Changing State

Trying to get yourself motivated and just can't?
Try one of Tony Robbin's fave coins of advice, which he calls "changing your state".

It isn't something complicated. For me, I can change my state with
my own personalized prescription of 41 minutes of walking on the electric treadmill.
Why 41 minutes? Just 'cause over the years, I've realize that that's all that it takes for
me to change my frame of mind, my perspective and my physiology.

Sometimes, we just get stuck in proverbial inertia...
Wikipedia describes inertia in these words:

1. Inertia is the resistance of any physical object to any change in its state of motion, including changes to its speed and direction. It is the tendency of objects to keep moving in a straight line at constant velocity.

That's a pretty accurate description of "stuck humans". We resist any change in speed or direction because we are comfortable with what path we have been on for any length of time.
We instinctively resist change, because it is new and unfamiliar. 

Even when we know that we are really ready for something new to come about in our lives, we still have that natural draw to cling to what is our personal "comfort zone".

So, one of the ways that Tony Robbins helps empower his "students" is by teaching them how to "change their state". When we change state, we have a new emotional condition and a new set of physical circumstances. We mentally prepare ourselves for good new things.

So, before you hedge your bets on some enormous New Year's Resolution, consider
allowing yourself a change in state first, to prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for whatever new idea that you have in store for this coming year.

Blessings, empowerment and peace.

Carla









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Blissful Creative Exile

Yesterday I tweeted about a cool review by Katherine Monk of Tim Burton's new movie
"Big Eyes". What stood out in my mind in the review were Katherine's two epic
words "Creative Exile".

While, for some, that phrase may evoke a lonely period of time, when you'd rather be huddled away in the clay stained art department in high school than out with the cheerleaders or in the lunch room.
Creative folks sometimes just long for a get-away where they can completely "zone in" to hone their craft and figure it out just what it is, after all, that their art is trying to express.

So when I started reading and learning about Tim Ferriss and the specific methods he uses to completely focus and zone in , without distraction, my artistic ears perked up and I find myself re-reading those parts of his Blog over and over.

One of the coolest things, other than that he puts Casino Royale on a loop on mute playing in the background while he's zoning in to write....,  is that he drinks epic proportions of Yerba Mate tea virtually all night long when he's on a tight writing deadline.

There's just something so "college cool" about Tim. He's steadily increasing his circle of influence, hobknobbing with folks like Sir Richard Branson, Tony Robbins and the like. But when he talks, you get the idea that you're just talking to the kid who sat beside you in math class, never wore matching sox and could never sit still.  Come to think of it....that actually sounds more like me.

Anywho, what does it take for you to zone in?  A fave cd? A fave playlist? Certain lighting?
Or do you have to leave your house and rent a room like Maya Angelou? Her fave writing haunt was at a hotel toting a bible, a bottle of sherry, and her famous yellow legal pads. Maya didn't write on computers.....  real pen on paper was her chosen route for creation. What is your fave creative media? Online? Or a word doc. or speaking into some "speech-to-text" app that transcribes your brilliant verbage into prose?

Carve it out folks, your niche can only be created by you. Make it yours, make it quirky, and let your family know not to bug you when you're in your zone.

Peace and productivity this week, friends.
Carla

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Valley Of Decision

There is gentleness here in the "Valley of Decision".. although many would try to sabotage my peace.

When we have some decisions to make, whether large or small, there are those who sense that vulnerability and try to coerce your thoughtfulness into something that is more about their goals than yours.

I want to encourage you to walk peacefully when you are going through a season of decision making.
It needn't be a loud and brash time. You needn't manically hop from book to book to activity to person to blog to site and back again. If you have any kind of relationship with God, He is going to help you walk calmly and purposely. A hasty decision is made when we don't allow our valley of decision to bear
RIPE fruit. Don't pluck those fruits until they've had a chance to mature and grow into a sweet juicy peach of any idea. Any idea worth having or choice worth choosing isn't going to disintegrate into thin air if you don't act on it in the next 30 seconds.

If I might add my two cents worth....take the time just to journal out your thought processing while you are in the Valley of Decision. If you prefer to write on paper with pen/pencil, then go for it. If you prefer just to blab with your computer onto a clean fresh open Word doc, then so be. Enjoy this process. It is yours. It belongs only to you. It matters not whether you save your journals or you save the computer file of your ramblings. The point of the journaling is to help you make a choice. Stay clear. Stay humble, Stay calm. Keep your heart open to nudges from the Spirit of God....Avoid folks who are chaotic or the ones that speak before listening.

