#my man has to lead a multi national company of top of all of this

[nie7027]

You know what I've been thinking? I ve been thinking that Atlus shot itself in the foot by honoring p2 and making the explosion on the bridge caused by the death arcana to happen on the same year as p2 instead of a few years later.

Because imagine this.If it had happened a few years later we could have this narrative:

After the events of p2 EP Nanjo, not satisfied with the resolution reached, decides to take Kandoris research(that he had previously saved and kept under lock so it wouldnt fall on the wrong hands), create an investigation team and fund further research regarding Shadows and the collective unconscious/the des of souls in hopes to find a better solution to the fragile situation the splitting of realities caused.

Unbeknownst to him (as the P1 team had no idea about the true extent of Nyx power, only having fought a small scrap of it in the form of the Snow Queen Mask) Nyx starts to take control of the minds of the scientists working for him who start to commit unethical experimentation in the name of the research to fulfill Nyx objective.

Eventually Nanjo finds about the unethical experimentation, including a future project regarding experimentation on children, and immediatelly shuts down the research, angering the group of scientists and causing the fights that eventually lead to the separation of the group who will go on to become the Kirijo group under the leadership of Kouetsu Kirijo.

They of course take/steal the research with them.

As Nanjo couldn't draw the media attention and risk the knowledge that his company was involved with unethical experimentation to come out Nanjo couldn't stop them and he had to play the card about how the separation was a mutual accord caused by a difference of interests while trying to find a way to close in and stop the Kirijo group from the shadows without the research leaking out even more (here's where he hires Baofu and Ulala and starts working with them to find a way to subtly bring the Kirijo group down)

This all comes to an end when the Kirijo lab explodes and all the research is seemingly lost.

Nobody knows what happened and everybody involved died in the accident.

No matter how much they search they can't find anything.

Not even the son of Kouetsu, Takeharu Kouetsu, who now that his father is dead has inherited the company seems to know anything (in part because Kirijo is keeping everything under wraps, in part because even they actually don't know what really happened. The only one who knows it's Ikutsuki and he's manipulating everyone).

So believing everything was truly lost and there's nothing more to do, ridden with guilt born from everything bad that happened since he decided to revive Kandoris research (he should have know anything related to THAT would need up this way, he should have known it was a terrible desicion, why did he have to be so arrogant to want to take everything in his hands...) Nanjo ceases and decides to focus on his company and watching over his own team and the p2 cast (keeping watch on them and making sure they don't accidentally bring the end of the world by recovering their memories)

But there's always something inside of him telling him to keep an eye on the Kirijo group, to not ignore them and he kinda does by maintaining close business relationships.

But it isn't enought.

He's not as as meticulous as he was before, as he should have been.

Thisakes him completely unprepared when the Fall happens years later.

And again nobody knows what happened, worst of all, everybody seems to have actually completely forgotten anything even happened.

But he knows.

He knows whatever happened was Persona/Shadow related so he once again turns his full attention to the Kirijo Group but this time he keeps a careful eye on the young heiress, Mitsuru Kirijo, as it's clear to him she isn't all that it seems.

He keeps his distance, not interfering, but staying watchful. Hoping to learn anything about what truly happened before acting seeing as how badly trying to take everything in his hand went last time.

And that's how Nanjo eventually learns about the Shadows ops (but funnily enough still knows nothing about the Fall being this the most guarded secret the Shadow ops, NO, SEES has).

And this narrative would have been great.

It would have been good way to keep everything connected ... IF ONLY the kirijo lab had happened a few years later.

By making it happen a few months after p2 it gives a very tiny widow of time for the fallout between the Nanjo and Kirijo groups to occur.

In fact it gives too little time for everything to happen considering P1 takes place in 1996.

By 1999 only 3 years have happened since the P1 cast found out about personas, shadows and defeated Kandori.

Only 3 years for the Nanjo group to start its research, a fallout to occur which ends up creating the Kirijo group AND then the Kirijo group doing everything they did until the formation of the death arcana and it's battle with Aigis on the bridge...

All of that in the span of just 3 years with everything in P2 happening at the same time.

And I KNOW I could change it.

I could move the dates a little to make everything fit better without really changing anything...

(Makoto losing his parents at the age of 8 instead of 4 for example doesn't really change anything. He would repress equally the same)

BUT changing the 10 years that Minato stored death inside of him feels SO WRONG.

It feels likes it's something quintessential to the narrative...AND I DONT KNOW WHY.

*coughcoughmaybeit'sjustmyfixationwithmultiplesof10coughcough*

[michaelcosio]

Lisa Levandowski

Amazon Global Corporate Affairs

Seattle, Washington, United States

About

With more than 15 years of experience working in communications marketing, I’ve led brand reputation, issues management, corporate and financial communications for some of today’s most compelling brands.

After spending nearly 3 years in China launching new-to-market travel/hospitality brands, I later expanded my remit to include Japan and Australia within the APAC region.

Today, I lead corporate communications teams across eight bodies of work for one of the firm's top clients responsible for strategy development, quality of execution, and daily management of a high-performing team across the U.S. with oversight of global team leads.

Experience

Head of Global Operations Workplace Issues & Media Relations

Amazon

Nov 2019 - Present · 4 yrs 4 mos

Senior Vice President, Brand

Edelman

Sep 2006 - Nov 2019 · 13 yrs 3 mos

Chicago - Shanghai - Seattle

Clients: Starbucks (present), Hilton Worldwide, S.C. Johnson, Unilever (Dove)

Corporate lead and client relationship manager across eight bodies of work, responsible for strategy development, quality of execution, and daily management of high-performing U.S (20+) and global team leads

Operationalizes and implements process/best practices, resource forecasting, planning and overall financial performance of multi-million dollar budget; creates growth plans mapped to client business needs

Oversees nine-person Crisis/Issues team responsible for daily communications triage, response strategy/message development, media/story management, and preparedness planning/risk assessment

Oversees research, measurement and monitoring team responsible for daily briefs tracking trending news and social conversations, custom analytics/reporting (measuring volume, share of voice, audience and engagement metrics, sentiment, influencer tracking), and ongoing primary research to understand brand reputation and trust

Led all integrated agency/client annual and in-year planning efforts including insight development, ideation, content, media and consumer engagement strategies and execution

Participated in contract negotiations, provided counsel and built strategic marketing communications plans with brand partners including Cirque du Soleil, Live Nation, U.S. Olympic Committee

Designed proactive approach to storytelling through “beat reporting” – an answer to creating news, conversation and interest in between brand news moments, milestones, and program/product launches

Education

Michigan State Advertisement

Bachelor's Degree, Advertising 1998 - 2002 Activities and societies: Zeta Tau Alpha Panhellenic Council Senior Class Council

Recommendations

Jill Knisley

Managing Director and Client Relationship Manager, Edelman Southern California January 17, 2016, Jill managed Lisa directly

Lisa was my "#2" on a significant client relationship at Edelman and in an environment without her, I can't imagine what it would have been like. Lisa is a tremendous leader who is enthusiastic, positive, tenacious, respected by clients and - dare I say - adored and revered by team members who work for her. Lisa gives it all she has and pushes everyone in her orbit to do better. Clients, team members and those above her know better than to not listen!

