Why do we want more money?

None of us just want more money.

Let us face two cold hard facts:

1. money in and of itself can not make us happy; and
2. money sure as heck cannot buy love (something that we are all looking for on some level).

We want more money because money allows us to do certain things.  Maybe we want to spend more time at home with our family, or maybe we want to travel the world.  Whatever our reason is, we need to figure out our WHY.

How bad do you want it? You are going to have to fight for it.
Image credit: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

The Financial Freedom journey

The journey to Financial Freedom is not a smooth or easy one.  It takes A LOT of energy to put it mildly.  There will be several points along the journey when we will feel like we should throw in the towel (give up). 

We will start having the thoughts that it is so much easier:

–          to just continue going to our jobs and being miserable;

–          to continue to wish that we had a better life;

–          to continue looking for a better paying job.

It is at these points along our journey that we will need to remind ourselves of our WHY.

How to us our WHY

When our WHY is big enough, when we have a burning desire for something deep down in our soul, the how tends to take care of itself.

Our WHY will keep us moving and will make us try again and again after we have failed for the umpteenth time!  It is our WHY that will keep us disciplined and make us take action towards Financial Freedom.

In Think and Grow Rich, Napolean Hill tells us that the starting point of ALL (not only Financial Freedom) achievement is a burning desire.  A burning desire can make us live a life of abundance in all areas.

Hill goes further to tell us “that every person who wins any undertaking must be willing to burn his ships and cut all sources of retreat.  Only by doing so can one be sure of maintaining that state of mind known as a BURNING DESIRE TO WIN, essential to success.”

Think back to times in our own lives when we wanted, yearned for, something so much that we went through hell and high water to get it.  On those occasions, we had a burning desire (a WHY).

So we see that our WHY may sound simple, but it is not to be taken lightly.

Dare to believe in the power of you and cheers to living a victorious life!

–Kaynijo

Is there a conspiracy against our education?

Have you ever wondered why our school system focuses mainly on teaching us how to get a good job but not so much on how to own and/or create these jobs?  And yes, I agree, not everyone wants to be a boss.  And yes, it is very possible to achieve your dream by working for someone else, but that is not what this article is about.

Has our education system been manipulated?  Is it deliberate that we do not learn about the fundamentals of money at school?  If we learnt about how money works at

Image courtesy of www.freedigitalphotos.net

an earlier age, would so many of us be carrying so much bad debt?

Our school system was not designed to support the concept that each and every one of us can be financially free.  Some may even laugh and call this concept ludicrous.

Is it time for an educational reform towards financial education in schools?  If we do not reform in this direction is it that we’ll continue to set our children up for failure by not giving them the necessary tools?

If we had learnt more about money in school would we be living in fear that we might lose our jobs? 

Is it that we have given up our freedom for a steady income?  Is this also the reason why some of us expect the government and/or our employer to solve our financial problems?

Ask yourself these questions: “How knowledgeable am I about money, taxes, debt, inflation and retirement?”, “Do I know how these forces affect my life?”

How interested are you in money?  Some of us will say that we have no interest in money and that money is not all that important.  Some of us will use 1 Timothy 6:10 to justify this position –

“For the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil.  Some have been so eager to have it that they have wandered away from the faith and have broken their hearts with many sorrows.” (GNT)

We should not delude ourselves about money – it is very difficult to live without it – try functioning without a source of income if you are in doubt.

 In Ecclesiastes 10:19, King Solomon said

 “Feasting makes you happy and wine cheers you up, but you can’t have either without money.” (GNT)

 Then, if money is a fact of life and an imperative element to our survival, why then aren’t we teaching more about financial literacy in our schools?

So again I ask – is there a conspiracy against our education?

You decide.

–Kaynijo

 

 

The Retirement Money Myth

Millions upon millions of Americans who are part of the baby boomer generation will retire over the next decades. But are they ready? Most people assume they will spend less in retirement, but the true numbers tell a different story. How will this affect your financial future?

Read the full article here: The Retirement Money Myth.

 

Here Ye, Here Ye, Read All About It – Thrive! Volume 1 Issue 2

Thrive! Volume 1 Issue 2 now available for download here: Thrive! Volume 1 Issue 2

Inside this issue:

•    This issue’s theme: Like a phoenix, we shall rise from the ashes

•    Feature story: The Woman behind the Educator by Alicia Reid

•    Letters to God

•    Article: Mentoring My Younger Self by Lesmarie Nicholson

•    Poem: Redeeming Love by C Obasare

•    Promotions: She was born to dance – JanceHD; Three Sixty Gum – sugar free gum with Xylitol & BAD – Bridal Affair Destinations

Hot off the press – Thrive! Volume 1 Issue 1

Thrive! Volume 1 Issue 1 now available for download here: Thrive! Volume 1 Issue 1

Inside this issue:

• Feature story: “Who is Bridgette Bucknor?” by K Nicole

• Letters to God

• Article: Little things, big difference by C Obasare

• Article: Is there a conspiracy against our education? by K Nicole

• Column: The ‘rantings’ of GabbyG

• Article: Fashion, ones self-expression to the world by Amanda Lovable

• Column: The Fashion Emporium by Nicky Walker

• Poem: Believe by Kimone Racquel

•    Promotions: She was born to dance – JanceHD & Three Sixty Gum – sugar free gum with Xylitol

What if…?

What if we could stop the mayhem and the nightmare?

What if we could taste the magic again?

Through the hustle and bustle of morning traffic, I chose not to do my usual “…really so much traffic, do I reaaaalllllllly need to be doing this…” speech and tried to view life through a different lens. And what an adventure it was!

Imagine what a different world this would be if each and every one of us engaged our brains; generated our edge even

– oh what endless possibilities would exist!  I will go further and say that life would not feel so much like an empty land.

I reaffirmed that choice is a beautiful thing and it is indeed possible to say yes in paradise. 

Personally, I knew it was all up to God and my faith and trust in Him.  He continues to show me on a daily basis how to put my best life forward. 

His love is as nurturing as a father’s and mother’s love.  His love endures forever and not just for 40-50 years like a roof made with wallaba or turada shingles.

He helps me to lime for living everyday.

When I am lost, tired, weary, trampled down, or just plain and simple – cyan bada [Jamaican patios which may be translated “not in the mood”], I try to always look up.  After all, millions of dreams need strong shoulders.

Be blessed.

–Kaynijo

Down But Not Out

Psalm 88:1 NIV and Philippians 4:7 NIV

A recent Daily Bread is entitled “Down But Not Out”, written by Herb Vander Lugt. When I first saw the title, my thoughts were “Hmmmmmm, let’s see what this is all about, and how these Bible verses are related to such a title.”

The reading cites the example of Samuel Johnson, an 18th-century author, and his “zest for living”, up to the day he died.

The section of the reading that spoke to me the most was the ending which relates to Philippians 4:7 – “…especially for those who go through times of doubt and despair.”

Despair may be defined as the loss of hope, hopelessness. I have many a times forgotten the “peace of God” during my “down, but not out” times. Agreeably, there are times when merely quoting Bible verses helps little. However, if we keep living and praying, our faith will prevail.

–Kaynijo

Promise yourself…

This one was given to me by Horatio.  He received it at a Church School Ministry seminar that he attended.  He took the liberty of making copies so that he could share it with as many persons as possible…

 

The Optimist Creed

Promise Yourself…

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness and prosperity to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

http://www.optimist.org/e/creed.cfm