There are many days I start work without making a plan for what I want to accomplish. These are usually the days I get very little done.
The days I tend to get a lot done are the days I get organized; the days I make a list of all the things I have to get done. The thing is, making this list doesn't take long at all. Usually it only takes at most five minutes to make this list. Most of the time I have most of the things I want to do already in my head. I just need to write them down.
I only have to write the things that are in my head at the time. As I think of other things I want to do throughout the day, all I have to do is add them to the list.
Now that I have the list I can group together the things I need to do by determining which tasks can be done at the same time. I will usually run the clothes and the dishes at the same time. Then when both are done I will empty both an put away the dishes and fold and put away the clothes.
While I am waiting for the machines to clean the dishes and the clothes, I can be writing or doing yard-work or dusting and vacuuming or any number of other tasks that need to be done.
The idea is to organize yourself. Know what needs to be done. Have a way to remember all the things that need to be done, and make that list disappear. Having a list will keep you from procrastinating, keep you from forgetting what is next when you are done with one task. It will keep you organized.
Monday, June 25, 2012
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
The Golden Rule is a Great Place to Start
I have been reading a book about Wealth. The authors have a different view on the Golden rule that I have never thought of before. They state not everyone wants to be treated the same way you want to be treated. My first thought was "Really?"
We are taught as kids to treat others as we would have them treat us. It is a teaching you can find in the bible taught by Jesus. Check out the verse Matthew 7:12. It is a teaching that has been taught for millenia and frankly holds true to anyone who wants to treat others with respect.
I think the Golden Rule is a great place to start. You know how you want to be treated. You know yourself better than anyone else. It is a little naive to think that everyone else wants to be treated the same way you want to be treated, but if you need to make a decision about how to treat someone, how you would like to be treated is the best place to start unless you know for a fact they want something different.
Why would you want to treat others like you would want to be treated? Most people would say Karma. What goes around comes around. If you treat someone badly, sooner or later you will be treated badly, sometimes even worse than your treatment to others. If you can treat others the best way possible, then good things will in turn happen to you. People remember how you treated them, even if they did not deserve it. They will be more likely to help you out when you need it latter on.
We are taught as kids to treat others as we would have them treat us. It is a teaching you can find in the bible taught by Jesus. Check out the verse Matthew 7:12. It is a teaching that has been taught for millenia and frankly holds true to anyone who wants to treat others with respect.
I think the Golden Rule is a great place to start. You know how you want to be treated. You know yourself better than anyone else. It is a little naive to think that everyone else wants to be treated the same way you want to be treated, but if you need to make a decision about how to treat someone, how you would like to be treated is the best place to start unless you know for a fact they want something different.
Why would you want to treat others like you would want to be treated? Most people would say Karma. What goes around comes around. If you treat someone badly, sooner or later you will be treated badly, sometimes even worse than your treatment to others. If you can treat others the best way possible, then good things will in turn happen to you. People remember how you treated them, even if they did not deserve it. They will be more likely to help you out when you need it latter on.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Brainstorm What is Sucess for You
There are different levels of success. You have to determine those levels for yourself. Where do you want to be in the different areas of your life. Do you want to be married or do you just want to date. Do you want to move up in a business that is already proving its success or do you want to start your own business. Do you want to drive a super nice car or are you more interested in motorcycles.
Success is different for everyone. Some people are more interested in achieving power and status. Some people just want things in their lives. They believe the more they have the more successful they appear to be by others. Some people believe success is emotional. If you can find someone to love and to be with for life you are successful. The thing is, what is your success to you?
Know where you are going. You don't have to know exactly where you are going, but if you don't have a general direction for your life, then you will sit there in one place not doing anything. That is the exact opposite of success. Are you worried you might be moving in the wrong direction? I don't believe that is possible. As long as you are moving towards a specific goal then you are moving towards your success.
It is true you may change your direction. In fact you may change your direction several times throughout your lifetime. That is fine. All you have to do is reset your goals to charge towards your new success. Even if you are going in the exact opposite direction your old efforts gave you the experiences that provide unique knowledge that may help you later in life.
