Yes, You Can Be Financially Independent

By its very definition, financial independence means to not be dependent on anyone or anything for our financial needs. That requires being free from debt.

When asked what they would do if they won the lottery, most people say they would pay off their debts. Just imagine what it would be like not to owe any money!

We’d all like to be free from owing money. But something has happened to us over the past couple of generations—we’ve come to accept debt as just another part of modern life.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

The average American will earn between $600,000 and $2,000,000 in his or her lifetime. But it’s not important what we make—it’s what we keep that makes the difference. The percentage of people reaching 65 who are financially independent are in the small single digits. Over 25 percent of the US federal budget is used just to pay interest on the national debt. Debt has become the new “American Way” and it’s not something to be proud of.

Bankruptcies, failed marriages, alcohol and drug abuse, crime and a host of other things can often be related to the scourge of debt. Part of the reason we’ve embraced being in debt for most, if not all, of our lives can be attributed to the fact that everyone else—including our government—is doing it. Owing one, two or even three times as much as we earn in a year would have been horrifying to our grandparents. Had consumer debt—a term unheard of only 30 years ago—not crept into our society gradually, it never would have been embraced.

Just think what it would be like if you owed absolutely nothing to anyone for anything. All the payments you pay each month—all the interest, all the worry, the limited choices—would disappear. No more would you have to stay in a job or profession you despise with people you don’t respect. You would feel not only free from debt, but you would experience freedom in many other aspects of your life.

Imagine what your life would be like if you only had to pay for utilities, food and entertainment. Would it make a difference in the quality of your life, the quality of your relationships, your health? Of course it would.

We can all become debt-free and in less time than you might think. But first we have to get serious about it. It won’t happen by itself. The 40-40-40 plan won’t cut it. That’s working 40 hours a week, 40 years of your life and retiring at 40 percent of what you were making before.

Most people work into May of each year, just to pay their taxes to the state and federal government. How many more months do we have to work to pay the interest and principle payments on what we owe?

Let’s say that you owe $40,000—not counting your home mortgage—credit cards, furniture, cars, etc. If the average interest on this debt was 14 percent, you’d have to pay $5,600 just in interest each year. On top of that, of course, are principle payments. That could easily be another $5,000 to $10,000. Even if you were only paying $10,000 in payments on this debt, you would have to make over $13,000 before taxes to service this liability. If you made $35,000 annually, you’d be working almost five months of that year just to make your payments. Add to that the five months to pay taxes and what have you got left? Is that any way to live? No wonder so many people feel trapped.

How Do You Get There?
Getting out of debt and staying out of debt is simple. SIMPLE, but not always easy. I want to encourage and support you and your business to become debt-free. I’m confident that you will have more fun, encounter less stress and be more productive.

My wife and I have made our plan, we’ve simplified our lives, and we are well on our way to reaching this objective. Our company has no debt and we will personally be free of ALL debt in a short while. You can do it, too.

Debt-Free, then Wealth
Albert Einstein was once asked what he considered to be the greatest invention of all time. “Compound interest,” was his reply. When you’ve eliminated your debts, you can then start to use this “great invention” and make compound interest work FOR you instead of against you. You will develop an investment portfolio that can make you truly wealthy in only a few years. You can become a true capitalist in the real sense of the word—one who creates capital. And you will be free.

You owe it to yourself and those you love to free yourself from the power-robbing, creativity-stifling, worry-causing scourge of debt. After that, you can begin to develop real wealth.

Related Resource
In a separate message, I tell you about a proven and surprisingly simple way to get on top of your finances. I've also arranged a substantial discount for you. http://SuccessNet.org/go/leoquinn.htm

CHANGING THOUGHT PATTERNS IS VITAL TO SUCCESSFUL WEIGHT LOSS

Diet choices are endless. As you scan the newsstands, every magazine touts its answers to successful weight loss. Eat this, eliminate that. Some are extreme, some are fairly healthy, but most do not work long term. In fact, statistics show that 90 percent of those who lose weight regain. What then is the solution?

