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February 15, 2007
Integrity is the Real Bottom Line
The dictionary defines integrity in terms of soundness of moral character, adherence to ethical principles and being unimpaired. Its middle English root is related to integrate-to bring together as a whole-and integral -- complete and whole. These references to wholeness rightly suggest that integrity affects all aspects of our lives, which is why it is like a healthy investment portfolio filled with blue chip stocks such as honesty, fairness, and loyalty.
Integrity that strengthens an inner value system is the real human bottom line. It means that you don't base your decisions simply on being politically correct. You do what's right, not what's fashionable. You know that truth is absolute, not a device for manipulating others. And, it's not just in the major decisions that this quality is needed.
Complete integrity in little things is no little thing at all. As has been said many times, "The devil is in the details" and "elephants don't bite, but fleas do." There are no degrees of integrity. You have it or you don't. Being slightly dishonest may be a safe adventure for a time. But one day, inevitably, little details will be noticed and the piper will have to be paid. Your word is more valuable than a surety bond. What you are speaks so loudly, no one can really hear what you say. If what you do matches what you say, your life will speak forcefully indeed. In people, we value honesty more than any other virtue. We expect it from our leaders. We must demand it from ourselves.
This week and from now on, "seek the truth," and "speak the truth."
-- Denis Waitley
Reproduced with permission from the Chris Widener Ezine.
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Februaruy 14, 2007
Bringing Balance to a Chaotic Life by Chris Widener
If I had to make a composite question that gets at the heart of the question that I am asked most frequently, it would be this:
How can I manage my time more effectively and bring balance to my life in regard to work, family, friends, and social obligations?
With this in mind, I want to give us some thoughts to focus us in on the answer to that question.
I am convinced that the most important thing we must do is to be acutely aware of the reasons I should manage my time and bring balance to my life. In fact, most of us really know "how" to do it, don't we? Then why don't we? I think it comes to the issue of having a powerful motivating factor or reason. Below are two of mine that keep me motivated:
A life of accomplishment. When I am old and unable to get out with the young folks anymore, I want to be able to look back on my life and say that I accomplished much and that my life benefited others. That is why I do what I do now. It is what drives me to pursue what I pursue with a passion and vigor. It is why I bring my life into balance is many areas so I can achieve much in many areas.
A legacy. Here is a powerful motivating image that I picture with regularity: Picture a family gathering five years after your death. What will it look like? What will the people be talking about? How will they remember you? What will be the quality of their lives and how will you have been instrumental in that? These are questions that we can for the most part, answer now by how we live our lives (for better or for worse). Our lives make a difference in the lives of others! This is a tremendous reason to bring my life into balance!
Once we answer the "Why" question, and root it firmly in our minds and hearts, we come to the "hows."
First, we sit down and prioritize. Have you ever taken a couple of hours and listed everything that you are involved in or could be involved in and then prioritized it by importance? You may come up with a hundred items but that is okay. You will want to separate them into some categories as well, such as Work, Family, Health, Friends, Hobbies, Spiritual, Financial, Intellectual, Emotional, etc.
Now you have something to look at and see what is important. This will help you in the process of eliminating areas from your life that you are spending time on that you shouldn't be. And that is an important part: Frustration comes when we get involved in something that isn't a priority and we kick ourselves the whole time we do it. If we stick to priorities, we eliminate much of that.
The next step is to learn the most powerful word in the human language: No. Just look in the mirror and practice saying that word with a smile on your face. This may be the most important part - learning to decline opportunity. It all depends on whether or not it fits in with our priorities.
Here is the principle that drives this:
Good is the enemy of the best.
There are lots of good things we can spend our time on. But because they replace those things that would be the best things we could spend our time on, they become our enemy. They become counter-productive to a successful and balanced life.
So ask yourself: Is this good? Or is it the best? Do the best you can to stick to the best!
Schedule your time. The more we fly by the seat of our pants, the more apt we are to lose control of our time. If we schedule out our time, we can become a bit more objective and bring our lives into balance. For example, you may make it your goal to be home by six o'clock every night. In your schedule book, you write in that you have an appointment at six. You schedule to leave the office at five-thirty. Now when a co-worker comes in with an "opportunity" for you to work on, you say, "Sorry, I have an appointment at six that I can't break. Let's get together on it first thing in the morning." Scheduling your time, coupled with saying "no," will do wonders for bringing your life into balance!
Another aspect for us to look at is the area of external pressure that causes us to be out of balance. For example, financial obligations may be what keep us working too much. So we should look at those obligations and see if we can eliminate or reduce them.
The last thing I would challenge you with is to give some thought as to what the secret pleasures of being out of balance may be. For example, sometimes we let ourselves over commit because we don't like conflict. Peace is our secret pleasure.
Sometimes we allow ourselves to become out of balance because we like it when people say, "Boy, she sure is a dynamo. Look how busy she is." Admiration from others is our secret pleasure.