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Relatable, practical, and actionable tips to shine in the family room and board room.

[notebooknebula]

Dave Seymour - Unlocking the Code to Multi Family Investing

https://www.jayconner.com/dave-seymour-unlocking-the-code-to-multi-family-investing/

Dave Seymour - Unlocking the Code to Multifamily Investing. Commercial Real Estate has some of the best overall returns out of all asset classes. Yet the majority of investors are unable to participate due to a lack of information and options. Freedom Venture Investments is breaking down the barriers to entry, giving our clients clarity and confidence, while always being results-driven. Discover how Dave went from Fire Fighter to Real Estate Investor.

https://www.Jayconner.com/trial

Get a 30 day trial to Jay Conner's Private Money Academy (May end without warning)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Jay Conner (00:07): Well, hello there! And welcome to another episode of Real Estate Investing with Jay Conner. I’m Jay Conner. The Private Money Authority. And the host of our show. If you’re brand new to Real Estate Investing with Jay Conner, whether you’re listening in on iTunes or Google play, or following us on one of our YouTube channels or Facebook live streaming, we’re glad you’re here. If this is your first time, we talk all about different kinds of real estate. Single family houses, commercial, land deals, self storage, anything to do with real estate investing. And again, if you’re brand new, I’m known as The Private Money Authority because from 2003 to 2009, I was relying on local banks and mortgage companies to fund my deals. And I got cut off like the rest of the world did in 2008, 2009. And I learned about this wonderful world of private money.

Jay Conner (01:07): So I haven’t missed out on a deal since 2009 for not having the funding. And so if you would like to get plugged in to funding for your single family houses, I’ve got a free online training waiting for you to go to, so check it out after the show is over. Go on over to www.JayConner.com/MoneyPodcast. That’s JayConner.com/MoneyPodcast. And there I’ll be teaching you the five easy and quick steps from having no funding for your deals to, into the millions of funding. Again, without relying on banks or mortgage companies. Well, also here on Real Estate Investing with Jay Conner, since we launched in June of 2018, I’ve had some amazing guests here on the show, share their secrets and strategies as to what they’re doing.

Jay Conner (02:03): And today is no exception. So my guest today after 16 years as a firefighter and a paramedic, he launched his career rapidly becoming one of the nation’s top real estate investors. So within his first few years, he had transacted millions of dollars of real estate and have become one of the nation’s leading experts in both residential and commercial transactions. Well, his passion for business and real estate put him on the radar of A&E television network, as well as multiple news organizations like CBS, ABC, CNBC, Fox news, and CNN. In addition to that, the New York times reported that his series titled Flipping Boston posted the highest ratings ever for the A&E network at the time of its airing. His greatest joy comes from being a husband and a father to three boys. And so with that, I’m so excited to have your own the show with us today, Mr. Dave Seymour! So Dave, welcome to the show.

Dave Seymour (03:09): Hey Jay! How are you, man? I tell you, it’s funny. I listened to the, I listened to that intro and I’m, man, I sound pretty cool.

Jay Conner (03:15): And Scott, I will need for you to do a little edit right here because my internet has stopped working. So I’ve got a sign out and sign back in. So if you would, Scott, come to the forefront and keep Dave alive and I will be right back,

Dave Seymour (03:30): Oh, Man! I miss him already. So I got to do the show without Jay. Is that what you’re telling me, Scott?

Scott Paton (03:36): That’s right! That’s right! It’s just you and me. So,

Dave Seymour (03:39): That’s all right. It’s all good, man. I can play this game. No worries.

Scott Paton (03:45): What part of the country are you in?

Dave Seymour (03:47): Oh yeah, we’re up in Boston. Boston, Massachusetts. It’s where they threw the tea in the Harbor. We’ve been going through a little bit of a heat wave up here right now. So it’s an interesting time, man. I mean the real estate game in Boston has always been incredibly fluid and it continues to be. And I gotta be honest, man. I’m questioning some of the common sense that people use in the real estate marketplace right now. So I’m a super conservative investor.

Scott Paton (04:14): So you think people are being too aggressive?

Dave Seymour (04:17): Yeah, man! I mean, look! People sometimes forget. I mean, I listened to Jay’s intro and he had his own challenges in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, which we all did. And you know, there were investors that folded up their tent and never came back out to play after that. And Hey man! Welcome back!

Jay Conner (04:39): I got kicked off the internet for some strange reason. And so, ever since you started talking, I haven’t heard a word, you said.

Dave Seymour (04:47): Don’t worry. Nobody listens to me, including my wife, Jay. So it’s all good, man. No worries.

Jay Conner (04:55): Scott can edit this for us anyway, but so let’s pretend like I just said welcome to the show and you picked it off from there.

Dave Seymour (05:03): All right, man. Well, I appreciate you having me on the show, Jay. Thank you for having me. It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, even with all of the chaos and the craziness going on in the world, for sure.

Jay Conner (05:13): That’s for sure, Dave. Well now I’m really curious about how you got on the A&E network and got your show started. What was it called? Flipping Boston?

Dave Seymour (05:27): Flipping Boston. Yeah. So I was listening to your intro, Jay. It was kind of interesting that you developed a new source of capital for your deals because the market kind of went sideways and I went through that same experience myself. I got, I started investing. I was a firefighter, like you said on the intro there for 16 years. But unfortunately I had the financial intelligence of a donkey and I did not, I didn’t understand capital. I didn’t understand how it worked. And I’m just following the same plan that everybody else is. And I went to a seminar to learn real estate and I’m a product of that seminar world. And the funny thing is, man, is I invested the last couple of thousand dollars that I didn’t have. Well, my wife did. I didn’t, it was her credit cards.

