I've always hated debt.
When I was at Duke I put all my extra money into the mortgage on my townhouse in an effort to pay it off as quickly as possible. I'd only charge something on a credit card if I had the money to pay off the balance every month (I wish I could say this now). To me, debt has always felt like a weight on my shoulders. Now that I'm in DC and everything is more expensive (especially housing!) it's even worse. [This is one of the reasons we're trying to get back to NC]
As I started real estate investing, I met Steve Cook, whom many of you will remember me mentioning in the past. He has a similar view of debt and he really enlightened me on how controlling debt can be. As he's stated, the amount of debt we have impacts what job we take, where we work, and how much we work. It controls how much time we can take off for vacation and where we can go.
If you think about it, sadly, debt influences just about every aspect of our life.
I love these definitions from Steve:
"A mortgage is a commitment to work 30% of your waking hours for 30 years for a place to live now."
"Borrowing is exchanging your future time for the benefit of something today."
But it's not just the mortgage. It's credit card debt, car payments, etc. It all adds up to a minimum dollar amount that you must come up with every month, no matter what.
I personally feel trapped by debt and am actively pursing a way out. Many of you may feel the same way. I can tell you, as you dig your way out of debt, it will feel as though a weight has been lifted. You'll be able to enjoy time with your spouse, family and friends, be more generous, and start sleeping at night again.
The lesson here? GET OUT OF DEBT!
I know it's easier said than done, especially in today's economy, but every little step in the right direction counts. Stop charging things you can't afford because you think you're entitled to have them. Our culture promotes instant-gratification - we must avoid this way of thinking. The reality is, if you have to charge it, you can't afford it. Try and distinguish between want and need - comfort and necessity. Instead of getting a new car every 3 years, try and make it 5. You get the point.
Just like it probably took you some time to get into debt, it will take you some time to get out of it. Don't worry though - you WILL get there, and when you do, a whole new way of living will open up.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Expanding on the 'one wish' question
What if you could only keep ONE material item you own? What would it be? Why?
The concept behind this question (again from Richard Flint) is similar to the 'one wish' question in regards that it indicates what you value and hold important in your life. I'm interested in your answers so feel free to post them here if you'd like.
The concept behind this question (again from Richard Flint) is similar to the 'one wish' question in regards that it indicates what you value and hold important in your life. I'm interested in your answers so feel free to post them here if you'd like.
If you could have one wish...
What would it be? Although a lot of people would instantly blurt out "I want $100 million dollars!", I want you to think about this in more depth before answering. If after really pondering this question for some time, you still want 100 million dollars, that's fine. But then ask yourself WHY.
Is the money for yourself? What would you buy? Why do you want those things? Why are they important to you? How would having them make you feel? (you get the idea)
Would it be to donate? Where or to who would you donate it? Why? Etc...
What else could you do with the money?
If your wish was for something else other than money, what would it be for? Your health? A superpower? Would you wish that the world was somehow different? Or how about use the wish for someone else?
This question was recently posted by Richard Flint, a motivational speaker that has the uncanny ability to make you think about the direction of your life and what you value as important. How you answer this question says a lot about your priorities in life and speaks volumes to what you hold as valuable. Use your answer to help you raise your own self-awareness and to determine whether or not you're really on the life-track you want to be on.
Feel free to post your answers here if you'd like.
J
Is the money for yourself? What would you buy? Why do you want those things? Why are they important to you? How would having them make you feel? (you get the idea)
Would it be to donate? Where or to who would you donate it? Why? Etc...
What else could you do with the money?
If your wish was for something else other than money, what would it be for? Your health? A superpower? Would you wish that the world was somehow different? Or how about use the wish for someone else?
This question was recently posted by Richard Flint, a motivational speaker that has the uncanny ability to make you think about the direction of your life and what you value as important. How you answer this question says a lot about your priorities in life and speaks volumes to what you hold as valuable. Use your answer to help you raise your own self-awareness and to determine whether or not you're really on the life-track you want to be on.
Feel free to post your answers here if you'd like.
J
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
MuscleMag Photoshoot!
It's me again! Then again...who else would it be writing on my blog? Hmmm...
Anyway - I have lots more news to share, but one thing at a time! LOL
This is pretty cool...
I don't think many of you know this, but I recently flew up to Toronto to do a photoshoot with MuscleMag International, a great magazine I'm sure most of you peruse. It was a last minute thing that Dante sent my way, so thanks to the big man for giving me a heads up!
