…the World Needs You!

October 18, 2010 2 Comments

Often I’ll hear someone talking about how they wish they could solve the many problems in this world.  Their concerns sound genuine and heartfelt; “It’s so terrible what’s happening in Africa!  Those poor children, I wish there was something I could do.”

They wish there was something they could do, but…

…the money, the time, my family…job, house, school.  It isn’t our fault we can’t save the world…just look at our list of responsibilities!  They’re the reason!!!   We scroll through the archive in our mind, finding countless reasons why we can’t, each a reminder that we have other priorities and obligations that need to be met.  We convince ourselves that it just isn’t possible to escape the commitments.  It doesn’t take long before we’re using our excuses as a waiver of liability. 

Even though we want to help, somehow we’re comforted in knowing that we can’t.  It was a nice thought, anyway.

Have you ever thought to ask yourself whether or not that long list of ”responsibilities” isn’t really just a fairy tale?  A bunch of lies that you tell yourself so you’ll never need to deviate from the routine or step outside your comfort zone?  Let me ask you this: if you’re afraid to expand your horizons and challenge yourself to move beyond your comfort zone, are you really living…or simply existing?

When I hear people trying to justify why they can’t [whatever], I think about the people who can, who are and who did.  What if Martin Luther King, Jr had said “I have a dream, but…”, or if Gandhi never was the change he wished to see in the world?  What if all the people who ever changed the world, hadn’t?

All around us are everyday people doing extraordinary things.  Maybe you’ve heard of Albert Lexie, or maybe you haven’t.  He earns $10 an hour shining shoes.  Since 1982, Albert has donated all of his tip money to the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburg…more than $150,000.  Albert is only one example of countless people across the world whose actions could inspire a nation.  Each day people are being the change.  They, too, have a dream…

How would your life change if you were to quit making excuses?

Instead of just wishing there was something you could do to help the people of the world, without any excuses holding you back you are free to dig wells in Africa so the people can have access to clean drinking water.  If Africa isn’t your thing, you can volunteer at a soup kitchen in your own city and help feed the hungry.  Get involved!  Don’t waste another moment wishing you could help.

It’s time to quit making excuses, not only for yourself but for the world.  We need you!

Filed under Attitude, Behavior, Freedom, Goals, Happiness, Inspiration, Motivation, Opportunity, Passion, Potential, Prioritizing

Travel the World for Two Dollars a Day

October 17, 2010 4 Comments

The other day on the Hundred Goals Facebook Page I asked “What can you buy for two dollars?”  It didn’t take long for some really interesting (and admittedly strange) responses to start coming in.  Tony from Venezuela says he “can’t buy shit” in his country for two dollars.  Isaac can park his car for two hours in the metered parking on campus and two dollars will pay for Sheena’s ATM fees for withdrawing cash from her bank account.

It seems that our feelings for two dollars isn’t much different from two cents…in other words, pretty worthless.  On its own, two dollars really isn’t much.  Maybe it’d get you a couple of McDonald’s cheeseburgers or a few minutes on a payphone but you probably won’t get very much more than that.  You can’t even get a Starbucks coffee for less than two dollars!

If two dollars is such a measly sum, how can anyone possibly travel the world on that kind of money?

In the book The Art of Non-Conformity, Chris Guillebeau points out on page 194 that you can get to almost anywhere in the world for two dollars a day:

I’ve found that even people who say they don’t like travel can usually think of at least one place somewhere in the world they’d like to visit before they die.  I believe that if you can save as little as $2 a day, you can get to that place within two years or less.  Many places cost less, and if you can save more than $2 a day, you can get there sooner.

Two years, 365 days a year, two dollars a day: $1,460.

Seeing it like that makes it look like a pretty impressive amount of money, doesn’t it?  And all you thought two dollars could get you was nothing.  But the question now is, can $1,460 really get you anywhere in the world?  In my experience, yes.  I’ve never paid that much for a plane ticket, so you’ll probably even have money left over to pay for other expenses like a room and the cost of food while you are there.  Okay, it’s probably true that getting to Bora Bora might cost a little more, but in all honesty, not that much more.  To get there in two years, just save a little more each day or save a little while longer.