Dave Seymour (06:14): I was maxed out with a credit score of two. So nobody was giving me credit. But it’s kind of interesting. I did what my mentors and coaches told me, like, you know, I listened to you again at your intro, talk about the newer investors, or maybe you got some seasoned investors listening to us today, or watching us. But I just followed what worked. And next thing you know, I’ve done one deal, two deals, three deals, four deals. I’m actually doing a little teaching myself and somebody in the marketing world reached out to me and said they were looking for teams to start another show. And I was still firefighting. So I was like, firefight in 42 hours a week. And real estate invest in every other hour I was awake. And I sent in an application to New York and no offense to anybody, but I loaded it with profanity cause I wanted to make sure they paid attention to what I wrote on my little application.

Dave Seymour (07:09): Yeah. They came, they picked up the phone and the guy was kind of laughing. And he said, you’re either a lunatic or a genius. I said, is there a difference? And we started filming a little sizzle reel and we did four episodes and like you said, in the intro, their ratings were the highest they ever had for that time slot. And they said, well, people like you. And I’m like, I was just doing it for fun. I didn’t think it would ever go anywhere. And you can actually see the episodes on Amazon right now, Amazon prime in the video section. Yeah. So me and Jeff Bezos struck a deal. No, we didn’t. You can find the episodes on there. And you know, I got that reputation as an expert in the marketplace and with that comes a, you know, some really good relationships and you have to find yourself sitting on Squawk Box and Fox News and all of that silliness. So it’s kinda, it’s kinda cool, man. It was a cool journey.

Jay Conner (08:04): That is really cool! So let me give you the 30,000 foot view question and that is, why did you choose real estate for yourself?

Dave Seymour (08:13): Yeah. Look man, it’s, like I said, I was good at working, you know, and trading time for money. I’m kind of like a blue collar guy in a white collar world when it comes to that stuff, you know? I was instilled with some good solid core values, you know, don’t lie, don’t cheat, don’t steal, work hard, respect your fellow man, you know, have a little faith and do the right thing. And that’s great. Don’t get me wrong, but it doesn’t give you any financial freedom because the income potential is capt. And you know, I was working construction on my days off from the firehouse and I was watching these investors like popping up. And I’m thinking to myself, hold on a second, I’m building a deck, digging a ditch. I’m sitting on a post hole Digger with a bunch of friends here and this guy’s coming in and you don’t look too sweaty and he don’t look too dirty.

Dave Seymour (09:07): He looks like he’s had himself a good old time. At his back bone aching. I think his wife is probably happy as well. Right? It was the investors. And I found myself in a position where I was losing my house, man, because I made some bad decisions. And I always knew there was money in real estate. I never understood the stock market investing in something that was imaginary. And I just went for it. I went to a seminar and my wife invested in me and I started doing what they said I should do. And the results followed afterwards. So real estate has been the biggest wealth builder in the history of animation period. And why should I reinvent the wheel? Why don’t I just learn the processes and get in the game? And that’s when I took her like a duck to water, man. I’m passionate about it. I love it. I dream about it all the time. So yeah.

Jay Conner (10:03): What year did you go to that first real estate investing seminar?

Dave Seymour (10:07): Yeah, I went in early 2000. And late 2007. Early 2008. I came out just as the crap hit the fan, man!

Jay Conner (10:21): No, I tell you, you know, here in the midst of COVID-19 reminds me somewhat of what was going on in 2008, 2009, as far as, you know, banks tightening up and et cetera. And it was a blessing in disguise for me back in 2008, 2009, because that’s when I learned about private money and when the banks cut me off within three months, I had more money at my disposal. When I went out to raise money. Than I had, when I had a line of credit at the bank And I’m experiencing somewhat the same thing going on right now. I mean, I just had a phone call last week from four guys that have a private equity fund that want to give me $5 million just to start doing business with them. Right? They called me, they called me, I didn’t call them. Right. I have someone listening to my podcast here, not too long ago. They were laid up in the hospital for three days, listening to the podcast, they call my office and they want to lend me money.

Dave Seymour (11:23): What a terrible problem to have, Jay.

Jay Conner (11:29): So, now, how quick were you able to move once you got your education and start enjoying some success?

Dave Seymour (11:34): Yeah, that’s a great question, man. You know, I’d love to tell you. You know, 30 days and it was all fixed. I mean, that would just be a flat out lie. You know wealth creation is a process. It’s not an event. For me it took me, it took me 12 months to 18 months to be what I call financially free. And what I meant by that was, was that I was able to sleep eight hours. You know, I wasn’t waking up at three o’clock in the morning, you know, riddled with fear, doubt, and insecurity. So it took some time it took a commitment and some traction. But to your point, about 2008, I mean, I was telling people, cause that’s what my mentors told me to do was to tell everybody what I was doing. And I was telling people, you know, I’m a real estate investor, I’m investing, I can buy distressed assets and you know, I can put them back on the market and I’m giving them the whole elevator pitch.

Dave Seymour (12:26): And back then a lot of people were like, Ooh, Oh, I’m so sorry that that’s what you have to do for work. Like, you know, it was like a disease that we had as real estate investors in 2008, 2009. But like you, sir, I created an opportunity out of it, I can’t, you know, I became proficient at short sales. I became profecient at loan modifications. I became proficient at private lenders. I became proficient in helping people. And I found in my career and I’m sure you’ll testify to it as well as the fact that the more time I spend helping somebody else, the better it ends up being for me, you know, that and that. I mean, you know, God is good all the time and it’s like a real good friend of mine is down in Florida right now.

Dave Seymour (13:13): And his faith is something to be admired. And he just says to me, he just says to me, David, just ask the right questions, man. Am I doing His work or my work? Right. Is it all about the almighty buck? He said, because if you find yourself just chasing the almighty buck and you’re not doing His work and taking good care of people, he said, you might find yourself facing a little bit of resistance. That’s how he puts it. And then there’d be a little bit of scripture to support it. But, you know, I love that about it. It’s like there’s nothing better than those families that we helped, you know, during the transference of wealth in this country, which is what we show in 2008, nine, 10, 11, 12, you know, to help families who were foreclosed on them and put them in a lease option. Where they could stay in the same neighborhoods, right? The kids could go to the same school. They couldn’t afford the crazy mortgages that reset, but they could afford a good decent lease option and a beautiful home to live in. And all we were doing was moving them from house to house in the same neighborhoods, you know? So you know, with some education, you can serve this stuff around pretty fast. And I’m no better than anybody else. I just did what I learned. Rather than finding excuses, I found answers. Does that make sense?

