Hope for your financial life and beyond

Bugs Bunny’s Quest to Beat Cecil Turtle Cost Him Dearly

Hidden Nuggets Series #43 – “A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.” – Proverbs 28:20

Cecil TurtleOver a six-year period between 1941 and 1947, Bugs Bunny and Cecil Turtle engaged one another in three epic racing duels. Bugs was steamed upon learning the story of The Tortoise and the Hare in Aesop’s Fables. He set out to debunk the legend that a slow turtle could ever beat a speedy rabbit.

In their initial race, Cecil employs the help of his eight look-alike relatives/friends to serve as doubles. He positions them along the race path to confuse Bugs. Of course, one is waiting just past the finish line claiming victory when Bugs arrives.

In the 1943 rematch, Bugs builds an aerodynamic turtle shell that slips over his body. Cecil counters by wearing a rabbit suit. The not-so-bright Bunny Mob, who has placed all its bets on the rabbit, confuses Bugs for the turtle and prevents him from winning the race.

Four years later, Bugs gets one final shot. In classic Looney Tunes style this race would end with a dramatic twist.

Cecil Turtle Gets to Bugs

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I’ll Take Money Over Love. Would You Ever?

Hidden Nuggets Series #14 – “…and every one of us will give you 1,100 pieces of silver.” – Judges 16:5

money over loveWhat values would you betray for money? Would you take money over love? Would you lie or steal if you had a 100% chance of striking it rich?

Would you abandon your morals for one million dollars? Would it make a difference for $10 million? $100 million?

Even thinking about that question makes us feel dirty. We try to convince ourselves it would be impossible to forsake our core principles and beliefs for money. Deep inside, however, we know there would be serious temptation, especially if our financial situation was dire.

Such is the nature of our humanity.

Of course the scenario I set forth Hollywood has already made into a movie – the 1993 not-so-critically-acclaimed drama Indecent Proposal. (Kids need not apply to watch!) It’s not an original story line however, because the theme of someone taking money over love dates back much further than that.

She Took Money Over Love

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Ways We Lie About Money

Have you ever told a little white lie about money? What might a “money-lie” look like? Here are some examples I could think of:

*Exaggerating your net worth or monthly income on a blog post.

Woman Quiet

Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net

*Saying you got a better deal on an item than you really did.

*Telling someone who asked for money that you didn’t have any with you to give (ashamed to say I’m guilty here).

*Pretending you gave more to a cause than you actually did.

*Hiding or covering up your spending habits. (Guilty here as well and as you can read about here).

*Failing to report income earned in cash on your tax forms.

Why are we so apt to distort the truth? I think the core of the issue revolves around three main principles:

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How Far Would You Go To Get What You Want?

Darth VaderEver been around someone who is never satisfied? It doesn’t matter how much they have they always want more. Contentment is a foreign word to them.

There is a delicate balance between being content and striving for more and the two seem to compete against one another. Being content is an inner attitude that has a lot to do with a peaceful state of mind. Striving for more is an action that outwardly suggests you aren’t entirely settled with your present circumstances.

In all honesty, I’m not sure where the boundary line is drawn. I think, however, I might be able to figure out when somebody crossed the line, like in this story.

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Gambling on the Super Bowl – What I Didn’t Know

Football and MoneyThe culmination of the 2012 NFL season is just a few days away. The Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers have made their way to the final table and are busy making preparations for Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans. I will be one of countless millions from around the world watching from the comforts of their home. I’ll enjoy being with my family, course after course of great food and hopefully some great commercials.

This year, I will watch as a casual, relaxed observer because I couldn’t care less about either of these teams. But I’ll watch anyway just because the Super Bowl is the biggest sporting event of the year. It’s must see TV in my book.

Another reason I won’t feel any tension is because I won’t have anything riding on the game in someone else’s book. That’s right…no bets on the game in my house.

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All That Glitters Is Not Gold

You can see it in his eyes. The passion…the desire…the intense hunger to possess the golden treasure. The moment of a lifetime has finally come. All the tests have been passed and now the reward is within his grasp. Nothing can stop him now.

Accept maybe the consequences that await from lifting that little golden head off its intended resting place. You just knew that little bag of sand was not going to work.

In the next few moments, Indiana Jones would face a collapsing cave roof, poison darts, spears thrust from the cave walls (which did skewer his traveling companion), a giant rolling boulder, natives with spears and more blow darts before he barely escapes with his life. The worst part is he didn’t even get to keep the treasure, having to turn it over to his treasure-seeking arch rival. Sure does seem like something bad happens when we try to attain something that we are not supposed to have.

Ever heard it said that the eyes are the window to the soul?

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For the Love of Money

“Money money money money, MONEY!”

“Some people got to have it…Hey, Hey, Hey – some people really need it…Hey, listen to me, y’all do thangs, do thangs, do thangs – bad thangs with it

Well, you wanna do thangs, do thangs, do thangs – good thangs with it…talkin’ about cash money, money…Talkin’ bout cash money – dollar bills y’all…”

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