5 Positive Steps to Build Confidence and Destroy Fear

King Solomon, considered by many to be the wisest man ever, stated, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7).   There are many other quotes and sayings that suggest the same message, “What one thinks about, He or she becomes!”  A few months ago, I had the pleasure of reading the book, The Magic of Thinking Big by Dr. David Schwartz (1987). Dr. Schwartz goes on to explain different techniques to program your mind for success.  A major part of reaching success is having confidence and overcoming fear.  This isn’t always a simple task, so Dr. Schwartz provided some helpful and positive steps that one can take to increase confidence and overcome fear.  Below I explain the 5 tips that he provided, which I hope you find to be as helpful as I did. 

1.     Be a Front Seater

While I was in high School and college, I always thought it was always cool to sit toward the back of the classroom.  There have been studies that show that those students who sit near or in the front of the class are likely to do much better on the test, and in turn establish more confidence.  The same concept can be applied post college; whether in meetings at your job, going to a seminar or conference, or even going to a sporting event.  The closer you are to the front, the more confidence you are likely to have, and at the same time fear starts to remove itself from the picture.

Related Video: Ted Talk on the Skill of Confidence

2.     Practice making eye contact

This is a great way to start building confidence. However, you just want to make sure not to be extreme to the point where it’s creepy.   An important lesson that I learned in reading a biography about Nelson Mandela, is that he always used great eye contact. He always held his head and shoulders high instead of slouching over or looking down.  When you walk tall and look people directly in their eyes, it gives you confidence and also lets the other person know that you are self-assured.  This definitely applies for when you encounter someone who is considered important because you don’t want to come off as shy or timid. Practice making eye contact and standing tall, and you will almost immediately feel more poised.

3.     Walk 25 percent faster

For all my people on the East Coast, you probably do this automatically.  However, those of us from the South or Midwest should probably start using this rule.  When you start to walk a little faster, from an outside perspective, it seems as if you have somewhere important to be.  On the inside you feel a little more assertive, and it makes you want to have somewhere important to be.  Science and history shows that once your mind believes something, it begins to figure out to how to make it a reality.  So, walk a little faster and start feeling more confident.

Related: More Ways to Overcome Fear

4.     Practice Speaking Up

There are plenty of opportunities where you should start practicing the act of speaking up.  For many people this may come natural, and for others it is something that takes repetition.  If you work at a job, you can begin to speak up in team meetings, in one on one sessions with your supervisor, or reaching out others in different departments to learn new things.  In social settings, begin making it a point to start a conversation with a stranger and find out something about the person.  Another great opportunity to speak up is at a seminar or conference where the speaker offers the chance to ask questions.  Each of these examples will help you begin to build confidence and start to overcome fear.

5.     Smile Big!!!

This is my personal favorite because it is one of the easiest things to do and it always gives you a pleasant feeling inside, especially when it is genuine.  The best communicators, leaders, and influencers have mastered the art of smiling.  In the biography that I read about Nelson Mandela, it said that it was his smile that won him the election in South Africa.  Smiling not only gives you self-assurance, but it also extremely contagious. Smiling puts the person that you’re speaking to at ease.

Start to implement these five steps and you will begin to build more confidence, overcome fear, and stare success directly in the eyes!!

 Related: More Benefits of Smiling

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The Importance of the Follow Up

In business, especially when building meaningful relationships, the act of following up is extremely important, yet often it is overlooked.  Unfortunately, in our day and age, following up with new acquaintances is becoming a lost art.  Being an entrepreneur and pursing the dream of becoming a Power Connector, I have placed an emphasis on “the act of following up”.  In studying other successful individuals, reading, and through experience, I have learned a few things in regards to the importance of the following up.

1. Lets others know you are serious

Have you ever been to a networking event or a conference and when you came home, you had a pocket full of business cards?  There have been instances I have met someone, exchanged information, with the hopes of connecting sometime in the near future, only to never speak to the person again.  In reading about power connecters and successful business men and women, I have learned that they take following up with others very seriously.  They understand that when you follow up instantly with people that you meet, it lets the other party know that you are serious about connecting. Given that many people don’t follow up at all, you can easily set yourself apart and let others know that you are serious just with a simple email, phone call, text message, or Facebook and LinkedIn request.

Related: 4 Ways to Follow Up after an Interview

2. Important step in building successful relationships

I have always been a firm believer that people are your greatest resource.  Judy Robinett, author and Power Connector may have said it best, “In business, as in life, relationships are the the real power grid that smart people use to get things done faster and more effectively”.  In building strategic relationships, it will be imperative that you learn to follow up on a consistent basis.  Many successful individuals, as well as businesses have a system for how and when they follow up with others.  It could be said that “following up” is the actual first step in creating a positive and meaningful relationship.