Jay Conner (14:24): It makes a lot of sense. You and I have got a lot in common, Dave, because my followers hear me say all the time, this, all the facets of the business is all about serving and helping other people, as you said, because if people didn’t have a problem, we wouldn’t have an opportunity to serve. From the buyers to the sellers, to the private lenders, you know, even when it comes to raising money. And we’re going to hear your story here shortly in the next minute or two, about how you’ve gotten into raising a lot of capitals, but, you know, I’ve never asked anybody for money. They say, Jay, how in the world are you raise all those millions of dollars without asking for money? It’s real simple. I put on my teacher cap, I teach people what private money is. I teach them what self directed IRAs are. Cause they never heard of that stuff. And, you know, the light bulbs go off. And if they’ve got investment capital or retirement funds, they’re not happy with what they’re doing. They’re going to, they’re going to want to do business with you, right?

Dave Seymour (15:24): Correct. Correct. It amazes me how many intelligent accredited investors I sit down with and communicate with. And I start giving them a breakdown of the tax advantages of using a solo, 401k as a retirement vehicle to invest in my fund, into a piece of sticks and bricks, a syndicated deal. And it’s like these light bulbs go off in their head. And I don’t know about you. You tell me this. I found that, you know, high finance on occasion, it kind of brings an air of you know, like it’s almost pretentious at times, like you’ve got this additional vocabulary than they tend to use in high finance. And I was talking to a local guy, a friend of mine, a neighbor in fact, and he’s an injury attorney, very successful. And I’m in the middle of my, you know, my conversations through teaching.

Dave Seymour (16:19): Obviously I’m raising capital with salesman. We’re good at what we do, but he’s, he stops me in the middle of it. And he says, David, David, you’ve got to stop. I go, what, he goes. I just figured out what you’re doing because I applied a logic commercial assets, you know, 60 to 150 unit apartment complexes, not just one of them, but 30, 40, 50 of them. And then I fixed them up. I get the rents up and I create a better asset. And I’m trying to give him the delivery, Jay. He says to me, David, stop it. I go, what, what what’s up? Did I offend you? He goes, no, no, no, no. He goes, I think I understand what you’re saying. He said, all you’re talking about is flipping Boston on steroids. Instead of just taking a little single family house and make it that pretty.

Dave Seymour (17:02): He said, you’re doing 5,000 units and making them pretty correct? I said, yeah, that’s right, Kevin. He said, okay, how do I subscribe? Let me see if I can get some capital into the fund, you know? And it’s amazing because it’s, you know, my trajectory, it’s interesting. We were in a marketing meeting a couple of weeks back and I had a young intern in our marketing meeting. And what we’re doing right now is we have a private equity fund and we raise capital. We invest in multifamily assets, primarily in the Gulf region of Florida, but other markets. I mean, you guys in the Carolinas in such a great position there, I mean, it’s fantastic the opportunities there. So maybe we should talk offline, Jay, but you know, these assets allow us to go in there with what’s called a core plus asset class.

Dave Seymour (17:52): What we do just like I said, we take these settings and we make them pretty, but it never was that way. I mean, the first deal I did was a $5,000 wholesale transaction on a single family home. And I felt to myself what I’d had to do in the past to make $5,000. And then when I stepped out of the attorney’s office, I’m waiting for the five votes to pull up and take me to jail. Cause I felt, it felt so bizarre to have a check for a house that I’d never owned, but I’ve learned along the way to your point to simplify it. You know, you, you lead by attraction, not by promotion. I turn away capital, Jay, because it’s not a good fit. And you know, again, the universe works in a wonderful way if it’s of service, which is, is for us because we help people with the longterm retirements. They get to invest in our fund, and they get a preferred rate of return, targeted rates of return in double digits.

Dave Seymour (18:46): And then for the life of the time that their capital was working with us, you know, then now that targeted 20% returns on their money. So it’s a, it’s a real, it’s a real good asset class. And unfortunately COVID has all, fortunately, depending on what side of the equation you choose to put yourself on. COVID has given us a massive opportunity because the buying is already there. The buying opportunities are right in front of us right now. We’re just hungry to take these assets down, help the sellers, help the tenants, help our investors. I get warmed up, man. I get on a roll. You don’t. You got to stop me and ask me questions. Otherwise I just keep going.

Jay Conner (19:23): You remind me of me when I’m on the other side of the microphone. Speaking of COVID, what’s your prediction and what’s your take on what’s the short term outlook from covid and what do you think is the longterm outlook and consequences on any front?

Dave Seymour (19:41): Yeah, it’s, you know, kind of like pull off the bandaid, man. I mean, here’s what I see. We’ve got a short term pain that we’re going to have to, we’re going to have to experience, we’re going to have to experience as a nation. We’re gonna have to experience it together. You know, depends on how you look at it. So we’ve got the full balances where the banks have, you know, allowed tenants to own us to not pay their mortgages. You’ve got a tenancy not paying their rent. We had the PPP, the protection program there for small business. You know, Mr. Trump wrote everybody a check. There’s more, you know, more capital coming out which in its essence sounds great. And it’s a difficult position, Jay. It really is because it’s like, there’s the one side of me that used to live paycheck to paycheck that understands how necessary that is.

Dave Seymour (20:44): But then there’s now the other side of me that the businessman, I look at it and I say, well, there’s no transference of services for that money. And if there isn’t a true transference of services for that capital, it’s almost like a house of cards. It’s, you know, it’s doomed to have a failure point and a stress point. And when we get there you know, we will see an increase in foreclosure. We’ll see these challenges going forward and we’ll get through. We’re America. You know, I’m an immigrant to this country. I came from England and back in 1986, I was born in London. But, you know, I, I came to the greatest country in the world for growth, for economy, for the ability to really be the best we can be. So we’re always going to overcome. So short term, I’m sorry, we’re going to have to feel the pain.

Dave Seymour (21:34): Longterm, there’ll be two kinds of people just like they were in 2008, 2009, 2010, there’ll be victims and there’ll be victors. And, you know, I sense that we will be the victors and that’s not a moral battle. It’s just an intellectual battle of finance and real estate and business. But to be on the other side of it, as a Victor, we have a greater opportunity to help the people who didn’t, who didn’t come along the journey with us on the financial side. That’s kinda my full process on it. And that’s why we’re so bullish on our buying right now, we would invest the capital because everybody else is fearful. We go in there and we just get the good buying opportunities,

Jay Conner (22:15): Take a couple of minutes and tell us in summary, your journey from, I suppose you started with single family houses, you mentioned you’re for real being a wholesale deal. And then you went into commercial and now you are in the capital raising business, and you have a fund that people can take advantage of and invest in. Tell us, give us an overview of that journey of when, what and why.

