The Choice Is Yours And Yours Alone by Gidget Giardino

Each person is different than the next. We all have some extraordinary skill or gift that is unique from everyone else. It is the unique gifts that make us who we are. But, what happens when we start to think we are so different from everyone else that is successful, and then we choose to see ourselves as something less?

That's right! We CHOOSE to be exactly what we are. If you choose to be unhappy, well, guess what, you certainly will be unhappy. And the same holds true for you when you CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY.

We are different in many ways, but we are equal too. All of us are given the exact same amount of time.

168 hours = 1 week
  56 sleep = 8 hours/day;7 days/week
  40 hours for work
  42 hours to live, love and care for family
Grand Total  = 138 hours

This leaves 30 hours a week to create the life you want. 
What are you doing with your time?

Let's assume you choose to make extra money to pay off some bills. You decide to join me in business and, as my new partner, you dedicate 3 hours per day, Monday through Friday, to working on business building activities. Well, that is only 15 of your 30 extra hours. You still have time to spend elsewhere.

My point is: If you CHOOSE to be successful, there is no one stopping you but yourself.

So, let's get busy and create the life you know you deserve. Let me help you use your time to bring you the life you truly want. I'll show you how, step by step, side by side.   

Send an e-mail that reads: Let's Get Started  Gidget.Giardino@gmail.com

Discover Your Net Worth by Gidget Giardino

Ok. So, when you think of your net worth I bet you kind of pull your eyebrows together and maybe even wrinkle your nose a bit. You see, most people have no real idea of what their net worth is. If you fall in that boat here is where I come in.


WHAT ARE YOUR ASSETS?

How much money do you have in the bank? Write the dollar amount you have in your checking account and then under that write the amount you have in savings. Add them together. Now, look at any restricted access you have to finances such as CDs, IRAs, or 401 (k) and add that to your tally. Then, include your physical assets. These include anything you can sell quickly if you had to such as a home, car or personal items of value. You can use your tax bill to determine your home value, and use Kelly Blue book for your vehicles. Take all those figures and add them together.


WHAT ARE  YOUR LIABILITIES?

To whom do you currently owe money? Things you owe money for right now, like rent, your car payment, or utilities are known as your current liabilities. Now, add in whom you owe money to over the next 1 to 5 years. Write down things like your car loan and credit card debt. These are your intermediate liabilities. And, of course, you must figure your long term liabilities. To whom do you owe money beyond 5 years?  Here is where you'd list your mortgage and/or student loans, etc.


YOUR NET WORTH.

Once you have added up all your assets and added up all our liabilities; you determine your net worth by subtracting your liabilities from your assets.

If you don't like what you see, and you want to raise your net worth, you will need to increase assets or choose assets that grow. (Preferably both.) You can also improve your net worth by reducing your debts.
Sounds like a no-brainer, huh? But, right about now you're thinking... How the heck am I going to reduce debt (liabilities) and/or build up my savings account (assets)? Again, here is where I come in.

I have acquired a reputation for helping others build a successful home-based business without all the hassles. We work together as a team toward your monetary goal, and when I say together, I mean together. Follow a simple system on a consistent basis and your net worth will improve. Sounds easy? It actually is. But, don't take my word for it... Do it and you'll soon see for yourself.

Change Can Be Good - If You Let It by Gidget Giardino

Ever thought you'd just wish things were like they used to be? Here are some great tips for dealing with change. Change can be good. 

By Marsha Egan

Almost every day, I hear someone remark how fast the world is changing - and it's true. It's almost unrecognizable from our parents' days, and even from the world we grew up in.

We live in a world far more touched by a constant state of change than any generation which has gone before us. Global communication and sharing of ideas combined with ever-increasing technology has given us a world that moves incredibly fast. Add to that the increasing world population, increased global competition and the pressure we all have on profits, and we have a world with its foot stuck firmly on the gas pedal!

Mind you, it's almost certain that the current break-neck speed at which our world turns is the slowest rate of change we'll ever have; things can only speed up even further from here - pretty scary, isn't it?

Just to reinforce this, the compounding reality is that there's nothing any of us can do to slow the rate of change - whether we like it or not, the roller coaster is here to stay!

The more change we have to deal with, the greater is the potential for us to feel stressed out. People are, by their very nature, resistant to change. We have our routines and our idiosyncrasies, and we hate to be taken outside our 'comfort zones'. How many times have you heard a colleague say 'well, we've always done it that way', or refer to how something worked 'last time'? When we have to mix things up a little, people get uncomfortable, so it's understandable that this can create stress.

Even changes that improve people's lives can create stress. For example, when someone gets a promotion and has to move to a new city, they not only have to deal with all of the changes to their new responsibilities at work, with a new boss, new relationships and new knowledge; their family must also deal with the changes involved in moving to a new neighborhood -- new schools, new neighbors, new places to shop, new doctor, the list can be endless. While the overall result is a positive change, all these things almost certainly add pressure to a person's home and professional life.

Given the fact that we can't slow the rate of change down, what CAN we do?

The answer lies in our own ability to change from within - the way we handle or react to change. If you can't change what we don't like, there are only two things you can do. You can elect not to be part of the thing you don't like (which in this case simply isn't going to work!), or you change your attitude towards it.

Here are some ideas for how you might accomplish this:

- Find the benefits of the changes you are experiencing. Think of ways you can use those changes to make your life easier. Try to avoid fighting the change, and find ways to make it work for you. It's much easier to 'go with the flow'!