3. The Sooner the Better

Making it a point to follow up with people that you meet, will not only let them know that you are serious, but it will also keep you fresh on their minds.  Most successful individuals will attempt to follow up within 24-48 hours of meeting and many will follow up the same day or the very next morning.  Some people, such as power connectors, influencers, or leaders may be extremely busy and sometime it may be difficult for them to follow up immediately, however the sooner you can follow up the better.

Related: The Benefits of Being an Effective Communicator 

4. Takes 5-7 Contacts to turn prospect to client.

My first job out of college was as a Financial Advisor with Edward Jones Investment Company.  As a beginning advisor in order to build to my business, we required to make at least 25 contacts per day.  These contacts could consist of going door to door in local neighborhoods, phone calls, in person appointments or some combination of all three.  As you can probably imagine, going door to door was my least favorite approach.  One thing that they taught us, that I still remember, was that it takes between 5-7 contacts with a prospect before they became a client.  That means that in order to turn a prospect into a client, it is mandatory that you follow up not once, but multiple times.  If you want to build successful relationships, then following up is mandatory.

5. You never know who you can help or visa versa

I stated earlier about going to different networking events or conferences and leaving with a pocket full of business cards.  Many times these business cards end up getting thrown away or end up in a big box or rolodex, full of other people that you never spoke with again.  On the road to success, help or an unexpected big break often comes from the place that least expect it.  If you never follow up with the people that you encounter, you will never know who can help you, or the people that you could help as well.  You may need an Investor for your business, and one of the person’s that you met may have direct access to multiple investors but you would never know because you failed to follow up.   You want to build some bridges and connections in your life, then start the act of following up!

Why Social Skills Are Important and How to Improve Them

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10 Things You Can Do to Ensure a Great Day

Perhaps you have heard of the saying, “woke up on the wrong side of the bed” and if you’re normal, you’ve probably experienced waking up not in the best of moods.  Although every day will be not be pure awesomeness, there are certain things that one can do to increase the chances of having great days more often than not.  I’ve put together a list of 10 things that you can do to ensure a great day, and broken them up into two parts.  This is the first half of the list. 

1. START YOUR DAY WITH A GRATEFUL HEART

I personally believe that you should begin each and every day with a grateful heart.  If you were given another opportunity to wake up and experience another day above ground, regardless of your circumstances, then you have a good reason to be thankful.  Expressing gratitude as soon as you start your day will set the tone for the remainder of your day, and put a spotlight on something thats positive.  

2. LITERALLY YELL THE WORDS, “TODAY WILL BE A GREAT DAY!!”

There is power in the tongue; and the words that we hear and say can have a large impact on how we view the outside world.  Why do you think some motivational speakers get paid thousands of dollars to speak??  Perhaps you have heard someone say “speak things into existence”, well this is definitely a true statement! If you want to experience a wonderful day, why not yell the words, “Today will be a great Day”!

RELATED: 7 WAYS TO MAKE THIS WEEK GREAT!

3. TAKE A COLD SHOWER

Maybe you have heard of this technique before, and if not, I would highly recommend giving it a try.  This will definitely be uncomfortable, but the benefits are well worth it.  Taking a cold shower has been proving to: relieve stress, stimulate weight loss, increase alertness, speed up muscle soreness and recovery, and give you more energy!  Want to start your day off on the right foot, try taking a cold shower!

4. EAT CLEAN

Many experts have said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  There is also no secret that the foods that we put into our body determine a great deal of how we feel mentally and physically.  Eating healthy in the morning time will give us more energy and also help us move into a more positive state.

5.     SMILE

It is extremely difficult and perhaps impossible to have negative thoughts and feelings when you smile, especially if it is genuine.  When you smile, you almost immediately feel good and you tend to think about things that make you happy.  Smiling not only has a positive impact on yourself, but it can also brighten up someone else’s day.  Smiling is contagious, so why not start the morning with a big happy smile!

6. EXERCISE

For anyone who does their exercise routine in the morning, they will quickly tell you that this is one of the best ways to start your day.  I’ve read about several successful individuals and a large majority of them start they day with a morning jog or lifting some weights.  Starting your day by exercising with put you in a positive mind state and also make you feel more confident.