Dave Seymour (22:43): Yeah, well, we don’t have nearly enough time, Jay. I’ve always tried to say it in three words, but it always comes out in 300 for some reason. It’s like I said, man, I learned the fundamentals of real estate. First transaction was a wholesale transaction for a house I never owned and I made 5,000 bucks. And I thought to myself, if it’s legal, if it’s honest and it’s ethical, I’m not going to do this once. I’m going to do it as many times as I can. And, you know, you slowly get out of debt. And then I stopped doing a little bit of a single family. Then I’m doing a lot of single family. Then I pick up that first two family unit and then a triplex and a fourplex then I’m always like got my eye on the commercial arena.

Dave Seymour (23:26): So I was in a marketing meeting, as I was saying, and I had a young intern in there and they said, why should anybody listen to you as a fund manager with a hundred million dollars invested in commercial real estate throughout the country, primarily in the Gulf coast. Guys says you’re that flipping guy from TV. And I went, Oh, from the mouth of babes. Ok, now, man I’m 21 years old, fresh out of college came in as an internship, fresh out of the mouth of babes. And it’s interesting because I have always been involved in commercial real estate. Had a portfolio of about 110 doors at one time in Sanford, Maine, which is just North of here, you know, a C class property C class neighborhood. I learned very quickly that I just want to be the bank. I don’t want to be property manager.

Dave Seymour (24:10): So, you know, I’ve learned a lot along the way. I’ve coached people through large commercial transactions of rubbed elbows in the self storage space. I’ve always avoided office and retail. How sad is it right now for you know, leisure, office and retail investing right now? It’s a very hard time. So commercial has always been in my wheelhouse. It’s always been my excitement bottom and friend of mine by the name of Walton Evicky reached out to me, raised about 125 mil and syndicated commercial deals in multifamily assets throughout the Gulf coast. And he said, I want to bring your stop power is what he said. And I always giggle when somebody says that. He’s like, well, you’ve got a national reach. He said, why don’t we combine efforts, your team, my team let’s get together, put the fund together. So the fund is now up. We’re raising capital. We’ve got a couple of acquisitions that we’re about to take down, we’re raising a hundred million dollars, we pay, like I said, a preferred return, double digit target returns to our investors. And it’s an exciting time in the middle of all this chaos, Jay. You know, it really is.

Jay Conner (25:19): That is awesome. Thank you for giving us the overview. Now, you’ve got a free ebook for our audience and listeners. So what’s the ebook that you’re offering to everybody?

Dave Seymour (25:29): Yeah, you can see right on the screen there. FreedomVenture.com that’s our front door to our website spend a little time there. Learn a little while you’re there. Scroll down to the bottom of that page and you’ll be able to download a free ebook that I wrote with my property manager. Guy by the name of John Dessauer. He is out of Chi town, Chicago. John manages approximately 3 million square feet of multifamily real estate. He’s been an active investor himself for over 20, 25 years now. We wrote that book together. It’s called Unlocking The Code To Multifamily Investing. It’s an easy read. It’s not too heavy, but it will give you the high points and it will show why investors want to invest with us. It’s protected, you know, there’s a security there. They don’t take the the liability that most investors who were actually own the assets themselves, they own a piece of the company that owns the assets. So it’s a, it’s a smarter play big picture for a lot of investors who don’t have the time to get, to get their hands dirty like we have in their careers, Jay.

Jay Conner (26:38): That’s awesome! Well, it’s been a pleasure to have you here on the show, Dave. Final parting comments.

Dave Seymour (26:45): Yeah, just know that it’s gotta be okay. It’s gonna take us a little bit of time. And so always educate don’t speculate, right? Work on the education, understand what you’re investing in, but don’t be somebody who just analyzes all the time and doesn’t do anything. All right. Take a little action. Get off the couch and get in the game. Cause there’s the best game there is. I think.

Jay Conner (27:07): That’s great! Well, there you have it folks, Mr. Dave Seymour, again, you can follow him. Get the free ebook and also find out about investing opportunities at www.FreedomVenture.com. Thanks again, Dave. Good to have you on.

Dave Seymour (27:29): Appreciate you man. Thank you. God bless. Have a great day.

Jay Conner (27:32): All right, there, you have another show folks. I’m Jay Conner. The Private Money Authority. Wishing you all the best. Here’s to taking your real estate investing business to the next level. We’ll see you on the next show.

[foreverlogical]

Adolf Hitler did not have to come to power. Indeed, during his 13-year quest for leadership of Germany, he almost failed many times.

In the end, however, his astonishing success showed how demagoguery could overcome potentially career-ending challenges—and profoundly change history. A determined strongman, not taken seriously by the elites but enabled by a core of passionate supporters, could bend events his way just as his country went into free-fall. Hitler’s seemingly improbable ascent is an object lesson in the volatility of history.

While researching my new book on the radical Nazi’s rise, I was stunned at the number of times Hitler’s quest for power almost came to an end—and how close the world came, it seems, to avoiding the terror he caused. The first was in 1923, when he staged an ill-fated coup d’état that became known as the Beer Hall Putsch. It failed within 17 hours. Twenty men were killed, and Hitler missed being hit in a barrage of police bullets by only two feet. The man next to him died. Hitler threatened suicide and, in prison, attempted a hunger strike. In the end, he stood trial and was convicted of treason.

That event should have ended Hitler’s political career. But the Nazi chief was a fanatic. Convinced of his messianic mission to save Germany from imminent downfall, he wrote an autobiographical manifesto called Mein Kampf, obtained early parole from prison and refounded the Nazi movement in 1925. Hitler’s party drew true believers and grew. Yet in 1926, he faced an internal insurrection and possible party splintering. At the last minute, he quelled the challenge with a four-hour stemwinder at a closed Nazi meeting.

A year later, the Nazi Party was broke. Hitler again considered suicide, telling his new acolyte, Joseph Goebbels, that he would rather put a bullet into his head than accept bankruptcy. He was saved by a rich industrialist, Emil Kirdorf. Motivated by a four-hour Hitler monologue delivered at a Munich mansion, Kirdorf reportedly gave the Nazi Party 100,000 marks—$350,000 in today’s money.

In 1928, Hitler led his radical band into national elections—and fell flat. Preaching doom and downfall, Hitler swam against the historical tide. Germany’s economy was rebounding. The Nazis won only 2.6% of the vote, hitting rock bottom.

