Eric Thomas tells it like it is.

A word I have been using for the last several months has been recently shot back at me. The word is discipline. Discipline, to me, means self-control. This is something I taught to my child and I teach to my students. Sure, there is a time for letting loose just as there is a time for self-control.

I have to admit, I don’t have the discipline I used to. Not sure if it’s because of age or achieving levels of comfort or a combination of both. I used to work many days 12-16 hours a day. I would work 10 hours at my job and come home and work 4 hours on my project car of the day. The pace kept me in shape and out of trouble.

Now, due to discipline, I have obtained possessions that provide me comfort. Maybe even too much comfort. The comfort makes me lazy and, most days, I don’t like it.

So I seem to have lost discipline to get up and out of the easy chair. I have lost the self-control that makes me driven, hungry for more success. Now, the type of self-control I am struggling with is very similar to what our nation is struggling with.

Our society has worked hard and achieved global success. We LOVE success. However, that success breeds contentment. That contentment makes us desire the status quo and to become lazy.

I teach my kids that, in life, if you don’t control yourself you give up control of your life to someone else. If you don’t have the self-discipline to get up out of the chair and work hard for something then you get what life gives you.

Ahh, therein lies the problem. We don’t want to get up and work for something but we don’t like what life is giving us. Waaaahhh. I can hear the crying now.

“We don’t have any more success coming our way, it must be someone else’s fault.”

“Let me see who I can blame for where I am in life right now.”

“I think I will write a blog or tweet about how wronged I am.”

We, me included, need to grow up and pull up our britches. We need to quit bitching and get to work. If you are busy working you don’t have time to look around at what you don’t have, you learn to make the best of what you do have.

Good luck to all.

It’s the season to be thankful and I do believe we should pause and count our blessings.  Things that I am thankful for:

My fantastic wife of 26 years.  It has been a great 26 years.

My amazing daughter.  It was fun raising her and i love the young lady she has grown into.

My kids at school.  They give me the motivation to get up everyday and really look forward to the day.

The friends in my life.  Each one of you bless me in ways you cannot imagine.

I am thankful to be healthy and productive.  I am thankful that my dad is getting past his health challenges.  I am thankful for the internet, it has allowed me to find old friends and keep up with current ones.  I am thankful for another year of opportunities.  I am thankful for lessons learned and lessons yet to be learned.

I am thankful for living in the greatest country in the world and the best state in the USA.

I am sure there are things I have forgotten.  It’s been a great run and I can’t hardly wait to see what tomorrow brings.

As I have gained life experience (gotten older) I have begun to value education even more.  I am not referring to formal education only, although it is very important.  I am mainly referring to life lessons.

I have come to realize that we are all problem solvers.  We were born with problems that had to be solved.  We were hungry or had a messy diaper, our parents solved our problems.  As we grew we learned to solve our own problems.  As we grew even more our problems would become more complex and we would grow to solve them.

Sometimes we stop growing but our problems keep growing.  We suddenly find ourselves with overwhelming challenges but the challenges have been growing and we haven’t been paying attention.

At that time we have to work extra hard to just keep up.  It stinks but life just taught you a lesson.  Do not ever think you have “made it”.

Even though I am a teacher, I do not like having to learn those tough life lessons.  They are painful for me too.

Good luck out there, keep up with your challenges today and every day.

I grew up in a family of modest means.  We had what we needed but I always desired the name brand stuff.  I didn’t know at the time I was growing up to be a massive consumer of stuff.

When I got my first full time job I began accumulating stuff.  I was into cars, car racing, car showing, cruising….  If it had 4 wheels, I was into it.  Many of my friends looked upon cars as merely transportation; I was appalled at their insensitivity towards these beautiful works of art.

As I collected more car stuff I had to get more stuff to maintain it.  I built a shop, bought tools and massive tool boxes.  My shop then had to have nice cabinets, entertainment, and air-conditioning.  The shop raised my utility and maintenance costs.  It also raised my property taxes.

Then I wanted to watch more car stuff so I bought a satellite dish.  I’m not talking about the little ones we have now.  My first dish was a 10 foot c band monstrosity.  I paid for the dish and the monthly programming.  That thing was always shifting out of tune due to high winds in my area.  I spent many evenings trying to get it back in tune so I could absorb more car stuff.

