Are You Back to Work?

If you are that is great. It means the economy may slowly be returning to some semblance of normal whatever normal means. However, we still are a far cry from where we were in 1999 or 2000. During that time we were truly prospering in all areas of our life. We were buying bigger homes and cars and more of everything we probably needed. There are those that say we don't need

those bigger homes or cars and that is where the problem itself started. There may be some truth to that and I will come back to that. However I want to speak about something else that I believe just as important and may in fact be more important. Self development may have a lot to do with why many of us are stuck in a rut and just going through the motions of living life. I just created an acronym for life the other day that I would like to share with you - Love and Laughter (with a) Feeling (of)Intense Energy Enthisiasm and Excitement - LIFE. How do we accomplish this? By improving our individual selves so that we don't have to get bigger homes and cars in order to compensate for something lacking within. Not that we can't or shouldn'thave bigger homes or cars; you might have a big family or if you have the financial literacy to acquire such things because you knew how to do it correctly not because it was a emotional response. Now Go Live Your Best Life but first gain your financial literacy.

You Can Keep Your Day Job and Hustle While You Work - Create Your M.O.R.E.

For a long time after I purchased Robert Kiyosaki's course, You Can Choose to be Rich, I felt that I had to just get out there and just "make it happen" because I didn't want to work a j-o-b anymore, I didn't want to work for someone else. I wanted to be my own boss and I couldn't wait. There was only one problem -- I had no damn idea what I was doing, what I was getting into and what in the hell it would actually mean to be in business for myself. It is scary as hell. I truly realize why so many of us won't do it. Not that we can't do it because I truly believe we can do anything we truly want to do if we have a strong enough desire to do it and that's why most of us choose not to pursue a business. It is hard as hell. Because you have to GROW YOURSELF to a magnitude the likes of which you have never even thought of before and that is scary as hell so no matter how bad you may want it, you won't go for it because it takes a lot of courage, persistence, desire, burning desire, and everything else you can possibly think of to keep you on the path that will ultimately lead you to Entrepreneurship, Business Owner, Proprietor, CEO, etc. It's easier to go to work for someone else so whoever you see in that position make no mistake about it they have truly paid their dues.

And the one thing I have come to realize that they probably kept their day job too and Hustled while they work because you still have to pay the bills. Now I know most people would say yeah well duh. However, I was thinking I could just blaze out there and make it happen. And I probably could have if I had GROWN MYSELF to the level and magnitude that I would have needed at that time. It takes as long as it takes. Everyone is different and we all start from a different place because we are all different with different levels of fear, self-confidence and self-validation to overcome. Whew!

I said all of that to say that I realize now that I should have always kept my dayjob but I must admit I had some illusion about what it would take to get there. I thought in my own little head that as long as that was what I wanted, it would just happen. Well, now that my forest is clear and I can see the trees, I realize that was a big mistake on my part and I admit that I was wrong.

Now, I know I want to create what I have coined my M.O.R.E. - Money Outside of Regular Employment which is my business. However, I realize that I still have to keep my dayjob and let go of the illusion that I can do it without it. If you find yourself feeling that way you have two choices; Either you can GROW YOURSELF exponentially quickly like overnight and do it or you can realize that you can keep your dayjob and just Hustle While You Work. This brings me to the book of the same name of a great book that I believe will benefit anyone who wants to take this path. I believe in this new economy you may almost not have a choice but to create another revenue stream because you can no longer depend on just your employer to provide for you and your family. Also, social security will probably not be around to provide the income that some of our parents, grandparents and maybe even great grandparents are receiving today. The new economy has created a gap that we will have to fill ourselves. The author, Hotep has written a great book on the subject...Keep your day Job and Hustle While You Work - Using Your 9-5 to Jumpstart to 5-9. Hustle While You Work. Check it out.

Employers Created more Jobs in September than Expected!

This is great news! for all of us. This could be a small sign that America is coming back and creating more jobs to get Americans where we need to be - Back To Work! I said this is in a labor day post and it looks like that is the direction we are moving in. If this keeps up, we'll be back to prosperity in no time.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9Q7FB583.htm
I'm also hoping that all of us will chip in. How? If you've got an idea for a business that will create jobs for families and friends - bring that idea to life.Don't know how. Check the web (http://www.google.com/)  and check out Loral Langemeier's http://www.liveoutloud.com/, where she has a whole forum dedicated to bringing your business to life - and living out loud. One thing I think I can safely say is that whatever you want to do, it's probably already been done by someone so you can model them and tweak it along the way.

So get going on your dream and help create some jobs for yourself and others. How cool is that?

Want to Own a Home in this New Economy?

