Kimanzi Constable's Blog, page 70

Imagine This Kind Of Life (Your Dream Life)

Our first trip to Hawaii

Have you ever had a dream so great you were irritated when you woke up? I remember a while back I told myself I would try to "guide" my dreams, so before I went to bed I would think of specific things. I have to say; for the most part it worked pretty well, almost too well.

I remember one dream more than most; it was when my wife and I first started to talk about moving to Hawaii. I remember dreaming about getting away from the winter of Wisconsin and being in the perfect weather of Hawaii. Our home was on the beach and I was sitting in a beach chair watching the kids play in the sand; I had a cold lemonade on the stand next to my chair.

The dream went on to me starting "work" which was to work on my internet business and write more books. The dream seemed so vivid and real, I was always smiling and the happiest person you would ever have met in Hawaii. When I woke up I felt like crying, I was mad that it wasn't my life already!

As I thought about it the next couple of days, I had what was to me a revolutionary thought: why couldn't that dream life be my real life?

We in America are blessed to have tremendous freedom and opportunity not enjoyed in the anywhere else in the world. So again I ask why can't our dream life be our real life? If you are living your dream life already, then I say congrats and we all are jealous of you! If not, what will it take to get to that kind of life?

You have to be honest with yourself

If you're going to pursue and accomplish living out the life of your dreams, you have to be real about where you're at now. It's so easy for us to make excuses and justify our inaction. If you yearn for more but suppress it, those desires don't go away, they're building up somewhere inside you, one day they will burst out!

I say this a lot but life is way too short to just settle for excuses, it's too short to justify living a life of "good enough", we just can't do it anymore. If you're a Christian like me, do you think that our Lord wants you to live a life of mediocrity? NO! He wants you to live a life of abundance, a life that is full and fulfilling!

So honestly, where are you at? Are you living the life you truly deserve?

You have to figure out your dreams

How do you picture your dream life? What kind of job or business, what kind of place, what do you want to look and feel like? This might be the hardest part of the journey, we are often confused about what we really want and that leads to inaction. If you are serious about making changes you have to take time to figure out what you want to change, you have to see where you're going to figure out the path to get there. Be realistic and be really honest about your true passions, the things that will give you the life of your dreams.

You won't get anywhere without a plan

This might seem obvious but a lot of times we think we can wing it, we won't make it very far with this method. Once you start to figure out how you want to live out the life of your dreams, start to write things down and plan out how to get there. This will also help you fight all the doubt that will evidently try to derail all your progress. If you have a solid plan, doubt will appear silly because of how well you have things organized. With a lot of things in life we plan things out, it's doubly important to plan things out when we are thinking of making life altering changes to live out the life of our dreams.

You have to take action

You can talk and plan until you're blue in the face. You can dream and wish and even pray, but it doesn't mean anything unless you take action. You've made plans for a reason, God has put desires in your heart for a reason, in order to see that reason fulfilled, you have to take action. If you don't take action, ten years later you'll still be having those dreams and regretting not taking action.

Rome was built-in a day, right? You don't have to move to Hawaii next week, take it step by step, it might even take a year, but the key is you're moving forward.

 

Released this Friday!

Nine Months To Change Your Life: You can live out the life of your dreams, you just have to have a plan and take action, that's what my new book is all about. It will be out this Friday, it's my way to take action in my life.

Have you planned out or taken actions on your dreams? Do you know what they are? You have a chance to take the first step with a comment:

I'm Exhausted Everyday (and it's a good thing)!

 

Released this Friday!

I got to tell you that the last two weeks have been pretty insane. I got the opportunity to have two interviews, two guest post on other blogs and guest host a show. I also am releasing my new book this Friday, and released a manifesto about the book, all this in addition to keeping up on my blogs and my daily family time, don't forget my day job!

How have things been like for you?

I know how chaotic life can be for all of us these days, there's just so much to do. Are you exhausted? There is a danger with so much going on and we have to be very careful. Michael Hyatt always like to use the phrase "intentional" and that's what we have to do with our time. Out of all the things we have in our lives, time is the one thing we'll never get back, so we have to be very "intentional" with that time.

Are you using your time wisely?