Successful weight loss and long-term maintenance require lifestyle changes. The most critical of these changes is your thinking -- the way you think about food, the thoughts that lead to eating.

Consider this: A thought becomes an action that becomes a habit. And a habit becomes who you are. Most every action in life is preceded by a thought. A few of the body's functions do not require thought, yet thought can affect them. Breathing, blood pressure, heart rate, digestion, even pain and healing can be influenced by thought. One's mind is the incredible power that enables the body to function. From birth, our minds have been programmed by experiences, knowledge and opinions. Many of our thoughts and attitudes also have been programmed into our minds.

Children will eat when hungry or as their bodies require. Sometimes children will eat ravenously, sometimes they will on pick, as they respond to the appestat (the body's internal trigger that signals the brain when we are full). When our children's appetites fluctuate (or they respond to their appestat), we are often uncomfortable thinking it's not healthy or normal. In addition to insisting that our children eat, we often choose the portions. We even threaten: “Thousands are going hungry” or “Sit there until your plate is clean.” We begin early to desensitize the body's appestat and regular eating patterns.

Our family's eating habits become ours, healthy or not. Food often becomes a partner with fun or a reward. A banquet is given in honor of accomplishment. As a treat, we go out to dinner. If a child is good, we promise a treat. Food becomes the focal point of everyday life, and we begin to live to eat.

With so much emphasis on food, compounded by the food industry, which makes the convenience of processed, packaged food so enticing, how do we change our lifestyle? How do we change our thoughts about food?

Our minds, like computers, can be reprogrammed. We can empty the old files and enter new data. We can change our thoughts.

Becoming aware of WHY we eat is the first step toward cleaning out and reprogramming the "computer." Do you eat when you are sad or depressed? Do you eat because you are bored? Or do you deliberately skip meals, leaving yourself starved and out of control at the end of the day? Do you eat to dull the senses, easing some of life's challenges much as an alcoholic does? Do you eat on the run or in a hurry, short-circuiting the appestat and therefore not acknowledging that you're full until you've overdone it.

Does guilt over "blowing" your diet lead to a binge? Do you give into grandma's pie to avoid hurting her feelings? Or maybe that craving ends in the consumption of too many unwise calories. A simple fleeting thought takes on a life of its own when we continue to dwell on it. A piece of this or that would sure taste good. And that thought becomes an overwhelming obsession as we give it more power and ultimately give in.

What we think about we bring about. The thoughts given the most time and attention become our reality. Those thoughts also may run toward our ability to lose weight. Been there, done that...failed. Maybe no one supported or believed in you. Or worse yet, maybe you've been told you come from "fat genes" or you're big-boned, so deal with it, accept it. You’ve tried every diet and your mind is flooded with frustration, discouragement and failure.

Let's turn it around. Become aware of your self-talk. What do you say to yourself? Are the words “can,” “will” and “choose” dominant in your thoughts? I've learned the way it hasn't worked. Now I choose to change my thinking, my actions and my habits.

You fill in the blanks with a new positive action remembering the motto “I eat to live.” When sad, I ______________. When depressed, I ________________. When happy, I celebrate by _____________________. Affirm daily, this thought: “I live a healthy lifestyle.”

Bottom line, your calorie intake must equal the calories you burn to maintain your weight loss, fewer calories to lose. Physical activity is critical to keeping the body healthy and the metabolism high. Our bodies are designed to move! Choose a healthy diet plan or create one that works for you. Know your motivation for losing.

Educate yourself about nutrition, eat healthy and in moderation. Find a buddy to support you. www.Weightlossbuddy.com is a great site to explore. Reward your successes and believe in yourself. Replace negative beliefs with the knowledge that you can and will succeed!

Remember, without a healthy body, the mind has no vehicle. Without your health, what is life?

YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR THOUGHTS!! YOU CAN SUCCEED!!


