April 2008

Here is a story that I’ve heard a few times throughout my life. It’s always been a constant reminder to me of what kinds of obstacles are put in our way that stop us short of accomplishing great things when we are so close. There have been so many times I’ve quit in my life where others have said I was justified and my actions understandable. Fooling myself for every “non-accomplishment” of telling myself that I did the right thing, when in my heart I knew I could have done more, or done better, but instead chose the easy way out…to quit.

Keep Your Goals In Sight

When she looked ahead, Florence Chadwick saw nothing but a solid wall of fog. Her body was numb. She had been swimming for nearly sixteen hours. Already she was the first woman to swim the English Channel in both directions. Now, at age 34, her goal was to become the first woman to swim from Catalina Island to the California coast. On that Fourth of July morning in 1952, the sea was like an ice bath and the fog was so dense she could hardly see her support boats. Sharks cruised toward her lone figure, only to be driven away by rifle shots. Against the frigid grip of the sea, she struggled on – hour after hour – while millions watched on national television. Alongside Florence in one of the boats, her mother and her trainer offered encouragement. They told her it wasn’t much further. But all she could see was fog. They urged her not to quit. She never had . . . until then. With only a half mile to go, she asked to be pulled out. Still thawing her chilled body several hours later, she told a reporter, “Look, I’m not excusing myself, but if I could have seen land I might have made it.” It was not fatigue or even the cold water that defeated her. It was the fog. She was unable to see her goal. Two months later, she tried again. This time, despite the same dense fog, she swam with her faith intact and her goal clearly pictured in her mind. She knew that somewhere behind the fog was land and this time she made it! Florence Chadwick became the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel, eclipsing the men’s record by two hours! Even when you can’t see your goal with your eyes, you can always picture it in your mind. Let that be the strength to take you where you want to go!

Here it comes….The lecture on what to do with your money when you get a gift. Personally, I have a strong belief that there is a very specific breakdown on how you should take care of income. Whether the income comes from your paychecks or from a free rebate from the government, here is how income should be broken down.

1. Give at least 10% to tithing or if you don’t go to church, donate it to a worthy charity. For Christians, this type of action shows God how strong your faith is toward him. God promises blessings back 10 fold for being faithful in your giving. For non-believers, this act of giving us called the “Law of Reciprocity”. A principle of what goes around, comes around. Try it…See what happens!

2. Give yourself 10% to treat yourself. This is the principle of what the rich call “Paying yourself first”. What is left after the Giving and the Paying yourself then becomes more flexible.

3. Put 10% to long term savings. This is your retirement fund.

4. Put 20% toward, something you can invest in and take risks worth. I recommend breaking this down into half. put half of it into account to spend on the risky investment and the other half on educating yourself. Take seminars or buy books and tapes on the subject you want to invest in. This will help to minimize your risk.

5. Lastly, you should be left with the last 50% of the money you want to break down. Hopefully its enough to now pay bills with and survive on for everyday expenses. If it’s not, you have 2 big decisions to make. First, make more money. Second cut the regular expenses you have down so you can do 50% of your income to survive on.

This message above is a difficult thing to do for most people, but if its a habit created early by your kids, 2 great things happen. First, they will have secured their future and those of your future generations, and second, they will have learned to live within their means and be smart with their money.

So take that free rebate and show them how you and the family will break it down to where it makes sense!

Is there a refund for you?  Our accountant informed us we’re getting a refund this year. When we originally went for our tax appointment she thought we would end up paying about $6,000, but after she received all the additional paperwork she needed and was able to input all the final numbers into the computer the results changed dramatically.

Funny thing is this. My wife and I set a goal to go to Japan this year on the condition that accomplish making a certain “large”  amount of funds in additional to our regular incomes from our jobs by the end of May. Well..our tax returns covered over 90% of that goal. We’ve been praying on it and working on ideas to accomplish this and it seems that it’s working itself out. Now I am not saying that just because we prayed and set our sites on a goal that God dropped this money in our lap. We’ve been working at what we thought could be ways of accomplishing the goal. I truly believe that the combination of faith and action is what makes special “unexpected” blessings appear.

If you are a person who believes in Jesus, here are some things I believe can help you in your financial need.

