Persistence is the Key

A few days ago, I commented on a blog post from Ramit Seth, author of I Will Teach You To Be Rich, co-founder of PBwiki and graduate of Stanford. The post was Knowing vs. doing: Let’s compare these 2 friends who try to earn more and was a guest post from Erica Douglass (of Erica.biz) — about 2 guys who are trying to sell the same product — for 3 reasons. The blog started with Erica: Do you know someone who’s given up?

There were a number of great responses and the day when I read the post, I was doing what I normally do. In my Corporate Cubedominium working away, thinking about the Board meeting I had the day before for my non-profit, wondering how much work I could get done during lunch for my Production/Editing business and praying that I took something out for dinner tonight for the kids. My life is FULL with no room for error. Time management is key and everytime I record my thoughts or open my mouth, I examine why.

I'm not content with running the rat race. I want more and I am willing to work day and night to achieve what I believe is success. The ability to live my life the way I want, doing what I most enjoy, surrounded by the people I love, admire and respect! So, here was my response to the post:

This post from Erica feeds into the “dream” that too many people have of working their plan and believing it will eventually pay off without truly having a plan. At some point when feeding a family, we must join the reality of working the dream AND the job that is funding the dream. I am in that crux currently since I have a non-profit that I founded and a dream business. My business is unique and I found a niche that has not been tapped into. Yet, I have 3 mouths at home to feed and support. What do I do, work like crazy on all of them. Sorry, Erica, this post isn’t realistic for the working class. Besides, who says the other guy wasn’t doing? He’s happily married with kids. He’s “doing” what he wants to do.

Then, something amazing happened...read on!

Ramit Sethi
Definitely. You can’t just jump into something and hope your passion will carry you. Passion is not enough. But notice that Erica was investing in her own education by meeting this guy, who’s done what she wants to do before. That’s one part of the recipe.

Ramit Sethi responded to me! and then...

Erica Douglass
Tina wrote: “I am in that crux currently since I have a non-profit that I founded and a dream business. My business is unique and I found a niche that has not been tapped into. Yet, I have 3 mouths at home to feed and support. What do I do, work like crazy on all of them.”
Tina, if you’d like, feel free to email me more details (I’m at erica AT erica dot biz) and I will give you some advice as a blog post. I’d need more information about what your businesses are and where you would like to be in order to help, and you’d have to be OK with sharing some of your story publicly (though I can change names as needed.)
If that’s something you would be interested in, feel free to email me. If not, no worries, and carry on…I will be rooting for you!
-Erica

Are you kidding me! Of course I want some help. Erica rocks! She sold her online business at age 26 for $1,100,000.00, "retired" and chose to teach others how to jump-start their business.

So, I said all of this to tell you this: Be persistent and grab every opportunity you can to get expert advice!

What can you do?

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Save Money searching for Ways to Save Money!

Today I had to book a flight for someone and I researched online for "coupon codes" in google. Did you know that there is a coupon available for virtually anything you want to purchase online? Yes there is! You just have to find it. So, I wanted to be sure that if you had some place to be that you could also find it. If you have a flight that you need to take, use this coupon code to get $25 off via Air Tran.

Achieving success in life is appreciating every opportunity to save, give and DO. I am a frugal person and I believe in saving a dollar or a hundred dollars when I can. Look for ways to save money. Look for ways to cut the costs and stop paying full price. The only you should be paying full price is when you absolutely want to and don't feel guilty about doing it. Live your best life now and splurge on what is truly important to Y-O-U.

http://www.retailmenot.com/view/airtran.com

I'm in LOVE...

Life has a way of surprising even the best of us. I have had a love/hate relationship with life for a long time. Most days have been bad and I've been SCREAMING inside. Yet, I've been still. I've been happy. I threw back all of the lemons life threw at me. I HATE LEMONS! I threw every last one back and refused defeat. I refused failure. I refused lack. I refused to allow others to continue to hurt me. I refused to continue to allow people to treat me like I was trash and didn't matter. I made the choice to make a choice to take ownership of my life. DAMMIT, my life is mine! I was predestined to succeed. I BELIEVE IT! My dreams are real. My hopes are real. My love is real. Whatever demons were sent to take me out FAILED!

I'm still here. Some days standing. Some days on my knees. Some days flat on the ground. Who cares? Life is what we decide to make of it. What we make it. IF you don't like your life, where it's at or where it's going CHANGE IT!

Yesterday I delivered a speech about my life and listened to it. We all have had issues, stories and challenges in life. Everyone has! So, recognize what season of life you're in and keep it moving. Stagnant water stinks.

