I recently heard myself say it again. “I can’t motivate anybody. You have to find something that motivates yourself.”

For nearly 45 years, I have been promoted as “Motivational Speaker.” The fact is, nothing could be further from the truth. What I am, and what I always was, was a speaker who got paid to share many of life’s experiences in an effort to “stimulate” others to action.

The weakness of the Euro (and the strength of the U.S. dollar) is unfortunate for the Europeans. Citizens in the Eurozone appear to have a tough winter and a potentially deep recession to endure in the months ahead. We hope that doesn’t come to pass, but what is clear is that the Euro is in decline, which may, or may not, be transitory.

Earlier this week, the Euro and U.S. dollar reached parity, and in fact, the Euro even dipped slightly below one U.S. dollar on Wednesday. Parity between the two major world currencies hasn’t happened in 20 years, and some analysts posit that the Euro has even further to fall. Read the rest of this entry »