In review:
Find the right reasons
Set priorities
Learn to say "no"
Understand that the good is the enemy of the best
Schedule your time
Manage External pressures
Be aware of internal "secret pleasures"
Chris Widener
Reproduced with permission from the Chris Widener Ezine.
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February 13, 2007
Make Your Customer Feel Important by Brian Tracy
LISTENING IS THE KEY
Listening builds self-esteem. It has been said that, "Rapt attention is the highest form of flattery." When you listen intently to another person and it is clear that you genuinely care about what that other person is saying, his or her self-esteem goes up. His or her feeling of personal value increases. He or she feels more worthwhile and important as a human being. You can actually make another person feel terrific about himself or herself by listening in a warm, genuine, caring way to everything he or she has to say.
PAY CLOSE ATTENTION
When a man and a woman go out for the first time, they spend an inordinate amount of time talking and listening to each other. They look into each other's eyes and hang on every word. They are each fascinated by the personality of the other. The more each listens to the other, the more positive and happy each of them feel and the stronger becomes the bonds of affection between them.
FOCUS 100% ON THE OTHER PERSON
The opposite of listening is ignoring. You always listen to that which you most value. You always ignore that which you devalue. The fastest way to turn a person off, to hurt their feelings and make them feel slighted and angry is to simply ignore what they are saying or interrupt them in the middle of a thought. Ignoring or interrupting is the equivalent of an emotional slap in the face. Men especially have to be careful about their natural desire to make a remark or an observation in the middle of a conversation. This can often cause the sales conversation to come to a grinding halt.
ACTION EXERCISES
First, take every opportunity to make the other person feel important by listening attentively to what he or she says.
Second, avoid interrupting the other person by slowing down and pausing for a few moments after he or she has stopped speaking.
Reproduced with permission from the Ron White Ezine
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February 12, 2007
Skills Make Labor More Valuable by Jim Rohn
As you know by now, if you have been a long time student of my philosophies, I'm a very big proponent of activity, labor and discipline. In fact I devoted one of the five major pieces to the life puzzle (in my book under the same name) to the subject of activity and labor. But now let me add another key word to the labor equation - skillful. Yes, skillful labor.
We need the skills to help build our family's dreams, the skills to stir up an enterprise and make it successful. We need skills to build equities for the future. We need skills of all kinds.
How about this - skillful language. If you just talk to your family you can hold them all together, but if you skillfully talk to your children you can help them build dreams for the future. That is why I spend so much time at the Weekend Seminar on communication - how to affect others with words. You can't be lazy in language - it cost too much. What if you meant to say "what's troubling you?" and instead you said "what's wrong with you?". Wow, that's too big a mistake. And sure you could have made that mistake 10 years ago, but not now. You should have gotten much better by now in language and communication.
Skills multiply labors by two, by five, by ten, by fifty, by one hundred times. Hey, you can chop a tree down with a hammer but it takes about 30 days, called labor. But if you trade the hammer in for an ax, you can chop the tree down in about 30 minutes. What's the difference in 30 days and 30 minutes? Skills. Skills made the difference.
So do what you can - labor. But also do the best that you can do - improved skills. And you will find that the labor combined with skills will start producing miracles. Miracles with your money, miracles with your family and miracles in every part of your life.
To Your Success, Jim Rohn
Reproduced with permission from the Jim Rohn Weekly E-zine.
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February 11, 2007
Seven Self-Motivators by Brian Tracy (excerpted from the Success Mastery Academy)
Here are seven Self-Motivator reminders for you to review on a regular basis.
#1 - Get Serious. Make a decision to go all the way to the top. Up to now you've thought about it. Up to now, it's passed your mind. Many of you made the decision, and you've made up your mind to go all the way to the top, and your lives have taken off. It's the most extraordinary thing. Your life is one, like in the shadow going up the dark side of the hill until the moment you decide that "By gum, I'm gong to be the best at what I do. I'm going to be in the top 10 percent." And suddenly you rose into the sunshine, and your life is forever after different - wonderful. Get serious. Don't fool around anymore.
#2 - Identify Your Limited Step to Sales Success. What's your limited step? What's the one skill area that's holding you back? What's the skill? What's the quality? What's the action? Ask other people. Find out what you need to become good at. Sometimes it may be only one skill. If you became really, really good on the telephone, you could maybe double your prospecting effectiveness and double your sales. If you became very, very good at getting the order at the end from qualified prospects, you could double your sales. If you became very, very good at managing your time to really, really manage your time well, you may be able to double your face time and double your income. Find out what's holding you back. What is the critical limiting step that's determining your success today?
#3 - Get Around the Right People. Who are the right people? The right people are the people in this room. Get around winners. Get around positive people. Get around people with goals and plans, people who are going somewhere with their lives and have high aspirations. Get around eagles. As Zig says, "You can't scratch with the turkeys if you want to fly with the eagles." And get away from negative people. Get away from toxic people that complain and whine and moan all the time. Who needs them? Life is too short.
