http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/archives/021053.html

Guy #1: You guys should put on a musical next year!
Guy #2: We would, but a musical's pretty elaborate. I mean, we have plenty of girls who can sing, but no guys at all.
Guy #1: Oh! Then you should, like, do The Vagina Monologues, The Musical!
Guy #2: (stares)

--3rd Ave & 10th St

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/30/failure-is-okay/

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/?p=7622

This article is the 10th of a 13-part series that explores the core tenets of Get Rich Slowly.

Yesterday, for the first time in my 40-1/2 years on this earth, I went ice skating. Initially, I was scared to try, but I eventually gave in to the taunts from my eight- and ten-year-old friends.

I love roller skating and I’m not too bad at it, but the ice skating…well, it sucked. It took me eight minutes to make it around the rink for the first time, clinging to the wall, my shins in pain. It took me five minutes to make it around a second time. Four minutes for round three.

My first half hour on the ice was an exercise in frustration. I couldn’t make it more than a few feet without falling or lunging for the wall. Worst of all, I had to swallow my pride and accept advice from Tristan, Emma, and Harrison, my grade-school guides. (Emma, especially, was keen to skate around with me saying, “You’re doing great, J.D.! Good, good.”)

This isn’t me, but I’m very familiar with that pose…

By the end of afternoon, I could make it around the rink on my own. My steps were shaky and uncertain, but ultimately my personal best was 2-1/2 laps before falling or grabbing the wall. I’ll never be an Elvis Stojko (nor even a Tonya Harding), but now I can say I’ve been ice skating. I could have let my early failures and frustrations get me down. I could have left the ice and said, “I’m not doing this anymore.” Instead, I stuck with it. I’m glad I did.

The ability to keep going in the face of failure is critical to success when learning to skate — and when learning to manage your money. Nobody’s perfect. We all make mistakes with money every day. I’ve made tons in the past, and I continue to make them. Here are just a few examples:

• I managed to take on over $35,000 in consumer debt before turning things around.
• I tried (and failed) to repay my debt several times before stumbling on the debt snowball method, which worked for me.
• Before I embraced the idea of index funds, I repeatedly poured money into stocks that tanked.
• When I bought my used Mini Cooper last spring, I let emotion override my better judgment, and ended up paying more for the car (and getting less for my trade-in) than I should have.

I could name dozens of other examples big and small. But the key is every time I realize I’ve made a financial mistake, I try to learn from it so I don’t repeat it in the future. Sometimes I do repeat my mistakes, but I try not to. Instead, I try to fail forward.

Building success from the ashes of failure
In Failing Forward, John C. Maxwell writes that there are seven key abilities that allow successful people to overcome failure instead of taking each setback personally. Successful people:

1. Reject rejection. Successful people don’t blame themselves when they fail. They take responsibility for each setback, but they don’t take the failure personally.
2. View failure as temporary. “People who personalize failure see a problem as a hole they’re permanently stuck in,” writes Maxwell. “But achievers see any predicament as temporary.”
3. View each failure as an isolated incident. Successful people don’t define themselves by individual failures. They recognize that each setback is a small part of the whole.
4. Have realistic expectations. This one is huge. Too many people start big projects — such as paying off their debt — with the unrealistic expectation that they’ll see immediate results. Success takes time. When you pursue anything worthwhile, there are going to be bumps along the way. And remember: The perfect is the enemy of the good.
5. Focus on strengths. This was one of the biggest lessons I took away from Tim Ferriss’ The 4-Hour Workweek. When I interviewed Ferriss last year, I asked him to expand on this idea. He told me: “Focus on leveraging and amplifying your strengths, which allows you to multiply your results. Fix any fatal weaknesses to the extent that they prevent you from reaching your goals, but perfection isn’t the path to your objectives; finding ways to cater to your strengths is.”
6. Vary approaches. “Achievers are willing to vary their approaches to problems,” Maxwell writes. “That’s important in every walk of life, not just business.” If one approach doesn’t work for you, if it brings repeated failure, then try something else. Maxwell is saying that to fail forward, you must do what works for you, not necessarily what works for other people.
7. Bounce back. Finally, successful people are resilient. They don’t let one error keep them down. They learn from their mistakes and move on.

