Today is the best day of your life.

Ariana reminded me of this one tonight.  It is certainly my favorite of all time.  If there is one thought that we should have with us at every moment, this is it.

It’s not my fault.

I spent some of the past 10 days of my Naples respite thinking about Fr. Sturm.  On one of my playlists, I have his favorite song, A Slow Boat to China.  It’s funny how a tough bastard like Johnny Sturm could love such a sweet song.  It always makes me laugh.  From there, thinking of Fr. John usually gets me thinking about accountability and happiness.  For him that was the alpha and omega of life.  It’s hard to argue how right he was.  It certainly has resonated true with me.  I like to think I have been accountable and happy [and very fortunate], and I like to think I have done him proud.  Maybe I’ll find out for sure one day if his version of heaven and hell actually turns out to be true.  Wouldn’t that be wild?

To say we disagreed would be an understatement, but we certainly shared the unwavering belief that life was a gift from god and we better enjoy it.  He always emphasized ‘enjoy it’ over the more prosaic parental admonishment of ‘don’t waste it.’   It was more than a nuance to him.  If you get that, you are a step ahead.

He pounded into me that life is inherently positive with boundless potential, while the negative comes from the dark side, and it can suck the life out of you if you fall prey to its constant bombardment [which comes disguised as popular culture].  He’d never allow for the darkness to suck the life out of him.  I watched life kick him in the teeth a few times, and each time his disappointment would give way to his inevitable enthusiasm.  He understood that grief was a natural part of life [and love], but he never gave it prominence.  There was a time and place for all emotions, but never could they, or should they, replace the vigor we have reserved for the gift of life.  He always energetically chose life.

In the end, his harsh lessons provided comfort to those who could meet the challenge of living an accountable and happy life.  But for those who needed excuses, he was just a prick.  So it goes.

I live with a firm belief that an appreciation for life is a choice, a choice that fewer and fewer seem to be making.  And while fate will visit us all with an undeserved cruelty from time to time, I always know that in the end I am accountable for my happiness – and fate will just have to move on when it’s done with me.

But for those of you who need an excuse, you can always fall back on the sure-fire winner ‘it’s not my fault.’  It can deceptively preclude just about any accountability – while still punctuating your undeserved misfortune [giving credence and value to your unhappiness].

Who are you?

Are you the person I know?  Why, when I mention you to other people, do I get a description of a somewhat different you? 

While you are thinking about that …

I am a grandfather.  To my grandson, I am Papa.  To my ex-wife, I am the devil.  To my children, depending on who you are asking [and when], I fall somewhere in between.  To the 5,000 former and current Advantage employees, I imagine there are 5,000 different impressions of me.  And so it goes throughout life.  There is the Tony you think you know – and the Tony I think I am.

There really isn’t much I can do about what others think of me  [unless I hire a really crafty publicist].  Maybe my old friend Bill Collins, accomplished publicist that he is, could lend a hand.  But then I would have to bridge the gap of a 30 year old schism that erupted when his partners arrested TM for stealing their gloves [or so they contended].  Of course, years later, TM would steal my Aussie T-shirt designs, rupturing a life-long friendship, but that’s a whole other story.  The point, however, is simply that your impression of me is fashioned uniquely by your impression of yourself and how I impact that very personal and fragile identity.  Sometimes the impact works, and sometimes it doesn’t.  Either way, it is who I am to you.  It’s personal.

When I am in Florida, I feel better about myself.  I am a gracious host to a steady stream of family, friends, partners, and business associates.  But, when I am in Williamsville, I find myself in the role of a critical and annoyed businessman with only a few brief [and much appreciated] respites on Monday night dinners with my kids and grandkids, Sunday morning golf with the Core Group, and the occasional Thursday Bridge Club get together [golf and/or lunch].  But the rest of the time …

Right now, I am back in Florida.  And when I come back to Williamsville in a couple of weeks, I plan on bringing back the Tony I know down here.  It is the Tony I enjoy most.

I love big government [and quite a few of you seem to love big breasts].

