Archive for January, 2011
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Why Troubled Teens Fight
In earlier blog entries I have talked about the high incidents of crime in poverty neighborhoods. What most people don’t understand is that poverty doesn’t always allow you to be good. Poverty is evil, but most people are not. I was invo
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A Glimpse of Wonderment
The photo on the right, taken atop Mauna Kea on the big Island in Hawaii, is the only place in the United States where you can see 80% of the constellations. There is observatory in Chile where you can see the remaining 15% of the stars. Thoug
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Troubled Teen Escapes Poverty: Achieves Financial Independence
That's me, Doug Wallace, top center in the above photo. My siblings and I lived with our parents in the Kirkpatrick Homes housing projects in Granite City, IL in 1955. There were six of us children back then. Years later, our mot
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True Love Travels on A Gravel Road!
Have you ever heard Elvis sing the song, “True Love Travels on a Gravel Road?” He does a great job. But, I’ve never heard anyone sing this classic better than Nick Lowe. If you are a country music fan, you owe it to you
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Teens in Poverty Face Life-Changing Choices
In the poverty neighborhoods of east Nashville, we lived in a time and a place in which rules were far less important than a healthy self-image. When your sense of self-worth is constantly hammered, demanding respect is the measure by wh
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Troubled Teens: How Can We Save Them?
When thinking about the culture of poverty, start with the proposition that poverty is evil– people are not. By way of example, we’re all born equally innocent, a happy baby in search of the good. There is no rule that says a child bor
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Overcome the Odds
The photo to the left was taken during my first week as the new office manager of Frost Arnett Company, in Atlanta, GA. This image is a photo of the office which I managed. I was 22 years old when the photo was taken. I had just bee
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Guidance for Problem Children
It didn’t dawn on me just how much my business and personal growth would benefit from the lessons learned from my years in poverty until about age 23. Dealing with problem children often means having to understand what is bothering the
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The Guarantee of Success
Since my childhood I have heard people make the comment, “There are no guarantees in life.” I confess that each time I hear those words I can’t help but cringe with frustration. In fact, I have an irresistible urge to jump on the table
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Letter to Visitors of My Blog
As children, we have unbridled aspirations. We dream to be doctors. We dream to be lawyers. We dream to be a Forest Ranger. We dream to be a sports star. We dream because we can. Looking back at our childhood dreams, we can remember a time when
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