Family Papi

As a family dad, there are certain times in your life where you must make critical decisions.  These decisions will impact the quality of your life as well as the lives of those in your organization (yes your family).

If you find yourself in one of those situations now, one simple solution can help you make sure you continue on your prosperous path.

Turn it off!

If you think about it, from the time you wake in the morning until the time you actually get back to sleep, you are inundated with noise. 

This noise comes in the form of the things we enjoy – radio, ipod, TV, internet – basically, everything that entertains, informs, or just zones us out.

How can we make the right decision if we are constantly being bombarded?

How can we ensure our decisions will be correct for our family and for our community?

The answer for both is that we cannot unless we turn it all off.

Here are some things to do to make it happen:

Mark the time you’ll need.  I suggest anywhere between 2 days and a week’s time.  Frankly, if this is the first time you’re doing this, aim for the 2 days because you will not be accustomed to the quiet.  If you could do more days, great, but set your expectations low to start off with.

The only noise you may have is from the alarm clock to wake you.  When you wake up, be thankful and start getting ready for the day. 

Don’t turn on the radio or TV.  Negative news will always be there – it can wait a few days.

Embrace the quiet.

Hear yourself thinking.  Allow yourself to envision the solution.  Pray – ask God to help you identify His Will to make the correct decision.

Continue to do this as you drive to your destinations.  If you can, take off from your regular schedule (this is not a must though).

A must is to just listen – at work, in the gym, in the park, everywhere you go.

When you get back home, make a point to stay away from “the box” (TV) and from going online.

Instead, continue in the quiet.  Read, meditate, ask, pray.  Do what your gut tells you.

In the process, you’ll notice things you haven’t noticed before.

You’ll feel refreshed, even inspired.

You will gain new perspectives, see things in a new light – you may start getting ideas and insights. You may even get to feel God nudging you. 

You actually may start to like it so much that you decide to do this more often – like every 3 months.

That’s what happened to me.

You see, important decisions will always need to be made, but a family dad who chooses to listen in the quiet will always be one step ahead on the road to prosperity.

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As a family dad, have you interviewed for a job only to find out you weren’t selected?  Have you lost a business deal to – in your eyes –  a lesser competitor?  Have you been let go from a job you worked extremely hard for?

Yes, we all experience setbacks in our life.  It’s hard to think of prosperity when you have just been dealt a blow in the gut – at least that’s what it feels like. 

Let’s take a moment to ponder the situation…

Ok, that’s enough.

As a family dad who prospers, you cannot let these setbacks get you down.  Don’t put your head down – get up – get over it and move on.  That’s it. 

You see, that job that you applied for wasn’t for you.  You weren’t going to prosper there.

That business deal was going to be a headache – actually, it’s great that your competitor got it, it will bog them down while you prosper.

That company that let you go is actually doing you a favor – you now have the ability to take a step back and do what you need to do to yes…prosper.

No one can control when setbacks will occur.

But, you could control how you respond to them. 

Every time you respond in a positive and constructive manner, you become stronger and better and even more capable of dealing with the next issue.

A prosperous family dad is a man who doesn’t quit – a man who no matter the difficulty or obstacle – never gives up. 

Please don’t think of it as a slogan.  It shows your true character.  This is where you show what you’re made of – to you and to those around you including of course your family.

I’m usually not a poem kind of a guy, but there is this one poem that stayed with me a while back and want to share it you today. 

It’s called:

The Man Who Thinks He Can

By Walter D.Wintle

If you think you are beaten, you are.

If you think you dare not, you don’t.

If you’d like to win, but think you can’t,

It’s almost a cinch that you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost,

For in the world we find

Success begins with a fellow’s will;

It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you’re outclassed, you are;

You’ve got to think high to rise.

You’ve got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win a prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go

To the strongest or fastest man;

But sooner or later the man who wins,

Is the one who thinks he can.

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In the last post, we talked about getting to the Automate/Diversify part of managing your money.

It is actually the simplest part of all because you only do it once and forget about it (unless you want to add or change things).

Here’s how it works: Every time you get paid, automatically send or transfer your money (automate) in a number of different accounts (diversify).

 To do this, you will need at least 15 accounts.  These accounts fall into 4 categories. 

Here are the category and accounts listed in priority order:

Category: God

1.)    Church/Charity Account - Do this first.  In order to prosper, you must give.  You will be blessed if you are a blessing to others.

Category: Government

2.)    Uncle Sam Account – If you are always scrambling to pay off your taxes before tax day, why not prepare for it?  If you are fortunate enough to get a refund and don’t want to spend it, use this account to hold it – you can always transfer to another account  later.

Category: You

3.)    Emergency Account – You never know.  Be prepared for anything.  Have a goal of at least 6 months of your income.

4.)    Retirement Accounts – These can be in many form – 401K at work, IRA’s, Roth IRA’s, etc. – Have  a goal of at least 12-20% of your income.

5.)    Dream Account – Think big.  Use online banks like INGdirect.com or etrade.com

6.)    College/University Account for kids – Need I say more? Your kids could be contributors for this account too.  This could be used to set up 529 accounts for example.

7.)    Vacation Account – Be realistic here – don’t go on vacation without being able to afford it – figure out how much you’ll need and divide it by payments – then forget about it until vacation time.

8.)    Christmas/Holiday/Birthday Account – You know these days will arrive – again, prepare so that you may stick to your plan and not go overboard.

9.)    Investment Accounts – Use brokerage houses like Sharebuilder.com, which make it very easy to set up automatic investments.  It’s so simple, you could kick yourself  for not doing it sooner.

10.) Savings Account – Use this account as back up for your primary checking account, which we will refer to later.

11.) House Account – Are you saving up for a house?  Do you have a home already?  Use this account to save for or put in extra payments instead of sending it to the mortgage directly – yes, it makes sense.

12.) Wife Account for her shopping needs (groceries, clothes, etc.)  – The love of your life has financial needs – use this account for her stuff (figure out between the two of you what she would be responsible for).

13.) Business Account – If you own a business, you’ll need a business account.  If you want to own a business, guess what – you’ll need a business account.

14.) Family Papi Account for your needs – Finally an account for your needs!  Yes, those golfing outings would come from here.

Category: Them

15.) Primary Checking Account for household bills – Ah, yes, these must be paid.  When you do your Measurement step, should be able to figure out what you need to pay and when.  Make sure you have enough directly deposited in to handle automatic payments out. 

Notice that the Category “Them” is last.  Look who’s first.  Nice, huh? 

Now, the less bills you have the higher percentages you can put on the other more important accounts. 

Given all these accounts, you have to:

A. Find banks/brokerages you can start free accounts with and name them any way you want. 

B. Link them all either from your checking account or using direct deposit for all of them.

The percentages or $ amounts you do for each is up to you. 

The important thing is that you are not relying on remembering to do things – it’s all automatic. 

Also, since, you have all separate accounts, you will know what account to use when any situation arrives. 

This helps you stay focused, minimizes your risks, and keeps you on that prosperous path you need. 

Sound good? Now, get it done, and then – forget about it.

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