#4 - Take Excellent Care of Your Health. Take excellent care of your physical health. That means good diet, good exercise. Everybody knows they should eat better foods, get regular exercise and especially lots of rest. That's very important. If you're going to work hard 5 days a week, go to bed early 5 days a week. Get a good night's sleep. Be fully rested, and tonight get really rested. You don't have to watch the Letterman Show...
#5 - Positive Visualization. See yourself as the very best in your field. Remember, all improvement in your life begins with an improvement in your mental pictures. Visualize yourself, see yourself as the best continually. You are the best. Isn't that right? So therefore, see yourself as the best.
#6 - Positive Self-Talk. Talk to yourself positively all the time. Control your inner dialogue. And what do you say to yourself? Say, "I'm the best." Say it. Say I'm the best. I like myself. I can do it. I love my work. Yes, that's how you talk to yourself. And the more you say it to yourself...someone may say, "Well, what if you say those things to yourself and you don't believe them. Isn't that lying to yourself?" No, that's not lying to yourself. It's telling the truth in advance. Because it doesn't matter where you're coming from - all that matters is where you're going. Talk to yourself the way you want to be, not the way you just happen to be at this moment. Remember, you may have gotten where you are today largely by accident. But where you're going in the future is purely by design.
#7 - Positive Action. Get going. Move fast. Develop a sense of urgency. A sense of urgency is the one thing that you can develop that will separate you from everyone else in your field. Develop a bias for action. When you get a good idea, do it now. Only 2% of people in our society have a bias for action. And if you're already in the top 10%, you can move yourself in the top 2% by resolving that whenever you have an idea or something, do it now. And the faster you move, the better you get. And the better you get, the more you like yourself. And the more you like yourself, the higher your self-esteem is. And the higher your self-esteem is, the greater your self-discipline. And the more you persist, then you ultimately become unstoppable.
Remember, You're the best! Brian Tracy
Reprinted with permission from Your Achievement Ezine.
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February 10, 2007
Finding Intrinsic, Lasting Motivation to Succeed
For the high achiever, it's natural to seek out challenging goals because he or she has an inner, intrinsic drive to succeed. And success doesn't mean pet rocks, get-rich-quick schemes, lotto jackpots or chain letters. High achievers are looking not to receive, but to contribute, to give. They're looking for problems that are personally satisfying to solve. Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey and Warren Buffett, three of the wealthiest individuals in the world, eagerly go to work every day to face the challenge of solving a new and bigger problem. All could be playing Backgammon on a tropical island or two rounds of golf per day.
Since the accomplishment of a difficult task means more to the high achiever than any external motivation, it means that motivation will remain strong throughout his or her career. Think of how much stronger and more permanent such a motivation is compared to one that is extrinsic.
Suppose you choose a particular career because of the money. What happens when there's more money in doing something else? You're likely to abandon one path as soon as another possibility opens up, and eventually you'll find yourself wondering what you're really doing maybe even who you really are.
Since there is no inner drive to stay on any particular path, the journey will be arduous, and motivation will tend to weaken whenever the external reward seems remote or out of sight. This is especially true with individuals who want a home business with high rewards and minimal risk. Some people spend their entire lives wandering from one field to another, always looking for an easier way to find that pot of gold, never achieving a significant goal worthy of their inner potential.
I've met many people who fit this description. If they're in sales, they move from company to company, from industry to industry, for one product or service to another. They are very hard to keep on your hand held electronic address book or in your directory of contacts because they are always either coming or going or starting another new business of their own. When that doesn't work, they get involved in sketchy enterprises, especially start-up-companies offering big, easy rewards, such as a wonder diet company where you can lose all the weight you want by eating anything you want and swallowing one amazing pill a day. They go from one Roman candle to another, from one "exciting opportunity" to another disappointment.
The problem is, money alone does not stimulate intrinsic motivation and therefore is a means, not an end. Money is like fuel for your car. It is not the destination. It is not the journey. It is only part of the transportation system. Make your "why" grab you by your very soul. You'll never be disappointed for very long. And you'll stay committed regardless of "stock market gyrations" or setbacks.
This week, find your unique "why" and pursue it with passion!
-- Denis Waitley
Reprinted with permission from The Denis Waitley Ezine
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February 9, 2007
Currents in the Stream by Stephen R. Covey
When I talk of the "stream," I mean the external forces and the powerful, deep currents that influence all we do in business. Changes in technology have totally revolutionized our world. The instant communication and rapid transfer of knowledge along the "information highway" have altered everything. The media have aroused expectations, and created various models and images in people's minds. All of this turns the social wheel, which then turns the political wheel, which ultimately affects the economy and international wheels. The powerful social, political, and economic currents have created a white-water environment for everyone in business. Some leaders like to think that "the problem" is in the stream and that, "if we only had more (or less) government regulation, more protection, a better social climate, better schools if only the stream were different then we'd be more competitive."
