If you want to succeed at building a solid financial future – learn the meaning of economy.
Economy is a high, humane office, a sacrament, when its aim is great; when it is the prudence of simple tastes, when it is practiced for freedom, or love or devotion. Much of the economy we see in houses is of a base origin, and is best kept out of sight. Parched corn eaten to-day that I may have roast fowl for my dinner on Sunday, is a baseness, but parched corn and a house with one apartment, that I may be free of all perturbations, that I may be serene and docile to what the mind shall speak, and girt and road-ready for the lowest mission of knowledge or good will, is frugality for gods and heroes.
Like many other boys P. T. Barnum – who founded the legendary Circus – picked up pennies driving oxen for his father, but unlike many other boys he would invest these earnings in knick-knacks which he would sell to others on every holiday. He was thus able to turn his pennies into dollars.
The eccentric John Randolph once sprang from his seat in the House of Representatives, and exclaimed in his piercing voice, “Mr. Speaker, I have found it.” And then, in the stillness which followed this strange outburst, he added, “I have found the Philosopher’s stone: it is Pay as you go.”
Over a hundred years ago in France, all classes, the men as well as the women, study the economy of cookery and practice it; and there, as many travelers affirm, the people live at one-third the expense of Englishmen or Americans. There they know how to make savory messes out of remnants that others would throw away.
In many countries they cook no more for each day than is required for that day. With them the art ranks with the fine arts, and a great cook is as much honored and respected as a sculptor or a painter. The consequence is, as ex-Secretary McCullough thinks, an African village of 1000 inhabitants could be supported luxuriously on the waste of one of our large American hotels, and he believes that the entire population of France could be supported on the food which is literally wasted in the United States.
Professor Blot, who resided for some years in the United States, remarks, pathetically, that here, “where the markets rival the best markets of Europe, it is really a pity to live as many do live. There are thousands of families in moderately good circumstances who have never eaten a loaf of really good bread, nor tasted a well-cooked steak, nor sat down to a properly prepared meal.”
There are many who think that economy consists in beer cans and cutting off two dollars from your daily Starbucks’ tab. And those are perhaps useful ways to put a few extra dollars in your pocket each month.
Some would have us believe that saving money or building wealth is not holy – or even sinful. Economy is not meanness. The misfortune is also that this class of persons let their economy apply only in one direction. They fancy they are so wonderfully economical in saving a half-dollar, where they ought to spend two, that they think they can afford to squander in other directions. Like a man who bought a pizza for his family’s dinner, and then hired a limo to take it home. I never knew a man to succeed by practicing this kind of economy.
True economy consists in always making sure your income exceeds your spending.
Wear your clothes a little longer, if necessary; put off buying that new flat screen LED 3-D. Enjoy eating healthy foods you prepare yourself. When she was alive and well even Rose Kennedy – the Matriarch of the famed Kennedy family – avoided eating out. She thought it too expensive!
So that under all circumstances, unless some unforeseen accident occurs, there will be a margin in favor of the income. Save a dollar here and a few there. Invest your savings – no matter how small and they can continue to grow – over time – into a substantial nest egg!
Is it ever too late to start saving your money? If you are under 40 – start saving as early as you can. Resist the urge to spend everything you make. Put some aside every week – or as often as you can.
Start saving your money now and you can amass a respectable fortune as you get on in years!
Filed under: Uncategorized
Just read about a guy who limited his actual work to 30 minutes at a time. He would then divert his attention for a few minutes and then get back into the groove of another thirty minutes. While many of us may not have the luxury of taking even a short break every half hour, we can enjoy a brief diversion from time to time.
Try these easy ways to help you make the most of your brief breaks throughout the day:
1. Stand up. Take a slow, deep breath. Lift your arms to the sky and stretch.
2. While away from your desk, get outside or at least look out the window. Have a nice, happy thought!
3. Enjoy a nice big drink of ice water and a healthy snack – Try some low-fat cheese or a handful of walnuts.
4. Get outside and take a quick walk around the block.
5. Close your eyes and clear your mind. Concentrate on breathing slow and deep. Give Thanks for the day and your job!
6. Leave your work area and enjoy a brief chat with a friend or associate. Listen. Ask about their children, pets, or weekend plans. Get your mind off yourself if even for just a few minutes!
