Village Wealth Management Show: Recent Episodes
Village Wealth Management
Welcome to the Village Wealth Management Show. We discuss topics on fitness, business and psychology, to help you take action! We've scaled our brand through the 4 pillars of Service, Accountability, Transcendence & Integrity. We want to share with you, through our experience how to take action of your life.
In this episode Mark talks about the most valuable thing know to the human race.... TIME. What time is it? NOW!
Is it hard to stay in the grind? Try implementing some of the ideas I discuss in todays podcast.. They work!
In this episode we discuss the concept of being a great steward of your resources. When should you consider not doing something that your capable of doing?
Isaiah is back! We talk about why self confidence is important and how to create more of it.
Mark talks about how examining our responses tells us a lot about ourselves. When is the last time you pondered your response?
Mark discusses how the little seemingly small stuff adds up to the big stuff... REALLY BIG STUFF!
In this episode Mark talks about how our expectations effect our outcomes. Expectations are everything.....
In this episode Mark discusses the importance of being aware of how your environment effects you. Even the most resilient and tough plants are effected by the environment they are in.
In this episode we discuss the math on when you should consider delegating your diy mindset.
Humans seem to always find a way..... when they HAVE TO.
Today we talk about how to engineer urgency in your life to make yourself out perform your normal results.
This is a different episode than usual I talk with Nate on our recent DIY Alaska float hunting trip. We discuss gear and our thoughts on the Alaska float hunt. Kifaru, Helinox, Outdoor Edge, Seek Outside, Blaser, Sawarovski, Thermorest, MSR, Jetboil, Neoair, Simms
In today's show we discuss why and how we sabotage our ownselves. It's not uncommon to see people sabotage themselves in life WHY?? That's a great question ..... one we should all be asking ourselves!!
If you want to avoid burning out, you must be able to acknowledge your wins. Your progress towards your goals. Today we discuss the way to acknowledge your wins. What wins are meaningful? And how to avoid the trap of celebrating meaningless wins.
We all have to deal with this at some point in our lives. Rejection something that NO ONE likes to feel. However the more often we feel it the easier it is to deal with it.
The road to success has already been paved. Today we have so much information available to us that the mystery of how to be successful no longer is the issue. In fact the road to success has been paved! All we need to do is have the discipline and diligence to keep following it!
Your environment is critical to your personal development! In this episode we take a deeper look at how our environment affects us and how to change it.
We all know that our words are powerful.... in this episode we talk about the most powerful words of all....
One of the most important skills to have is the ability to assess yourself. Todays episode is full of thought provoking ideas that will help you when looking at yourself.
Have you ever asked yourself the question, If I know what to do why is it so hard to just do it? We discuss the knowing doing gap. We all have places in our lives where we find ourself not doing what we know we should be doing. We discuss simple ideas that will help you get out of the rut of not doing the thing you should be doing!
On this episode we discuss how to be happier. We discuss some simple yet effective ways you can use right now to become happier!
"Careful Littles Ears What You Hear" This familiar line comes from the children’s song many of us learned in Sunday school. The moral is to be careful what we listen to because of how it affects us. Words from outside sources can have a corrupting influence on us. We must be cautious about our auditory intake.
In a world where customs and beliefs are passed down from generation to generation, we often find ourselves at a crossroads. Do we follow the path paved by tradition, or do we dare to question, seeking the unvarnished truth beneath the surface?
So many people are in such a hurry to succeed that they eagerly take any shortcuts that come their way. In reality, shortcuts usually lead to disappointments rather than quicker success. The key to any long-term success is to take the necessary steps to steadily progress rather than skip any of them. This would be true whether the goals are financial health or relationship-related.
I’ve seen gullible people buy into the many ‘get rich quick’ or ‘lose weight fast’ schemes out there only to find out that none of them work except in relieving you of the money paid for such products or programs.
Is it enough to just read the Cliff Notes in Life? We discuss the choice between cliff notes and a deeper exploration depending on the context of specific situations. For routine, less critical matters cliff notes may suffice, but for important decisions, personal growth, or complex subjects, taking the time to dive deeper is usually more beneficial in the long run.