One of my favorite quotes "Start it now, perfect it later."-Lisa Maria Carroll

Oh, and what am I in love with? LIFE! Are you creating a life that you can love?

I am a GOAL Digger

I'm a BIG fan of the Ask Sharifah Show on Blog Talk Radio. She has some amazing guests and provides timely information. In August, she had Alicia and Britt on the Show representing their company See You on the Call. I thought their concept was great "A one-of-a-kind teleseminar promotion service, See You On The Call is designed to help entrepreneurs build their Opt In lists while developing their expert status. The primary service includes twice daily email blasts with categorized listings of teleseminars and webinars sent to a growing list of over 6000 teleseminar listeners. As the company grows, they will begin to offer advertising options and teleseminar guest host services, in addition to offering teleseminar success products and services. Alicia and Britt can often be found speaking at business events and to networking groups about the value of teleseminars and providing valuable tips for every entrepreneur."

Well, I said all of that to say...I started a business that can help all of those that have Teleseminars! See below and sign up! Send me an email tina@alifemessage.com

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Creating the Life I Love

Today, I hosted a Teleseminar "Creating the Life I Love" and it was amazing. The seminar covered information about purpose, goals and vision. More and more each day, I realize the importance of CREATING the life I love. No one is going to create it for me or believe in it if I don't.

6 Principles to Living your Best Life from Jay-Z

I'm seeing someone right now that I think is IN LOVE with Jay-Z! He watches him all the time, says his quotes, listens to all his music, interviews, etc. In fact, one day he was at my house watching Jay-Z's interview with Oprah while I was outside mowing the grass! (please do not comment).

So, If you don't know, I'm on this journey with three amazing women to make 1 million in 365. This may seem as though we're chasing the money and in reality-we're chasing our passions! We come from different paths, 1 woman is an Attorney, 1 woman a six-figure earner in Corporate America and me-I work for a billion dollar Corporation.

We're not selling MLM products, we don't even have home based products that we're selling, we are honing in on how to monetize our current projects. So, if you're brave enough to believe in yourself then join us! You are the author of your book.

This morning, the guy I'm seeing told me that "1 million is not a lot of money" and that according to Jay-Z, "You shouldn't plan to spend any of your 1st million." I politely informed him that he doesn't even know Jay-Z and that my goal was to acquire my FIRST million in 365.

So, I'm not a hater of Jay-Z and I decided to do my own research. I like his 6 Principles and I'll just be my own biggest fan!

6 Principles to Living your Best Life from Jay-Z

Be Your Own Biggest Fan…
“Believe in whatever it is you’re doing. If you don’t believe it, no one else will.”

Take Control, Then Let It Go…
“Work really hard and apply yourself in a way that when the job is done, you can look in the mirror and say, ‘I’ve exhausted all possibilities. I’ve done everything to make this right’. After that, let it go: It’s out of your control.”

Focus On The Process, Not The Result…..“People get consumed by the trappings of success. They forget the reason they wanted to do what they wanted to do in the first place. Whether you have zero money or a million dollars, it doesn’t change who you are. Keep yourself inspired.”

Never Act On Your Fears…
“Card players have a saying: ‘Play the cards, not the money’. If your hand is good, it doesn’t matter if there’s $2 on the table or $2,000. You determine your outcome. Don’t make decisions based on the fear. People can be jealous of you and bait you, but you can be mature and handle the situation.”

Use Money The Right Way…..
“For some people money can be a burden and lead to bad decisions. But money should make you comfortable so that you don’t have to compromise yourself or do anything just for money. It should give you the freedom to do what you love.”

Don’t Stop Growing…..“Growth doesn’t stop when you’ve become successful. That’s when it starts.”

Are you brave enough to believe that you could reach millionaire status in 1 year? If you're already there, how did you spend your 1st million?

Happiness Within

I love reading the Book of Philippians in my Message Bible. There is an introduction to the book of Philippians and it describes Philippians as Paul's happiest letter. "Paul doesn't tell us that we can be happy, or how to be happy. He simply and unmistakbly is happy."-The Message

I am happy. None of my circumstances current contribute to my joy. In fact, earlier today, I spent an hour-and-a-half at my daughters' school because of an incident that started in our neighborhood. The incident went from an 11 and 12 year old child to an altercation between an 18 year old (adult) and my 13 year old daughter. Police have been called out to our home over the last several weeks.