7. Find some stairs and walk or run up and down the stairs for 5 or 10 minutes!
Who says work has to be boring? Make the most of your time at work and enjoy your day – if even for a few minutes at a time!
Filed under: Uncategorized
Have read these bits and pieces over the years, and arrived at the following tips: Hope they help make life a little easier for you…
1. Decide to be Happy. Ignore and forget the inevitable stuff that gets in your way. Put negative thoughts and feelings aside as soon as you start feeling them. Instead, choose to turn them into a positive. Find the blessing or opportunity which more often than not is hidden behind most of life’s challenges! Keep your mind free of hate and negative thoughts. Find something pleasant to focus on! Life is short enough. Why waste even a moment on hate? You’re in control. Decide to choose a happier life!
2. Get healthy. Choose to enjoy life more! Get at least 30 minutes of exercise – of your choosing – every day. Even if it’s just a nice walk with your favorite loved one(s). Want to lose some weight, enjoy life more or achieve a better level of fitness? Kick it up to 45 minutes a day!
3. Turn off the TV for 30 minutes every day and read something positive. Or go to bed a little earlier and get a great night’s sleep! The point is – enjoy that TV a little less and all that life has to offer a little more. You can always hear about the news tomorrow – or who won the latest round of your favorite talent show!
4. Get outside more – connect with nature. Breathe in some of that fresh air and contemplate the all the beauty nature has to offer!
5. Embrace the habit of eating healthy. Choose to avoid the drive thru lane of your local fat-food favorites. Eat more vegetables and fruit. More protein and less simple carbs ( like white bread and sugar). You and I both know the stuff we love can often be just a waste of calories. ( My weakness is donuts! )
6. Set a few simple and achievable goals. Write them down on paper. Or in your journal. Experts say you have far better odds of reaching your written goals. Note the action plan or steps you’ll need to take in order to reach those written goals.
7. Evaluate your progress and decide to adapt your goals or the steps you need to take to reach them. Take a few minutes each evening to decide what your priorities are for the following day. Every weekend or so – take an honest look at where you are. What’s working and what maybe isn’t worling so well?
8. Enjoy the Journey. Share some time with those you love. Or find someone new to enjoy this great life with. Try something new. Pick up a new sport or pasttime. Get out there and enjoy life. Life is short – You owe it to yourself to make the most of this wonderful gift!
9. Fail forward. Everyone misses their mark from time to time. We all fall down on occasion. Forgive yourself if you falter. Anyone who ever accomplished anything had to overcome obstacles. If you fall down or fail. No Worries! Get back up! Persist! Never Give Up!
10. Seek to Have More Fun. Laugh more! It’s good for your mind and your heart! Find something funny to read or watch on the tube. What have you got to lose? Except that frown on your face or those worrisome thoughts which get in everyone’s way from time to time! Remember that classic old song from the 80′s – Don’t Worry, Be Happy!
And, finally – just one more thought – or bonus step. Learn to Love yourself and share your love with as many others as you can. Practice random acts of kindness as often as you can. Do it without anyone knowing if you can. Spread your Love around!
Filed under: Saving Your Money
Money woes – or the never ending lack of cash – can be a big source of stress and frustration. And this hardship is felt by good people all over the world, not just in the good old U.S.A.
What do you do? How do you handle and maybe even eliminate this nearly universal stress factor?
Well, almost every problem known to human-kind has been or can be overcome by a series of small steps. Break the issue into smaller, more manageable pieces and take action to resolve each of the small obstacles.
Have a job? Take heart and be thankful. Take a close look at your current financial situation and see what steps can can be made to improve your balance sheet. ( In my case – perhaps just reducing that really BIG number next to credit card debt in the balance sheet. ) For many of us the mortgage is pretty much a fixed deal. Refinancing may not be a viable option right now. ( at least in my case ) If you can refinance at a lower rate – go for it! That will free up some money to increase your savings or reduce other debts.