Barb Zercher conducts seminars and workshops and is a freelance writer and a life coach. She has studied and researched the psychology of success, self-improvement and communication for nearly 20 years. Barb is also a Certified Hypnotherapist as well as an NLP. When asked what she does, her response is, "I help others turn their dreams into reality." She may be reached at bzcoac@aol.com. Or check out her website www.BarbaraZercher-MindsinMotion.com

Observe Your Own Mind So You Can Stop Feeling as If Beliefs Just 'Happen' to You.

If it feels as if your beliefs just show up fully developed and you have nothing to do with how they came to be a part of you, it's because you've not developed the ability to observe your own mind.

Yet most of your beliefs were probably "absorbed" from your family when you were younger. The rest of them have been gleaned from the community you grew up in and from the culture at large. The process of acquiring them was invisible to you, so you didn't notice you were doing it.

President John F. Kennedy once said, "Too often we hold fast to the clichés of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought."

Be willing to endure that discomfort of thought. Gaining awareness and accepting personal responsibility for your beliefs and behaviors is an acquired skill. If it wasn't demonstrated for you when you were growing up, or you haven't intentionally studied it, chances are you haven't a clue about how to do it.

Your Statement of Truth. A start is to recognize what personal responsibility is not. In the absence of personal responsibility, all you can do is blame others for your difficulties because it looks to you as if they *are* to blame.

But when you assume radical personal responsibility, you live in a truth that proclaims,

I am responsible for how I allow others to affect me. In a world of forces beyond my control, I can learn to be the keeper of my own heart and mind.

Even when things appear not to be going my way, and I am upon an emotional sea of crossing and diverging currents, I can still navigate my way to my ultimate good fortune.

I proclaim that I am not a victim of the world I see. I am a co-creator of it.

Let love and wisdom be my moral compass, and let clarity be the wind in my sails.

Layne and Paul Cutright

Build Credibility

Says John Caple, author of Trust Me: Building Credibility in Business and In Life: "You can get people to trust you if you share your goals, are specific, show that you mean it, share the accolades, ask for input, put it out there, trust your dreams, appeal to all the senses, be candid, be like Lincoln, find something to be authentically humble about, don't hide what's going on in your life outside work, be open about where you are in your growth cycle, talk about momentum, create tests to prove your friendship, admit mistakes, and be honest about your emotions."

*** Article: The Power of Appreciation – By Noelle Nelson ***

You hate your supervisor. There--you finally said it. You’ve been
pussyfooting around it (and her) for long enough now. That’s it, you’ve
had it! Let the truth be told--you hate your boss.

Your reflection in the mirror scowls back at you. You sigh, stop waving
your toothbrush around, and stick it back in your mouth where it belongs.
Fat lot of good that did! You still have to go to work today. You still
have to face your supervisor. You still have to go along with whatever she
says.

The worst of it is that you love your job! You have no desire to quit. You
work for a great company, you enjoy your work, the pay is good, you get
along fine with your coworkers--the only downside is your supervisor. But
oh, what a downside! Her automatic answer to anything you want is no; her
automatic expectation of anything she wants is yes. So, you don’t get help
when you need it, you don’t get a recommendation for that new position,
and you don’t get vacation when you want it. You DO, however, have to
respond with, “How high?” when she says, “Jump!”

The question is, how do you keep your job without losing your sanity?

Love thine enemy.

No, not “love thine enemy” as in plaster a phony smile on your face and
pretend that your supervisor is a great person to work with--she’s not!
No, this is “love thine enemy” as in APPRECIATE your supervisor, VALUE
something about your supervisor. Deliberately look for one thing, however
small, that you find worthwhile about her. Maybe it’s that she’s always
straight with you. Maybe it’s that she works as long and as hard as she
expects you to. Maybe it’s that she challenges you to the very limits of
your abilities.

You see, that’s the true meaning of appreciation. It’s not just another
word for gratitude, a polite “thank you” after someone’s done something
nice for you, but appreciation as valuing. That’s actually the basis of
how the word appreciate is used in the marketplace: we say that art
appreciates in worth, land appreciates, gold appreciates--they all
increase in value, and appreciation is first and foremost about valuing.
The thoughts you think, when you are appreciating someone or something,
are thoughts about their worth, their value to you, what they mean to you,
and why they matter.

