If you're paying attention to the news, all you’ll hear is that we are in a recession. Commentators are shouting that it’s time to start clipping coupons, stop going on vacations and start bypassing Starbucks. This week NYT columist David Brooks discussed how the recession was contributing to downward mobility in his Op-Ed, The Formerly Middle Class.
How then do we explain the folks who are still doing well financially? They’re buying new homes, still eating in nice restaurants and living their best lives in the midst of this latest financial shake-up. Most of these financial successes aren’t millionaires or trust fund babies. During the boom years, when the rest of us were carelessly spending, they were probably doing the unglamorous stuff like paying off their credit cards and saving money for a "rainy day" .
If you are in debt, jobless or are fearful about your future job security, it’s easy to buy into the collective fear. The fist truth is you have the power to improve your finances as well as the rest of your life. The secon truth is that you will feel some pain.
People often think that there’s some mystic reason why some people are successful and others are not. The real answer is quite simple: Successful people form the habit of doing things that failures don’t like to do. When it comes to being a success—talent and skill are less important than the willingness of a person to commit to doing the things that they dislike.
How many time did you say that you wanted to lose weight, but wouldn’t get up early to the gym? How many of you have said that you want a better relationship but were unwilling to let go of someone who has proven time and again to be toxic? How many people say that they want a better paying job, but are unwilling to spend the time and money on the training, certification or degree that would advance their careers? In my own life, I have lost weight, improved my relationships and earned more money when I got off the dime and made new choices about my life—and stuck to them.
Year after the year, people keep living financially and emotionally impoverished lives because they are unwilling to form new habits that would allow them to live happier and more abundant lives.
We all know that successful athletes train hard for several hours a day and follow specialized diets to prepare their minds and bodies to win competitions. The same goes for successful salespeople. They sell large volumes of their services or products by having a definite prospecting program, having a sales script and by organizing their time and efforts toward reaching new and existing customers.
Don’t be mistaken. Most successful people are not thrilled about doing the things that the rest of don’t like such as getting up early, facing rejection or dealing with challenging situations.
Successful people however are focused on achieving the results that they desire. Failures on the other hand usually concentrate on doing just enough to get by. Consequently failures learn to be satisfied with the results that they get from going the easy route. Money alone is not enough to motivate anyone toward greatness—it’s much easier to learn to live poor than do the things that it takes to live large. Unfortunately most people would rather do without than do things that they don’t want to do.
Making the decision to become successful comes with a caveat: Any resolution or decision you make to yourself is worthless unless you have formed the habit to support it. And you won’t form the habit unless from the start you link it with a definite purpose that can be accomplished by maintaining it.
Successful people are able to do things that they don’t like because they have a purpose strong enough to keep them going. Failures usually have no purpose beyond getting a paycheck. If you want to be successful you have to have a purpose that moves you to get up everyday and do the difficult things. Your purpose, while practical has got to resonate with you on a spiritual or emotional level. Your basic need for food and shelter will only push you to do so much—your purpose, in terms of your wants and desires, however will spur you to reach far loftier goals.
Everyone needs to look at their life and determine your own purpose. One woman’s purpose maybe getting a better paying job so that she and her children can escape an abusive husband. One man’s purpose may be to make enough money to buy a house for his family in a safer neighborhood. Another woman’s purpose may be to see that her daughter gets through college without have to work her way through as she did.
Each person has a Divine purpose for his or her life----it’s to live up to his or her unique and immense potential. Some of us choose to step into our greatness and improve not only our own lives but also our families and our communities. But, too many of us shy away from the idea of doing better or having more, afraid that we are not worthy or capable of living a better life. Financial success, just like good health and loving, supportive relationships is nothing more than a manifestation of the universal abundance that is our birthright--- a person simply has to decide to step forward and claim it.
Marianne Williamson said, "...You are a child of God. You’re playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you...As we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
Here are three questions to think about:
1) What is the thing that you REALLY dislike doing that if you did it on a daily basis would improve your health, finances or relationships?
