The James Dicks Blog

Welcome back.

Follow up to previous blog post.

Once you have actually seen yourself spending and enjoying your newfound financial success, you can move on. Please don’t fudge—OK, let’s move on together. Let’s change your visual focus. Where do you live in your new life of prosperity? What does your house look like? How many bedrooms does it have? Can you see it? If you can see it, spend a few minutes creating details. If you can’t see it, spend a little more time with the exercise until you can.

Someone once said that what the mind can see, the body can achieve. I believe it. I go a step further. I believe that the mind must see it before the body is able to work for it. Look at another realm of human endeavor: sports. When Roger Bannister broke the four-minute mile, he saw it long before he did it. Over and over in his mind, he later recalled, he visualized doing what had been deemed to be impossible. Interestingly enough, once Bannister did what no one else had ever done before, others quickly succeeded in doing it. Why? Because in minds all around the world, mental barriers had been broken. People understood that the impossible was now possible.

The same analogy applies to wealth creation. There is a process one must go through to achieve it. Bill Gates, in his best-selling book The Road Ahead, writes about his “play” with computers in high school. Even then, when computers were the size of large rooms and far less powerful than our miniature hand-held PDAs, he dreamed about what they would be able to achieve in the future.

His dream was so strong, in fact, that he feared missing out on the revolution he saw in his mind. He dropped out of Harvard University—dropped off the safe path he was on—to get a quicker start. There was simply no way that he was going to let the software revolution start without him.
Bill Gates saw the future of computers in his mind long before it became a reality. He saw a role for himself in that future. He dreamed the dream, developed plans to fulfill that dream, and then took action. This could be called the “science of success.”

It’s not restricted to Roger Bannister and Bill Gates. It’s something that each of you can participate in and benefit from. But before you can do it, you have to knock down the mental barriers to your financial success. You must learn to envision your achievements. Once you do, the achievements will follow. So far, so good? Are you beginning to see the mindset you need to have if you are to achieve financial freedom? Let’s go a little further.

What about a family? Will you have a spouse? Children? What will they be like? These are extremely important thoughts to consider and plan for. You must see it before it happens, but once you do; financial freedom will be more than one step closer.

All of the questions I have posed to you so far will become an important part of creating your dreams and ultimately achieving goals based on those dreams. Now that you see the process unfolding, you can also see how the end results will be different for everyone.

More to follow don’t miss reading the most important aspect of how this exercise can make such an impact on your financial life.

My Best
James Dicks

I think you just might agree with me when I say that there has never been a more important period in our life’s history that requires a distinct positive approach to everything we do. It just might be the key to success in our professional lives today. For those of you in management and leadership roles, you’ve studied the benefits of a positive disposition versus dwelling in the negative. If you display a positive approach to others when “bad things” happen, you are more likely to come to a successful conclusion in any problem you may face.

It’s not easy but it is necessary, even expected, of today’s business leader. Your confidence will be observed by those around you and will become quite contagious. If the team moves in a positive direction, the entire organization will have a better chance of succeeding. That’s important in today’s challenging business environment.

In corporate America today, there is a desperate need to do more with less. The stress of trying to create a positive cash flow when sales are down might force you to develop an approach that has never been tried before. Don’t say it can’t be done – try it. You may be surprised at how innovative thinking suddenly develops when a positive attitude is created.

Another personality trait attained when you’re in a positive mental zone is confidence. Without the will and desire to accomplish even the smallest task, there’s really no point in getting up in the morning. Your optimistic approach to the job at hand will take you to the next level of accomplishment. Part of building a respectable level of confidence is developing and attaining a set of goals that you set out for yourself and your organization. Accomplish each goal, step by step, and your confidence will flourish. You’ll start believing you can do whatever you set your mind and heart to do.

Oh, and one other thing – love what you do. That’s extremely important because once you find that your life’s work is actually something you enjoy doing, you’ll want to do it more often. You’ll want to make sure it’s done competently and those around you will also start feeling the same way. It’s often been said that if you love what you do, you’ll never work another day in your life.

But many of us are trapped in positions and in companies that we don’t enjoy because of the current shape of the economy. What can you do if you find yourself in that situation? Maybe it’s time to get out and start searching for that one thing that you are passionate about. Time to start enjoying the day from sunrise to sunset. Let your passion drive you forward and find what it is that will create a solid, confident, and positive attitude within you. It’s in you right now; you just need to do some soul searching to find it.