These seven points form a firm foundation for dealing with failure in all parts of life, including personal finance. As you pay off your debt, as you learn to invest, as you cut your spending, accept that some failure is inevitable. But you are not your mistakes. Own them, learn from them, and move on. (And remember: Good habits keep small mistakes manageable.)

It’s never too late to change direction, to start making smart choices. If you’re 40 and don’t have retirement savings, you can start saving tomorrow. If you’re 30 and staggering under the weight of credit card debt, you can cut up your cards and make a commitment to change direction. The wonder of the future is that it can be built upon the ashes of the past.

At 40, I can look at who I am and can connect the dots back through my life. Though I regret not saving for retirement when I was younger, though I regret accumulating massive credit card debt, though I regret living a consumeristic lifestyle, I see now that these experiences made me the man I am today. Without them, I wouldn’t be motivated to help others make smart money decisions. (And let’s be clear: I am not advocating that others repeat the mistakes I’ve made.)

Failure is okay
Every day I write this blog, I’m afraid I’ll fail. (At my personal site, I recently said I’ve experienced “1000 days of doubt” at Get Rich Slowly.) Whenever I do my weekly podcast, I’m afraid I’ll fail. And as I’ve written my book over the past nine weeks, I’ve been afraid of failure every single day. But I do these things anyhow. I know that if I don’t try the things I’m scared of — if I don’t risk failure — I’ll never succeed.

I wrote about my fear of failure back in June of 2007. I described how I’d spent much of my adult life shackled by fear. But I’ve learned that by saying “yes” to the things I’m afraid of, my life has become amazing.

If you’ve made poor financial choices, don’t let them get you down. Don’t let them make you afraid to try again. Draw from your experience. Fall down seven times, get up eight.

This is the 10th of a 13-part series that explores my financial philosophy. These are the core tenets of Get Rich Slowly. Previous parts included:

• Tenet #1: Money is more about mind than it is about math
• Tenet #2: Goals are the gateway to financial success
• Tenet #3: Spend less than you earn
• Tenet #4: Pay yourself first
• Tenet #5: Small amounts matter
• Tenet #6: Large amounts matter, too
• Tenet #7: Do what works for you
• Tenet #8: Slow and steady wins the race
• Tenet #9: The perfect is the enemy of the good
• Tenet #10: Failure is okay

Look for a new installment in this series every Monday through the end of the year.

---
Related Articles at Get Rich Slowly:

• Are We Set Up for Financial Failure?
• Failing Forward: Transforming Mistakes into Success
• 101 Things in 1001 Days
• Ramit’s Guide to Kicking Ass
• How to Buy Nothing

http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/archives/021052.html

High school guy #1: Dude, you look so hot today!
High school guy #2: Seriously, dude?
High school guy #1: Yeah, man. If we were gay, I'd so do you!
High school guy #2: I thought the same thing about you.

--Chelsea

Overheard by: Robert

http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/archives/021051.html

Suit #1: I've been reading about this British kid, Elliot Castro, he's some big time credit card fraudster. I've got his book.
Suit #2: Castro?
Suit #1: Yeah.
Suit #2: A Castro from Britain?
Suit #1: Well, yeah, not British heritage I guess.
Suit #2: Oh, okay. (pause) They got a lot of Mexicans over there?

--Times Square

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SusieBrightsJournal/~3/p0ABz8w1RrY/a-little-inside-baseball-for-those-of-you-who-are-bloggers--blogads-the-ad-agency-i-work-with-has-allowed-me-for-several.html

http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/archives/021050.html

Drunk Southern chick: And I knew that when he said "fuck you" it was over... You'd never say that to me, would you?
Sober Southern guy: (stares blankly)
Drunk Southern chick: Yeah, I know you would.