2) What 1 or 2 steps could you begin to do daily to support this life change?
3) Are you cheating yourself out of your best life by doing only the easy things—the stuff that you like?
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Are You A Buy Stock or A Sell Stock?
If you were a company, which example would you most represent your current status:
A) Your services/products are becoming obsolete because you are failing to recognize new trends and changes in consumer habits. Consequently your sales are shrinking and your stock prices are lower. In short, you are a company in decline, whose stock should be sold.
B) You see investment in Research and development as key to your company's continued vitability. By keeping abreast of changes in the marketplace and with consumer tastes your company consistently creates products/services that appeal to your target audience. Consequently your business is growing and the value of your stock continues to rise.
Unfortunately, too many of our businesses would look like A. In too many instances people are not regularly re-evaluating their skills, education or mind set to see whether what they possess is appropriate for their current life or career circumstances. The result is that we are not positioning ourselves to take advantage of opportunities that maybe presented to us, nor are we shoring up our resources to deal with the financial turbulance that occur with job loss, divorce, or a major illness major.
Bishop T.D. Jakes in his book,Reposition Yourself: Live Your Life Without Limit helps readers to readjust their thinking to deal with the many changes that life presents. Bishop Jakes discusses how many people are held back because they are attached to old behaviors or beliefs that don't serve their current needs or circumstances.
In order to "reposition yourself" you need to be honest about where you want to go and where you are falling short in attaining that goal. Some of the key areas for examination are:
1) Your Health-Want do you need to do to improve it according to your doctor?
2) Your skills/education-If you were fired tomorrow, do You have the necessary skills, education and professional network to get a new and better job in today's marketplace?
3) Your Finances: Do you have enough money and insurance to withstand a major financial blow such as losing your job or becoming disabled (even temporarily)?
4) Your Relationships: What do you need to do to deepen and strengthen your relationship with family and friends?
Whether or not you become a compnay in decline or one on the rise is largely based on regularly upgrading yourself. It's not about change for change sake. It's about improve yourself so that you can live happily and abundantly in a rapidly changing world.
A) Your services/products are becoming obsolete because you are failing to recognize new trends and changes in consumer habits. Consequently your sales are shrinking and your stock prices are lower. In short, you are a company in decline, whose stock should be sold.
B) You see investment in Research and development as key to your company's continued vitability. By keeping abreast of changes in the marketplace and with consumer tastes your company consistently creates products/services that appeal to your target audience. Consequently your business is growing and the value of your stock continues to rise.
Unfortunately, too many of our businesses would look like A. In too many instances people are not regularly re-evaluating their skills, education or mind set to see whether what they possess is appropriate for their current life or career circumstances. The result is that we are not positioning ourselves to take advantage of opportunities that maybe presented to us, nor are we shoring up our resources to deal with the financial turbulance that occur with job loss, divorce, or a major illness major.
Bishop T.D. Jakes in his book,Reposition Yourself: Live Your Life Without Limit helps readers to readjust their thinking to deal with the many changes that life presents. Bishop Jakes discusses how many people are held back because they are attached to old behaviors or beliefs that don't serve their current needs or circumstances.
In order to "reposition yourself" you need to be honest about where you want to go and where you are falling short in attaining that goal. Some of the key areas for examination are:
1) Your Health-Want do you need to do to improve it according to your doctor?
2) Your skills/education-If you were fired tomorrow, do You have the necessary skills, education and professional network to get a new and better job in today's marketplace?
3) Your Finances: Do you have enough money and insurance to withstand a major financial blow such as losing your job or becoming disabled (even temporarily)?
4) Your Relationships: What do you need to do to deepen and strengthen your relationship with family and friends?
