Seth Godin | Advice that Changed My Life

Creativity - Do You Use It?

Many of my clients over the years have expressed concern about finances and wished they could relieve their debt burdens. But compounding interest and late fee penalties make the goal more and more unreachable.

Recently I watched some episodes from a British show entitled "How to Live Mortgage Free". I was amazed at what was accomplished by those who were determined to improve their lives by eliminating their mortgage.

Some of those who were featured wanted to accomplish this in preparation for their retirement. Others were younger. One couple set and reached their debt-free status before they were thirty years of age.

The ideas they used included renovating abandoned structures such as a barn, church or office. One couple didn't want to leave the house where they had raised their children so they sub-divided it into two houses and sold one. A young couple built their first home on the top of two trailer beds in a fashion that allowed them to move the whole thing at a later date if they desired.

A single father gutted and redesigned an Airstream trailer for himself and his daughter. An engineer turned a two-story bus into a home complete with elevator and mobile tracks so that his disabled wife could maneuver easily throughout.

One single mom told about how she reduced her mortgage from thirty years to eight by being thrifty and depositing the equivalent of twenty-five extra dollars at a time against the balance.

A couple who had lived on a boat for twenty-five years built a smaller one that was more affordable and then sold the first to pay off all their debt.

This series reminded me of the things that are needed in order to achieve success:

1. A goal. It must be clear and reasonable. All of the individuals in the show also had a realistic timeline for completion.
2. Sacrifice. It took many, many months and in some cases years of labour to complete the projects. Also, reduced square footage required down-sizing of possessions.
3. Skills. Many learned how to build as they went, but some had carpentry, engineering, or sewing expertise before they started.
4. Money. The people involved needed a place to stay while they were preparing their new homes. The initial costs for purchasing land, structures or materials were paid with savings or at least one continuing to work for income.
5. Research. Many of the homes were built with second-hand fixtures and designed after study of magazines and examples of projects completed by others.
6. Consulting. Asking for advice from people who have expertise was a key element of the projects.
7. Creativity. Small spaces were used wisely to accommodate the residents who were moving in.

If you are struggling with financial issues, perhaps you could adopt the above principles. You don't have to necessarily pay off your mortgage but you could significantly improve your financial situation!

And now I would like to invite you to claim your Free Instant Access to a complimentary list of 10 Steps to Making Your Life an Adventure when you visit http://lindahancock.com

From Dr. Linda Hancock, Registered Psychologist and Registered Social Worker

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A Method To x100 Your Productivity

The Invisible Backpack - Travel Light to Travel Far

Cesare Pavese says, "If you want to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears."

We all travel through life with memories, experiences, and stories that serve as the backdrop of our lives. We approach each new encounter carrying an invisible backpack filled with everything we believe we need to successfully navigate through life. If we took a careful look in our backpacks, we would find joyful memories, satisfying aha moments, financial successes, hopes, and dreams. These are packed side by side with sadness, unforgiveness, losses, and fears. Even though our lives are filled with a cornucopia of experiences, often we discount the good and amplify the bad.

Psychologists have discovered that in spite of the good things we have accomplished, negative emotions are processed in a different hemisphere in the brain than positive emotions. Because of this, negative emotions require more thinking and more information to resolve. In addition, Professor Roy Baumeister, co-author of Bad is Stronger than Good, discovered that bad experiences have more impact on us than good ones. This makes it easy for us to forget the things for which we are grateful.

To lighten our bags and empty our invisible backpacks so we can travel fast, we must unpack the negative beliefs, unforgiving attitudes we have justified hanging onto and the "they did me wrong" stories. We must eliminate as many of the things that weigh us down as we can.

Start transforming your life and unpacking your backpack by doing the following:

Remember the Good that happens to you. Five (5) good things will change one (1) negative experience. This is an excellent time to start a Gratitude Journal or a "Daily Miracle Journal." List five or more things for which you are grateful. In gratitude, there are no limits; there are no big or small miracles. There is only gratitude. In a year, you will have from 365 - 1,825 "daily" miracles.

Brag Lists. Create a list of things you have accomplished that you can brag about. Try to list seven things. Keep this list readily available and review it weekly at a minimum. Your brag list will remind you that in the midst of every new storm that you are pretty amazing and have already conquered many storms. When life whispers "You cannot withstand the storm." You reply, "I AM the storm."

Identify the Miracle. Each experience brings with it a litany of lessons and blessings. List the lessons learned, the insights gained. If you cannot change the situation, use the lessons learned and the ideas gained so you can change how you think about it. Asking yourself how you can grow from this experience will help you find the golden nugget in the midst of what you perceived to be darkness.

Now your bags are lighter. What is your next stop?
Get on-board. Your dream is waiting.
Dream Big! Live the life you have imagined.
Remember, life is too short to drink cheap champagne.

Stephanie, a Success Mindset Mentor & Transformational Specialist, has the uncanny ability to help others break through toxic emotions and heal the residue left from traumatic experiences that are causing them to sabotage their success. She has an insatiable appetite for helping others achieve the impossible. She lives her inspiration as the founder of The Champagne Connection, Inc., the author of 3 books and the Host of the television show "A Sip of Inspiration". Her superpower: Transforming Lives

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Stephanie_Wilson-Coleman/2062775

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