Stuck in a rut? We have all been there. How do you get out of it? Do you move? Change jobs? What do you do?

All you need to do to get out of a rut is to change your perspective. Change how you look at things. It may just change your life.

Have you ever seen the arrow in the FedEx logo? Have you? Look. Do you see it now? If you do see it how long have you looked at the FedEx logo before you saw it. Did they change their logo? Was it there on purpose?

Still don’t see it? I will let you in on it at the end of the article. You have to read the rest first.

Changing your perspective is not an easy thing to do at first. It is very difficult to change your views and thoughts on things, especially if they have been that way for a long time.

To hone your skills try this. Go for a nature walk and look at the things around you. Don’t label them. Don’t say look at that Cardinal. Instead say look at the pretty red bird. It sounds a little silly especially to a science and math person, but without labeling things they begin to take on a whole new perspective. Try it, you may be surprised.

Try this: Close your eyes and listen. OK first turn off the radio and the TV and try again. Close your eyes and listen. Try to pick out the different sounds. Do you hear anything differently? Do your surroundings change. Did you hear that highway in the distance before? Did you hear the motor of your refrigerator running. Maybe you went outside and closed your eyes. Could you hear the breeze in the trees? Did things look differently when you opened your eyes?

As your perspective changes you will begin to see that what you really want and what you really need you probably already have. You probably never noticed it before, but it is right there for you. Do you want a better job? With a new perspective you probably realize that it is near by, or maybe available in your office right now. Do you think you need to buy a new car, or is the one that you have just in need of a little TLC?

Changing perspective can be fun and enlightening, give it a try you will probably surprise yourself on what you see.

Oh the FedEx arrow; look at the white space between the E and the X.

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Once the decision is made to be healthy is made it is up to your mind and body to work together to achieve your goals. It does not matter if your goal is to lose weight, to get in shape, or just to feel better about yourself it takes both parts of you to make it happen.

The first and most important thing that you have to do is to get the right mindset. It is your mind after all that makes all the decisions about everything you do. It is your mind that you need to use to get your body into the shape and the look you want.

Diets don’t work

If you simply decide that you want to lose weight and go on a diet the mind is really not active. You want your body to be a part of it but what always happens with every diet? Sometime along the way we all say to ourselves ‘I can cheat just a little’ and that just a little turns into a lot and your body suddenly becomes worse off than it was before. How can this happen? Your mind was not involved, your body was, but your mind was on auto pilot. It was not ready for the change. Your mind controls everything.

So your mindset:

• Have a Positive Attitude — Your mind needs to have things positive in order to work effectively. Your mind has to set a positive attitude about what you are trying to achieve. Be happy about your new body. Be happy to be able to get outside and have a good sweat. Don’t make it a chore, you will eventually not want to do it. Make it fun. Run with a smile on your face. Eat right with a positive attitude “This carrot is going to make me healthier, and stronger, than I was before”. It may sound a little funny but it works. Even if you have to fool yourself for a little while do it with feeling and you will be successful.

• Believe That It Can Be Done — We all know those people out there who say “I can never loose weight” well guess what, they won’t. If you really believe that you can loose weight, be more fit, feel better you will. It is a matter of belief. You can do it, and your mind will lead the way.

• Focus on your Goal — If your goal is to lose 20 pounds then focus on that one thing very intently. Don’t worry about how your belly looks. Don’t look for bigger bicepts or sculpted legs. If your goal is to lose 20 pounds then focus only on the weight loss. If your goal on the other hand is to have nice long slender legs that have good muscle tone, then focus only on making your legs look good. Set a goal and stick to it until you achieve it.

So we have a goal, we have a positive attitude about the goal, we believe that it can happen, and we are focused. We have not even started on the body. In reality once you have to proper mindset the body is the easy part. It is the part that is happy to do what you want to. Your body wants to be in a good fit state. Everyone knows that their body feels better when it is healthy. So be healthy.

Your Bodyset:

• Eat Right — Eating right is the first step to a more healthy you. You don’t need to diet, again diets don’t work. Just eat right. You know what is right. You know that prepackaged food is not healthy. You want to know how to buy the right food? It is simple, shop around the outside of the grocery store. The stuff that is bad for you is in the isles of the store. If instead you shop around the outside of the store, that is the area with the fresh food, fresh meat, and dairy you will be well on your way to eating right.

• Exercise — Sorry you couch potatoes you have to get off your butt get out of the house and do some activity. Any activity is better than no activity. Here is the key…MAKE IT FUN. You don’t have to go out and kill yourself to get some exercise. You don’t have to make laps around the same neighborhood. Get outside and get moving. Go to a festival the next town over and walk around. Find hiking trails. Get out with the kids and play basketball, or throw a baseball, or heck take a camera and walk until you find the perfect picture to take. It does not have to kill you, any activity is better than no activity.

