Character

The last and certainly not least 'C' of the five is Character. Character to me is the most important attribute because it encompasses everything about you and without it, one can never be truly successful. We all know of people who seem successful on all outward accounts who have seemed to have cheated on this one. But I need to point out that any kind of success that is built without the content of character cannot be sustainable for long. Character is required to provide the glue that holds your success together. Without it, everything will soon fall apart. We've seen it happen over and over again.

One of the best books that I have read recently was written by Jon Huntsman and is called Winners Never Cheat. It is an excellent read on the subject of character and success. If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend that you pick it up. It's an easy read that will leave you feeling empowered. It shows that it is possible to swim with the sharks and still come out ahead. I know only a handful of people that demonstrate the same level of moral character that Jon Huntsman lives on a day to day basis. Jon is a truly remarkable individual whose story deserves your attention.

Eleanor Roosevelt tells us, "People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built." I believe this is one of the best ways to describe the building of character.

Coachability

The fourth 'C' (I know) of the 5 C's of Success is Coachability. Can you honestly say that you are coachable? If I'm going to be completely honest, I have to say that I have a lot of room for improvement in this department. However, I am working on it and perhaps by getting through today's post will help me to make advances toward becoming more coachable myself.

Those who know me well are probably thinking to themselves that this should be interesting. I've been called arrogant, a bad listener, a know-it-all and probably many other terrible things with respect to my willingness to take criticism (constructive or otherwise). I often find myself finishing other peoples sentences and am guilty of interrupting. Therefore, I must say, that nobody will is more in need of today's advice than myself. I'm the poster child for the uncoachable. So when you see me next, gently remind me of this by offering me some advice and see how I respond. This will be the best way for me to kick this horrible habit.

Even the best competitors in the world require coaching to attain the status of "world class" athelete. The Olympics is a prime example of the best in the world still striving to improve themselves. If they can just shave an additional tenth of a second from their time or raise the high jump bar by a single inch, they gladly welcome the advice of others to improve their game. According to Sam Parker of Give More Media, Inc., to be coachable means to be:
          •Approachable
          •Attentive
          •Receptive
          •Curious
          •Objective
          •Trusting
          •Shapeable
          •Confident

If anyone reading this post is willing to help me with my coachability issues, I will in turn, be eternally grateful. I know that this is arguably my biggest vice at this point in my life and career. To put it mildly, I have become my worst adversary. Just accounting for all of my own missed opportunites is enough to make me physically ill. So I begin today, to change. I will learn to be more coachable from this moment forward.

Competence

The third 'C' in the 5 C's of Success is Competence. BusinessDictionary.com defines competence as a cluster of related abilities, commitments, knowledge, and skills that enable a person (or an organization) to act effectively in a job or situation. In comparison to 'competency' (plural competencies) which refers to a cluster of abilities relating to excellence in a specific activity, competence indicates sufficiency (state of being 'good enough') of knowledge and skills that enable one to act in a wide variety of situations. Because each level of responsibility has its own requirements, competence can occur in any period of a person's life or at any stage of his or her career.

I believe that one of the most frustrating situations we come across in our daily activities is when we are met with incompetence. It has this innate ability to hinder progess and bring the wheels of industry to a screeching halt. We are, however, much more forgiving when it comes to people in training, probably because we all have empathy when it comes to someone who is learning a new skill. Afterall, we've all been beginners at something multiple times in our lives as we develop new skills, so we can empathize with the person who is bettering him or herself by taking on more responsibilities and learning something new. It is this empathy that retailers seek from their customers by giving new employees a TRAINEE name tag while they are in training. We're also more patient with folks in a car that is clearly marked STUDENT DRIVER. After waiting for well over an hour in a line that had only managed to process a single indivdual in all of that time, with two cashiers, one of the other "patient" customers remarked that the "In Training" signs displayed in both windows were probably permanent fixtures.

The point is that competence is learned and it is possible to better ourselves by adding to our list of core competencies. We need to take into consideration the fact that we are not all cut from the same cloth and that there are certain things that we may never excel at no matter how hard we try. It may be said that in my school years that I was a competent musician having played trumpet and baritone in band from sixth grade through college. However, I have come to grips with the fact that I will never rise above a very basic level of competence in music. My piano and guitar playing skills remain forever elusive to me, while others excel at music very naturally.

These naturally born skills are often called gifts. I believe that people do have natural tendencies to succeed in certain areas. We all have gifts that we can develop. The New Testament provides us with the parable of the talents which is to say that we are all given gifts, but we need to put them to use in order to achieve success. Don't let your talents go to waste. Know your strengths and play to them. This will give you the edge you need to succeed in a competitive world.

The first 7 letters of competence spell compete... Competence can further be defined as having the ability to compete at something. If you are consistently coming up short in competition after competition, you'd probably be better sevred by considering a different talent. One in which you can achieve victory upon victory. Competition is healthy, don't fall for this "We're all winners" mentality that is poisoning society. The law of the jungle is still survival of the fittest, the incompetent merely end up fodder for the more competent.

Clarity Leads to Power

The next 'C' in the 5 C's of Success is Clarity. I would like to be clear about this particular topic, so what do we mean when we say that clarity is one of the five most important characteristics of success? Well, Merriam Webster defines clarity as "the quality or state of being clear." How many times have we forged ahead with only vague impressions of what it is we were looking to achieve, only to be disappointed with the final results? This is the product of not being absolutely clear about what it is we have set out to accomplish at the outset.

The most successful have the uncanny ability to articulate clearly what the point is that they're trying to get across in any given situation. Clarity leads to power. Successful people know this and lead with it. If you cannot get to the point and have your point understood completely beyond the shadow of a doubt, you will most likely end up with a mixed bag of results. Unless you get clear about your topic, it could be lost in translation. It's especially important today when we are speaking with more and more emmigrants on a daily basis. These are people who may be using English as a second or even third language. It's very easy to try and communicate something and not be completely understood. The best way to assure that our audience understands exactly what is being communicated, is to ask them to repeat what you've told them. Effective communicators know the importance of echoing back what they hear in their every day conversations just to help the speaker to know how their words are being interpretted. This proactive approach to conversation leads to clarity.

Being absolutely clear about our objectives can be accomplished by asking questions. How big? What color? How many whatcha-ma-call-its? Is it lighter or darker than this? Being as descriptive as possible all the way down to the tiniest detail makes for the clearest possible picture of what it is we're trying to explain or define. The more questions that are answered up front, the better the outcome. Without a clear understanding, we don't know whether or not the goals have been met. Be clear when you speak, write, design, describe, or try to get across your ideas in any fashion. Make your descriptions work with all 5 senses, what it looks like, feels like, smells like, sounds like and even tastes like. This might not work in all cases, but the better descriptions yield far better results so involve as many senses as apply, then ask and answer all of the important questions. This method will always lead to clarity. Use it and clear the way to better results.

Courage.. Are You Careful or Fearful?

While I appreciate John Jackson's philosophical discourse on Courage and the 5 C's of Success during one of our conference calls last week, I'd like to give credit to the original source. In January of 2004, Pentecostal Minister of Dakota Community Church, Dan Cormie, delivered a sermon on Courage as part of his "The Essential Characteristics of Conquerors" series. Of course there is a slight chance that I have still not cited the proper original source, but it's the best I could come up with in the time I allowed myself for research on the topic. So let's get started with Courage, the first of the 5 C's.

In his sermon, Pastor Cormie describes Fear as a thief. It paralyzes you, keeps you lonely, leads you to make foolish decisions, and eventually robs you of life itself unless you master it. He goes on to say that mastering fear requires courage. He states, "Conquerors posses the courage to defeat their fears!" So then courage is that quality which allows us to face and defeat fear.

What is courage? How does it look?

We tend to equate courage with heroism - firefighters running into a burning building, soldiers preparing for battle, police arresting an armed criminal. We think of extreme sports like bungee jumping, or free climbing; activities that involve a great deal of heroic fortitude. We think of courage as something extraordinary, something unusual; something people are called upon to exhibit only in dangerous, life-threatening situations.

Having said that, we need to recognize that courage is not the same thing as heroism. Courage is not just for extreme situations. In fact, courage is basic to the exercise of every other virtue.

Dictionary definition:
Courage is the state or quality of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear, or vicissitudes (sudden changes in life) with self-possession, confidence, and resolution, bravery.

I think Mark Twain described it best. He said: "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear -- not absence of fear."

But what can be said about people who say, "I am not fearful, I’m just careful."?

Here are the five points I wanted to drive home in today's post:

1. Careful is cerebral (or thoughtful); fearful is emotional.
2. Careful is fueled by information; fearful is fueled by imagination.
3. Careful calculates risk; fearful avoids risk.
4. Careful wants to achieve success; fearful wants to avoid failure.
5. Careful is concerned about progress; fearful is concerned about protection.

Now honestly are you fearful or careful?