Cut back on your day to day spending. Take a hard look at your monthly bills. Can you live without the extra cable channels? Can you take your lunch one or more days a week? You might find it easier to enjoy eating healthy foods and save some money too! Here are some more money saving tips.
Hard working folks everywhere are trying to gain some control over their financial situations. Practicing positive, tried and true money management techniques can help you weather these tough economic times. Also, learning how to recognize and avoid consumer scams and rip-offs can help. Remember that old – time honored – piece of wisdom everyone’s parents have shared – “If it sounds too good to be true – it probably is”. Anyone promising to help you painlessly eliminate your debts and improve your credit score might just be blowing steam.
Finally, invest some time in yourself each day. Get some exercise. Exercise is a proven way to reduce stress and improve your self esteem. Work your body hard and feel those mood lifting endorphins kick in. Enjoy the natural high vigorous exercise gives you. You’ll probably soon find yourself feeling better and looking better!
Don’t forget to give your body the kind of healthy nutrients it needs to ward off stress. Save more of your hard earned cash and eat more fruits and veggies. Who doesn’t enjoy a great steak? Or a trip to your favorite eatery for that awesome dish you enjoy most? I’ve never met a donut shop i didn’t love. We all have those favorite comfort foods. And those are great.
If you want to cut back on your stress levels – try to enjoy eating healthy foods more often. Reward yourself with that prime rib or lobster a little less often. Pass on that delicious desert you know will go straight to your waistline! Save those special treats for special occasions!
And lastly, try to get a few minutes of quiet time each day. Outdoors if you can. Focus on the sounds of nature. Breathe in some fresh air! Enjoy the calming effect nature provides!
You can take steps to lower your stress – even if just a little bit at a time!
Filed under: Uncategorized
Paradise is here or nowhere: you must take your joy with you or you will never find it.
It is after business hours, not in them, that men break down. Men must, like Philip Armour, turn the key on business when they leave it, and at once unlock the doors of some wholesome recreation. Dr. Lyman Beecher used to divert himself with a violin. He had a regular system of what he called “unwinding,” thus relieving the great strain put upon him.
“A man,” says the famous Dr. Johnson, “should spend part of his time with the good old boys who know how to laugh.”
Humor was Lincoln’s life-preserver, as it has been of thousands of others. “If it were not for this,” he used to say, “I should die.” His jests and quaint stories lighted the gloom of dark hours of national peril.
“Next to virtue,” said Agnes Strickland, “the fun in this world is what we can least spare.”
“When the harness is off,” said Judge Haliburton, “a critter likes to kick up his heels.”
“I have fun from morning till night,” said the editor Charles A. Dana to a friend who was growing prematurely old. “Do you read novels, and play billiards, and walk a great deal?”
Many a success story has developed by women and men who developed the habit of looking on the bright side of things, and never lost a moment’s sleep by worrying about public business.
“Ten things are necessary for happiness in this life, the first being a good digestion, and the other nine – money.”
The happy man is the one who has learned to extract happiness, not from ideal conditions, but from the actual ones about him. The man who has mastered the secret will not wait for ideal surroundings; he will not wait until next year, next decade, until he gets rich, until he can travel abroad, until he can afford to surround himself with works of the great masters; but he will make the most out of life to-day, where he is.
“Why thus longing, thus forever sighing,
For the far-off, unattained and dim,
While the beautiful, all round thee lying,
Offers up its low, perpetual hymn?
“Happy the man, and happy he alone,
He who can call to-day his own;
He who, secure within himself, can say:
‘To-morrow, do thy worst, for I have lived to-day!’”
Filed under: Uncategorized
Most health experts seem to agree – the common factors among successful nutrition plans are eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. As simple as that. Pass on saturated and trans fats in favor of the healthier monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. Get your healthy fats from olive oil, nuts, seeds and fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
Want to increase your chances of healthier – even longer – life? Try to enjoy a variety of foods you know are healthful. Eating plans that severely restrict certain food groups over long periods of time are often hard to stick with.