• Enjoy The Time — For many of us the only time we have to ourselves is when we get out and exercise. Enjoy your quiet time by yourself. Get an MP3 player, download a good book and listen to it as you are exercising. Heck just listen to the birds, to nature. Find a place with activity and just relax and enjoy yourself. This is your time feel good about it.

Get your mind right and your body will follow. Then enjoy yourself and your new body, it will be there before you know it.

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It is almost impossible for me to pass up a good contest, so I have entered one at Site Flip University (http://www.siteflipu.com). Bryan Clark is the webmaster and has a great site going.  See the contest here:

http://siteflipu.com/30-days-of-site-flipping-contest/

The contest is to get an original site up and running and attracting visitors within 30 days.  It does seem like a long time, but to get some good visitors it is no time at all.

So here is my entry Professor Prosperity (http://www.professorprosperity.com)

How can you help?  Sign up for my feed, and visit often.  This may be against contest rules, but if you are not cheating (or maybe just bending the rules a little bit) you are not trying .

Here is my competition:

http://blogfluff.com

http://acthighbrow.com

http://traveltipsdigest.com

http://gogreenlifestyle.net/

http://reggae-artists.com

http://bloggerssearch.com

http://frugalzeitgeist.com/

Again vote for me by subscribing to my RSS feed and my soon to be email list.  Also don’t forget my competitors.  Visit them also there are a lot of very talented people out there.

Conceive It, Believe It, Achieve It

Coach Kip

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Ever wonder what happened to Ed McMahon? You know the one who was Johnny Carson’s side kick, Or the one who promised to visit you with a million dollar check. You know “You may have already won.”

Well Look at this headline:

Ed McMahon’s home in danger of foreclosure

By CHRISTY LEMIRE

LOS ANGELES (AP) - For years, Ed McMahon promised wealth, comfort and happiness as a pitchman for the American Family Publishers’ sweepstakes. Now, he could use some of that cash himself.

So what happened? Like I tell me students all the time: You have to know how to read the numbers. Ed McMahon could not read the numbers.

Read the article and you will see that he had a 4.8 Million Dollar Mortgage. 4.8 Million dollars? How can that happen from this man? Did he not make enough to put down a larger down payment? Clearly he did not know or understand the situation. He took out the 4.8 Million loan and took out a $300,000 home equity line of credit. This was after he received a $7.2 Million Dollar settlement for problems related to mold.

My favorite quote from the whole article is this

Bragman said there was “a certain irony” in the fact that McMahon has always tried to connect with average Americans, and now he’s experiencing some of their same problems.

Well it is true and it is sad. So many people, including me, put too much emphasis on your home growing in value. It is OK to roll all your debt into your home because it is always going to go up right? Well not always.

It may make sense to invest in a piece of property for capital gains in a long term investment. Or in other words if you want to buy a house to get more money out of it is to do it in the long term. Too many people see this and take money out almost yearly. And for what? To make more investments, to increase their financial portfolio? Or is it to buy a new flat screen TV. It is to put in a pool to increase the “value” of the house. But if you are taking out a loan for this it really is not increasing the value is it. It is counter productive. The value may go up, but your equity. You used it up with the loan.

So this gets back to financial education. When you don’t understand completely how things work you get taken advantage of. We are in America having problems with house lending. Ed McMahon proves that it is happening to everyone. Everyone is in jeopardy. But, are the banks in jeopardy. No they are still making money. They still have properties to foreclose on. They will get paid in the end. They may not get as much as they hoped, but they will still get paid.

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If you have read Robert Kiyosaki’s books you know that one of his big griefs is that schools do not teach proper financial knowledge. After working in the school system, in primarily low income and first generation middle class schools, I have come to not only agree with this statement, but to say that this lack of financial Knowledge is about to seriously hurt us as a country.

I don’t to come across as a doomsdayer here. I don’t believe that we are already in full crisis mode, but I do see us racing toward that. Without the proper financial knowledge the poor and the middle class are just going to get weaker, and the rich are going to get stronger. There is going to be an ever widening gap.

For me growing up in a solid middle class family I was not given any financial knowledge at all. As a matter of fact speaking about money was almost as bad as speaking about sex. My parents were deeply in debt, and they still are. As I learn more I am beginning to realize that my parents are even deeper in debt than they think. It is a shame.

So who has to make up for it? Well in my case it is me, my brother and sisters. But are we going to be in any better shape? Not without learning on our own. The only financial knowledge I got in school was how to balance my checkbook, and an elective class on the stock market crash of the 20’s and the Great Depression, and most of that class was on the Great Depression.

