Whether you lean left or right, this opinion could be deemed offensive.  So be warned, continue reading at your own risk.

Anyone driving between Reno-Sparks and Fernley, Nevada knows that it is no longer a pleasant drive, and hasn’t been so for a long time.  I used to drive that stretch almost daily and never gave it a thought, but now when I am in the area I dread it.  In 2001 Fernley became incorporated as a city and Amazon warehouse was just getting started up.  Now Fernley boasts almost 20,000 residents and Amazon has moved to Reno, adding to the commuters.  In addition new industry has come in and it’s not going to ease up any time soon.  There’s also a housing crisis and that creates high rents and people are looking to go east, even as far as Lovelock for cheaper housing. 

Back in 2001 some of us ( I have strange friends)  thought that if ever a transit system would be built it could be called F.A.R.T. (Fernley Area Rapid Transit.) Now it seems that the timing may be just right. If you want to extend it out to Fallon it would be named F.F.A.R.T.   Or, if you want to go to Lovelock it would be named F.F.L.A.R.T. but then that may be going too far. Just my suggestion since I still have property there. Hey, I think we’re ok for now, at least as long as gasoline prices stay low and until the Green Team dreamers have their way. 

So, in case this ever happens how would we pay for it?  I’m glad you asked.  To quote OAC (on approved credit) ”we’ll just pay for it.”  The railroad already has tracks on that route, never mind the details about sharing it. California has already set a precedent about being able to tax farting cows.  Actually, cows don’t pay taxes so the farmers have to.  Ok, I’m uncomfortable now with terminology, so from now on I’ll call it a Flat (flatuence) Tax. You see, left leaners have determined that methane has a high global warming potential (21 times that of carbon dioxide) and they are bent on taxing it to save the planet. So you can see where they are going with this.  They could pick on the cows, but what they really want to do is to put a Flat Tax on people.  That would make more sense, except for the double taxation in the case of farmers.  I’m sure they have this all figured out too.  Right leaners should demand that those who identify as vegans should pay their fair share too.  There could be a Flat Tax calculated by number of incidents which could easily be tracked by a phone app with location set so various counties can be credited. Oh, and don’t forget your Alexa device at home will be monitoring as well.

Ok, maybe this is sick humor.  What makes me really nervous is that the absurd is not out of the realm of possibility in the political environment of today.

About the author

Wolf Zappe is a property owner and past resident of Nevada for 40 years.

I can't tell you how many times in my life as a salesperson I have had my prospects tell me that they like my offer but that before they would buy they needed to "run it by" someone else.  Generally those deals always failed.  Why?  Because it's the friend, relative that always kills the deal. They have no vision from the perspective of the potential buyer, thus they almost always are pessimistic, overly cautious, distrusting.  That is generally the "dream killer."  Many dreams are snuffed out before they ever get started.

Because of that, whenever I have made major decisions, I have made them only with my wife.  Sometimes I have not made those decisions because I trust my wife's judgment.  Other times my wife has gone with me to presentations where I knew I would have to make a major decision.  She even admitted that she went with me to "protect me" from making an uwise decision.  Well, as it workerd out, we both  had the same dream and we both acted on the same information.  We kept that dream going by taking action with the information we purchased.

The bottom line is that if you are going to make an offer, then only make it directly to the ones who can say yes.  If a spouse is absent then don't go ahead anyway, unless you just want to practice your presentation! 

We are always looking for an easier way of doing things. Aren't you?  I know I am.  In marketing a business automation is key.  So is duplication.  You have to ask yourself though, "If it is so easy, why isn't everyone doing it?"  There are a lot of beginners, but there are only a few finishers.  It's the 80/20 rule.  You know the 20% rise to the top while the 80% remain mediocre at best.  I'm sure they didn't intend to fail, at least at the beginning.

Here's the reason why, in my opinion.  It's because most of the 80% are pessimistic.  It's the easiest way to be.  It requires no effort on our part.  After all we are bombarded with bad news every day.  It's easy to let bad news into our lives.  It doesn't have to be that way.  When you are pessimistic you don't have to take responsibility for anything.  It's always someone else.  "I got sold a bill of goods.  This program may work for you but it doesn't work for me, etc."

I love golf.  One of the reasons I love the sport is because it is brutally honest.  Not that I wish to be brutally hammered, but I get satisfaction from making improvements.  Everything about a golf course is static, well almost.  The course doesn't move and the ball goes where you put it.  I can blame the wind or too much sun or bumpy greens, but in the end I can only blame or congratulate myself, and sometimes I get lucky!  I try to play golf with people who are better than me, and I never play golf with people a second time if their attitudes are extremely negative.  So I get to choose.  I guess that's the point...I get to choose, and I refuse to take the easy way by being pessimistic, because I don't need that character flaw in my life.

It takes work to remove pessimism...like reading good books, hanging with positive people (they don't have to be perfect) and just taking stock of yourself every day.  Back to golf.  I was putting the ball just terrible, never so bad and over a period of months.  I even started to tell myself that I was a terrible putter.  There was nothing wrong with the equipment, but my technique with that putter was wrong and I didn't recognize it.  I could change the equipment or the technique.  I opted to use a different putter and keep the technique.  Now, overnight I may be the best putter I have ever been.  Funny how making adjustments makes a big difference.  If I just took the easy way and stayed pessimistic I would be miserable in my own induced failure.

Whatever it takes...choose optimism over pessimism.  Once you make that choice don't slip back into the easy way.  Rather do the work and make the adjustments to make your goals a reality.  It takes some effort and will put a smile on your face for life.