• His book, The 21 Indispensable Qualities Of A Leader, was given to me by my friend and pastor Perry Noble when we were launching NewSpring Church.  This book impacted me immeasurably.
• He combined his entrepreneurial spirit with ministry.  I didn’t know that was really possible.
• He is a continuous learner.
• He makes complex topics understandable and applicable.
• His voice is ridiculously great.

Anyway, I heard him share a story once at a conference we were speaking at, and it is so good I wanted to share it with you.

5 Swings Of An Ax

Suppose you want to cut down a huge tree in your front yard and all you have is an ax to cut it down with.  You could approach it a couple of ways:

1. Go after it!  Swinging vigorously and mightily until you were completely worn out.
2. Pace yourself.  Swinging strongly 5 times each day.

If you were to choose Option #1, you could swing vigorously and mightily until all of the strength had left you body, but all you would end up with is complete exhaustion and a tree with some chop marks in it.  And because you had exhausted yourself so completely, you might not even be able to bring yourself to pick the ax back up!

If you were to choose Option #2, you would make a serious mark each day with your five swings and there would be NO QUESTION of “if” the tree were going to come down.  The only question would be “when” the tree would fall – because with this method of 5 swings of a ax EVERY DAY, it WILL fall!

This is so important when pursuing a financial goal.  If you go crazy and loco after the goal, you might make a short-term difference, but chances are high that you will burn yourself out and just give up.

Choose instead to establish a pattern of “5 swings of an ax” toward your goal.  Every single day, get up and take 5 swings toward your goal.  Every. Single. Day.

Then your goal is no longer a matter of “IF” – only a matter of “WHEN”!

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January’s Featured Website – MyMoneyBlog.com

Here are the reasons I love his site:

• He is smart.  Crazy smart!
• He has focused on personal finances for YEARS and his content has never “dulled out”
• Relevant content to those interested in maximizing their money
• He has established clear and concise goals for his Emergency Fund, Home Pay-Off, and Investments (and he is achieving them …)

This is one of the few blogs on my daily reader.  It would benefit you to do the same!

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Every family has those “unique” traditions that makes them special, and our family is no different.  One of the particularly unique things that my mother does is keep all of the “solo” plastic cups from holiday to holiday.  ALL of them.  There are so many of us that we have to write our name on our cup with a Sharpie.  When the holidays roll around, we just look through the cups and find one that we have already signed years ago.

All of us comment on this practice to our mother with a smirk, but she always responds with the phrase, “Waste not. Want not.”

Perhaps that is the reason my parents have enjoyed a great life raising six boys and have been able to retire when they chose to do so.

Do you have any interesting “re-use” stories in your family?

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1. We planned BEFORE buying a single gift (using the Mini-Budget)
2. We pulled the planned money out in cash (except for on-line purchases)
3. We put away the debit/credit card (except for on-line purchases)
4. We stuck to the plan (diligence)!

You can do the same!

How are YOU doing with your Christmas spending?

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If you are highly focused on improving your financial situation, it can mean that the amount of money you have available for Christmas spending is greatly reduced.  This means that you might have to use the word that all parents dread saying to their children – especially at Christmas – the word “NO.”

It is exceptionally difficult UNLESS you understand that saying NO right now will enable you to say YES to something far more important in the future!  You see, saying NO right now provides you with incredible teaching moments for your children.  When they ask “WHY?”, you get to have a great conversation with them.  The conversation might go something like this:

CHILD: I want an iPod Touch for Christmas.

YOU: NO!

CHILD: Why not?

YOU: Because this year, Mommy and Daddy are focusing on getting our finances in order.

CHILD: Why?

YOU: Because we want to be able to say “YES” more in the future.  If we don’t say “NO” right now, it will be very difficult for us to ever say “YES” in the future to more important things.  You see, by us saying “NO” right now, it is going to allow us to say “YES” to paying for your college education.

Do you see it?  Do you really see it?

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• Turkey
• Duck
• Oyster dressing
• Giblet dressing
• Mashed potatoes
• Cranberry Sauce
• Shrimp Cocktail
• Black and Green Olives
• Pickled Beets

I trust that everyone will have a wonderful Thanksgiving and will be reminded of everything we each have to be thankful for!

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He was recently playing a game and began gaining a significant advantage – by violating the rules of the game.  He was told, “That’s against the rules.”

His priceless response?  “I wasn’t playing by the rules.”

This response reminds me of so many people who are completely broke.  They KNOW the rules, but they choose to ignore them.  Here are some fundamental money management rules that are regularly and routinely ignored.

1. Spend less than you make
2. Save money for a rainy day
3. Give money away
4. Plan your spending BEFORE you actually spend
5. A budget will allow you to maximize your money
6. Invest money every time you receive money
7. Save for emergencies
8. Save for known upcoming non-monthly expenses
9. Save for dreams
10. Always ask for a better deal
11. Pay cash for items that drop in value
12. Avoid debt that will strangle your plans, hopes, and dreams
13. Maintain healthy financial margin

What rule do you wrestle with the most?  What rule(s) would you add?

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This means that they have substituted an “h” for one of the “n”s in “winning” – they move from “winNing” to “wHining.”

Have you ever noticed that whiners rarely win?  Think about it.  Name ONE whiner who is a consistent winner.

We all have times where we descend into “whining.”  That is when we have to make the CHOICE to STOP WHINING and START DOING.

Don’t know if this is helpful to anyone, but it was helpful to me!

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They tell me about it, and they usually are smiling as they tell their story.  That is, unless they are still broke.  If they are still broke, there are no smiles – only tears, anger, humiliation, frustration, and agony.

It does not have to be that way.  That’s why I do what I do – helping people free up their finances and equipping them to fund their plans, hopes, and dreams.

Do you remember when you were broke?  Share your story with us in the comments!

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… is on its way!

I can’t wait to tell everyone about it.  Stay tuned to the blog, Twitter, and Facebook to be one of the first to know.

Of course, we are taking guesses about the announcement in the comments section. 

Get FIRED UP!
Joe

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