I find that if I sit down and think about what I need to get done, I write those things down and make a simple plan to achieve those needs before I actually get started, then I am more likely to get those things done. One example is my writing. I find it difficult to just sit down and start writing. I don't know what it is. there seems to be some sort of barrier that keeps me from starting. It might be fear that I will not like what I create. It might be fear that I will run into some sort of stumbling block that will keep me from hitting my objective.
When I know I want or need to write, I will sit down on the couch away from the computer with a composition book and make a list of the objectives I need to write about. I will thing about the path my characters need to follow to get to the objective for that day. Then when I am satisfied they know where they are going, then I can sit down at the computer and start writing. Not only does this help me write a better story, I will also get more words on paper in a shorter amount of time.
You can take this way of planning and apply it to your life. Find a composition book and sit down at the kitchen table with your breakfast and start to brainstorm what you want to accomplish for the day. Write down some of the ways you can get those things done. Then sort them into a sequence that makes perfect sense for the time you have that day. You may follow that schedule, you may not, but you will be surprised at what you will get done just because you planned for it that morning.
You can do this same thing for goals that may take longer. Think about what you want to get done over the next week. Plan that out. You can write down what you want to be done in the next month or the next year or even the next ten years. You plan your life. You can get as detailed as you want with those plans. The more you plan for, the more likely you will accomplish your goals and become a success.
Success is different for everyone. Some people are more interested in achieving power and status. Some people just want things in their lives. They believe the more they have the more successful they appear to be by others. Some people believe success is emotional. If you can find someone to love and to be with for life you are successful. The thing is, what is your success to you?
Know where you are going. You don't have to know exactly where you are going, but if you don't have a general direction for your life, then you will sit there in one place not doing anything. That is the exact opposite of success. Are you worried you might be moving in the wrong direction? I don't believe that is possible. As long as you are moving towards a specific goal then you are moving towards your success.
It is true you may change your direction. In fact you may change your direction several times throughout your lifetime. That is fine. All you have to do is reset your goals to charge towards your new success. Even if you are going in the exact opposite direction your old efforts gave you the experiences that provide unique knowledge that may help you later in life.
I find that if I sit down and think about what I need to get done, I write those things down and make a simple plan to achieve those needs before I actually get started, then I am more likely to get those things done. One example is my writing. I find it difficult to just sit down and start writing. I don't know what it is. there seems to be some sort of barrier that keeps me from starting. It might be fear that I will not like what I create. It might be fear that I will run into some sort of stumbling block that will keep me from hitting my objective.
When I know I want or need to write, I will sit down on the couch away from the computer with a composition book and make a list of the objectives I need to write about. I will thing about the path my characters need to follow to get to the objective for that day. Then when I am satisfied they know where they are going, then I can sit down at the computer and start writing. Not only does this help me write a better story, I will also get more words on paper in a shorter amount of time.
You can take this way of planning and apply it to your life. Find a composition book and sit down at the kitchen table with your breakfast and start to brainstorm what you want to accomplish for the day. Write down some of the ways you can get those things done. Then sort them into a sequence that makes perfect sense for the time you have that day. You may follow that schedule, you may not, but you will be surprised at what you will get done just because you planned for it that morning.
You can do this same thing for goals that may take longer. Think about what you want to get done over the next week. Plan that out. You can write down what you want to be done in the next month or the next year or even the next ten years. You plan your life. You can get as detailed as you want with those plans. The more you plan for, the more likely you will accomplish your goals and become a success.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Don't Spend What You Don't Have
Many businesses begin by getting themselves into debt. It usually starts off with someone, or a group of someones who have an idea for a business and start looking for a way to make that business happen. The problem is that there are so many banks out there who are willing to lend money to people who are impatient; people who do not want to wait till they have earned enough money to get their business off the ground.
When business owners take out loans to start their business there are usually two things that happen. The first is when a business is a success and the loan is paid off. Usually that loan is paid off over the course of a few decades. If the business is a real success, then the owners can allocate more of their profits to the loan and pay it off as quickly as possible. This will allow more of the profits to go back into the business or split between the employees. This is the best possible scenario.