There are many ways to get you distracted and to even be "busy" but are those things benefitting your life? Life is way too short and time is too precious to get caught up in things that won't benefit your life. You have to be a detective and investigate whether or not you are using your time wisely.

This weekend I emailed a man who I have looked up to for a long time and sent him a link to my manifesto, that man is Seth Godin. If you know who Seth Godin is, he is a very busy man. The amazing thing was that he personal responded to the email, how many email messages do you think he gets everyday? In an interview he was asked how does he get everything accomplished and still respond to email? He said: "I don't go to meetings and I don't watch TV", great answer!

If your time was evaluated under a microscope, where would we see your time is being spent?

What happens when you're not using your time wisely?

When you're not using time wisely you take time away from things that are important, things that can improve your life.

 Are you at your dream job right now? If no, are you using your spare time to research what your dream job or business is and come up with a step by step plan to get there?

Do you want to lose weight this year? If no, are you using your spare time to exercise and get in shape?

Do you want to move somewhere new? If no, are you using your spare time to research that place and find out everything you can about it? Do you know how much money you'll need to make this happen?

You get the point, we can't afford to waste time, we have way too many important things to accomplish in life.

What could you do if you were "intentional" with your time?

What do you think you could accomplish in nine months? Do you think you could get on a plan to live out your dreams at the end of that nine months? I would bet that you could, if you were intentional about your time, I bet you could get focused and accomplish everything you've dreamed of, all the changes you want to make.

That's what my new book is all about, making changes that turn into habits that will radically change your life, you can pick up a copy Friday and have a chance to win a Kindle Fire (I'll tell you those details later). All of the things I talk about are based off the premise that you're using every moment wisely, we need every minute.

Ae you using your time wisely? What tips could you give to help others? Leave your great suggestions with a comment:

P.S. Make sure you pick up a FREE copy of my manifesto, it will only be FREE until the 29th: http://www.amazon.com/Not-Changing-Life-You-ebook/dp/B007COWSZC/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_t_1

FREE until the 29th

6 Things You Need To Know About Starting A Business (Part 2)

My Story: (in case you missed it)

For the last ten years I have run a fairly successful business. At the height of the business I had four employee's and brought in $200,00 a year. I have since scaled back but continue to generate decent income from this business. When I started out I didn't have a mentor to guide me through some of the basic's of starting a business, nor did I do the proper research.

My new business (Free on Amazon later today)

 

 

Why these two blog posts?

It's my goal here at Tales of Work to help anyone with their job or their business to succeed. There are too many negative people and things in life that will try to hold us back or see us fail in our work or businesses. Any tips that I can give from my own personal experience that will benefit someone is the my main goal for this website and my writing.

If you are staring a business or have just started a business, or are thinking about starting a business, here are the final three points (out of six) that I feel would benefit you:

Pay your taxes!!! This is one of the biggest lessons I hope you take away from this series. I learned the hard way the consequences of not paying your taxes, and I'm still paying for that lesson. You have to set aside money for your taxes, not only at the end of the year, but also for your quarterlies. Your quarterlies are estimated taxes that you pay every three months and if you don't pay them throughout the year, you will get hit with a penalty when you file your taxes. Pay this every quarter, even if it's not the full amount, you'll avoid the penalty. For those starting a business that used to be employee's, it can be very deceiving. You're used to an employer taking your taxes out of your check, you don't even think about it. When you get those first checks from your business, they seem SO HUGE. I remember my first check for $1000, I almost fainted. I would then go on throughout the rest of that year getting large checks, the whole time telling myself I would be able to make up the tax money at the end of the year. You can guess what happened, right? The end of the year came and I had $10 in my kids piggy bank to pay my taxes, not very smart! You would have thought I learned my lesson after that first year, I didn't and continued this pattern for a few more years when it all came crashing in my face! Learn the lesson it took me years to learn, you may be getting larger checks, it might seem like you're making more, but you're not if you're not saving for your taxes. Many people have lost their businesses over tax issues, avoid being the next one, SAVE AND PAY YOUR TAXES!
Charge enough for your services. When someone is starting a business their first thought is they have to discount their prices to attract customers. While this may be true, it's only true for the first month or so, you can run into danger if you go beyond that time limit. When you keep a lower price for an extended amount of time you attract a false customer base. When I first started out I charged a dirt cheap price to attract new business, it worked and I had more work then I could handle. About three months in I decided it was time to raise my prices, I put out a memo saying I was raising my prices by $50 (pretty low amount in this industry) and it caused an uproar. These are the customers that you want to weed out in the beginning, these customers will also be your biggest complainers, always looking for a discount. After your initial start, raise your prices, you may think you'll lose business and you might lose a few customers but if you have the customer service we talked about in the first part of this series, you'll retain a solid core of customers. You will also learn a valuable lesson that most businesses still haven't learned: doing more with less! You can build a solid, extremely profitable business with fewer customers, you'll make the same or more if you will raise your prices. Don't be afraid, if you keep your customers happy and go the extra mile, they'll be happy to use your services at whatever price you charge (just don't abuse that trust with extreme pricing).
Don't worry about the competition. A big mistake most young businesses make is to look at or copy what their competition is doing, don't do it! If you are giving excellent customer service, providing quality for your customers, what anyone else is doing doesn't matter. When you look at the competition it throws you off your game, it makes you doubt what you're doing. You get tempted to change what you do or how you do it, you might even be tempted to change your prices. Be the leader in your industry, make your business the business other businesses look at and try to copy.