--Lower East Side

Overheard by: I Agree With Him

• 13:16 @xchristinaxrose up to anything toinght? We're headed home now. Stopping to see mom mom and then home dinner and watch a movie? #
• 15:58 @xchristinaxrose if you change your minds and want to save some cash we can do an in home double date. #
• 15:59 Finally almost home took us 3 1/2 hrs but in the home stretch. Mind you it normally takes us 1 1/2 hrs. #

sandyladoo2you

• 22:07 I can't stop coughingggggggg! D:< #
• 23:01 I love regretsy so much. But not as much as people of walmart.... #
• 23:40 Okay. So emailsfromcrazypeople.com is the greatest EVER. #
• 10:41 @serenity373737 according to Collin I will be playing Little Mans with him. NOTHNX. #
• 13:17 @twin_bees I can make you one. :) #
• 21:06 I spent my entire day off playing Sims 3. Now at Andrew's... Gonna have Chinese food and watch Up. I don't wanna go to work tomorrow... #
• 21:22 Vagina jewelry is rampant on freaking Etsy. Blegh! #

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/11/29/the-cinnamon-bear-an-old-time-radio-christmas-tradition-2/

http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/?p=7618

Because I love The Cinnamon Bear so much, I post this exact same article every year on the 29th of November. This year is no different. If you have young children — and even if you don’t — I encourage you to listen to these old radio broadcasts with your family.

Holiday traditions don’t have to be expensive. Some of the best traditions don’t cost anything at all.

When I was a boy, Christmas meant The Cinnamon Bear. During the weeks before Christmas, a Portland radio station (KEX) would broadcast a fifteen minute episode of this story every night.

The Cinnamon Bear chronicles the adventures of Judy and Jimmy, and their fantastic trip through Maybeland as they search for the missing Silver Star that belongs atop their Christmas tree.

I loved the cast of characters and the exotic locales: the Root Beer Ocean and the Inkaboos, the Wintergreen Witch, the Looking Glass Valley, the Crazy Quilt Dragon. And, of course, I loved Santa Claus and the North Pole.

Because of the vagaries of copyright law, most old-time radio broadcasts are now in the Public Domain. The Cinnamon Bear is freely distributable. Some radio stations still broadcast the show every year. But don’t worry about hunting for it: I’ve gathered all of the episodes here for you to download.

Collected below is every episode, in order. The program is meant to be heard once per day between November 29th (that’s today) and Christmas Eve. It was one of my favorites when I was a kid, and modern parents tell me their children love it, too. Enjoy!

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #1: “Paddy O’ Cinnamon”
[Originally broadcast 29 November 1937 — 2.59mb, 11:18]
Judy and Jimmy write letters to Santa. The Silver Star Christmas ornament is missing and the kids go up to the attic to find it. They meet Paddy O’Cinnamon (The Cinnamon Bear) who tells them the Silver Star was taken to Maybeland by the Crazy Quilt Dragon.

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #2: “Weary Willie”
[Originally broadcast 30 November 1937 — 2.59mb, 11:44]
Paddy O’Cinnamon shows Judy and Jimmy how to de-grow so they can follow the Crazy Quilt Dragon to the Lollipop Mountains. They climb into Paddy’s Soda Pop Airplane and fly through the tunnel.

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #3: “Crazy Quilt Dragon”
[Originally broadcast 01 December 1937 — 2.71mb, 11:51]
Feeling remorseful for drinking their Soda Pop and stranding them in Looking Glass Valley without fuel, Weary Willie has the Stork fly them out on his back. They catch Crazy Quilt but he drops the Silver Star in the Root Beer Ocean.

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #4: “The Inkaboos”
[Originally broadcast 02 December 1937 — 2.70mb, 11:46]
While they try to find the Silver Star, Judy and Jimmy are captured by the Inkaboos. King Blotto is insulted and sentences them to die in the Immense Inkwell.

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #5: “Weasley the Wailing Whale”
[Originally broadcast 03 December 1937 — 2.84mb, 12:25]
Crazy Quilt comes to the rescue. The children escape to the Root Beer Ocean, where they see the Silver Star floating on the waves.

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #6: “Samuel Seal”
[Originally broadcast 04 December 1937 — 2.91mb, 12:43]
Wesley the Wailing Whale swallows the Silver Star. Samuel Seal recovers the Silver Star from Wesley, only to have Penelope the Pelican carry it off.

