n an asset and a liability.

More money seldom solves someone's money problems. Intelligence solves problems, There is a saying a friend of mine says over and over to people in debt.

"If you find you have dug yourself into a hole... stop digging."

As a child, my dad often told us that the Japanese were aware of three powers; "The power of the sword, the jewel and the mirror."

The sword symbolizes the power of weapons. America has spent trillions of dollars on weapons and, because of this, is the supreme military presence in the world.

The jewel symbolizes the power of money. There is some degree of truth to the saying, "Remember the golden rule. He who has the gold makes the rules."

The mirror symbolizes the power of self-knowledge. This self-knowledge, according to Japanese legend, was the most treasured of the three.

The poor and middle class all loo often allow the power of money to control them. By simply getting up and working harder, failing to ask themselves if what they do makes sense, they shoot themselves in the foot as they leave for work every morning. By not fully understanding nioney, the vast majority of people allow the awesome power of money to control them. The power of money is used against them.

If they used the power of the mirror, they would have asked themselves, "Does this make sense?" All too often, instead of trusting their inner wisdom, that genius insid