What happens most of the time is the new business does not make the kind of money the business owners hoped it would. It struggles to pay back the loan, hopefully over the course of a few years while the business finds a way to make a profit. Usually the business eats away at the money it has borrowed and soon has to close it's doors and file for bankruptcy. What's hard is when the loan has been made in one or more of the business owner's names and they have to spend the rest of their lives paying back the loan or go bankrupt themselves.
If you are thinking about starting a business, you should do one of two things. You should save the money you will need to start the business yourself. Make sure you have operating expenses for 6 months to a year or even more. It takes an average of 2 years for most businesses to start making a profit. Hopefully you will be making enough to pay most of your expenses without having to dip into the funds you have saved for the business.
The second thing you can do is find investors who are willing to put money up front to get the business off the ground. In turn they would get a payment for a certain amount of time. If the business goes under then they would just be out the investment money. You would not have to pay it back. Make sure the agreement that is signed by both parties says this to avoid any lawsuits. It is hard to find investors which is why I always suggest you save the money to start your business. If you pay for the start-up yourself, then you don't have to worry about anyone else getting in on the profits you will be making when the business is successful.
There are several ways you can earn the money to start your new business. The easiest and most direct way to save the money is to cut your lifestyle back to bare bones till you are saving a large chunk of change every month. You could also get a second job where all the money you make would go into that business account. Another thing you could look into doing is finding a house located on a main street. Use the first floor for the business and the second floor to live in. This means your home mortgage will also be the mortgage for the business.
There are a lot of other things you can do to get your business off the ground. Things like starting small and adding new equipment and personnel as you start to make more profits. If you make a plan to pay for the business without taking out loans, you will be more likely to succeed. Take your time and try different things. Whatever you do, serve your customers with honesty and integrity. They will in turn continue to come back to you, while also sending all their friends and family to you, thus making you successful.
When business owners take out loans to start their business there are usually two things that happen. The first is when a business is a success and the loan is paid off. Usually that loan is paid off over the course of a few decades. If the business is a real success, then the owners can allocate more of their profits to the loan and pay it off as quickly as possible. This will allow more of the profits to go back into the business or split between the employees. This is the best possible scenario.
What happens most of the time is the new business does not make the kind of money the business owners hoped it would. It struggles to pay back the loan, hopefully over the course of a few years while the business finds a way to make a profit. Usually the business eats away at the money it has borrowed and soon has to close it's doors and file for bankruptcy. What's hard is when the loan has been made in one or more of the business owner's names and they have to spend the rest of their lives paying back the loan or go bankrupt themselves.
If you are thinking about starting a business, you should do one of two things. You should save the money you will need to start the business yourself. Make sure you have operating expenses for 6 months to a year or even more. It takes an average of 2 years for most businesses to start making a profit. Hopefully you will be making enough to pay most of your expenses without having to dip into the funds you have saved for the business.
The second thing you can do is find investors who are willing to put money up front to get the business off the ground. In turn they would get a payment for a certain amount of time. If the business goes under then they would just be out the investment money. You would not have to pay it back. Make sure the agreement that is signed by both parties says this to avoid any lawsuits. It is hard to find investors which is why I always suggest you save the money to start your business. If you pay for the start-up yourself, then you don't have to worry about anyone else getting in on the profits you will be making when the business is successful.
There are several ways you can earn the money to start your new business. The easiest and most direct way to save the money is to cut your lifestyle back to bare bones till you are saving a large chunk of change every month. You could also get a second job where all the money you make would go into that business account. Another thing you could look into doing is finding a house located on a main street. Use the first floor for the business and the second floor to live in. This means your home mortgage will also be the mortgage for the business.
There are a lot of other things you can do to get your business off the ground. Things like starting small and adding new equipment and personnel as you start to make more profits. If you make a plan to pay for the business without taking out loans, you will be more likely to succeed. Take your time and try different things. Whatever you do, serve your customers with honesty and integrity. They will in turn continue to come back to you, while also sending all their friends and family to you, thus making you successful.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Write it Over and Over Again
Do you remember as a kid when you were in school and you did something you were not supposed to do, your teacher would make you write sentences on the chalkboard or on a piece of paper? I remember. The teacher made you do this so you would remember the lesson you were supposed to be learning. Maybe it was to be quiet when others were talking, or not running in the hallways or something else you didn't know you needed to learn.