- Focus on learning to work with the change. The more you focus on 'getting a handle on it', the faster it'll be second-nature.

- Think things through. When confronted with change, look at it as if it's a chess game, when you need to think through the several moves in advance rather than just one. A lot of the time we create a stressful situation by making a judgement call without considering what the consequences will be.

- Keep open mind, and a positive attitude. Finding fault with a new idea or dismissing it is easy, but the better our attitude to it, the less of a chore it will be. As an added bonus, staying positive will have a positive effect on your career and relationships - no-one wants to be around a negative person!

- Recognize that change can be stressful. Accept that fact and give yourself permission to feel uncomfortable at the beginning.

- Helping those around you get used to the change will give you a better understanding of the change itself, will minimize the stressful side of it, as well as impacting well on your relationships.

"I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul." is a quote from the classic poem 'Invictus', although most people remember it more as a line from the film 'Casablanca'. Take ownership of your own attitude. You'll only feel stressed if you allow stress into your life. By controlling your attitude, and your emotional responses, you will give yourself the best chance of getting the most out of change, and minimizing your stres's levels.

Sure, change can hurt. But it is here to stay. The people and organizations who seek out the positives and embrace change will be the ones who see the most benefit from it. Will you be one of them?

About The Author Marsha Egan, CPCU, PCC is CEO of The Egan Group, Inc., a Reading, PA based professional coaching firm. She is a certified workplace productivity coach and professional speaker, specializing in leadership development

Plan Your Future by Gidget Giardino

Planning your future

is not about just you. It's about your family, your loved ones. Making certain that what you've worked hard to provide does exactly what you intend it to do.

You've all heard the saying, Plan Your Work And Work Your Plan, right?

This is why you must make a plan to take you from where you are now to where you want to be. Your plan should include what you are willing to do on a consistent basis in order to get you from point A to point B, and so on until you have reached your destination.

For instance, if you want to have all your debts paid in full and have $10,000 in savings by the end of 2015 then you need to write out your plan on paper. Figure out what form of work you can do that will provide the necessary income needed. (I chose Network Marketing because of the simple, easy to follow system and the access to knowledgeable coaches who were more than willing to help me get my goals accomplished.) Decide how many hours a week you are able and willing to give in order to reach your goal of all debts paid and $10,000 in the bank. Then, on a consistent basis, follow your plan and don't stop until you have reached your goal or surpassed it.

It's not as complicated as you might think to make 2011 your best year ever. Particularly when people like me are willing to work with you to create your plan and then tackle it step by step. My help is free, as in zilch, zero, nothing, nada. So, why not take advantage and make a positive difference in your life and your families? Drop me an e-mail. Gidget.Giardino@gmail.com

The Winds Of Change by Gidget Giardino

Each fall, monarch butterflies in Maine begin an unbelievable journey to a hilltop in Mexico. How do they do it? They focus on the goal, not the difficulties. Each day they take their bearings and set off, allowing their instincts and desire to steer them. They accept what comes: some winds blow them off course, others speed them along. They keep flying until, one day, they arrive. It is their determination that allows them to accomplish their goal.

Believe And Achieve.

Your determination makes the difference.  

Be Proud by Gidget Giardino

BE PROUD of even the smallest accomplishments. They are the building blocks to greatness. And, YOU ARE GREAT!

If every day you did one thing, just one thing to improve yourself or build your business, at the end of the week you'll be amazed. Keep achieving these little mini goals and by the end of the month your be thrilled to see how far you've gone. Imagine where you'll be, how grand your life is at the end of the year!  

Now, I know all about making new year resolutions that never get off the ground. I used to be one of those people. It all boiled down to discipline. Taking the extra few minutes each and every day to actually do the things you know you need to do in order to have a better life, or having the willpower to quit doing the self destructive habits you have. Because you are afraid you can't shake them isn't going to make them go away, and it certainly isn't going to improve your life.

Take it one day at a time. If something is truly important to you, you will make it part of your daily routine to improve. It isn't as hard as it seems. You just have to take a deep breath every morning and live your life the way you know you need to.

 

BE PROUD of your positive improvements. Even if they seem small. All your accomplishments add up to greatness. And, you ARE great!

You Know What They Say About Death and Taxes by Gidget Giardino

I don't know about you, but it makes me mad as hell to wake up each day and hear that our country is in such financial turmoil. Today's headlines on the "Tax Cut Compromise" was enough to make me puke.

Under this proposal, the single working people with below $20,000 in earnings and married couples below $40,000 will be worse off.  Basically the "working poor" (I hate that BTW) will loose money because Obama's proposal is to substitute a Social Security payroll tax cut for the Making Work Pay credit. In this scenario, our single working-class will no longer receive the $400 they are accustomed to and the married will not receive the $800, by the time you do the math.  

However, the rich will do really well. A worker earning $106,800 (max. amount of income subject to Social Security tax) stands to save $2,136 in payroll taxes. Double that for married couples making over $100,000.

Now, do you really think the rich will stimulate the economy with their extra dough? Maybe some, but not nearly as much as the low-income working families would with their measly $400. All this does is drive a bigger wedge between the rich and the poor, financially speaking.

How do you get out of the jam? Simple. Make more money.

I know, you're rolling your eyes and snorting at my last statement. But, think about it. It is the solution to that  problem, as well as many others. On my blog you will find articles with basic steps to follow in order to be successful in making more money. Stay tuned. And, BE PREPARED to take action.

Article by Gidget Giardino