Whether or not you become a compnay in decline or one on the rise is largely based on regularly upgrading yourself. It's not about change for change sake. It's about improve yourself so that you can live happily and abundantly in a rapidly changing world.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
5 Lessons Hip Hop Can Teach You In These Hectic Times
People are scared. Across the country folks are losing their homes—and even if you can keep your house it’s worth much less than it was several years ago. Jobs with liveable wages and benefits are rapidly disappearing. With the crashing and burning happening on Wall Street the value of many people’s retirement accounts has plummeted. Last, but certainly not least, affordable health insurance evades more and more Americans. It’s easy to be sucked into the collective fear that is spreading around the country. In Chinese the symbol for crisis is the same as opportunity. It’s therefore not surprising that even in the middle of this financial chaos there are people still making money and living large—and that’s been the case throughout history.
Recently I was listening to T.I.’s single “On Top Of the World,” featuring Ludacris and I started thinking about how successful people are different from the ones caught up in collective fear. Over the years rap artists have advocated boot-strap economics—a self reliance that emerged in the aftermath of being abandoned and ignored by the system. People hustle when they are hungry and they become complacent when they have extra money in their pockets. We all tend to forget that the economy, like life, is about cycles. If there is a boom period, there’s got to be a corresponding bust. While no man (or woman) is an island, it’s almost certain that the more that you farm out your financial decisions to other people, the more likely you’ll remain broke and fearful. I have put together 5 important lessons that Hip Hop has taught me about financially successful people:
1. They have a prosperity mind-set: Successful people refuse to focus on their fears. They are really determined that they are going to get theirs—no matter what. This means that they don’t spend a lot of time thinking that they can’t make it because they’re Black, Latino, female, uneducated/unqualified, too old, too fat, don’t live in NY or LA or too unattractive. There’s a big difference between saying that you want to be wealthy and actually believing that you can be. The success stories are made of up people who truly believed that they deserved the best that life had to offer. These folks also got off their rears and took concrete steps toward their goals. Successful person may play hard, but they also work VERY hard. These people are constantly in meetings, discussing deals and investigating new opportunities. Successful people also surround themselves with knowledgeable advisers who can help them to improve their game and fulfil their vision.. The folks with longevity such as Russell Simmons, Sean “P-Diddy” Combs, Sean “Jay-Z” Carter, LL Cool L and Queen Latifah know that they are exactly where they are supposed to be—it’s not a fluke or an accident.
Action Step: List you top 5 reasons why you can’t get ahead. Read your list and determine why each one is a really just an excuse. For instance, if you say that don’t have enough education; you can go back to school, even if its only one class at a time.
2. They Take On New Challenges: Successful people believe in themselves and as a result they take career risks that allow them to learn and grow. Rap artist, Will Smith (DJ Jazzy J and Fresh Prince) agreed to star in the television show, “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” and then he made his film debuted in Six Degrees of Separation, playing a gay man. Will Smith went on to star in films such as Independence Day, Men in Black and Enemy of the State and is now a top Hollywood money-maker. Queen Latifah, who co-founded Flavor Unit Entertainment, which managed groups such as Outkast and Naughty by Nature also starred in the television show “Living Single.” She won acclaim for her acting in films such as Living Out Loud and Set It Off and was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in the film “Chicago." Queen Latifah moved from rapping to singing on The Dana Owens Album (2004) and Trav’lin Light (2007). As a fashion designer, Sean Combs has not only racked up millions in sales, but in 2004 he beat out veteran designers Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors to win CFDA Menswear Designer of the Year award for his sophisticated Sean John clothing line. We also can’t forget his addictive MTV reality shows, “Making the Band,” and “Who Wants to Be Diddy’s Assistant? The folks who keep stepping, even in tough economic times keep challenging themselves to reach larger and loftier goals.
Action Step: Think about 1 or 2 things that you’ve been scared to do and commit to doing it—put a date on its completion. It may be performing at the local open mic, applying for a higher position at your job or pitching your business to clients outside your community.
