if that’s available in your plan
• Following previous point, withdrawal from 401k account is taxed at income tax rate, versus, withdrawal from taxable account and only its gain is taxed at capital gain tax rate. If government must raise taxes, which is likely to be increased more? Which is likely to be lower in the future? Seeing the trend of the United States government, the answer is that income tax rate will likely increase more while capital gain tax rate remains lower.

  “But 401k grows with pre-tax money, blah blah blah…” Yes I know. But with 401k, we are trying to plan for a future that is VERY far down the road, and therefore, we should make a more conservative plan. I would rather bet on the a taxable account outside because there is less variables, meaning, I know the taxed principal will be there (I should have a good percetage back to “cash” near “old age”). Better to overestimate than underestimate.

• Depends on the 401k account management, the chance for shady, kick-back, and “hidden” fees is not negligible.
• Many 401k accounts do not provide “good” selection of funds.
• A common argument for 401k is that it’s forced-saving. BUT! Generically speaking, if you need you money to be locked up in order to save, there is a bigger situation about yourself that you need to confront and handle. Namely, responsibility, discipline, foresight…
• The population is aging. More people are retiring than people joining the workforce. That means likelihood of more people selling (whatever that’s left in the account) stocks and bonds in the 401k than people buying in. This adds more downward pressure against future stock growth. Plus, we have to be cautious with our belief in future growth in general.
• Lastly, we don’t live forever and can very well die before 60s. I am not sure about locking up all that money, that I cannot access and use without penalty except for some very “dire siutations” (ahem, hardship withdrawal…). There can be good argument against this, but I still think there is value in this thought. Mainly, we are not immortal. Stop living and behaving like we are.

So now you have my skepticism with 401k. Again, if there is matching from your company, get it. That’s “free” money. Otherwise, it would be a good idea to spread things out some in taxable accounts than having full belief and your $$$ in the 401k basket. It’s not that difficult… just following the same allocation in both places. You do have some ideas of your portfolio allocation, right?

Meanwhile, I contribute to my company’s matching. Maxing out my 401k yearly? I’ll pass.

Update: Thanks Meg for pointing out my confusing comments with Roth IRA which is corrected. It is my own decision not to. If interested why I don’t, read comment.

Nowaday I think we as people are some very curious creatures. At the same time of possessing a mentality that we are capable to control anything and everything, inside and outside ourselves, we are also finding more and more excuses to promote the notion that we cannot help ourselves of becoming the way we are (ie. genetics).

However, it is my sincere belief that at some point in life, we have to begin to take true responsibility. We have to acknowlege that my world, my life, ME!, is a direct result of my intention, thoughts, and decisions because if we don’t, we are in fact implicitly acknowledging that we are helpless little human beings, which is exactly against what we think and what we want to think we are anyways.

I accept 100% my being as it is and I take full responsibility for it (as my own doings).

There, that’s basically all I should need to say today…what? Explanation…arrrr…fine..

As a child, there are a lot of decisions made for us, which are not under our control. But as we grow and become physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially independent, we have to start taking responsibility of ourselves. We are no longer the responsibilities of other people (parents, friends, relatives, bf/gf…).

To advance into adulthood is the realization that my reality is my responsibility.

I do not blame others for what happened to me.

It’s a bit unfortunate that our current society is built upon blaming others people, just take a look at the judicial system. “My son died of alcohol poisoning in a frat party…I’ll sue his friends…I’ll sue the school…” C’mon, I know it’s a tragedy for the parents, but the kid made his own decision to do what he did and he met his destiny. (yes, this may sound very harsh) And that’s yet without saying PERHAPS that the parents lack certain discipline/teachings in certain area for the child.

I have also witness real life example of someone blaming another for things that happened (actually, not happened) because of his own decisions. Quite sad.

Ok, so that was a very strong example. The idea is a bit hard to swallow and to get into our system. But again, without this, we are saying that we are helpless. I assure you there is a new sense of freedom if you do grasp it :)

Our brain is the most powerful possession that we have. It does so much processing of information for us everyday. However, we cannot fully utilize its power if we do not accept responsibility in order to make decisions on our lives base on those information, and perhaps with some gut feeling. Without first accepting responsibility, we had indirectly given up choosing our own decision, choosing our own reaction. We are letting others to make the decision for us.

If we come a full realization of this idea responsibility, we can become a much more proactive person and be able to accomplish many things in life! We worry less about what others think or feel about us, because that’s their decisions to make. All we can do is make the choice to give our best efforts, and the rest will have its flow. What others think cannot dictate our feelings because we are master of our reality.

I’m responsible for my reality and I’m taking control of it.

Combining with awareness, we should…

• be aware when we commit a mistake, realize it’s our responsibility. Then face the result, take corrective actions, and learn from the mistake
• also be aware when we make an improvement because of ourselves. Then recognize ourselves and feel mighty good about it :)

As much as I work with computer, I do my best, and also with a bit of fanaticism, to find quality peripherals to use in my daily work — meaning keyword, mouse, and monitor. It is also because I am very sensitive in the various aspects of each item I use that I am quite picky.

For the longest time in past few years, I’ve been using Logitech Illuminated Keyboard as my main keyboard. While it still works wonder, I’ve recently discovered a better alternative…

(Yes, I love laptop type keyboard so if you are into mechanical keyboard, you can probably stop reading here.)

Allow me to introduce ThinkPad USB Keyboard with TrackPoint!

For people who are professionals and work with laptop, you are probably familiar with Thinkpads and you probably also know the beloved key action on a Thinkpad keyboard, especially the ones back in the days. A key reason I want this keyboard more widely adopted is that… I’d hate to see a quality, useful product discontinued due to lack of adoption. Now, let me move on to the pros and cons of this keyboard.

Pros

• Yes, this keyboard maintins MOST of the key action of the original Thinkpad laptop keyboard. I said almost because it is like the new Thinkpad’s keyboard which is of slightly less quality than the older Thinkpads.
• Keyboard takes up minimal space compare to a full size keyboard (see picture below compared to the Logitech Illuminated keyboard. Also without the number pad, I can access the mouse more easily.
• The trackpoint works just like and as well as a Thinkpad’s trackpoint, especially if you install the driver and configures its sensitivity to your liking. With the trackpoint, I get to use the mouse less thus causing less strain and also making my workflow more efficient.
• The layout for the Home/End/Page Up/Page Down buttons is conventional in the upper right corner. A BIG plus compared to many other “mini” keyboard where they force you to a “Fn” key + another key to perform these buttons’ action. And because they kept the layout conventional, I don’t get confused or need to look down at my keyboard so much when I type or write code.

Cons

• The number lock could be on when you boot your computer so you may get confused when it warns that you typed in incorrect password until you realize that it is on (and thus need to hit Fn+ScrLk to turn it off).
• There is no number pad. A con for people who need it.
• The casing is all hard plastic so there is a bit of flexing when you type, especially if you type heavily.

For me, the pros heavily outweighs the cons and after a month’s usage, I am making it my main keyboard. I strongly recommend it. If you like Thinkpad’s keyboard, laptop key action, and having a trackpoint like the laptop, you’ll love this! It is available on Amazon between $50-$60 bucks.

To fully live, to be in the moment is to recognize reality as it is — in other words, the truth. To recognize truth is also to recognize untruth as a condition of life. To comprehend truth and untruth and their relationship fully is the step beyond good and evil. Having a perception beyond good and evil is where genuine, compassionate living begins.
- Kin