Your attitude and the way you think are entirely under your personal control. A positive attitude will help you lead your team to victory. So, when you think about it, your future success, even your very health is something that you can control if you literally put your mind to it. Think positively.

These are tough times – emotionally and financially – and in order your start your day on a positive note, you must take active control of your thoughts.

A while back I wrote an article that explained how I use a method to compartmentalize my own personal situations. In other words, I know that there are problems and situations that I must deal with at some point in my life, but that time might not come for another day or another month. I’ve taught myself to put those issues in the back of my mind – in a mental “compartment,” if you will – which allows me to deal with the most immediate situations first. Those issues that I have to concern myself with next week won’t be interfering with my current daily routine until the time comes to deal with them appropriately.

It’s not that I’m ignoring the problem; it’s more about postponing action until action is required. It takes time to master the knack of doing this but once you can control your thoughts a little better, you’ll notice that life won’t seem like an insurmountable task. Taking little chunks and handling each thing in a priority order certainly will help you develop a more positive attitude about your life.

Even before you get out of bed, stretch your body and your mind and prepare for the day ahead. Quote to yourself some positive affirmations knowing that if you think it, it will likely happen. If you get up in the morning with a negative mindset, your whole day will reflect that attitude. I guarantee it! Instead, get up with a positive thought, before a random life event takes hold of your daily routine. Things happen and most of how these events affect you is entirely the result of how you mentally handle and accept each situation that comes into your life.

It’s really very easy – if you think you CAN’T you will never accomplish anything. You remember as a child when you were first read the story of the “little engine that could.” The little train was chugging up the hill just saying to itself over and over – “I think I can, I think I can.” Well, it didn’t make any progress until it started telling itself– “I KNOW I CAN!” The moment you know you can you will help you begin to see how your mental state of being will always assist you in attaining the next goal, your next life objective.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had plenty of rough spots in my life and there were times when I felt the only thing to do was to give up. But someone gave me this same advice and I decided to try it. Once I could rearrange my thoughts from mostly negative to mostly positive, amazing things started happening to me. Those issues that I once thought were “mountains” that I could never climb suddenly flattened out and I could now run rather than limp through my life. I also found that there were quite a few people out there who were willing to help me overcome some of my challenges. In short, my life started changing for the best and I’ve never looked back.

Unexpected things in life will occur, anther great and logical reason to get your mind set on a more positive course now. If you have a stable mental process, when you hit one of life’s snags, you’ll be more likely to handle it more productively. Kind of like saving up financially for the proverbial “rainy day.” By preparing, whether mentally or financially, you’re ready for anything that might throw some problems your way.

So from this day forward, begin each new day by first taking positive control of your thought process. Don’t dwell on the bad stuff; instead think about the good things in your life a little more than you have been. Be thankful for your family and friends, your health, your experiences, and your dreams and you will soon find that your dreams will soon become the reality you’ve always hoped for. It happens – it’s happened to me.

Seems like this time last year all we heard about from our neighbors and the evening news was the problems associated with the U.S. housing market and how would we ever be able to cope. Well, the mortgage/housing talk seems to have died down but the situation still exists and the question of how we might cope with this problem is still very real.

Sure, foreclosures seemed to have relaxed a bit but there’s probably a very good reason for that – stalling tactics by homeowners. When the economy crumbed, people started losing their jobs, and the payments stopped on homes around the nation and the population had to think fast. Many decided the best way to temporarily weather the mortgage storm was to stall as long as possible. So, although they were unaccustomed to doing so, many Americans “lawyered up” and put their faith in legal stalling tactics. Up to now it’s worked like a charm. It’s helped people remain in their homes while they desperately search for employment to support their families. It’s also helped the government economic figures. But don’t let the fewer number of foreclosures around the nation fool you. They are not gone; they’ve just been postponed for a few months.

Unemployment continues to rise or remain at constant levels in many states and that just isn’t helping those in need of finding ways to start paying for their homes again. In Nevada, for instance, unemployment hit 14 percent. Those figures have put Nevada 4.3 percentage points above the national unemployment rate of 9.7 percent, and 0.4 point above Michigan’s 13.6 percent rate. By the way, Nevada also leads the country in foreclosures, bankruptcy filings and credit card delinquency. This is just one state’s economic situation; you can find basically the same kind of miserable numbers in Michigan, California and Florida.