3. They own their own businesses: The reality is that if you work for someone else, you are always financially vulnerable. The company, not you decides how much money you can make, how quickly you can advance and whether you’ll even have a job next week. When the company decides to eliminate your job it’s irrelevant to them that you’ve got rent to pay, a car note that’s due or kids to feed. Although owning a business can be financially risky, it’s the only way that you can directly control how much cash flows into your wallet. Whether it’s rap music entrepreneurs or traditional business people, the wealthiest ones are those who own their own businesses: Jay-Z (co-founder. Roc-A-Fella Records); 50 Cent (G-Unit, an umbrella for several businesses); Sean Combs (Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group); Warren Buffet (Bershire Hathaway); Bill Gates (Microsoft); Jeff Bezos (founder, Amazon.com). Even for people who don’t want to be full-time entrepreneurs they need to have a second hustle that can tide them over if their main gig disappears.
Action Step: Make a List of 10 different low-cost businesses that you could start TODAY with the skills that you’ve already got. Research start-up costs, marketing/promotion expenses and what it would take to turn a profit.
4. They Watch Their Money: Despite all of the Cristal sipping and bottles of Patron that are consumed every weekend, the truly wealthy usually let someone else pick up the tab. It’s the wannabees who are going broke trying to impress the next man (or woman). Ironically the more that people make, the less that they tend to spend. Not only are the wealthy usually inundated with “comps” (Complimentary or FREE gifts/perks), they expect NOT to pay for their drinks or to get into a club. In comparison too many average joes simply spend more than they earn. While the rich buy appreciable items, such as recession-proof real estate in high-end communities, art work, or invest in their companies, the average janes buy/lease luxury cars and McMansions that they couldn’t afford. These average joes usually have closets full of designer clothes and accessories but not a dime in emergency savings. They are literally one pay check away from welfare. Getting on track financially means cutting back on all non-essential spending and putting some money in the bank.
Action Step: Determine what in your life are “needs” versus “wants.” If you don’t have at least three months of salary in the bank for an emergency---immediately dead the “wants” and bank the money. Think about selling your non-essentials clothes/gadgets on Ebay.
5. They Have a Life Plan: Most successful people have a good idea about what they want to accomplish in a given time period—whether that’s five years, one year or a month. They don’t wake up every morning and just wing it. This doesn’t mean that every move is written in stone—but they’ve got an outline. Sometime your desires, your circumstances or your industry change and you’ve got to embark on another course. As veteran music industry exec, Kevin Liles said in his book Make it Happen, “There’s a big difference between building an overall vision about what you want to achieve in a lifetime, and tying yourself down to one path.” The key point is not to live solely in the future. Do your best with the project or job that’s in front of you, but keep in mind how it fits into where you want to be tomorrow. An important part of having a viable life plan is being prepared—are you positioning yourself for new opportunities? Whether you want to own a record company, buy a house, become a rap artist, open a charter school or become an NBA player, you need to find out what takes in terms of education/credentials, money, time and connections. Granted, there’s no law saying that you’ve got to do it like everyone else. For instance, 19 year old Brandon Jennings is the first U.S. basketball player to play professionally in Europe straight out of high school. In the 1990s the Wu-Tang Clan changed the music industry by having a recording contract with Loud/RCA that still allowed members to record solo projects with other labels. However, you’ve got to be knowledgeable of the system before you can successfully buck it.
Action Step: Write down what you would like to achieve in the next 6 months or year. Figure out the major steps you’d need to take to achieve your goals.
There’s more to life than the paper chase, but don’t discount the importance of money. It may not buy happiness, but it can buy you a nice home in a safe neighborhood, a reliable car, health insurance, stellar attorneys, vacations, college tuition for your children and the ability to help your parents financially as they enter their golden years. It’s in these times that we’ve got to realize the regardless of whose in the White House, we need develop a “do it your damn self” mind set that will help us to adapt to a changing world. In this latest financial crisis the government ran to bail out Wall Street while people on Main Street are still suffering. The rich and powerful instinctively look out for their own interests. They’re no different from any other clique or crew. Lil’ Kim summed up how the system works on The Lox’s single, “Money, Power and Respect,” “First you get the money, then you get the power, after you get the f–in’ power, motherf—ers will respect you." The take-away is to begin to rely more on yourself and rely less on other folks to make sure that you and yours eat.
