Invest It Wisely

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Random Thoughts and Readings for the Week: The Heat Continues!

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Red Hot Sun

Red Hot Sun (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Hope that everyone is enjoying the heat, though looks like there might be a bit too much of it, with the current drought in the U.S.

Here are some recent posts that you may have missed:

In case you haven’t yet passed by, you might want to also give these posts a read:

RANDOM THOUGHTS AND READINGS FOR THE WEEK

It’s been nearly six months since I left my job. So much has changed since then: the snow has melted, it got really, really hot, and I got used to the idea of working for myself. I’ve even enjoyed a measure of success, and I really enjoy what I’m doing. It might not be long before I’m able to surpass milestone #2. I even know a few guys that are starting to go into working for themselves, so it’s going to be really cool to be able to share in the journey, together.

However, there’s a couple of things that I’m afraid of. The first is that the majority of this success is coming from a single product, and my mind is running a bit dry at the moment, so I really don’t want to be a one hit wonder. The second is that I’m afraid of letting myself slow down the pace, as it’s too easy to get comfortable!

I know that I’m responsible for my own success, so it’s time to plot out the course for the next six months. Fear is a healthy emotion when it leads to action and planning, rather than paralysis. I can also say that I’m very happy with the way things have gone so far, and thrilled to see that the Financial Samurai has also taken the jump. Me and him come from opposite ends of the spectrum in some ways, but when we met up, he was a very normal and down to earth guy, and very friendly as well! I think he’s going to do great on his adventure, and wish him the best of success.

MONKEY WRENCH

The book Lifebulbs: Bright Ideas & Simple Solutions For Building Your Better Life is currently on a book tour, and I was asked if they could stop by Invest It Wisely. I was happy to oblige. 🙂 Below is the tour:

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me!” If there ever was anything learned during our childhood that was more wrong than that, I don’t know of it. Words absolutely did, and still do hurt us. Whether it was a bully on the playground or other kids in class when we were of school age, or a current friend, co-worker, or family member, the things said or done with malicious intent have a way of piercing straight through to the heart. You could be minding your own business, doing your best to build your Better Life when, zing! Out of nowhere comes a phone call, email, text message or a full-on face-to-face confrontation that knocks you for a loop.

Having a monkey wrench thrown into the middle of your life by someone you regularly trust is even more devastating than dealing with random acts of rudeness. Undoubtedly, your heart hurts, you may shed some tears and feel a bit numb as you wonder, “Why me?” But whatever the reason for the attack, which may never actually be uncovered, after the natural emotion of feeling sorry for yourself has run its course, you have a decision to make. As trite as it may sound, it really does boil down to deciding whether to get bitter or (BE)TTER. You have to ask honestly yourself, “Do I want to allow myself to get really angry and start planning my revenge? Or do I want to turn this incident into a school of hard knocks training course on how to grow through adversity?”

No matter who or what attacks, don’t get bitter, (BE)TTER.

By: Randal Smalls

Randal Smalls is a recovery specialist, life coach and author of the newly released “LIFEBULBS: Bright Ideas & Simple Solutions to Building Your Better Life” . Since 1988, Randal has traveled to more than 25 nations coaching and encouraging people from all walks of life including some of the world’s most recognizable faces in business, religion, sports and entertainment. His Better Life Courses are currently being utilized in various rehabilitation facilities, colleges and churches worldwide. Get more info at BetterLifeCourse.com or follow Randal on Twitter @MrBetterLife.

On to weekend reading:

PERSONAL FINANCE

CAREER

MISCELLANEOUS

  • How I ended up back in school on the first day of the Egyptian Revolution – Forest shares an awe-inspiring story about his personal experiences during the beginning of the Egyptian Revolution.
  • Dealing With the Neighbor From Hell — As we live in a condo, we are so grateful that we don’t have neighbours like this!

MOTIVATION

  • To Achieve Greatness, You Must First Acknowledge that You Suck. It’s not always easy to acknowledge our weak points, as doing so can hurt our egos. However, when we take responsibility, we can finally stop blaming others and learn to take action to improve things for the better.
  • When is YOUR Independence Day? Are You Free to do What You Want? – What are you doing to get closer to personal independence and freedom?

RETIREMENT

  • Top 16 Reasons I’m Retiring Early – these are a lot of great reasons that anybody might have for retiring early, and I can relate to many of them. I still wonder if the future is going to bring more financial freedom or more financial slavery. It really could go both ways.

INVESTING

  • Best Way to Invest Money in This Economy – Shilpan takes on some of the conventional investing wisdom. I personally still think that both buy & hold and dollar cost averaging have their place, but they have to be tempered with reason rather than blind obedience.
  • Pinecrest Energy: Highlighting One of the Best Junior Oil Stocks in Canada – Mich takes a look at another great junior oil play.
  • June 2012 Dividend Income Update – My Own Advisor has been working hard at building up a dividend warchest.
  • Youngandthrifty’s July Net Worth Update +1.02% – Y&T also has good news about her net worth!

GOVERNMENT

CARNIVALS

Hope you all have a good week!

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Comments

  1. 6-months already! Time really flies doesn’t it! I’m sure you’ll get something on the run soon and as long as you can keep your current success going for a while longer you’ll work through it.

    Thanks very much for linking my post. That was an odd thing to finally write down.

    • Time really does fly! I’ve been learning a lot too, both business wise and personal wise. I’ll try to keep sharing with you all. 🙂

  2. I am glad to hear that you are making moving along well after quitting your job. Thanks for the kind mention.

    • My very first car was an ancient beater, but after the engine blew up I overreacted and leased a new car! Big financial mistake… even if it was fun to be driving around in a new car rather than a beater. The truth was I couldn’t really afford it at the time, even if I thought I could.

  6. Wow…6 months already. Where does the time go?

    From what I’ve read Kevin, you really haven’t regretted the decision. Very well done, following your own path and heart. I have lots of respect for people, like you, who do that! Keep up the good fight and your journey.

    Thanks for the mention, time to tweet 🙂

    Mark

    • Hi Mark,

      Nope I haven’t regretted it at all! In fact, I think right now the biggest push to get me back into an office would be loneliness, and not money concerns. I’ll have to see how the next six months go and then decide what I want to do after that. It could go many different ways. 😉

      I also don’t deserve any more respect than you do for building up a nice dividend war chest. There are many different roads to financial freedom and self-actualisation, and that’s what makes the journey so interesting. 🙂

  7. Six months sure flies… You know what they say, you must be having fun! You sound happier so you must be healthier as well. Good luck in finishing your first year strong!

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