There are tons of people out there grabbing up foreclosure deals like mad but the sales are rather slow for a number of reasons. Few people have the money, the credit rating or the desire to be purchasing their next dream home. Banks aren’t lending either and that’s a problem. There is an excess of worry and concern about where families will be in 6 months or a year. Empty homes are fostering vandalism and neighborhoods that were thriving a couple years ago are now quickly falling into ruin and even the homes that are occupied are losing value almost daily.

The government recently reported that new home sales in the United States plunged 33 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 300,000 units. And it was also released that more than half of all homeowners with modified mortgages fell at least two months behind in their payments just a year after the adjustment was made.

In recent months, the possibility of foreclosures continued to fester and that might be a good indication why the media hasn’t reported on it as effectively as they once did. Maybe they’re bored with this persistent problem. Glancing over the headlines on a major news reporting source this morning shows stories about a Sarah Palin public appearance, the problems with the new iPhone, a union that is apparently angry at the governor of Arizona, and the one year anniversary of the deaths of Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. Not one story about the current problems with the banking industry and the housing sector.

So, it’s on to the daily accounts of the Gulf of Mexico BP oil spill (at least for now), but be advised that the housing predicament still exists and is about to grab the American economy by the throat (again). And I’m just referring to the residential side of the Real Estate market; I haven’t even addressed the commercial side yet.

So, where did the mortgage problem go? It didn’t go anywhere, my friend. As a matter of fact just look next door or across the street and I’m sure you’ll find it. Wonder if your representative in Washington sees the same thing in their neighborhood? Maybe it’s time to write them and find out.

You’ve heard the old saying, “it’s not what you make; it’s what you keep.” That has never been truer than in today’s very weak economic situation. Everyone has had to change their lifestyle – no matter how much money they are making. I know ”millionaires” who have to change their personal financial habits. It’s tough al over and families have redirected their priorities because of the money question.

So, what’s the answer? One phrase, “spend less – save more.” It’s time to design a very positive approach to actually changing your habits and develop individual goals. This kind of action will better secure your success in obtaining meaningful returns through an actual meaningful reorganization of your financial life. A recent government report showed that Americans cut their spending and saved more for a sixth straight month as more and more people were either worried about finding a job or keeping a job.

Goal setting is another top priority. Determine specific and attainable goals, short and long term, and make sure you write them down. Physically writing them down gives them power. The act of writing and visualizing your goals makes it much more likely that you will actually achieve them.

You must also understand your current financial situation to know where to make your changes. Add up your assets and your liabilities. Find out how much you owe on your home, your cars and your credit cards and conclude how best to shape and maybe cut those liabilities down a bit during the year ahead. It’s always a good idea to get rid of debt, especially high interest debt. You might also consider establishing new insurance needs. Examine the validity of your current life, disability, home, health or auto policies and decide whether changes are required. If you’re like the rest of us, you probably haven’t looked at your policies in quite some time.

Again, the best way to establish a solid financial plan is to save, save, save. The general rule is to put away 5 percent to 10 percent of your take-home pay, if you can. Remember to pay yourself first and don’t wait for what’s left over after you pay your bills. If that’s your strategy, you’ll find it difficult to save anything. You should also be sure to set aside your savings in an interest-bearing account, such as a money market account, or in a tax-deferred account like an individual retirement plan (IRA). If your company offers a 401(k) plan, start contributing as soon as you possibly can, especially if the company matches your contributions. Once you’ve finished the basics, then you can start examining your portfolio and other investment opportunities.

Something else to pay close attention to, especially during this time of the year, is your tax strategy. When you receive your annual W-2s, make sure your monthly tax payments are being deducted at the proper level. The trick is to come as close to breaking even as possible on your federal tax returns. You should keep and invest your money throughout the year rather than allow the government to use your hard-earned cash.

Remember, it doesn’t matter how old or young you are, or how much money you’re making; now is the time to start improving your financial situation. There are a lot of important events in our lives that rely on our financial health – education, weddings, vacations, security, and retirement just to name a few. These times are tough, there’s no doubt about it, but we all must start to rebuild what we have lost and set goals to get back to where we want to be. It’s important and the sooner you start the sooner things will start to improve for you and your family.