I hope you can use theses tips, I wish someone had given them to me when I started out. You live and learn, right? Take these tip and start an amazing business that we'll be reading about in the news! Take care of your customers and have them spread the word about your business. Go out there and CRUSH IT, we need you more than you know…..

What advice would you give to someone starting a business? Give your amazing tips with a comment:

Featured On The Blog Of Dan Miller!

To all my loyal readers:

Today I have the extreme honor of guest posting on the blog of Dan Miller. Please go to his blog and say "HI" in the comments!

Dan Miller

Dan Miller is the author of the best-selling book: "48 Days to the Work You Love" (which is featured on the side bar of this website) and blogs at 48days.com. He is also the founder of a website dedicated to entrepreneurs to network, learn and help others, that website is 48days.net .

Following Dan's podcast (48 days podcast) and reading his book is what inspired me to pursue my passion (writing) and to stop making excuses and take action towards my dreams. I feel like he has personally mentored me and I owe him so much for all that I have learned from him.

To Those Visiting from Dan Miller's blog:

For all those visiting from Dan Miller's blog, WELCOME! What we talk about here at Tales of Work is finding your true passion in your work. 40 hours a week (maybe longer for you) is too long to spend at a job that makes you miserable. I also try to give helpful and practical tips with everyday issues we face at work, and how those issues have the potential to affect our home life.

My most popular posts are below and on the side bar, check them out, if you like what you see, please consider signing up for updates delivered by email. You won't be disappointed!

If you want to see more and see my personal journey of what started this, read some funny and crazy work stories, then pick up my ebook above. It's a book that's written about what the average worker goes through from the perspective of an average worker.

Again, check me out on Dan's blog, for those visiting, we hope to see you back. Thank you for all your support!

 

6 Things You Need To Know About Starting A Business (Part 1)

For the last ten years I have run a fairly successful business. At the height of the business I had four employee's and brought in $200,00 a year. I have since scaled back but continue to generate decent income from this business. When I started out I didn't have a mentor to guide me through some of the basic's of starting a business, nor did I do the proper research.

Many businesses are started because of amazing idea's that have the potential to change the world, the only problem is, the idea is not enough. You can have the best idea, the best "looking" business and without proper management or attention to some basic principles, that business could end up going bankrupt.

This better not be you!

How many times have we read stories of businesses that were mismanaged? How many times have we witnessed this personal with some business in our immediate circle?

