Mike Schuster, DDS

With the current recession and credit crisis looming, it is enlightening to go deeper and look at human beings relationship with money. Mike Schuster comments on the nature of dentists, human beings and money. "Money, for the many I've met is a drug. The more you make the more you want. Being truthful about money is one of the first tests of maturity and control over our emotions."

Mike has also written an excellent DE article on 8 steps you can take to recession proof your dental practice. Go to: Dental Economics-Dental News - Recession proofing your practice

Money, Power, Greed, Corruption - the Achilles heal of capitalism is greed

By Mike Schuster, DDS

They don't call it one of the 7 Deadly Sins for no reason at all. This is a simple, but powerful truth which has nothing to do with the year 2008, but has to do with the mind and emotions of men and women.

Money is power. What I have seen these past 30 years mirrors what Jacob Needleman wrote in "Money and the Meaning of Life". There is more money at the top, so people lie, cheat and steal to get even more.

Money, for the many I've met is a drug. The more you make the more you want. Being truthful about money is one of the first tests of maturity and control over our emotions. Since I've only worked with dentists in my entire life I can only really write about dentists, but what I've witnessed is true for other human beings as well. What we see in dentists mirrors human nature.

In a recent conversation with a dentist this is what he said: "Every night I come home and my wife and I spend about an hour talking about money." This is a young dentist in the grips of the money drug. Like an alcoholic, the 'moneyholic' can never make enough. No matter how much he or she has, it takes more to sooth the pain of not having enough. It is simply amazing what money does to a great many people, famous and infamous.

I'm reminded of a statement in Napoleon's Think and Grow Rich, one of the most important insights I've ever read regarding money and it is at the very core of the problems in Washington and Wall Street.

I'm reminded of a statement in Napoleon's Think and Grow Rich, one of the most important insights I've ever read regarding money and it is at the very core of the problems in Washington and Wall Street.

"Animals prey on each other physically. Man, with his superior intelligence doesn't prey on his fellow man physically, but rather financially. Man is so avaricious that every conceivable law regarding has to be passed to protect man from his fellow man regarding money!"

And so, my friends, the behavior we witness today is nothing new; those in power betray the public trust. They abuse you to get the money and the power it brings. The more money there is at stake the more lies, deceit, and corruption you will see. It has always been this way: even Jesus Christ was betrayed by his 'friend' for '13 pieces of silver'. Don't you find this a bit ironic?

For these reasons and many others, when I created a totally new business model, I realized the importance of gaining control of money, being absolutely honest with it and about it, and also having huge controls over the flow of money in your business (where all the money starts) but in every area of your life.

If you are in business, and you have partners, you have to be absolutely dead honest with your partners about money. If you aren't honest with every person, ask yourself why? It will be about power, greed and control.

You have to be dead honest with your spouse about money. You spouse needs to know everything about money, no exceptions. If you aren't completely truthful with them, then you are lying to them. Why do you lie? If you are not completely honest with money then you are completely dishonest. On a small scale, the many mirror the activities in Washington and Wall Street.

You can't really advance in life without gaining control over your emotions, your lies, your deceptions about money. This is why we use 8 cardinal principles, but 37 different systems and policies to control the flow of money in your business.

The majority don't or won't do this. The majority will wander their entire lives in pursuit of more money, plugged into the American Nightmare or more and more and more. It has always been and will always be the Bell Curve.

3% will be at the top--they will understand, seek answers to their own behavior and gain control over the forces that dominate most lives.

60% are in the middle. They are the average folks. This group does not avail itself to spend time with those in the top 3% group, so they don't think, act or feel like the top group. Bear in mind the top 3% are there because they are emotionally and spiritually mature.

27% at the bottom are living week to week and paycheck to paycheck. This group has neither the knowledge, the understanding, the education, the mental mindset or emotions to handle the little they have at any time.

People on the other hand have tremendous powers to change themselves.

Perhaps this will never change. As my good friend L.D. Pankey stated: "You can change people, but not much." People on the other hand have tremendous powers to change themselves.

With sound, principle based information, together with the right support, any worthwhile purpose can be accomplished, provided it is properly planned and thoroughly sequenced. Ethics and principles have to enter into this equation, but where? Its your life…you have a great deal of freedom to live it as you see fit. But remember this, you only get one shot at it.

What we are experiencing in Washington and Wall Street isn't a Republican thing or a Democratic thing, it's a human thing.

But you can take this truth to the bank. When you take away the controls on money, Greed will prevail. It is the unfortunate truth of the human condition. It takes an enormous amount of ethical discipline to face and live with truth. Many talk about it but few of us really attempt to live it.

We all pay the price for Greed in high places. My Dad used to say this with some frequency.

"Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Look at your own behavior in regards to money, power and greed. Sure, we need to make more money, at least to handle inflation, but think deeply about your personal relationship to money and how it controls your thinking, your emotions and your behavior.

Your mind, your emotions, your life is all you really have control over.

This article is used with the permission of Mike Schuster, DDS

Mike has written a book, "The Science of Creating Wealth". To see a streaming video of Mike lecturing on the principles in his book, to order the book or find more information on Mike, his lecture schedule and the Schuster Center's offerings go to: The Science of Creating Wealth | The Schuster Center