Maybe you can’t afford to be a world traveler at this point in your life but that doesn’t mean you can’t see the world.  Saving even a small amount of money each day will eventually get you to anywhere you want to be.  Egypt, Japan, Italy, Brazil, Alaska, Russia…anywhere you can imagine.

The next time you think two dollars can’t buy you anything, or that the ATM fee isn’t a big deal, think about what you might be missing out on.  Change your perspective about those two dollars and give your money its value again.  Just imagine yourself wandering around the ancient cities in Greece or riding through the Serengeti on safari and adjust your spending habits accordingly.

Think of your money in terms of how it will bring you closer to accomplishing your goal.  Ask yourself, “What can two dollars buy me in France?”  The answer might be “Not much!” but wouldn’t you rather spend your two dollars in France than wherever you are now?  I don’t know about you, but it always seems just a little better sipping on a soda halfway around the world than it does on the couch in my living room.

Spend wisely my friends!

Filed under Goals, Money, Opportunity, Prioritizing, Savings, Spending, Travel

In the Blink of an Eye

October 11, 2010 2 Comments

Do you care so passionately about something that you’d give up everything to chase after it?

Would you sacrifice the creature comforts of your everyday life or challenge the strength of a relationship?  Could you walk away from a stable career, even if it meant losing the assurance of a steady paycheck?  In the blink of an eye, could you turn your back on life as you now know it to risk turning it into one that dreams are made of?

Most people wouldn’t.

Not because they can’t but because it’s hard.  So many things could go wrong.  It’s far more reasonable (and safe) to stay the course with the life we’ve already created for ourselves.  Life-altering change isn’t something most of us actively seek out.  It’s one of those things that smacks us in the face when we least expect it.

Someone we love dies.  We discover that our partner has been unfaithful.  Maybe we lose our job without warning.

When these things happen, we have a decision to make; either we ignore the problems or we rise to the occasion and turn tragedy into triumph.  But why should we wait for our lives to be flipped head over heals before we become active participants in our destiny?  Why slog through yet another day ignoring our dreams and suffocating our passions.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

The Rulebook of Life doesn’t exist and you don’t need permission from anyone to live life on your own terms.  There’s no reason to spend the rest of your time here on Earth doing something that doesn’t bring you satisfaction or give your life meaning. 

It may not seem like it, but each day we have a choice to make.  Either we can put the right shoe on before the left, just as we always do, and live a repeat of yesterday or we can wake up and make magic happen.

“But I don’t really have a choice and besides, change isn’t practical.”

You do have a choice.  We all do.  The door to life isn’t locked, you just need to give it a little push and it will swing wide open.  No one else can do that for you.  And maybe change isn’t practical, but tell me, what practical person ever influenced history?  It’s the people who took risks and had big dreams that changed the world…will you be one of them?

These are your days, make the most of them.

Filed under Attitude, Goals, Inspiration, Life, Lifestyle Engineering, Motivation, Opportunity, Passion, Potential, Prioritizing

Life’s Limiting Reagent

August 28, 2010 Leave a Comment

One of the components of the fuel mixture on the Apollo lunar module involved a reaction with hydrazine and dinitrogen tetraoxide.  If the balanced equation for this reaction is:

2 N2H4 (l) + N2O4 (g) → 3 N2 (g) + 4 H2O (g)

What volume of nitrogen gas (measured at STP) would result from the reaction of 1500 kg of hydrazine and 1000 kg of dintrogen tetraoxide?

If it’s been a while since you’ve taken a Chemistry class, allow me to refresh your memory on (or introduce you to) limiting reagent problems.  The purpose of this problem is to identify which of the two reactants will be consumed first in the reaction, either the hydrazine or dinitrogen tetraoxide.  By determining which reactant is limiting, you can calculate exactly how much product, in this case nitrogen gas, will be produced.

Consider your own life.  Are there aspects of your life that you can identify as limiting your potential to grow, expand or produce?  Is there something preventing you from realizing your maximum potential?  Are you as happy as your heart tells you you ought to be?  Are you earning what you’re worth at your job?  Are you free from debt?  Does your schedule allow you to pursue goals, hobbies and passions or do you wish there was more time in the day?  Are you active and healthy or is it a struggle to climb a couple of flights of stairs?

