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 can’t take it anymore, as a United States Marine, I served this great country to protect our very rights that seem to be not slowly but quickly disappearing, at almost an alarming rate. Well enough is enough, I will continue to create a series of blogs that I can share my opinion on many of these issues, but for now let me discuss an area of both business and personal activity that I have shared and been in for now nearly 10 years. The Retail Over the counter Spot Forex market.
You may not know it or you may now be aware but your rights afforded you as a US citizen have now been hijacked reduced yet again and are about to be enforced. It’s a sad day when you basically have more rights in China than you do here in the US. I am talking about the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008.

“These rules of the road will help protect the American public in the largest area of retail fraud that the CFTC oversees: retail foreign exchange,” CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler said. “All CFTC registrants involved in soliciting and selling retail forex contracts to consumers will now have to comply with rules to protect the investing public. This is also the first final rule that the Commission has published to implement the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. We look forward to publishing additional rules to protect the American public.”

Let me sum it up for you, As an American, a US citizen you are not allowed to open a Forex account offshore in another country to trade the FOREX. The Government has taken your rights and protected you. GIVE ME A BREAK. To late its law and you will have to choke it down. These people have lost their minds, I appeal to all Americans enough is enough vote these career politicians out of office, there are less than 600 people that as a whole, all Americans can simply send home, send them all home and let’s start fresh. Here is a novel idea, I bet that if we replaces all the US representatives and the US Senators good and bad, an entire new house and senate that they can’t do any worse ruining our country than the old timers. Let’s prove it.

Back to the problem at hand, first and foremost, as you read this just keep thinking that you are not allowed to do something because you are being protected, and you have no choice. The leverage for Forex on major currency pairs is now 50:1 and exotics 20:1, what a joke. You had choices you can trade in another country, BUT not anymore. I have included numerous places to voice your opinion; I would suggest you use the fax machines, if enough people do they will unplug them, and when they do start emailing, or calling, and when they turn all that off, start sending snail mail.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Three Lafayette Centre
1155 21st Street, NW
Washington, DC 20581
202-418-5000 or FAX 202-418-5521
Questions@cftc.gov.

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, enacted on July 21, 2010, further modified the CEA in a number of ways. It requires that all off-exchange retail foreign currency transactions be done pursuant to the rules of a Federal regulatory agency. It also requires that unless Federal regulators prepare rules regarding off-exchange retail forex transactions within specified time periods, the transactions are prohibited. If any Federal regulatory agency had already proposed such rules prior to the enactment of the Dodd-Frank Act – as had the CFTC – the agency has 90 days following enactment to adopt final rules, or the same prohibition takes effect.

For the CFTC, the Dodd-Frank Act reconfirms the Commission’s authority to regulate off-exchange retail forex transactions and establishes a date – October 19, 2010 – by which final rules must be in place. For other Federal regulators whose regulatees are expressly permitted to serve as counterparties (such as United States financial institutions and broker dealers), it requires the preparation of similar rules or such transactions by their regulatees are prohibited.

The Dodd-Frank Act further modifies the list of eligible counterparties by eliminating insurance companies and investment bank holding companies. Moreover, where the list of eligible counterparties previously included “financial institutions,” the Dodd-Frank Act specifically provides that among financial institutions, only United States financial institutions are permitted to act as counterparties. That’s right you read it correctly, you can now only trade in the US where U.S. Senator Chris Dodd and Congressman Barney Frank Say so. Let’s contact them and tell them what we really think. Don’t be fooled. I wonder if they have any major contributors that will benefit from their invite wisdom to make us trade in the US.

Congressman Barney Frank

http://www.house.gov/frank/contact/index.html

202-225-5931

U.S. Senator Chris Dodd
448 Russell Building | Washington D.C., 20510
Tel: (202) 224-2823 (202) 224-2823 | Fax: (202) 224-1083

30 Lewis St Suite 101 | Hartford, CT 06103
Tel: (860) 258-6940/(800) 334-5341 —CT only
Fax: (860) 258-6958
Happy Investing!

When I was in the Marine Corps, a lot of emphasis was placed on leadership skills and how these extraordinary qualities help to make the Corps a solid and dependable organization; focused on teamwork and the mission. Without the team the mission was never accomplished and so it is in today’s business community. I want to share with you a few of the leadership traits that the Marine Corps used to build its foundation upon, one that has served it well for more than 234 years.

I believe that one of the most important qualities that any of us can possess is integrity. Without an honest approach to life and to everyone we come into contact with, our lives are meaningless. Honesty and a sense of duty should be the number one issue in our daily lives and always remember to stand up for what you believe is the right thing, even if it’s not the popular thing to do.

You must always place other’s needs ahead of your own with a sense of unselfishness. Make certain that you, as the manager; never take advantage of any situation because you’re in charge. Never take credit for something that a subordinate has accomplished but always give credit where the credit is due. Those you are in charge of leading should never take a back seat based on your status as a manager/supervisor. As the Marine Corps states, be considerate of others.