We all slip up once in a while and that's okay- it's part of being human. One skipped workout or day of bad eating is not going to stop you from reaching your goals. What is important is how you react. If you fall off track, follow these simple steps to get you back to reaching your goals.
Be kind to yourself. Acknowledge what went wrong and accept it without being harsh on yourself. Life happens and we miss workouts and act in ways that don't align with our goals but that don't have to completely derail us.
Don't wait for tomorrow or next week to come. There will always be the excuse of starting tomorrow, but don't let that stop you. Get back up and start today.
Set goals for yourself. Goals are personal to everyone so find what works for you. This could be walking for 10 minutes during your lunch break every day, walking your dog around the blog every night when you get home, or meeting up with a friend to go to your favorite workout class together.
Start small. Setting too high of goals from the get-go often makes us feel defeated. Start off by setting small goals and creating new goals over time. You may have a large overarching goal such as completing a marathon but start off with smaller, more achievable goals like running a 5k to begin.
The term was originally coined to describe a specific type of anxiety and cognitive stress experienced by people whose incomes are below the federal poverty threshold. In a 2017 experiment, researchers found that the distress over not having enough money or resources to get by had a negative effect on people’s mental state. But how? Well, ultimately, they suggested that someone’s hyper-fixation or worry over what they lack could lead to poor decision-making and higher stress.
But a scarcity mindset isn’t always about finances. It’s often applied to other parts of life, too. Who hasn’t stayed up all night wondering what could be improved in their life if they had A, B, or C? Continuous thinking like this can convince someone that their life is truly empty.
Every person is born with a unique set of talents that gives them a special ability to perform certain kinds of tasks easily and yet also make other tasks seem laborious. Knowing what you do best--what your strongest natural talents and abilities are and how you are “hard-wired”--and then finding the work that best fits those talents are fundamental to finding success and fulfillment. This is the basic groundwork of your Personal Vision and is the information you need at each of your career Turning Points as you start to decide what you will do with your life.
“A lot of people think we are creatures of habit but we’re not. We are creatures of the environment.”
The saying "you are a product of your environment" speaks volumes because if you associate yourself with people who don’t have the same drive and motivation to reach their goals, then the percentage of your reaching those goals goes down significantly because you will fall into the same mindset as them. When you associate yourself with people who have the competitive drive and motivation to reach goals as you do, then the likelihood of you reaching your goals goes up significantly.
The definition of toxic masculinity centers on these exaggerated versions of traditional, now archaic masculine traits.
These ideas around what a man should be forcing some people to accept a very narrow view of what it means to be masculine, which can be harmful to those who cannot adhere to these supposed standards.
Some men might "act out" some of these behaviors as they strive to be more ‘masculine.’ This can lead to questionable and dangerous behaviors.
Moving past toxic masculinity begins with redefining what it means to be a man. Each person should aspire to find a healthy definition of their own individuality and work towards achieving it.
Holding space for others to openly discuss their feelings about the issue may help people reshape their own definitions as well.
When everything has gone wrong, how do you start over?
Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, it can feel like everything is going wrong. Life just feels bad, maybe even to the point where you want to crawl into bed for the rest of eternity. A much better option, however, is to look for ways to fix your life, start fresh, and maybe even try something new.
Of course, that's easier said than done, especially when things are particularly horrible. Getting yourself out of a minor creative slump, for example, is way easier than picking yourself up after a bad breakup. And yet it can be done. Whether you just want to feel inspired, or you'd like to totally restart your life, it pretty much all starts in the same place.
Creating conditions that foster both ownership and authenticity in an organization is an example of authentic leadership. Authentic leaders have a deep understanding of their personal values and ethical principles, as well as genuine awareness of their weaknesses and strengths (researchers call this “optimal self-esteem”). Instead of being pulled in different directions by external oughts and shoulds, these leaders are guided by their own internalized standards, formed through inquiry and self-reflection.
