Finance

     This month’s finance course completely subverted my conception of the capital world. More particularly, I was a completely financial illiteracy before I toke this class. I was in too deep of the pattern of study hard-work hard-live hard circle. I know most middle class do not want to admit they are middle class, or deliberately avoid the class topic. However, as lot of people, I grew up in a middle class family and more than 90% odds I will become a middle class, so as the other middle class kids.

     We all know it is very hard to span classes; only some lucky fellows could do that, and most of them are artists or athlete. If you ask the middle class why do you think you cannot span classes, they may answer because I am not smart enough, I am not work hard enough or I do not have a great degree. Before this month, if you ask me, I will give the same answer. Robert Kiyosaki’s Rich Dad Poor Dad gives me a fresh concept of capital and our class. As Kiyosaki said in the book, middle class is a group of people whom tremendously insecure about their potential. Nevertheless, the great mass of tax revenue to support the country comes from their hard work. In most cases, the reason middle class always struggle for their finance situation merely because they are financial illiterate honest men. They always follow the middle class study hard-work hard pattern, and have no ideal how to play the capital games that rich people plays. They believe education may change their fate, but they forget university was build to educate professional but rich people.

     In today’s society, rich people seems have to pay the higher tax rate than middle class and lower class, but do not forget who made the rule of the games. Capitalists could hire professional accountants and attorneys helping them find legal loopholes. Moreover, they subsidize election campaign and support the politicians whom could change the law.

     In Kiyosaki’s book, he introduced the way that rich people use corporation to reasonable tax, and how to help people become financial literacy. This is not a soft advertising, but I have to say I am so glad that my instructor introduced this book to us.

Kiyosaki, R. T. (2011). Chapter 4. In Rich dad, poor dad: What the rich teach their kids about money-- that the poor and middle class do not (pp. 79-90). Scottsdale, AZ: Plata Pub.

Business Storytellers

http://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action

When I try to find a great speaker, I opened the page of The Most Popular Talks of All Time list on TED, and I watched five videos of those twenty. Simon Sinek's How Great Leaders Inspire Action really impressed me. Not only because what he said, but also the way he communicate with his audiences. A brilliant storyteller like Sinek starts his speech with a group of questions that people familiar with but hard to answer. Why is Apple so innovative? Year after year, why Apple more innovative than all of his competitors? Why is it that Martin Luther King led the Civil Rights Movement? And why is it that the Wright Brothers invented aircraft? Why them rather than anybody else? The way Sinek starts his speech makes people concentrated with what he will say. And in the whole process, he keeps using evidences to prove his concept. Clear idea and simple concept make people easy to follow. Honest attitude and passionate speech let he built trust and share knowledge in the same time.      

     In Sinek’s speech, I cannot find any show off of speech skill or intentionally humor. What I find is an honest man sharing his knowledge in the simplest way. As an audience, what I feel is sincerity and connection. In his speech, I find out the best way to built trust and connection with audience is telling the story honestly, and using the passion to achieve that.    

     Golden Circle is the basic concept of Sinek’s lecture, which explained in the biology of human decision-making. “Why” is the core of golden circle, “How” is the second and “What” is the outermost. Sinek explained Apple, Martin Luther King and Wright Brothers’ success because they all start with “Why”. Money is not the reason that is the outcome. “Why” is the key of success. Sinek said “People don't buy what you do; people buy why you do it.” What we believe is more important than what we do in the beginning. Telling people what you believe, and if that is what they believe they will feel a connection, and then they will have interest to know what you do. Sinek also said, “If you hire people just because they can do a job, they'll work for your money. But if you hire people who believe what you believe, they'll work for you with blood and sweat and tears.”

     Sinek’s speech inspired me in so many ways. Especially the content of his speech makes me think deeply about why I need to found a company and how it will be. Why it matters is the first question I need to consider.  

Cinema Are Going To Die Out?

     In 1963, there is a French filmmaker, Jean-Luc Godard, predicted The End of Cinema. It is hard to imagine the depression of movie theaters at that time. However, in the On-Demand Culture society people could watch film or TV shows in everywhere with their new media equipment. Netflix and the Weinstein Company was planned to release sequel to the movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” simultaneously on Netflix and a select number of Imax theaters. This activity seems a big sign that Netflix want to break the traditional method for releasing films. Through this time only Imax will involve in the screening, it still will be a big bomb for the old so-called windowing system for movies. If some people restate the end of cinema theory at this time, it will be more convincing.     

     Tradition movie theaters have its undeniable charm. For long time, filmmakers want their movies been watched in front of big screens. However, with the aspire for audiences’ demand for multiple ways exhibit, rising video websites and production companies are both seek for new way to improve their profits. At the turning point, tradition cinema seems still have currently advantage to stick the major group of audiences, while when more and more production companies make a deal with new distributor like Netflix, the end of cinema maybe not far.    

     For now, the rule that new released movies could first screening in cinemas for three month, then for streaming is the biggest amulet for movie theaters. Once this rule been broken, cinemas have to facing cruel competition from streaming medias. Before the rule is not been broken, theater owners have to figure out new ways to improve its services and create more ways get profits. Otherwise, the big depression of cinemas will in the near future.