Recently I was listening to T.I.’s single “On Top Of the World,” featuring Ludacris and I started thinking about how successful people are different from the ones caught up in collective fear. Over the years rap artists have advocated boot-strap economics—a self reliance that emerged in the aftermath of being abandoned and ignored by the system. People hustle when they are hungry and they become complacent when they have extra money in their pockets. We all tend to forget that the economy, like life, is about cycles. If there is a boom period, there’s got to be a corresponding bust. While no man (or woman) is an island, it’s almost certain that the more that you farm out your financial decisions to other people, the more likely you’ll remain broke and fearful. I have put together 5 important lessons that Hip Hop has taught me about financially successful people:
1. They have a prosperity mind-set: Successful people refuse to focus on their fears. They are really determined that they are going to get theirs—no matter what. This means that they don’t spend a lot of time thinking that they can’t make it because they’re Black, Latino, female, uneducated/unqualified, too old, too fat, don’t live in NY or LA or too unattractive. There’s a big difference between saying that you want to be wealthy and actually believing that you can be. The success stories are made of up people who truly believed that they deserved the best that life had to offer. These folks also got off their rears and took concrete steps toward their goals. Successful person may play hard, but they also work VERY hard. These people are constantly in meetings, discussing deals and investigating new opportunities. Successful people also surround themselves with knowledgeable advisers who can help them to improve their game and fulfil their vision.. The folks with longevity such as Russell Simmons, Sean “P-Diddy” Combs, Sean “Jay-Z” Carter, LL Cool L and Queen Latifah know that they are exactly where they are supposed to be—it’s not a fluke or an accident.
Action Step: List you top 5 reasons why you can’t get ahead. Read your list and determine why each one is a really just an excuse. For instance, if you say that don’t have enough education; you can go back to school, even if its only one class at a time.
2. They Take On New Challenges: Successful people believe in themselves and as a result they take career risks that allow them to learn and grow. Rap artist, Will Smith (DJ Jazzy J and Fresh Prince) agreed to star in the television show, “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air,” and then he made his film debuted in Six Degrees of Separation, playing a gay man. Will Smith went on to star in films such as Independence Day, Men in Black and Enemy of the State and is now a top Hollywood money-maker. Queen Latifah, who co-founded Flavor Unit Entertainment, which managed groups such as Outkast and Naughty by Nature also starred in the television show “Living Single.” She won acclaim for her acting in films such as Living Out Loud and Set It Off and was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in the film “Chicago." Queen Latifah moved from rapping to singing on The Dana Owens Album (2004) and Trav’lin Light (2007). As a fashion designer, Sean Combs has not only racked up millions in sales, but in 2004 he beat out veteran designers Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors to win CFDA Menswear Designer of the Year award for his sophisticated Sean John clothing line. We also can’t forget his addictive MTV reality shows, “Making the Band,” and “Who Wants to Be Diddy’s Assistant? The folks who keep stepping, even in tough economic times keep challenging themselves to reach larger and loftier goals.
Action Step: Think about 1 or 2 things that you’ve been scared to do and commit to doing it—put a date on its completion. It may be performing at the local open mic, applying for a higher position at your job or pitching your business to clients outside your community.