It is an evil cycle to get into and very difficult to break out of. In our school we say we give education about finances but it still is taboo. I run a game at the end of my Algebra class that I call Rich Student. Yes it is a total rip off of Robert Kiyosaki’s books, but it does not have anything to do with his game. The discussions in the class are limited only due to time. We talk a little bit about how Real Estate works, a little bit about how the Stock Market and true investing works, and we talk about developing incomes on line. Some students get it right away and do well, some never understand. But, if the students don’t have me as a teacher they will go their whole career without getting any financial education at all.

Lets talk solutions, not problems. So what is needed?

• Budgeting Skills

  We need to go beyond balancing the checkbooks, beyond saying simple subtract our bills from our paycheck, and start teaching what the rich already know. We need to teach our students to pay themselves first and if they can’t pay their bills they need to either figure out how to eliminate some, or find more money somewhere.

• Credit Scores

  It seems to me that the middle class and the poor must rely on their credit scores more an more to get out of where they are at. How do we protect this? How do banks calculate this. Most students, and probably their parents, have no idea what this means. They need help to get out of where they are at. That help is so dependent on this score. Students need to understand more about this.

• Real Estate

  Not only do the students not understand about houses they are misinformed. Houses may be an investment if bought properly, but they are not an asset. Students have no idea that they can pay up to 4 times the purchase price for a home after all their payments are done. They have no idea that a larger down payment and a better credit score will result in lower payments. They have no idea how to buy a house that will result in an income generation.

• Investing

  Students are completely confused about investing. They think that their parents are investors because they have a 401K or some mutual funds. They have no idea what it means to be an investor and invest in companies. As a matter of fact most students are afraid of investing in companies because they think that it is too hard. They don’t understand how to do it so they don’t. They have no idea what the difference is between a mutual fund, a retirement plan, and what stocks, or shares in a company are.

It is a no wonder that underprivileged kids think that the only way that they are going to make money is to play sports, rap, or deal drugs. It is sad that those are their heroes. If you disagree substitute teach in a public city school and listen to the conversations. You may be surprised at what they talk about.

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“Poor people have jobs, Rich and Successful people have careers.” - Colin Cowherd ESPN Radio

I heard this over the radio one day and it took me a while to figure out what he meant. It was one of those days where I just had a few minutes to tune into the radio. As soon as I turned it on I heard this. I don’t know what lead up to this statement but it struck me and stuck with me.

I brought up this statement with my students, most of whom fall into the poor or poverty social class, and they all understood exactly what I was saying.

I explained it like this:

Poor people have jobs. They work for money and nothing else. So what happens? Is a person who makes $250,000 a year poor? Maybe not by money standards but what is their life like? How much do they work? How much do they enjoy themselves?

If they just have a job that pays well they are probably not completely happy. Actually if they are like most of us they have a job that they just don’t like. It is nice to make a lot of money but are they happy?

What is the sense of making a lot of money when all they do is work? Then what happens? When people work in a job that they are not happy in they need to supplement this unhappiness with something. Some buy toys, a bigger house, new cars, and more. Then what happens? They have to keep working to pay it off. Some are more destructive and turn to alcohol or drugs. Still others take their frustrations out on others.

Rich and successful people have careers. What do they work for? They typically don’t work for money, they get money as a result of their effort and their hard work. Instead of working for money they work to learn. They learn what it takes to get to the next step. That next step may be the next rung up the corporate ladder (something I have no interest in). For some the next step is to open their own business. For others it simply is a case of lifelong learning.

These people may not be rich with money, but they are rich and successful with their life. They are happy because they are doing things that they love to do. They are successful not because they work hard, but because they enjoy their work. Since they enjoy their work they tend to spend more time with it, and they tend to do a better job.

So what are you doing? Are you happy with your job? If you are maybe you should begin to learn and turn it into a career. What is the next step? Where will it take you in the future? If you are just starting out don’t worry about the money right now. If you work for money you will rarely get ahead. If you work for your career then you will find the opportunities will come to you and you will get paid soon. The money comes as a secondary result of how well you develop your career.

Be patient, I know it is hard, I fell into those same traps, but there is a payoff in the end.

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Weekend Roundup Podcast

Thanks for listening to our first weekend podcast.  To get more information visit my About page.

In the coming weeks included here will be information contained in the podcast.  Hope you enjoyed it, and don’t forget to leave some feedback.

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Act As If II Podcast

On Sunday I posted an article about acting as if. Simple acting as if you already have something will bring more of that thing to you.

You want to be successful in business? Act as if you are and people will treat you that way. They will offer you more opportunities, more responsibility, and eventually more success.