It was a lot of fun and I'm excited to see how the pics came out. Paul Buceta, an extremely talented photographer, did the shooting. We did training and food pics and they'll be featured in an upcoming SuperFeature on getting big and ripped (I don't know the official title yet). They said it would be out in a couple months so keep your eyes peeled!
I'll tell you though - doing shoots is NOT easy. Those weights get extremely heavy very quickly when you're doing stops at several ranges of motion while the photographer snaps shots. I felt like a weakling! So if any of you see the shots and I'm doing girlie weights - cut me some slack! LOL.
Anyway - I have lots more news to share, but one thing at a time! LOL
This is pretty cool...
I don't think many of you know this, but I recently flew up to Toronto to do a photoshoot with MuscleMag International, a great magazine I'm sure most of you peruse. It was a last minute thing that Dante sent my way, so thanks to the big man for giving me a heads up!
It was a lot of fun and I'm excited to see how the pics came out. Paul Buceta, an extremely talented photographer, did the shooting. We did training and food pics and they'll be featured in an upcoming SuperFeature on getting big and ripped (I don't know the official title yet). They said it would be out in a couple months so keep your eyes peeled!
I'll tell you though - doing shoots is NOT easy. Those weights get extremely heavy very quickly when you're doing stops at several ranges of motion while the photographer snaps shots. I felt like a weakling! So if any of you see the shots and I'm doing girlie weights - cut me some slack! LOL.
Switching Sides!
Hey guys I have something pretty cool to share - I'm going to start judging NPC shows. I test judged my first show last weekend. It was the Delaware State Championships, run by Todd Howe and Tracey Greenwood. It was a lot of fun and very interesting to see things from the other side of the table.
Here's some of my observations:
1. Color, skin clarity, and the correct amount of posing oil makes a big difference in your presentation.
2. How important a smile is - guys/gals that frown or look cocky are only hurting themselves.
3. (and this surprised me) How you can pretty much get a good idea of placings just based on the quarter turns. I found myself getting a rough idea of where people belonged based on the turns, then used the mandatory poses to sort out differences between people that were close. I'd look at conditioning (abs and glutes are good indicators), and I noticed legs and back were what set most people apart. LESSON = work on legs and back! Most bodybuilders seemed to have arms and a chest.
4. It's really not that easy to be a judge. It seems like someone (competitor or friend/family member) will always be unhappy with their placing and you could hear people in the auditorium making derogatory comments about the judging. These guys and gals really do the best they can to be fair so it kinda sucks to have people complaining. Also, I was surprised at how different people can look at the prejudging vs. night show - some looked better, some worse. This exacerbated some of the tension over placings, because most of the audience wasn't there at prejudging and didn't see what the judges saw.
I'm test judging the MD State this Saturday. It's going to be a larger show than the DE show so it will be more challenging, but I'm looking forward to it.
To get qualified as a judge, from what I gather you have to test judge at least 3 shows and score over 80% in comparison to the actual final placings. I don't know if this criteria is nation-wide or regional so don't ask. LOL.
Wish me luck!
Here's some of my observations:
1. Color, skin clarity, and the correct amount of posing oil makes a big difference in your presentation.
2. How important a smile is - guys/gals that frown or look cocky are only hurting themselves.
3. (and this surprised me) How you can pretty much get a good idea of placings just based on the quarter turns. I found myself getting a rough idea of where people belonged based on the turns, then used the mandatory poses to sort out differences between people that were close. I'd look at conditioning (abs and glutes are good indicators), and I noticed legs and back were what set most people apart. LESSON = work on legs and back! Most bodybuilders seemed to have arms and a chest.
4. It's really not that easy to be a judge. It seems like someone (competitor or friend/family member) will always be unhappy with their placing and you could hear people in the auditorium making derogatory comments about the judging. These guys and gals really do the best they can to be fair so it kinda sucks to have people complaining. Also, I was surprised at how different people can look at the prejudging vs. night show - some looked better, some worse. This exacerbated some of the tension over placings, because most of the audience wasn't there at prejudging and didn't see what the judges saw.
I'm test judging the MD State this Saturday. It's going to be a larger show than the DE show so it will be more challenging, but I'm looking forward to it.
To get qualified as a judge, from what I gather you have to test judge at least 3 shows and score over 80% in comparison to the actual final placings. I don't know if this criteria is nation-wide or regional so don't ask. LOL.
Wish me luck!
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