Joyful Jubilant Learning

Financial Learning

Here in the United States our economy has turned negative due to a severe credit crunch. Since the early part of the decade, borrowers who otherwise would not qualify were able to take out "subprime" loans on homes and properties. This was fine as long as property values soared but once the housing bubble burst in late 2005, many people found themselves upside down in debt.

This wide range phenomenon led to the collapse of the entire housing industry. Mortgage lenders found themselves with thousands of uncollectable loans. Home builders saw the values of their homes plummet and banks and other financial institutions saw a huge drop in their stock prices.

Here in the Temecula area of Southern California, we were especially hit hard. As a fast growing suburb of San Diego and Los Angeles, we had thousands of new homes built in the last few years. Drive down those neighborhoods today and you'll see many brown lawns and foreclosure signs.

It's tough to see friends and relatives lose their homes. There is probably nothing more gut wrenching than to have to deal with a property that has lost a third of its value overnight. You can't sell it and the huge payments keep coming. Many borrowers took out adjustable loans which make things even worse as the payments adjust upwards.

Many families are just walking away. Bankruptcies, short sales, and other credit solutions abound. It is really a hard time for many. But in the midst of trouble there is hope. There are many calm and intelligent voices helping people get back on their feet. One of the best is Dave Ramsey.

 

Dave has written a popular book entitled, The Total Money Makeover. This is a book about getting out of debt and living financially free. The book offers...

1. A sure fire plan for paying off all debt- including cars, houses, everything
2. Help you recognize the 10 most dangerous money myths that can kill your budget
3. Help you build a sizable nest egg for emergencies and retirement

This is a great book that everyone should read. It offers a step by step plan to financial independence, with many personal success stories of people just like you and me that have overcome huge obstacles to become debt free.

In the book, he encourages the reader to take "baby steps," which are designed to build on each other...

1. Save $1,000 as an emergency fund
2. Pay off all debts from smallest to largest
3. Save a larger three-to-six-month emergency fund;
4. Start to save for college
5. Pay off your home mortgage.

Dave hosts a daily radio show (XM-165 at noon) with over 3 million listeners. He is a practical yet caring financial coach. His no nonsense approach has helped people overcome credit card, medical and mortgage nightmares. People call in every day with success stories of how they overcame substantial debt in a short amount of time. Dave gives them a chance to yell at the top of their lungs... I'm debt free!... to his entire audience.

My wife and I took on a plan like this when we were first married. It was tough at first. One of the things we instituted was the envelope plan. We each put our entire weekly budget into an envelope in cash. We had to get through the week just on that amount of money.

This one one of the greatest learning experiences of my life. I soon found the real value of the things that I wanted. I started taking my lunch and cut down on extra driving. I would have to save from week to week to get that computer book, car part, or gadget that I really wanted. It gave me time to think about what was really important.

Soon my eyes were opened and my attitude changed. I found that I could really get the things I wanted. I just needed patience and diligence. I also found that the things I wanted diminished when I realized that I could have a few of them but not all of them.

If you have never tried this, give it a whirl sometime. Put aside your ATM and credit cards and put your weekly cash in an envelope. You'll be amazed where your money goes and how quickly your budget changes. You'll find yourself thinking about each transaction and if that super burger combo with fries is really worth eight dollars?? You might even lose some weight in the process! :-)

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John Richardson is the author of Success Begins Today, a personal development blog devoted to practical applications that can make life an exciting adventure. From a wallet sized personal organizer to a desktop flow chart you're sure to find something here that you can download and enjoy. John always enjoys learning new things and suggests you try a powerful 48 minute working technique that can help you focus and get more done. Here's to your success!

I Don't Have Time To Read

I love to read. As a kid I would spend hours reading the latest Hardy Boys mystery novel or pick up a new Tom Swift book and explore one of his unbelievable inventions. The hours would pass quickly, and I usually found that I couldn't put the book down until the last page was turned.

As I grew older, the titles changed, but my love of reading just grew stronger. I loved to read science books and was always fascinated with new inventions and space travel. Once I started to drive, I would pick up books and magazines about cars and hot rods. Reading was fun!

Unfortunately, as the years have passed, my time available for reading has diminished. The commute to work got longer and the activities of life have really increased. When someone hands me a book now, I try to figure out when I can squeeze it in to my schedule.

I've tried some different techniques to fit reading in, but many of them have not worked well. I've tried reading in the car when carpooling, but that just makes me carsick after a few minutes. I've tried reading while out walking, but that has led to busted shins and falling off curbs. I've even tried reading while on the treadmill, but after flying off the machine a few times I realized that I can't read and run at the same time.