If you're starting a business, if you have just started a business, or if you are thinking about starting a business, here are the first three of six basic things that I think you should be aware of (I wish I was):

Do all of the research! I had a former friend who had a great idea for a business, he also had a partner to help him with the financial aspects. They were opening a funnel cake business in Chicago, in a popular mall, they had a solid plan. They rented the place, put in the manual labor to get the place ready, and hired some people to help them remodel. They got pretty far into the process when they were told that they needed a few permits. They looked into what it would take for those permits and after dealing with a lot of wrangling and hassle, they ran out of money and lost everything they put into the business. If you're starting a business, you better be able to tell me every aspect of that business. Do the research and find out what permits you need, how much equipment will cost, how much you'll make, you get the point. Starting a business is important and you need to treat it that way by knowing everything there is to know before you start. Don't rush into things, take your time and do the research, a little patience goes a long way!
"The customer is always right" You have heard this many times before and it's true. If you want a business that not only survives but thrives, you better have the best customer service in the world! The best way to grow any business is word of mouth and if you want people talking about your business, it starts with excellent customer service. You have to go over the top, bending over backwards for your customers, they will talk about you to everyone they know about this kind of service. Think of how quickly and how many people you tell to avoid a business with bad customer service? Also, you can advertise all you want about your business, saying how great it is, a recommendation from a friend to a friend will be far more effective than your advertising. Have you bought something because a friend told you how good it was? YES.
Stay organized. One of my biggest problems when I started my business was the lack of organization. When I needed to find a specific document, it was liking trying to win a gold medal at the olympics. This really hurt me and turned potential customers off when considering hiring me, one potential customer told me as much. Keep all your paperwork in separate folders in a separate filling cabinet, you don't want your important business documents getting mixed up with your diaper coupons! Not only your paperwork but stay organized in every aspect of your business. I've been very impressed walking into a restaurant that opened by our home. Normally one of the things you always ask for in a restaurant is napkins, they had a whole area that had napkins, silverware, extra condiments, extra take home boxes and bags. It was very impressive and I bragged about the organization to a lot of my friends, they ended up checking it out as well. You see how this helped this business grow? Having things set up this way helped the staff to not be tied down fetching these items for customers, they are now able to use that time to focus on other things that help them grow their business, like making sure the bathrooms were clean (also very important in a restaurant).

This is the first part of some helpful tips in starting a business, come back on Friday to see the conclusion. I hope these first three can be a help to you or someone you know in staring a business or a beginner business.

I don't know about you but I'm tired of hearing stories of businesses that don't make it, let's do everything we can to help business survive and thrive!

Are you starting a business or have a new business? Have any stories to tell us? You have your chance by leaving a comment:

You Closer Than You Think To Living Out Your Dreams

When you think about doing work that you love, does it just seem like a fantasy to you? Why is that?

Is this what you feel like?

The bigger question I have for you is: are you willing to keep being miserable for 40 hours or more every week until the end?

You might not even think you're miserable; do you just tolerate your work? You may think that tolerating is getting you through but it's affecting you in ways that you don't even know about.

Why is it that we tell our kids to shoot for the stars yet we ourselves shoot for the clouds? Actions speak louder than words, when you're children see you "settle" what do you think they have a strong potential to do? Settle just like YOU.

Do you want to move to some beautiful exotic place? Don't you know that you could get the same job you have now at that exotic place? This isn't extreme, people do it every day, did they win the lottery? NO! The difference between those people and you is they've had enough and aren't willing to settle anymore. Maybe you're there and ready but don't know how, this post is for you.

It all starts with proper planning

You can do all the things you want to do in life, you can live out your dreams, you just have to have a good game plan. Like anything, it starts with doing the research. Let's say you want to move to that exotic place, how much are houses? How much does it cost to rent? More importantly, how much money will you need to save up to move there? These all should be a part of your plan; it should be laid out step by step.

Do you want to get your dream job? How much money will you need to save until you can get that job up and running? What companies would fit the criteria for your dream work? How much money will you need to start the business of your dreams? You get the point, you have to do the research and you have to lay out a game plan to execute these dreams. We do this when we want to lose weight, right? We do this with all sorts of other things in our life, it's no different when you're planning out our dreams.

You have to fight doubt

Even with a proper plan, you'll always have doubt, be prepared. You just have to realize that those doubts are unfounded because you have a solid plan. Doubt will come from the voices in your head but it will also come from other people, even friends. Even when you start to see some success in the path to your dreams, you'll still have doubt. Just be constantly aware of it and don't let it win, if doubt wins then you go back to the things you've been trying to get away from, is that what you want?