Consider your own life and all the factors you have identified as being the limiting reagents.  Consider the money problems, your unsatisfying career and your neglected and deteriorating relationship with the love of your life.  Take a few moments to really consider your life and all that is limiting it.

Consider them and ask yourself, “What do all these things have in common?”

The answer is you!  You are the common bond and, therefore, you are the limiting reagent in your life.  Not the money.  Not the career.  Not the schedule.  Not the debt.  Not the kids.  Nothing is limiting your potential but you.  No one else is restricting your happiness.  The possibility of your life is only possible with your effort.

Your life is a chemical reaction.  If you want a little more product – more results, more happiness and satisfaction, more money, no debt, that old spark – you’ve got to add a little more YOU to the mixture.

Want to get out of debt?  Add a little more effort on your part to get out of debt.  Want to lose weight?  You have to start exercising and eating right.  Are you sick of your career?  Find a more meaningful method of supporting yourself financially.

You can’t expect a chemical reaction to happen without adding the right amounts of chemicals and you can’t expect your life to improve or progress any further without YOU being proactive and aggressive.  If you want more product,  you must add more YOU to the reaction.

Now that you’ve identified the real limiting reagent in your life, add as much of it as you can and produce as much product as your life will allow.

Class dismissed!

Filed under Awareness, Motivation, Opportunity, Potential

Just Do It: Five Steps to Create the Life of Your Dreams

August 14, 2010 4 Comments

Now that I’ve moved away from my hometown, I use Facebook to keep my friends and family up to date on what I’m doing.  Whenever I travel somewhere or do something exciting (like skydiving or rock climbing) I post pictures of my adventures on my profile.  Almost every time I post a new photo album, someone leaves a comment about how they wish they could do the things that I do, claiming they don’t have the time, the money or that their responsibilities as a parent or employee hold them back.

They’re wrong! And if you think you don’t have the time or money, or that your obligations are limiting your opportunities, you’re wrong, too!  The only thing preventing anyone, including you, from doing anything is the willingness to make it happen; to Just DO It! The doors are open and opportunity awaits anyone willing to reach out and grab it.  There are no gatekeepers preventing you from living the life of your dreams. You don’t have to ask anyone for permission.  The world is your oyster!

How!? How can you begin living the life of your dreams…RIGHT NOW?

Make a Choice: What do you want out of life?  Do you dream of hiking the Appalachian Trail or living in a foreign country?  Whatever your desires, if you ever hope to see them through to fruition you must make them your priority.  If you want to travel, choose to make it a priority.  Want to become a writer?  Choose to make it a priority.  Inside each of us there is an “on” switch that we must flip.  Make a choice, flip that switch, commit to your goal and pursue it ruthlessly, without hesitation or apologies.

Stop Dreaming: Dreams bring inspiration but dreams and inspiration will only get you so far.  If you ever want to accomplish anything, you must move beyond the visions in your head.  Dreaming, hoping and wishing don’t produce results.  Burgess Meredith in Grumpier Old Men said it best:

You can wish in one hand and crap in the other and see which gets filled first.

Stop Making Excuses: There’s an excuse for everything and guess what, all of those excuses suck.  An excuse is just a way of justifying inaction due to fear.  It’s easy to say “I can’t” if you can blame it on some externality that you “aren’t able” to control.  It’s not easy to admit that you’re afraid of stepping outside of your comfort zone.  It’s so much easier to blame your situation on money, time or the kids.  And since those excuses are so universally accepted in our culture, no one is going to call you out on any of them.  No one, that is, except me.  All of your excuses are bullshit. You know it and I know it.  Stop making excuses, you won’t live forever.  These guys aren’t making excuses.

Prepare: Want to quit your job?  Sit down, take an honest assessment of your financial situation and create a plan to shore up any weaknesses you find.  Create a budget, eliminate all extraneous expenses, get out of debt, build your savings.  Prepare yourself in real ways that will help you to succeed.  No matter how much you hate your job, hate alone isn’t going to set you up for success.  Do something positive each day with that emotional energy, then smile as you walk through the door because you know that you are one day closer to walking away for good.