In the last few years another problem has crept up. As soon as I received my dreaded AARP card in the mail (This happens at 49 and a half. They track you by satellite and make sure your AARP membership letter is in your mailbox on that dreaded day. You can't hide... they will find you), I noticed that my reading vision has started to change. My eye doctor corrected this with progressive lenses, but that plays havoc with reading in any position other than sitting in a chair.

I used to love reading while laying on the couch, one arm propping my head up. With progressive lenses my field of vision is now severely blurred in this position. These crazy glasses have also ruined a good book while reading in bed, sitting in a recliner, or trying to read while cooking. In short... reading for any length of time is now confined to sitting up straight, just like my Mom told me to do. Arrrgh!

I thought that my reading days were almost over until one day when a little device found its way into my life. Called an iPod, this little audio device has revolutionized the way I partake of books. Instead of reading them, I now listen to them... while driving, walking, and even running on the treadmill. No more busted shins or flying off exercise equipment.

This little device has allowed me to devour over 50 books in the last year. Popular titles like Blink, Made To Stick, and even a classic like How To Win Friends & Influence People have filled my ears with wisdom and insight.

The really great thing is that I've finished everyone of them. No more half finished books laying on the coffee table, on the floor, or in the back seat in the car.

In conclusion... if you find that your schedule is big, your commute is long, or your eyesight is going, be sure to pick up an iPod, sign up for an Audible.com account and start downloading audio books. If you have problems... just ask your kids... they can get you setup!

Enjoy!

P.S. You can read about some of my adventures with audio books on my specialty blog Audio Book Notes

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John Richardson is the author of Success Begins Today, a personal development blog devoted to practical applications that can make life an exciting adventure. From a wallet sized personal organizer to a desktop flow chart you're sure to find something here that you can download and enjoy. John always enjoys learning new things and suggests you try a powerful 48 minute working technique that can help you focus and get more done. Here's to your success!

Learn More With ChapterMarks

Have you ever gone to a seminar or other training and walked out of the event with little recall of the material presented? I do it all the time. I've tried jotting down notes and make mental pictures but there are usually big erasers at the door that seem to erase my memory. It's frustrating to spend lots of money to go to a seminar only to leave most of the knowledge behind.

I went to a marriage seminar a few years back that took a different twist. The seminar organizers provided a workbook for couples to work through and had a simple technique that worked wonders. At the end of each chapter the speaker would have you take 5 minutes and write down three action points. Three things you would take away that you could reference later and act upon. At the back of the book was a worksheet where you listed all of your action points in one place.

This simple technique worked wonders. When my wife and I got home it was simple to pull out the one page worksheet and have a complete action plan to work on. As we would read each point, the speakers words would come flooding back. Since the action points were personalized, it was easy to get started on each one.

I am an avid reader and I love to listen to audio books while driving or exercising. With the seminar technique in mind I decided to come up with a system to help me remember what I read or listen to. I needed to find something that would work well with a book or my Ipod. I tried carrying around a large sheet of paper to keep notes on, but it was a little too bulky. I tried an audio recorder, but it was hard to reference. What I found that worked for me was making custom chaptermark cards.

These are little business cards that you print out on your printer on blank business card stock. One side has a place for ideas and the other has a place for three action points and a take away quotation. I set them up with chapter headings at the top, so they are easy to reference when I'm done. I just write down three action points and any notes I have at the end of each chapter. Once the cards are filled out I keep them in a small envelope or clip them together and carry them in my pocket.

When I'm done with the book I can arrange the cards on my desk and create an action outline. The nice thing about these small cards is they work well with a book or an iPod. With the iPod I just keep them in my iPod case and fill them out after each audio chapter. With the book, they are just handy bookmarks.

I've captured this simple and effective system in a free Microsoft Word Template you can download and print out on your laser or inkjet printer. Modify the template to meet your needs, print it out on Avery business card stock and break the cards apart. In just a few minutes you'll be on your way to better retention with your next book or audio program.

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John Richardson is the author of Success Begins Today, a blog about personal development and time management. He has lots of innovative downloadable tools to make your life easier. From the pocket sized Walleteer Organizer, Suddenmind Idea Mapper, and even a complete Desktop Football Game, you're sure to find something that you can download and enjoy.

What I've Learned About Productivity

Mark Shead over at Productivity501 had an interesting series of posts over the last week. Mark is a blogger who writes very insightful posts from personal experience about using technology to increase productivity. He asked over 30 bloggers the following three questions...

Question 1:
What is the single biggest way people waste time without even realizing it?

Question 2: 
What change has made the most difference in making you effective in life?

