Just an average guy, screaming into the void, hoping for an echo in return.

  While you were sleeping, Venezuelan dictator strongman, and incumbent President Nícolas Maduro won his country's alleged free and fair elections. His hugely popular competitor, Edmundo González lost, according to the ruling party's election director in a 51-44% result. Earlier last night, González's team confirmed neutral observers had only been able to enter approximately 40% of the polling and counting centers, even though Maduro's government assured observers would be allowed to enter all centers unencumbered. Prior to the election, former heads of state from various nations were not allowed to deplane at the Caracas airport and most were sent back to where they came from. Some were finally allowed to return, but only those approved by Máduro. As of the neutrally certified numbers, González had received a record 80% of the vote, but by this morning, the reports were skewed significantly. González declared victory regardless of Máduros' declaration, but there i

  I'm officially at that point in my life where I look around at everyone else my age and think "damn, they look so old." Pot calling kettle black and all. Isn't it weird how we don't see ourselves as our age? I think it's why I hesitated for four years after retiring from the military to show myself publicly with an Army Retired hat. I kept thinking "this is for old people who can't move on." As with many things in my life, wisdom comes from being humbled once or twice and accepting new ways of thinking. Such is the case with this hat. A few weeks ago my friend Alfredo posed an incredible question in "Alfredo's Coffee House," an open forum Zoom call he does on Sundays at noon eastern time. He asked if people had done retirement or transition ceremonies. There were varying opinions. In my case I did one, even if it was small due to retiring during the pandemic. As I'm sure you've heard people say, "it's not ab

 People are Monday morning quarterbacking. The haters who can't get enough of the moment are hunting for more red meat. The hypocrites who pushed him out are celebrating behind closed doors. And very few have even stopped to consider the weight this decision had on the man behind the Office of the President of the United States of America. Like many aging championship boxers in history, the last thing to go is the heart. And Joe was full of heart. Maybe the right decision for the Democratic Party was to ask him to step aside. But in my opinion, that decision will not attract many undecided voters. Voters who now have proof the Republican position that the Democratic Party, the party of the Elites, will throw anyone under the bus if that person gets in their way. That the American people aren't to be trusted with the decision of who they want to lead via their Constitutional right to vote. It happened the last two elections with the incredibly popular candidate, Bernie Sanders,

Lessons I've learned from my little dog, Saber. 1. Go at things 100% until you poop out. 2. Then, nap. Naps are great mid-morning, mid-afternoon, mid-evening, whenever. 3. If you're going to love, love as deeply and unconditionally as a dog. 4. Enjoy life as if the kids are slipping you scraps under the table. 5. Protect your heart and mind as well as a dog protects your home from squirrels. 6. Be present, in the moment. Because at the end of the day that's all any of us really have. Saber is a wise little doggie. I try to be like Saber daily. Have a great week ahead, friends.

Is there a social media platform you avoid in this turbulent environment? For me, it's Facebook. I don't like X either, but I left that platform some time ago with zero concern. I never really had much of a presence there anyway, and while strangers' posts enraged me, at least the vast majority were just that; strangers. On Facebook it's far more personal. These are people I either grew up with as a child through young adulthood, or others I grew up with through a 30-year career in the military, and now as a military retiree four years beyond my time in uniform. I used to say Facebook was the town square. It was the place people came to share good personal news, discuss tough topics, sometimes agree, sometimes disagree, but at the end of the day we all went home at night, committed to come back the following day as friends. Today, the crowds arrive at the town square daily, armed to the teeth to battle. Last December I made a conscious decision to leave the platform. I

  Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, etc. want to thank you very, very much. You made them $176B dollars last year. $176,000,000,000. Completely in the clear profit. Thank you very, very much. They're hoping you'll help them hit a new high this year. If you'll just go out and buy a few more things you can't afford and don't need, that would be great. Thank you very, very much. While you're trying to figure out how to make minimum payments, the CEO of Visa got a 27% raise in his compensation. It was more than $28M in 2023. Thank you very, very much. I have no beef with the CEOs of these companies or the idea of credit cards when used wisely. But it seems to me there are about $176B reasons we Americans don't use them wisely. And for that, the credit card companies thank you very, very much. On this hashtag # financefriday , I implore you, please work toward paying off your consumer debt as quickly as possible. The first step? Stop diggin

  Are you a "meetings" person, or not? There's something about Tuesdays that attracts meetings which could have been an email. I'm not opposed to them. You've got to synchronize efforts and sometimes the best way is to sit at a table or on a MS Teams / Zoom call to do so. Or you've got to get a decision meeting with a supervisor. But, and this is just Jose's opinion, we've become a work culture of meetings. I'm not a fan of bloated middle-management. Mostly because they slow down productivity. Many middle-managers literally exist for no other purpose than to be in the know. Thus, they create meetings to prep for meetings to prep for meetings. Have you ever worked in an organization where you have days you run out of one meeting to get to another all day long? Many of which are just to update middle-managers who don't have the power to approve projects, or task others to surge resources where they're needed? All of a sudden i

