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PUBLISHER'S NOTE by Christopher J. Kuselias
First, a heartfelt thanks for all the positive response we have received on "The Insider". It is our objective to provide you with quality, empowering information for use in your personal and professional life.
This month, I would like to outline for you our 5 critical factors in life and suggest that you address each recommendation, if you have not done so already. Here we go!
1. Career: We suggest you look in the mirror and ask yourself if you truly love your vocation. Our 5 step formula ("The 5 P's") for career success is as follows:
Passion: Are you passionate about the duties and tasks which comprise your work life?
Purpose: Do you find purpose and meaning in your work life?
Power: Are you gaining the respect of your peers and associates because you are an "expert" in your chosen line of work?
Profit: Are you compensated at a fair level for your contributions which either increase revenue or decrease costs to your current organization?
Peace of Mind: Are you feeling relaxed and confident in your life's work, the feeling that comes from knowing you are in the right career?
2. Financial: We suggest you find a great accountant and lawyer to handle your will, estate plans and taxes, the extra investment here is worth it!
Expenditures: track your monthly expenses, prioritize projects and their costs and live within your means!
Savings: There are three types of savings, cash, investments (equities, mutual funds, real estate, etc.) and retirement savings. Make sure you have a sound plan for each!
3. Health & Fitness: The old adage that if you don't have your health nothing else matters is accurate. Your body is a temple, make sure its not the temple of doom!
Medical: Find a trusted doctor, dentist, related specialists and obtain your vital statistics (indicators of health challenges asap). Keep a file of your personal health objectives (blood pressure, cholesterol levels, blood counts, etc.). Remember, for illness, early detection is the key!
Nutrition: Create a livable meal plan (we suggest 6 small meals per day, no carbs after 6PM, lots of water, limit salt and sugar)
Exercise: 30 minutes per day, MINIMUM! Try walking, tennis, weights, join a gym, aerobics, there has to be something you enjoy... make sure you stretch for 10 minutes per day, every day (I suggest after morning shower when you muscles are loose!)
4. Relationships/Personal: Be sure to include time for fun and hobbies!
Spouse: If applicable, try to "outserve" your significant other and focus on intimacy and communication, the two areas which create the biggest challenges. One idea... Each keep a journal and record in written form, 3 "just because things" (i.e. flowers, breakfast in bed, house repair, watch a movie together, bathe the kids, etc.) you each do for each other, once you start, you will get in the habit and the relationship will sizzle!
Parenting: Create objectives for core values (integrity, trust, etc.) education (homework schedule), programs and/or sports and schedule, schedule schedule! Kids need (and want) routine in their lives. Make sure you also allow them time to daydream and just be a kid, they will have responsibilities like you and me soon enough!
Hobbies/Bonding Items: Many couples drift apart when all they needed to do was find a few common interests (movies, tennis, travel, cooking, shopping, real estate, golf, etc.). Certainly there is something you both enjoy...
5. Spiritual: Not preaching here or suggesting any specific method of worship, simply stating that we all need to take the time to appreciate the wonders of the world, consider our time on earth, and make a commitment to contributing, that is, leaving the world a better place as a result of your presence. Make it a point to contribute a self-less act to assist another in need, something outside your work life. Help a child, volunteer your time to literacy, build a church, etc. We only feel complete when we are assisting others...
That's it, a refresher course on the 5 key areas to focus your energies! Please write them down and strive to live in balance. Do not let one area dominate your thoughts or time or you will feel massive stress. If you master the skill of applying time to each of the categories listed, you will begin to live a life of passion, profit and peace of mind!
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NOT KNOWING ENOUGH ABOUT YOUR CREDIT by InCharge
If you haven't seen your credit report in over a year, you don't know what's on it. It could very well contain information that isn't even yours! It could also contain information that is inaccurate and could be harmful to your credit score. And if your credit score is lower than it should be, you won't be able to qualify for the best deals from lenders. In other words, you will be paying more than you need to in interest and fees.