My relationship has been up and down like a yo-yo. Most days I've felt like a complete NUT and the pressure has been on with my non-profit. Still, I'm HAPPY! Still, I'm excited about the new day each day. My present each day to unwrap and weave into what I want it to be.

Still, I have the joy within that makes others around me think that everything is okay even when inside I feel like screaming. What is it? I could easily say this joy I have is from Jesus- yet it's beyond me using just the principle and foundation of my Christian faith.

I believe that the best is always yet to come. I believe that life will get better. I believe that hiccups in life are just that-temporary and that the do go away. I believe that I am in control of my destiny. I believe that I create what I speak and speak what I create.

I believe in 365 days I will achieve my 1st million and I refuse to believe anything different. So often I've heard that "we" are our own worst enemy because the enemy is "in a me." You know what, I choose to be my biggest cheerleader and fan! I choose to be a friend to ME.

So, life is not all green eggs and ham. My life is not simple. I believe that I am special-in fact, I know it. I refuse to accept defeat or failure and instead I choose to be happy!

When the pressures of life weigh on your back, what do you choose to believe?

Kill the Energy Vampires

I have energy vampires around me and I can't wait to kill them! Do you have energy vampires around you? What have you done to get rid of them? What if they live in your house and sleep in your bed?

Are you a risk taker?

3 Women. 1 Goal. 1 Destination. 1 Million in 365 days

My friend, Lisa Maria Carroll of Single Mom and More , heard an interview on the J.L. Godfrey show a few weeks ago and decided that she was determined to become a millionaire. She talked about it daily and in fact, she talked about it so much that I decided I wanted to join her too! After I listened to the interview, I knew that I had the distinctions and just needed to apply everything I had been reading and hearing in my life.

For many years, I have believe that I was going to be a millionaire. I used to say I would become a millionaire by 30 and I believe that I may have accomplished the task if I would have married the right man. Yes, really!

My friend and I were so motivated that another friend decided to join us. We’re women determined to reach millionaire status in 1 year. Yes, 1 year. We’re very serious women on a mission. One woman is a Corporate Six figure earner, one woman works for a Billion Dollar Industry and the other an Attorney and her husband is a Computer Engineer. We all have our own businesses for parents as well and two are both authors and have e-books (I’m still working on mine), and I founded a non-profit for Single Parents.

We want to leave a legacy of learning and finances for our families. So, applaud us or be one of the naysayers. Either way, our destination is clear. 3 Women. 1 Goal. 1 Destination: 1 million in 365 days

Each and every day think about how you can generate revenue. What are you doing right now today to secure your future destination?

My $300 Liora Manne Stupid Tax

I bought my home in August 2009 and upon moving in decided I wanted new furniture. If you don't know me, new to me was scouring Craig's list for furniture on a discount for my new home. I found some great pieces and for under $2000 managed to furnish my entire 1500 square foot home. I'm not much of a designer so I knew that I eventually would need to pay someone to furnish the home for me. I had one friend that suggested a few places and I decided that I would search around. I attended a business function in May of 2009 and rekindled a friendship with a wonderful woman I had met 3 years prior at the Small Business Center. We were taking a 6 week course on How to Start a Business.

Unbeknownst to me, she still had her business and it was thriving nicely. She gave me another card and I immediately began thinking of ways to afford her services. Well, we set up an arrangement to have her come out and do a consultation and immediately I wanted to use her and decided that $250 of the $400 that I would no longer be paying to my son's daycare could easily be allocated to pay for the Redesign Interior Designer (what was I thinking?)

Well, of course my Redesigner asked what I could afford to spend (if I could afford it, why was I making payment arrangements) and my limit was $2k. Well, of course that is what the bill came up to (almost). The bill total came up to $1,715.46 and that included 5 hours of labor at $500 and 2 hours of shopping for $150 not to mention a rug that was listed for $298! Are you kidding me? My entire dining room set was less than $200. I couldn't believe it when I looked at the prices. There was a cost price and a price markup. Not to mention the $125 desk that was a used item. (I wanted to office in my bedroom! Why didn't I put it there you ask? Because of the Redesigner suggestion of course.)

At first, my mouth dropped and I had this sunken feeling - I knew I had paid for a luxury and it was going to cost me-big time for making such a stupid decision to incur debt to do it. That's not it, my Redesigner also called me one day to tell me about a super outdoor set she found that was amazing and this would only add an extra $100 on my bill that I had already surmassed. Great, I said (why didn't I say no?) and received the updated, revised bill with yet another $100 added to what I already could not afford.

