Thinking About Money

Ever since I made the decision to start my own business, one of the first things I learned to do was change my outlook on money. I changed the way I thought I was supposed to spend, save, earn & make money. As a matter of fact the very first thing I learned was that there is a significant difference between earning money & making money.

In short, if your only source of income is your job, then I regret to inform you that you are not "making" money - you are earning it. The difference is this ... when you go to work, we show up and punch in. You work for however many hours for the day and then you punch out & go home. At the end of the week you are compensated for the time we worked. You "earned" that money.

However, let's say you find a way to convert an intangible idea into a tangible product - or you create, improve or provide some kind of service wherein which you place your own price upon that product or service. When people come along who are willing to & actually do pay your set price for that product or service; well then my friend, you have made money.

I have debated this issue with people for the past three years - ever since I adopted & implemented this mindset in my life. Who is right? Well, I can only say that in that time I have made more money believing in & using this way of thinking, than those who have debated me and not used it.

That mindeset has allowed me to ascend from being a renter to being a homeowner. It has allowed me to travel across the country, and has allowed me to reduce my debt significantly. In fact, I'm one to two months ahead on many of my utility bills! My student loans are paid off IN FULL; I have no significant credit card debt, and my next car note payment isn't due until December!

If you want to change how much money you have in your pocket and in the bank, you need to change how you deal with money in your mind. The dollar - that paper product - that people both live & die chasing after - is not money. It's currency, and currency is nothing more than a tool used to implement & manifest your ideas & visions into reality. Money is an idea, and however you view that idea will manifest itself in your life.

By that, I mean if you believe that the only people who are supposed to have money are the people who you see on TV, in the movies, and who you listen to on the radio; or wherever you think "rich people" are supposed to be - and you are not one of those people - you then exclude yourself from where you believe the money is; and thus you are excluding yourself from the money!

The people who I observe to be doing well financially are those who start out working for their money, but then reach a point where they shift gears and then begin making their money work for them. It's like watching two cars start off next to each other and travel for a given distance then one of the drivers switches gears and leaves the other car in the dust.

I have a friend who started working for UPS (United Parcel Service) right after high school, who after just over 20 years of employment, is getting ready to retire. While everyone is running around using the economy as an excuse for not doing well, this man is getting ready to retire. How?

Well it's quite simple. He busted his butt for a certain amount of years earning & saving his money. Then he "switched gears" and began investing his money in stocks and real estate. His stocks "make" him money because they continue to perform well. Because he "provides" homes for his renters, he "makes" money there as well. Truth be told ... I wish I had his focus back then!

Ultimately, there is no excuse for being broke. We're all human beings made from the same stuff. The only thing that truly separates us are our circumstances. You cannot choose where you are born or where you grow up, but at some point you can choose where and how you live. When you reach that point, it's all on you. You have to be just as willing to accept accountability for your unfavorable conditions as you would be to take credit for your successes.

There is more than enough wealth out there for us to have. It will never run out! However, if you don't feel you're worthy to have any of it, you will never bring yourself to do what's required to obtain your rightful share of it. If that's how you want to live, that's fine by me. I have no problem taking your share while I'm going after mine.

What is my definition of "MONEY?"

Means
Of
Never
Ever
Yearning

HRJR Grinding on the West Coast!

This has been an amazing trip! I say this because it never ceases to amaze me how many things can be accomplished not just by believing in yourself, but by also putting in the work necessary to actually accomplish those things. In the beginning of the year I set a goal to aggressively improve my life & my business. I made up the acronym RAC'N (racing), which stands for Responsibility, Accountability, Commitment, & Networking. By increasing each of these attributes into my life I have been blessed to meet a whole lot of great people. Many have helped me, and I have been able to help many of them.

Earlier this year, through networking I came to know a young woman who is the epitome of a person "on the grind." Her name is Claudia Jordan, and she is a model, TV & radio personality. Over the course of the past several months, I have been a frequent & welcomed caller on her radio show. When I informed her that I was a motivational speaker and an author, she asked for a copy of my book and invited me out to Los Angeles to be a guest on her show.


I came out to L.A. on Sunday, and did that show last night:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/66549416bf212ac7/#

Below are some special words from me to you!

How to Make an EXTRA $1,000.00 a Year!

I have a confession to make.

I really do wish, now, that I had paid better attention to certain subjects back when I was in school. Math is one of them. Real talk, I graduated high school in 1988 - but it wasn't until 1996 that I was made to understand how percentages really worked. It was work-related & I really had a good "business" teacher. In a nutshell ... if you're kid - or even you if your still in school - asks "How is math going to help me make money in the future?"

Well here are a couple examples of how that question can be answered!

Would you like to put an extra $1000/year in your pocket? If the answer is "yes" the solution is really simple and does not require an kind of fancy investing or multi-level marketing.

All you have to do is just stash $38.46 every payday! Most of us are paid every two weeks for a total of 26 paydates for the year. Well $38.46 x 26 paydates = $1,000 (actually $999.96, but are we going to split hairs over four cents?).

So, what if you were to stash $38.46 EVERY WEEK?! $38.46 x 52 paydates = $2,000 (actually $1,999.92, but are we going to split hairs over eight cents?).