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Even after the Great Depression prompted a turnaround for the flailing party—by 1930, the Nazis had won 18.3% in a national election—he faced another mutiny within the party and then, in 1931, a scandal prompted by the suicide of his 23-year-old niece, Geli Raubal, who was assumed by many to be his lover. The political roller-coaster ride continued. In 1932, Hitler’s Nazis reached a peak of 37% of the parliamentary vote, but Hitler’s refusal to be part of a coalition led the party to shed two million votes in the year’s final election.

After Hitler’s top lieutenant, Gregor Strasser, dramatically defected, threatening a party break-up, the Nazi leader’s meteoric political rise seemed at an end. “It is obvious that [Hitler] is now headed downhill,” wrote a leading newspaper. “The republic has been rescued.”

Even Goebbels was devastated. “The year 1932 has been one long streak of bad luck,” he wrote. “We just have to smash it to pieces.”

But to the amazement of many, Hitler was not dead yet.

By January 1933, German politics was in a tailspin��unemployment had hit 24%, with 6 million out of work. A new government was desperately needed. After a series of clandestine meetings of behind-the-scenes political players in a posh Berlin villa, Hitler emerged as the secret choice to be appointed chancellor by President Paul von Hindenburg.

However, the secret arrangement depended on a delicately balanced, multi-party cabinet. Then, just hours before his scheduled swearing in by President Hindenburg, the Nazi leader demanded that his prospective cabinet ministers agree to new elections within six weeks—a move that would affirm the Nazis’ hold on power. It was a stunning last-second condition, yet all agreed except Alfred Hugenberg, who was to be minister of economics and agriculture. The stubborn old politician, 24 years Hitler’s senior, distrusted the noisy Nazi and did not want to give him an even freer hand.

The deal for Hitler to take power now threatened to become unraveled, yet again.

Without Hugenberg, everyone knew, there would be no cabinet, no government, no swearing-in.

As Hitler and the cabinet members entered the chancellery, where the 84-year-old Hindenburg waited for them, the president’s top aide rushed up, his pocket watch in hand. “Gentlemen, you can’t keep the president waiting any longer,” he said.

Suddenly Hugenberg, a man of the old school who revered manners, authority and age, accepted Hitler’s conditions. Hitler’s last brush with political obscurity was averted. Over the prior two decades, he had relied on luck and rhetoric to save his career time and again—but behind those factors lay, always, a larger context of German politics that enabled his rise. His speeches could head off a mutiny, but the success or failure of the German economy held more sway over the fortunes of the Nazi Party. And here, once again, was a moment when Hitler’s mania for power did not succeed alone, but instead with the help of a system that let it happen. Within 15 minutes, he had become chancellor of Germany, setting the stage for the horrors that followed.

The following day, Hugenberg told a friend: “Yesterday, I did the stupidest thing of my life. I joined forces with the greatest demagogue in world history.”

Peter Ross Range, a former TIME correspondent, is the author of The Unfathomable Ascent: How Adolf Hitler Came to Power, available now from Little Brown and Company.

VISIT WEBSITE

[alltimebestbooks]

Top 10 Books Must Read Today Generation

1. The Rudest Book Ever by Shwetabh Gangwar

Shwetabh Gangwar is a professional problem-solver—and he’s ace at it. For the past five years, people from all over the world have contacted him with their troubles and he’s worked these out for them.

In the process, he has picked up on a simple pattern: people need a set of principles and perspectives to protect them from all the unnecessary bullshit they go through. Codes to live by, essentially.

But be warned: Gangwar has no desire to spare your feelings. What you will find in this straight-forward, straight-talking, no-craps-given guide, is:

How to deal with rejections of all kinds

How to change your perceptions of people so you don’t end up screwed

Why a society that sees people as ‘good and bad’ is dumb

How the search for happiness screws us over

How seeking approval and acceptance kills our individuality

The truth about social media influencers

Why we should be taught ‘how to think’, instead of ‘what to think’

Laying out clear principles, YouTube megastar Gangwar shows you how to deal with the shit that has happened to you, is happening to you and will happen to you.

A refreshing, easy-to-read, and relatable guide, The Rudest Book Ever will make you rethink everything you’ve been taught.`

2. Do It Today: Overcome Procrastination, Improve Productivity, and Achieve More Meaningful Things

Are you also tired of putting off your dreams until “tomorrow?” Guess what! Tomorrow never comes. Am I right?

I’ve procrastinated and putt off my desire to write a book for a decade. I always came up with excuses like, “it’s not the right time.” Or, “I need to do more research.”

But in 2015 I got tired of this endless procrastination, and finally took action. Six months later, my first book was published.

Look, we all have limited time on our hands. And we’re getting closer to death every single minute. That shouldn’t scare. That should motivate you!

Time is limited, that’s why we must do the things we want: Today.

In this “best of” collection, I’ve handpicked 30 of my best articles that help you to overcome procrastination, improve your productivity, and achieve all the things you always wanted.

Plus, I’ve written an extensive introduction about my life and work philosophy.

And I’ve made many improvements and edits to the articles. So the content of this book is different from the articles on my site.

In Do It Today, you’ll learn:

1.Why we procrastinate and how we can overcome it

2.How to increase your productivity without being stressful

3.How to achieve more meaningful things in your life so you can enjoy it more

Are you ready to start reading this book?

If so: Do it today—not tomorrow.

3. The Lean Startup: How Constant Innovation Creates Radically Successful Businesses

The Lean Startup is a new approach to business that's being adopted around the world. It is changing the way companies are built and new products are launched.

The Lean Startup is about learning what your customers really want. It's about testing your vision continuously, adapting and adjusting before it's too late. Now is the time to think Lean.

4. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

One of the most valuable skills in our economy is becoming increasingly rare. If you master this skill, you'll achieve extraordinary results.

Deep Work is an indispensable guide to anyone seeking focused success in a distracted world.

'Deep work' is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. Coined by author and professor Cal Newport on his popular blog Study Hacks, deep work will make you better at what you do, let you achieve more in less time and provide the sense of true fulfilment that comes from the mastery of a skill. In short, deep work is like a superpower in our increasingly competitive economy.

And yet most people, whether knowledge workers in noisy open-plan offices or creatives struggling to sharpen their vision, have lost the ability to go deep - spending their days instead in a frantic blur of email and social media, not even realising there's a better way.

A mix of cultural criticism and actionable advice, DEEP WORK takes the reader on a journey through memorable stories -- from Carl Jung building a stone tower in the woods to focus his mind, to a social media pioneer buying a round-trip business class ticket to Tokyo to write a book free from distraction in the air -- and surprising suggestions, such as the claim that most serious professionals should quit social media and that you should practice being bored.