Changeless Core
While conditions might always be better, I focus on the need to have a changeless core so that I can flow with the changes and trends in the stream. People without the changeless core are often at the mercy of all these influences. They're buffeted and tossed by every wind of policy and practice. They're distracted by what's floating on the surface or by what's blowing in the wind of their industry, profession, or company. They become opportunistic and jump at situational opportunities that are very attractive at the time, even if that means leaving their "knitting" or abandoning their primary profit centers for a time. We're tempted in our own company toward that trend. We've done some surveys to determine what clients want. They want us to get into implementation. But if we move into that, we would leave our knitting paradigms and principles. That's a very attractive thing. It's seductive. But eventually it might pull us away from our essential mission.
At both the individual and corporate level, you need both the stability of product line and some entrepreneurial spirit. In a small firm, you have to resist the temptation to do "anything for a buck." In a large firm, you have to have eyes for new opportunity. It takes that same balance on an individual and corporate level. The key is the alignment between the changing streams and the changeless, principled center. That becomes the strategic path that you have to develop. When you have a framework that comes out of both the awareness of the changing environment and the essential function or purpose that you're trying to serve, you will think and act long-term. As Peter Drucker says, "Plans are worthless, but planning is invaluable."
Complementary Team
That duality of short-term opportunism and long-term stability might be found in one dynamic leader, but it usually it takes a complementary management-leadership team. Only a few very dynamic leaders understand both.
Typically it's either one or the other; they're either predisposed to surfing and riding the waves, or to developing this deep changeless core.
They either get caught in ruts and routines or live in the world of dreams and idealism with little practical, pragmatic sense about them. We need courage balanced with consideration. Consideration includes an awareness of the stream of realities. And courage includes steadfastness toward your vision, mission, and values. I once consulted with the leaders of a large organization. They had a changeless core, but no dynamic vision. They were woefully out of touch with the stream. The president had spent most of his life in the roles of professional, technician, and producer. Because he enjoyed production, he spent half his time personally answering calls and letters and micro-managing. After we talked for a while, he could see it clearly, and he said, "What have I done? I've pulled away from my vision!"
That experience taught me the supreme importance of imagination over memory. If people live out of their memory, they're bound to the past if they live out of imagination, they create opportunity. Peter Drucker said that effective executives are opportunity-minded; ineffective executives are problem-minded. Effective executives focus on the future. Ineffective executives focus on the past; in fact, they see the present through the past; effective executives see the present through the future. Imagination is more powerful and significant than memory. As Einstein said, "Imagination is greater than knowledge."
Be Proactive
This balance between the changing stream and the changeless core is one of the clearest manifestations of the primary habit of effective people be proactive. Proactive people see opportunities everywhere, and they adapt to the stream. They have the power to adapt because they're coming from something that does not change. They're very creative in their minds and innovative in their methods. They're not hung up by forms and structures and old modes of thinking and ways of behaving.
Reactive people are constantly reading the political pulse, and their social radar is so deeply attuned to what is happening, and they're so responsive to it, that if those forces are in any way adverse or contrary to what they're trying to accomplish, they are quickly and completely filled with the blaming spirit. They get into what I call "spiritual and emotional cancers." They compare the past or the way it used to be with what is. Criticizing and complaining are their full-time occupations. Economies have to be based on a solid foundation of proactive and innovative behaviors in management, manufacturing, and marketing.
The book, The Spoiled Child of the Western World, essentially says that the western world, starting in Greece, has been pushing further to the west until it gets right to the outside edge of a country where all the flakiness of the culture distills in one place. Some might think that analysis fits California or Hawaii, but I suggest that it fits anyplace where people want to "ride the surf" to prosperity. Hedonism may bring short-term pleasure but not long-term prosperity.
If the economy of an area isn't growing, but the population is or if people are not inventing, designing, making, and marketing products and services of substance then we can expect an economy based on "pizza and videos." And that simply doesn't cut it. Many executives I talk to believe that "the answer" is to "move out" of what they perceive to be a hostile business environment and seek a better stream, an operating environment more conducive to business. They feel that they are defenseless victims against the powers of the stream.
I've been in many situations where executives talk about the "uneven playing field" and about how "government is strangling business." While I understand why they are frustrated, I often perceive in their talk and walk a reactive spirit and a tendency to absolve themselves of responsibility for optimizing the present situation. They want to have something or somebody take care of them rather than respond proactively to make their opportunities grow. I honestly think there's never been a time of greater opportunity.
There's more opportunity today than ever before simply because there are so many new niches, so many new needs. That's why a country in crisis can go to the extreme right or the extreme left so easily. When an individual or a country loses this principle-centered, changeless core, then the person or nation rather quickly sinks to the depths of irresponsibility in social will. But when you're starving to death, none of the political promises have been kept, and no one's taking care of you like they used to, you can see why that happens.