7. SPEND TIME OUTSIDE

They have been studies that show that people who spend at least 30 minutes outside tend to be happier than those who don’t.  Start your day by jogging for 30-45 minutes outside and you can kill two birds with one stone; exercising and time spent outdoors.  Try taking a moment in the middle of your day or even a night to take a brief walk outside, and you will be surprised at the positive impact it will have.  A side note, if you want to burn some extra calories, try taking that walk after you eat lunch or dinner.  Your body will appreciate it. 

RELATED: 11 REASONS TO SPEND TIME OUTSIDE THE OFFICE

8. LISTEN OR WATCH SOMETHING MOTIVATIONAL

This a great way to get your day started off in the right direction.  I personally like to do this at the start and end of my days.  Hearing a positive message in the morning will subsequently put you in a positive mind state.  When you hear a motivational message, it encourages you to be productive, make the most of your day, and allows your energy to move in the right direction.

RELATED: MOTIVATIONAL VIDEO!! 

9. LEND A HELPING HAND

If you want to have a great day, do something nice for someone and not expect anything in return.  One day on my way to work (when I worked a regular job) I stopped to get a couple of donuts, and the gentlemen in front of me was with his young daughter and had forgotten his wallet at home.  I bought the guy and and his daughter’s breakfast and they both smiled and thanked me.  This must have been a couple of years ago and I can still remember till this day how I felt afterward, and went on to have an amazing and blessed day.

10. LISTEN TO YOUR FAVORITE MUSIC AND DO A DANCE!

One last way to have a great day, is simply to listen to your favorite music and dance!  I don’t believe I ever saw someone who was dancing, and they weren’t happy and having a good time, regardless if they could dance or not.  Music is good for the soul, and dancing is good for the body, not to mention its Universal! This is something that has been done for ages, all across the world in different cultures.  You want to have a great day, sing and a do a dance!

If you are looking for quality content in regards to Financial Education, Personal Growth, Development and Entrepreneurship you can contact us at The Alston Collab. We also help provide content and tips for Personal finance for millennials

Accounting 101: The Balance Sheet

Financial Literacy can be defined as the ability to make judgements based on good information.  It is also the ability to understand how money works in the world; how someone earns or makes money, how that person manages it, how he/she invest it (turn it into more) and how that person donates it to help others.  Before you begin to accumulate wealth, it is extremely important that you try to fully understand money and how it operates. Learning the basic accounting principles would be a great start.  In college, I was required to take 12 hours of accounting and I was not fond of the subject, but now I certainly understand the importance of the subject.  In this blog will take a look at the Balance Sheet, which is one the very first things you learn about in the exciting topic of accounting. 

Related: The Importance of Accounting

Assets

Assets are things that have a lasting value.  An asset can include: a home (real estate), investments (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, cd’s, pension/retirement plans), a business, jewelry, professional paintings, antique cars, and of course cash money.

All of the assets listed above, are things that are tangible or something that you can touch and feel.  An Asset can also be something that you possess that could potentially earn income for you or put money inside your pocket.  That type of asset can include, education & knowledge, or a particular skill, such as: comedian, hair stylist or barber, tax preparer, chef, surgeon, athlete, or an artist.  All of these individuals have potential to earn money off of their skill and/or talent, and some will earn more than others based on how well they perform their skill.

The more ASSETS you have, the better! In Robert Kiyoski’s “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”, he said you can be considerded Financially Independent, when your total assets combined are able to continue to pay for your monthly living expenses on an ongoing basis.  Wealthy individuals are able to do this consistently while continuing to increase their asset column and minimize their expenses (liabilities) column.

Related: The 7 Rules to Acquiring Money

Liabilities

Liabilities is something in which an individual is responsible for, especially a DEBT or a Financial Obligation.  Good examples of liabilities would include: car notes, credit card debt, student loans, mortgage loans (if you are the borrower), payday advance loans, health care bills, business loans, or any other outstanding debt.  Whether you’re an individual or a business, you typically would like to decrease your liabilities and increase the amount of your assets. 

Liabilities in most cases take money out of your pocket, while assets put money back into your pocket.  If you are a business owner or an investor, there are certain situations where a liability could essentially put money into your pocket.  A perfect example, would be an investor taking a mortgage out for a second home.  However, since the investor is knowledgeable, he knows that he will get a great interest rate on his loan and that due the size of the house and neighborhood, he could easily rent the home out to a small family.  Based on the market value of the home, the rent would end up more than the investor’s monthly mortgage payment, meaning that every month the home would pay the investor income, although the home shows as a liability on his books. 

Related: The Cash Flow Quadrant

If you are looking for Quality Content in regards to the financial domain, you can contact The Alston Collab. We develop specific content by market (financial education, self-improvement, and entrepreneurship ) to increase the level of engagement by channel. 

