Song of Myself (I)
1
I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.
My tongue, every atom of my blood, form’d from this soil, this air,
Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the same,
I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,
Hoping to cease not till death.
Creeds and schools in abeyance,
Retiring back a while sufficed at what they are, but never forgotten,
I harbor for good or bad, I permit to speak at every hazard,
Nature without check with original energy.
2
Houses and rooms are full of perfumes, the shelves are crowded with perfumes,
I breathe the fragrance myself and know it and like it,
The distillation would intoxicate me also, but I shall not let it.
The atmosphere is not a perfume, it has no taste of the distillation, it is odorless,
It is for my mouth forever, I am in love with it,
I will go to the bank by the wood and become undisguised and naked,
The goal of defeating terrorism – repeated endlessly by political leaders after each subsequent terrorist atrocity – is however simply not possible. The risk of another spectacular attack cannot be reduced to zero. But the overall level of deaths from terrorism in Western Europe is now far lower than the 400 a year at the height of the IRA and ETA campaigns in the 1970s and 1980s. Even in years of multiple Islamist attacks, such as 2015, there were 150 deaths from terrorism in EU countries. By 2019, this had fallen to ten.5 In the same year, 132 people were killed in knife-crime attacks in London, with a similar total in 2019. The death rate from terrorism has fallen even more dramatically in the US since 9/11. On average, two people per year have been killed by terrorists in the US since 2001, as against sixty-nine by lawnmowers and almost 11,500 by gun-wielding Americans.
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One indicator that the level of economic exchange was quite small: as late as 1820, the total carrying capacity of all the world’s ships was around 5.9 million metric tons. The corresponding figure in 2018 was 322 times higher—and those ships, traveling much faster, were likely to complete many more voyages in a single year.
Eleven Steps From an Idea to Its Execution
1. Identify the idea.
2. Investigate generalities.
3. Investigate specifics.
4. Commitment to idea - get obsessed!
5. Preliminary decision. (You and other decision makers.)
a) Get obsessed.
b) Live it totally.
6. Investigation continues.
7. Action plan. (You and other decision makers.)
a) Get others obsessed.
b) Walk your talk. (Never share a doubt.)
8. Critical path. (Other decision makers).
a) Detailed observation of timeline.
b) Continual measurement.
9. Implementation. (Other decision makers).
a) Focused follow-up at other levels.
b) Focused follow-up at decision maker level.
10. Execution.
a) Laser beam focus.
Let's buy a hypothetical company. We'll call it Rufus Electronics. My acquisition audit tells me this company is worth $10 million. I tell Mister Rufus, who is looking forward to retirement, that I can pay him $9 million cash. After some requisite hesitation, he accepts my offer. Now all I need is $9 million. But I have it all worked out. Rufus Electronics has shown a fairly steady three-year cash flow of almost $90,000 a month. That figure supports a $60,000 per month debt, based on the Peña rule-of-thumb that cash flow should be about 1.5 times debt service. Since current cash flow determines debt level, my banker has determined Rufus Electronics can support roughly a $720,000 annual debt service. At 10% of total debt, this figure in turn supports approximately a $7 million dollar non-equity loan. And as always to preclude escalating debt service, I try to borrow at a fixed rate.
A good rule to remember is that if cash flow will not service the debt, you're paying too much! Of course, there are exceptions, i.e., a company that is losing money. But I really want to purchase Rufus Electronics, and to demonstrate how to make that purchase without using my own money.
So all I need is $2 million to cover the shortfall. What are my options?
1) Old man Rufus takes back $2 million in paper, a promissory note to pay him in monthly installments for a predetermined number of years.
2) I generously make Mister Rufus a part of the Dream with 12%, 15% or even 19% of the company still his, based on my accountant's recommendation. I give him an office and an emeritus title, and the reassurance that when I sell his former company he shares in the profit, which might be even more than a paltry two million. This option is especially attractive for the Rufus mooch heirs.
3) I find
II
7. What was the last $5 million deal you did? (…) You're asking your banker, in effect, to demonstrate his comfort level and skills at maneuvering both of you through the multi-million-dollar lending process.
8. Can your institution take me to the next level of my Quantum Leap? How much are their assets? Once again, as a rule of thumb, banks can lend 1% of total assets unsecured, and 2% to 3% of total assets on a secured loan.
9. What is your bank's policy on "asset lending" versus "cash flow lending?" By now, J. Fred is sitting up in his chair, regarding you with a degree of awe. You're already sounding more sophisticated than 95% of the morons he talks to about loans.
In asset lending, the loan limit is determined by loan-to-value of asset. Take 50% as an example. If you've got approximately $100,000 in tangible assets, the bank will lend you S50,000. Many banks these days steer away from asset lending, because in the past, loan defaults have forced them to become reluctant property owners. You should look for an asset-based collateralized loan, since most banks will bend over backwards to work with you in a pinch rather than take possession of your chain of dry cleaners or pet stores.
Cash flow lending bases lending parameters on percentage of existing cash flow revenues less operational expenses, cash costs and taxes, typically between 50% and 65% of cash flow (without "smoke and mirrors'). If you're already producing income, many banks prefer this basis because they can get their ands on income without the hassle of property ownership or attempting to realize tangible assets. If you're just starting, show them how much income your project generates, so that they might consider giving you the loan based on future cash flow.
10. Are you an interstate bank, or
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