Two Cab Drivers
When I was in Germany, I remember talking with two cab drivers. One was an older gentleman, and the other was a young man. The older cab driver was longing for the old days. As he drove us around Berlin, he described the awfulness of all this so-called "new freedom," and how he now has much less opportunity. The younger cab driver looked at the same exact world, and yet he was excited about the opportunities. He was thinking creatively about how he might improve his condition. The other was trying to maintain the old position.
These two cab drivers are like two executives one accommodating the new realities, and one opposing all change. One leads a young company that's aggressive, fast, and opportunistic; the other leads an older company that is time-bound, filled with archaic structures and systems, and blind to new opportunities. Cultures tend to flow from the reactive or proactive tendencies of the leadership. Organizations tend to be shadows of their founders and current leaders.
The childlike leader with a proactive nature might see adversity as an opportunity for adventure, play, fun, and freedom, whereas an old leader might see it as potential risk, disaster, or death. In a snow storm, the child sees a time to play, but the father the person in the ultimate seat of responsibility is often weighed down by the realities of having to shovel the walks and put chains on the tires. That's why it often takes a complementary team to lead and manage.
After President Clinton gave his speech on NAFTA in front of George Bush, it was then the former president's turn to speak. When he got up, he just gave a very authentic expression, "I now know why you were elected and I was not." It's that ability to speak enthusiastically about seizing the future the excitement and glory of change, of celebrating change and loving it.
Genuine excitement over change can only come when you have a deep sense of who you are, what you want to accomplish, what your agenda is, and how you feel about things. We need to have the attitude that the future is here, and that things are going to change. We need to recognize and run with opportunity and exercise the proactive spirit that we all have inside us as long as we don't abandon our changeless core principles.
Reprinted with permission from Your Achievement E-Zine
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February 8, 2007
All You Want is Within Your Reach by Chris Widener
If there is one thing that I believe with all my heart it is that you can have any life you choose to. You can live the life you have always dreamed of.
We live in a period of unparalleled opportunity in human history. Think about it: Just one hundred years ago, most people really only had five or six options when it came to deciding what they would do with their lives. For most, they didn't even have the knowledge that they could do anything other than take over their father's farm when they turned eighteen!
But today a person living in the western world (and many other areas of the world as well) can choose to do virtually anything they want to! They key is the word "choose."
You see, the world is within your reach. Any job you want can be yours if you decide. All of the opportunities are there for the taking. The question is whether or not you will take.
You say, "But Chris, you just don't understand. I'm thirty-eight years old with two kids and I have bills to pay. I make $28,000 a year. I can't just go become a doctor and make big money!"
And I say, "Yes you can! If you decide to. If you will take action you can become a doctor or anything else you want to. We live in a day and age when virtually anything is possible."
For the sake of highlighting this principle, let's look at the above example. How would this person change careers? Simple. Here is the process in specific action steps:
1. Find out from a medical school what classes you would need to take to get in. Chances are your college major would need some rounding out or if you didn't go to college, you would need to do so. Maximum time to do this: 3 days.
2. Now, go to school. Maximum time to do this: 4 years.
3. Now, medical school and residency. Maximum time to do this: 6 years.
4. Begin practicing medicine.
At this point you would be forty-eight years old. That leaves you seventeen years to practice. Now let's see the impact it has on your life:
1. You get to pursue your dream, making you and your family MUCH happier.
2. You will make, on average, $100,000 more per year. The difference here is manifold! If you stayed where you were, you would have earned $28,000 a year for twenty-seven years and would earn $756,000. If you left and pursued your dream you would earn $128,000 for seventeen years (That's if you took ten years to make the transition. Most would be less.) and you earnings would be $2,176,000! This is a difference of $1,420,000! And this doesn't even take into consideration the amounts you would earn on investments on the difference in incomes.
So is it possible? Yes. Does it take time? Yes. Is it hard? Yes. Is it scary? Yes, and that is why most people won't do it.
It isn't for lack of opportunity. It is usually because of one of the following:
Lack of vision.
Lack of tenacity.
Fear.
The truth is that you can do anything you want to. Stop telling yourself excuses! Go to battle against a lack of vision! Pick yourself up and get tenacious! Look fear in the face and stand up to it! Your whole life depends on it, my friend!
The choice is yours. Will you continue to limp along in life because you don't have the courage to run for your dream? Will you continue to allow the fear of poverty keep you from pursuing the riches, both materially and emotionally, that lay within the vision you have of what your life could be?
You CAN live the life you have always dreamed of. All you want is within your reach. But to pick it up, you must first empty your hands of what they already hold. Then you must reach for it, take a hold of it, and possess it!
Chris Widener
Reproduced with permission from the Chris Widener Ezine.