Blessed and peaceful this amazing sunday afternoon.


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Oy Vey Money Versus Proud Mary Money

Most of us have some sort of income... Income from a job, from rental real estate, or from royalties from something that we have invented or created like a book or a witty invention.

Then there's money that comes just because we are a citizen of a certain country...a government refund.
Although I appreciate it, no matter what it's label....it's just "Oy vey" money....because I did nothing to deserve it or earn it. "Oy vey" money is useful, but not inspiring..... utilitarian, but not fulfilling.

I've noticed that the source of the money really strongly affects how I feel about a certain chunk of change....and the size of that chunk matters very little in terms of how it makes me feel.

For example, there's a writer I follow who has created a homespun fishing lure business on the side.
It is his love and passion to create lures and find the best places to sell them. At this point, the business is not enough to entirely carry his household expenses, but the joy and fulfillment he is getting from seeing the progress of his homemade creations is inspiring. He's at the stage where he is considering great expansion in marketing his goods. Whatever nickels, dimes and dollars he earns from this venture...I would be tempted to call his "Proud Mary Money".

I have upon occasion celebrated this kinda money too. I can assert, that "Proud Mary Money"
has a lot going for it. It contains within it's DNA all sorts of good stuff....momentum, hope, fulfillment of a life's dream, and hint of a better tomorrow. "Proud Mary Money" has my sweat, focus and artistic bent written all over it. This kinda money is gutsy and has a pioneering spirit. "Proud Mary Money" goes where no man has gone before.

Do you have some of each? Does that five bucks you earned selling one of your homemade treasures on Etsy make you grin for 5 hours straight? Did that Youtube video you created that's earning you 3 cents per day, make you chuckle while you're driving to your "day job" ?

Even if your "Proud Mary" fund is so teeny tiny as to not even deserve a bank account of it's own, I'll bet that you are already bragging about that new book you wrote, video you created, item you sold on line, etc....because you created it with your own sheer will, curiosity, artistry, and pioneering spirit.

When push comes to shove, my goal is to focus on creating more in 2015. I am so pumped! It's gonna work...it's gonna bring increase....more Proud Mary Moments.

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Tony Robbins on Basket Brigade

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You just have to watch this video. It is Tony's retelling of the story of one of his Thanksgiving experiences

with his parents when there was no food ....and then the miracle of the man at the door.

If any of you have ever experienced some kind of hunger, you will understand his story.

Also, if you have ever entertained the notion of feeding the hungry, this story will most certainly inspire you to action. Incredible story. Bring some tissues.

Peace.

Name That Blog

Years back when I first started this ole Blogger blog, I was on a thought bender.
My bent was towards empowerment and I felt so totally empowered to realize that everything I ever wanted or wished to know was certainly within my grasp. My months in college and university had filled me with a fresh zeal for the power of "access". Knowing the right professors, experts and connections gives you access to folks who can answer some of your most pressing questions. Then when you get your first question answered to your own satisfaction, you are able to move on to another brilliant inquiry. As the scriptures say "Line by Line, precept upon precept".(isaiah 28:13)

I fell in love with the notion that not only was I powerful because I valued my own questions and the process of inquiry, but I realized that I was powerful because I discovered I had learned how to
find out anything I wanted to know.

It wasn't just a spiritual process, although that remains a vitally important part of my personal learning process. Prayer is part and parcel of the learning and inquiry process. I ask God to help me continue to grow and to lead me into the knowledge and fields of inquiry that He wants me to pursue. I ask God to help me to retain the knowledge that I glean. I ask God for access to more teachers and mentors as the time is right.

I have found that women in particular don't necessarily take their own quest for knowledge very seriously, especially if they are mothers. The needs of their children and their spouse often cloud their inquiries or dull them into apathetic science. But, after reading this post, you won't fall for that mistake will you ?

But I have found that a woman who comprehends and respects her own capacity to learn and gain knowledge is a better and happier mom. Don't lose sight of your curiosity. Let it lead you into more data...more factual information. Women who gain mastery of a subject became capable of accomplishing anything they set their minds to. ( for more on this idea, read the book called "The Confidence Code by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman)

So, permit me to wrap up this post....merely by repeating what I came to believe when I started this humble blog. Ladies and gentlemen, elders and students, rich and poor and everybody inbetween....let me roar and empower you today....because it is still true... YOU really CAN Know ANYTHING. May 2015 show you that the access to knowledge you long for is right there waiting for you to chase down and make it your own!


