Your Big 3!?

Your Big 3!?

I love Mondays! I have written out some goals for the week and I can’t wait to see what all gets accomplished by Saturday. I try to have a “Thank God it is Monday!” approach to things. Writing out my goals for the week (and even my top three daily) help with that.

So, I encourage you to answer this question.

What are the three most important things that I could do today to move toward my ultimate goals?

Don’t just pick small, menial things that don’t really have a bearing on your personal growth as a worker, family member, or person. Pick three things that you feel matter today. Three things that, when accomplished, will make you smile when you go to bed tonight knowing you were productive today.

So, decide what the three things are and WRITE THEM DOWN! This short to-do list will hold you accountable and keep you motivated toward accomplishing them. Put the to-do list in a very visible place so you don’t forget about them.

Try this! It works. You will start enjoying every day a little more as you feel you are becoming a more productive individual.

"The only thing that stands between a man and what he wants from life is often merely the will to try it and the faith to believe that it is possible." -- Richard M DeVos

“Statistics show that only 2% of Americans actually write down their goals.”- Brian Kim- author

Don't just stand there....Bust a Move!

"Get busy living, or get busy dying"- Movie, Shawshank Redemption

"Just do it." Nike

These are two quotes that come to mind when I think of being action-oriented. I spoke with a friend last night who was telling me of three, different ideas he had come up with. They seemed like solid business ideas. He articulated to me all the possibilities and why they would work in reality. I told him that I was impressed, but not convinced it would make a dime in reality....why?

Ideas are a dime a dozen, even good ones. What sets apart those who are successful and those who are average is the ability to put feet to ideas and make them really move into reality. It has been said time and time again that an idea is just a fantasy until you put it down on paper. Well, that's true, but there is one more all important step. Do it!

Many times there is this internal battle between your desire to relax and your desire to get something done. It will always take will power and a commitment to take that first step to do what needs to be done. It is essential when you think about that thing you need to do, to stop thinking and just do it! Take your conscious captive, and don't allow yourself the opportunity to reconsider due to laziness or fear. Too many people have the thought and say, "I'll do it tomorrow" or "that is just unreasonable." The truth of reality is that tomorrow is always just beyond your fingertips and unreasonable is only what you put there.

It is also true that if you don't put things off, and get them done now, you have more of a real chance to relax later because you feel you accomplished something. No one really relaxes when they don't feel they have accomplished anything that day. They, more so, become callous and numb to doing anything that matters. Then one day, when they are willing to stop and think, they see they have wasted their lives on menial task and nothing that really seems to matter. Don't be that person. Once you have a thought to do something, write a plan of action, and then just do it. Get busy living, or get busy dying.

Credit Card Confession

Has the credit card companies come to whisper in your ear yet, college students?
They will because they know you are all alone and they can entice you with a lot of nonsense about being able to improve your credit score.

The truth of it is that lenders can get a read on your finances many other ways other than a credit score. If you have $10,000 dollars in the bank and a pay stub that shows you get paid $40,000 a year, somebody is going to sell you a house. Other than real estate, no other purchase should involve payments. You can buy most things with saving for a little while and paying cash. Cars are the worst thing to make payments on. They lose value every day while you make payments that extend your price until you pay it off. In other words, if you buy a truck for $40,000 with payments for 15 years, you will end up paying close to $50,000 for it by the time you own it. How much with the truck be worth in 15 years? Not much, even though only not do you technically own it. You basically rented it for 15 years.

Credit Cards are the worst thing to use if you don't pay it off every month. Scientist have proven that your brain has very little activity when you charge something on a credit card. This means that you don't really get that you are spending money you have to pay back. Your brain doesn't communicate the necessary tension one naturally feels when you pay for something with cash. Therefore, you spend a lot more when using credit cards. That is how credit cards work. You spend and spend until the monthly statement comes in and you realize you can't pay it off. Then whatever you bought with that money (clothes, travel, eating out, entertainment, ect.) has just gotten more expensive. An $18 movie night will cost you $20 now because you didn't pay the credit card off in time. Credit cards compound interest which can put a big dent in your wallet if not make your wallet dissolve into nothing........ only payments to your credit card.

Don't do it! Stay credit card free and rest in the truth of spending real money that you already have in a debit card or cash. I would recommend everyone check out www.daveramsey.com and type in "7 Baby Steps". The plan will get you on your feet or back on your feet. If you stick to it, this plan will get your feet running in the right direction towards financial success!