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February 7, 2007
Major Tax Myths by Sandy Botkin, CPA. Esq.
I just had a tax seminar where we had 30 participants out of 30,000 mailings. Considering that I usually save people $5,000-$20,000 in new deductions, this low turnout was all the more perplexing. I decided to call up some people who did not attend and find out what was the problem. Astonishingly, there are a number of widespread tax myths that seem to impoverish most people and make the IRS more money than would be ordinarily due them. This article is a summation of some of the bigger, more widespread of these myths.
1. "If I don't take every deduction, I will reduce my chance of an audit." This is absolutely untrue. If you were to ask any former IRS agent they would tell you that you have only given some extra money to your "Uncle Sam" and won't even get a thank you. If you really want to do this, make it a charitable contribution and take a deduction.
2. "I didn't make a lot of money this year so I didn't feel that I needed to attend a tax seminar." This is also a big mistake. If knowledge of some unknown deductions creates a loss because the deductions exceeded your limited income from your endeavor, you may use the loss against any form of income that you have such as wages, dividends, interest, pensions and rents. If the loss exceeds your personal income, you can use it against a spouse's earnings if you file jointly. Thus, you will never get divorced!
If the loss exceeds the income that both you and your spouse have earned, you can carry back all business losses two years and offset the last two years of tax that you paid into the IRS or to most states. Moreover, if that doesn't cover all your losses, you can carryover all business losses twenty years and offset up to the next twenty years of earnings. Thus, even if you didn't make a lot of money, tax knowledge will always pay you back. In fact, if your earnings were limited this year, it becomes even more vital since you can use the subsidy that you would get from the increase in your deductions even more than those that already have more money than they can spend.
3. "I heard that I had to have a profit or had to have a profit three out of the last five years." This is only partially true. The tax law provides that if you run your business like a business and not like a hobby, you can use the losses as discussed above. If you are deemed to be hobby, your losses from your endeavor are limited to the income from the endeavor with no carry back or carry over. There is a presumption that if you have a profit three out of the past five years, you have a business profit motive. However, the important point about this widespread myth is that this is a presumption that can be rebutted. I have a whole chapter in my series "Tax Strategies for Business Professionals" and "Tax Strategies For Home Based Business" where I discuss this. However, basically you need:
A five-year projection of income and expenses, which will project an eventual profit
A marketing plan
A good tax organizer and good documentation
Working your business at least 45 minutes a day, four to five days a week
Attendance at training Consultation with experts
Changing the way an activity is marketed from year to year especially if no profit is shown.
Thus, this presumption can be overcome with proper knowledge and some simple planning.
4. "My accountant takes care of my taxes" or "My spouse takes care of my taxes." This may be the single biggest myth and wealth killer in the US. It certainly makes the IRS more money than any other myth. I equate this with "my doctor takes care of my body." Wouldn't it be great if we could eat all the fattening foods that we want and never exercise, yet, once a year go to a doctor and get a form of "Roto Rooter" job? If you don't know what to tell your accountant by December 31 or if your documentation isn't right, there is very little that they can do for you. Sadly, accountants also have a conflict of interest when preparing our returns. They are subject to both a high standard for taking a deduction and are subject to high civil penalties. Thus, as many accountants have informed me, "they would rather not tell a client about a deduction that may be questioned if it results in any risk to the accountant."
5. "Keeping good records isn't worth the time or expense." This is also a major mistake. I estimate that most people can be audit proof by keeping records that would take no longer than 3 minutes a week. This is about 150 minutes a year, which is about 21/2 hours a year. This may, at first, seem like a lot of time, but this would save approximately $4,000-15,000 in taxes. Even using the low-end figure, this averages to be about $1,333 per hour and it is tax free. I bet that you don't earn this in an hour!
In short, tax knowledge can and will benefit anyone at any income. One seminar participant summed it up very well by saying," The more you know, the less you'll owe!" I couldn't agree more.
Sandy Botkin is a CPA, attorney and former trainer of IRS attorneys nationwide. He lectures all over the nation on tax planning for self-employed and corporate taxpayers. He has been written up in Newsweek and in many other magazines. He is also a syndicated writer and noted author of the famed tape series "Tax Strategies for Business Professionals" and "Wealth Building Tax Secrets for Real Estate."
Reprinted with permission from Your Achievement Ezine
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February 6, 2007
Made for Success Quote and Commentary by Chris Widener
"The real superstar is a man or a woman raising six kids on $150 a week." -- Spencer Haywood (Who rose from a home of poverty with lots of siblings to become a basketball superstar)
Chris' Commentary:
One of the problems with success literature is that most of the time success is left undefined, which means that it is usually interpreted by its default definition, which is material success or power. This leaves a lot of people outside and unable to feel as though they are making significant contributions to society! What about you? Do you sometimes feel as though you aren't a success? We need to remind ourselves that true success isn't just Hollywood's version of it! True success is doing your best, working from your strengths while improving your weaknesses, making the world a better place wherever you are, and helping others to become all that they can be!