1. Be faithful in your giving (tithing).  Nothing shows your belief in God and his power more than tithing your minimum of 10% of your gross income. (The bible says to be a cheerful and faithful giver, and God will bless you)
2. Take care of your money. (The bible says if you can take care of little, then you can be trusted to care of much)
3. Ask for what you want. Pray on it and look for ways God is trying to show you of opportunities to make more.
4. Work hard/take action. Do not expect for the blessings to be dropped in your lap. God wants you to appreciate what he’s blessed you with by making sure you feel you’ve worked to earn it.

Since statistically speaking 80% of the people reading this most likely believe there is a God, then why fear trying these steps? These 4 things are Bible based and have proven to work time and time again. I suggest reading the book of Proverbs, reading and analyzing 1 chapter a day. You’ll get through it in a month and be amazed at the simple wisdom in it for everyday successful living.

Hopefully you’re getting a refund this year. I am dreading what kind of changes we’ll see with taxes when the next President we elect takes office. Our economy is still sliding hard and the world is rattling from the fallout. I can’t wait till we get into a good position to buy apartment buildings. That’s my plan…What’s yours? If you do not have a plan for the future its like not having a road map in a foreign land. You’ll be wandering endlessly hoping to reach your destination.

This week has been a very busy one for me. Getting ready to travel next week on business for 3 days has kept me from doing too much reading on all the news I normally like to keep up on. Next week will be tougher, but all is good.

My wife and I have been taking care of a dog that my wife named “Peanut”. She’s a lot of fun, but needs a home with a yard and a family that has more time for her. Any takers? Here is how she greets us everyday we come home!

You were put on this earth with gifts to share with the world. You may not think you have a lot to offer others, but you are wrong. Yeah, this may sound a little harsh and your heart might start pumping a little faster now with anger, but know that I am telling you this for your own good. You have gifts, and if you are not sharing them with others, you are wasting your short time you have here on this planet. Think about anything you’ve ever taught someone that made them happy because they were able to now do it themselves. (Now if you’ve never taught anyone anything, you either do not remember doing it because it was effortless, or you don’t get out enough.) Have you ever been asked to train someone at work perhaps? Or if you have kids, have you ever shown them something that others could not?

With the internet today, your ability to share your gifts with the world can now be done with ease. What’s even better, your ability to make money sharing your gifts is also something that could help provide you with a little income. Duplicating yourself is the concept that the rich have mastered. Video tapes, books, ezines, etc are all ways that you can duplicate your knowledge, thereby duplicating yourself. With the internet, you can be in 1 million + homes teaching people stuff all at the same time. Embrace technology!

Today’s economy is getting rough, and it only looks to get rougher. Unemployment numbers today were bad, and the stock market is reacting to it today. Undoubtedly tomorrow holds more bad news as well, and I predict we’ll see a slight drop in the overall market. ATA and Aloha Airlines, 2 big airlines that service Hawaii, have both collapsed and another 5000 jobs are lost overnight. The trickle effect to other industries that survive on Hawaii tourism will be hit hard, which could also cause a lot of layoffs in the hotel sector, retail sector, manufacturing, and even restaurant industries.

Take the time to figure out what you can offer others and find ways to market your skills.

R.IS.E = Residual Income Solves Everything”(c)
Learn this concept and you’ll enter the world of financial security…

Good luck!

There is no doubt in my mind that Ben Bernanke is a very intelligent man and quick to make things happen. For a very long time I couldn’t figure out why he avoided saying that we are heading into a recession that can’t be stopped? I see today what is finally going on. He is starting to “hint” that we are going into a recession to cover his tracks about when he said he thought we were going to be fine, even when he knew better. My theory is that he needed to pump confidence into the market for as long as he could to prevent a massive disaster. Even Alan Greenspan, the former Fed Chairman, knew this was coming.

Recession is inevitable, but saying it now would be disastrous. American people need to believe the government can take care of them. They’ve been conditioned to believe the government has a handle on our economy and knows what it is doing.

The other thing today is Energy report. What a shock! (yes, it’s sarcasm) It basically pointed out gas prices may go up again. oh boy…

Prepare for a long summer. Stock up when things go on sale, because we are heading toward some big inflation trends.