Take Action: Preparation leads you in the right direction but, like dreams, can only take you so far.  Once you reach a point where all the preparations have been made, it is time to take action.  Action creates change.  Change brings about opportunity.  Don’t count on luck to bring you the life of your dreams.  “Luck” is just opportunity presenting itself to those people who are prepared to act upon it.  You can create your own luck by taking action towards accomplishing your goals.  Want to become an artist?  Paint.  Want to learn a foreign language?  Take a class.  Want to travel the world?  Buy a plane ticket.  Action is the only thing that separates dreaming from reality.

Creating the life of your dreams isn’t difficult, it just requires dedication, determination and a willingness to step outside of your comfort zone to take calculated risks.  Success isn’t guaranteed, but failure only comes to those who quit. Turn your dreams into reality, make the choice to make it happen.  Give up the excuses and prepare for success.  Create a new reality; the reality of your dreams.

Filed under Attitude, Freedom, Goals, Inspiration, Life, Motivation, Opportunity, Passion, Potential, Preparation, Prioritizing, Success

The Life You’ve Always Wanted?

August 8, 2010 10 Comments

We all have our ideas of what the “perfect life” would be like but often the images in our mind are a far cry from the reality we are living.  If you were able to travel back in time and ask a younger version of yourself if this is the future they’d choose for themselves, what would their answer be?  Twenty years ago, could you have envisioned the life you have today?  Is it everything you’d imagined or have your dreams evaporated into thin air?

Chances are, the life you are living today is nothing like the life you expected to have.  You sold your ideals for a dollar bill.  Why?  “Because that’s just what adults do.” We have to make a living to pay the bills.  There’s food to buy and television to watch.  How are we supposed to save the world when we’re up to our eyeballs in debt?  The mortgage isn’t going to pay for itself, is it?

“It is what it is.” There’s no time for dreams.  Dreams don’t pay the bills or put food on the table.  Our younger selves didn’t understand what it meant to be adults.  We have obligations now and we’ve built our lives around some idea of what it means to be a “responsible adult” in today’s world.  What we ended up with is a career that steals our time and energy, a mortgage that drains our income and debt from all the Stuff we bought to furnish and decorate our home.  We have many thousands of dollars in Student Loans and a couple of cars to pay for.  Oh yeah, and the credit cards…

It looks like being an adult isn’t all that we’ve been led to believe.  All of our lives we’ve been told that adults are “responsible”, implying that it’s somehow more virtuous to fall in line and follow the leader than it is to follow our youthful ambitions.  The “responsible” thing to do is find a job, get married and have children, buy a house and a couple of cars, then keep your nose to the grindstone until it’s finally time to retire.  When that day does come, we hope that our health will last long enough to enjoy the life of our dreams; the life we’ve been waiting our whole life to live.

And what has it all amounted to?  A garage full of Stuff we never really needed in the first place, kids that seem to resent our very existence unless we’re buying them something, a spouse that we barely seem to know anymore and a huge house we aren’t able to enjoy because we are at the office earning a paycheck to pay the mortgage.

Sure, we have all the Stuff we could ever imagine.  We drive nice cars and wear nice clothes.  Our home is decorated like a magazine cover and on the weekends we are able to relax with a cold beer in the backyard.  On the surface things seem wonderful.  A little deeper though and things don’t look as good anymore.

What are we sacrificing to create this image of the “perfect” life?  Our time, our energy, our sanity?  If the average person starts working fresh out of college at the age of 22 and retires at 67, that’s 45 years of life sold for a dollar bill.  We’re trading our life to fill our garage with junk, for a heap of metal to take us to a job so that we can pay for that same heap of metal.

What if there were a different way?  What if you didn’t have to spend your entire life working?  Would you do it?  If you knew that in 10 years you could be financially able to walk away from your job with enough money to pay for all your expenses, would you have the ambition to make it happen?

There is a way, it is possible!  The only problem – of course there’s a problem – is that to get there, you have to minimize your spending and save.  “But that’s Un-American!” Our entire lives we’ve been told to “get out there and boost the economy.”  After the attacks on September 11 we were told to go shopping as a way to stand up against terrorism.  Does that mean we’re supporting terrorism by saving money?  Of course not!

What I’m talking about isn’t a new concept.  It isn’t impossible.  It’s been done before and it’ll be done again.  And not just by a few outliers but by many thousands of people.  Will you be one of them???

What’s the secret?

