THE REVIEWS

PATRIOTISM 2.0

My name is Christopher Peter and welcome to the Christopher Peter Review.

I firmly believe that people are dynamic to truly love their nation, while understanding there are opportunities for improvement. No nation on this earth can claim to be the perfect nation and free of any controversial action in extended length of their history.

People evolve over time and values and norms change. Perspective is needed to be rational and intellectually mature about events that are not so great overall. Every individual has made decisions that they regret or would not do so if they knew the consequences of those decisions. Same with societies. There are practices that were institutionalized that will not be returned because times have changed.

In all fairness, no nation can claim absolute perfection. But the United States of America is the gold standard. No nation has done more to elevate people out of poverty and oppression than America. No nation has stood up to Communism, Fascism, and terrorism and succeeded as the driving force. No nation affords their people the economic freedom, personal freedom, security, and choice America offers.

In this special episode, I discuss the importance of patriotism America and debate recent Supreme Court rulings. Please enjoy. Wish you all a Happy July 4th celebration!

MANAGING CHANGE

My name is Christopher Peter and welcome to The Christopher Peter Review.

There are few guarantees in life. Only that everything changes and we will have to adapt, manage, or succumb to that change. Some people want to be the drivers of change, while others do everything in their power to ensure that the change is vetted and tested before it is allowed to impact society.

I believe there are valid arguments for both sides of being an agent for change and being a supporter of tradition. Change for the sake of change can create negative externalities that the proponent of that change should have anticipated ahead of time and mitigated. At the same time, the prisoner of the moment may overlook the current externalities some may experience that need to be addressed.

This is why change must be managed or vetted to ensure that we can be effective, efficient, and consistent with our shared guiding values that make our society the best in the world and our economy the premier innovation machine and opportunity generator on earth. We must anticipate to the best of our abilities the costs, risks, and benefits before agreeing. Some effects you cannot reverse. And cost spent on failed endeavors are funds that could have been used on more beneficial endeavors.

In this podcast episode, I discuss some idea to facilitate change including how to improve sports talk shows, the one day coup, and new approaches companies are taking to manage their workforce as well as other recent current events. Please enjoy below.

MANAGING REALITY

My name is Christopher Peter and welcome to The Christopher Peter Review.

One of the easiest thing people do in this world is see a gap in others. See mistakes or missteps others make and dissect these moments in a manner to highlight our own self belief in our own intelligence. How can this person have done this or done that when it was so obvious the choices he or she should have made. We all personally believe that we know what someone else should have done with their lives, their careers, or daily situations.

Sometimes we lose this perspective when looking at people who are more successful than we believe they should be. This person must have done some immoral action to gain an advantage that we did not do. This person got there because of their race, gender, other demographic, or network. There between who we perceive them to be and how they got be where they are in life. So we fill in the blanks to make ourselves feel better about our situations.

That is life in America and really any society for the most part. Our reality is not always real, but our perception of what must have took place in order to feel better or less worse about our own lives. That is how we get out of bed each day. Now, I am not trying to make the impression that we are all purposefully malice individuals. Many times people do not act on their thoughts. We do not treat someone differently because we think they have ill gotten gains. We do not help someone even if we believe there is a correction that could change their perceived situation.

My point is that a birds eye view is not always the reality that individual is really facing. Maybe that person who has a better title than we have benefited from performing well on visible projects, affording him or her a fast track through no real fault of their own. They had an opportunity and took advantage of it. Maybe that person who we think is making all the wrong decisions has a host of other factors that make these straight forward decisions not so straight forward.

In this podcast episode, Managing Reality, I focus on discussing how we are impacted by marketing in our lives. Many times we think we are behaving in rational manners, but are really reacting to exposures to marketing promotions, societal engineering, socialization, and other factors that influence our decision making in a not so straight forward manner. At times, we need to challenge our norms, default positions, and instinctive actions to understand why these exist for us and if they really belong in our respective lives.

Please experience this podcast episode below, where I also discuss inflation as well as other current events.

THE COST OF MONEY

My name is Christopher Peter and welcome to The Christopher Peter Review.