Besides being open to feedback, authentic leaders can process negative input in a non-defensive way. Ultimately, what sets them apart is not just the maturity of their thought processes, but the coherence and ethics of their external behavior. That is, these leaders walk the talk and relate to others in a transparent way, without misrepresenting their motives or manipulating information.
‘Consistency is key’ is often heard at marketing meets, in business circles, and in fact even when parents lecture their children! So what does the key unlock? That is the question to follow. The dictionary meaning of consistency talks about acting in a particular way throughout.
This consistency is the magic key that unlocks the door to success in any field. But consistency is not like an on/off thing. You need to be consistent in your action and your thoughts, in order to experience the success that it brings.
Consistency is key to success in life. But a lot of people struggle with the concept of being consistent. Have you ever thought about why it is so? This is because the idea looks extremely simple and tempting on the surface. But when you try to implement it in your day-to-day life, it proves to be a test of your patience.
The path to being consistent is not easy. It is lined with so many distractions. Above all, people want quick results in the race to achieve their goals. Unfortunately, consistent work/ efforts may or may not yield results in the short term. However, that should not undermine your pursuit. Because in the long run, only being consistent will yield better results.
A politician you don’t like.
A difficult customer at work.
A friend acting unfriendly.
When life presents us with a difficult situation, we often try to fight it. It’s not fair! This is not supposed to happen! This person can’t do that!
But you shouldn’t fight against something you can’t control. Just like the weather, there are many things in life that just happen, with or without your permission.
But while you can’t always control what happened, you can control how you respond.
Living a more simple life means keeping your inner peace in the occurrence of external stress. Accept things outside of your control for what they are, and focus on how you respond.
Constructive criticism is actionable, clear, and beneficial to the recipient. It does not focus solely on the negative aspects. Rather than tearing something down, constructive criticism focuses on improving it.
It contrasts with destructive criticism, which may be either positive in its intent but nonetheless unhelpful, negative and deliberately hurtful, or both.
Constructive criticism does have some common characteristics with constructive feedback. Check out our article to learn more about it.
Managers should offer constructive criticism to avoid offending or discouraging employees while still providing detailed comments on what might be improved. Constructive criticism can encourage employees and provide direction and actionable solutions to the issue of discussion. In addition, it creates a transparent and trustworthy work environment where colleagues can share input without fear of hurting feelings.
Life is challenging, to say the least. The good times are amazing, but the bad times can really weigh you down, make you want to disconnect, and sometimes just give up. But you can’t. Because even when things seem to be at their worst, you need to keep going.
When you have tough moments, when things look like they will not work out, or not in the way you would like them to, have faith. Trust that you will be okay. When you go through something difficult or heart-wrenching, it can feel terrible. But when you come out on the other side of that difficulty, you can learn so much about your resilience and strength.
These experiences will help you to develop empathy. When you feel down, remember it is inevitable that you will feel pain and disappointment in life. The key is to not give up. It is important to remember that you have too much to gain. Do this rather than focusing on what you have to lose or have lost.
Going through pain makes you more vulnerable, empathetic, and kinder because you experience something that changes your self-awareness, perception, and belief systems.
Think of it this way. Have you had a moment in your life where you made a quick judgment of someone based on how they looked, dressed, where they lived, how they spoke or handled themselves? Oftentimes that judgment changes once you interact with that particular individual, and learn who they are and what shapes them. Sometimes your opinion of someone you previously judged changes when you experience something they have gone through.
Do you know someone who likes to put others down? Maybe they make fun of your clothes or the way you speak. Perhaps they are always making negative comments about other people. Do you ever wonder why they do this? There are several reasons why someone might enjoy putting others down. This podcast will discuss some of the most common reasons behind this behavior.
In your life, you might have that person who wants to pull you down. This toxic individual does all sorts of bad behavior towards you, such as making fun of you, throwing hurtful words at you, sabotaging your efforts, backstabbing you, etc. Being on the receiving end of nasty actions from such a person can make you feel bad about yourself and destroy your self-esteem. It's even worse if somebody keeps on pulling you down like it's almost second nature to them to do it. You might wonder what's going on in the heads of people who put others down and make them feel worse. There are reasons why others might want to hurt your feelings, and it can surprise you to know that they might be in a worse situation than what they are trying to make you be in your daily life. We must understand these reasons to deal better with these kinds of people...