Back to your supervisor. You know that one thing you found that you can
really, truly value about her? Focus on that. For a couple weeks, as best
you can, every time you see your supervisor, think about what it is you
value about her. If she’s been ornery with you, try to let go of your
upset feelings as quickly as you can and--you guessed it--focus once again
on thoughts of valuing her.

What you think and feel about someone impacts how they think and feel
about you. It’s actually scientific. Quantum physics teaches us that in
the realm of energy, like attracts like. You’ve felt this yourself many
times. When someone’s angry and yelling at you, you’ll want to snap back
in return. When someone is kind and generous toward you, you’ll want to be
giving toward them. Think of appreciation as a wonderful facilitator of
energy. When you genuinely appreciate someone, they become more willing to
cooperate with you.

How will this work with your supervisor? Well, the first thing that will
happen, as you persistently, consistently value your supervisor, is that
your opinion of your supervisor will shift. You’ll realize that she rides
you hard because she really cares about the success of the company. You’ll
realize that she doesn’t like shifting around vacation schedules because
she takes great pride in the smooth running of her department. You’ll
understand that she doesn’t give you that recommendation to a new position
because she wants to keep your good work in her department. As you
persistently, consistently value your supervisor in this way, she will
feel that shift and begin to value you and thus treat your requests
differently.

What about in your home life? Would this same concept apply? You betcha!

For example, when you first fall in love, you may be delighted by your
sweetheart’s mellow, easy-going approach to life, which nicely balances
out your wired, get-it-done-now approach. Six months down the line,
however, when something isn’t happening the way you want it to, you
redefine his “don’t worry, be happy,” laid-back attitude as laziness.

Your sweetheart hasn’t changed, but how you view him has. In the same way,
your “just do it, and do it now” approach was something your mate admired
in you--until it meant that you expected him to do something he wasn’t in
the mood to do (mellow soul that he is), whereupon your decisiveness
became “controlling,” and you become “bitchy.” You haven’t changed either,
but your sweetheart’s perception of you has.

How you view your true love is affected by how you feel in the moment.
When you feel wronged, upset, or hurt by your mate, you are likely to
forget what endears him to you and focus only on what displeases you. For
example, you may ignore how loving your mate is with the kids and focus
only on what a slob he is. Both are true. Your sweetheart may ignore how
well you handle the family finances and focus only on how you can’t stand
the sports he loves. Both are true.

When you focus on what you don’t like, don’t value, or don’t cherish about
your sweetheart, you feel resentment. With resentment comes a diminishment
of love. On the other hand, when you focus on what you do like, do value,
and do cherish, you feel love. The love, or lack of it all, stems from
what you choose to make significant. That’s where appreciation steps in.
If you deliberately, proactively choose to focus on what you value about
your mate as much and as often as you possibly can, you’ll find that the
love in your life just grows and grows. Appreciation is a cornerstone of
love, one of its most important elements.

Science increasingly shows how interrelated we all are and how we affect
each other continuously in both conscious and unconscious ways. Make that
interrelatedness work for you. Value everyone in your life, and enjoy the
benefits of their valuing you in return.

Ah, the power of appreciation!

About the Author:
This article was written by Dr. Noelle Nelson, contributing author to "101
Great Ways to Improve Your Life." Psychologist, best-selling author, and
speaker, Dr. Noelle has empowered countless individuals to be happier,
healthier, and more successful at work, at home, and in
relationships--drawn from her belief that through the power of
appreciation we can accomplish great things. Visit her at
http://www.PowerOfAppreciation.net

Her article above is one of 101 great chapters that can be found in "101
Great Ways to Improve Your Life." This powerful compilation book with Zig
Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Jim Rohn, and Denis Waitley contains 101 chapters of
proven advice on how to improve your life.

*** If you purchase just one copy of their new book today, you will also
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