Leaders Are Everywhere…Are You One?

Whether you believe that people are born leaders or develop the essential skills over time, there is no denying that leaders are everywhere. Sometimes, they are found in the most unlikely places, in people who would not be considered influential individuals. As one example, many children lead their communities in the war against crime, poverty, and substandard education. Any of us can become a leader.

People do not need to have formal leadership titles to be leaders. However, all people of influence should have leadership skills. Unfortunately, we have witnessed many situations where this is not true. How an individual chooses to lead in his or her current position is the determining factor. Someone who exhibits leadership skills is considered a great employee/student/etc. True leaders have a mindset of ownership even if they are not business owners. They view the family, team, class, or organization that they are part of as theirs.

This mindset requires advocating for the unit. Each person on the team performs a different role but the group has common goals. Leaders set the tone by becoming their own leads rather than following the lead of others. They change the mindset of their organizations by creating teams that work hard and advocate learning and ethical behavior. No one can control the actions of others but everyone can control his or her own actions. By exemplifying the desired behaviors, leaders influence others to follow.

Anyone who is employed should be thankful to have a job because there are millions of people who do not. Being ungrateful squanders an opportunity to use the current position as a stepping stone to greater things. Advocating for the team and the organization pays off over the short and long-terms. Team success becomes the main goal but it filters through to the individuals involved.

How do you develop the ownership mindset so important for a leader? Incorporate the advice of others who have been there and done that. Attend seminars, get a mentor, or read a Dani Johnson script book. Dani is one person who knows how to influence others and she shares her secrets in her Conditioning for Success and Magnetic Influence training programs. Her techniques are proven to work…they helped her generate millions of dollars and are doing the same for thousands of other people.

Conditioning for Success helps us to rid ourselves of limiting beliefs and the memories of past failures. It teaches us to face challenges head-on and shows us how to take risks without fear. Confident that we will succeed, we create the life we envision. Others notice this and want to learn more. We can serve as role models for them, guiding them down the same path.  

Magnetic Influence teaches us how to develop the interpersonal skills necessary to become leaders. Whether you have hit a career plateau or have achieved professional goals but personal ones are suffering, this program has something to offer. By strengthening relationships, you can motivate teammates, contributing to group and individual success. This is the stuff leadership is made of!

Dealing With Your Own Debt Ceiling

Though the government shutdown is over, the debt ceiling remains an issue. The deal signed into law last Thursday is causing much confusion. Does the president have the authority to unilaterally increase the debt ceiling? The reality is that the Treasury Department may issue only as much debt as is necessary through February 7. After that, Congress has the final authority for increasing the debt limit.

As the government grapples with handling federal debt, many of us are dealing with personal debt ceilings. No one has an unlimited amount of money to spend. Unfortunately, many people live as if money grows on trees and this leads them to amass a huge amount of debt. Many Americans view debt as a normal part of life. No longer is debt commonly viewed as shameful. Everyone else seems to have it so it must not be bad, right? Wrong!

Personal finance experts tell us that debt should never be considered the norm. Though the federal debt ceiling has been raised more than 70 times in the past 50 years alone, we should not take the same approach with our personal finances. Deferring payments and accumulating interest in the process is not the way to live. Living off of credit may provide temporary gratification but in the end, it causes frustration and stress.

Envision waking up one day and owing no money to anyone. This can be reality but it requires some work. Fortunately, it does not require increasing current income. People just like us have managed to get themselves out of debt simply by changing the way they spend their money. Whether they work from home or for someone else, they are able to keep all of the money they earn.

More people are choosing to eliminate their personal debt ceilings altogether. They are no longer controlled by credit card bills, loan statements, or even student loan balances. Living a financially stable lifestyle may seem like a dream but experts like Dani Johnson make this easy for anyone to do. Workshops, training programs, books, and other materials are designed for people buried in debt who have had enough and want to take action before there is no way out.

Some people believe that the more debt they have, the more difficult the journey to becoming debt-free will be. This is not true because models like those recommended by Dani are designed for people at all levels of debt. Many of Dani’s clients were millions of dollars in debt before using her techniques to become debt-free within several years. They attest to the power of these programs and many now help others realize the same dream.

There is never a wrong time to break through your personal debt ceiling. Learn about proven methods and put them into practice to experience the results first-hand. Let the government worry about its debt issues while you focus on getting rid of yours. Imagine what you can do with all of that extra cash: travel, invest it, or stash it away for a rainy day or the golden years.

*Photo Courtesy of Images Money via Creative Commons License

How Do You Know If You Are Progressing?

Everyone wants to do better in life, but just how do you know how you are doing compared to this time last year? When we set goals, we need to track our progress as we make our way to the finish line to ensure that we are indeed moving ahead. Putting your goals down on paper, creating a plan to achieve them, and measuring your success are the only way to truly know where you stand.

We are now in late October, so it is time to start looking at the new year and deciding what you really want to get out of life and business over the next  year. This is something that many people do during the New Year, but very few of them are actually serious about the goals they set. However, for you, this year will be different!