Inflation is a sustained upward movement in the overall price level of goods and services in an economy. It corresponds with a loss of purchasing power for a currency that's utilized within the economy. It takes more currency units to buy the same amount of goods and services as a result. Your money buys you less, be it bread, toothpaste, rent, or medical services.
Inflation causes a decrease in purchasing power when prices rise more quickly than wages increase. It forces individuals to spend more dollars, euros, or other forms of currency to buy necessities, which can put the average consumer in a financial pinch. It can reduce discretionary spending, too. You would have had to pay $106.80 in November 2021 to buy what could have been bought for $100 in November 2020, for example.
There’s that project you’ve left on the backburner — the one with the deadline that’s growing uncomfortably near. And there’s the client whose phone call you really should return — the one that does nothing but complain and eat up your valuable time. Wait, weren’t you going to try to go to the gym more often this year?
Can you imagine how much less guilt, stress, and frustration you would feel if you could somehow just make yourself do the things you don’t want to do when you are actually supposed to do them? Not to mention how much happier and more effective you would be.
Self-awareness is one of the first components of the self-concept to emerge. While self-awareness is something that is central to who you are, it is not something that you are acutely focused on at every moment of every day.
Instead, self-awareness becomes woven into the fabric of who you are and emerges at different points depending on the situation and your personality.
You keep telling yourself to focus on the task at hand, but do you ever consider what staying focused actually means? Sure, it’s concentrating on the task and engaging with it on an active cognitive level. But it also implies reading, assessing, pondering, dissecting, memorizing, and connecting the task to your existing knowledge and finding ways to solve it or apply it to other tasks. Hey … did you just check your phone again?
When dealing with anything that requires concentrated effort, we tend to zone out, disappear into our own thoughts, or respond to the call of social media. The fact is that there is simply too much noise around us, and we’re bound to get distracted more often than not. Let’s think of that noise. It’s not just loud and startling – it’s also the white noise of busy lives, constant online presence, and our long days. Your brain needs rest from many things, which is why it’s so easily lured into the trap of distractions.
The bad news is that the older we get, the more difficult it is to stay focused for extended periods of time. But let’s not despair yet. Just as many ways lead to Rome, there are many ways to stay focused on your tasks.
Some people want to help others in any way that they can. They may be willing to go out of their way to give assistance if they are able. They might have it in their DNA to give service. They may be the type of people who are always giving money to homeless people who are begging on the street. They may look for ways to serve others.
There are times when help is not wanted.
We have probably all seen pictures of little old ladies being helped across the street in a crosswalk. Usually, they are happy for the assistance in walking. The ladies may be shown striking the person with a cane because they don’t want any help.
If help is obviously not wanted, it is better not to try and help. Let the person be on his or her own if that is the desire. Maybe independence is important to them or perhaps they don’t want interference. There may be something going on in their life that they don’t know or understand.
Sometimes people are in fairly desperate need of financial help, but they may be too stubborn to accept it. Families and friends may offer help, which is rejected. If that is the case, it is better to back off and let the person come and request help. They may come for help if the situation gets worse. Then it can be readily given and should be more appreciated.
Service to others is often accepted and appreciated. If it is rejected, it is better to find another way to serve or move on to someone else.
If you’ve spent your whole life doing what you “should” do instead of what you want to do, listening to yourself can seem like an odd concept. After all, weren’t you taught from a young age to always put others before yourself, to shove your emotions aside, and do what’s expected of you? Wouldn’t listening to yourself violate this rule?
The truth is, learning to listen to yourself is one of the most selfless things you can do. It leads to you making decisions that align with the life you actually want to live. It allows you to show up in bigger, better, and happier ways for the people in your life.