Luckily, for a small fee and a large amount of patience, you can get a credit report from each of the three major credit bureaus, and you can fix just about anything on them all by yourself.
Yes, there are services that swear they are able to fix your credit report, and some of them can. But you will simply be paying them big bucks to do what you can do yourself.
Poor credit history can affect your job opportunities, your ability to purchase insurance, or your ability to rent an apartment. You owe it to yourself to make sure your credit reports are accurate. You can contact the three major credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, Transunion. You can also go to www.myfico.com and order reports from all three of the major credit bureaus for $35, and they'll even send you a free brochure called Understanding Your Credit Score if you'd like.
Credit Quiz:
True Or False?
1. You must be 18 or older to obtain a credit card in your own name?
2. All credit cards charge the same annual percentage rate of interest?
3. If you pay your credit-card balance in full each month, it does not matter what rate the bank charges on your credit card?
4. You pay no interest on a debit-card purchase?
5. There is a credit report for everyone older than 18?
6. If you are late in making a few payments on your credit card, the interest rate you pay could increase sharply?
7. If you miss one or two payments on your credit card, it won't hurt your credit rating?
8. When you apply for a job, your perspective employer may review your credit report?
ANSWERS
1)T; 2)F; 3)T; 4)T; 5)F, you must establish credit first;
6)T; 7)F; 8)T
SOURCE: Credit Abuse Resistance Education
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DON'T LET SETBACKS STOP YOUR WEIGHT-LOSS GOALS by David Parise
Are you ready to "Press On" and overcome? The setbacks and negative self-talk that accompanies the start of every weight-loss program? Negative self-talk is a way to turn success inside-out to equal failure ---convincing yourself that you won't be successful before you even start and that you aren't even willing to try. You lose your enthusiasm and desire because of fear of possible setbacks and pressures of lifestyle changes.
Stop the unproductive thinking pattern. By thinking negative thoughts, you encourage them to come true. A compulsive liar repeats his lies over and over and becomes very convincing until he starts to believe-them himself. This analogy speaks for itself. Don't let fears and doubts control your actions: Start by building self-confidence and a positive attitude, no matter how many other diets failed in the past. Here's a secret I tell all my clients; "What you desire, you must first sense... what you sense, you must create." You must have a crystal-clear vision to motivate your desires ambitions. Try closing your eyes and imagine yourself as a lean, high-energy person. You are going to see and feel yourself as being slim, sleek, and rock hard! This image will become a blueprint of the construction of your new body. Imagine a total picture a realistic view of what can and will be. There is no such thing as "cheating." There is only off track wandering! Off-Track wandering is no excuse for giving up. This type of behavior is totally normal when we are making major changes in our lifestyle.
Changes must be made gradually for them to be permanent. Little by little the changes become more comfortable for us and easier for us to maintain. It's not unlike driving down a country road for the first time, with its bumpy bends and curves you are bound to get lost. We've all gotten lost because of going in wrong-directions, but we don't punish ourselves for taking a wrong turn. We keep trying until we are back on track.
Off-Track wandering is OK! Give yourself permission to make mistakes along the way. When you wander Off-Track, wander back as soon as possible. Don't use wandering as an excuse to stop trying! If you want less fat on your body, you must put less fat in your body. We must raise our fat consciousness to lower our fat intake. Many of the foods available today are high in fat calories but there are eating plans available that are deliciously low in fat calories. These programs can guide you in the right direction. Remember that the average American consumes a diet which is 52 percent fat, over half of that is saturated. I recommend that no more than 20 percent of your total daily calories come from fat. You will soon learn fat awareness and will be making your own choices. Such as: have the barbecued chicken instead of the barbecued steak.... ground turkey instead of ground beef... a tuna sandwich to replace the American hotdog... baked fish to replace roast beef. Make the slow progression from whole milk to 2 percent low fat to skim or powdered non-fat milk."