Eventually we changed to one of the new, small digital dishes.  It provided better quality viewing and stayed in tune.  I again paid for the box, dish, and monthly subscriber fees.  I also spent many hours sitting in my lounger watching more car stuff.

After a while my shop and my house were full of car stuff.  At that time I was a modern version of “Hoarders” that is popular on TV now.

I began the planning process to build a new house and shop with the total square feet of 100,000 just to store my stuff.  This meant more debt, more utilities, and more taxes.

This also meant more time and overtime that I had to spend at work to pay for it all.

Now, I wasn’t exactly enamored with my job.  In fact, my job kinda made me sick some days.

It finally occurred to me that I was a prisoner to my stuff.  I had to work at my job to keep my stuff.  I had to weigh my values; did I like the stuff more than I did not like my job?

The result was a massive stuff reduction for about a year.  We sold stuff.  We gave stuff away.  We tried not to dump stuff in the trash but some was not worth anything except to me.

It’s amazing how liberating it is to have stuff reduction.  It’s also amazing at how big my house is without the stuff.

I still find stuff and stuff still finds me but I do have more resistance, now, to getting more stuff.  I am far more selective about what stuff is allowed to occupy my space and time.  I do not have a satellite and I do not pay for watching what little TV I do watch.

I learned that, in the beginning you own your stuff.  In the end your stuff owns you.

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My life seems to be a cycle with the popular news.  I am a news junky.  I love to absorb the latest tidbit of hot news by TV, radio, internet, smart phone, where ever.  However, to much is not good for me.  The news is usually negative and to much of it brings me down.  Then it hurts other areas of my life.

I have to remind myself from time to time that absorbing news is a time suck anyway.  Then you ad in a heaping share of constantly negative news and the result makes me tired and lazy.  I cease to read, grow, or learn.  I just exist.

It’s time for me to get back in the saddle and turn of the news for a while.  Sorry newsies and politicians, if you destroy the earth you will be doing it without me as an audience.

Time to get back to work.

When I was a teen in the 70′s there was a disco song named Makin’ It by David Naughton.  The song was the theme for a sit-com by the same name.  Yeah, I know, disco?  Well, you get what the artists crank out at the time.

Anyway, I remember singing this song as I drove my 1972 Maverick to work everyday.  I worked 10 hours a day in a factory and spent my earned money at the bars in the evening.  As I sang along with that song I would dream of makin’ it.

Makin it, to me, meant that I wouldn’t have to go to the facotries anymore.  I would be able to do what I want, when I want.  I was just out of high school and I wanted the world.

Many years later I succeeded in changing my life’s direction so that I wouldn’t have to work in factories anymore.  There’s nothing wrong with them if it’s what you want to do.  Pay and benefits are ususally good.  I just didn’t want to do that anymore.

Question is, did I make it?  Since it’s my life, it’s my call.  I say I did!

But that was only temporary satisfaction.  Now that I achieved that goal, I wanted something else.  I held some other achievement as “Makin’ It”.  When I attained that goal there was another one, and so on.

My point is, to keep yourself going you need to have those goals in your life.  When you make one there should be another, and another.

What goals, you may ask?  It’s your life, you have to set the goals.  You have to take the steps to grab the brass ring.  No one can do it for you but there are people that can help you get there.

Now Financial Times is one of those places you may be able to turn for help.  Whether you need a loan, credit analysis, advice, or a FOREX system, there are many businesses there with many years of experience that can help you no matter what stage of life you may be in.

Stay tuned, more to come…

We’ve all had those times where there was too much month and not enough money.  Or we had some tough financial choices to make and needed some advice.  The problem was we didn’t know where to turn for that help.  Now Financial Times is a place where you may find the help that you need.

Now Financial Times is a new group and growing fast.  They have clients that offer loans, financial advice, and forex investing systems.  They are also going to add financial counseling, mortgages, and brokerage accounts to the list of providers.

Check out Now Financial Times now and in the future , when you need help making those tough financial decisions.