Always read nutrition labels and carefully consider what you put in your body.
Get plenty of exercise. Out of shape? Maybe you haven’t been exercising much for far too long? ( Winter kind of makes it easy to pass on the healthy outdoor activities. ) Why not start today! Make today your new Day 1 – filled with simple exercises anyone can do. Go for a walk. Walk as fast as you can for as far as you care to.
Take your kids to a nearby park and try to keep up with them! Let someone else sit on that nice, relaxing bench!
Take your time and enjoy the journey.
These easy to follow habits improve your odds of avoiding heart disease and enjoying life more!
Filed under: Uncategorized
Is there really much difference in the intelligence of people? A great man is quite often not so great as folks think, and the dull man is not quite so stupid as he seems. The difference in our estimates of men lies in the fact that one individual is able to get his goods into the show-window, and the other is not even aware that he has any show-window or any goods.
“The soul knows all things, and knowledge is only a remembering,” Emerson
The vast majority of men know a thousand times as much as they are aware of.
Far down in the silent depths of subconsciousness lie myriads of truths,
each awaiting a time when its owner shall call it forth. To utilize these stored-up thoughts, you must express them to others; and to be able to express them well your soul has to soar into this subconscious realm where you have cached these net results of experience.
In other words, you must “come out”–get out of self–away from self-consciousness, into the region of partial oblivion–away from the boundaries of time and the limitations of space.
The great painter forgets all in the presence of his canvas; the writer is oblivious to his surroundings;
The singer floats away on the wings of melody and carries the audience with her!
All men and women are equally rich, only some thru fate are able to muster their mental legions on the plains of their being and count them, while others are never able to do so.
But what think you is necessary before a person can come into full possession of his subconscious treasures? Well, I’ll tell you: It is not ease, nor prosperity, nor requited love, nor worldly security–not these.
“You sing well,” said the master, impatiently, to his best pupil, “but you will never sing divinely until you have given your all for love, and then been neglected and rejected, and scorned and beaten. Then, if you do not give up – if you persevere, you will come back, and when the world hears your voice it will mistake you for an angel and fall at your feet.”
Start your Journey to Success and let the world think of you as an Angel!
Filed under: Uncategorized
Exercise for a Batter Quality of Life
Consider the ways exercise and sports can benefit you.
Just a few of the potential benefits include:
* more energy and capacity for work and leisure activities
* greater resistance to stress, anxiety and fatigue, and a better outlook on life
* increased stamina, strength and flexibility
* improved efficiency of the heart and lungs
* loss of extra pounds or body fat
* help in staying at desirable weight
* reduced risk of heart attack
Make time for physical activity by walking, jogging or swimming during your lunch hour or take fitness breaks instead of coffee breaks. Do activities like jumping rope, calisthenics, riding a stationary bike or other home gym equipment while the kids are busy playing, at school or sleeping. Break up your activities in 10 minute slots to get your 30 minutes a day! Ten minutes in the morning, at lunch and in the afternoon will get you your 30 minutes.
Enlist your friends and family. Explain your interest in leading a healthier life to them. Ask them to support your efforts. Invite them to join you in your activities and plan social activities involving physical activities.
Schedule your exercise for times in the day or week when you feel energetic. Convince yourself that with a healthier lifestyle, you will have more energy, and then try it! Many healthy fitness buffs enjoy their early morning workout. Try getting up 30 minutes earlier and heading out for a brisk morning walk.
Motivation: Plan ahead. Make active time part of your daily or weekly routine and write it on your calendar! Invite a close friend or family member to join you in the activity. Sharing the experience with someone will make it more enjoyable and you can keep each other motivated.
Learn how to warm up and cool down to prevent injury. Choose a sport or exercise activity involving minimum risk like walking or swimming. Swimming is a great low-impact exercise that almost anyone can enjoy.
