We went for an afternoon ride in our mint condition 1963 Impala Super Sport.

It was a nice ride, and great afternoon for cruisin’. Then it happened.

As we went down the street, the car just died. That’s bad. However we were able to coast right into a gas station to put some gas in. That’s good. Then the starter decided to act up.  That’s bad.  I called AAA to send a flatbed to take us home, they said someone will be right there. That’s good. The first driver that called said no-way, I’m not towing a car that old. That’s bad. The next driver was a veteran who said no problem, he came to get us. That’s good.

Several people stopped by to admire the car and give me names of mechanics. The guy at the next pump worked at NAPA and told me to stop by in the morning, he had a starter for my car in stock!

In any case, what could have been a hassle turned into an adventure. My wife and 2 of the kids got a ride home with a friend. My youngest son Nicky was thrilled because he got to ride in the tow truck.

The car is in the garage waiting for that heavy starter to get dropped and the new one put in. Then the carb gets yanked and sent out to be rebuilt.

I guess things wear out and have a hard time getting started when they get to be 47 years old. ; )

Hey, wait a minute….that could be me!!!

Have a great day.

Happy Mother’s Day!!!

We know one special day a year could never be enough to thank you Moms for everything you do for your families!

So from those of us, the husbands, the sons and daughters who are the recipients of your love and attention, just know that even though we might not always say it, we think every day we get with you in our lives is special.

Here’s a little something we hope you’ll get a kick out of, it’s pretty funny!!!!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the Moms!!!

Doug, Ana, Stewart, Gabriella and Nicholas Ottersberg

“Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows.”

-John Betjemen

The other day as I enjoyed a weekend at home and was running some errands with my wife, I caught part of a radio broadcast. The commentator was talking about an article discussing the rise and fall of great  civilizations in general and democracies specifically.

Note: I did some research on the topic and have concluded that the sources cited as having originated this material are at best “sketchy”, so I present this information not so much as “fact” as I do to stimulate your thinking.

The gist of the discussion is as follows:

“A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot
exist as a permanent form of government.”

“A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury.”

“From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.”

“The Average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from
the beginning of history, has been about 200 years.”

“During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:

1. From bondage to spiritual faith.

2. From spiritual faith to great courage.

3. From courage to liberty.

4. From liberty to abundance.

5. From abundance to complacency.

6. From complacency to apathy.

7. From apathy to dependence.

8. From dependence back to bondage.

Let’s look a how the United States fits in to this sequence

1. From “bondage to faith” started the ball rolling when the Pilgrim’s left the oppressive Church of England in 1620 and landed in Plymouth.

2. “From courage to liberty” took place during the Revolutionary War and late 1700s.

3. “From liberty to abundance” took most of the next century to achieve.

After the Civil War, we grew west, expanded our power and influence around the globe, helped to win World War I, enjoyed a boom economy in the 20′s, suffered through “The Great Depression” in the 30′s, came together when the Japanese attacked us at Pearl Harbor, fought the axis powers and went on to pull ourselves out of the depression and  became a dominant world power in the 40′s.

4. After World War II the economy expanded rapidly and one could argue we as a nation enjoyed the hundred years “from liberty to abundance” up through the 50′s and 60′s.

5. Though it’s hard to pinpoint, it could be said that years starting with the Vietnam War and through the 90′s move us  “from abundance to complacency.”

6. Ask yourself, in your personal experience does it appear to you that the percentage of the population that has reached the “governmental dependency” phase is increasing?

If so, as I postulate many would agree with, then this would seem to indicate that the United States is somewhere between the complacency and apathy phase now.

PAY ATTENTION!!!!

Remember the earlier statements:

“A democracy will continue to exist up until the time
that voters discover they can vote themselves generous
gifts from the public treasury.”

“From that moment on, the majority always vote for the
candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury,
with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.”

If you can honestly see any of the patterns playing out, regardless of your political persuasion, I invite you to WAKE UP AND SMELL THE COFFEE!!!

Both our major political parties have been doing for years exactly this!

And also, if you’ve been paying attention to the recent (Fall 2008 and Jan/Feb 2009) so called “economic stimulus” packages and the HUGE spending bill of over 1,000 pages FILLED with a lot of SPENDING and very little real stimulus,  ( I heard it referred to as the Congressional Relief Action Program or CRAP for short), you must agree that when any legislation is hurriedly rammed down the throats of the American People, when the bill is SO HUGE and SO COMPLEX that admittedly most Representatives and Senators could NOT have read it, it’s not hard to imagine that in just a few years this nation will  continue the slide on down…

7. “from apathy to dependence,” and a in a few few more years after that slide further…

8. “from dependence back to bondage.”

Friend, this is NOT about political parties, race, gender, or any of the petty arguments all too many Americans find themselves engaged in these days, yes I said petty. This has to do with the very essence of this nation and your experience of it: FREEDOM!!!!

Are you ready to surrender your freedoms? If not, I urge you to start thinking for yourself. Remember, you will become who and what you surround yourself with.

You MUST break free of the complacency and apathy that infects far too many Americans and the best way to do that is by learning everything you can about using self hypnosis.

You can do that by clicking here

Doug Ottersberg

PS: If you are in interested in the original material discussed, check here:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/ballot/athenian.asp

http://www.lorencollins.net/tytler.html

I get asked so often, what is hypnosis? I saw a great video describing hypnosis today that I thought I’d share with you all. More on this topic coming soon!!

Just got back to New Mexico, and I had a GREAT trip.

First, stopped by Tampa, Fl and dropped in on the Speaker make-over workshop given by my good friends AJ Puedan, Dave Vanhoose and Dustin Matthews. While there I did some hypnosis sessions for some good friends and fellow speakers, hear what Edwin Kelly of Cleveland, OH had to say about experiencing a hypnosis session with Doug Ottersberg:

On the way to the Investor Palooza in Charlotte, NC hosted by my good friend Larry Goins and his incredible team, I met JoAnne Murphy. (She sat next to me on the plane) Please join me in a prayer for her, her family and most of all for her son Kevin. JoAnne, you and Kevin are being healed even now. I was able to assist her to relax and let go of some stress and anger. Of course hypnosis works on planes!

While at Investor Palooza, I was amazed at the quality of education offered, and the number of excited investors in attendance. It was great to see my friends Terry Hale and his wife Lisa (Commercial Real Estate), Scott Meyer (Self Storage), Adam Ginsberg and Michael Bromley (Ebay and Internet Marketing)

Yes, I did some hypnosis sessions for some folks that came especially for that reason, as well as a few folks that had no idea what the weekend would hold in store for them.

Listen to what Don, the winner of a free hypnosis session had to say:

His was very excited about winning the session, and he shared with me his concerns and doubts about his ability to be hypnotized and to relax. As you can tell if he relaxed any more, he’d fall off the couch!