I bet when you think Financial advisor, you don't at all associate it with the woods. We all have the hobbies we grew up doing. The hobbies that keep us grounded and let us escape the busyness of the daily grind. In this case, Mark and Isaiah talk about the upcoming hunts.
You are what you think. If you focus on positive things, then you will attract positivity. This is the natural law of attraction. In this podcast, we explain why it’s important to focus on only the right things; and how this subtle act can affect a big change in your life. Remember, what you focus on grows.
A lot of people stay in jobs that they hate, and many others trap themselves in unfulfilling relationships or marriages because they fear change. They constantly ask themselves, “Can I get a better job opportunity?”, and/or “Can I find someone better?” What you should know and understand is that these questions are manifestations of your fears. This is why many people stick to the same unsatisfactory routine because they’ve already convinced themselves that they cannot do it.
The true definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect a different result. And it’s a global problem.
Why, because society has caged us within an alien mindset that the opinions of people around us matter the most. We make decisions or act based on people’s judgments of us. But there is a way out of this mindset; you need to be able to put people’s negative projections aside and prepare for success. The question you should ask yourself is, “Are you willing to put time into your next move?”
People often overestimate the intensity and duration of their emotional reactions to future events. This tendency is called the impact bias, which is just one of many cognitive biases. Because of the impact bias, people fail to make the right decisions about their emotional reactions to future events.
Many of us prefer the easy road. We possess a natural inclination to stick with the status quo, to resist the unknown, to stay comfortable. It’s tied to our ancestral drive to survive. We’re afraid of trying something new. We want to avoid change, so we don’t push ourselves to the next level. In today’s disruptive and accelerating world, it helps to change your relationship to change and become comfortable being uncomfortable.
We think life is only about creating safety and security and pursuing contentment. These things are important and part of daily life, but life is filled with pleasure and pain, satisfaction and suffering, delight and difficulty. By focusing only on the comfort side of the picture, we cut ourselves off from the full range of human experience—and the knowledge, skills, and empathy that come with the other side.
If you’re uncomfortable with discomfort, you probably run away from uncertainty and change. In today’s world, you can’t run away from change! Everything is in a constant state of flux. Our skin changes, the grass changes, people change-change is everywhere on a moment to moment basis.
When you hide from the tough issues, you may play safe and refuse to take risks. You may steer clear of difficult conversations at home and at work. Afraid of conflict, you may fail to challenge yourself or others, to greater performance and a better life.
To live fully, you must be willing to step into the unknown, now more than ever. Our digital and global world requires it. You must be willing to challenge yourself to grow and change. And change feels uncomfortable for most of us. Your fear and anxiety and discomfort are natural, human reactions to life.
If you’re living with high levels of stress, you’re putting your entire well-being at risk. Stress wreaks havoc on your emotional equilibrium, as well as your physical health. It narrows your ability to think clearly, function effectively, and enjoy life. It may seem like there’s nothing you can do about stress. The bills won’t stop coming, there will never be more hours in the day, and your work and family responsibilities will always be demanding. But you have a lot more control than you might think.
Effective stress management helps you break the hold stress has on your life, so you can be happier, healthier, and more productive. The ultimate goal is a balanced life, with time for work, relationships, relaxation, and fun—and the resilience to hold up under pressure and meet challenges head-on. But stress management is not one-size-fits-all. That’s why it’s important to experiment and find out what works best for you.
Identity involves the experiences, relationships, beliefs, values, and memories that make up a person's subjective sense of self. This helps create a continuous self-image that remains fairly constant even as new aspects of the self are developed or strengthened over time.
When we think of relationships, we often think of our interactions with other people. Our life experiences teach us that relationships with people can be healthy or toxic based on several factors. However, how many of us consider whether our relationship with money can be the same?
Based on our values, money can make us feel secure as we provide for ourselves and others we care for. Our joy may come from the sacrifices we make with money. Money can also make us feel insecure if we do not have the things we want. We can view it negatively, as it may encourage envy and corruption. It can also position us to be overly socially competitive by attempting to “Keep up with the Joneses.”