Put simply: developing and cultivating a deep work practice is one of the best decisions you can make in an increasingly distracted world and this book will point the way.

5. Understanding Millennials: A guide to working with todays generation

Have you often wondered, "What's wrong with this younger generation?" Or, "Why are these younger workers so lazy?" How about this one, "How do I get these Millennials to work harder?" If you still think that you can change the Millennials to make them fit into your business model, you, my friend, are wrong. We have to think on a bigger scale, and answer the question "How can we use this generation's strengths to make our business better?" In this minibook instead of trying to find ways to get this generation to stop acting the way they do, we figure out ways to inspire them to work harder no matter how they act. The tips and tricks in this book not only work for Millennials but can be used to inspire others in your employ as well. Put these ideas and beliefs into practice quickly and thoroughly, and watch your business grow not just fiscally but in emotional bonds as well. Your staff won't just respect you, they will follow you! The best way to read the book is with your current business trends and office staff in mind.

6. Sita: Warrior of Mithila

Immerse yourself in book 2 of the Ram Chandra series, based on the Ramayana, the story of Lady Sita, written by the multi-million bestselling Indian Author Amish; the author who has transformed Indian Fiction with his unique combination of mystery, mythology, religious symbolism and philosophy. In this book, you will follow Lady Sita's journey from an Adopted Child to the Prime Minister to finding her true calling. You will find all the familiar characters you have heard of, like Lord Ram and Lord Lakshman and see more of Lord Hanuman and many others from Mithila. You will also start discovering the true purpose of the Vayuputras and Malayaputras and their conflicting ideologies that leads to plot twists, politics and intrigue as they try to influence outcomes from behind the scenes.

She is the warrior we need. The Goddess we await.

She will defend Dharma. She will protect us.

India, 3400 BCE.

India is beset with divisions, resentment and poverty. The people hate their rulers. They despise their corrupt and selfish elite. Chaos is just one spark away. Outsiders exploit these divisions. Raavan, the demon king of Lanka, grows increasingly powerful, sinking his fangs deeper into the hapless Sapt Sindhu.

Two powerful tribes, the protectors of the divine land of India, decide that enough is enough. A saviour is needed. They begin their search.

An abandoned baby is found in a field. Protected by a vulture from a pack of murderous wolves. She is adopted by the ruler of Mithila, a powerless kingdom, ignored by all. Nobody believes this child will amount to much. But they are wrong.

For she is no ordinary girl. She is Sita.

Continue the epic journey with Amish’s latest: A thrilling adventure that chronicles the rise of an adopted child, who became the prime minister. And then, a Goddess.

This is the second book in the Ram Chandra Series. A sequel that takes you back. Back before the beginning.

7. The 5 AM Club: Own Your Morning, Elevate Your Life

Part manifesto for mastery, part playbook for genius-grade productivity and part companion for a life lived beautifully, the 5 am club is a work that will transform your life. Forever.

Legendary leadership and elite performance expert Robin Sharma introduced The 5 AM Club concept over twenty years ago, based on a revolutionary morning routine that has helped his clients maximize their productivity, activate their best health and bulletproof their serenity in this age of overwhelming complexity.

Now, in this life-changing book, handcrafted by the author over a rigorous four year period, you will discover the early-rising habit that has helped so many accomplish epic results while upgrading their happiness, helpfulness and feelings of aliveness.

Through an enchanting—and often amusing—story about two struggling strangers who meet an eccentric tycoon who becomes their secret mentor, The 5 AM Club will walk you through:

How great geniuses, business titans and the world’s wisest people start their mornings to produce astonishing achievements

A little-known formula you can use instantly to wake up early feeling inspired, focused and flooded with a fiery drive to get the most out of each day

A step-by-step method to protect the quietest hours of daybreak so you have time for exercise, self-renewal and personal growth

A neuroscience-based practice proven to help make it easy to rise while most people are sleeping, giving you precious time for yourself to think, express your creativity and begin the day peacefully instead of being rushed

“Insider-only” tactics to defend your gifts, talents and dreams against digital distraction and trivial diversions so you enjoy fortune, influence and a magnificent impact on the world

8. Mahatma Gandhi Autobiography: The Story Of My Experiments With Truth

This unusual autobiography “The Story of My Experiments with Truth”, is a window to the workings of Mahatma Gandhi’s mind – a window to the emotions of his heart – a window to understanding what drove this seemingly ordinary man to the heights of being the father of a nation – India. Starting with his days as a boy, Gandhi takes one through his trials and turmoils and situations that moulded his philosophy of life – going through child marriage, his studies in England, practicing Law in South Africa – and his Satyagraha there – to the early beginnings of the Independence movement in India. He did not aim to write an autobiography but rather share the experience of his various experiments with truth to arrive at what he perceived as Absolute Truth – the ideal of his struggle against racism, violence and colonialism.

9. How to Enjoy Your Life and Your Job

If you are not satisfied with your job and often struggle to achieve a work-life balance, you’ve picked the right book! “Count your blessings—not your troubles!” From ways to finding peace and happiness to insights on how to deal with people and make them like you at once, this book introduces good working habits and includes valuable advice on how to drive away the fatigue-producing boredom. With suggestions on how to relax and churn out the most of oneself and bring a sense of fulfilment, harmony and purpose, Dale Carnegie’s classic bestseller, How to Enjoy your Life and your Job, continues to help people reassess their approach to life, people and job and also helps them discover their strengths and talents.

10. Yoga and Stress Management

Yoga & stress management is a therapeutic guide for those dealing with mental and physical stress, as well as a reference book for healthy living. Although urban work culture has greatly improved the individual economic status, it has grossly diminished br Nature’s endowments. While modern psychology effectively helps in creating an awareness of what causes this, the Yoga philosophy is capable of changing one’s overall attitude towards life. This book combines both and provides valuable guidelines, tips, and techniques. Yoga offers the complete toolkit to deal with psychological and psycho-somatic disorders that are globally on the rise. With yogic techniques one can understand the nature of human consciousness and attain its higher stages. Using yogic practices like meditation and Pranayama, one can delve deep within and connect the body and mind to the inner self. By enhancing the latent energy in man, yoga offers a holistic solution to erase conflicts, suppression, and sensitivity.