  For my friends who use LinkedIn, a thought. It doesn't always take a cool photo or a long post. Sometimes it's just about showing up. Epic Jose saying: Consistency leads to familiarity Familiarity leads to credibility Credibility leads to trust Trust leads to meaningful professional relationships If you're not ready to post your own stuff yet, show up in others' posts and comment. "But what do I talk about? I have nothing important to say." You're an expert at being you. Maybe you're going through a life transition, or wanting to grow your network in an industry, or are an expert in a particular field wanting to share your knowledge. All of those things make for great posts. They can lead to meaningful professional relationships. And meaningful professional relationships lead to "where the magic happens." Follow me on: LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/josevelazquezjr/ On the radio at: Eagle Online Radio On Youtube: https://youtu

 I did it. I made a mistake I haven't made since last December. I signed into Facebook to peep for a quick second. After the horrible assassination attempt made against former president Trump, I knew my very polarized friend group would be exceptionally active. And as not to disappoint, it was. Three things I am constantly reminded of when I sign into Facebook. 1. I shouldn't have signed into Facebook. 2. The hypocrisy is strong with the two polarized ends of my friend group. Each vomits excrement out of their mouths about the other; blaming each other for deplorable behaviors, while not recognizing they are doing exactly what the other group is doing. They're blind to their hypocrisy.  Hubris, self-appointed moral high-grounds, elitism and ignorance abound. They scream into their echo chambers behind their closed private Facebook accounts thinking they're "doing" something, seeking the validation of their carefully curated audiences who think what they thin

  Apple or Android? Bottom Line up front: For my personal and professional needs, I choose Apple. Reasons why: - I don't game - I understand the tech - I love the closed ecosystem - I just need things to work without a huge learning curve When I buy a new iPhone, it just transfers my old data over from iCloud. Everything. No need to make changes. It just works. I buy a new MacBook or iMac computer. I sign in with my Apple account. A few minutes later, it is set up and ready to go. I have nothing to do. It just works. Same with my iPad, my Apple Watch, my Apple TV, and my Airpods. You just turn them on and they work with every other Apple system seamlessly. No need to download other apps to synchronize. It's like magic. BUT, I can see the other side of this issue. I went with my son to buy an iPhone. Historically, he's been an Android guy, but a couple of years ago he got a hand-me-down iPhone for free from a friend who was upgrading and well, free is free. So he t

Do you think for today's couples a single-income household is attainable or a relic of the past? More than 33 years ago, my wife and I returned to the U.S. after my first military overseas tour in Panama. My wife is Panamanian. We had a son, had adopted two sisters, and would inevitably have a second son soon thereafter. We were stretched financially. S-T-R-E-T-C-H-E-D. I was a brand new sergeant in the Army, and in those days sergeants didn't make much money at all. My wife and I talked about her working. She held an accounting degree. But a few years earlier during the U.S. invasion of Panama, a stray bomb hit her college and burned it to the ground. Digital cloud records didn't yet exist. The only record she had was a paper copy of her degree. And of course that wasn't going to fly in the U.S., especially with a 24 year old still learning the language. So we began to search for alternatives to a professional career. The job had to be mobile and flexible, and

  You're not the first to experience impostor syndrome . Many of us have. Especially in military transition .   One day you're in uniform and respected because of your knowledge, skills, wisdom, and abilities. Everybody thinks you're the subject matter expert at all things. The next, your time in the military is over, and you're applying to jobs with no one responding or getting Dear John letters. It ain't you. You may just not fully comprehend the lingo civilian recruiters speak. You are also likely throwing your eggs in the application circular folder where nobody gets a call back. A few of tips to help you get beyond the moment you start to question whether what you think you know, you know: - Use LinkedIn and your personal connections to find fellow veterans in the same industry, company, or space as you want to get into. Connect with them and ask for a short information interview. Ask them for advice on how to express your abilities the right way.

There I was, getting ready to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. What was I thinking? "How am I going to buy diapers on the way home? I have no money." If you've ever parachuted, you know it's important to have your head in the game. My head was on my Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express. They were all maxed out and I needed those diapers for my son. Consumer debt enveloped me for many years. It's why every hashtag # FinanceFriday I pour my heart out in these posts. It took me many years to get over my ego and pride to ask for help. When I did, I began to climb out of the hole I had dug for myself. Almost weekly someone will inevitably comment "consumer debt isn't bad if you use it wisely." If you know how to use it wisely, then this post isn't for you. It's for the vast majority of Americans and dare I say friends from other nations around the world who, like I once was, don't know how to use it wisely. If you're in

"Freedom is a fragile thing and it's never more than one generation away from extinction."   Ronald Reagan once famously noted "it is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it comes only once to a people." But who will defend it if not the ordinary citizen? It is not enough for our military members to believe in the promise of our nation. The last few days I've seen posts from, interviews with, televisions stories highlighting, those who feel the need to qualify their wishes for a "Happy Independence Day." Somehow, in 2024, some people feel "unsafe" if they see an American flag waving in a neighborhood. Patriotism is now an extremist term; especially amongst our youth. Those views are largely inserted there by the very adults who live under the blanket of freedom the American flag grants them. I'm not sure if we have another American generation left willing to fight for fr