If you haven’t done so, consider your relationship with money and how it was formed. Also, confirm that your children have a positive relationship with it. Key questions you should ask yourself include:
• Where do my money values come from?
• Does money make me feel confident or insecure?
• Do I have a history of making good financial decisions, and if not, why?
• Am I hesitant to take action when there are issues regarding money?
• Am I impulsive with money, or do I have the discipline to say no?
• Do my children have good values with money, especially if they will inherit it from me?
If thinking about these questions makes you feel uncomfortable, you might not have a good relationship with money. If you do not have a healthy relationship with it, consider consulting with a financial advisor to develop a strategy to correct the financial path for you and your family. Financial health contributes to overall health and a better quality of life.
Any discussion of great leaders will include the cliché that the best leaders lead by example. As stated in the conversation, everyone will nod and agree. And if you are reflecting personally on the attributes of those you have willingly followed, you will find that common trait too. It seems there is little doubt that we influence others through our actions, especially when we are in a leadership role.
The challenge is that it isn’t just great leaders who are leading by example – we all are. As a leader/supervisor/manager, people are watching us. They are noticing everything we do – whether it is what we would want them to emulate . . . or not.
Since people are watching and are being influenced by our behavior, for better or worse, it begs a (very) important question.
What is the example we want to be setting?
Intention: “the thing that you plan to do or achieve: an aim or purpose.“
Motivation: “the condition of being eager to act or work: the condition of being motivated”
Notice that neither of these words actually includes the physical creation of anything and yet, they both imply working towards just that. The intention is what (the thing) you want to create and motivation is how you feel about what you’re going to do or create. In other words, intention feeds motivation.
Intention without motivation is like the proverbial castle in the sky. It’s dreamy but impractical – it won’t hold up.
Motivation is what gets us to action, and it springs from our intentions. Once you’ve set out your intentions, how can you get motivated to achieve them?
The "Buzzards" or stresses in our life are the little things or thoughts that visit us daily. If we choose to ignore them they start to get closer and closer to the point that all we can do is see them. So how do we deal with these recurring "Buzzards"? It starts one by one with addressing and taking care of them when they first show up. Instead of ignoring them and hoping they just go away, we have to capture, kill and replace them. Is it really that easy....?? And YES is the answer. It can be uncomfortable but will help to keep you on track to reaching those goals.
Self-discipline is about creating new habits of thought, action, and speech toward improving oneself and reaching institutional goals. Join Isaiah & Mark as they talk in today's podcast about how discipline can sometimes be a struggle. How they coup with it.
There’s no doubt about it that being positive can benefit every aspect of your life.
Being positive has been found to improve health and increase longevity. In fact, it’s been found that those with a positive attitude can add as much as 10 years to their lives!
Being positive has also been found to help with career advancement, team building, financial success, and even athletic performance for those that have emotions such as gratitude and appreciation.
When it comes to relationships, positive people tend to have more friends, which is key to happiness and living a long life. Couples with a more positive-to-negative ratio of interactions are also found to last longer.
It’s been a buzzy term in recent years that the secret to success is simply “finding your why.” The principle is rooted in a legitimate consideration: humans tend to be compelled by their reasons for doing something, and need that intrinsic motivation. In a personal development or business sense, this “why” stands for a sense of purpose. The principle gets to the heart of self-discovery and equates a sense of “why” with one’s personal fulfillment, clarity, and life meaning.
What is aging to you? Is it growing older and accepting more responsibility? It is finally obtaining that full time job you have been wanting? Is it starting and raising a family?
Age has befuddled me for years. Sure, people are older than me, but does this mean they are more entitled or better than me? Absolutely not. Age is how long one has been on this planet, but that’s mostly it. It does not exalt said person to a higher rank or privilege. A majority of the time, one that is going to be older than you is going to likely have a higher education, but that is not always the case.
Do you believe that when you are connected with a higher purpose in life, there will be a release of massive energy both physically and psychologically? The secret of generating such an extraordinary level of energy can be achieved when you discover your true calling in life. It can keep you ignited with a burning desire till you die.