Thanks to JJ for his inpiration and to Pastor Dan Cormie who provided the very thoughtful insight into courage. I truly believe that courage is the cornerstone of self confidence and believing in yourself. Without it, we are merely followers who are often driven by fear. My challenge to you for this week is to man up! Stand up for what you believe in. Do not let fear rule over the decisions you make in your own life.

Weekly Wrap-Up...

What a rough week it's been for me. It seems that all I've been dealing with are life's only two guarantees: Death and Taxes. I started the week out by opening a discussion about taxes and writing off your computer equipment, software and internet access if you own your own business. I'm not a tax professional, so I am not really qualified to speak too much to the topic, so most of my posts this week have been pretty brief. As some of my Facebook friends already know. This year is my 30 year high school reunion and I've been building a website for the Edina East Class of 1981:
          www.EdinaEast81.com if you're interested.
The site has a page entitled "In Memory" to honor all of our classmates who have passed away and I've been trying to deal with a couple of those this week, so I'm really happy that this week is a wrap.

Which brings me to talking about what we might be tackling next week. I'd like to take a topic from one of the leaders in our internet marketing community. John Jackson, or as we more endearingly refer to him as JJ, touched on a subject in one of our morning conference calls when he spoke about the differences of being careful and of being fearful. So, I want to thank JJ for providing me with some powerful material for next week. I plan on comparing and contrasting the difference between being careful and being fearful. So it should be a little more exciting than this past weeks solemn subject. Thanks again for reading.

Tax Deferred Savings

Obviously, it's too late to change anything for your 2010 taxes with respect to your savings. But it's the perfect time to max out your 401K, or SEP IRA or whatever tax deferred savings vehicle you are currently contributing to. If you're not currently contributing, you should be. This is the only way to pay yourself first. This is your only means of saving a portion of your income before the IRS gets their hands on it. Again, I have to reiterate that I am not a tax professional, so please contact a qualified professional on the best way to save pre-tax dollars in 2011. If you're already maxed out, good for you.

IRAs or Individual Retirement Accounts have been around for a long time, so I know you're already familiar with the concept of socking away your hard earned money before the government takes their cut. However, It always amazes me when I hear about how many people don't take advantage of these savings vehicles. What can these people possibly be thinking? You can't afford not to be putting something away for the future and it makes absolutely no sense to do it with after tax dollars, unless you've already saved the maximum amount allowed in a tax deferred account(s).

If you do anything to change your taxable income this year, this is the first thing you should take a look at. The sooner you get started, the more you save. It's really that simple. I don't know what else I can say about this subject other than to tell you to contact your Human Resources or Personnel departments where you work, or your financial advisor or whoever you need to talk to in order to find out where you stand with respect to pre-tax savings. Don't be left behind. Now is the time to get your money working for you in the best possible way. Again, if you're already maxed, great! Now see how to best invest your after tax dollars by seeking out tax friendly investments.

Charitable Giving

We've been discussing taxes and write-offs this week and no such discussion would be complete without talking about charitable contributions. I'm a big believer in giving back and for me, the tax write-off that is allowed for charitable contributions is definitely NOT the reason I give. I give in order to improve the lives of those less fortunate than myself, period. If you want to make sure that your contributions will stand up to an audit, make sure you are making donations to legitimate 501(c) orgnizations and that you have receipts. But more importantly, give because you believe in giving, never give with the expectation of getting something in return.

There are a ton of reputable organizations that you can make donations to throughout the year. Choose your causes with your heart, not your head. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't be smart about your giving. Make sure the organization is a worthy cause and that the percentage of funding that gets to the beneficaries is significant. There are a lot of honest charities that are just simply mismanaged and their overhead seriously impairs their effectiveness when it comes to helping the ones in need. A little research in this department goes a long way.

Giving makes me feel good, because I know that the charities we support are affecting people in ways that I could not possibly do on my own. There are projects for every imaginable need. Giving is good and it always benefits me in ways that cannot be described in terms that can be brought to a bottom line. The ability to give to others keeps me motivated to improve myself so that I can give more and more. I think we all would like to be able to give more than we do. Just try to make sure that your charitable donations are being used in ways that make the biggest possible impact for the causes that you hold near and dear.

Get in the Game

I've been going on and on about writing off computer equipment, software and internet access, but really that's only the tip of the iceberg. If you own your own business there are many advantages that you can enjoy especially at tax time. But rather than dwelling on the tax write-offs all week. I'd like to talk about the process of going into business for yourself. It's really not that hard to do. Sure you have the legal hoops that you have to jump through in getting your Federal Tax ID and setting up your business registration through your local and/or state agencies, but those tasks are relatively simple and very inexpensive to put behind you in short order. The toughest part of the process for most isn't the red tape, but actually deciding what it is that they want to do for their business.

This discovery process can be quite fun. It's as easy as making a list of all of your interests and all of the things that you love in life. Because let's face it, your business isn't going to thrive unless you truly love what it is you set out to build your business around. If you have a hobby, there's usually only a fine line between dabbling in a hobby and spending a lot of time and money to turning your hobby into a cash cow. The difference is in how you think about your hobby and how you present that thinking to the rest of the world. Are you an expert at something? You can become a consultant. Yes you can even be a consulting hobbyist. There are always people who are searching for information at all levels in any particular area. Information is valuable.

If you already have a career or a job, that's fine, but don't you think that there's more to life than the daily grind of commuting, punching in & out only to repeat the steps 5 or 6 times a week? And for what? What are you getting out of your job except for a check that goes straight to paying the bills? Or maybe you're one of the lucky few who actually have a job that is in direct correlation with what it is you love to do. If that's the case, then all I can say is welcome to the club!

If you're already in business for yourself, you probably already know the importance of doing what it is you love doing. Without that level of passion, the success rates go right out the window. It's none of my business what you do to start up your own business. My only concern is to get you interested in the concept of running your own business. Get the creative juices flowing and urge you to follow your dreams. Anyone can run a business. It's the size and magnitude of the business that requires varying levels of skill to pull off. Do what you love and build a flourishing business model around that passion and you have the blueprint for success. If you ever require assistance, don't be afraid to ask. Entrepreneurs are among the most sharing and caring people I know. Most of my friends own their own businesses. I don't know if this is a birds of a feather thing, or if it just has to do with the economy of living in paradise. But no matter where you live or what your interests are. There's really nothing more satisfying than running your own show.

The Possibilities Are Endless

Before you can legitimately start writing off computer equipment, software and internet access, you have to be certain that your business will stand up to the scrutiny of a tax audit. I am not a tax expert, so please heed my advice and contact a professional before attempting to write off any of your own business expenses. First and foremost, you'll need to make sure that your business is making money. Having said that, when it comes to making money with your computer, the possibilities are truly endless. I'm going to throw out just a few ideas and hopefully it will get your own creative juices flowing on how you might be able to start earning extra income with your computer from home.

Are you good at writing? The internet has sparked a revolution with respect to people who provide content for the countless websites and blogs out there. Many of which require writers to provide them with content. Becoming a freelance writer is now more in demand than it has ever been. You might want to check out the following link if you have any interest whatsoever in a career in writing:

     http://www.wikihow.com/Become-a-Freelance-Writer

There isn't really a business model in existence that couldn't benefit from having a website. So if you're good with computers and you know a little HTML, you might consider building wesbites for the small businesses in you area. Websites vary from the tiny mom & pop types of businesses all the way up to the flashiest of the mega-billion dollar corporations. Your skill set will dictate where you might fit in, but no matter what your current skill level, there is a market for your talents. In addition to writing the code behind a great website, there is a demand for graphical artists who can create the business logos and other graphical images that adorn a business's website. So even if you don't have the ability to create a website, you could still take advantage of the internet boom if you have artistic abilities and know how to create great layouts using photoshop or pagemaker or any of a large number of graphical art packages on the market today. And once again, when it comes to websites, content is king, so I'll say it again here, freelance writers are in huge demand.

When it comes to building websites, I personally have created a great deal of them; from the very simple, to fairly complex database driven sites requiring eCommerce solutions and real time connections to other systems. One of the things that I'm finding out is that developing the website is only a small part of doing business in the online arena. Having a website doesn't necessarily mean that a business is going to be a huge success online. You still have to market, so there is also a huge demand for Search Engine Optimization and Internet Marketing professionals. This is an area in which copy writing and target market analysis have become fairly competitive, but with a little marketing know-how, you can master the skills required to drive internet traffic. This area is extremely lucrative and provides for a great creative outlet if you're so inclined.

These are but a handful of ways that you can have a business that allows you to create additional income. It also provides a wealth of tax write-offs for the tools that you use in doing business for yourself. Once again, I need to reiterate that I am not a tax expert and that you want to contact a tax professional before attempting to write off any type of business expense. I haven't done my own taxes in years, so I'm not 100% certain of what goes on in my accountant's office, but I do know that a lot of the things I buy, are legitimately written off as part of my business and this is something you'll want to consider, if not for this current tax season, get started now in making the hit next year a little less painful when it comes to paying taxes.