3. They own their own businesses: The reality is that if you work for someone else, you are always financially vulnerable. The company, not you decides how much money you can make, how quickly you can advance and whether you’ll even have a job next week. When the company decides to eliminate your job it’s irrelevant to them that you’ve got rent to pay, a car note that’s due or kids to feed. Although owning a business can be financially risky, it’s the only way that you can directly control how much cash flows into your wallet. Whether it’s rap music entrepreneurs or traditional business people, the wealthiest ones are those who own their own businesses: Jay-Z (co-founder. Roc-A-Fella Records); 50 Cent (G-Unit, an umbrella for several businesses); Sean Combs (Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group); Warren Buffet (Bershire Hathaway); Bill Gates (Microsoft); Jeff Bezos (founder, Amazon.com). Even for people who don’t want to be full-time entrepreneurs they need to have a second hustle that can tide them over if their main gig disappears.
Action Step: Make a List of 10 different low-cost businesses that you could start TODAY with the skills that you’ve already got. Research start-up costs, marketing/promotion expenses and what it would take to turn a profit.
4. They Watch Their Money: Despite all of the Cristal sipping and bottles of Patron that are consumed every weekend, the truly wealthy usually let someone else pick up the tab. It’s the wannabees who are going broke trying to impress the next man (or woman). Ironically the more that people make, the less that they tend to spend. Not only are the wealthy usually inundated with “comps” (Complimentary or FREE gifts/perks), they expect NOT to pay for their drinks or to get into a club. In comparison too many average joes simply spend more than they earn. While the rich buy appreciable items, such as recession-proof real estate in high-end communities, art work, or invest in their companies, the average janes buy/lease luxury cars and McMansions that they couldn’t afford. These average joes usually have closets full of designer clothes and accessories but not a dime in emergency savings. They are literally one pay check away from welfare. Getting on track financially means cutting back on all non-essential spending and putting some money in the bank.
Action Step: Determine what in your life are “needs” versus “wants.” If you don’t have at least three months of salary in the bank for an emergency---immediately dead the “wants” and bank the money. Think about selling your non-essentials clothes/gadgets on Ebay.
5. They Have a Life Plan: Most successful people have a good idea about what they want to accomplish in a given time period—whether that’s five years, one year or a month. They don’t wake up every morning and just wing it. This doesn’t mean that every move is written in stone—but they’ve got an outline. Sometime your desires, your circumstances or your industry change and you’ve got to embark on another course. As veteran music industry exec, Kevin Liles said in his book Make it Happen, “There’s a big difference between building an overall vision about what you want to achieve in a lifetime, and tying yourself down to one path.” The key point is not to live solely in the future. Do your best with the project or job that’s in front of you, but keep in mind how it fits into where you want to be tomorrow. An important part of having a viable life plan is being prepared—are you positioning yourself for new opportunities? Whether you want to own a record company, buy a house, become a rap artist, open a charter school or become an NBA player, you need to find out what takes in terms of education/credentials, money, time and connections. Granted, there’s no law saying that you’ve got to do it like everyone else. For instance, 19 year old Brandon Jennings is the first U.S. basketball player to play professionally in Europe straight out of high school. In the 1990s the Wu-Tang Clan changed the music industry by having a recording contract with Loud/RCA that still allowed members to record solo projects with other labels. However, you’ve got to be knowledgeable of the system before you can successfully buck it.
Action Step: Write down what you would like to achieve in the next 6 months or year. Figure out the major steps you’d need to take to achieve your goals.
There’s more to life than the paper chase, but don’t discount the importance of money. It may not buy happiness, but it can buy you a nice home in a safe neighborhood, a reliable car, health insurance, stellar attorneys, vacations, college tuition for your children and the ability to help your parents financially as they enter their golden years. It’s in these times that we’ve got to realize the regardless of whose in the White House, we need develop a “do it your damn self” mind set that will help us to adapt to a changing world. In this latest financial crisis the government ran to bail out Wall Street while people on Main Street are still suffering. The rich and powerful instinctively look out for their own interests. They’re no different from any other clique or crew. Lil’ Kim summed up how the system works on The Lox’s single, “Money, Power and Respect,” “First you get the money, then you get the power, after you get the f–in’ power, motherf—ers will respect you." The take-away is to begin to rely more on yourself and rely less on other folks to make sure that you and yours eat.
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