Live Frugally: Cut your expenses to the bone.  Anything that doesn’t offer real value to your life is out.  That might mean going without a contracted cell phone, cable television, TiVo or Netflix.  Find alternatives or other ways to occupy your time.  It may seem impossible now but you can live without these things.

Get Out of Debt: You can’t be financially independent when you’re in debt.  Get out, get out, get out! By adopting a frugal lifestyle, the extra money you’re able to save can be applied towards eliminating your debt.  After you’ve saved up enough money to cover six months of living expenses, every penny should be thrown at your debt.

Save: Once you’ve paid off the last of your debt it’s time to save like never before.  It may take you a few years, maybe even ten or 15, to save enough money to become financially independent but that’s better than 45 years!

Invest: This is where the magic is!  With the money you’ve saved, you can invest it into conservative investment vehicles which will pay you interest in fixed intervals over a specific length of time.  If you’ve saved and invested enough, this interest will cover all of your monthly expenses.  Now your money is working for you, not the other way around!

If you’d like to learn more about the process outlined above, I recommend checking out the book Your Money or Your Life by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez.

Filed under Book Reviews, Budgeting, Career, Consumerism, Debt, Employment, Family, Freedom, Frugality, Goals, Investing, Lifestyle Engineering, Money, Opportunity, Potential, Preparation, Prioritizing, Retirement, Savings, Spending

A Life of Quiet Desperation

June 16, 2010 Leave a Comment

Today’s article, A Life of Quiet Desperation, is being hosted at Money Relationship.  Here is an excerpt to whet your apetite:

The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.

     -Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854

Deep inside us is a smoldering desire for something more, something better, something…else.  We ponder the things in our lives that could be different, how our lives could be more satisfying, if only…  We dream of following the ambitions in our heart, of throwing caution to the wind and just focusing on being alive in the moment.

Continue reading this article at Money Relationship…

Filed under Behavior, Hope, Opportunity, Passion, Potential

Tax Time: Gucci Shoes or Your Life?

March 6, 2010 5 Comments

It is that time of year again;  tax season!

For many people, a tax return is more exciting than any holiday.  Tax returns mean shopping sprees and vacations.  We dream of Gucci shoes, Prada sunglasses and Coach purses with more anticipation than we do of sugar plums on Christmas morning.

A large return also means a chance to catch up on old bills, bulk up our savings account or pay down debts.  Instead of using your tax return to buy more Stuff, take an honest look at your financial situation and use this as an opportunity to begin your journey toward financial freedom.

A refund can buy an expensive pair of shoes or it can be a chance for you to set the stage for a new phase of your life.  Living with debt limits your potential.  Living without savings restricts your ability to capture opportunity.  Now is your chance to eliminate the limitations and prepare for opportunity.

Nothing you can buy at a store will change your life.  An expensive purchase may bring a rush of endorphins that make you feel on top of the world, but at the end of the day, you are no better off than you were before and another opportunity has slipped through your fingertips.

A tax refund is only the beginning.   A refund means little without a desire for real change.  Your good intentions of paying down debt or building savings can be undone in a moment of indiscretion.  Real change requires discipline and determination on a daily basis, the days when you make small financial decisions.

Tax time comes around but once a year and we are faced with the difficult choice of fiscal responsibility or personal indulgence, yet each day we are faced with countless financial choices that can accumulate and far exceed the value of any tax return, however, we don’t give them the same amount of consideration.  For real change to occur, we need to question the day to day expenses as well.

Financial stability does not occur as a result of once a year decisions.  Financial stability results from a daily diligence to save, to live frugally and spend wisely.  Financial stability is a result of living within our means and staying out of debt.  It isn’t an annual tax return that creates change.  This is only the first step in the journey towards a life of financial stability.

Will you use this year’s tax return to buy Gucci shoes or will you use it as a stepping stone towards improving your financial situation and changing your life?

Filed under Consumerism, Life, Money, Opportunity, Preparation, Prioritizing, Taxes

Time to Change

February 27, 2010 3 Comments

Rather than a lengthy article, today I am calling for action.

In the few moments which you would usually spend reading about motivation and goals, use this time as an opportunity to improve or change a small piece of your life.

Pick up the phone and call your mother, father, brother, sister, son or daughter, for no other reason than to say “Hello.”