Select activities that are easy and fun, such as walking, climbing stairs or jogging. Enjoy your exercise time with friends who are at the same skill level as you are. Find a friend who is willing to teach you new skills or take a class to develop new ones. If you are interested, try something new like tennis, skating, or softball.
You don’t have to spend a fortune. Many healthy, happy, and contented folks have never set foot in a fancy health club. ( And there are many who do – regularly! ) The point is – you can get healthy and enjoy a better quality of life and never need to part with much of your hard earned cash.
Look at your present shape and condition. Think about where you want to be in terms of your health. Do you want more energy for handling life’s demands? Maybe you just want to lose a few pounds. Or sculpt a slimmer, more muscular body.
Decide what you want – lose some weight or tone your body perhaps. Then set yourself a goal. Make it a simple goal and one you can reach. ( I will lose ten pounds in 10 weeks. ) Then start moving toward your goal. Do whatever type of sport or exercise you like. You really can exercise and lose weight fast!
Start a new, healthy habit or two. Let go of those unhealthy ones. If you’ve been inactive for a while, start small. And then gradually increase the pace and intensity.
Filed under: Biblical Wisdom
All healthy action, physical, intellectual and moral, depends primarily on cheerfulness. Every duty, whether it be to follow a plow or to serve fast food is best performed with a cheerful spirit.
Christ, the great teacher, did not shut Himself up with monks, away from temptation of the great world outside. He taught no long-faced, gloomy theology. He taught the gospel of gladness and good cheer. His doctrines are touched with the sunlight, and flavored with the flowers of the fields. The birds of the air, the beasts of the field, and happy, romping children are in them. True piety is cheerful as the day.
“Nothing will supply the want of sunshine to peaches,” said Emerson, “and to make knowledge valuable, you must have the cheerfulness of wisdom.”
In answer to the question, “How shall we overcome temptation,” a noted writer said, “Cheerfulness is the first thing, cheerfulness is the second, and cheerfulness is the third.”
A habit of cheerfulness, enabling one to transmute apparent misfortunes into real blessings, is a fortune to a young man or young woman just crossing the threshold of active life. He who has formed a habit of looking at the bright, happy side of things, who sees the glory in the grass, the sunshine in the flowers, sermons in stones, and good in everything, has a great advantage over the chronic dyspeptic, who sees no good in anything. His habitual thought sculptures his face into beauty and touches his manner with grace.
We often forget that the priceless charm which will secure to us all these desirable gifts is within our reach. It is the charm of a sunny temper, a talisman more potent than station, more precious than gold, more to be desired than fine rubies. It is an aroma, whose fragrance fills the air with the odors of Paradise.
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. ” Philippians 4:8
Filed under: Biblical Wisdom
One day when I was in Brooklyn, I saw a young man going along the street without any arms. A friend who was with me, pointed him out, and told me his story. When the war broke out he felt it to be his duty to enlist and go to the front. He was engaged to be married, and while in the army letters passed frequently between him and his intended wife.
After the battle of the Wilderness the young lady looked anxiously for the accustomed letter. For a little while no letter was received. At last one came in a strange hand. She opened it with trembling fingers, and read these words: “We have fought a terrible battle. I have been wounded so awfully that I shall never be able to support you. A friend writes this for me. I love you more tenderly than ever, but I release you from your promise. I will not ask you to join your life with the maimed life of mine:” That letter was never answered.
The next train that left, the young lady was on it. She went to the hospital. She found out the number of his cot, and she went down the aisle, between the long rows of the wounded men. At last she saw the number, and, hurrying to his side, she threw her arms around his neck and said: “I’ll not desert you. I’ll take care of you.” He did not resist her love. They were married, and there is no happier couple than this one. We are dependent on one another.
Christ says, “I’ll take care of you. I’ll take you to this bosom of mine.” That young man could have spurned her love; he could, but he didn’t. Surely you can be saved if you will accept the Saviour’s love. If God loves us, my friends, He loves us unto the end. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