First off, allow me to apologize to reacting to a Facebook posting.  I should know better, but sometimes a casual perusal of social media causes an instinctive and necessary reaction [even though any reaction only serves to further the inane stupidity of it all].

I have absolutely no idea who Robert Reich from California is.  But, as a political activist, he’s part of an every increasing mob that has to shout louder with more outrageous nonsensical claims [and solutions] to be heard – and some of them apparently have a ton of money to burn on being heard.  His posting on tax reform [that someone unwittingly passed along to me] got under my skin, and it elicited a rare political response from me.

If you want to talk about skyrocketing and outrageous pay escalation – I remember when pro athletes had to take a second job in the off-season just to make a living, but today they are making a fortune for playing silly games.  Should we blame Lebron James because he is making $40M+ a year for playing basketball while teachers are making $40k+ for teaching our children?  There is a reason why marginally productive athletes make $10M+ per year.  CEO’s are paid the outrageous sums they negotiate for the same reason relief pitchers are paid millions – there just aren’t that many out there that can deliver.  It’s called competition.  

What about the bizarre amount of money a personality like Kim Kardashian makes for being Kim Kardashian [a big-busted provocateur with apparently no talent or ambition to be anything but Kim Kardashian the brand].  These eccentric personalities all make the odious amount of money we pay them in a competitive environment called capitalism.

The fact that people place value on something as troubling as a vapid celebrity should have no bearing on how we tax them.  From Donald Trump to Miley Cyrus to Tiger Woods to Oprah to Jay Z, America [and the world] showers their entertainers with not only their hard earned money but with their soul as well.  There’s a whole generation being bought and sold on vanity – and these celebrities are their new gods.  Yes, it’s a big price to pay [and it should worry you], but it should not be taxed based on its intrinsic value [or complete lack of].  Should we put a limit on what Snooki can still charge for an appearance fee [and tax her more if she exceeds that limit]?  Who are we to say what anything is worth?  In our economy, it is worth what someone is willing to pay for it.  It’s just like eBay.

Everyone rejoices when the stock market takes off and the economy is robust – well, who do you think is making that happen?  Taxing the most productive citizens is always an option, but at some point you have to realize that they are the ones busy building our economy, creating jobs, starting new businesses, funding research, and keeping us competitive in a global economy. 

We need more incentives for our top earners to invest in our economy, not more money for an obscene budget deficit that is not caused by ‘government’ but rather by people.  Big government is good, waste is bad.  We all rely on the social order, safety, and infrastructure the government provides.  People build good governments and people waste.  We should all be busy building a better government and supporting qualified Democrats or qualified Republicans who waste less and govern better.

I’ve heard enough of the almost comical accusations from both sides of the aisle.  Liberals and conservatives have mastered the blame game buttressed by the outrageous vitriol they utilize so casually.  If you believe any of the bombastic bullshit that the talking heads on TV or in social media deliver, you are just an idiot.  

It’s time to get past populism: Focus on electing qualified candidates rather than voting for an issue.  Any idiot candidate can promote your cause, but it takes a qualified candidate to run your government.  You wouldn’t go to a doctor based on their political agenda, so why vote for someone to run your government based on such a spurious criteria?

And that’s about as political as I’ll ever get.

Accounting by God

 

If the COTG is to truly promote the celebration of the gift of life, it is incumbent upon us to provide services to our members that will enable them to be safe and secure.  It starts with financial security.  One of the services the Church of the Good will offer, therefore, is forensic accounting.

Accounting by God simply means accounting with no agenda other than transparency and illumination.  Our forensic service is not intended to make you money, rather it is intended to provide you with a full transparency, accuracy, and assessment of all your financial dealings so that you can make more informed decisions with your advisors.

Our COTG Financial Review will scrupulously examine all of your financial relationships and obligations.  We will review the performance and veracity of your accountants, lawyers, financial advisors, insurance providers, and agents; as well as all contracts, investments, holdings, loans, debt, credit, trusts, associations, tax filings, wills, and financial instruments.

