Why You Need to be Self-Reliant

... as a person, a family, a company or even a nation. Dig this tidbit from a Der Spiegel article wondering if the EU bailout will work.

EU leaders apparently decided that half-hearted gestures were no longer enough. Many economists had accused German Chancellor Angela Merkel of dragging her feet too much during the Greece crisis. Now, however, they are marveling at the sheer size of the bailout plan.

Still, there are risks. "No one knows if the bulwark has been solidly constructed," Enderlein warns. Should push come to shove, it is still unclear whether the figures announced will actually materialize. "Many details are still unclear," Enderlein says. "Political majorities could fail to materialize, and the financial wiggle room of the rich euro-zone countries is limited."

This calls to mind what I'm trying to teach my children and why. Among other things, I'm trying to teach them three basic principles for life.

• Get and stay married.


• Get good at something you like to do that is valuable to other people.


• Spend less than you earn.

Broadly speaking, if you do those things, chances are pretty good that you won't be in the same spot as Greece or the protestors at UC Berkley. You won't be dependent on others. The Der Spiegel article gives you a window into just how the decision process of those "others" works. It's all compromise and wrangling. They're trying to help the nations and banks that have failed, but at the same time they're playing their own games. The aid package is not designed solely for the rescue of the failed organizations.

The only person that will develop plans dedicated solely to your (or your family's or your business' or your nation's) success is you. Externally developed plans will have hidden motives and clauses and consequences, intentional or not.