Action Point: Take some time today to make a list of all the areas you are successful in! Feel good about that! You are making a difference. Don't let someone else define for you what success looks like! When you are done with that, then set some lofty goals and seek to reach even higher!
Reproduced with permission from the Chris Widener Weekly Ezine.
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February 5, 2007
Eight Life Lessons that have Helped Me by Ed Foreman
THINK about what you THINK ABOUT and if you catch yourself thinking about unhappiness, ill health and adversity, "change the channel" and think about what you want to happen!
When something happens by chance, follow up. Lucky people tend to notice and act on good things that occur by happenstance.
Believe that good things will happen. Expectations have a way of coming true.
When bad things happen, look for the bright side; i.e., "what did I learn from that?" or, "how do I keep it from happening again?" Don't dwell on it, move on!
If the horse dies, dismount. Don't continue to pour money and effort into a lost cause.
Dont look for love in the wrong places not just romantic love, but the love of "stuff." Stuff is O.K., but understand the delusion of "I'll be happy when I have this or that or, when I live over there, or when this happens." Happiness is a state of mind in which our thinking is pleasant most of the time.
Failure is a CHOICE made by the undisciplined. Failing to meet your objectives, regardless of what they are, is a choice, because something else has been given higher priority. If you fail, it is because you choose to fail.
You don't "catch" depression and you don't "catch" happinessyou "create" it by the "thoughts" you put into your mind. Carefully choose what you read, listen to, and the people with whom you associate.
-- Ed Foreman
Reproduced with permission from the Jim Rohn Weekly E-zine
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February 4, 2007
Back to Boot Camp by Chris Widener
You know, whenever you are going to make a major change and begin to undergo a different lifestyle, it is probably good to make a massive move in that direction. Think about it. As the old saying goes, "If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always got!" So if you keep on living the way you are living, you will keep right on with the life that in many ways you wish was changing! So how do you change your life? You change what you are doing!
This is the basic idea behind the military's Boot Camp. You know the drill. This is where they take a bunch of 18-year-old kids who think they are in pretty good shape, both physically and psychologically and they put them through six weeks of misery! But the misery is intentional!
All of the hard work and physical and mental exercise they put the young folks through is to strengthen them and to prepare them for the jobs they will be performing later on. Could you imagine if the military took a lackadaisical approach and greeted every new recruit with, "Welcome to the Army. We are going to work you easy into your new lifestyle. You can get up tomorrow around ten and brunch will be served at eleven. Come as you are." No way! They get them accustomed to drastic and massive change because they want them to have drastic and massive change in their lives. The only time they ever got up at four a.m. before was to go fishing'! Now it will be every morning!
So what about a life boot camp? Is it possible? Is it something we could, or should, try? I think for many people, the idea of a six-week period of drastic change would be great for them. Even if they didn't live that way the rest of their lives they would still probably make a major shift in the direction they want to go and would be happy with the results they would receive.
So here are some thoughts on ways you could go through a life boot camp. Give it a try for six weeks, just like in boot camp, and see if it doesn't make a difference in your life. As always, if you are going to do something physically, contact a doctor and if financially, contact your financial advisor before beginning anything.
Health.
Try getting up a half hour earlier and going for a walk or a run every day. Perhaps you just skip a half hour of television at night and do it then.
Try cutting out desserts or other favorite fattening foods.
Emotions.
Make contact with a broken relationship and begin to get together with them to restore your friendship.
Take time each day, even if just for fifteen minutes to sit quietly in silence or with some soft music just to quiet your spirit.
Finances.
Don't make any new purchases that aren't essential for six weeks.
Take any extra money you get and pay it all toward your debt. Every nickel!
Spiritual.
Attend your local family of faith for six weeks in a row.
Take time each day to listen to some spiritual music or read good faith building literature. (This can probably be combined with the time you take for emotions)
These are just some thoughts for you. I am sure you can come up with some of your own. The idea is to make a drastic step in the right direction. Maybe you do all of them; maybe you combine just a few. The goal, however, is to put yourself into a life boot camp situation. That is what will help you change and make you strong!
Chris Widener has been speaking professionally since 1988 and has shared the stage with top political figures, nationally known television news anchors, best-selling authors, and professional athletes. He has spoken on motivation and leadership to groups at some of America's finest organizations such as General Electric, Cisco Systems, and the Harvard Business School. Chris has written over 400 articles and 8 books and has produced over 30 audio programs on leadership and motivation. His most recent books are The Image, Twelve Pillars, co-authored with Jim Rohn, and The Angel Inside.
Reproduced with permission from the Ron White Ezine.
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February 3, 2007
Synergy Creates Energy
Living by comparison is fatal vision, for always there will be those who appear better off and worse off than ourselves at any given moment in time. In truth, there is no such distinction as superior and subordinate. We all have unique talents that will blossom and flourish when nurtured.