When you put something down on paper, it tends to make it more official in your mind. For instance, if your goal last year was to quit smoking, did you actually make a contract with yourself? Did you monitor your progress in how you were eliminating cigarettes each day, week, or month? If not, you probably were not able to stick to your goal and eventually fell back to smoking.

You may still be shaking your head and thinking all of this just sounds too silly. Well, think about it. Doesn't it make it more of a commitment or more serious if it is written down? Think about how you respond to your job evaluation each year. What is generally at the end of the document? Probably an improvement plan that is tracked over the next few months, right?

Take the same example of quitting smoking and this time make it official. Write out a contract with yourself and include goals. For instance, after one month you will be down to less than three cigarettes a day. After three months, you will be down to one cigarette or less a day. After six months, you will no longer smoke at all and only use the substitute gum or ecigarettes. After nine months, you will no longer use anything.

Having a plan in place allows you to track the progress and monitor your success. Never underestimate the positive feeling generated by knowing you are moving closer and closer to your goal. Without tracking your progress like this, you are just left to wonder how far you have come and how much longer you have left. Seeing the goals achieved, even the smaller ones you are targeting at first, give you reason to celebrate and to continue to move forward with your plan.

Now, if you have had failed business experiences in the past, ask yourself if you attempted it the same way you did your plan to stop smoking. Did you just jump in headfirst or did you take the time to develop a business plan and track your progress during those critical first few years? Having a plan and tracking system like this in place will be critical, because it will allow you to see what you are doing right and what needs to be adjusted.

If you need more help with starting your own business or want more ideas on how you can be successful creating your own work from home opportunity, click here.

Is It Time to Launch Your Dream Business?

You have been thinking about starting your own business for years but have always put it off for one reason or another. Now, the summer is over and your latest excuse is that the holiday season is only right around the corner, so starting a business right now is a risky move.  This is actually the wrong mindset because what better time to start a business than when people are in a spending mood?

Think about it...Christmas is when everyone loosens up their purse strings and spends money without remorse. If you are getting ready to launch a new business, this is actually the perfect time to do so because the consumer market is more likely to actually support the business now than at any other time.

There is another added benefit to launching a business during the holiday season...everyone else gets lazy! That's right, most people are worried about getting a Halloween costume together for the kids, figuring out what they are going to make for Thanksgiving, and planning the best Christmas or New Year's Eve party the world has ever seen. This is exactly why you need to roll up those shirtsleeves and dig into work.

Something else to consider is the amount of networking you do during the holidays. More than likely, you will be attending multiple holiday parties. This means lots of people in great moods that are willing to listen to what you have to say, probably more so than at any other time of the year. You will also be reaching out to numerous business contacts, which makes it a great time to put it in their ear that you are branching out on your own.

If you are going to go forward, you will need to get it in high gear, though. If you do not have a business plan in place, it is time to get one together ASAP, especially if you need additional financing. Any type of loan, be it private or from a banking institution, will require a complete business plan to even consider the loan application. If you do not have experience writing a business plan, there are very good programs available that can walk you through the process.

If you want to, you can always make an excuse NOT to start your new business. However, if you never take the chance, you will be wondering your entire life if you could have made it and enjoyed the financial freedom you always wanted. So, the decision is yours...sit back for another year and let opportunity pass you by or finally make the decision to give it a go.

Want to learn about some incredible work from home opportunities you can start right away? Click here.

It is Never Too Early to Learn About Creating Financial Freedom

Financial freedom is something we preach here all the time. When you are flooded with bills and have a bunch of high interest credit cards to pay off, there is simply no way to get ahead of the game. As you all know, I was in this very position and only after taking advantage of a work-from-home opportunity was I able to dig myself out of this hole and create the financial freedom I enjoy today.

My story is great, but what good does the financial freedom I provide for my family do if my children do not learn how to appreciate what we have. Furthermore, they need to learn how to budget their money and live a life that will provide them with the same financial freedom we currently enjoy. We have two options in either letting the children learn about it on their own or to teach them what we know and involve them in financial decisions early on.

I know, this sounds absurd at first glance, but in no way am I suggesting the kids decide where the household money is going to be spent. Instead, what I am suggesting is that you teach them early on how to manage money and why money is being spent where it is.

What do you tell your kids when they ask for something? Are you telling them the truth or just telling them you do not have enough money for that right now? Worse, are you spending money you do not have simply to make them happy? Lying and taking money from needed areas of the budget is not the answer.

By involving your children in the household finances, you are teaching them a true lesson in how to manage their money. When they see how much money is coming in, where it is already earmarked, and how much is left over, they will appreciate why they cannot have that new train set or why the family is taking day trips to the shore instead of extravagant Disney vacations.

In addition to the family budget, help them establish their own budget and financial goals. If they have an allowance or a part time job, have them sit down with you and account for the spending of the money. You may be surprised at how often the child decides that saving the money is a much better idea than converting their dollars into tokens to spend at the local arcade.

It is no secret that our economy is in a complete shambles. Our own government shut down because our leaders cannot agree on anything. How can we trust anyone to teach our children how to fun their finances when the leaders of the country cannot agree? Do not keep your kids in the dark. Bring them into family financial decisions and give them a head start on creating their own financial freedom.

*Photo Courtesy of Drew Coffman via Creative Commons License

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