What You Will Learn from Adversity

In life, no matter your background, ethnicity, location, gender, rich, poor, democrat or republican, you will most likely at some point in your life face adversity, hard times, or have challenges at the very least.  You could experience financial trouble, physical ailments, emotional stress, marriage issues, problems with your children, or a long list of other unfortunate things.  My point is, is that no one is immune to facing problems on this earth.  A quote that I have used before and will do so again, is that “Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react.  Successful individuals understand that when adversity hits, learning opportunities also present themselves.  It can also be said that highly successful people reach their status because of their ability to handle to difficult situations. I have put together a list of 7 things that you can learn from facing and overcoming adversity.

1.      Humility

According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, humility can be defined as the quality or state of not thinking you are better than other people: the quality or state of being humble.  I have personally been in different situations faced a lot of adversity and to be honest, as I type these words I am going through a bit of adversity and I can assure you that it is a very humbling experience.  When you face difficult challenges, obstacles, or hardships, it is hard, maybe even impossible at that particular time to think of yourself as better or higher than other people.  In fact, it may be the complete opposite, you may even feel lesser than people around you; this is especially true when one faces financial challenges.  One thing is for sure and two things are for certain, when you face adversity you will also confront humility. 

2.      Perseverance

Perseverance can be defined as the quality that allows someone to continue trying to do something even though it is difficult.  Anyone who has reached the top of the mountain will quickly tell you that there were many trials and that it was by no means easy.  They will also tell you that the view from the top of the mountain is spectacular.  In fact, often the road to success, is the road less traveled.  When you are able to face and overcome adversity, the experiences in themselves will teach how to persevere and continue fighting and moving forward even when the going gets tough. 

Related: Positive Approaches for Overcoming Obstacles

3.       Learn New Things about yourself

Aristotle may have said it best, “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom”.  One of the best ways to learn things about yourself, is for you to be challenged and face some difficult tasks.  I love college football and enjoy those tough, hard fought games. The games where nothing seems to be going right for one team, making some early mistakes or maybe suffering some injuries from key players, but ultimately the team is able to persevere and win the ball game.  I particularly like hearing from the head coach of the winning team after they win a game of that nature, and one question that the reporters often ask, is “What did you learn about your team from this win”?  The reason they ask that question, is because had the team won the game easily with no challenges or hiccups, there probably wouldn’t be much that the coaching staff could take away from the game.  Often the coaches will tell the reporters that they learn that their team had mental toughness, their young players have matured, that their team has perseverance, or maybe that one of their unexpected players is not afraid of the big stage.  In any difficult situation, there is also a chance to learn new things about yourself.

4.      Who your true friends are

I think this is something that may get overlooked in the face of adversity, although it shouldn’t.  It is amazing how when a person is reaching high levels of success (especially financial success) they have all the friends in the world and seems as if they could do no wrong.  But the moment that person hits some difficult times, or Lord forbid they loose all of their money, then things begin to change and that person is likely to find themselves with a shortage of friends.  We all love a rags to riches story, but the other end of that spectrum, is someone being rich and wealthy only to lose everything.  I heard that many people would prefer to poor or middle income verse having it all and losing it.  I could only imagine the feeling.  People who experience this or something similar will quickly find out who their real and true friends are.  This is also a time to say that you should always try to treat those close to you with love and respect, because when tough times come calling, hopefully they will be the ones who stick with you and offer a shoulder to lean on.  When adversity knocks, you can be sure that you will immediately know who your real friends are.

5.      Personal Growth

One of the main things that The Alston Collaborative focuses on, is personal growth and development.  One of the best ways to grow as a person, is to face adversity.  Flowers need water to grow, and it has to rain in order for those flowers to get the water.  Two phrases directly related is, “there is no joy without pain” and “no pain, no gain”.  That means that you must endure some type of struggle in order to enjoy the sweet taste of success and victory.  The football team in my earlier example, not only learned new things about themselves, but they also are experienced growth from going through tough football games.  When teams win Championships, they often reflect back on the hard work they put in and also the times that there were able to face hardships and overcome them.  They didn’t enjoy going through the adversity at the time that it occurred, but once they achieved their ultimate goal, they were actually able to be appreciative of the tough times, because it essentially made them better and who they are.  I can testify that I have grown from past troubling experiences and it has made me a better version of myself.