Does the financial ends justify the means to attain that financial benefit? There is a saying that everyone has a price, which might be true. There may be a price point where we are willing to set aside our personal standards and principles to experience a financial benefit that is needed in the moment or just to satisfy a momentary urge.

When we set aside our personal standards and guiding principles, we also set aside any excuse related to consequences or externalities that may exist because of that decision. The excuse that we did not know or anticipate the effect is not an adequate excuse when the result came from a pure monetary pursuit.

I am a capitalist at heart and believe people should maximize their outcomes and financial viability. Take advantage of opportunities that exists because some come only once in a lifetime. But you must understand not only your benefit, but what the potential cost associated that others may bear.

For instance, there are many companies that offer services that really do not make the customer better. They enjoy back end rebates and incentives, while exposing the end user or consumer to financial and other risks that they should not bear. When the regulators come knocking, should we really be sympathetic to the argument that this was not something they could have anticipated?

In this new podcast episode, I lead a discussion on the true cost of streaming, Trump’s new indictment, and the PGA Merger as well as other recent current events. Please click below to experience The Cost of Money podcast episode.

NEW CHALLENGES AND CHALLENGERS

My name is Christopher Peter and welcome to The Christopher Peter Review.

The quality of policymaking is a result of the pool of candidates available to compete for the 538 spots in Congress, 50 governorships, and single opportunity for President of the United States. While many pundits prefer a quite and predictable path towards nominations, our democracy may be better served with more engaging and thorough discourse reflecting the diverse views of the various sects of each party.

The voters that make up each of the leading political parties are not monolithic on either side. Both Republicans and Democrats hold a blend of views that may fall under the label of conservative, liberal, moderate, or fringe. The successful candidate will usually be the one that finds the right mix that connects the broadest coalition and has the proper timing. Sometimes, you may have the right message, just the wrong time for it.

There are many challengers seeking the 2024 Republican nomination. But, there are only two that have a realistic chance. Former President Donald Trump and highly successful Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. There are two people competing to unseat Joe Biden. While he is on the clear path to continue his plan to rerun, I think there should be some concern of how popular some of the more radical members of his party are showing in the race.

Elections have consequences. Some lasting longer than others. In this new podcast episode, I discuss the 2024 GOP field, ideas for small business, the importance of travel, the NBA finals, and boycotts. Please click below to experience The Challenge.

INNOVATION POTENTIAL

My name is Christopher Peter and welcome to The Christopher Peter Review.

The goal is always to do things with better quality, in a faster manner, and with greater efficiency. If you can do this in your job, there will be promotions in your future more likely than not. If you can do this with your company, you will increase your profits and improve your ability to compete.

The need for innovation is always around us and is constantly thrown upon us when least expected. For instance, all those writers currently on strike in Hollywood, they probably have a real good understanding of how artificial intelligence will impact their viability and need. They see their replacement is here and available.

New technology, new processes, and new uses for current products and services can become a game changer. Who knew that people would much rather ride in the back of someones personal car rather than the standard yellow taxis that offer questionable environments and high prices. Innovation changed that.

While everything needs to be better quality, faster to the customers, and cheaper, we must ensure that innovation still retains the value to the consumer or else the savings will not help. The products may be cheaper for the business, but consumers may not feel that the product is worth the price to their household.

In this podcast episode, I discuss the need to embrace innovation in a responsible manner as well as other recent current events. Please experience this new episode below.

FISCAL & PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY

My name is Christopher Peter and welcome to The Christopher Peter Review.

Responsibility is the most avoided concept in our society. We want to be able to do what we want, when we want, and not want to experience the consequences of those decisions. We want to buy what we want and not drown ourselves with the rules and expectations that come with ownership.

In many aspects, there are many Americans allergic to the idea that personal responsibility is important. In the podcast episode below, I discuss why personal responsibility is important and how successful people in our society accept personal responsibility as a way of life.

Think of your favorite athlete or entertainer. They did not reach the levels of success by deflecting responsibility. They understood the need to be better than the person in front of them or they would lose their roster spot. Be more appealing that the artist releasing during the same week or lose sales overall.