Question 3:
If someone were to read just one post from your site, which would you recommend they read and why?

This was very helpful and I learned a tremendous amount from the combined wisdom of the bloggers. With answers like Doing & Reviewing, Working on your most important tasks, and turning off the TV, you're sure to glean some very helpful information from this series

Today I would like to share with you my answers to his questions and give you a personal example of a process that can effectively increase your productivity.

The biggest time waster that I see everyday is people trying to Multitask. They will have a cell phone in one ear, while typing on a computer in front of them. While they are doing that the desk phone will ring and the cell phone is put on hold. Just then someone walks into their office and is told to sit down. All of a sudden a new e-mail pops up and grabs their attention. They have three or four tasks going on at once but their focus is scattered.

Have you ever been the person sitting in the room with this multitasker? Did you feel like you were important or did you feel like a third cousin twice removed? Studies have found that when we try to multitask (using the same part of our brain to do multiple things) we actually slow down. Since our minds can actually only do one thing at a time, we must put one thought on hold and switch to another.

This constant switching back and forth is inefficient because it takes our mind a while to get back up to speed once we switch tasks. It seems like it should work, but it actually slows us down and may cause us to forget things. It is also hard on relationships as we try to carry on a conversation while our focus is elsewhere.

I have been a multitasker for years but it has been increasingly hard to keep up with the barrage of new technology that is begging for our time. It used to be just the phone and snail mail, but then we added e-mail, cell phones, faxes, web sites, blogs, and a host of other things including the supposed savior of technology... the smart phone.

The more things I added to my life, the more stress and inefficiency they caused. I would get to the end of an incredibly busy day and have to ask myself... what did I accomplish today? The answer was always less than I expected.

The answer to this problem (And Mark's Question #2) is to work in a focused manner on one project at a time.  You turn off e-mail, let the phones go to voice mail, turn off your browser, and work on just one thing straight through. I've found that this works best for me in a 48 minute work period. I work for 48 minutes straight and then take a 12 minute break.

I use this technique every morning when I'm writing my blog posts and it has really helped me become more efficient. It used to be that the constant barrage of e-mail and browser seduction would constantly pull me away from my writing. Now that I segment my time, I'm focused just on my writing and I accomplish much more this way.

The 12 minute break is useful to start background projects that don't require my attention. Currently I'm washing clothes and running the dishwasher, but they will not require my attention until my next break. In my daily routine, I'm an early riser so I try to get two focused work periods in before I have to go to the office each day. Once I'm at work, I try to get at least one focused period in each day.

If you are interested in trying this technique, I have a post on my blog that explains the procedure and a printable goal setting toolkit that has some cards that are helpful for segmenting your time.

Remember... Get Focused... Get Productive.

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John Richardson has a personal blog entitled Success Begins Today where he discusses topics on success and personal development.

Are You The Best In The World?

How are things going? Are you doing well or is something missing? Are your numbers going up or are they stagnating? Is the path you are on going uphill or are you descending into a valley. These are all great questions to ask yourself.

Seth Godin, in his new book The Dip, talks about these inevitable questions that we all ask along life's journey.  The Dip can come in many forms. Seth explains...

It's the fifth job interview where they never even call you back

It's the seventh time you fall on your butt while learning to snowboard

It's the middle of the marathon, when the excitement of the starting gun is a dim memory, and the joy of the finish line is a distant dream.

It's any rough patch you have to get through before achieving your big goal... if in fact you are chasing the right goal.

What else... it's also the key to your career, your company's future, and maybe your ultimate happiness.

Are you in a dip?

Are things getting harder and harder and the rewards smaller and smaller?

I found myself in a dip three years ago.

I had been with an organization called Toastmasters for years and I was about half way through their professional communication program. I enjoyed Toastmasters and went to the club's meetings twice a month. I usually gave a speech a month and participated in most club activities. But I kept having a nagging feeling... Have I learned all I need to learn?... should I just quit... and do something better with my time?

So many other people had done just that. They came for a year, did 6 to 10 speeches and then they were off. It wasn't that Toastmasters was bad, it just felt like I had been doing the same thing over and over, speech after speech. I was in a rut.

That year someone invited me to the Toastmasters district conference. I decided to go and I was pleasantly surprised. The speakers were good and the atmosphere was interesting. Nothing life changing mind you... until one o'clock rolled around.

The speaker walked to the front and I was fighting to stay awake from the large lunch.

I nodded off and then it happened...

In a loud voice, speaker Sarano Kelley boomed out... "What Time Is It?"

I sat up...

Again he boomed... "What Time Is It?"

I was now on the edge of my seat...

For the third time he yelled out... "What Time Is It?"