The key is to keep that burning desire ignited within yourself continuously without bothering about the surrounding environment to avoid deviations in life. Most of the time, GOOD deviations will not stop/affect your almighty goal. They can either delay or reshape you by giving you more maturity in life. Even when we anticipated tough periods beforehand and develop a mindset not to look at our mistakes as failures in our lives. Failures should be viewed as the pillars of success. With time, the warmth of our desire becomes powerful and it is still felt by many people around us with a positive impact on their lives as well.
So, find your calling with your real talent that is hidden inside yourself. Have a strong feeling that the CHANGE is possible. Be excited about it every single day with confidence! Never give up until you see the results that you want in life!
When greater output equals greater revenue, it’s easy to get caught up in the push to be faster and more efficient. Unfortunately, this often leads to mistakes and poorer quality of products and services. Sometimes it pays to be more deliberate and to do things right the first time around.
Ever do a task, and then have to do it again a short time later? Why? Because you didn’t do it right the first time.
You left it half-done. You didn’t put it away. Or you didn’t give it your full effort.
The difference between doing something and doing it right is usually only a few seconds.
As legendary basketball coach John Wooden once said, “If you don’t have the time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?”
Time plays a significant role in our lives. If we better understand the time value, then we can gain experience and develop skills over time. Time can also heal things whether external wounds or feelings.
Time is the ultimate thing that we cannot measure. Activities, when performed on time, will be fruitful, and the results will be great. Time can also mean the point in time to which a person is referring.
Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don’t wait for something outside of yourself to make you satisfied in the future. Think of how precious is the time you have to spend, whether it’s at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored
"The best investment you can make is to invest in yourself - The more you learn, the more you'll earn". - Warren Buffet
Aesop’s Fable: "The Ant and the Grasshopper" One summer day, a grasshopper was hopping and chirping and singing as loud as he could and ant drudged by dragging a kernel of corn to the nest. “Why not come and play with me” said the grasshopper, “instead of toiling and struggling like that, I am having lots of fun.” “I am gathering and storing food for the winter” said the ant, “and I recommend you do the same.” “Why bother about winter” said the grasshopper, “we have plenty of food now.” But the ant went on its way and continued its hard work. When the winter came, the grasshopper had no food and was dying of hunger while it saw the ants distributing every day the corn and grain from stores that they had collected all summer. Then the grasshopper knew the importance of preparing for the future.
This story brings an important lesson with it!
The choices we make and the action we take today dictate what our future is going to be.
We can either choose an easy life today and face a tougher life later, like the Grasshopper, or we can learn from the Ants, and work our ass off today, invest in ourselves, and build a better future.
I personally chose to behave like the Ants!
Keeping score is sweating the small stuff. When you keep score, you spend a lot of time focusing on minor things that don’t really matter. Who cares that I gave my friends fruit snacks on any given day? By thinking about these insignificant details, you distract yourself from all the good things about your relationships.
In sports, no one can argue with the scoreboard. The scoreboard tells us who is winning. The scoreboard tells us the story. The scoreboard tells us the truth. The scoreboard doesn’t lie.
Just as we keep score in sports, we should also keep score in business and in life.
Why is it important to keep score? So that when this lying voice tries to deceive and discourage us, we can look at our ‘scoreboard’ and remind ourselves of the truth. We can tell that voice to shut up and get lost, because we know the real story. We can stay encouraged, motivated, and focused, because we know that we’re on the right path and making progress.
But what now? Join Mark & Isaiah as they discuss how they keep score on a daily basis to ensure their goals are met.
Securities and advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser.
“Don’t be an Ostrich.”
When faced with a danger of any sort, it is said that ostriches instinctively bury their heads in the sand, hoping that the trouble will pass them by. But, of course, the truth is that Ostriches don’t bury their heads in the sand to avoid danger. Still, somehow, the Ostrich has become a metaphor to describe a typical human predicament. When we see an issue in front of us, or our fears face us, we choose to bury our heads in the sand and ignore the problem.