In this podcast episode, I also discussed fiscal responsibility. If you are spending money you did not personally earn, you are expected to do your best to retain it as long as possible or grow it in a risk averse manner. Too many people in power recklessly spend money they did not earn. And we are shocked when they need more and more.

Please experience this episode below to see why this ideals are so important as well as our discussions on recent current events.

OPPORTUNITY

My name is Christopher Peter and welcome to The Christopher Peter Review.

America is known as the land of opportunity. Opportunity is such a broad economic term. It is the driving force for our economic pursuits. We want the opportunity to elevate our state in life. The opportunity to define our own selves and being. We want the opportunity to live in safe, vibrant, and growing communities. We want to achieve our piece of the American Dream.

What will you do with the opportunities that you currently experience or will experience in the future? That is what really matters. What happened in the past or with someone else is not relevant to your experience. When opportunity knocks are you ready to answer the door and make something out of it?

I do not think enough is made to show how people each and every day make lemonade when all they have is lemon. For instance, the successful entrepreneurs who come from less fortunate backgrounds and find financial success through ambition, ingenuity, and hard work. Those are the stories we need to hear.

So many people will complain about perceived unfairness or accept being victim of circumstance. Instead, we need to see how people saw their situation and found ways to make it better. The opportunities afforded to your parents are not the same ones you will experience. Over time, opportunities change and people need to adapt.

In this podcast episode, I discuss how the technology fueling the gig economy is providing many the opportunity to experience economic freedom. In addition, I comment on the message Joe Biden offered for his re-election bid. Please experience this podcast episode below.

IDEOLOGY

My name is Christopher Peter and welcome to The Christopher Peter Review.

There are many strongly held beliefs and principles that we all hold that may differ from person to person. Some hold strong beliefs that everything in life can be achieved exclusively through hard work, ambition, and perseverance. Some belief that everyone’s purpose is to make the world a better place for not only themselves but others around them.

These guiding principles can inspire us to do great things. Motivate us to pursue change when we see big moments where things are not what they should be or could be. We take this principles and find ways to make them appealing to the broader masses or functional to our daily work. For instance, people with Christian faith, typically will be more compassionate in their interactions or human, empathetic towards the consumer experience.

These personal ideologies are developed over time or are a result of important moments in our lives. Much of what we believe to be universal truths are things we were taught as children or experiences we had. For instance, it is easier to believe the traditional value of hard work if you saw the benefits it had on your childhood, but less so if you saw your parents go to work everyday and struggle. If you enjoyed a comfortable childhood, this reinforced the value. If not, it was something you will reject. In reality, hard work does pay off, but there are no guarantees in life.

The challenges in our society is when there are conflicts between people who hold completely different sets of these strongly held beliefs. In the past, Americans understood that the best path forward was through negotiation to achieve compromises that could make outcomes somewhat suitable for all sides. But negotiation in the modern sense is becoming less about achieving workable solutions and more about finding ways to force the submission of the other party.

For instance, there is a business book about negotiations where the author discusses never giving an inch in negotiations. I get the idea and the importance of holding your ground in negotiations. If one side believes the other will need to give in, either do to necessity or lack of fortitude, why alter your offering or position. Negotiations are about leverage and willpower at times. But sometimes the desire to win a negotiation is given false importance than reaching a timely and beneficial solutions.

Now, the word compromise is being another word we cannot say in the political realm. Compromise is treated as a slur, detailing the person as unfit for leadership because they will waffle the first change they get. But I think there should be credit given for people willing to construct workable ideas that bridge the gaps in these negotiations where progress can be made and avoid disruptions or harm to our overall economy and society.

In the following podcast episode, Ideology, I discuss how rigid ideology negatively impacts society, financial assets for the upcoming CRC Fund, and other current events. Please experience this episode below.

THE PROPER MINDSET

My name is Christopher Peter and welcome to The Christopher Peter Review.

In this edition of the Christopher Peter Review, I lead discussion on the benefits of capitalism, a growing NATO alliance, updates on the political drama, and great deal of beer talk.

Please experience the new format starting with the podcast episode below.