Repetitive statements like this have a power some of your teachers may not have known. Not only did it make you remember what you were or were not supposed to be doing, but it made your mind make that particular action happen, but only if you believed in what you were writing. This is the power of affirmations.
The catholic church made you say Hail Marys to help you absolve some sort of sin you'd committed. Every time you made the rehearsed mantra, you were thinking about what you did and that you will never ever do it again. If you could focus your mind on the blessings in those moments for every chant you made, you will be able to see more blessings around you and possibly trigger new ones to begin. That is the power of the repeated affirmation.
As for me, I decided to start writing in a pocket notebook a sentence over and over again. What is that sentence you may ask? I write, "I make $200,000 per year." over and over again. I plan to continue to write this phrase till my subconscious believes it to be true. I expect to fill up this entire notebook with the phrase. I may have to go through several of them before I can break through the limiting beliefs that are in my mind.
How many times should I write it? In the books I have read, they state you should make your affirmations at least a thousand times. They were talking about speaking your affirmations and not writing them, but I think the exercise goes a long way. There is something about that thousand time mark. They say if you can fold a thousand paper cranes you get to ask for one thing to come true. If you can write what you want down on paper a thousand times, then how you think about it will change. You will start to believe it.
Repetitive statements like this have a power some of your teachers may not have known. Not only did it make you remember what you were or were not supposed to be doing, but it made your mind make that particular action happen, but only if you believed in what you were writing. This is the power of affirmations.
The catholic church made you say Hail Marys to help you absolve some sort of sin you'd committed. Every time you made the rehearsed mantra, you were thinking about what you did and that you will never ever do it again. If you could focus your mind on the blessings in those moments for every chant you made, you will be able to see more blessings around you and possibly trigger new ones to begin. That is the power of the repeated affirmation.
As for me, I decided to start writing in a pocket notebook a sentence over and over again. What is that sentence you may ask? I write, "I make $200,000 per year." over and over again. I plan to continue to write this phrase till my subconscious believes it to be true. I expect to fill up this entire notebook with the phrase. I may have to go through several of them before I can break through the limiting beliefs that are in my mind.
How many times should I write it? In the books I have read, they state you should make your affirmations at least a thousand times. They were talking about speaking your affirmations and not writing them, but I think the exercise goes a long way. There is something about that thousand time mark. They say if you can fold a thousand paper cranes you get to ask for one thing to come true. If you can write what you want down on paper a thousand times, then how you think about it will change. You will start to believe it.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Book Review: Wealth 101
I found this book at Goodwill. I like looking at the book selection they have. You'd be surprised at what you can find if you just take the time to look.
There are always a multitude of diet books and "how-to" books on their shelves. I always look around for books that talk about wealth or autobiographies of people who have made massive amounts of money. These are the books I want to read. I want to educate myself in what works for others.
I have found that if I can take in what works for them, I can usually figure out something that might work for me. I have heard it said, "Take what information you can, add the good stuff to your life. Whatever works, keep doing, then throw the rest out." I am not sure who said that, probably from some Jim Rohn Conference I listened to at one time or another.
"Wealth101: Wealth Is Much More Than Money" is the full title of this book written by Peter McWilliams. I like the way this book is built. It is not focused on money. It their definition, wealth is not the abundance of money, it is about the abundance and quality of life, your life. In fact, the book doesn't start talking about getting more money till the last 80 pages or so.
What makes this book so interesting is that it is packed with quotes from the most successful and wealthy people in the entire history of our planet. They quote everyone from Jesus to Gandhi, to Ganges Kahn to thousands of other people. They touch on everything from creating balance in your life to worry to keeping yourself motivated. There is so much great information packed in this book, I am probably going to have to read through it again, maybe even several times.
Monday, May 14, 2012
There is Plenty of Money
We make money everyday. I don't mean that we earn money, I mean that we create money out of thin air. If you think about it, we look at the things around us and figure out how we can turn those things into something useful or a service that is helpful. Then people give us their money for that thing or service. Hence we are making money from stuff that was not there before.