Write an old fashioned letter to your significant other telling them how much you appreciate and love them.

Lace up your shoes and go for a walk.

Send an email inquiring about how you can become involved in a local charity or organization.

Change in life begins small, the same way the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

Filed under Motivation, Opportunity, Prioritizing

Ten Commandments of Goals & Money

November 28, 2009 2 Comments

"Ten" by koDesign @ Flickr

“Accomplish Your Goals While Managing Your Finances.”

At times, the two seem to be at odds with one another.  How can a person manage their finances when goals are oftentimes lofty dreams of indulgence?  A waver in one direction has an immediate impact upon the other.  The secret to is to find balance.

For the past year I have been toeing this line in my own life.  I have managed to pay off the last of my credit card debt and paid my car loan off more than a year early.  At the same time I spent a month traveling North America, spent a night under the stars of a clear California sky and climbed Mount Saint Helens.  This experience has brought me to some conclusions.  I’ve singled out the ten most important things to consider when you begin your journey towards accomplishing your own life goals.

The Ten Commandments of Goals & Money:

1) Know Thyself: Any successful journey in life requires some degree of foresight and planning.  Your future is no different.  Take time to consider what your values are and where your passions lie.  Create a list of goals and search for a common theme.  Use this as a compass to help orient yourself in the direction you want your life to take.

2) Happiness Is NOT “Out There”: Our focus frequently rests upon what we do not have or those things that are not ideal in our lives.  We set goals as a way to better our lives, not realizing that our focus on improvement is the reason we are dissatisfied with our lives today.  We trick ourselves into believing that happiness can be found in a pay raise or that a boob job will make us beautiful.  This isn’t the truth.  Happiness cannot be found “out there”, it comes from within.

3) Follow Your Heart: Too often we ignore what is in our hearts, opting instead to think with our head.  While our brains have great capacity for extraordinary intellectual achievement, sometimes they hinder our spirit.  Listen to your heart.

4) Money IS Important: Money does not equal happiness but money is important.  Without it, our focus would change from accomplishing goals to struggling to survive.  It is important to be fiscally responsible and to find a balance between today and tomorrow.  Seek harmony in your finances.

5) Know Your Priorities & Align Your Actions: There is a difference between saying and doing.  It is easy to say you value something.  It is not so easy to express your values through action.  It is crucial that we align our values with our actions if we hope to live a life which is in harmony with our priorities.  In doing so we are able to live guilt free, knowing that we are doing what we believe is the right thing.  At the end of the day we can rest our head upon our pillow with a clear conscious.

6) Modify Your Internal Dialogue: We are too hard on ourselves.  Instead of building ourselves up, we break ourselves down.  We focus on our flaws, the things that we need to improve upon.  We ignore our talents, our individuality.  Learn to love your imperfections, they are what make you unique.

7) Debt is Slavery: We may not be pulling a plow across the earth like our ancestors but we are no less of a slave to our debts, however, we are our own masters.  Whenever you feel it is time to break free from the binding chains of debt, you are in control to make that decision.  The more debt you accumulate and each dollar you waste is another day of slavery.  It doesn’t need to be that way…break free.

8) Stop Making Excuses: If you think about something long enough or hard enough, you can be certain that you will always find a reason not to do something.  Making excuses is not productive.  Stop.

9) The First Step is Always the Most Difficult: The hardest thing about going for a jog is putting on the shoes.  After that, things tend to fall into place.  The same can be said for most aspects of life.  Overcoming inertia is difficult and may require a leap of faith, a request for assistance or admitting you don’t have all of the answers.  This simple act may be the catalyst to major change in your life.

10) Knowledge is Power: The other day I was reading a blog post and read the following:

Uncertainty is caused by a lack of knowledge.  Hesitation is the product of fear.

This simple thought struck a chord and as I thought more about it, Fear controls so many aspects of our day-to-day lives.  We hesitate out of fear and fear what is unknown.  By educating ourselves we remove the unknown variables.  We eliminate the uncertainty.  The more we know, the more confident we become as an individual.  Knowledge is power.

Filed under Budgeting, Confidence, Debt, Education, Goals, Life, Motivation, Opportunity, Passion, Potential, Preparation, Prioritizing, Savings, Spending, Success

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