Tax Time is Upon Us

The first quarter of the year means that taxes are coming due soon. The end of January is the deadline that your employer had to get you your W-2 statement that outlines how much you've been paid this past year and how much taxes may have been withheld. I can safely assume that if you're reading this post, you have a personal computer of some kind and an internet connection. Whether you pay for that internet access or not is a question of how frugal you are. Many people are able to successfully locate free wi-fi hot spots for their internet access and have successfully discontinued paid internet access. I am thinking they are a minority, but I know they're out there; especially if those free hot spots are close to where they live. But this post isn't about whether or not you're paying for internet access. It's about getting the most out of your PC and your access to the internet.

Is your computer an asset or a liability? Sure, many of you probably consider your computer an asset if you use it for work of one kind or another, but are you paying dearly for the convenience, or are you squeezing the most out of your investment and making it pay for itself? Many of us own PCs and have never earned a single dollar using the hardware or software that we've purchased. Others may have gotten paid to do something and gotten paid for it on occassion. The truth of the matter is that there are literally thousands, if not millions of ways that you can make your computer pay for itself. If you use your computer professionally, or have legally set up a computer oriented business, you may be able to write off the cost or your computer and/or software purchases. Since it's a big ticket item that has a specific lifespan, you'll find that you need to depreciate that machine over it's lifetime (it's true you can do it all at once), but consult your tax preparer or the IRS for more information regarding computer equipment purchases and depreciation.

If you have a personal computer and you only use it casually and cannot claim it as a business expence, you are literally tossing money out the window. It is so easy to set up a legitimate business that requires a computer and therefore qualifies as a tax deduction. You could set up a tax preparation service, a resume writing service, accounting and bookkeeping services or about a thousand other types of businesses including internet companies that can legally do business all around the world. If your business is online, you can write off your expensive high-speed internet access bill. But besides being able to save the amount of money you're spending on your computer hardware, software and internet access, it is also very likely that you will increase your income, so you can pay even more taxes, and isn't that our goal in life, to pay more taxes? This week, I'm going to take a closer look at putting your PC to work for you. Treat your computer like an employee instead of a tool. PCs are here to help us, so let's take advantage of that.

Picking a Winner

It fascinates me how football fans go about selecting their Super Bowl favorites. Most of the casual football fans (the ones who watch games occassionally throughout the season) base their decision strictly on emotion. This is probably because they don't especially know too much about the two teams who made it to the championship match. Then there are the ladies who like to pick their winners based on how the players look in their uniforms or which team has the cutest quarterback. Then I also know a few die hard football fans (you know who you are) who have watched NFL Football religiously each Sunday and some of them watched every single game (usually fantasy football players with a vested interest in at least a small portion of every single matchup). These are the guys who will base their pick on sheer statistics and the injury reports and overall health and strength of each team's specific units: Offense, Defense, Special Teaams, etc. Then there are those of us who are still licking their wounds from the regular season and could really care less who wins because they only care about the team they've been loyal to all season long. We just want to see a good game with a lot of back and forth and quality plays. Please, don't let this be a one-sided blowout for either team. One thing missing this year is the decsion making of the football perves (and you too know who you are). These are the horn dogs who choose the winning team by their cheerleaders. This year's game will be lacking cheerleaders due to the fact that neither team has a cheerleading squad. No matter how you go about picking a winner, most fans this year have already made up their minds; have you?

Today's post will be Super Brief, because I've got to get myself prepared for the Super Bowl festivities. I've got my shopping list and I'm ready to head out the door and toss it up with the other last minute Super Bowl Party shoppers. Luckily for me, I won't be doing too much of the work myself this year. Just bring a dish, nothing fancy. I like that. I want to wish everyone out there, football fan or otherwise, a safe, exciting and fun day tomorrow whether you plan on watching the game or not. My surfer friends all say that Super Bowl Sunday is the best day to surf because the breaks are nearly deserted. I seem to recall surfing on both Thanksgiving and Super Bowl Sunday when I was in college on the Big Island. Truly big waves and nobody around for yards and yards. So hit the ski lifts or the waves and enjoy the serenity. The rest of us will be losing our voices shouting at the big screens across the country. I wish all football fans the best of luck no matter which team they've picked as their winner this year.

Super Preparation

I've been talking about the Super Bowl all week (except for yesterday's post about the Chinese New Year). So I'm going to segue back to the Super Bowl from the Chinese New Year by quoting Confucius. Confucius tells us that "Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure." Let's take a look at what kind of preparation goes into getting ready for the Super Bowl.

Knowing your opponent is every bit as important as knowing yourself. Every possible weakness that can can be exploited could be the key to Sunday's victory. No doubt both teams have been pouring over countless hours of game video to discover potential chinks in the armor of their opponent. Or have they? In what could be described as nothing more than Pulitzer-worthy investigative journalism, Gromer Jeffers Jr. of the Dallas Morning News was staking out local strip clubs on Monday night, looking for NFL players...

"It didn't take long for the Pittsburgh Steelers to sample some of the adult entertainment Dallas has to offer.

Late Monday night, hours after they arrived here, Hines Ward, Ike Taylor and several other members of the Pittsburgh Steelers visited Dallas Gentlemen's Club on Northwest Highway in Dallas.

A number of other pro athletes were there as well.

When Ward and his teammates entered the club, dancers converged on them. They spent a few minutes in the VIP area at the back of the club. But as the music pumped and the women strode across the four stages, the Steelers huddled in the front corner of the club for closer looks.

Ward, wearing a plaid shirt and jeans, danced with a couple of strippers. At one point, he tossed out dollars while receiving lap dances. Other Steelers joined him.

At one point, near midnight, the Steelers, including huge linemen, appeared on the main stage., There they posed and danced with an assortment of strippers. It was "Make It Rain Monday" at the club. And some of the players made it rain with their dollar bills.

The disc jockey said that Green Bay Packer players were on the way, but I didn't spot any at the club.

One large man wearing a green outfit with an Oakland As cap drank Moet out of the bottle.

I asked him was he wearing Packer green?

'I'm wearing money green,' he said."

Referring back to my opening remarks by Confucius, this probably doesn't bode well for the Steelers. I'm going to stick with my original pick, Green Bay. Maybe it's the Steelers' vast Super Bowl experience in the past that gives them the kind of confidence that allows for this type of behavior leading up to the big game. But in my mind, it simply isn't the best example set be setting for our kids, is it? I guess I just miss the good old days when kids could look up to their sports heroes in admiration and say, "I'm gonna be just like him when I grow up." Who knows? Maybe the kids still do say that, which is kind of sad when you think about it.

Kung Hei Fat Choi

Chinese New Year starts with the New Moon on the first day of the new year and ends on the full moon 15 days later. The 15th day of the new year is called the Lantern Festival, which is celebrated at night with lantern displays and children carrying lanterns in a parade. The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements.

The lunar cycle is about 29.5 days. In order to "catch up" with the solar calendar the Chinese insert an extra month once every few years (seven years out of a 19-yearcycle). This is the same as adding an extra day on leap year. In the Gregorian calendar, Chinese New Year falls on different dates each year, a date between January 21 and February 20. In the Chinese calendar, winter solstice must occur in the 11th month, which means that Chinese New Year usually falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice (rarely the third if an intercalary month intervenes).

New Year's Eve and New Year's Day are celebrated as a family affair, a time of reunion and thanksgiving. The celebration was traditionally highlighted with a religious ceremony given in honor of Heaven and Earth, the gods of the household and the family ancestors. The sacrifice to the ancestors, the most vital of all the rituals, united the living members with those who had passed away. Departed relatives are remembered with great respect because they were responsible for laying the foundations for the fortune and glory of the family.

2011 is the Year of the Rabbit and is a placid year, very much welcomed and needed after the ferocious year of the Tiger. We should go off to some quiet spot to lick our wounds and get some rest after all the battles of the previous year. The origin of Chinese New Year is itself centuries old and gains significance because of several myths and traditions. Ancient Chinese New Year is a reflection on how the people behaved and what they believed in the most. Within China, regional customs and traditions concerning the celebration of the Chinese new year vary widely. People will pour out their money to buy presents, decoration, material, food, and clothing. It is also the tradition that every family thoroughly cleans the house to sweep away any ill-fortune in hopes to make way for good incoming luck.

World Class Coaching

Super Bowl champions are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile. If this sounds familiar, it's because it's one of many quotations (slightly modified) from Vince Lombardi, arguably one of the best coaches of all time. Getting any team to the NFL championships is not any easy task. It takes dedication, hard work and an unshakable belief that you will succeed.

We want to apply these same winning beliefs in our own lives if we want to be truly unstoppable. Lombardi is also credited with the classic persistence pays quote, "Winners never quit and quitters never win." So many of the mantras that we use in the business world today can be traced back to coaching. So who are these world class motivators and how do they manage to drive others to achieve excellence?

