Motivation

Are you taking responsibility or playing the blame game? “A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit.” —John C. Maxwell

There are a lot of high paying jobs available to those without a degree. These are the top 25 paying jobs that don’t require a degree… regardless of whether or not you get a college degree, you have to be a learner. Success comes from learning. If you don’t have a college degree, but you are a lifelong learner devoted to developing yourself and learning new and relevant skills you will be successful. If you are under the assumption (that I was at an earlier point in my life) that you can get a degree, quit learning and coast through life, you are likely to be disappointed.

These are some of the Biblical reasons for getting out of debt. This is why I decided to get out of debt…

Getting out of debt part 6… This is part 6 of the Getting out of debt series and it focuses on the sacrifices that need to be made in order to get out of debt. The most important thing to remember about these sacrifices is that they are ONLY TEMPORARY!

Getting out of debt part 4…Getting out of debt, creating wealth, living financially free, retiring with cash in hand can all be achieved by following one simple rule: Spend less money than you make.

Getting out of Debt Part 2…I have found that when I am challenged by something, I either open my mind to the possibility of it or I don’t. If I do open my mind to it, then I have to count the cost to decide if I want to do it. If so, the last and often easiest step is to just do it.

Sometimes when someone gives you a piece of advice, it just resonates and almost creates an imprint in your mind. I know I have gotten some advice that even though I didn’t want to hear or believe, I just couldn’t shake it because deep down I knew it was true.

The recent issue of Money has a great article with over 30 well known people contributing their best pieces of advice they’ve received. I really agree with a whole bunch that were listed. And these are my favorites….

Getting out of debt Part 1… If you are like most Christians I have met, you want to be able to give more. You have a good heart and wish you could give more. You really want to be able to bless people and give more to your church. But again, if you are like most that I have met, you are thinking, “it is hard enough just to pay the bills each month, let alone give to others the way I would like to.”

What is the Biblical way to get what you want? - “Want”, despite its appearance, is not a four-letter word. There is nothing wrong with wanting something, and wanting it badly. In fact, it seems that wanting something badly is almost a pre-requisite to asking God for anything. God is looking for a single-minded man or woman who will not accept anything but God’s best.

As I was staring at this tree I began to realize that trees grow slowly. You plant a seed for a tree and it takes a while to sprout and takes a while to grow to a decent size.Grass and even plants, on the other hand, grow a lot faster. They sprout up quickly and sometimes you can even notice growth one day to the next. I have been enjoying watching this rapid growth with all of the plants in my vegetable garden.

I have always (and still do believe) that God’s will for our lives will line up with our desires. He often calls people to do things that they may not think they are capable of and along everyone’s journeys there will be moments of pain and discomfort. But, following our passion is often a good first step in finding God’s plan for our lives.

Learning to say NO to ourselves is one of the most beneficial habits we can develop. I call it a habit because it is truly is. People who never tell themselves NO have a difficult time doing it. On the other hand, people who regularly tell themselves NO find that although it may not be easy, it becomes less difficult the more you do it.

When is the last time you tried something for the first time? God put me on this earth and I have the strongest desire to squeeze every ounce of life I can out of these 100 years or so I get to be down here. If you are bored, try something new!

I think my personal opinion on the whole thing fall somewhere in between Tim Ferris and the author of the article. Lets look at each of the 5 points…
1. I agree that leisure is not worth much unless it follows hard work. Ecclesiastes 5:12 even states that, “the sleep of a working man is pleasant.” However

Have a goal. Have a purpose. We are not created merely to “Exist.” We are created to, and are missing out on life if we do not GROW. Goals that that push us beyond what we thought we were capable of add motivation and purpose to life.

“Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”
-Henry Ford

I just was reminded of another status symbol I had when I was about 12 years old. This is bad. I was in a materialistic phase of my life and I would only wear Polo brand shirts when I went out with my friends. The problem was I only had two Polo shirts and about no money to purchase more.

The whole idea of a status symbol is fairly juvenile. I remember crying for hours because my parents couldn’t afford to buy me the “cool” shoes (I was in 2nd grade, I don’t blame them for not spending $75 on shoes that would fit me for 6 months). Looking back, it was a clear indication of low self-esteem.

I found this video today - it drives home the point that lifelong learning is a must for all of us and that change really is the only thing that stays the same. It is about 6 minutes long - I think it would be a good use of 6 minutes…

Life is about managing risk. People often associate risk with investing, but it actually applies to all areas of our lives. From the amount of insurance coverage we purchase, to the decisions regarding our health, to the area of town that we choose to live in, everything has a level of risk.