You have to stop making excuses

Are you the kind of person who gives every reason why something won't work out before you've even tried it? If you are, then you're in for a life of disappointment and unhappiness. Look, I know you have bills, I know you have kids, I know things seem impossible, THEY"RE NOT! You've made enough excuses to not go after all things you've dreamed of in life, why not try another way? If it doesn't work out you can always go back to the way things were.

Reach out for support

I wrote a post about the importance of a close group of friends (http://talesofwork.com/blog/2012/01/one-key-to-success-a-close-group-of-friends/). They can push you to new heights and encourage you when you feel like giving up. If you don't have a group like this, watch out for negative people (http://excitingfamilyjourney.com/2012/02/14/avoid-negative-people-at-all-cost/). One key to fulfilling your dreams is to have this group helping you every step of the way.

Take action

You can talk about your dreams, you can come up with a step by step plan. You can have friends encourage you and you can fend off doubt, this is all good. At some point you have to take the first steps. Talk has to end, action must begin.

Our dreams seem so impossible in our mind, it just doesn't seem realistic. Why can't you be one of the success stories we read about on the news? Why can't you find your dream job and make more money then you ever dreamed of? Why can't you move to some amazing exotic place near the ocean where you surf everyday? You can, you can, you can.

The biggest enemy in us following our dream is US, we are the biggest obstacle in our way. Get out of your own way and start on the path to what you truly want to do. Life is way too short to coast through and have a few moments of joy.

How close are you to your dreams? Do you know what they are?

Why I Don't Save For Retirement

Tell me if this sounds appealing: you work hard and bust your but for 40 years or more, you then spend the next 20 years or so (if you're lucky) living based off of what you saved and assuming you didn't lose any of it in an unforeseen circumstance? This is what a typical retirement looks like, does this sound appealing?

Is this what you want?

Is this what you want? Before we go any further you should know that I'm not telling you to spend all your money and not save anything for the end of your life, that's suicide. What I'm talking about is a little different strategy to truly enjoy your retirement but more importantly, enjoy your life.

Retirement is not what it used to be

It used to be you would work for a company for years upon years, when you were ready to retire; you would get a pension from that company based off of how long you worked there. In theory it was a great system, you would have guaranteed money coming in each month. The problem these days is with the demise of our economy, pensions are quickly becoming extinct. Most companies don't even offer a pension anymore and the one's that do are negotiating to get away from them. If our economy keeps deteriorating, I'm afraid people who are retired will lose that money they are desperately depending on. Don't believe me? Ask anyone who works for Wonder Bread, they had union negotiated pensions but about 4 months ago, the company stopped contributing. Do you really think you can depend on this for your retirement?

 Saving for retirement is nearly impossible

 Pensions are a thing of the past, so the new model is for you to plan for retirement on your own retirement. There are many options, even if you work for a company, 401 k, IRA, Roth IRA, SEP, many options. Even with these options there is still great risk in losing some of your money. Don't believe me? Ask the thousands of people who lost some or all their 401 k's when the economy started to tank in 2008. The fact that you must have enough money to support yourself and or spouse for a period of 15 years or more means that any hit in the fund is devastating. You might not have enough money and have to go back to work. Even with interest earned on certain accounts, you never know what's going to happen.

 The key to making it in retirement is to find work that you love

 Yeah, yeah, it's easier said than done but what you don't know is, you're closer than you think. If you find your true passion, work that you actually want to do, you'll never want to retire, what? If you're a Christian like me, the bible doesn't tell us to retire, it actually tells us to always be working. Now that doesn't mean having to punch the clock for the rest of your life but you should be doing some kind of productive activity. What if you visited a mission field and helped missionaries out and got some menial job to help support that. What if you started a business that you love that funded you travel all over the world and helping out in third world countries? You can find work that you love and always be working, this way you don't need a million dollars to buy a condo in Florida and play bingo every day. You will need less or can make it on what you're earning because you're actually doing something.

What do you dream of doing for work? Most people assume that in order to do work that they love they will make less money, it's a false assumption. With the power of the internet you can make money with any niche hobby that you're into. I read an article in USA Today last week about a woman who now supports her family with a website about crafts; she gets 2 million hits a month, she lives in rural Alaska and barely has an internet connection. The internet eliminates the usual barriers making it possible for you to market your dream to the whole world. Do you really think with all that potential that you won't be able to succeed?

