Who would ever think of “celebrating” credit card debt? Not celebrating paying it off – celebrating a mountain of credit card debt. Well, Black thinks Red’s credit card debt is worth celebrating, or at least this story about it is. And not just because April is Financial Literacy Month.
When Red was in the midst of her crisis (her husband unexpectedly got fired), she was freaking out about everything, especially money. And specifically, her credit card debt. If she could have remained an ostrich with her head in the sand, she would have. But Red knew she needed to face the facts (although she hadn’t run a total of how much they owed on credit cards, she knew it was a lot), so, with much trepidation, Red turned to Black, hoping she’d just tell her what to do.
Instead, Black wanted to give her a history lesson. On credit cards?! Black doesn’t even like history. And even though Red, who loves history, didn’t want to hear it, she decided to take the path of least resistance and humor her sister.
At first, she found it mildly interesting, but then that “unwanted” history lesson changed Red’s life. That might sound like an exaggeration, but it’s not. Because as soon as Red changed how she looked at credit cards, it changed how she used them.
Don’t believe it can make that much of a difference? Read “RED & BLACK … The History Of Credit Cards?” and decide for yourself.
This is one of the most popular stories from our speaking engagements, as it seems everyone’s interested in learning how to race a Ferrari. (People also want copies of Black’s track map, and over the years, we’ve created handouts, posters, and even mugs, with the image. And probably will again!)
But the reaction to the ending of Black’s story (Red never gets tired of watching the audience) was what prompted us to write the book, Life Is Like A Racetrack.
Of course, Black’s always more than happy to talk about cars and racing. She was the first woman to race the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway — and is probably the first person to use a track map to explain how "life is like a racetrack."
Curious about the back story on this student-created video?
In 2012, the seniors at YES Prep Public Schools in Houston were reading our book, What I Learned About Life When My Husband Got Fired!, and we were invited to be the keynote speakers at their Senior Summit. The theme was "Life Is A Journey," and we used our own personal journeys, as well as the "story" of Red & Black, to talk about many important life lessons.
When one of the seniors, who wanted to pursue a career in media production, learned that YES Prep had videotaped the presentation, he asked permission to create a series of YouTube videos using excerpts from our keynote presentation. Of course, we were flattered and said, "Yes." (Thank you, Aurelio Puente, for asking, and for producing such great videos!)
The videos may be “older” (but, then, so are we), but the lessons are still relevant because life lessons aren’t tied to a year, a trend, or a technology. They’re simply part of growing up, moving forward, and figuring out life … one step at a time.
Stay tuned as we'll be posting more of Aurelio’s videos, along with newer videos — both live and animated. Or, better yet, register for our Saturday newsletters, and we'll keep you updated!
Want more?
There’s always at least one item in our Shop related to cars and racing (not counting our stickers), so if you’re curious — click here.
Want a copy of the track map? Email Red (the nice one) at Red@RedandBlack.email.
We’re thrilled this message resonated with high school seniors, even though we’re pretty certain they’d plan the same way Red planned — by looking forward at the days, months, and (maybe) years ahead.Black, of course, looks at things differently.So differently, in fact, that it made Red stop and ask … “Wait! What?”
Curious about the back story on this student-created video?
In 2012, the seniors at YES Prep Public Schools in Houston were reading our book, What I Learned About Life When My Husband Got Fired!, and we were invited to be the keynote speakers at their Senior Summit. The theme was "Life Is A Journey," and we used our own personal journeys, as well as the "story" of Red & Black, to talk about many important life lessons.
When one of the seniors, who wanted to pursue a career in media production, learned that YES Prep had videotaped the presentation, he asked permission to create a series of YouTube videos using excerpts from our keynote presentation. Of course, we were flattered and said, "Yes." (Thank you, Aurelio Puente, for asking, and for producing such great videos!)
The videos may be “older” (but, then, so are we), but the lessons are still relevant because life lessons aren’t tied to a year, a trend, or a technology. They’re simply part of growing up, moving forward, and figuring out life … one step at a time.
Stay tuned as we'll be posting more of Aurelio’s videos, along with newer videos — both live and animated. Or, better yet, register for our Saturday newsletters, and we'll keep you updated!
Whenever Black says, “When I was racing Ferraris,” it always gets everyone’s attention. Students perk up. Grown men instantly seem to become young boys. And girls and women of all ages are curious. So, we weren’t surprised that a student decided to make a video about assets and liabilities since it involves Black’s Ferraris (yes, plural). But it’s about something far more than valuable than expensive cars …
Curious about the back story on this student-created video?
In 2012, the seniors at YES Prep Public Schools in Houston were reading our book, What I Learned About Life When My Husband Got Fired!, and we were invited to be the keynote speakers at their Senior Summit. The theme was "Life Is A Journey," and we used our own personal journeys, as well as the "story" of Red & Black, to talk about many important life lessons.
When one of the seniors, who wanted to pursue a career in media production, learned that YES Prep had videotaped the presentation, he asked permission to create a series of YouTube videos using excerpts from our keynote presentation. Of course, we were flattered and said, "Yes." (Thank you, Aurelio Puente, for asking, and for producing such great videos!)
The videos may be “older” (but, then, so are we), but the lessons are still relevant because life lessons aren’t tied to a year, a trend, or a technology. They’re simply part of growing up, moving forward, and figuring out life … one step at a time.
Stay tuned as we'll be posting more of Aurelio’s videos, along with newer videos — both live and animated. Or, better yet, register for our Saturday newsletters, and we'll keep you updated!
Don’t Expect A Compliment From A Sarcastic Sister — But Have A Comeback