My Redesigner is an amazing lady with an amazing business and eye for design. She did a super fantastic job with what she had to work with and Icertainly believe in paying people what they're worth. My stupidity? Budgeting and incurring debt for a luxury instead of saving the money and gathering up some friends to help me shop and design the rooms myself. Since then, our dog has delightfully used the carpet as an outdoor bathroom and now the rug has a dingy look.

Would I have ever paid $300 for a rug-probably not especially since it's in the Dining Room where we eat daily and food drops on the floor from my Kindergartner. I've since asked for the receipt for the Liora Manne rug only to receive an updated invoice from the Redesigner (I guess the original is gone?) This is a moment as a parent that I have come to realize that I must continue to be diligent about what is best for my family. I now have an area where I have a wonderful office that I don't use because I am unable to concentrate because of the noise in that side of the house.

The moral of this story? When you want to get a luxury item or service, do not incur debt in an effort to afford it. The result of my $2000 makeover? A beautiful home with nice items (much of my own) and stress from a $250 monthly bill that I should never have promised to pay. Enjoy! Be sure to view the rug at the very end here.

Have you incurred the "stupid tax?" If so, on what? Do tell!

Yikes, I'm an Emotional Mess!

That's what I just heard Barbara Stanny and Adri Miller say on their Financial Call about women (I'll list the details for the call at the end of the post). Typically, that's what they say and I refuse to declare it for myself! Recently I have been reading and listening to everything I can get my hands on. One of my recent favorites is "Goal Digger" by Alicia Dunams. Goal Digger is her inspiring story and realization that she didn't have to just date millionaires, she could become a millionaire!

I've read everything under the sun (maybe not everything) and have finally come to this conclusion. There is money to be made-in fact millions! A close friend of mine is recording her journey to one million by 2011 and I'm purposing in my heart to join her. How? By focusing specifically on activities that are high Returns on Investment (ROI) and listening to what successful people have done.

Today I will:
1. Focus - Consistently focusing on events, relationships and business matters that directly correlate to my business
2. Change management - Recognizing where to grow and when to go
3. Filter - time to filter out those that are part of my target audience and relationships that are key to building alliances

What will you do today?

Listen to the replay with Barbara Stanny. Join me! the playback number; (218) 844-0952, Access Code: 852070#

Eat that Frog!

Finally, I'm "eating that frog!" He's been in my way for years and years even after I read "Eat that Frog!" by Brian Tracy read the book, listened to the CD and even did a presentation to a group of women I know, I still struggled to finish strong. This past week, my Pastor delivered a message about "Applied Diligence" and I realized that I was starting strong, following through and losing the momentum more than halfway along the way.

When I left that service, I purposed in my heart to apply diligence to every task in my life. There was too much low hanging fruit and starting a blog was one of them. I'm determined to finish stronger than I'm starting. How many of us procrastinate and set out to complete tasks, start tasks and then out of the "lack of time" fail to finish them? Well, in the past, I have been one of those people.

Earlier this week, a close friend and I exchanged our goals and I added "starting a blog" to my goal list. In order to achieve success, we must first define success. My favorite definition of success is by Brian Tracy "The ability to live my life the way I want, doing what I most enjoy, surrounded by people I love, admire and respect." I want to encourage, motivator and inspire others and the only way to do that is in the words of Nike-DO IT!

So, be prepared on this journey as I share my challenges and successes in hopes that you are motivated, encouraged and inspired to overcome all of the challenges in your life! The key? Always do your best and don't lose focus!

How do you define success?

Donations

Single Parent Assistance, Resources & Knowledge, Inc. was founded by a Single Parent of 3 for the Single Parent for financial scholarships, student loan payment assistance, daycare funding, automobile assistance, birthday funds, vacation subsidies and more. As a non profit 501c3 organization, we rely on the community for our operation. All donations are appreciated and Articles of Incorporation are available at http://www.sunbiz.org/

SPARK Tips:

Focus on the future. Whether your child is an infant, toddler, preschool, school age, tween, teen or adult there is always an opportunity for growth and innovation. No matter what parenting season you are in, look for opportunities to help your child grow and learn more. "If you don't create your future-someone or something will create it for you." - Anonymous


Begin with the end in mind. What strengths do you see in your child that you can develop more? Is your child a STRONG communicator? a silent observer? have strong athletic abilities? Speak into the life of your child and build them up in LOVE.

Learn to reevaluate your life and let things/people go that are holding you back from accomplishing more. Remember, we train people how to treat us. “Some people think it's holding on that makes one strong- sometimes it's letting go.”-Unknown