I recently did a video interview for the Bigger Pockets Real Estate forum.  It is essentially about how to get a bank loan.  Here’s a link to it:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2011/07/06/how-to-get-bank-loan-interview-gregbrister/

Many people I know are out of work and looking for a job.  Also, many people are saying that jobs are difficult to come by.  So here are my thoughts on how to best stack the deck in your favor when going for a job interview.

Oh yes, in case you doubt that these methods work, I have used them with success.  Also, I have just coached a teen to their first job using the strategies.  The strategies are not guaranteed to work but maybe they will tilt the interview in your favor.

Job searching is a full time job and it is tough. It helps to have a plan.  In your plan you also need to include your recover time from rejections and they will come.

1) Your job search begins the day before you actually go out looking for the job.  Use the internet and locate information that will help you be successful.
2) You need to decide what kind of job you are looking for.  The book “What color is Your Parachute” may help you figure this out.
3) You need to find the names of the businesses that provide the types of jobs you choose.  Do a Google search.
4) Find out everything that you can about your potential employers.  Try to figure out how you can help make your employers business better. Again, Google is your friend.
5) You need to find the locations of these employers.
6) Type up a simple resume and print out enough copies for your job search day.
7) Get a small stapler, clip board, paper, and good pen.  I use Uniball pens.
Accumulate all information you will need for filling out applications and put the information on a sheet of paper.  Put that paper on the clipboard under a blank sheet.
9) The business owner owes you nothing.  You are requesting the opportunity to sell your services to him for a price.  You have to convince him that he needs you.
10) You have to dress for the part. You have to carry yourself confident but not cocky.
11) Make sure your vehicle is clean and presentable, just like your clothes and appearance.
12) Begin your job search day early.  Getting out of the house and on the streets before 8:00 am would be great.
13) When you arrive at the business make your way to the area to find an application.  Walk with your chin up and shoulders back. You may have to ask someone at the business how/where do you find applications.  NEVER interrupt a business transaction to ask for help.
14) Use your clipboard and pen to fill out their application completely.  Give them more than enough information.  Do not make them guess.
15) Use the stapler and attach a resume to the application.
16) If a business representative begins talking to you about the application, ALWAYS jot down their name on the paper on the clipboard.
17) When you talk to them always use good manners, call them by name, look them in the eye, have a pleasant smile, and answer questions in complete sentences using clear speech patterns.
18) When it is time to leave always thank them for their time and use their name.  Leave with your chin up and shoulders back.  Maintain poise.  Be aware that they may be watching you walk to your car to glean any clues to the real you.  Here is where a clean car can help.
19) Make sure you make a note about the time of the application, business name, and perosn you talked with. You may need to make a follow up visit in a couple of weeks.
20) After you get back to the car, use your recover strategy.  Listen to some great music, pump yourself back up,  eat some chocolate, whatever helps you recover quickly fo the next application.

21) When you get called for an interview arrive early.  Be very kind to the receptionist and any other employees.  Your interview begins when you enter the parking lot.
22) As you enter the interview area glance around the room for anything that will help you find a topic in common.  Note your interviewers name on your clipboard.
23) When you sit down, sit straight up and on the edge of your seat. Do not cross your legs, you are not there for a casual lunch. Maybe even lean forward a little, act interested.
24) When you speak use complete sentences with no street slang.  Make eye contact and try to be direct in your answers.
25) During the interview try to find common ground with the interviewer, football, basketball, golf, tennis, family, children. Don’t come off as a stalker, just casually mention “Cool, I see your kid played football, so did I in high school. Did you also play football?” Try to find something in common
26) At the end of the interview, thank your interviewer and use their name.  Make your exit gracefully.

You need to get out at 8am and work hard until lunch time.  during lunch time it will be difficult to get any positive responses. Take yourself a luch break and start again from 1pm until 5pm.  Keep using your recovery strategy and try to keep your spirits up and looking fresh.  Your preparation will show your potential employer that you are a person on detail and that you care.

I hope this works and gets you the job of your dreams.  If you have anything to add please make a comment.  When you do get a job, please make a comment and let me know.  Good luck and happy job hunting.