[leverage88]

Opinion Series

To my fellow young adults, with much frustration, it appears that we have inherited a world on fire. Our generations from the Millennials to the Generations Z, we all are faced with the unjustified burden of cleaning up the messes made by the generations before us. The student debt crisis is a primary example of one of many very difficult situations forced on to us because of our parents and their parents' parents made poor decisions. The U.S, as we know, is currently $1,5 trillion in student debt and it all started with the "Space Race." After the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the U.S. government passed the Defense Education Act of 1958 to encourage students to attend university by mainly offering federal loans since they thought that too many scholarships were considered “free rides” and having the students focus on learning science, math, and foreign languages with the hopes of beating our opponents and it did work, The number of students attending colleges nearly doubled within the next decade When we fast forward nearly 70 years, we see that student debts have only increased and the Department of Education has become one of the largest banks in America in regards to loans. How disgusting is it that our government, let alone, the Department of Education, was never meant to be a bank so we have to instead, outsource management to Loan Servicers. The comedian, Hasan Minhaj, best describes these companies as part of a “multi-billion dollar predatory industry that ruins lives” and Navient is one of the largest and worst debt collection companies in the nation. They have been accused of abusing military members, double-charging borrowers, and in 2017 they were sued and accused of systematically misdirecting borrowers into types of forbearance, which disqualified them from a Public Service Loan Forgiveness, which is a program that offers public servants (think around the lines of firefighters and crossing guards) to have their outstanding federal student loans forgiven if they meet the requirements. Navient's web-page literally states that "We help our clients and millions of Americans achieve financial success through our services and support." but they are like any business and they only care about making a profit and our government has done very little to regulate these companies. So many lives have been ruined by this issue that it can feel like there is nothing we can do. Well, I say enough is enough! For too long we have been criticized for making the nation worst, for being too focused on comfort, and the media and the government have constantly berated us for having socialistic views, that are “un-American” but the reality is that the previous generations have failed us. Their way of handling the student debt crisis is not working. So many of our peers no longer cares about continuing education. For some, going to college is like getting a pool in your backyard. It is definitely something nice, but it is not really worth it. Thee thing about that concept is that the pursuit of knowledge obviously holds more value than a freaking pool. The student debt crisis is much more like a dam is holding back so much water that it is going to burst soon and if we don't do anything about this issue, we are going to drown.

As a parent, it is only natural to want your child to be happy. You make constant sacrifices for them only because you want your children to have a better life than what you, yourself had. For many years parents have thought that in order for their children to succeed in life, they need to get a good education so they can get a good-paying job and then they can live a happy, healthy, and meaningful life. There is nothing wrong with thinking that way, as a Pennsylvania mother, June, felt as well, while she encouraged her daughter’s ambition to study out of state at New York University. (Hsu, Student Debt Is Transforming the American Family.)  Her daughter studied diligently with the financial support of her mother June and her father as well as assistance from a couple of loans. By then end of her daughter's education, her daughter was looking forward to chipping away at loans while starting a career dedicated to bettering the life street vendors as she chose to study the effects of globalization on an urban space at NYU. You can imagine how proud June was of her daughter. However, when her daughter got a job offer that could actually pay off her now outstanding debts, her daughter, unfortunately, found that the job went against the very principles she held and studied in college. Now June’s daughter is faced with a difficult scenario as she has to pay off her loans but the only job she found that paid well enough was immoral, and her mother June cannot do anything about it. Right now, numerous families in our nation are in this situation. The student debt crisis is endangering the well-meaning efforts of families and it is only rising. College tuition has only been rising for years and the economist, David Klein, wrote an article where he briefly explains the challenge our children can face when they graduated college, where he states “Some students are able to land jobs after graduation with salaries that justify the monthly student loan payments, but others are not able to do so, rendering their student loans a particularly heavy burden.” Countless parents and students are faced with this harsh reality, as more and more graduates move back home with their parents since it is too expensive to move out on their own, get married, or even start a family. (ONeil, Overcoming the Student Loan Crisis) Student loans work well when the students are able to get high enough paying jobs that can eventually pay back the loan and still support themselves and their future families, otherwise their lives may be placed on hold. Now imagine if that was your own child who could not move forward with their lives just because they chose to get a proper education and there is not much you can do. It is in situations like this where people can feel hopeless, but that is not the case, as there are many dedicated politicians that are trying to pass legislation to change this situation, and it is all up to us to be active fight for reforms not just for our sakes, but for our children and their children.

My fellow Americans, I am in awe of our wondrous nation. In such a short amount of time, we have grown exponentially, especially whenever we have been faced with a challenge. As we look back to the past and remember when the world was fundamentally changed on October 4th, 1957, the Soviet Union had just launched Sputnik, which was the first artificial Earth satellite the world has ever seen. While this was a momentous occasion for mankind and spoke well of our ingenuity as a species, our nation, the United States of America, was in a panic. Compared to our Cold War rivals, we were lacking in science, technology, languages, and all other aspects of education. It seemed impossible for us to catch up with the Soviets. In a way, we were at the bottom of the ninth, and it looked like the Soviet Union was going to come out victorious. In retaliation, our congress came together and passed the National Defense Education Act of 1958 or also known as the "NDEA," which was the first time our nation offered federal loans and scholarships to encourage enrollment in colleges, which not only shaped our government’s role in education as college enrollment increased fifteen-fold. This act also lead to us landing the first man on the moon. (National Defense Education Act of 1958, 85th Cong.) In the face of adversity, our nation has stood tall and withheld its value. Today, we are once again faced with an enormous challenge. After passing the NDEA, the U.S continued to give loans to college students, and while it did lead to increased enrollment, the Department of Education is more or less the largest bank in terms of loans, and the national student debt is at an all-time high standing at $1.5 trillion and rising. There are hundreds of thousands of borrowers that are being rejected from debt forgiveness programs due to being misled by third-party loan servicers or a general lack of education for these programs. (Friedman, Zack. “Why 100,000 Borrowers Were Rejected For Student Loan Forgiveness.") Our nation is also separated as many politicians and their constituents are stuck idly arguing over reforms. This debt crisis is also affecting us on a global scale. This is better explained as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)  did an article on the top ten most educated countries in the world with Canada being ranked first as more than fifty-five percent of the population being college-educated and the U.S. is ranked sixth with not even having forty-six percent of the nation being considered educated. Basically, we are no longer the top nation in the world. We are not leading the world in innovation as we once were and we are still being crushed by student debt. While many us feel hopeless in this situation, now is not the time to give up. Just as we pushed ourselves in the Space Race, we need to actively push ourselves once again to make long-lasting policy changes so that we can continue to encourage secondary education and make sure that our fair nation and that we can once again rise up and remind, not just the world, but ourselves that we are capable of overcoming any trial in our way, because this is America.