He looked around the room and said in a soft voice... "The Time Is Now, and Now Is the Only Time You Can Do Anything."

Sarano talked for 90 minutes about time and about being the best person you can be. He talked about setting goals and being the best "you" in the world. This short message resonated with me. I left that conference that day with three goals in mind...

1. To go as far as I could in Toastmasters.
2. To get in the best shape of my life.
3. To move to the next level at work.

Over the next three months I lost 25 pounds, Became an Area Governor with Toastmasters, and I moved ahead on my job. Sarano's words about time and being the best changed my life.

Toastmasters was now a challenge and I wanted to go to the top. Within two years I made it to the level of DTM which is a far as the normal program goes.

Two simple phrases got me out of my dip... The Time Is Now and Be Your Best.

Seth's book is about Being The Best In The World!

You quit the things that aren't important, get off the dead end streets, and focus on your main path.

The dip is where success happens. As Seth explains...

The people who set out to make it through the Dip--the people who invest the time and the energy and the effort to power through the Dip--those are the ones who become the best in the world.

As I write this today I face another Dip?

My blog is two years old and my once expanding numbers are now somewhat flat.

Should I power through... or should I quit?

Are you facing a similar situation? Download Seth's Manifesto and pick up his short but profound little book... and then do something truly remarkable... Power Through!

Connect In Business.... Fast!

Author Nicholas Boothman presents some fascinating techniques for getting to know other people in his new book, "How To Connect In Business In 90 Seconds Or Less." Whether you are in business, or in sales, or just want to strike up a conversation at the next office party, this book is for you.

I downloaded this book in audio format from Audible, and played it while driving to work on my iPod. Mr. Boothman has an engaging voice and a great way with words. He soon had me captivated with some basic ideas that work miracles.

One of the simplest ideas in the book is to look other people in the eye when you greet them. For some reason, I've always had trouble doing this. Maybe it's because I was shy as a kid, but I always tend to look down when meeting others. His simple technique... When greeting people, make a mental note of the other person's eye color.

This simple step forces you to look the other person in the eye at least for a few seconds. It really works. After listening to the book, I tried this technique at a Toastmasters meeting. I was giving a speech to an audience of 20 people. As I scanned the audience while speaking, I started to make a note of eye color. This forced me to pause on each person in the first two rows.

Instead of my usual impersonal scan of the audience, I found myself connecting better with everyone. After the meeting was over I made a commitment to greet everyone and make a note of everyone's eye color. I found that this soon became a habit and I noticed something else... people were suddenly more talkative.

This is where I applied Nick's second technique of smiling at everyone as I greeted them. To create a smile, I would say the word "Great" under my breath a few times as I approached. This simple procedure works because the word is positive and it’s “ay” sounding middle syllable causes you to bare your top teeth.

This simple combination of smiling and making eye contact has really made a discernible difference. It's a subtle thing, but when you smile, other people can't help but smile back.

Mr. Boothman is also a great storyteller and explains his simple mantra on life.

• Know what you want
• Find out what you are getting
• Change what you do until you get what you want.

It's as simple as KFC!

This mantra is easy to remember and can make a profound difference in your life. Nick has so many great business tips, from what to wear in the office, to how to create a mission statement that actually motivates, you're sure to find a few that you can use immediately.

I would suggest picking up the Audio version as Nick brings the stories to life with his great storytelling and personable voice. You'll soon find yourself connecting better with everyone you meet.

Be sure to check out the free e-books available on his website.

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Post Author:

John Richardson is the author of the personal development blog, Success Begins Today . He also reviews many different audio books on his MBA on the Run site.

A Brown Paper Christmas

I've learned some interesting lessons over the past year. My dad passed away last November and my sister and I have been sorting pictures and other memorabilia. My dad was an artist and a photographer so we have had literally thousands of photographs and pictures to sort through. It has been tough at times, with tears welling up at many occasions.

With the holidays coming one picture stood out. Both my sister and I agreed that this picture was special. It was a picture of us as kids around the Christmas tree with our packages ready to open. But there was something different about those packages that most kids will never experience. Each one was wrapped in plain brown craft paper. There were small ones and large ones, but each package had personality.

Our dad always wrapped our packages with love. You see... he would always take a marker or chalk and write our names in huge letters in his own special calligraphy. He would draw holiday pictures of elves, snowmen, and winter scenes. Every package was a work of art. Every package had a special meaning.

When I look back I don't remember what was in the packages but I do remember the special feeling that I always had with these customized creations. You just knew that something really awesome was inside because the wrapping was so awesome outside. My parents never had a lot of money but the holidays were always special. My mom and dad always took the time to make them so.