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #7: “Presto the Magician”
[Originally broadcast 05 December 1937 — 2.85mb, 12:26]
Judy and Jimmy meet Presto the Magician. He pulls Penelope the Pelican from his hat, but she has dropped the Silver Star on the Island of Obi.

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #8: “Candy Pirates”
[Originally broadcast 06 December 1937 — 2.73mb, 11:55]
Judy and Jimmy are captured by Captain Taffy and his Pirates. They take the kids to the Magic Island and loan them a rowboat.

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #9: “Roly-Poly Policeman”
[Originally broadcast 07 December 1937 — 2.83mb, 12:21]
Judy and Jimmy are on the Magic Island, where the Roly-Poly Policeman has taken their Silver Star for his uniform. But before the kids can get to him, Crazy Quilt Dragon runs off with the Silver Star again!

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #10: “Professor Whiz”
[Originally broadcast 08 December 1937 — 2.79mb, 12:10]
Paddy O’Cinnamon, the Cinnamon Bear has disappeared. Judy and Jimmy are chasing Crazy Quilt Dragon to get their Silver Star. Professor Whiz tells them about the Wintergreen Witch. They follow Crazy Quilt into the Picture Forest, where they meet Fraidy Cat.

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #11: “Fee Foe the Gentle Giant”
[Originally broadcast 09 December 1937 — 2.91mb, 12:41]
Fee Foe the Gentle Giant shows Judy and Jimmy the Goody-Goody Grove and invites them for lunch. They start to follow Crazy Quilt when it suddenly gets very, very dark!

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #12: “Rhyming Rabbit”
[Originally broadcast 10 December 1937 — 2.88mb, 12:34]
Judy and Jimmy meet up again with Crazy Quilt, who says the Wintergreen Witch forced him to steal the Silver Star. While trying to find their way back to the Wintergreen Witch’s house, they encounter the Rhyming Rabbit.

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #13: “The Wintergreen Witch”
[Originally broadcast 11 December 1937 — 2.85mb, 12:25]
The Wintergreen Witch tries to take Judy and Jimmy’s Silver Star and change the kids into mice, but they get away. After their hurried flight, Crazy Quilt sits on the Silver Star and breaks it.

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #14: “Queen Melissa”
[Originally broadcast 12 December 1937 — 2.81mb, 12:16]
Crazy Quilt suggests that they all visit Melissa, the Queen of Maybeland, who can tell them how to fix the Silver Star.

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #15: “Snapper Snick”
[Originally broadcast 13 December 1937 — 2.78mb, 12:08]
Judy and Jimmy learn that they can only read Queen Melissa’s magic instructions in total darkness, which only occurs in the Wishing Woods. On the way there, the kids meet Snapper Snick the Crooning Crocodile, who swallows the magic instructions.

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #16: “Oliver Ostrich”
[Originally broadcast 14 December 1937 — 2.85mb, 12:26]
Snapper Snick explains that he reads by eating and that’s how he is able to read in the dark. Judy and Jimmy learn that the magic instructions direct them to the the Wishing Well. On the way, they meet Oliver Ostrich who eats alarm clocks. Oliver directs them to the Wishing Well — Paddy O’Cinnamon, the Cinnamon Bear, falls in.

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #17: “Muddlers”
[Originally broadcast 15 December 1937 — 2.83mb, 12:22]
Judy and Jimmy use their one wish, given by the Wishing Well, to get rescue Cinnamon Bear, and now they can’t fix their Silver Star with the Wishing Well’s magic. While trying to get out of the Wishing Woods, they encounter the Muddlers and the River of Mud.

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #18: “Cocklebur Cowboys”
[Originally broadcast 16 December 1937 — 2.82mb, 12:18]
Slim Pickens and the Cocklebur Cowboys of the Purple Plain come to the rescue of Judy and Jimmy, Cinnamon Bear and Crazy Quilt, pulling them from the mud.