The main value of the COTG forensic team is that it has no agenda beyond your financial well-being; whereas, every other advisor has an economic stake in the retention of you as a source of income.  This allows us the opportunity to provide you with a clear assessment of your financial health, an assessment that is not prejudiced by any other agenda.

What you don’t know may be undermining years of hard work, wise investments, and good faith.  Our forensic review will give you the peace of mind that comes with transparency and accuracy.  While our belief in god is based on faith, there is indeed a preponderance of evidence that substantiates god’s existence [not the least of which is his gift of life].  The same holds true for your advisors.  Every financial relationship you participate in is based on good faith.  And while faith is both uplifting and essential, it is not enough.  We are all responsible for the scrupulous examination of all our activities, associations, and investments.

Let the COTG financial review provide you with the requisite examination that your financial health depends on.

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Information: Financial forensics is the specialty practice area of accountancy that describes engagements that result from actual or anticipated disputes.  “Forensic” means “suitable for use in a court of law,” and it is to that standard and potential outcome that our forensic accounting works.

Our financial forensic engagements are generally concerned with economic damage, whether suffered through tort or breach of contract.  This is, increasingly, an area of great concern.  Often advisors not only mislead, but, at times, surreptitiously compromise their clients through outright theft and conspiracy.

Our forensic engagements also review bankruptcy, insolvency, and reorganization.  And our review adds transparency and credibility to any business valuation.

Our forensic accountants specialize in professional negligence claims where they are assessing and commenting on the work of other professionals.  Our forensic accountants are also engaged in marital and family law of analyzing lifestyle for spousal support purposes, determining income available for child support, and equitable distribution.

The COTG forensic accountants specialize in forensic analytics which is the procurement and analysis of electronic data to reconstruct, detect, or otherwise support a claim of financial fraud. The main steps in forensic analytics are data collection, data preparation, data analysis, and reporting.  We are most noted for our computer forensics/e-discovery.

 

 

Bring Your Own God.

One year ago, I promised to launch the Church of the Good on December 12, 2012.  Since then, I have been ordained a minister and recognized as a Doctor of Divinity by the Universal Life Church.

Today, the journey begins.  The Church of the Good is a non-denominational organization created to simply promote the joy of life.

Over the past several thousand years, a variety of gods have been recognized and worshiped.  They have served as a cynosure for societies and cultures throughout the history of man, while their requisite religious organizations provided a sense of community, morality, and a foundation of ethical behavior.  Unfortunately, some of these various gods have also been called on to justify unspeakable crimes, torture, murder, genocide, financial schemes, and political agendas.  The Church of the Good has no such agenda.

The Church of the Good welcomes you to join us in celebrating the gift of life, and we welcome you to bring your own personal god along with you.  It’s our BYOG program that sets us apart from most religious organizations.  As long as you recognize your god as the giver of life, then both of you will find a welcome home for your beliefs.

We are given this amazing gift of life. It is an opportunity to live.  Every day we decide on what we will make of our lives.  While many of us are compromised by our lot in life, none of us are prevented from being free and alive spiritually.  But, at the Church of the Good, we believe that being alive spiritually is only a small part of the life experience that is our responsibility.  Members of the Church of the Good are builders.  We do not criticize and destroy, rather we imagine and create.  While it is certainly easier to find fault, the Church of the Good seeks only to find good [and then build on that good].

For the chosen members of the Church of the Good, we believe that god recognizes that we appreciate the time he has spent on us.  We also believe that as your god, he appreciates the unique understanding you have of his/her role in your life.  The Church of the Good, therefore, provides a more intimate connection to god – your god.  We call our connection 5 Bars To God.  Think of it as a cloud connection to god.  You can access your god with a better connection at any time, any place.

So, join the Church of the Good, and join us in the enjoyment of life.  Cast out the resident evil in your life and build on the good.

Membership applications will be accepted starting on January 1, 2013.

Sincerely,
Reverend Anthony
Founder, Church of the Good