With the holidays upon us I would like to suggest that we make this year different. I want to take a page out of my parents play book and do things a little differently. The last few years have become increasingly impersonal with the propagation of gift cards and gift certificates. Some years there aren't any packages at all, just envelopes with money or cards in them.

How about some gifts with personality this year?

How about some gifts of learning this year?

How about bringing joy to a stranger's life this season?

Instead of the impersonal gift card how about something that says you care?  How about taking five minutes to choose a personalized gift and display it in a box with the recipients name in large letters. As Dale Carnegie once said...

Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language. 

How about a gift of learning for the young people on your list? Think back to the books and materials that had a great impact on your life and give those as gifts. Instead of an impersonal gift card that will probably be used for a video game you might just impart some life long learning in the form of a book or audio program.

How about changing someone's life for the better this year? The holiday season can be a depressing and lonely time for many people and the season of joy can really be a dark and awful place. How about taking the advice of Dale Carnegie...

You have it easily in your power to increase the sum total of this world's happiness now. How? By giving a few words of sincere appreciation to someone who is lonely or discouraged. Perhaps you will forget tomorrow the kind words you say today, but the recipient may cherish them over a lifetime.

My dad left a legacy with two things.  He always had a smile and a kind word to say to everyone he met. Over the last year I have heard from many people how my dad's positive outlook and caring ways changed their lives. This season, why not share some kind words with the waitress, the supermarket clerk, or the kid at the corner selling newspapers.

Simple words, a book, and a smile! Nothing earth shaking... just something someone may remember for a lifetime.

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John Richardson has a personal blog entitled Success Begins Today where he discusses topics on success and personal development.

A New Definition of Success

I started blogging back on April 1st of 2005 with a goal in mind of learning more about success. I had just read a book by Gerard Smith, entitled "Celebrating Success," which is a compilation of letters from successful people in all walks of life from around the world. Each definition that I read brought new meaning... but none of them really hit home with me. I wanted to put into my own words what it means to be a success.

The standard dictionary description seemed to miss the mark.

It listed success as...

1. The achievement of something desired, planned, or attempted

2. The attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.

The first definition seems to be right but it falls short. It describes the positive outcome of a goal, but is that what success is all about? From my experience, achieving a goal may lead to a short term success but so many times it is a fleeting experience. The second definition is what the world holds up as successful. But the definition in itself would leave out many humble and truly successful people such as Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, and my dad, who I consider to have lived an incredibly successful life.

So if success is not wealth, power, or fame... what is it? Author John Maxwell describes success as a journey. I like putting success in this category as it allows me to be successful... today. I don't have to attain anything to be a success. As long as I am on the journey, I can be successful. But a journey is not all there is... a lot of people journey around the world only to find misery and defeat.

There is something else... I read Steven Covey's new book called the 8th habit. In it he describes four traits that all successful people have had in common.

They are...

Passion: Do what you love to do

Vision: What great thing would you do if you knew you could not fail?

Discipline: The follow through to get things done.

Conscience: Do what is right

These four things have served as the backbone of my definition of success and they have brought me pretty close to a written explanation. I can tell you what the pieces are but something was still missing. I still couldn't put into words a concrete definition.

My journey to learning the true secret of success continued. I read numerous books and devoured literature right and left. There was so much to learn and the picture started to come into focus. Books from Steven Covey, John Maxwell, and Jack Canfield all had numerous ideas and concepts and the fog of the unknown started to clear.

I picked up a new audio book this week that really helped the whole picture of success to come together in a sharper focus. Entitled "Success Built To Last," authors Jerry Porras, Stewart Emory, and Mark Thompson, provide extensive research into all aspects of the subject. They interviewed over 300 successful people, tagged "builders," to uncover the secrets of their winning life strategies.

As I listened to many of the interviews and the overall context of the book, I realized all the participants had a life of meaning and service. When I laid out all the puzzle pieces on the table a picture formed of what it really takes to be successful.

1. Do what you are passionate about. Take an inventory of your passions and design your job and your life around them. If you don't love what you do, find something else... experiment. Don't live someone else's passions... find your own unique ones.

2. Develop a life of meaning and service. Find a need and fill it. Help others with your unique talents.

3. Create a vision where no one has gone before. Think in big, hairy, audacious goals.

4. Live a life of integrity, do what is right.

5. Take action today and add another step on the journey to success.

While this still lacks a sentence structure, I feel these lines exemplify the lives of so many truly successful people. The definition is clearer now and I think our dictionaries should be changed. The old definitions just don't work.

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John Richardson has a personal blog entitled Success Begins Today where he discusses topics on success and personal development.