So what can you do now? If you are spinning your wheels, wondering what can be done to get you out of where you are at, if you are looking for a change what can you do?

I have a little story for you. I told this to my 9^th graders. I hope that you can translate it to something you can use.

I would guess that somewhere in your city there is some sort of financial district. Somewhere that has some really big buildings. You know the nice shiny ones with tinted windows that go right up to the clouds.

If you are in a small city like the one that I grew up in you may have to go to a larger city to find such a place. This will make it even easier since you will not know anyone there.

Go downtown to that area sometime during a normal work day. Make it a Tuesday or Wednesday. Help break up the monotony of a regular work week. Dress nicely but casual. Dress business casual. Dress to make an impression, but be humble, that is the sweet spot.

Look for the suits. They will look like bustling ants scurrying from building to building. Watch them for a few minutes. Look at which building has the most traffic, then follow them in. Ride the elevator up with them. Get out when they get out. Find the largest office on the floor and walk right in.

Now just before you go in look at the name on the door. Companies are proud and they will display on the door their name and what they do. Walk into “KIP Inc. Financial Services to the World”.

There will be a receptionist, secretary, or some other person sitting at a desk right up front. This person is the gate keeper of Midevil times. They will most likely ask if they can help you.

Say “Yes. I would like to get into Financial Services” or what ever else their door says “and possibly work for KIP Inc. I was wondering what I should do to be able to get a job. Is there a manager, or possibly the president that I can speak with for a few moments?”

About 85% of the time it will work. Say it with a smile (see my post on smiling) Stand at the desk and let them call the person in charge, don’t go away and sit down. Don’t leer, just stand there with a nice smile. Act as if they are going to do this for you.

Soon the president or manager will come in. They will probably say something like “Come on in but I only have about 5 minutes for you.” They really don’t but they like to act really busy.

They will probably lead you through the company. Past all the workers at their desks. Casually look around and observe what is going on. This will give you a good idea if you really want to work in this type of company. If you feel good about the people that are working around you then great, you may have found a place that you would like to work. If it is a bit scary for you then that is good too. You may not want to work at this company but you will still get something out of asking the manager for his opinion.

When he sits you down to talk to him simply ask one question.

“What do you do, and how can I do it?”

It is very powerful. Watch the beginning of In Pursuit of Happyness and see what happens. Watch the rest of the movie to see how hard you will have to work to really get what you want.

The manager/boss/president will be very happy to tell you all about what they do and how they got there. You may or may not want to do the same thing, after you ask a few of these people you will begin to see common things come up.

What can you learn? What can you find out? How valuable would this be?

SCARED? Good! How bad do you want change? Try it, it might even be fun.

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There is not a whole lot that I want in life.  I great wife (I have one) a nice tempered dog (got one of those too) and a house on the water (well within reach).

But I don’t want some house on the beach, although it would suit me just fine, I want a house on the water.  Yes a real houseboat.  That would just be too cool don’t you think?

Well guess what I just came across this today, a nice article on MSN about living on a houseboat.  Ahh the nice sunsets, commuting via kyak, the gentle rocking of the boat.  Nice don’t you think?  Or are you one that gets sea sick easily?

Check it out it is a good read.  (http://realestate.msn.com/Buying/Article_bankrate.aspx?cp-documentid=7162126&GT1=35000)

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You want a really powerful technique that will knock the socks off your competitors and your customers? Just act as if.

Act as if you have already made the sale, you will sell more.

Act as if you have already beat your competitors, they will pick up on that and begin to panic.

Act as if you are already successful and people will begin to treat you that way.

My father was a master at this. He was a great salesman and later a great teacher. We would go to a college campus, or a football game, or sometimes just be out and about. I am always curious and would ask about a building, or I would say out loud how I wish we could go in there.

Off he would go, just pulling on doors to see which one was unlocked. I would get scared, but he would turn to me and say, “Act as if you were supposed to be here and no one will say anything different”.

Guess what? He was right, he was always right. We would get inside the private practice facilities of major sports programs (I will not tell you which). One day we decided to go into the science building of a large university. Before we knew it we were in the reptile lab with several graduate assistance and they were pulling out exotic snakes, lizards, turtles, and things that I did not know even existed.

Why? My father just went in and started asking quesitons. He was genuinely curious. When he asked he acted as if he expected them to answer him. He was not rude or disrespectful. He was not loud and boastful. He was not overbearing. He simply asked and waited for them to answer in a very polite and respectful manner.

You know what? They always answered. They always were happy to answer. No one ever questioned why we were there.

He acted as if. It was great fun, it was harmless, and I got to see many things that I never thought I would see.

Just act as if, and see where it gets you!