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Mutual Funds and those Pesky M.E.R.'s

Sometimes I think the whole mutual fund industry is based upon the premise that very few North Americans trust themselves to invest their own money. They'd rather hedge their bets with someone who has a few letters behind their name than do their own research and pick their own stocks.

Now the rage is all for ETF's which , in my mind, is the same thingy majiggy as mutual funds except with a facelift. It's those M.E.R.'s which annoy me. (management expense ratios)
The "professional" fund managers are permitted to take a cut of all the investment into the fund, whether or not the fund is performing well or not. Talk about a gurantee! But the guarantee operates in the best interests of the fund managers, not necessarily in yours or my best interests.

Those who buy mutual funds keep being sold the story of the "safety of buying the basket" instead of stock picking individual shares.

But what about picking stocs in a similar fashion to the institutions that you admire? If you admire the Provincial or state wide teacher's pension fund, then it's not going to be impossible for you to find out which shares they own. Yes, you can copy them....it's perfectly legal. You just might not get the same deals as they get because their huge chunks of buying power sometimes negotiate a better price for their cuts of stock, as opposed to an individual "retail" investor.

Warren Buffet has a stream of folks following his every stock purchase. I recently learned that many of his stock purchases are now hidden from the public for a certain period of time, just because there is such a huge following behind his every transaction. When someone's investing is considered an "institution" it is like they've graduated into playing the big leagues. That doesn't mean that you can't make money as an individual....is just that it's a pretty different game we play. Individual investors just don't have those economies of scale that institutional investors have.

Another thing to consider is that individual investors are often concerned about transaction/commission fees for their every stock sale/purchase. But institutional investors carry such large portfolios, that I would assume they are given a free ride when it comes to charges for commission fees and the like.

Don't be discouraged....just learn the rules for the game you want to play. Outsmart them, by being observant, teachable, well connected and persistent. Time is on your side.

Peace.


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Investing Secret

I've come to a conclusion...after reading a plethora of finance authors and doing my own real time real life research......that the simple key to excellent investing can be summed up in one seemingly
humble word, but permit me to say it anyway.....it's called "discipline".

The famous investor/author/teacher Robert Kiyosaki talks often about how folks come up to him and ask him for a tip on the next big investment idea, or for a stock tip, or some secret investment product that is sure to turn their fortunes around. Robert K. always responds tactfully by asking them a question such as "Well,  what kind of investor are you?"

Are you a good investor? That's a better question to ask, than to simply ask someone for a stock tip. Are you able to carry out financial plans? Are you disciplined with your money? Or do you need to give the financial decision making power over to someone more disciplined than you are? Do you trust yourself with money? Do you give away money too freely? Do you overspend and wind up up to your ears in consumer debt? Have you figured out how to maintain a constant influx of cash into your life?

How folks handle money is a good way to measure where they are on the "wise vs foolish" scale.When it comes to investing...the results can be even more devastating. Folly has a way of infecting even the best investment ideas. Therefore, never share a great idea with someone who is foolish. Test out someone's character before you share anything of financial value with them.

Anyway, I realize too, that most investment plans are based upon the assumption that humans, if given access to a large lump sum of cash, will spend it wildly and at top speed, thereby causing their lives to out-survive their money. That's why financial advisors who focus on providing/selling retirement "income" products rarely talk about the necessity or benefit of fiscal discipline. They would rather sell you something like an annuity, so that you, in essence, as a very old adult will be given an "allowance" every month of your retirement. The large lump sum of cash is handed over to the financial "professional" because we have been sold that line that
says we can't handle a large chunk of cash if we have access to it.

But I don't appreciate it when folks undermine my capabilities or any one else's for that matter.
What's wrong with having a large chunk of cheese and just sawing off a modest chunk of it each week?
Money doesn't spoil. It's not perishable. If you can train yourself to only utilize modest chunks of your own savings throughout your retirement, then you won't need to turn your cash over to the "professionals".
You'll have mastered yourself and your own spending and thereby conquered the world.
You can even set up your own system of giving yourself your own "allowance" by having automatic transfers set up from your investment accounts to your "spending" account in modest weekly or monthly portions. You can follow the crazy bootstrapper Alan Corey's example, by simply making your money "hard to get to" by NOT having a bank card and putting it in a bank that is located really inconveniently far away and have no internet access to the account. Yes, you can discipline yourself, without having to pay a professional top dollar to do this for you. You are disciplined. You can control yourself. The future belongs to the disciplined.

Peace and good will.

Carla



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