Related: 5 Ingredients You Need in Your Life

6.      Problems aren’t always big as they seem at first

This is slightly a follow up from the previous example.  When you have difficulties, at the time that they occur it can make for an unpleasant experience.  However, once you are able to move on and put the challenge behind you, the problem in a sense shrinks in size and looses its magnitude.  It helps a great deal if and when you face adversity and a slue of problems, if you are able to keep things in perspective and look at the big picture.  I can attest that is much easier said than done. Often we will face challenges and don’t understand how we will move on or survive.  A great example is when you’re in love and experience your first heartbreak.  It seems as if the world is over and you wonder if the bad feeling will ever go away.  You could still have shelter, food, clothes, and maybe even doing well financially, but still feel distraught.  When you look at the big picture, you may have your heart broken, but all things considered you have a lot of good things going for yourself.  After you have had your share of challenges and tough times, you will realize that your problems aren’t always as big as they seem. 

7.      Laugh at Life

One quote says that “when life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile.”  I believe that it is important to try and not take life too seriously.  We all have to leave this place at some point, so you might as well try to enjoy life and laugh as much as you can.  Laughter is good for the soul and some even believe that laughter can be a cure for diseases.  I understand why, being that many diseases arrive due to some form of stress.  When you are laughing, enjoying life, and expressing gratitude, it makes it extremely difficult to be stressed or worried.  If you can learn to laugh at life, laugh at yourself and have a sense of humor about things especially when facing tough times, you will find out that adversity will lose some of its grip when you begin to start laughing and finding things to be thankful for. 

Related:  Benefits of Personal Development

7 Belief Systems of Excellence

In becoming an entrepreneur, I have proactively sought out individuals who have obtained high levels success in their life.  I look for people, who have not only been financially independent, but those who are genuinely happy, healthy, and have great social relationships.  One common trait that I’ve noticed in these successful individuals is that they have all had a mentor of some sort, someone who had already achieved the results that they would like to have.  In doing my research, one individual that has stood out is Mr. Anthony Robbins, motivational speaker, Life Coach, and Author. 

In 1986, Robbins wrote the National Bestseller, “Unlimited Power”.  For anyone pursuing personal growth, aiming to be the best version of themselves, I would highly recommend reading this book.  It has certainly had a positive impact on my life.  There are too many nuggets to even summarize in one blog post.  For that, I am going to go over the “Seven belief systems of Excellence”, according to Robbins.

1.       Everything happens for a reason and a purpose, and it serves us.

I personally believe that most things happen for a reason throughout your life.  A quote I’ve used several times is that Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react”.  Those who are successful, tend to react positively when they encounter bad or negative situations.  Robbins says, regarding successful people facing hardship, that “they believe that every adversity contains the seed of an equivalent or greater benefit.”  He gave a great example of Marilyn Hamilton, who was a former teacher, beauty queen and also a largely successful businesswoman.  Hamilton suffered a terrible accident that left her paralyzed from the waist down.  She became extremely frustrated with quality of her wheelchairs, which in turn brought out the entrepreneur inside of her. She along with 2 others went ahead to create Motion Designs; and became a successful multimillion dollar company that creates quality and effective wheelchairs!  This is just one example of how someone took what happened to them, reacted positively and found purpose in their situation. I believe you can do the same!

2.       There is no such thing as failure.

Find any extremely successful person and behind them, you will find a fair amount of times that they failed at one thing or another.  Robbins gave a great example of President Abraham Lincoln, who from ages 21 to 52 had at least 10 fairly large failures and still went on to be elected President.  I personally like the quote by Michael Jordan, who said, “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career, I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that’s why I succeed”.  So if you want be successful, you’re going to have to accept the fact that you may fail occasionally and when you do, you take it as a teaching tool, use that information to continue pursuing the goal to get the results that you want.

Related: 10 Steps to Achieve Excellence in Anything

3.       Whatever Happens, take responsibility.

This is a lesson that I personally have had to learn the hard way and I am very glad that I learned the lesson.  Once you begin to take responsibility for what happens to you, you then gain control and access to be able to change your situation.  Robbins uses the phrase “I am responsible.  I’ll take care of it.”  I like that phrase, because it gives you ownership of the situation, instead of leaving your fate in someone else hands.  If you are not taking responsibility for what happens to you in your life, then you are basically saying that everything that happens to you is of circumstance, which means you have little or no control to what happens in your world.  If you were to ask people if they want to control their own life, or if they would like for someone else to control their life, most would probably choose option A. Yet, everyday many of us chose Option B, based on our everyday actions.  Robbins says. “By retaining responsibility, you retain the power to change the results you produce.”  I definitely prefer to be the one who holds the Power to change my own circumstances.