I was watching Suze Orman's Money Class on Public Television the other day and she gave a few tips that I thought were good advice for anyone going forward in our new economy that still wants to own a home. I still believe owning a home is the American dream but the way we've done it in the past has created a nightmare and that has to change. We can't change what we don't acknowledge (Dr. Phil) and we have to acknowledge that fact in order to make that change.

I said in an earlier post on another blog http://atlanticcountyhomes.wordpress.com/2011/08/22/atlantic-county-nj-borrowers-can-get-the-lowest-prices-but-america-needs-to-get-back-to-work-and-homeowners-should-consider-paying-off-their-mortgage-sooner/

that Americans need to own their home sooner and one of the ways to do that is to make a bigger downpayment. Making a bigger downpayment may not be the only way; I'm sure there are other financially savvy Americans who have come up with other inventive ways to make that happen but this is also what Suze Orman recommends: a twenty percent downpayment and 8 months of expenses put aside before you even start the process of searching for a home. Suze suggests that "every move you make effects something else". Suze also suggests to "Live below your means but within your needs". That is not bad advice for someone who may want to accept a lower financial threshold.

Loral Langemeier, http://www.liveoutloud.com/ who worked with Robert Kiyosaki of http://www.richdad.com/ fame suggests making more money instead of living below ones means expand the amount of cash flow that you have coming into your life. I don't know about y'all but I like making more money better than just living below my means. You decide.

Get Ready to Get Off of Welfare - Cash Payments will be Limited and Then GONE!

I knew this was coming and it's here sooner than later. Michigan has joined the ranks of states that have placed 2-5 year limits on receiving cash assistance from public assistance. However, Michigan is setting the limit at 4 years (48 months). http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44416871/ns/politics/?gt1=43001
On October 1, 2011 over 100,000 residents will no longer receive cash payments from their public assistance office. There will, of course, be exceptions such as the elderly who don't qualify for Social Security benefits, children with disabilities, etc. but everyone else will be on their own. This is unfortunate but inevitable. Why? The government is not going to keep giving cash assistance for long periods of time. Unfortunately, some families have received generational cash assistance and now the government is stopping the buck with them. No More Cash payments -- you must find a job or another way to get cash flow coming into your life.

This is why financial literacy is so important. People CAN take care of themselves they just have to be willing to learn HOW.

If you find yourself in this situation, where you are currently receiving cash assistance, you this lesson from Michigan as a warning and learn financial literacy, find your strengths, talents and abilities to use to create a job for yourself so you won't become desperate. Desperate people do crazy things and you don't want to live like that. Make a Change - Now. You can do it. I Believe in You. Believe In Yourself .

Are You Living Paycheck to Paycheck?

Well, according to the article below, 42 percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck which falls in line with 2007 data. So does this mean there is nothing to worry about since we're "supposedly" back to 2007 data. Well I beg to differ. I will have to go along with Loral Langemeier's concept of "Make More Money".  

Loral says have your latte if that's what you want. Others have cited the "Latte Factor" for us Americans being in financial dire straits. Once again I don't think it's that simple. I believe it is a whole mindset around money that makes it difficult for most of us who haven't dealt with our money issues to come to grips with what those like Loral may be speaking about. Loral or Robert Kiyosaki don't advocate cutting up your credit cards and living below your means. No. What they do advocate is learning how to increase the amount of income, cash flow, revenue -- you have coming into your life. Wouldn't that solve the problem of not having to live paycheck to paycheck? Wouldn't that solve the problem of not worrying about getting laid off? Wouldn't that solve the problem of having to worry about whether or not you can pay your bills, have extra to do what you want? Isn't that a better solution? Make More Money? What do you think?

A good book to consider to help along this journey would be Phil Laut's Money is my Friend, Stuart Wilde's The Trick to Money is Having Some, and T. Harv Eker's Secrets of the Millionaire Mind. 

Or if you want to deal with your money issues right now, I suggest David Neagle's http://www.themiracleofmoney.com/# course.

Another statistic I read in this article that women are still the primary financial stewards of the money for their family brings me to another book you might want to consider, Rich Woman by Kim Kiyosaki. This is a great book breaking down the investing game and how women can win.

http://www.recruiter.com/recruiting-news/check-to-check/

Profit Over Poverty

In order to overcome poverty, we must learn to profit from our ideas. These individuals turned their Ideas into Income as Kadena Tate would say of http://www.e3woman.com/. I believe that we all have ideas that we can turn into Income if we work at it and don't give up on that idea, especially when the going gets rough because it will and that is why your WHY has to be strong. Check out these great ideas that made millions,

http://money.msn.com/investment-advice/10-ideas-that-each-made-100-million-dollars-cnbc.aspx?cp-documentid=6838684&gt1=33036

This is what America and everyone else needs to do, find their BIG IDEA and turn into Profit in order for us to Overcome Poverty.