- You know you are growing heavier by the day, but you don’t want to face up to reality. Instead of checking your weight and taking action, you convince yourself that you are fit and healthy.
- You feel like your colleagues are not pulling their weight on the project, and you seem to be doing all the heavy lifting. So instead of reaching out and having an open conversation, you hold back, thinking the issue will solve itself.
- There are enough indications that your role may be made redundant. You see the signals clearly but choose to go into denial mode, thinking that you have an excellent track record and everything is ok.
Securities and advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser.
Honesty is more than simple truthfulness. Honesty is the virtue of seeking and exemplifying the truth in all things. This means that we must speak the truth, but we must also do as we say we will, admit when we are wrong, and continuously question our assumptions.
When we speak to practice honesty, we must be careful with our words. Taking time to express ourselves clearlyso as to not deceive through carelessness or imprecise language. Also, our actions must be aligned with our words. If we say something and do another, we are not being honest. Instead, we should take care to examine our words and actions to ensure that they align with each other and the values we profess.
Securities and advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser.
As a professional, you are constantly learning. Whether you're learning informally through reading an article or conducting research, or in an educational setting like a seminar or online classroom, so many experiences can provide new and important information that enhance your skills and overall knowledge.
However, there's a big difference between absorbing information and putting what you've learned into practice. Without doing the latter, the training you've received will go to waste, so it's important to have a strategy for implementing your learning.
-
Identify Your Top Strengths
-
Enlist A Feedback Partner To Make The Learning Stick
-
Figure Out Your 'Why'
-
Create Metrics For Learning
-
Supplement Your Learning With Continuity Training
-
Do Some Honest Self Reflection
-
Establish An Action Plan And Review Your Goals
-
Seek Out Experiential Learning Opportunities
-
Write About It
-
Put Yourself In The Right Mindset To Start Taking Action
-
Find A Mentor
-
Get Out In The World And Make Some Mistakes
-
Set Long And Short-Term Goals
-
Pay Attention To Changes In Your Behavior
Securities and advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser.
Is it better to have Luck or Skill? Generally skill prevails over luck, that's why having skill will make you a winning player, but only lucky, luck will run out eventually.
- Skill is the ability to fire knowledge readily in performance and execution. We know how to do something, and when the moment comes, we can do it.
- Luck has three specific features — it works for an individual and/or organization, it can be good or bad, and it's reasonable to expect something else could have happened.
Mark and Isaiah break down what they think Luck is and if it is sustainable.
Securities and advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser.
"But I thought perfect was good," I hear you say. Not always. The dictionary definition of excellence is "to surpass", it is "the quality of being outstanding or extremely good". So, when you strive for excellence, you are always looking at where you are and how you get a little bit better. On the other hand, when you strive for perfection, you are aiming at something that is so good that it cannot get any better and the risk is that you will never get there.
Securities and advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser.
Highly Effective Ways to Stay Motivated. Everyone is motivated by different things. Understanding what motivates you can make the difference between success and failure. But what happens when you can't find your motivation or you can't stay motivated long enough to finish a project or even keep up with daily tasks? You need find your motivation--but where?
Securities and advisory services offered through Commonwealth Financial Network, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Adviser.
You might be wondering how writing in a journal can have a significant impact on your mental health. After all, it’s just putting some words on a page—how much can that really do for you?
It turns out that this simple practice can do a lot, especially for those struggling with mental illness or striving towards more positive mental health.
Journaling requires the application of the analytical, rational left side of the brain; while your left hemisphere is occupied, your right hemisphere (the creative, touchy-feely side) is given the freedom to wander and play (Grothaus, 2015)! Allowing your creativity to flourish and expand can be cathartic and make a big difference in your daily well-being.
Overall, journaling/expressive writing has been found to:
- Boost your mood/affect;
- Enhance your sense of well-being;
- Reduce symptoms of depression before an important event (like an exam);
- Reduce intrusion and avoidance symptoms post-trauma;
- Improve your working memory (Baikie & Wilhelm, 2005).