4.       Its not necessary to understand everything to be able to use everything.

In this section, Robbins gave an example of people in power, being that they will have knowledge about many things, but often they have a small mastery of each and every detail of their business.  When I read this section of the book, for some reason I thought of Lebron James.  Lebron James is by no means the best shooter in basketball, he is not the best rebounder, he has never lead the NBA in assist, and his ball handling skills does not compare to those of his teammate Kyrie Irving.   James is not the best in any of those categories, yet He is the Best Player in the NBA.  Why??  It is because, he isn’t great at any of those listed things, however, he does all of things very good and add his special gift of athleticism and his positive mindset, and you have the Best player in today’s game.

Related: 5 Habits of Highly Effective Communicators

5.       People are your greatest resource!

This is my personal favorite, because our business is about putting “People First”, and many other successful individuals have proven that when you build rapport among people and establish relationships, the results tend to be positive.  In our society today, Profit & Revenue is often the bottom line.  Those companies and individuals who are able to establish a “people-oriented philosophy” are often those who see the best results, not only in their business, but also in their personal lives.  Being an entrepreneur it is extremely important to have positive financial results, however in order to have success and maintain it for a long period of time, in my opinion it is extremely important to respect people, build relationships and put the people first.

6.       Work is Play

Find any successful entrepreneur, artist, innovator, or athlete, and you will find that they are all extremely passionate about their craft or their belief.  These individuals love what they do, and because they do, whenever they encounter obstacles, experience rejection or failure, they are able to still work toward getting the results that they desire, and maintain a high level of enthusiasm while doing so.  Robbins says, “if you decide that work is mere drudgery, just a way to bring home a paycheck, chances are it will never be anything more”.  When your work is play, money often isn’t the main motivating factor.  One of my favorite songs, along with Riley Curry, is Big Sean’s featuring Drake, “Blessed”.  He quotes, “F*ck a Vacay, he feels better at work”.  While I was still working in corporate America I definitely didn’t feel better while I was working, verse when I was on vacation with my girlfriend or my friends!  Kobe Bryant was facing serious charges, yet when he went to work on the basketball court, it was like he was in a completely different world, and in return, he excelled.  If you truly love your job or whatever it is you may be doing, chances are you’re going to be much more productive and get positive results.

7.       There’s no abiding success without commitment.

Robbins says” Individuals who succeed have a belief in the power of commitment”.  I personally believe that once you fully commit to something with your heart, you have extremely increased the chances that you will achieve the results that you want.  Robbin talks about many individuals who were able to obtain a large amount of success, yet they were not most talented person in their field.  It was those individual’s commitment to success that allowed them to separate themselves from the rest.  My favorite example that he gave, was that of Larry Bird.  If getting into the NBA was based solely on athleticism, then Larry Bird would have never been drafted.  Larry Bird was slow, not the tallest, and by no means could jump the highest, yet he was able to be one of the greatest to ever play the game of Basketball.  It was Birds commitment and dedication to the game that allowed him to excel in his craft.  I also hear that Bird was one of the best at talking noise while on the court, which means he was probably as having fun at his craft!

Related: 10 Motivational Tips!

Expenses and Liabilities

Financial Literacy can be defined as the ability to make judgements based on good information.  It is also the ability to understand how money works in the world; how someone earns or makes money, how that person manages it, how he/she invest it (turn it into more) and how that person donates it to help others.  Before you begin to accumulate wealth, it is extremely important that you try to fully understand money and how it operates.  Learning the basic accounting principles would be a great start.  We will explore two terms often used in accounting, Expenses and Liabilities.

 

Expenses

Expenses can be defined as the cost required for something, or the money that is spent on something.  Most expenses are tied directly to the cost of living.  I tend to break expenses down into four categories: Fixed, Variable, Unexpected, and Miscellaneous.

Fixed Expenses are those that are typically the same each month.  Those expenses would include: rent or mortgage payment, cable and internet bill, insurance premiums, car note, any memberships (subscriptions, gym, Netflix, etc.) or childcare.

 

Variable Expenses are those that will change from month to month, meaning that from month to month that expense may be higher or lower.  Variable expenses would include: water and electric bill, groceries, credit card payments, health care cost, and gas for your vehicle.  The expenses could be higher or lower depending on the time of the year, your family size, whether you travel often, or your spending habits.  A number of things could impact the amount of these expenses.

Unexpected Expenses are those that occur on occasion and at no particular time.  These expenses may be able to be anticipated, but still no direct way of know exactly when they will occur.  Unexpected expenses could include: car repairs, paying a ticket or fine, impulse purchases, money for assisting a friend or family, braces for your child, or anything else that may come when you aren’t expecting it.