Now imagine you started a business that you loved and that supported you, why would you want to retire? Why wouldn't you use it to fund whatever adventures you want to experience in life or use it to help teach others how to be on this path?

Save money while still enjoying life

As you make money and think about the future, don't just think of retirement. Have a middle ground where you save money, that's just being smart and safe, but also use your money to help you find or start the work you've always dreamed of. If you're doing well, don't just hoard all your money away, remember that we aren't guaranteed anything, we could die tomorrow. When you get to the end, you won't remember all that money you saved or all the things that you bought, you'll remember all the experiences you had. So put away money for your emergency fund, you might need to fall back on it but don't do this at the cost of missing out on some amazing trip you could go on that could change your life.

What I'm talking about might go against everything that you've been taught or your mind is telling you, think about it and determine what's best for you. Yes, save for later in life but no, don't hoard money and plan on doing nothing for the last twenty years. If you don't already know, figure out what your dream work would be and plan on doing that till you can't move. This won't be a burden, remember, this is work that you love, why would you want to give it up?

How do you want to spend your last years? Let us know with a comment:

 

 

 

 

 

 

How To Start A Movement

Loyal Readers:

For all my loyal readers, today I have the awesome privilege to guest post on Dan Blacks (http://danblackonleadership.info/) blog. Dan blogs about leadership and is a great motivational writer. Please come over to his blog and read the post and say "HI" by getting involved in the discussion.

Those Visiting:

For all those visiting from Dan Black's blog, WELCOME! What we talk about here at Tales of Work is finding your true passion in your work. 40 hours a week (maybe longer for you) is too long to spend at a job that makes you miserable. I also try to give helpful and practical tips with everyday issues we face at work, and how those issues have the potential to affect our home life.

My most popular posts are below and on the side bar, check them out, if you like what you see, please consider signing up for updates delivered by email. You won't be disappointed!

If you want to see more and see my personal journey of what started this, read some funny and crazy work stories, then pick up my ebook above. It's a book that's written about what the average worker goes through from the perspective of an average worker.

Again, check me out on Dan's blog, for those visiting, we hope to see you back. Thank you for all your support!

Short-Term Sacrifices For Long-Term Gains

I'm going to let you in on a little secret about me, I'm a neat freak. If you ask my wife she would tell you that I'm almost to the point of being obsessive, compulsive. When I get home from work everyday, I usually have the house to myself for a few hours, right away I go to town cleaning the house.

This is why we are sacrificing now

Recently I was completing my second book and also blogging a lot more, ideally I like to have all my writing done before everyone gets home. When the family gets home it can be a little chaotic and hard to concentrate, so that couple of hours are ideal to write. With the cleaning, it was taking away the best time for me to write.

As you might already know, our family is moving to Hawaii next year (http://excitingfamilyjourney.com/) and thinking about it while I was cleaning made me think about a few things: when we move to Hawaii we only plan on taking the clothes on our back, so we're selling everything. Also, when we go to Hawaii we want to be supported by our online business, so time is running out to get this thing really going.

These thoughts made me realize that I have to stop looking at the short-term and focus on what we're trying to do long-term. This is what I mean: instead of coming home and using that time to clean, I need to be writing. When the wife and kids come home, we could all clean together, this way they have something to do when they tell me they're bored. I had to see the bigger picture and use that time of peace and quite to get things written.

I'm happy to tell you once I put this into practice, it worked. I came home and just started writing, and before I knew it I was completely done writing my second book, I had written a number of guest post that I was trying to get out to other bloggers, I had stockpiled blog posts for this blog.

What could a little short-term sacrifice do for you?

I don't know what you're planning this year but are you doing something similar to what I was doing? If you follow Dave Ramsey he talks about this principle, if you're in debt and want to pay it off, you're going to have to pick up a bunch of extra work. It might mean a little less time with your family now but how much better will your life be once you're debt-free? What things could you do as a family if you sacrificed now and were free later?

"I'm not willing to take away time with my family"

Who said you have to? How do you REALLY spend your free time? How much TV do you watch? How much time do you spend on social media? Are you going to sit here and tell me that you can't work on your goals and spend time with your family? Many people who have been a lot busier than you and I have made this work, stop fooling yourself! You have the time, you just have to use it a little more wisely.

