The National Debt is sometimes so big it is hard for us to wrap our heads around. Most people don't realize how much our debt has increased over the last few years. This puts the money amount into perspective:
In 1971 the national debt was only 75 million. Thats only 40 years ago...not too long. Well today the National Debt increases by that amount Every.Single.Hour.
Lets see how many people know this...... take a guess before clicking the link, what is the current national debt?????
On a side note, in a book I read called, "The Millionaire next door" it said over half the Millionaires in the world make under 100k a year. CRAZY! They are millionaires because they live well below their means and spend way less than they earn.The key to wealth is how much you save, not how much you spend!
Here are some of the highlights from the article:
Live below your means
Plan: That means plan for today, tomorrow and 30 years after retirement.
Diversify your investments:
Reduce use of credit and turn to cash: One of my BYU finance professors strongly believed in "if you cannot pay it off at the end of the month, it does not belong on your credit card." Case in point, you cannot afford that item you are trying to charge! Don't buy it until you can pay it off without being charged interest. If you don't you are literately throwing away money!
Have access to cash:
Spread cash around:
Bring your children into the mix, and remember the importance of estate planning:
The safe way to double your money is to fold it over once and put it in your pocket. ~Frank Hubbard
Walter Breuning dies in Great Falls, Montana Friday April 15th, 2011. He lived to be 114 years old. even at his old age, his memory stretched back 111 years ago when he could remember at the age of 3 his grandfather's tales of killing Southerners in the Civil War.
This man has seen more in his lifetime than we could ever imagine, from the great depression to countless wars, to changes in technology.
What has this man learned over the span over the last 114 years? Here are some of his secrets to a long life:
• Embrace change, even when the change slaps you in the face. ("Every change is good.")
• Eat two meals a day ("That's all you need.")
• Work as long as you can ("That money's going to come in handy.")
• Help others ("The more you do for others, the better shape you're in.")
Then there's the hardest part. It's a lesson Breuning said he learned from his grandfather: Accept death.
"We're going to die. Some people are scared of dying. Never be afraid to die. Because you're born to die," he said.
To read the entire article please visit the link below:
Urban Dictionary: A sport and art, started in the 1980s in France by bored teenagers, where a person vaults, climbs and does acrobatic stunts off of objects in their path instead of merely running around them.
Friday the 8th of April I attended the BYU MUSA Formal closing social. The event was held at the Provo Downtown Marriott Hotel, where everyone was able to dress up, enjoy a fancy dinner, band, network with successful BYU alumni, and hear one of the top CEO's in Utah speak.
The keynote speaker was Robbert "Bob" Whitman, Chairman and CEO of Franklin Covey. Bob spoke on 4 key points that he has attributed to his success in his career.
1) Set high goals and believe in yourself. He posed the question, "What would you do if you know you couldn't fail?" Too many times we limit ourselves from reaching our capacity because we fear failure. Think BIG and act on it. There is not stopping a motivated mind from achieving what he or she wants. He shared a clip of a man by the name of Paul Potts, a mobile salesman, who was told by numerous people over his lifetime, that despite his personal dream to become an opera singer, he would never make it because of his fatigue, look and lack of voice. Check out what happened to Paul when he stopped worrying about failure and started working towards his dream
As we can see Paul went for his dream. Paul ended up winning that years "Britain's Got Talent", and is a professional opera singer. He has achieved his dream.
2) Be strong in hard times.
It is easy to be strong in the easy times, when everything is rolling. It is then the times get tough that the tough get going. Do the work which your goals require you to do.
3) Put God first in your life.
Weather what religion you are, God should always be number 1. He cited the Biblical scripture in Matthew 6:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." Bob is CEO of a multi hundred million dollar company, and yet never works on Sunday. He honors his God, and believes all the success and blessings he has in his life come because he has put God first.
4) Bring others with you across the finish line. If is easy to look at other and point our their faults and tell them why they are wrong, however this never accomplishes anything. The game of life is a team sport, always look to help others out. Bob is working on completing his 12th Iron man (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run without stopping) while he was doing an Iron man in Hawaii he noticed a man who had a vest attached to him with a rope attached to another boy in a raft. While waiting for the race to start, he asked a fellow Iron man racer, whats the deal with that raft? In reply he learned that it was a man by the name of Dick Hoyt. This inspiring story can tell the story better than I can.( warning tear jerker)
Great story! Life is a team sport!
Thank you Bob Whitman for a great speech and inspirational stories on how we can achieve our goals in live and become better humans not only in the business rat race, but in the game of life.