Miscellaneous Expenses are expenses that we may not account for.  They are different from unexpected expenses, because these expenses normally occur, but usually not on a monthly basis.  Examples of miscellaneous expenses would be: car inspection & registration, annual IRA or Credit Card Fees, Annual Club dues, school shopping for children, hair cut or beauty salon, clothes in the cleaners, money spent on seminars, books or conferences, routine car maintenance, or taxes (depending on your situation).

  

It is important to understand each of these expenses, especially if you are working to maintain a budget or a spending plan.  Many people create their budget based on their monthly expenses but fail to account for the unexpected and miscellaneous expenses.  Depending on your financial situation, you may want to add $200-$300 or $1000-$1,500 to your budget per month, just to be allocated to those unexpected and miscellaneous expenses.  This will help give you a better picture of your financial situation so that you can see what you having coming in and going out. 

Related: 9 Tips to Help Reduce Your Monthly Expenses

Liabilities

Liabilities is something in which an individual is responsible for, especially a DEBT or a Financial Obligation.  Good examples of liabilities would include: car notes, credit card debt, student loans, mortgage loans, payday advance loans, health care bills, business loans, or any other outstanding debt.  Whether you’re an individual or a business, you typically would like to decrease your liabilities and increase the amount of your assets.

 

Liabilities in most cases take money out of your pocket, while assets put money back into your pocket.  If you are a business owner or an investor, there are certain situations where a liability could essentially put money into your pocket.  A perfect example, would be an investor taking a mortgage out for a second home.  However, since the investor is knowledgeable, he knows that he will get a great interest rate on his loan and that due the size of the house and neighborhood, he could easily rent the home out to a small family.  Based on the market value of the home, the rent would end up more than the investor’s monthly mortgage payment, meaning that every month the home would pay the investor income, although the home shows as a liability on his books.

 

Related: The Cash Flow Quadrant

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The Five Laws of Gold

The Five Laws of Gold are based on the book The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason.  The book was originally written in 1926, however, the principles taught in this great literary work are still applicable today.  When you decide that you want to create wealth for yourself and your family, it is imperative that you understand money and how it works.  It is no coincidence that there is only a small percentage of the world who are considered wealthy.  These individuals have taken the time to learn and understand the principles of money, and they have applied those principles to create their wealth.  In Clason’s book, he provides several lessons on how to accumulate wealth and also how to maintain it.  Below is one of the lessons in which the five laws of gold are explained.

1. “Gold cometh gladly and in increasing quantity to any man who will put by not less than one-tenth of his earnings to create an estate for his future and that of his family.”

This is a fairly easy concept to understand.  It is to simply save one tenth of whatever you earn.  So if you have income of $2,000 a month, then you should be saving $200. Leaving you with a sum of $1,800 to live on.  Although this concept is simple, I can attest that it is much easier said than done.  However, I can also think of more challenging task in life than living off only 90% of your earnings.  This rule translates in today’s society as, “PAY YOURSELF FIRST.”  The next rules explain what to do with the earnings that you accumulate as you continue to pay yourself first!

Related: 7 Ways to Save all Summer 16

2. “Gold laboreth diligently and contently for the wise owner who finds for it profitable employment, multiplying even as the flocks of the field.”

I’ve read that those who have reached financial independence don’t work as hard because they let their money do the heavy lifting.  This was true in the prosperous days of Babylon. The same holds true today in America, where there is an increasing number of first generation millionaires.  Money loves to be around more money. The more the merrier! In order for this to happen, you must find employment for your money, so that it can earn and gain more money.  Today, millionaires invest their money in stocks, franchises, and real estate.  And venture capitalist, like Tai Lopez, invest in startup companies that have the potential to be profitable in the future.  Investing your hard earned money can be very risky, so you should do your homework and invest wisely. 

3. “Gold clingeth to the protection of the cautious owner who invests it under the advice of men wise in its handling.”

If I were to break my leg, I can assure you that I wouldn’t be able to repair it myself and would have to see a doctor.  The same rule applies to investing. It would be wise to seek someone who invests money for a living.  If you wanted to invest in real estate, it would be wise to seek an experienced real estate investor. It’s ok not to know everything in the world about investing your money. However, as the 3rd rule says, money will cling to you if you invest under the advice of those who are wise in its handling.  I don’t know about you, but I definitely want money to cling to me!

4. “Gold slippeth away from the man who invest it in business or purposes with which he is not familiar or which are not approved by those skilled in its keep.”