Make sure that you get up every morning with a fair amount of enthusiasm and share it with the team. This can be translated as a positive attitude that creates a sincere interest in the performance of all your duties. If you show enthusiasm, others will soon do the same in accepting their own challenges within the organization. Smile, be understanding of others, enthusiastic about the job and willing to accept anything that is required of you and the team.

Also be as dependable as you possibly can to yourself and to others. If you are late to work, how can you expect others to make it there on time? Dependability also fosters a degree of trust among the staff members and develops an effort to try and attain the highest standards possible. Being dependable also means standing up for your actions and never making excuses. Get into the habit of successfully accomplishing a task whether you like it or agree with it. If required by the organization, do it to the best of your abilities.

The courage to do what isn’t popular or might be hazardous is something you’ll have to develop. It’s a very personal trait. Any bravery “under fire” (whether on the battlefield or in the boardroom) allows you to stay calm in situations that require you to remain under control. Your moral courage is also something that must never be neglected in order for you to develop the necessary strength to stand up for what is morally right. Your moral courage also forces you to accept fault when you are to blame. This is something that our drill instructor tried to instill in us right from the start by answering with the statement “No excuse, sir” when asked about our involvement in certain situations. Take the responsibility and the blame when required. It’s all about honor and making sure the team is never placed in jeopardy. Admit your mistake and move forward. It is that important.

Endurance is the final trait I want to share with you because it’s an extremely important quality to have, especially in today’s business world. When you feel like quitting, tell yourself to keep going. Understand internally that you have the ability to withstand the pain involved (whether physical, emotional, or financial), and can handle the stress, exhaustion and the hardships you’ll most likely endure.

If you simply decide to quit, then you will have achieved nothing. But if you hang in there and get the job done, even when you don’t think you can travel one step further, you will have succeeded.

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.

Your path to financial success never ends. I know for me, there’s always something new to learn in order to give me an advantage when making my financial foundation even stronger. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you will never reach financial independence; it does mean that once you’ve achieved a sense of financial success, you must keep working in order to maintain your wealth while making it grow steadily. I have found that the best way to do this is to become as educated as I possibly can in the ways of money. But, just like anything else, there’s always something new to learn. Studying about your financial life is going to be a lifelong pursuit, at least it will if you ever hope to be financially successful throughout your life.

The topic of money never remains fixed. Tax laws are always changing, and as we’ve seen recently, the laws pertaining to credit changed and were updated, plus there are always new and different investment opportunities that are developed and must be considered. These are just a few examples; I could list many more, but you get the point. Your financial education on the subject of money will never be finished so just adjust your thinking accordingly. One of the things I suggest is to spend some time researching financial papers and periodicals. So congratulations, if you are reading this, you have already started. Keep it up.

Additionally, there are lots of other methods in becoming a student of money. Many local community colleges offer courses in basic money management, which are normally taught by Certified Financial Planners and other similarly credentialed financial professionals. These classes can be an excellent resource for you. The only caution I’ll offer you about these courses is that sometimes the instructor may use the class as a platform to give out his opinions on how to invest, or even as a means of adding clients to his list of customers. So, you’ll want to pay close attention to the information, and be sure to “weed out” those bits of information that seem to be less than standardized financial knowledge and more financial propaganda or a sales pitch. Something to consider as your wealth builds, you will actually have to spend more time, not less, watching your money. Hey, this is a good problem to have, but it is an issue nevertheless.

You probably spent a lot of time and effort gathering the money you have available to you. So it goes without saying that you must watch out for the scam artists. We’re all familiar with these folks; people who just seem to represent the lowest echelon of human existence. And I’m not only speaking of hardened criminals, but people who live in such a way that their lives are centered on the acquisition of negative energy using risky tactics. Behavioral science has shown us that when honorable people are brought together with those who are less than admirable for an extended period of time, it is very likely that the decent folks will more than likely drop to the level of their counterparts than the other way around. There are a variety of theories as to why this is the case, but chief among them is that it simply requires less effort to fall down than to rise up. The activities in which the less honorable folks are frequently engaged are admittedly very appealing at an instinctive level. So just remember what you were told as a kid – “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” Be careful!

One thing is for sure, it’s going to take a lot of hard work and self-control to build a solid financial future for you and your family. There’s not just one method of doing so but there are certain constants that apply to all of us. One of them is that you will have to commit yourself to getting the education you need and then taking the time to do so. Once you realize that there are hundreds of factors that must be studied, considered and applied every day, you will be well on your way. Start your research today. If there’s one thing that we all should have learned in the past couple of years, the financial stature of our lives depends on the decisions we make today. Poor choices create unfortunate situations when times get tough. Start creating an economically sound plan that will guide you to a more solid financial life for your future.