In past decades, there was a more "look out for number one" and "don't bring in people who might want your job" style of leadership. You generally would hire those people who would do as they were told and who wouldn't challenge your ideas or authority. This type of thinking led to bulging bureaucracies and mediocre middle management that accomplished little. This mind-set also created a scarcity mentality that there wasn't enough to go around: so don't share ideas, don't brainstorm with others who might steal your concepts, and above all, don't help your coworkers or employees succeed. We have seen that this approach clearly will not work in the global marketplace of the knowledge age.
Today the challenge is to establish networks, strategic alliances, synergistic relationships, and ad hoc teams to solve problems and help everyone accomplish their goals. You now look for those people who are not satisfied with the status quo, who are striving for excellence and have talents and abilities that you don't.
This requires that you "check your ego at the door" and that you don't get intimidated by others who may have different talents or strengths than you do. This is what synergy is all about. As we value the differences and look at truly working together, one plus one really can equal three or even more.
This week, focus on "working with others" rather than "competing against others."
-- Denis Waitley
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February 2, 2006
How Does Thinking Make a Difference? by Ed Foreman
Every one of us, at one time or another, has experienced difficulty. If you haven't, you're likely to 'such as the loss of a job, a business failure, an unexpected drop in stock market prices devaluing your retirement portfolio, fire, flood, divorce, the loss of a loved one, etc. How we deal with that difficult experience determines its impact upon our lives. Long term, it is not what happens to us that's so important. It is how we respond to what happens to us that makes the difference! Does that mean we can actually alter "reality" by the way we "think" about it? YES, we can.
The next likely question; then is, "I suppose you'd be happy, confident, cheerful, positive and enthusiastic if your spouse had just walked out on you or if you'd just lost your job?" Only if you desire reconciliation with your spouse, or if you want to remarry. Only if you desire to get another job equal to or better than the one you had! If you go around complaining, whining and criticizing your former spouse, telling everyone how unfair, inconsiderate, no-good, and difficult that person was, do you think they would want to marry you? If you criticize and complain loud and long enough, they'll soon understand why your spouse left you!
Do you think a prospective new employer would want to hire you if you are critical, condemning and remorseful about your previous employer? Or about how thoughtless, unappreciative and unfair they had been to you? They probably already have their quota of sourpusses!
All of us regret the loss of a loved one, young or old, and there will always be a reasonable period of mourning. However, to hang on to, and dwell upon that hollow, hurtful feeling and painful memory for an extended length of time will begin to take its toll upon you. Physically, mentally and emotionally and upon your love, appreciation and feeling for those whom you still have in your life. Reflect lovingly upon the positive impact that person had upon your life, review the good times you shared together and celebrate their life, instead of dwelling upon their departure! Life is uncertain, no one is here eternally. Enjoy and savor the time we have (or that we've had) together, here, now, and today.
Our life, our health, our being, becomes what we THINK. YES, our cells are always eavesdropping on our thoughts. Thoughts are real things that cause actions that develop into habits that make us happy or sad, relaxed or tense, healthy or sick, rich or poor. Life is for living not just for enduring, not for just tolerating, but to be lived, savored and enjoyed.
Make today a good day and you'll have enjoyed a GOOOD LIFE, today. Repeat the process, DAILY. It becomes a Habit!
Ed Foreman
Ed Foreman, the only person in this century to be elected to the United States Congress from two different states (Texas and New Mexico), lives the Good Life he teaches. He has built a successful career in construction, transportation, and petroleum development, and was a self-made millionaire by the time he was 26. He speaks to groups throughout the worldand has been the subject of various magazine articles, news media specials, and was recently featured on the TV Program, "CBS News 60 Minutes."
Reproduced with permission from the Ron White Ezine.
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February 1, 2007
The First Step for Getting Better Results by Jim Rohn
How dramatically we can change our results is largely a function of imagination. In 1960, it was a technological impossibility for man to travel into outer space. Within ten years, however, the first man stepped out onto the surface of the moon. The miraculous process of converting the dream into reality began when one voice challenged the scientific community to do whatever was necessary to see to it that America "places a man on the moon by the end of this decade." That challenge awakened the spirit of a nation by planting the seed of possible future achievement into the fertile soil of imagination. With that one bold challenge the impossible became a reality.
- The same Principle applies to every other area of our Life! -
Can a poor person become wealthy? Of course! The unique combination of desire, planning, effort and perseverance will always work its magic. The question is not whether the formula for success will work, but rather whether the person will work the formula. That is the unknown variable. That is the challenge that confronts us all. We can all go from wherever we are to wherever we want to be. No dream is impossible provided we first have the courage to believe in it.
To Your Success,
Jim Rohn
Reproduced with permission from the Jim Rohn Weekly E-zine
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