Perhaps the most successful investor in our time, Warren Buffet, stated in a letter to his shareholders that he does not invest in any business which he does not understand.   This is another simple rule to understand.  As much as I admire @ElonMusk, I probably would not invest in his company SpaceX (was funded by venture capitalist)  because I am not a rocket scientist and I’m not knowledgeable in rockets and the science applied to them.  Although I have to admit, it does sound interesting.  I would however invest in WingStop, (ticker symbol: WING) because I know chicken wings very well!  Too often people invest in things that sound cool or because they heard Jim Kramer say that it was a great stock.  If you’re going to put your money into an investment, it would make sense to understand the company.  Another good example is Subway, as I often dine at Subway for lunch. I know that if you were to franchise a Subway (must franchise, privately held company) the likelihood of you going out of business is slim to none.

5.  “Gold flees the man who force it to impossible earnings or who followeth the alluring advice of tricksters and schemers or who trust it to his own inexperience and romantic desires in investment.”

The last law is very important, especially in today’s day and age.  Before I disconnected my cable, one of the shows that I often watched was CNBC’s American Greed.  If you’re not familiar with the show, it is about white collar criminals who normally deceive people out of millions of dollars, commonly known as Ponzi Schemes.  The show usually shows the persons demise due them being greedy. One of the most notorious Ponzi Schemes was orchestrated by Bernie Madoff.  Madoff, currently in prison, deceived many investors of nearly 65 billion dollars!   Unfortunately, in our world today, we have to be cautious of whom we invest our funds with; and in most cases, if the investment sounds too good to be true then it most likely is.

If you are looking for Quality Content in regards to the financial domain, you can contact the Alston Collab. We develop specific content by market (financial education, self-improvement, and entrepreneurship ) to increase the level of engagement by channel. 

5 Ways to Make a Great First Impression

They say that you should always make your first impression your BEST impression.  After all, you only get one opportunity to make a first impression.  They are many things that you can do to assure yourself that you leave a positive imprint on all those that you can encounter.  We have put together a list of 5 things that you can do to make a Great First Impression. 

Smile Often

It has been proven in numerous studies that people who smile often are more likeable.  Smiling is one sure way to make a good first impression.  It will allow the other person to put their guards down, be more inviting, and also help the person to be more receptive.  Smiling will give you more confidence and at the same time make you more attractive.

Remember Their Name & Use it

This can sometimes be challenge for many of us, in remembering someone’s name.  Believe it or not, there is an art to remembering peoples name.  It helps to repeat their name back when the person introduces themselves and repeat once more in your head.  It was said that President Franklin R. Roosevelt could call 50,000 people by their first name!  One successful power connector even goes to the extent to carry pen and paper and write down the individual’s name, some facts about the person, and if he is unsure on the spelling he would ask for the person to spell it out.  Remembering people’s names is one sure way to win friends. 

Related: 6 Ways Successful People Make Good First Impressions

Listen!

The best and most effective communicators are always good listeners.  If you are able to master the art of listening, you are probably headed toward success.  A good way to make a great first impression is to actually listen to what your party has to say.  Being genuinely interested in someone and listening to them will in most cases leave that person with a positive experience.

Use Touch Appropriately

When I first read about this technique, I was a little skeptical.  I mean the concept of touching strangers or someone you don’t know very well can seem a little awkward.  However, after reading further and more so actually starting to to utilize the power of touch, I was amazed at the impact that it had on my interaction with individuals.  When done properly, the appropriate use of touch can make for a positive interface. One example is when you meet someone, to shake their hand firmly, and add a light touch on the back of their shoulder with your left hand, at the same time while shaking their hand.  Another example is that when you meet people or when you are about to part ways, shake their hand, lean forward toward them and also put your left hand on the top of the hand that you are shaking, meaning both your hands are gripping their one hand.  These techniques work much more effectively if you also smile during the interaction.

Related: 8 Ways to Make a Great Impression at an Interview  

Ask Good Questions

In order to to utilize this step, you must first master step number 3.  It will be difficult to ask good questions if you are not actively listening.  By asking good engaging questions, you get will get the person talking and they will likely also become interested in the conversation. The person is also likely to be more receptive when you share information about yourself.  Be sure not not to play a game of 21 questions, as you don’t want to become too intrusive.  Do not forget to continue listen actively as they continue to answer your questions and share information.  You never know when you will have the opportunity to reference something from a previous conversation, which will show the other person that you were genuinely interested.  

If you are looking for Quality Content in regards to the financial domain, you can contact the Alston Collab. We develop specific content by market (financial education, self-improvement, and entrepreneurship ) to increase the level of engagement by channel.