If you want to become successful at just about anything. A great place to find your motivation is to study the world's greatest coaches and read what it is that they've done to get the best results from their teams. Here's a list of the who's who when it comes to coaching greatness:

• Red Auerbach (NBA)
• Bobby Bowden (college football)
• Scotty Bowman (NHL)
• Paul Brown (NFL)
• Bear Bryant (college football)
• George Halas (NFL)
• Phil Jackson (NBA)
• Bobby Knight (men's college basketball)
• Mike Krzyzewski (men's college basketball)
• Vince Lombardi (NFL)
• Chuck Noll (NFL)
• Joe Paterno (college football)
• Casey Stengel (baseball)
• Pat Summitt (women's college basketball)
• Bill Walsh (NFL)
• John Wooden (men's college basketball)

If I'm missing a favorite of yours, please feel free to make comments on this post. The objective of this post is to provide a resource for inspiration that anyone looking for success can tap into. You can Google these guys, go to the bookstore or local library and read their philosophies; many of which may be overlapping, but here is a wealth of fundamental self-improvment material for your perusal. Start with your favorite or tackle the list in alphabetical order; it's all up to you how you go about gaining the winning edge in your own business and life. In closing, I'd like to share one more pearl of wisdom with you...

"The dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. I think you can accomplish anything if you're willing to pay the price." - Vince Lombardi

Super Bowl Countdown

It's that time of year when our thoughts turn to the NFL Championship game known the world over as the Super Bowl. Those who know me well know that I am a Minnesota Vikings fan, so suffice it to say I don't really have a dog in the upcoming Battle Royale. But I'll be watching the big game all the same. So let me know who you're cheering for. I'm still at a loss as to whether I'll be cheering for our division rival Green Bay Packers or the AFC's Pittsburg Steelers. I think I'm leaning towards Green Bay, but maybe my readers can convince me to change my mind.

The road to the Super Bowl is wrought with trials and tribulations and either team have experienced both on their respective journeys. We're now only 5 days away and the anticipation of this matchup has got everyone gathering around the watercooler discussing Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger. Regardless of your personal pick, I wish you and your team the best of luck this Sunday.

I am not the biggest sports fan in the world, so I'm not going to recite a bunch of stats and standings, I'm just hoping to see a great game. Some of the best moments of watching the Super Bowl with friends and family all gathered for food and fun are the sometimes hilarious and always memorable Super Bowl commercials and the half-time entertainment. It seems that the "extras" of the game have somehow begun to overshadow the gridiron competition itself. What are some your your fondest Super Bowl memories?

January is a Wrap

As January comes to a close, I'd like to take a moment to thank my readers for their comments and kind words. I know that I've crammed a lot into this month's blog postings, because I wanted to kickstart the new year with the most useful information to get your year off to the best possible start. We covered goal setting in order to properly plot your course towards your dreams. I also got into Glenn Beck's E4 Solution for Restoring American Exceptionalism along with his book The 7: Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life. I briefly touched on journaling and finally described the best way to get ahead in life. It may have seemed like a lot of preaching, but I honestly feel that having this information as early on in the year arms you with the most important keys to make the most amount of progress this year. If you missed any of these posts, I encourage you to go back to the blog archives and check them out. I think you'll find some gems there, even if it appears that I've merely glossed over the subject matter. It's always good to review these time tested rules of the road.

Speaking of roads, this week takes us on the road to the Super Bowl, so I'll be lightening up a bit and getting into more exciting posts about things that are going on around us in the here and now. If you're a football fan and got a chance to watch the Pro Bowl this past weekend, you already know that the NFC once again beat the AFC with an impressive 55-41 victory. I realize that this is pretty much an exhibition type of match, but it's good to have the NFL back in Honolulu for this event. We really missed them when they took the Pro Bowl to Miami last year and I really wish that they'd come back to Honolulu for good, but I guess that all still remains to be seen.

Can anyone tell me why they've decided to place the Pro Bowl between the Playoffs and the Super Bowl? To me it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. I'd think that one of the biggest draws of the Pro Bowl is seeing some of the Super Bowl atheletes on the field, but when it comes before the Super Bowl, there are two whole teams of superstars who won't be represented in the Pro Bowl because they'ye preparing themselves for the Championship game the following week. I'm so confused as to why the NFL thinks this was a good idea. So I'm asking for any of my readers to explain the NFL's rationale so at least I can try to understand what their thinking might be. And while you're at it, explain why they want to take it away from Hawaii where it has been a tradition for over 30 years.

Let's see how many responses I get by posing open questions in my blog post. If I don't get the answers I'm seeking, then perhaps I won't be asking questions in my future blogs. I'm just looking to see how I might make the blog more interactive for my readers. Feel free to chime in with your own opinions on the matter and maybe the discussion will add an additional layer of flavor to an otherwise lackluster post. Have a great week!

YOU can do it

The American Dream was meant for everyone, including you. The only one preventing you from achieving your dreams is you. It doesn't matter where you might find yourself today, what's in the past is in the past. You can change the way you look at the world and you can begin to experience a radically changed life for yourself and your family. Dare to dream big and you'll be truly amazed at what you're capable of.

Shed your limiting thoughts and beliefs and begin working from a state of well being and positive energy. You can overcome great defeat, because that is how we were created. God created us in his own image. That image is one of a creator. We all possess the ability to create our own circumstances and we're given a free will so those circimstance can be either positive of negative, the end results are up to us. We decide what action to take every day when we wake up. We choose who we spend our time with and what we focus on. We are in control of our lives, not the government, not our teachers, bosses, peers, or adversaries. We are the masters of our universe. The determination comes from within not without.

Believe in yourself, and continue to believe in the higher power that inspires you to do the right things. Align your will with the will of your creator and you can move mountains. Obstacles crumble before you as you optimistically plot your way to your final destination. I want to close with this inspiration from Matthew 9:26 (NIV), "...with God all things are possible."

Increasing Your Income

I'm happy to tell you that you can increase your income whether you have a job or not and whether or not you already own your own business. In order to increase your income you only have to look at expanding. Expanding your market, yes, but more importantly, expanding your mind and getting a handle on your own income thermostat. The most important aspect of increasing your ability to attract more money into your life is first and foremost a mindset. If you can change your current thinking, you can most certainly change your income.

Before I get too far into the various ways that you can go about increasing your income, I want to share with you why I believe that increasing your income is a much better way to get ahead in life then reducing spending. First of all, we all tend to repond better to carrots than we do the stick. Nobody wants to go on a diet and we don't do well in general if we feel deprived in other ways as well. This also applies to spending. But beyond that disciplinary standpoint, there is also the standpoint of the economy at large. The only way to expand the economy is to spend money. Money makes the world go round. If everyone were to tighten their purse strings the country could very well spiral out of control economically. I'm not saying that this simple blog is even remotely influential enough to cause this type of economical downturn. I'm just sayin'... It's better for your psyche if you go out and spend. So why not increase your income rather than turning into a miser?

Now... how to increase that good ol' cashflow? If you're currently employed, you might try asking for a raise. I don't recommend it in this ecomony, unless you happen to know that your company is currently handing out raises to others in the organization. If you do go to ask for a raise, be sure to back it with a strong business case. Do not go to your superiors like Oliver, with his little, wretched, outstretched hands asking "May I have more, please?" You must be able to make your case in terms of the business's bottom line. Point out the ways that you've managed to save the company money while things have been lean. Show how many hats you've been wearing and point out your accomplishments and the things you do that nobody else can do as well as you. Be positive, be assertive (not aggressive) and most of all be smart. If you ask with intelligence and make a strong business case for the raise. There's a good chance that you can get that salary increase. If not, you may hear the reasons why it can't be done right now, and maybe even a commitment from management to increase your salary at a specific future date. DO NOT TRY THIS tactic if you have any black marks on you record. It could go horribly wrong and backfire on you.

If you're out of work, you're certainly not alone. Unemployment in the U.S. is at nearly 10% and has been that way for over 2 years. Look around you. 1 out of 10 people you know are probably looking for a job right now. But I'd like to challenge you to continue looking for a job, but go out and start doing things for other people. You can volunteer and/or donate your time to any non-profit organization. These orgainzations are full of people that are in high positions in companies and are looking for people who work hard. If you show up and start giving your time away for free and you do a great job with a positive attitude, that kind of stuff never goes unnoticed in the market place.

Now if you're not feeling that charitible, you can start your own service based business. Service businesses can be started with little or no start-up capital. It's just you, providing a service for someone else in exchange for money. If you're an accountant, now is the best time of the year to offer to do people's tax returns. Nobody likes doing their own returns even if it is simple to do it yourself online. It's tedious and unpleasant work for those who aren't good with numbers or for whatever reason. By the way, if you're good at this kind of thing, it doesn't matter if you're looking for work or you already have a job, you can earn extra money doing this, and this time of year only rolls around once every 365. It won't be back until the first quarter of 2012. Any skilled worker can offer up any number of services to make extra cash. You can mow lawns (or shovel snow) depending on where you live. You can babysit, you can housesit, dog sit or even spend time with an elderly person and provide in home care. If you're good with your hands, you can offer up home repairs, our neighborhoods are filling up with elderly folks who simply can't do these kinds of things by themselves anymore (sorry Mom). How about car repairs? Nobody wants to spend the kind of money they're charging at the shops (what are they now? $90, $100 an hour?) never mind the dealers. No matter what you're good at, chances are that there are people who live close to you that really need the service that you can provide, especially if you can undercut the competition by a few percent or more.

