So the shop Fleurty Girl is abiding by the legal threat handed to them by the NFL. Too bad that the NFL has to pick on this shop (and I have to assume a few other retailers have received similar letters).

I would agree with the NFL’s action in protecting their trademark…if it was something they came up with. However, I remember seeing the phrase “Who Dat?” used for virtually my whole life. As far as I can remember, it began as a home-grown rallying cry – locally thought up by who-knows-who and hand-printed on posterboard and such, to be help up during games, or scrawled on the back on car windshields with shoe polish. So now the NFL claims it’s theirs?

[In fact, the phrase "Who Dat" has been around way before the NFL or even football...it was part of the vaudeville/minstrel tradition for many many years, and only LATER become incorporated into New Orleans' football culture. Again: it's something that organically grew out of New Orleans' unique way of doing things. It should NOT be allowed to be another opportunity for the NFL to make some extra dollars.]

Ridiculous. Some things need to be left alone. Especially something dear and special to local New Orleanians. Leave us what is ours, NFL.

PS – Buy whatever else FleurtyGirl is selling. Support them!

Does this sound familiar? Because if you’re in the same boat as most Americans, it should sound familiar. We aren’t exactly sure what vehicle brought us to our current destination, but we know we don’t want to be here any more. And Uncle Sam’s coming to rescue us. We just have to wait for him to come pick us up.

Only thing is…from past experience, we know we shouldn’t really trust Uncle Sam.

If you’re grounded in reality, you’ve learned to have a healthy distrust of government (in general) and you haven’t forgotten that these people are just people, and they’re fallible. They make some huge mistakes and do the wrong thing, often. They lie. And they do not want to look bad.

[And to make everyone out there happy, lest you think I'm about to bash the messiah Obama, I happen to have the same level of distrust for the Bush gang. So there. Now just listen for a minute, and consider what I have to say.]

I do not care what the major media and government is telling us about the financial crisis – it simply was not caused by the “free market” and cannot be blamed on corporations. When you hear blame being connected with artificially-low-interest mortgages, that’s closer to the real cause – but not quite “there” yet.

The blame should be leveled solely in one place, for just about everything: the Federal Reserve. Specifically, the system of worthless paper money the Fed controls. We’ve been living on borrowed time for years (even now!) and I don’t care how good of a speaker Obama is: injecting more worthless “money” into certain sectors of our economy can’t heal the patient. (Remember? It’s already dead.)

The real reason our economy is failing can be traced to the Fed. The Federal Reserve Bank is the originator of our miseries, and until we have “real” money again and actually allow such a thing as the “free market” to exist, we’ll continue to suffer.

Now, I’m not an authority. (Not that that means much, since the “authorities” don’t seem to know much, themselves.) But I make it my main interest to deal in common sense and wisdom wherever I can find it, and I’ve found quite a bit of actual truth being given out. There actually are some sane thinkers out there who care enough to explain how it all works, and what’s going on.

I just read the book Meltdown by Thomas E. Woods, for one – and I have to say it’s the best explanation of economics I’ve ever seen. (Chapter 6 – “Money” taught me more than I ever learned in school.) Just go get that book; I guarantee you will find it to be extremely eye-opening and valuable. You WILL have a clear understanding of the economy after reading this short book.

After you grab that book and read it (please read it – it’s packed with info, and not too long) just listen to some of the guys who’ve proven they know what they’re talking about. (No, not that Bernanke clown.) Guys like Jim Rogers for instance.

Sane economic practices will become obvious to the mainstream, one day. My only hope is that we don’t have to suffer enslavement, total ruin, or a one-world currency takeover before we get there – and we lament what “could have been”.

After all, when you look in the business section of your local Barnes & Noble and see how many books (basically) address this concern, it has to be the “main thing”, right? Right?

Not necessarily. I would have you take a look at the problem from a slightly different angle and consider another way to approach the problem.

First, ask yourself the question:  “Am I charging enough for my services?”