One of the big problems we run into is choosing the right foods in the presence of hunger. One example may be that you are out on a lunch date or dining out in the evening. Food choices are limited but this does not mean you have to throw your 20 percent goal out the window. Have a little menu savvy. Make the right choices and still enjoy a healthy, satisfying, low fat meal. There ware many misconceptions about what the word "natural" implies. If something is natural it does not necessarily mean it is healthy. For example butter salt and sugar are all natural foods that we eat but they are not healthy if eaten in excessive amounts. A typical example is the craze of everything yogurt covered. These products are so high in fat a small package could contain more than half of your daily allotment of fat calories but they are natural! The key is to be educated about nutrition. That way, we are less likely' to be fooled by deceptive claims.
(You are encouraged to always consult with your physician before making life-style changes.)
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MONEY CAN'T BUY LOVE BUT IT CAN BUY YOU STRESS by David Niven
What is the single most important part of your life? It's not money. It never has been, and it never will be. But how many times has a disagreement about money, how to spend it, how to get it, how much is enough, gotten in the way of your enjoying time with loved ones? When we let the superficial things get in the way of the substantial, our relationships cannot possibly remain healthy. We will be disturbed if we don't have enough money and even disappointed when we do have enough money because it will not bring us the joy and fulfillment we need. Put money in its place, behind what really matters to you.
"The average person abuses money," says Steve Rhode of Myvesta, a financial counseling program headquartered in Maryland. He means that addictive tendencies can show up in how we use money as well as how we use substances. At Myvesta Rhode counsels people on smart money use, and he also runs a program addressing life and relationship skills because he sees them as nearly inseparable from money use.
"Money abuse is the inability to control ourselves with regard to spending," Rhode says. "It is a recurrent, often unconscious, use of money to overcome underlying issues. Our society recognizes that people abuse alcohol, drugs, and food and that they need help to overcome those issues, but what about people who abuse money?"
Rhode warns that what makes our use of money even more dangerous is that it is often overlooked, treated as a frivolous situation instead of as a problem. "Many people assume that it's normal to be unable to control their money. It's not. People get stuck because they deny that a problem exists. Denial holds them back from finding a path to peace of mind and conquering their money issues."
He continues, "People conceal their money habits, argue over money habits, let money habits dictate who they are. There is just no way to deny that your money habits will affect your relationship. But a commitment to healthy money habits means a help to your relationship." Rhode's message to clients is to focus on what is truly important to them while monitoring their spending impulses. "Spending money is a surface solution to a core problem. We try to fill up holes by spending money on them. There's no point trying to fill the holes in your life with money because you can keep pouring cash in them and you will never fill them." Financial disagreements are a significant source of conflict in more than half of all relationships. Interestingly, this problem occurs regardless of income level.
Excerpt from The 100 Simple Secrets of Great Relationships
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A UNIQUE TWIST
A missionary was sitting in a small corner restaurant reading a letter delivered from home. As she opened the letter, a crisp, new twenty-dollar bill caught her attention. Needless to say, she was pleasantly surprised but as she read the letter, her eyes were distracted by the movement of a raggedly dressed man on the sidewalk leaning against a light post in front of the building. She couldn't get his peculiar condition and stature off her mind. Thinking that he might have greater financial need than her, she slipped the bill into an envelope on which she quickly penned "persevere." Leaving the restaurant, she nonchalantly dropped the envelope at the stranger's feet.
Turning slowly, he picked it up, read it, watched the woman walk away, and smiled as he tipped his hat and went his way.
The next day walking down the street, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She found the same shabbily dressed man smiling as he handed her a roll of bills. When she asked what they were for, he replied: "That's the money you won, lady." "Persevere paid five to one."
There is a serious moral to this story: It is impossible to unselfishly give of ourselves without being blessed in return. As Edwin Markham put it, "All that we send into the lives of others comes back into our own."
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