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #19: “Wooden Indian”
[Originally broadcast 17 December 1937 — 2.82mb, 12:19]
Judy and Jimmy are being chased by Chief Cook and Bottle Washer, a wooden Indian who wants Crazy Quilt’s pelt for his girlfriend Many Happy Returns. Judy trades her looking glass to him instead. After he leaves, they encounter the Wintergreen Witch again in the Golden Grove.

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #20: “Flying Hat”
[Originally broadcast 18 December 1937 — 2.79mb, 12:10]
The Grand Wonky arrives in the nick of time to banish the Wintergreen Witch to Looking Glass Valley. While searching for the Singing Tree, they find the Flying Hat and it has a mysterious note attached.

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #21: “Snowman”
[Originally broadcast 19 December 1937 — 2.74mb, 11:59]
The mysterious note invites the crew inside where they find chairs just the right size for all of them. The Flying Hat carries them to the Land of Ice and Snow to get the Silver Star fixed. They ask the Snowman how to find Nicki Froodle, as Queen Melissa told them. Nicki turns out to be an Elf, and he takes them to see Santa Claus.

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #22: “Santa Claus”
[Originally broadcast 20 December 1937 — 2.78mb, 12:08]
Santa Claus welcomes Judy and Jimmy and introduces them to Jack Frost who repairs the Silver Star only to have it vanish again.

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #23: “The Bad Dolls”
[Originally broadcast 21 December 1937 — 2.90mb, 12:39]
The Bad Dolls have stolen the Silver Star. Santa orders out the Tin Soldiers to capture the Bad Dolls and return the Silver Star.

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #24: “The Parade”
[Originally broadcast 22 December 1937 — 2.86mb, 12:30]
The Wintergreen Witch appears again aiding the Bad Dolls in defeating the Tin Soldiers. Santa orders out reinforcements while Judy and Jimmy watch the Christmas Parade. After the Parade, Captain Tintop brings back the Silver Star.

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #25: “Captain Tintop”
[Originally broadcast 23 December 1937 — 2.87mb, 12:30]
Captain Tintop tells how they defeated the Wintergreen Witch and then the group goes to a grand banquet hosted by Santa Claus. After the banquet, Crazy Quilt runs off with the Silver Star once again.

The Cinnamon Bear, episode #26: “North Pole”
[Originally broadcast 24 December 1937 — 2.78mb, 12:09]
Crazy Quilt heads for the North Pole with Santa Claus, Judy, Jimmy, and Nicki Froodle in pursuit. They catch Crazy Quilt and tackle him to recover the Silver Star. Then they wake up in the attic just in time to decorate the Christmas Tree.

When I was a boy, my brothers and I huddled around the wood stove and listened to the show on AM radio. Now, through the magic of technology, you can download these mp3s, curl up under your electric blanket, and listen on your iPod. Better yet, tuck your children into bed and listen to the story with them. This is a wonderful no-cost holiday tradition.

Enjoy!

---
Related Articles at Get Rich Slowly:

• The Cinnamon Bear: An Old-Time Radio Christmas Tradition
• The Cinnamon Bear: A Christmas Tradition
• The Cinnamon Bear: An Annual Holiday Tradition
• Five Gifts That Will Make Your Kids Rich
• The Four Things Children Really Want for Christmas

http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/archives/021049.html

Boy: Man, this semester I'm going to fuck everyone. I'm gonna be a real man-whore.
Friends: Uh-huh.
Man leaving train: Someone should tell him it's hard to be a man-whore with his zipper down.

--F Train

http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/archives/021048.html

Guard to elderly tourists at elevator to roof: Please swing the line around the corner.
Elderly tourist: Ve don't sving.

--Metropolitan Museum

http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/archives/021047.html

Drag queen: With an accent like that, I know you drink.
German: No, really, I dun't!
Drag queen: But then how can I take advantage of you if you're sober?

--Lucky Cheng's

http://www.overheardinnewyork.com/archives/021046.html

Teenage tourist boy to friend, gesturing at a gay couple: They're holding hands!
Passing art lover: There's no one holding your hand, sweetheart.

--Metropolitan Museum of Art

Overheard by: Richard Nixon