Personally, I am grateful to have known and befriended an individual who became a casualty of war in Afghanistan. His name was John Wayne Faught, this is not a typo, this is his real name. He was born to lead and lead he did. I will never forget his words at the last meal we shared together, it was as if he knew he wasn’t going to come back. An ire feeling came over me as well. He proclaimed, “Phil, I have never lost a man on my watch”. Then on January 16, 2010, at the age of 44, he died in Kandahar, Afghanistan by stepping on a land mine. His words came to fruition as he saved the lives of his much younger battalion brothers by sacrificing his own. Not one man would die on his watch. A true hero, whom I had as a friend. I wrote a letter to Don Cherry and like always he gave his salute on  Hockey Night in Canada to John Wayne Faught, also known as ‘Crusty’.

In today’s society, a word spoken out of context can destroy you or your business. Case in point,  Don Cherry when on Hockey Night in Canada a few years ago referred to new immigrants as “You people” encouraging them to wear a poppy in remembrance of the sacrifices made by Canadian soldiers so that all could understand the sacrifices made to allow all to live in our Nation with freedom. His passion for the military has always been consistent along with his patriotism for the country he loves. These same words were echoed in the late 1990s with no reaction but in today’s day and age, like I previously mentioned, the wrong word can destroy an individual, a business or a community. The purge by Corporate Directors is more a reflection of public opinion than defending the words or actions of an individual. Activists uprising in what is known as Woke culture, use the media as a pawn to amplify their position with their objective being to destroy a corporate culture or societal norms. Those in power wilt like the flowers on a cold day concerned more for their chance to maintain their position rather than stand for common sense.

The bottom line, real leadership needs to stand for people to unite them not divide them! The world has become fragmented and divided.  Commerce and supply chains are in disarray contributing to fast-rising inflation which will eventually crush those whose earnings can’t catch up to reality. Furthermore, people today just won’t be willing to sacrifice anything because entitlement says I deserve everything and anything wanted. Many don’t have the will to work toward achieving anything on their own merits, especially when government handouts sustain ‘la vitta Bella. As a result, it could be a factor in contributing to low productivity thus overall weaker and slower growth. Ingenuity is the driving force to expanding market places but when there is no will, there is no way!

Creativity, technological advancements, contributing to making life more efficient, ultimately make people complacent. The most successful people in the world are immigrants. Many came from strife, experiencing pain, war, famine and unimaginable deplorable experiences. Ultimately making them stronger, leading to personal successes and above all wealth.  They understood the meaning of sacrifices and it is because of the humble experiences they have become leaders of commerce and enterprise in their own right.

American CPI exploded higher to 6.2% expected (5.3%) as a measurement of inflation. As a result, the USD Index rose above the 95.0 level assuming the Federal Reserve could potentially raise rates earlier.  Jobless claims came in at 267k expectations were for (265k) and Oil opened around the $83/barrel yesterday and today it slips below $80/barrel. As a result, the Cad$ Initially plunges below the 0.80 cent level while the Euro is in a free fall. Precious Metals also explode higher on the inflation sentiment. Gold was close to $1870/oz while Silver tests above the $25/oz level. Meanwhile, Bitcoin a phenomenon of creating wealth out of thin air nearly tested the $69k mark versus the USD. As long as someone is willing to pay you more than you paid you shall be fine, just don’t get greedy!