You have to be "intentional" with your priorities

For me I had to realize that we are selling our stuff and moving, I could deal with the house being a little messier for a while. I had to realize that my time was better spent getting the book completed, that's going to be our income. You have to figure out what's the best use of your time at that moment. It might be family things but it might be working on your goals, sacrifice a little now, so you have can have unlimited free time with your family later.

I know it goes against your natural instincts but in the end you'll be one step closer to your dreams and be able to devout all your time to what is important to you. The key is to be intentional and be realistic. In life it's always good to have a proper balance, don't lean too far in any direction.

What could a little short-term sacrifice do for you? Let us know with a comment:

 

 

 

 

Living Way Beyond Your Means

Why are we so worried about what other people think about us?

This guy might be able to afford this

A few years ago I was at the height of my bread business. I had four guys working for me and the business was bringing in about $200,000 a year. Now, I want you to notice two important things right off the bat, I said I had four guys and that the business brought in $200,000, which is before expenses.

For me I thought I was Donald Trump, I would see the checks coming in every week and felt like I was rich. That summer we had just purchased our first home, and it was a decent, modest home. We already had two cars but they weren't "good" enough for the money I was now making (or so I thought). So along with the house, I upgraded my car. I went out and got a brand new, fully loaded, Nissan Armada at the very low price of $55,000!

Since I was never really good with money, I was rolling in a lot of negative equity from other car purchases, which brought my monthly payment to $1200 a month to LEASE the car, it was only $1650 if I wanted to own it. My wife was totally against it, saying we couldn't afford it, I convinced her with all the money I was making and going to make, we could lease for little while and then buy it outright. To this day someone should have drug tested me!!!!

I won't bore you with all the details of how we struggled to pay for this car and how it caused constant tension and stress in our family. In the end I made three payments and they eventually repossesed the car (OUCH!). You're story may not be as extreme as mine but are you in any way living beyond your means?

I wrote a post about living paycheck to paycheck (http://talesofwork.com/blog/2012/01/living-paycheck-to-paycheck/) but what I'm talking about goes beyond that. Back during the time of getting this car we were about two paychecks behind. The thing was that I wasn't looking at the expenses for my business, I really wasn't even making close to that amount. Are you guilty of the same thing? Do you pay for things that you really can't afford to impress other people? Do you live beyond your means because you feel like you work hard and deserve it?

Wake up and smell reality

If you have been living beyond your means it's time for you to wake up and realize what's going on and what you're really doing. The reality is that you can only live this way for so long before it all collapses on your head. What you're doing is hurting yourself, if you have a family, hurting them. You're also digging yourself in a whole that could take everything that you hold dear.

You're ruining any chance of following your dreams

If you have big dreams and big plans you'll never accomplish them with no money and a bunch of debt. Want to move to some amazing place? Can't do it with no money or a bunch of debt! Want to start a business you've been dreaming about since you were a kid? Can't do it with no money and a bunch of debt! Living the good life now means living a life a mediocrity and hopelessness later, forget about your dreams, they'll never happen with no money and a bunch of debt!

When the bubble burst you won't be the only one hurt

We always tell ourselves that we living life the way "WE" want to because it's our life, we never realize all the people who will get caught in the crossfire. For me it was my wife and kids but also my parents who consigned for the car were affected. What do you think that did for our relationship? For you, I don't know but if we looked, you're not the only one affected, so wake up and stop being selfish.

There's a better way to "live"

I know how nice it is to have nice things, to have all the newest, latest gadgets. The only question I have for you is when you get to the end of your life will you remember all the "newest, latest stuff" you were able to buy or will you remember all of your life experiences? Instead of wasting money you don't have, why not create a plan to live within your means, pay off your debt and save for pursuing your dreams. I'm not talking about stockpiling money for when your 60 years old. I'm talking about saving $10,000 so you can move to New Zealand or some exotic place where you really want to live at.

Stop looking at what you have now and how "good" you luck and start looking at the future and truly following all those things that you dreamed about since you were a little kid. Why can't you move? Why can't you start that business? Why can't you travel the world?

Maybe because you've been living beyond your means…

How are you living? Let us know in the comments: