Money and success – Three steps to becoming smart about money and thriving

Money and success – Three steps to becoming smart about money and thriving
By Doris Roper

Becoming smart with money and thriving requires more than a basic financial plan. Knowing how much you need to put away for retirement or college is all very well but to achieve your goals and dreams you need a lot more than mere time-value-of-money calculations. There are many more aspects to being successful and I will discuss three of them here.

1. Awareness

The first step is to become aware of your money blueprint. Most of us are blissfully unaware of all the underlying issues and beliefs that govern the decisions and actions we take.

Have you noticed how some people earn large salaries but are still barely able to make it? Or have you heard about lottery winners who squander all their winnings within the first few years? Why do you think this happens?

They have unconscious beliefs about money that keep them poor or struggling no matter how much money they make or receive. These beliefs usually start in early childhood. The words and actions of our parents concerning money can have a profound influence on our own beliefs about money and wealth.

Did your parents say things like “money doesn’t grow on trees”, “we can’t afford it”, “he’s stinking rich”. These are all statements of scarcity and have a negative effect on our beliefs about money.

How did your parents manage their finances – poorly or frugally? Did dad handle the finances and give mom an allowance? Did they create a lot of debt?

Delve deeper and try to discover your own unconscious programming where money is concerned.

2. Your values, purpose and vision

The next step is to discover what is important about money to you. Money means different things to different people and the amount of money you desire should line up with your values, your purpose and ultimate vision for your life.

Some people think that if they had a million dollars in the bank they would be happy, but we all know that money doesn’t buy happiness as evidenced by all the unhappy rich people in the world.

Do some soul-searching. Figure out what it is you really want, what would give you fulfillment. Ask yourself, “If money were no object, if I could do anything I want, if I had only one year to live, what would I do?” Write down whatever pops into your head no matter how silly you think it is. Don’t limit yourself by worrying about ‘how’ you can achieve it. Just let your imagination go.

3. The nitty gritty

If you realized that you have some negative beliefs about money, you should start reprogramming your mind with positive thoughts.

Hopefully, you figured out what you would really like to do and have in your life. Now you can plan accordingly. Now you can work out the numbers.

Get organized, figure out your net worth, create a spending plan, get rid of debt, establish an emergency fund that will cover 6-8 months of expenses and make sure you save for your goals.

Many people think that carrying out step three is enough. However, unless you uncover and reprogram any negative beliefs you may have about money you are likely to sabotage your own chance of success.

Step two is very important because if you do not know where you are going and what you ultimately want to achieve, you may be swayed this way and that and never reach that place of fulfillment and satisfaction.

Begin taking the necessary actions today that will help you achieve your dreams and thrive!

Doris Roper is president and founder of the W.I.T. Institute and senior partner of CRB Wealth Management in San Diego, CA. She is a financial life planner, certified divorce planner, mediator and author of WAKE UP your life! A woman's guide to real personal power.

See her website at http://www.witinstitute.com and the Institute's membership site at http://www.smartwomanssuccess.com

During January 2009 -- post a comment for Doris and be entered in a drawing for great prizes.

How You Can Prosper In Any Economy by Mark Tewart

How You Can Prosper In Any Economy

by Mark Tewart

In the current economy many people and businesses are thinking in terms of survival rather than prospering. Your current dominant thought patterns accurately predict your future. The root of the word scarcity is scared and success and money never follow fear. The good news is that you can not only survive but thrive in this or any other economy.

The first thing you must do to succeed is to change the questions you ask yourself. Instead of asking how you can survive, ask yourself how you can thrive. Look for problems and the opportunity gaps created by the common problems that many are encountering. Every problem brings great opportunity. The glass is not half empty and the glass is not half full. The glass is always full. It's is full of a mixture of liquid and air. It's only the limitations of your philosophy and the training of your brain that keep you from seeing that reality. However, most people feel they are being positive if they see the glass as half full. The reality is you must understand and embrace the concept that the glass is always full for you to be able to see and recognize that fact.

When you completely eliminate the possibility for anything but moving forward, succeeding and thriving, you will begin to experience the results you desire. You will completely understand and embrace any and all setbacks in your path as positive and recognize the lessons learned from them and then adjust. The key part of this equation is the philosophy of responsibility. When you make a declaration to stop blaming any and all things for your results but yourself, you will see more opportunity.

Your results and success are not based upon good or bad economies, good or bad workplaces, good or bad teachers, good or bad bosses. Your success is simply determined by you and you alone. You have the free will to determine your thoughts philosophies and actions. Massive success and massive failure have equal access and the seeds of both are sewn as easy as flipping on a switch.

If you are suffering in this economy, ask yourself what allowed your limitations to affect you or your business to be so negatively affected. One is a horrible number for business and success. Were you depending on one revenue stream, one type of customer or one product? Did you have a built in continuity program for your business and income that tend to lessen the affects of economic downturns? Have you looked to see if there is a business within your business that can be explored, created or maximized? Have you looked to speed up, slow down or create a different delivery channel or experience in that channel?

The answers are always there but you have to ask the questions and allow your imagination to attract or create the answer. Sometimes, just working harder is more of a hindrance than an effective answer to your problems. The hamster runs faster on the wheel but never reaches a destination and just gets tired and quits. There are only 1,440 minutes in every day. The answer comes in carving out a part of your day to simply be still. Be still to allow your mind to ask questions, and seek meditation for the answers. All thoughts create energy. That energy will allow matching energy. However, you have to be willing to see, feel and understand when those answers come your way. If you are not ready, you may see the glass as half empty or half full but you will never the see the glass as full. The full glass is always there, you have to be looking for it to see it.

Mark Tewart

Mark Tewart is a professional speaker, consultant, entrepreneur and author of "How To Be A Sales Superstar"

www.marktewart.com

info@tewart.com

Tough Economic Times Calls For Strong Leadership

Strong Leadership Needed in

Challenging Economic Times

by Hugh Ballou

“When times get tough, the tough get going.” - Anon.

"Nothing else in the world... not all the armies... is so powerful as an idea whose time has come." - Victor Hugo

- Economic News Headlines -

“GMAC posts $2.5 billion loss in 2nd quarter”

“Auto parts supplier Dana to cut 2,500 more jobs”

“Sara Lee swings to loss based on wheat costs”

Each day in the news we hear of the problems and/or failures in companies, such as mentioned in the headlines above. These companies are having a hard time in this difficult economy. How can you protect your company from these same kinds of problems? I don't claim to know what the problems were at these companies, but here are some examples and suggestions to help you protect your company during these difficult economic times.

In the challenging state of the economy, good leaders shine and poor leaders are exposed as ineffective. In many situations, the fate of organizations could rest on the skill of the leader. The way decisions are made and the attitude of the organization is key to success in tough economic times.

Symptoms of Poor Leadership

In the stress caused by a down economy, weak leaders and those they lead can be paralyzed by seeing only problems and challenges. This brings out negative actions by leaders. Here’s a list of behaviors that negatively influence employees and team members:

· Control: Asking for too many reports (sales calls, activity logs, etc.) that take time and send a message of mistrust.

· Micromanagement: Setting activities and schedules to tell employees not only what to do, but also how to do it. This sends a message of lack of confidence.

· Blaming: The leader blames others for situations beyond their control, or worse yet, blames others for situations they have created through poor leadership. This sends a message in incompetence.

· Silos: Departments or divisions draw into their ‘”own space” and do not effectively communicate or relate to the others. This sends a message of a hidden agenda.

· Attitude: A negative attitude not only makes hard work more difficult, but it instigates other negative attitudes. This sends a message that failure in ahead.

· Obstacles: False evidence appears to be real. A poor leader sees only obstacles and is bound by the restrictions implied by these obstacles. This sends a message of fear.

Solutions Provided by Strong Leadership

As some organizations cut back and build trenches for hibernation fearing loss, visionary leaders choose to put resources into building systems, strategies, skills and relationships to address the existing market. Here are some actions that strong leaders take:

· Training: Put resources into building skills of leaders and team members. This results in improved skills for addressing the future.

· Planning: Build action plans to address obstacles. This results in a culture that reframes barriers into opportunities.

· Coaching: The effective leader always has a coach and learns to coach team members. This results in improved relationships.

· Empowering: Allow team members to utilize their skills and talents and mentor them with information and strategies as well as budget. This results in new paradigms. This results in greater synergy in the team.

· Envisioning: Brainstorming and planning the future with team members creates trust and new ideas for action plans. This results in increased trust.

· Affirming: Along with allowing team members to utilize their skills, affirm good work. This results in the refocus of apathy into enthusiasm.

· Reframing: Be the model of what you expect from your team. Look at possibilities, not limitations. Be honest about the facts while looking at the options. This results in improved attitude.

· Reorganizing: Consider realignment of tasks and duties. Some team members many have become stale in their area of responsibility and the reassignment of duties might spark some interest. This results in greater ownership of the whole vision as well as individual areas of responsibility.

· Collaborating: Build cross-disciplinary project teams. People from different departments or divisions can team with others creating new visions for success. This results in greater effectiveness since tasks can be swapped and combined.

In challenging times the effective leader and a leader in training can demonstrate their worth to the organization. It’s a time to concentrate to building resources, strengthening relationships, fine-tuning systems and structures and working to improve personal skills. The great leader always articulates and shares goals and stays focused on the vision for the future.

As a final note, be sure to celebrate. Each success can be a celebration that brings momentum to the next accomplishment.

Hugh Ballou

Hugh Ballou is president of SynerVision International, Inc., an international consulting, coaching, and training practice in Blacksburg, Virginia. His unique insights for leadership training and teamwork come from his 40-years of experience as choral and orchestral conductor bringing harmony and synergy to group process. Hugh’s specialty is working with business owners as process coach and business strategist with clients in many countries.

His skill in teaching the collaborative leadership model is practical and proven in the trenches with his work in mega churches, non-profit organizations and businesses of all types.

He has published five books on Transformational Leadership: Moving Spirits, Building Lives: Church Musician as Transformational Leader, Moving Spirits, Building Lives A Workbook for Transformational Leaders, Building High Performance Teams: Systems and Structures for Leading Teams and Empowering Transformation, Leaders Transform: A Transformational Leadership Resource (Fall 2008), and his newest book: Transforming Power: Stories from Transformational Leaders to Inspire and Encourage and numerous articles on Transformational Leadership.

For more information

Transforming Power: http://www.transforming-power.com

Hugh Ballou: http://www.hughballou.com

Book information is available at http://www.amazon.com/Transforming-Power-Transformational-Encouragement-Inspiration/dp/0881775312

For full tour details, visit -http://virtualblogtour.blogspot.com/2008/06/transforming-power-virtual-tour-with.html

A SPECIAL BONUS TO EACH PERSON WHO PURCHASES TRANSFORMING POWER TODAY – Hugh Ballou has compiled a list of great FREE bonus gifts for anyone who purchases Transforming Power today. To see a sample of the items that are being given away, visit http://www.transforming-power.com. Just buy a copy of Transforming Power, return to this page and click to submit your invoice number to receive the web page link to download all of these gifts for FREE.