Don't believe it can be done? Why not? Does that $38.46 per week, or every other week interfere with your leisure money? How much do you spend on lunch every day? How much do you spend at the club on the weekends? How much did those Stacy Adams or latest basketball shoes cost & how often do you buy a new pair?

Recently, a friend of mine asked me, "With the current state of the economy do you think The Rule of 72 still applies?" For those who don't know what "the Rule of 72" is, it is a method for estimating an investment's doubling time. The number in the title is divided by the interest percentage per period to obtain the approximate number of periods (usually years) required for doubling. You'll see how it works in how I answered his question.

My answer was as follows:

It certainly does apply! In today's economy it shows you how you're NOT going to make any money by giving your money to a bank. You're lucky if you can get 2% on an 18 month CD nowadays! So by the Rule of 72, 72 divided by 2 = 36. That means if you put $500 in a CD, it's going to take THIRTY SIX YEARS to turn that $500 into $1,000.00.

But if you take that $38.46 every two weeks and put it wherever you like, in 6 months you've gone from $0.00 to $500; and in just anonther 6 months, you've doubled THAT!

So here's the "TWENTY THOUSAND DOLLAR" QUESTION:

What if you disciplined yourself to open up an "untouchable stash" account and put that $38.46 in it every two weeks - not touching it for 20 years? The key words are "discipline" & "untouchable." It will seem hard, but in time you will see the dollars just stack up and stack up ... AND ... if you do put the money in a bank, you'll make up that four to eight cents difference in interest!

Simple math. That's all this is. I used "$38.46" because that exact number gets you closest to $1,000.000 for the year; however, what if you can afford to stash $50 per paycheck? That's $1300 for the year, and $26,000 over 20 years! ALSO ... Since this money is already coming from your take home pay, there are no taxes to pay over the years because you've paid them already!

Look, there are no secret formulas here. Nothing to sell. This is just the application of simple math and implementin the discipline within yourself to follow the "First Rule of Gold" ... "PAY YOURSELF FIRST!"

Ever since I first posted this article on my own blog (www.HRJR.blogspot.com), I have friends who have taken this advice, opened up "Untouchable Accounts," and by putting in the amounts that worked for them; in just five weeks, were able to put away between $200 - $500! I have also encountered people who have played the role of skeptic or bubble-buster, and have done nothing. As a result, the only thing extra in their pocket is lint!

If anyone else has a better plan to put $20K -$26K CASH MONEY in my hands in 20 years time ... I'm all ears!

21 Sep 2009 ... Today's Thought.

"The only way the cream rises to the top is when the BUTTer is WHIPPED!"

~ HSRjr.

What's Your Plan for the Future?

Time consists of 3 elements: Past, Present, Future.

Use the past to learn from & make the present count. Use the present to plan for the future.

The future is THEN & the present is NOW. As sure as the sun rises in the East & sets in the West THEN ALWAYS BECOMES NOW.

Are you prepared for when THEN become NOW?

If you wait for when THEN becomes NOW to decide to act IT'S ALREADY TOO LATE!

H.S. Reed, Jr., CPLC.

"CPLC" ... What does "CPLC" stand for?

Well friends ... "CPLC" stands for "Certified Professional Life Coach."

What is a Life Coach?

According to Elizabeth Scott, M.S. ... a Life Coach "deals with relatively healthy people who want to improve their lives in specific ways, such as changing careers, finding a healthy relationship, taking their business to a new level, losing weight or deepening their self-understanding. They deal with stress management as well as time management, goal setting and other key areas of change to help their clients lead more balanced lives that better reflect clients’ personal values and priorities. It differs from therapy in that the focus is more on the present and future than the past, more on goals and behaviors than emotions and emotional patterns, and there is a more equal balance of power between the coach and client than between the typical therapist and client."
Activist & U.S. Congresswoman, Shirley Chisolm once said, "Service is the rent that we pay for the space that we occupy on this earth." This is just yet another way I am "paying my rent."

As a Life Coach, it is not my job to give you the answers. Together we'll develop a partnership in which you will be able to discover the potential for greatness that I already know you have within you!

Athletes have coaches to push & motivate them towards victory. Each and every one of us is playing in this "game" called life, and if you want to be victorious in this game you're going to need a coach too!

For more information about your free consultation, contact me at: CoachReed4Life@live.com

Take Care, God Bless & Remember ... Fortune Favors the Brave!
H.S. Reed, Jr., CPLC

"FIND A WAY!" Has Found It's Way!

It's been a LONG TIME coming, but the day has finally arrived!

TODAY - SEPTEMBER 8th IS THE OFFICIAL NATIONAL RELEASE DATE OF MY BOOK "FIND A WAY TO MAKE A WAY!"

You can get your copy via:

* Barnes & Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Find-a-Way-to-Make-a-Way/Jr-Reed/e/9781607994725/?itm=2.

Also available on

* Amazon: http://www.Amazon.com,

* Borders: http://www.Borders.com, &

* Tate Publishing: http://www.TatePublishing.com.

I am living my dream.
Learn how to start living yours!

FORTUNE FAVORS THE BRAVE!