Week 14.pdf

WEEK FOURTEEN

Welcome to Month Four of Jim Rohn’s One-Year Success Plan

It is hard to believe, but we are one quarter of the way through the One-Year Plan. I know

that you are well on your way to becoming the total person that you want to become. You

are well on your way to achieving the goals you have set for yourself. And you are well

on your way to fulfilling all that you desire for your life. Step by step we are piecing the

puzzle together to see a beautiful picture emerge.

This month's topic is Money and Finance. Jim has always put a strong emphasis on the

subject of not just earning money, but also keeping it. Money, like success, is based so

much on the “why,” not just the “how”. Why earn a lot of money and why keep it--is it

just to have all the finer things in life? Or can money also be a tool used in many

powerful ways? For example, to help those in need, to create philanthropic ventures that

can be self-perpetuating in their good, to create more space and time to invest in loved

ones and to leave a legacy of abundance in your home and community.

Money has such incredible potential to be a powerful force and tool in our lives. Let’s

make the most of it, and let it be a source of great opportunity and promise for us and for

those we love.

Have a Great Week!

Kyle

“Your most valuable asset is your earning ability. It's your ability to earn money, to

apply your knowledge and skills in a timely fashion to get the results for which others

will pay.”

-– Brian Tracy

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MONEY AND FINANCE

Jim Rohn's Fourth Pillar of Success: Money and Finance,

Part One – Getting Out of Debt

This month we are going to tackle one of the more important topics – money and

finances! Although, finances shouldn’t be the highest priority in our lives, I will say that

money plays a major role in our lives, and we need to see it for what it is--a tool. As my

good friend Zig Ziglar says, "Money isn't everything, but it ranks right up there with

oxygen!"

Money is a tool that, depending on how we use it, can bring much joy to our lives or it

can bring destruction. We need to be aware of all the possibilities it offers as well as the

pitfalls. Some of the most amazing things have been done because people had the

financial resources to pay for them--businesses have been built, schools started, and

philanthropic charities founded that have accomplished much good. On the other hand,

friendships have been ruined, illicit gains profited and lives destroyed – all over the

issues of money.

So as we go through this month, I want to focus on applying some simple financial

principles, but I also want to teach the underlying philosophies that govern what good

people can do and what tremendous accomplishments can be made when we see money

for what it is – a tool to improve our lives and the lives of others.

Specifically, as we do each month, we will focus on four main areas. These four pivotal

topics are:

1. Getting Out of Debt – Debt is a killer. It is a killer of dreams and hopes. It is a killer

of businesses. It is a killer of financial futures. And, according to statistics, debt plays a

prominent role in many failed marriages. So what should we conclude from this? If we

are to be successful, we must have a commitment to stay out of debt! You can make two

million dollars a year but if you spend 2.5 million dollars, it doesn’t matter how much

money you made, does it? You will be saddled with debt. Today we will be addressing

this issue.

2. Saving – One of the key components to long-term wealth building is the discipline of

saving money on a regular basis. Next week, we will go through the basics and show how

a commitment to saving money can revolutionize your financial life and provide the kind

of security you desire. One simple difference between the philosophy of the rich and the

poor is: the rich save/invest their money and spend what is left; the poor spend their

money and save/invest what is left. What a simple shift in our thinking for such a

revolutionary result. We will talk about saving in next week’s edition.

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3. Investing – Investing is much different than saving. Investing involves risk –

calculated risk – and the possibility for much more reward. Saving and investing are done

for different reasons and with different desired goals and outcomes. By taking a portion

of our income and turning it into capital to be invested, we will be actively working

toward our goal of financial independence. We will cover the importance of investing,

along with some basics of investing in two weeks.

4. Giving – Giving a portion of your resources away is

one of the most powerful principles you will ever

embrace. It seems counter-intuitive, but the truth is that

giving will help you achieve the financial freedom you

desire. Amazingly, giving makes you bigger than you

are. The more you pour out, the more life will be able to

pour back in. So giving a percentage of your resources

away will help you not only have more money but enjoy

it more as well, and that is the best benefit.

John Wesley said, “Earn all you can, save all you can, and give all you can.” That is a

perfect quote for us to think about as we go through this month together. A person who

sees the powerful force that money can be for good will more likely keep their own life in

balance by pursuing the disciplines of earning, saving and giving - which together, create

the perfect tension and balance.

We must also remember that money has a seductive side that tells you it will solve all of

your problems, but it won’t. It is great to have money – lots of it – as long as your life is

in balance and you have the proper perspective. It is important that we own our money

and not the other way around.

The first way to make sure that money doesn’t own us is to deal with the issue of debt.

Americans, as well as most of the world, have more debt than ever. We would do well to

remember the old proverb:

“The borrower is the servant to the lender.”

When we are in debt, we owe someone and because of this, they have a certain amount of

control over us. We are in essence, their servant. This is not the way of financial freedom.

Interestingly enough, when it comes to debt, I have found that many otherwise intelligent

people just don’t get it. So, for a little help, here are Five Things You Need to “Get” to

Stay Out of Debt.

1. Get the Right Mindset. When it comes to debt, the only mindset is one of ruthless

opposition. We need to see debt as the very enemy of our financial lives. If we begin to

say, “Well, a little debt here and maybe a little debt there,” we will soon see a lot of debt

everywhere. In the same way that finances can compound positively when we save and

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invest, debt can also multiply and push you deeper and deeper into debt as each month

passes.

The right mindset is that we need to get out of debt and stay out of debt. Is this your

mindset? Many times we are a product of the environment we were raised in or we

associate with currently. Have you thought lately about what mindset you have toward

debt?

One interjection here, because I hear it regularly when I

say that we should have no debt: It is the question of a

home mortgage. Most people believe that their home is not

a debt but an investment. The fact is that in this day and

age, homes cost four or five times the annual income of t

people who live in the average neighborhood. And whil

there is the potential that you could lose money on your

home, historical analysis shows that a person who lives i

a home for quite some time will generally end up on the

plus side of the financial equation. So for the basic

understanding, a home mortgage can be considered an

investment rather than a debt, though there is debt involved. But, it can be argued either

way--an investment or a liability--and you would be right. Now, if you want to pay your

mortgage off, there is no harm in that and it would certainly be the conservative way to

go!

Besides the home mortgage exception however, we should remain diligent about staying

out of debt.

2. Get an Understanding. Some people do not even know how much debt they have.

Some people do not know whether or not they have a positive or negative net worth.

With many couples, one spouse knows the real financial situation while the other is

relatively “in the dark.” This isn’t good. You can’t plan your future if you do not know

where you currently are. Think of it this way. Let’s say you wanted to visit a friend and

needed directions to get to his home. When you call for directions he would ask you

where you are coming from. Typically we would tell him our town or address and he

would then give us directions on how to get there from the starting point we give him.

Imagine however, if we told him that we didn’t know where we were! He couldn’t give

us directions because he wouldn’t know whether to tell us to go north or south, east or

west.

The same is true with knowing where we are financially. If you have a goal to save one

million dollars, your plan is going to be different if you already have $750,000 saved than

if you have $100,000 in consumer debt. Figure out where you are financially – get an

understanding. In this instance the old adage, knowledge is power, is true. There is power

in knowing where you stand financially, because only then can you map your financial

future!

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