There is a downside to starting your own service based business. It's just like having a job. The truth of the matter is that you're simply exchanging your time and talent for money. This exchange, takes time out of your day. I prefer setting up businesses that can pretty much run themselves with very little daily effort on your part. However, most of these types of business opportunities require a pretty hefty investment to get started. The general rule of thumb in business is that the more investment capital you have, the less work you have to do yourself. This is why the service based businesses are great for those who are out of work. They don't require a great deal of capital to get their business off the ground. If you have the cash to spare, why invest it in the bank for pennies on the dollar when you can invest in yourself and start a business that will make you real honest to goodness ROI? The more you spend the less leg work you need to do. You can provide venture capital for other people's businesses, or open a franchise and hire a bunch of people who actually work the business. These opportunities are available like no other time in history. But like I said, they require a large cash outlay to launch. Having said that, there are opportunities available to you on the internet that you can start with a fraction of the amount of invesment capital as these other more expensive choices. The beauty of doing business online is that your store is open 24/7/365 and you don't have to pay college students to steal from you while they "watch" your store. If you are even a tiny bit curious about starting a business of your own online, I encourage you to visit my website. If not, maybe you already have your own business and maybe you already have a website.

So what if you already have your own business? How do you give yourself a raise if you're already working your fingers to the bone doing business for yourself? Easy... Expand. If you're business is already a big success, duplicate it and build it out. If you are not really successful enough in your business to build it out yet, you can give yourself a raise by increasing sales in your existing capacity. By improving your business's sales and marketing efforts, you can increase sales, and as a result, your own salary. How? Well, I could tell you, but I'm not going to do it here. I, again, will instead refer you to my website and encourage you to take a good look at what Dream Outfitters offers. We have education, proven tools & systems, and a community of like-minded professionals who are all earning decent cash by learning Sales, Service and Internet Marketing just to name a few of the subjects found in our online university. But don't take my word for it, do your own research and come to your own conclusions. All I ask is that when you do decide that this business opportunity is right for you, please come back to us at Dream Outfitters. You'll be glad you did.

Cutting Back on Expenses

How can I save money when I'm already spending it as fast as it's coming in? I can't believe that somebody actually asked me this question. The answer is in the question itself. Stop spending so much. There are a lot of ways that we can cut back on spending no matter how frugal we think we are already. There's always a few extra bucks you can trim from your expenses. We all spend a lot of money during the course of a year, and sometimes I wonder if we ever really notice how much of that spending is down right wasteful.

Do you travel? Over the course of the year it's fairly likely that you travel more than you really need to, and the mode of transportation doesn't matter really. The internet is a great money and time saver when it comes to cutting down on travel. Not every trip is a necessity. I'm not going to get into this one too much, but whether you fly or drive, you're spending money. Be sure that the next trip you take, whether it be to the corner store or to the opposite side of the country, make sure the trip is absolutely necessary. Plan your grocery shopping to where you only have to run to the store once a week at the most frequent. If you're not buying groceries, and you are dining out 5 days a week or more, I don't need to tell you how much you could be saving by preparing your own home cooked meals.

Take a look at your monthly expenses, mortgage/rent, electricity, cable, internet, phone bills, and cellular just to name the most common. Is your mortgage currently at the best possible rate? Refinance now, while the rates are still low and make sure you have a fixed rate. If you can afford a 15 year note, do it, it can save you thousands. The truly frugal can cut costs by unplugging all of those "brick" type chargers when they're not in use, believe it or not, they draw a charge whether they are charging your toys or not. Turn off the lights when you leave the room. Are you paying for premium television packages like HBO, Showtime, Cinemax? How about High Definition? If you're behind, you can cut back on entertainment until you're at least caught up. Many of us require high-speed internet at home due to our careers, but if business doesn't dictate it for your life, you don't need to pay for it, you can go to the library, or Starbucks, heck, I think even MacDonalds has Wi-Fi these days. No matter where you live, you're probably not too far from a free wi-fi hotspot... But remember, you don't have to drive there. Save the gas and walk or bike. If you still have a home phone and a cellular phone you only need to answer one question, when's the last time you used your home phone for a call you really wanted to make or take? You don't need a home phone anymore. You can ditch the extra line to save big time.

Now let's examine the nitty gritty daily expenses. Do you go our for coffee? MacDonalds, Starbucks, Seattle's Best, or Dunkin' Doughnuts? Regardless of where you get your morning jolt, it costs more than brewing your own at home. This goes for the lunch hour as well. Skip the spendy trendy salad place, if you're dining out, you're wasting money. Brown bagging it can save you over $1,000 a year. Are you commuting? Can you Carpool or take public transportation? How about walking or biking to work? How about working from home? I work from home whenever possible and it can really save you a fortune. If you work at home, you probably don't need to shave as often and that adds up too. What about after work? Are you going out with friends or do you go straight home? Guess which can save you money?

All of these methods are available to you if you want to start saving more money. The key to making this pay off for you is to actually save the money. Don't just turn around and spend it someplace else. Put it in the bank. As I mentioned yesterday, this is not my favorite way to get ahead. I much prefer increasing income to decreasing expenditures. But we all do what we have to in order to get ahead in the game. That's right. This is a game, the game of life. But the stakes are high, so tomorrow, I'll be talking about income boosting. It's a much more exciting topic.

You CAN Do It

Yesterday I talked about getting ahead and I got some flack from a lot of folks that told me that it sounds good, but, "It isn't really possible based on what I'm currently bringing home." There's too much month leftover when the money runs out. There's a reason that so many Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. They're simply working harder and harder and having less and less to show for it. Well, today my post is going to be fairly short and sweet. I'm going to tell you this, "You CAN Do It."

There are two ways that you can have more money to pay down your debt and increase your savings. It's just a matter of cutting back on expenditures and increasing your income. I'm a much bigger fan of the latter, as I really don't like living in a mindset of scarcity and restriction. But let's face it. Many people are working more than one job to make ends meet or perhaps they're on a fixed income. So they can't see asking for a raise or simply can't get a raise for whatever reason. So, they simply have to cut down on spending. Part of the reduction in spending will come as a direct result of paying off your debt. Debt doesn't come cheap, it's very very expensive.

In addition to a reduction in spending, you want to increase the amount of money you have coming in. You might be able to ask your boss for a raise, but in today's economy, who has the guts to do that? But there is another way that you can give yourself a raise. You can take on a second job or better yet, you can start a home based business of your own. Again, I favor the latter over the former in this category as well. Because with any job, you actually have to trade time for money, and many of us simply don't have any time leftover to take on that second job. Or maybe you're already working at two or more jobs. I'm going to show you what I'm talking about in more detail in the next couple of days.

I'm going to dedicate tomorrow's post to cost cutting and reducing the expenditures that we all have in our lives. I think you'll be surprised how much money you can trim out of your spending with some small relatively painless sacrifices. Then on Friday, I'm going to show you how to increase your income by starting your own business. Most part-time jobs that you might take on to increase your income don't tend to pay all that much anyway, so why not put your time and energy into something that you're really passionate about as opposed to taking on that trading time for money proposition called a job? I think you might enjoy Friday's post more than Thursday's, but I'll let you be the judge.

Getting Ahead

We've all heard the phrase, but do we really know how to go about getting ahead? First of all, it isn't as hard as it might sound. All it takes is a little discipline and some proper planning. But before we get too far, what do they mean when they say getting ahead? Well, when I talk about getting ahead, I'm talking about getting ahead financially. Let's face it, most people don't really have a huge amount in their savings accounts. Oh sure they have retirements set up through 401Ks or any other number of tax deferred accounts that they have set aside for their golden years, but I'm telling you that this doesn't count. That money is set aside and should never be touched for ANYTHING except your retirement. Some people have savings accounts, but then they carry balances on their credit cards that equal or dwarf their savings. I'd like to help you get started on your way to getting ahead regardless of where you're starting from.

The first rule is to pay yourself first. This quite simply means that you should be putting money away before anyone gets their money grubbing hands on it, including the IRS. So if you don't have an IRA or some other type of tax deferred savings vehicle, set one up before the end of the month. This is the first step in getting ahead. I don't recommend moving on to the second step until you've taken care of number one. Pay Yourself First!

The second rule is to get out of debt. I realize that times are tough and there are a lot of folks out there who are living paycheck to paycheck, but you've got to start paying down those balances on those credit cards. If you're only making minimum payments, you'll never be out of debt, the payment schedules are specifically designed to keep you paying quite literally, FOREVER! If you have one or more credit cards and/or other loans (besides your mortgage), start paying the ones with the highest interest off first. Transfer as many balances to your lower interest accounts as you possibly can. By getting out from under your credit card debt, you can finally begin to see the light of day and start getting ahead financially. But if you still carry debt, you're not ahead, you're behind.

Third, once you're credit cards are all paid off, you can start putting extra money aside. I know that most savings account interest rates are a joke right now, but you know what? They're a heck of a lot better than not saving at all. I recommend getting yourself set up with a financial plan that involves a wide variety of savings vehicles. You never want to put all of your eggs in one basket. So please, DIVERSIFY. In addition to setting money aside (in addition to your retirement), you can start thinking about paying down your mortgage faster that you're currently doing.

This step only applies to homeowners who are carrying mortgages. More specifically, 30 year mortgages. If you're already in a 15 year mortgage, you're probably doing the right things, but you too could start making extra payments to get your mortgage paid off even sooner. If you're in a 30 year mortgage, there are a couple of different strategies you might take advantage of. You can either get yourself into a fixed-rate 15 year program, or if that's a stretch, just start paying half of your monthly mortgage payment every other week instead of sending the full amount once a month. Over the course of the year, you'll have made an extra month's payment on your principal. The difference you'll feel in your wallet is miniscule, but the chore to getting that mortgage down will start feeling easier and easier.

So to wrap, I'd just like to let you set some "get ahead" savings goals. The first goal is the easiest, and many of you are probably already here. Get $1,000 in the bank. After that your next goal should be having 3 months worth of mortgage/rent payments in the bank. After that, take it to six months housing costs in the bank. After you have six months worth of rent/mortgage in the bank, expand your savings goals to have 6 months of all of your living expenses (including all other expenses in addition to housing) safely tucked away (not counting your nest egg). And finally, once you've reached the point where you have a full year's worth of your total expenditures socked away, now you can go out and splurge a little bit. Go on a nice vacation, buy that boat, or whatever it is that makes you feel good. You've earned it. After you get to that point, you can support your family on savings even if all income is cut to nothing for an entire year. Not good enough you say, savings stud? OK tuck away 3 years, 5 years, heck go for 10 years (do that and you can almost retire). Let's all do what we can to start getting ahead this year.

Journaling for Success

I'm going to talk about starting a success journal as a tool to achieving the life of your dreams. With so many demands on your time, who honestly wants to add yet another task to their already hectic schedule? But I'd like to point out that keeping a journal can actually be more of a time saver than you probably realize. I've been an avid believer in the power of keeping a journal for most of my adult life. But the truth of the matter is that I haven't always been as dedicated to the process as I'd like to be. I've probably started journals over a dozen times in the past 30 years only to stop and tuck them away until the next time I get the encouragement to start up again.

If you already keep a journal, then I'd like to commend you. It's not an easy thing to keep up. I used to try to coax myself into keeping up my journal by purchasing really nice journals that felt luxurious in my hands. My thinking was that I had to feel good about going to the journal to capture my thoughts and ideas. But truth be told, I probably wrote less in the fine leather bound volumes than I have in the more reasonably priced composition books that you can pick up for $1.00 at your local drug store during their Back To School sales. I must have over a dozen leather bound volumes with maybe a month or two of entries before abandoning the project.

I've tried buying expensive pens and multi-colored pens to give myself the ability of writing topic specific thoughts in respective colored ink, but that was extremely impractical. It wasn't until I started keeping morning pages (a method of simply writing just to write) that I discovered in the book entitled The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, that I really stuck to my daily updates. I must have over a dozen of those black and white composition notebooks completely filled on both sides of the pages because the writing was simply just flowing from my thoughts to the page.

The most rewarding part of having the journals is that you can go back and rediscover things that you've been through in your busy life. You can capture those fleeting thoughts on paper so that there is a record available to you for future reference. Journals can help you organize your life and even become a time management tool to keep you on task. The uses of a journal as a tool to achieving succes in life are unlimited. I can now go back and relive various periods of my life, whether they be good times or bad, and see what was going on. I can draw conclusions from all of the data and maybe even get some insights as to the root causes of some of the things that seemed to escape me at the time. They say that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Do you have a good record of your own personal history? I do, and it's taught me a lot, not only about myself, but about those I surround myself with.

The key to successful journaling is that it doesn't become a chore. If you feel restricted or confined by the process you won't keep at it. Trust me on this, I've started and stopped so many times that I can't even begin to count. If you make it as much a part of your daily routine as your morning cup of coffee or brushing your teeth, it will someday just become automatic. But it has to be embraced with comfort before you get to that point.

I like to write, and I suppose that this blog was born out of my love for writing. I've started and stopped other blogs too, but this blog has given me the purpose of helping others. I am truly interested in this as a process, and also as a learning experience and to a lesser extent, a therapy of sorts. I am capturing thoughts and ideas with a common theme all designed to help others to reach their goals and to start living the American Dream. I do this for myself as much as I do it for others. I just hope that somebody else will benefit from these posts. Even if I can reach only a handful of people, I've succeeded in what I set out to do; inspiring others to reach for the stars and realize their own best life today.

Common Sense

Is it just me, or does it seem that common sense is becoming more and more uncommon with each passing decade? The dumbing down of America has become epidemic, it's no wonder that the rest of the world looks upon us with contempt. They see our decadence, arrogance and apparent lack of intellect being broadcast from satellites in orbit around the globe and wonder how it is that America ever became a super power.

We've allowed ourselves to get to a place where we simply aren't required to think for ourselves anymore. They have to put labels on MacDonalds coffee cups that tell us that coffee is hot and that we may get burned if we spill it in our laps. We have to be warned that cigarette smoking has been linked to certain types of cancer. We have to be told not to eat the contents of those little silica gel packets that come inside the box of almost every electronic device sold now. Are we really that stupid? Do we have to be reminded that polished marble floors are slippery when wet? I believe that the government honestly believes that we can no longer think for ourselves and therefore must pass legislation to protect us from our own folly. But has the general public really given them reason to suspect otherwise?

As Cass Sunstein said, “Once we know that people are human and have some Homer Simpson in them, then there’s a lot that can be done to manipulate that.” Have we become a nation vulnerable to manipulation because we simply don't think for ourselves anymore? Sometimes it really irks me, while other times I simply pity the people who make fools of themselves on reality television shows. These shows are being aired around the world around the clock and this is the perception that the rest of the world keeps in the back of their minds when they think about Americans. They see Brittany Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan being idolized by entire masses of America's youth. And the media continues to promote these figures as role models to our children. There are literally hundreds of other examples of celebrities gone wild that I could cite here, but I like to keep my posts brief. The point I am making is that our society has lost touch with true heroes. Gone are the days when citizens looked up to policemen and firefighters. Now our heroes actually fear for their lives when making routine traffic stops. I'm sorry, but there's something very very wrong going on here. I only fear that it may be too late for us to wake up and regain our reason and morality.

I believe we're at a turning point, but it's up to each and every one of us to determine which direction that turn is going to take. Are we going to continue coasting as if everything is just fine, or will we stand up and say, "Wait just a minute... I'm not going down that road." I'm going to do whatever I can to try to make people think about the things that we often take for granted. Take a step back and examine the way things are going in your life and determine if the current course is headed where you want to go. Is a course correction required? I cannot answer for you. I know that my life wasn't going where I wanted it to go, so I made the decision to make the necessary changes to get my life back on track. I can honestly say that since that point in time, things have been getting better and better. All I have to do is continue evaluating my current course, my self-determined destination and then deciding which actions to take that keep me moving in the right direction.

I want to once again thank Glenn Beck for his E4 Solution to restore American exceptionalism and The 7: Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life. Not only has he provided me with two weeks worth of blog posting topics, but I think he has successfully underscored the importance of holding these kinds of values near and dear to our hearts and minds as we go forth into a new decade in America.

Family

Being a Rabbit year child of Chinese Horoscope fame, I am curiously detached from family. If the Chinese Horoscope knows this about me, it can't possibly be my fault. I do admit that I am not what you might call very close to my family. My mother and sister (my only remaining immediate family members) both live in Southern California and I, in Hawaii. It's not that I don't love my family, I do. We don't get the chance to visit as much as we should, but I did manage to see my mom twice last year, both in August for her birthday and in November the week before Thanksgiving. I'm going to make an attempt to see my family at least once a year from here on out because since moving to Hawaii, I've only been back to visit them four times.

It was a total coincidence that I received a wonderful portrait of my two beautiful nieces today. I don't think they knew I'd be writing about family today, and if they did, it would have been virtually impossible to time the United States Postal Service delivery to arrive exactly on this day. So I'll chalk up another coincidence to the universe and the Law of Attraction. It's like thinking of and old family member who you haven't seen in quite a long time and out of the blue, the phone rings. It's unexplainable, but it hints to the fact that we're really all connected. I love my nieces to death and I wish I had spent more time with them while they were growing up. They're twins and they both just graduated from college this past summer. I'm very proud of them and so is their Aunty Jojo.

The majority of the rest of my family reside back in Minnesota, where I like to refer to as God's country. They've been experiencing some truly frightful weather this winter, but it seems it's been that way all across the U.S.. I grew up in Edina and I have an aunt, uncle and two cousins living in Minneapolis (at least I think they're all still there). The rest are located further north stretching from St. Cloud to Lake Mille Lacs. I have 6 first cousins, whom are good catholics, so you do the math on how large the clan has expanded up until now. I can't even count all of the second cousins and their offspring, and their offspring; so I couldn't really say. I just really need to reconnect. I haven't spoken with any of them in the past 20 years or so with the exception of my youngest cousin Shawn. He and his lovely wife came out to visit us in 2007 and I think they're planning another trip this year. I myself will probably be taking a trip to Minnesota for my 30th reunion this summer, so no doubt I'll be paying a visit to my extended family while I'm there.

What I'd like to say about family is that they are truly the ones who make us who we are. We spend our formative years among them growing up and sharing memories for all of the holidays, summer vacations, weddings, funerals and all other sorts of family gatherings. Superbowls, picnics, parades and fishing trips make up some of my most cherished childhood memories.

OK... Now I'm really getting homesick for Minnesota.

I will make an honest attempt to get back in touch with the family I left behind in the Great White North since we moved to California in 1981. I miss them and God willing they miss me a little bit too. Reach out and touch a member of your family (or more) and try to re-connect now that we have the tools available to us. You're excuses (and mine) for remaining detached are rapidly dimishing. It's way too easy, to pick up the phone, text them, send an email, or "Friend" them on Facebook and send them a message, just to name a few methods available to us today. No longer do we have to sit down and write a letter to send off with the mail man. It's too easy to stay in touch, so join me in my pledge to improve family relationships.

Friendship

Friendship is something that everybody enjoys at least during some points in their lives. The ocean of life provides us with sets of friendships that roll in continually. The people we call friends come and go ebbing and flowing like the tides. The passing of time often changes the set of friends we have around during certain periods in our lives. Some people are lucky enough to have life long friendships that seem to withstand the test of time. These are the fortunates that most likely have not relocated as I have multiple times in my life. With every new opportunity, often a new set of friendships are made and, unfortunately, some are lost, simply a casualty of a new phase in life.

It doesn't necessarily need to be this way. They say that distance makes the heart grow fonder and I suppose this is true with certain friends. I for one am not especially good at staying in touch. It's the old out of sight out of mind scenario. I know that with today's technology we should be able to stay closer than ever before. Unfortunately, we have a tendency to be so tied up in the day to day routines of business and family life that our friends often take a back seat to spending quality time at our own households. Having said that, I'd like to take this opportunity to become better by being a better friend. So I'm going to try to do a better job of reaching out and just saying "Hi" to friends I haven't seen or heard from in years. I think the summer of 2010 was the first time I got onto Facebook. What a wonderful tool for finding and rekindling old relationships. It doesn't even matter if you're half way around the world, or just up the street. We can all afford the time it takes to log in and "poke" a few folks just to let them know you've been thinking of them.

I knew I was going to be writing about friendship today, so I decided to actually go down to my favorite watering hole and visit with a few friends that I haven't seen in awhile. It's hard to take the time to spend with friends when you have a lot of responsibilities, so it wouldn't make a lot of sense if I sat at home in my office and wrote this post about how great friendships are. If one of My friends from Tropics Lounge actually reads this post, do me a favor and hit the "Like" button would ya? At least that way I'll know there's actually someone out there who is taking the time to read this post as I bloviate et nauseum about friendship. I intend to be a better friend in 2011 and if you don't hear from me, let me know about it so I have a little accountability here. If you really want to live a life that's full, surround yourself with good friends and share in the experiences of the world.

Compassion

Whenever I think of compassion, my thoughts always turn to the greats like Mother Theresa or Father Damien. I ask myself if it's possible to have so much compassion that I could dedicate my whole life to a cause like they did. Their compassion was such that I believe they must have been sent from God. I believe we're all sent by God to fulfill some purpose, but through our own free will, we choose to become lesser men (or women). Trust me, I'm no saint, and I don't know whether I'll find my true purpose in life before I die or not, but at least I'm willing to examine my talents to try to find that which continues to elude me.

Becoming truly compassionate sounds easy, but it certainly is not. Even at Christmas time, arguably the most compassionate season of the year, I find myself getting so caught up in the commercialism that I drop the ball on all of the remarkable things I was planning on doing for others this year. Oh sure, I give my spare change to the guy outside the department store ringing a bell with his red kettle. I might even offer up a five or ten spot for a homeless man to get himself a decent meal. But these few and far between acts of kindness do not represent compassion at the level that Mother Theresa and Father Damien possessed. They gave of themselves 24/7/365 and never with a thought or a care that they were going to be repaid somehow. There's a saying that gets tossed around quite a bit at Dream Outfitters that I'd like to think we all try to live our lives by, and it is simply this, “Do Something For Someone Today, With The KNOWING That There Is No Possible Way For Them To Ever Repay You.”

We all try to be as good as we possibly can (well, most of us), and while we may never reach the level of perfection of a true saint, we can live a better life today than we did yesterday. We can live better lives by becoming more compassionate to the plight of others. Others less fortunate whom we come across during the course of our day. Merriam-Webster defines compassion as the sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it. The key here is the last part, the desire to alleviate it. It's great that we feel compassionate, but even greater when we can actually participate, in a small way, to relieve the pain that we witness. Pain and suffering and loneliness is all around us. It doesn't take much to toss someone a smile instead of just hurrying on our way. That costs nothing. Let's all try to be a little more compassionte this year than we have in the past. I know you will become a better person for it.

Truth

We as internet users are being inundated with information like never before. With this comes the need to be able discern what is true and what leaves a little to be desired in the truth department. If you're well informed, the truth is usually pretty easy to discern. It has a certain feeling associated with it, it sounds better than falsehood. This is why they say that some things "ring true" where as other things don't. In order to become our best, we want to come from a place of truth; through our speech and through our actions.

They say that the truth shall set you free, and I believe this; truly I do. Judge Judy has a great phrase that she tells her courtroom parties when she senses that what they're telling her may not be 100% based in fact. She says, "If you tell the truth, you don't have to have a good memory." What she's saying is that when we only go on the facts, we don't have to worry about keeping our story straight while trying to manufacture a tale that "sounds good." This is liberating, because all you need to do in life is simply recall what actually took place instead of trying to "spin" or bend the truth to put our side in the best light. If our case isn't strong enough based on the merits, then it probably isn't really going to stand up anyhow.

The best thing about the truth, is that it is what it is. Winston Churchill has a couple of quotes (probably more) about truth. He states, "The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end; there it is." This alludes to the ultimate resilience of truth. If you make truth the cornerstone of your moral fibre, it makes the rest of life's principles all that much easier to follow through on. Churchill also warns us that, "Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened." This is a warning to not fall into the trap where many people find themselves. Honesty has seemingly become so irrelevant, that people don't even realize that duplicity has become embedded in their moral fibre. They simply gloss over the facts and continue right on living without paying any heed.

There's a good possibility that I've butchered Winston's original meaning here (especially with respect to the latter). But truth be told, that is what the essesnce of the quote is saying to me. Perhaps it's time for us all to take a look around and give the information we're being bombarded with a litmus test. Does it sound right? If it doesn't sound right, it probably isn't true.

Courage and Faith

Today we celebrate the life of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.. I'd like to encourage you to watch the video of his "I Have a Dream" speech given on August 28th, 1963 from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom; especially if you are taking a paid holiday today. Spend 20 minutes to remember the man who's life was sacrificed in pursuit of racial equality. Listen to his words, let them reverberate in your mind, and then spend a moment of silence to reflect on the courage and faith he demonstrated to the world during his short lifetime.



It was Abraham Lincoln who said, "You cannot build character and courage by taking away a man's initiative and independence." So it was poignant that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would deliver his Swan Song on the steps of Lincoln's memorial on the west side of the National Mall in Washington D.C.. His courage, shown in the face of great discrimination, has earned him a place in eternity as one of the greatest men in U.S. history. Time Magazine named him the 1963 "Man of the Year" for his continued efforts in the Civil Rights Movement.

Martin Luther King was a man of deep faith and was pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. His dedication to God and to the unalienable rights of all men shone brightly as a beacon of hope for African Americans and countless others all over the world. On the evening of April 4, 1968, while standing on the balcony of his motel room in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was to lead a protest march in sympathy with striking garbage workers of that city, he was assassinated. I salute Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. for his faith, his courage and for furthering the civil rights movement during an extremely turbulent time in this nation's history.

Faith, Hope and Charity

This week, I've been writing about Glenn Beck's E4 Solution to Restore American Exceptionalism. My hope is that my readers will be able to glean a little wisdom from these posts and apply it to their own lives. Enlightenment, Education, Empowerment and Entrepreneurship are the keys to rebuilding our nation from the inside out. It all starts with the individual. We as human beings don't possess the power to change others, but we can change ourselves and in turn, have an affect on those around us.