Banks make money out of thin air as well. Let's say you make $100 and deposit into your account. The bank is allowed to lend 90% of that deposit to other people for their needs. Businesses will borrow money from the bank to pay their employees till the receive money from their clients. Their employees will deposit that money into their accounts. That means the bank has $190 on their books, $90 of which does not really exist. Now they do have th records stating the $90 in loans and they will get a return as the loanees pay back their debt. The thing is the bank can continue to loan out 90% of the deposits they receive. That means they can loan out $81 of that $90, putting $271 on the books from that original $100. Each of those dollars the bank is making interest on. That is also the reason it would be a bad thing if there was a run on the banks. There is no way the banks could ever give everyone the money they have in their accounts.
You can create money from your thoughts. People all over the world are blogging, and if they are doing it right, they are earning some kind of income from that ads on their blogs. The trick is to write about something people want to read about. If you are hear reading this you are helping me out just because the ads are on this page. If you see an ad for something you are interested in and you click on the ad, then I make even more money.
To make money out of thin air, all you have to do is look around and find a way to make something valuable out of the resources you already have available.
Banks make money out of thin air as well. Let's say you make $100 and deposit into your account. The bank is allowed to lend 90% of that deposit to other people for their needs. Businesses will borrow money from the bank to pay their employees till the receive money from their clients. Their employees will deposit that money into their accounts. That means the bank has $190 on their books, $90 of which does not really exist. Now they do have th records stating the $90 in loans and they will get a return as the loanees pay back their debt. The thing is the bank can continue to loan out 90% of the deposits they receive. That means they can loan out $81 of that $90, putting $271 on the books from that original $100. Each of those dollars the bank is making interest on. That is also the reason it would be a bad thing if there was a run on the banks. There is no way the banks could ever give everyone the money they have in their accounts.
You can create money from your thoughts. People all over the world are blogging, and if they are doing it right, they are earning some kind of income from that ads on their blogs. The trick is to write about something people want to read about. If you are hear reading this you are helping me out just because the ads are on this page. If you see an ad for something you are interested in and you click on the ad, then I make even more money.
To make money out of thin air, all you have to do is look around and find a way to make something valuable out of the resources you already have available.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Goal Setting to Meet Stephen King
I have been reading "Wealth 101: Wealth Is Much More Than Money". There is a lot of great advice on how to live you life to the fullest in the chapters of this book. I have really been enjoying it.There are several chapters about setting goals and focusing on one goal at a time to finish them and get passionate about them. If you can focus on one goal at a time and work on that goal without stopping, you will be able to accomplish anything you want. The authors are very realistic when they state, "You can have anything you want, but you can;t have everything you want." There are just too many things to have in the world to be able to have it all.
Because I have been getting regular emails from 43things.com about meeting Stephen King, I started thinking about ways I might be able to do this. Apart from traveling to a book signing, it is impossible for me to just go up to him and say hi. For one, I don't live anywhere near him. So I started brainstorming ideas that might make him want to meet me.
what I have decided to do is write and draw a comic that I can send to him so he can read and be impressed and maybe at least send me a letter thanking me for such great fan art. I am going so far as to keep a blog about the experience so people can read about the process. iwanttomeetstephenking.blogspot.com
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Tired of Being Poor
If you are like me, I assume most people are, you are in debt and have been since you were a teenager. I remember getting my first credit card and feeling all grown up. I thought, "Now I can buy the things I need." not realizing the things I thought I needed were not all that important, at least not enough to get myself into debt over.
Now I am hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, including the mortgage on the house, and I'm sitting here thinking there is no reason why I should have gotten myself into such a bog hole. There is no reason why anyone should be in such a big hole.
If I can just show people they can live a normal life and not be in debt, maybe I can help someone stay out of what is killing most people in the United States. Then maybe along the way I can figure out how to get myself out of debt.
Now I am hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, including the mortgage on the house, and I'm sitting here thinking there is no reason why I should have gotten myself into such a bog hole. There is no reason why anyone should be in such a big hole.
If I can just show people they can live a normal life and not be in debt, maybe I can help someone stay out of what is killing most people in the United States. Then maybe along the way I can figure out how to get myself out of debt.
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