Yes, you read that correctly. The problem may be with the class of clients you’re currently getting – and by charging more you will definitely be abandoning them, but the “positive” is that you’ll be classifying your business as one that serves a higher class of client.

I have to quote a commenter on a blog a read.

I asked a friend once, “how do you get those huge contracts?”. His response: “charge a lot”.

His point, obviously, is that when he charged more than the next provider he appeared to me a better provider.

The principle of “perceived value” isn’t a made-up fairy tale – it’s quite real and can have definite effects on your level of business and type of clientele.

So, in short, the answer to your problem of “not enough” may have more to do with quality than with quantity. And as risky as it may seem, sometimes raising your prices may be the answer.

While I was thinking about some of the ones who really stand out, I discovered that they all have a lesson or two we can learn (as entrepreneurs). Here are three I picked out, along with the lesson they teach:

Robert Rodriguez. The lesson? Screw people who say you can’t, and prove you can do it yourself. Rodriguez is best known for his later movies, like Spy Kids and the recent Grindhouse collaboration with Quentin Tarantino. But I discovered him when I saw a movie lent to me by a friend of mine (on VHS). It was a low-budget movie called El Mariachi, and it blew me away. I remember thinking: “the guy who made this has balls”. Rodriguez is one of the “VCR directors” – a director who largely learned how to direct by watching a lot of movies. He didn’t go to film school, then do things the “traditional way”; he just DID it. He wanted to direct cool movies, and as far as he was concerned…he could. And I think that’s an inspiring way to view anything in life.

Russ Meyer. The lesson? Fill a niche, and serve the market what it will buy. Russ wasn’t one of the classiest movie-makers. He wasn’t one of the best, either. But he knew what kind of movies people would pay money to see, and he knew what he needed to provide. In case you’re not familiar, his product was pretty much the same in every movie he made: big boobs. Yes, Russ Meyer was a true DIY movie producer and he had the rebellious, irreverent attitude that usually goes along with being a do-it-yourselfer. He made a whole bunch of movies that featured well-endowed women, and his movies remain cult classics to this day – selling still, after decades.

Johnny Depp. The lesson? Fulfill your vision and be true to yourself. Since I was a kid, I’ve always admired Johnny Depp. My sister took me to see Edward Scissorhands when it came out, and even then it was obvious that it was not a conventional movie. I followed Johnny Depp’s films since then. I haven’t always liked his movies, but more often than not I could see some level of genius or artistry in what the film represented or in how Depp performed. I like that about him: he’s willing to do things that not everyone approves of, because he wants to do what he feels is best for him (as an artist, or performer). Shouldn’t we all have a bit of that in the way we live our lives? I think so. If we did, I believe it would lead to more fulfillment and more purpose.

These are fairly simple lessons, but I think if we took each of them to heart they could be life-altering. For an entrepreneur, they could be phenomenal lessons in profit and success.

In no particular order…

1. You don’t have to be rich, but it’s necessary to have enough. Deprivation and poverty aren’t anyone’s idea of success. The key is to be satisfied with enough and make wise financial decisions. Think before you buy; learn to control your “wanter.” Remember, too, that the direction you are going in is more important than where you have been.

2. Have meaningful relationships. Many people work long and hard at their careers or running a business. If only this much effort goes into their relationships with the people who matter! Learn to communicate. Say the things you should say. Make time for people. Make memories with people.

3. Be benevolent. Volunteer. Mentor. Invest your time and money in something you believe in. People who are involved in humanitarian causes are more satisfied and have an easier time seeing the big picture.

4.  Be trustworthy.  Keep your word; honor your commitments.  Then people will respect and honor you.  This is key in having a successful life.

5. Live on purpose.  Too many people live without thinking and end up somewhere they do not want to be because they neglected to think about what they really wanted.  Too many commitments, the wrong career,  wasted time and money- all because they never stopped to consider why and what they were doing.  Live consciously.  Periodically evaluate your life and then make adjustments.

6. You need time.  Everything in our life takes time.  Many people never get around to doing the important things because they were too busy.

Success is living a satisfying, fulfilling, meaningful life. In all aspects. Balance.