Glenn also talks a lot about Faith, Hope and Charity. Three core attributes that I apply in my own life to be a better person. Have faith in your own convictions. Faith isn't reserved only for God or religion. Have faith in yourself, have faith in those around you and have faith in all that you do such that you become unstoppable. Faith truly can move mountains.

Hope springs eternal isn't just a catchy phrase, it's from Alexander Pope's "Essay on Man" written in 1734. If you haven't read it, I suggest you try and get through it. It is truly a beautifully constructed piece of poetry concerned with the natural order God has decreed for man. Because man cannot know God's purposes, he cannot complain about his position in the Great Chain of Being and must accept that "Whatever IS, is RIGHT."

And finally, Charity; or what I like to call "giving back." Reflect on all that you possess and realize that whatever your current situation, there are still others that are worse off. Be charitible and give to those less fortunate, or give to those who help the less fortunate because without charity mankind cannot hope to rise above. I'll leave you with this from Psalms 41:1-2...

”Blessed is he who considers the poor; The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive, And he will be blessed on the earth.”

Entrepreneurship

They say that some people have it and some people don't when it comes to being an entrepreneur, and I guess that's true to a certain extent. However, that doesn't mean that people cannot learn to become entrepreneurs. To me, being an entrepreneur is more of a mindset than anything else. Therefore, you don't need to be born with it, you can become an entrepreneur, but only if you really want to. I actually took a course in entrepreneurship at Hawaii Pacific University back in 2004 or 2005 (the exact dates escape me). While I wasn't technically enrolled at HPU, I auditted the class that was being taught by one of my many mentors. A man I still admire to this day. The course taught me that beyond being a mindset, entrepreneurship was also a process.

I mention the course here because I want to share a little quiz that comes straight out of the text book (so I don't have any problems with copyright infringement, I'll credit the books authors). The book, entitled Entrepreneurship: A Process Perspective, was written by Robert A.Baron and Scott A. Shane. See how well you fair on these eight questions:

1. Can You Handle Uncertainty?
Is security (e.g., a regular paycheck) important to you, or are you willing to live with uncertainty -- economic and otherwise?

2. Are You Energetic?
Do you have the vigor and good health required to work very long hours for long periods of time in order to reach goals that are important to you?

3. Do You Believe in Yourself and Your Abilities?
Do you believe that you can accomplish whatever you set out to accomplish, learning what you need along the way?

4. Can You Handle Reversals and Failures Well?
How do you react to negative outcomes -- with discouragement or with renewed commitment to succeeding the next time around and learning from your mistakes?

5. Are You Passionate About Your Goals or Vision?
Once you establish a goal or a vision of where you want to be, are you willing to sacrifice almost everything else to get there, because you are truly passionate about doing so?

6. Are You Good with Other People?
Can you persuade them to see the world the way you do? Can you get along with them well (e.g., handle conflicts, build trust)?

7. Are You Adaptable?
Can you make "mid-course corrections" easily? For instance, can you admit that you made a mistake and reverse course to correct it?

8. Are You Willing to Take Risks or Leaps of Faith?
Once you establish a goal, are you willing to take reasonable risks to reach it? In other words, are you willing to do what you can to minimize the risks, but then, once you have done so, proceed?

Current evidence suggests that successful entrepreneurs are high on all of these dimensions -- higher than other persons. They handle uncertainty, are energetic, believe in themselves, react well and flexibly to reversals, are passionate about their beliefs, are good with other people, are highly adaptable, and are willing to accept reasonable levels of risk. To the extent you possess these characteristics -- or at least most or them -- you may be well-suited for the role of entrepreneur. If you find that you are relatively low on several of these characteristics, however, you might want to reconsider, perhaps becoming an entrepreneur is not really "your particular cup of tea."

Having said that, it is still possible to overcome any entrepreneurial shortcomings that you may possess, as long as you have a burning desire to improve yourself in these areas. Thus, it is possible to change your personality profile to fit the entrepreneurial model. I have a neat little book on marketing and advertising called It's Not How Good You Are, But How Good You Want To Be, by Paul Arden. It's a super fast read that can be read in under an hour. This book shows you that your current state of affairs isn't as important as the direction you are going and the goals that you've set. Think from the end, and if you really want to, you too can become an entrepreneur.

During the 1990's, large U.S. corporations downsized more than 6 million jobs out of existence, yet unemployment fell to record-low levels, mainly as a result of new companies started by entrepreneurs and the dot.com bubble. At the turn of the century, there were more than 10 million self-employed individuals in the United States of America (which was about 1 in every 8 adults). Now, however, we're facing almost record-high unemployment figures (I believe the figure peaked at 9.8% at the end of last year). This means that there are a staggering number of people in the U.S. that are looking for work of some kind. I want to pose this question to the millions who are out of work at this time, "Do you really want to take a job and exchange your time for money, or would you rather create a life and have the freedom to pursue your happiness while making an honest living?" Become an entrepreneur and free yourself from the chains that bind you to a job. Is it easy? Definitely not. But the rewards far outway the sacrifices, once you realize your dream and start living again.

Even if you have a job and a career, are you truly satisfied with all that it provides for you and your family? Take control of your financial future and start a small business on the side. You may be surprised to see your newfound part-time income exceed your full-time income by leaps and bounds. It all boils down to desire, belief and work ethic. So I close with this question, Do you have what it takes to become an entrepreneur?

Empowerment

Dream Outfitters' core concept is based on empowerment. So I've been looking forward to today's post since Monday with great anticipation. The key force behind empowerment is readiness. Look back in your own life and think about a time that you felt truly empowered; maybe it was a feeling you had just before a math quiz, a spelling bee or the big game. You felt this empowerment most likely because you had prepared for it and you were confident that you would be absolutely unstoppable. Life is a continual process of getting ready; and when we're truly ready for something, we feel empowered. So ready or not, here we go.

During the first 25% of our lives, we find ourselves emmersed in a structured environment with its foundation based on readiness. We spend our infancy getting ready to walk and talk, as a toddler or very young child, our parents get us ready to enter the school system to begin our journey in education (yesterday's topic). In kindergarten, we are getting ready for entering the first grade, and in first grade we're getting ready for 2nd grade and so on. All of our years in elementary school culminate in getting us ready for middle school. Middle school is spent preparing for high school and in high shool we're getting ready to enter the "real world" or maybe, if we're lucky, to go to college. But after that, then what?

Well, if you're really attuned to the world of academia, you may choose to stay in school for some length of time after gradusating, getting advanced degrees, doctorates and the like. But if you're like most of us, after your formal education is completed, you're thrust out into the world with not much more than your diploma or degree and a lot of ambition. You feel empowered, because you've learned so much in school, but the real world can still be a pretty scary place. It doesn't take long for that feeling of empowerment to fade when faced with the prospect of landing a job. Especially in today's economy. The competition for decent living wage situations id fierce. You really have to be a sharp cookie to gain and maintain a full-time job. That's where Dream Outfitters come in.

At Dream Outfitters, we say that having a job is not the way to financial freedom. In fact we say that having a job is simply an acronym; JOB stands for Just Over Broke. The days of going to school and getting good grades to get into a good college and working for a good company until retirement age are but a distant memory of yesteryear. Once upon a time, employees were loyal to the companies they worked for and in return, the companies treated employees with a great deal of respect and that loyalty was rewarded with a great retirement package and a gold watch when you left the work force in your golden years. Now it seems that corporations are more interested in the shareholders than they are in the people that make their business function on a daily basis. Employees are now more like commodities than human beings. The focus is now on the bottom line. But who's looking out for you? The answer is nobody. You need to look after yourself. Dream Outfitters wants you to feel empowered once more. So let me tell you how we are empowering thousands of people, just like you, to take control of their financial futures and arm themselves with their very own golden parachute, God knows, your employer isn't going to provide you with one.

Remember that feeling of empowerment I talked about in the intro? That feeling of readiness? The process of getting ready doesn't need to end after we leave school. In fact, I'm still preparing for new and exciting activities that I want to explore. I prepare by gaining knowledge through education. Dream Outfitters has that. Then I further prepare by putting systems in place and using the right set of tools to make my dream possible, we have those too. Once you've gained the knowledge and implemented the correct systems and tools, you're ready to take on the world of online marketing. I believe that the internet is the last great frontier and the beauty of the internet is that it is truly infinite. The real estate stretches on and on and never ends. There's always room for another great offering. So you never need to feel trapped, or restricted.

We will provide you with continuing education, along with a system and all the tools you need. All you need is desire and the willingness to work toward your own self-determined goals. We'll even welcome you into our community of like minded people that you can network with, discuss ideas, and a variety of business strategies. All of the resources you're going to find are what Jay Kubassek (founder of CarbonCopyPRO) likes to call an incubator for entrepreneurs, which leads nicely into tomorrow's topic: Entrepreneurship.