Put Striving Down (Read Time: 2 min.)

There's a time to pick up... and a time to let go. Extraordinarily successful people sense what time is for which action.


Every day, you wake up and set an intention. You utter those first words and the day begins... and you move through it behaving as if everything works out for you... or nothing does. In the midst of it, you're doing one of two things: flowing or controlling.

Flow is embracing life as it is, taking action where and how you can, and being open to the outcomes. Control is a tense, tight desire to have the inputs and outputs of the day be exactly what you say they are... and a deep sense of disappointment if things don't end up that way.

The quickest way to living your best life comes in flowing with what comes. That doesn't mean you get lazy or refrain from taking action. It simply means that you give every moment your all, do your best, and enjoy the results, whatever they are. If the results aren't what you want, you take notes, get a good night's sleep, and wake up tomorrow and try something different.

Remember:

Your striving blocks your success; let go, give in, and watch your life grow up!

What Savings Account is Right For You? (Read Time: 3 min.)

Cash is a wonderful thing but accumulating wealth is about having your money work hard for you and NOT you work hard for your money.

In Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth , T. Harv Eker talks about the differences between the way rich people think and the way poor people think. In fact, he says the following: "Rich people have their money work hard for them. Poor people work hard for their money."

One of the first things you can do to build wealth, no matter how much you earn, is have a savings account that accrues interest and, thus, makes you money without you having to work hard for it. But, all savings accounts aren't created equal.

I called Bank of America this morning to find out the benefits of moving from a regular savings to a Risk Free 9 month CD or a High Yield 12 month CD. At the present time, my regular savings earns me up to $250.00 a year.

When I sat on the phone with a consultant and she started doing the math with me (keep in mind that interest rates change daily and you'll need to call and ask your bank's representative what the current monthly and yearly interest rates are), I found out that with a minimum deposit of $5,000, if I went with the 9 month Risk Free CD, I'd bring in an extra $216.00 a year and with the 12 month High Yield CD, with a minimum deposit of $5,000, I'd bring in an extra $630.00 a year.

Now here's where you have to get savvy about it.

Why would I move from my regular savings that's earning me $250.00 a year to a 9 month Risk Free CD that will only earn me $216.00 a year and will incur me a fee if I take the money out early? That's a no brainer: not worth my time.

However, the High Yield CD is an option because I'll earn $630.00 a year and that's almost $400.00 more a year than I would have earned with a regular savings account. $630.00 a year might seem small but if you're a long term saver (which everyone needs to be), then over 10 years, that's $6,300.00 you didn't have to "work" for and over 20 years that's $12,600.00 you didn't have to "work" for AND that is only ONE savings strategy you can put in place.

BOTTOM LINE:

Every little bit helps but ask the questions, do the math, and know which account most benefits you BEFORE jumping into anything. Remember: Ask, ask, ask, and ask again until you are as clear as clear can be.

Are You Guessing At Spending? (Read Time: 2 min.)

How much money do you spend each week?

How much of your money goes to things, people, and places that you can't even remember?

When was the last time you kept track of your daily spending?

Here's the truth:

Money is one of the EASIEST things for you to demonstrate.

If you don't believe it, spend one week tracking your daily spending. Write down everything you spend for seven days and then total the amount at the end of the week. You'll find that you spent way more money than you THOUGHT you had to spend.

Stay Strong Point for Today:

If you don't know where your money goes, then you're guessing on whether or not your money will grow.

Become a diligent steward of your finances by doing three things this week:
1) Keep a daily spending journal- (without judging yourself) document what you buy and how much you spend.
2) Ask 'Did I need this or did I want this?'- At the end of the week, look at the total amount spent, look at each item purchased and ask yourself "Did I need this item or did I want it?"
3) Give Yourself 3 Spending Days a Week- For the upcoming week, choose select days that you'll spend money and refrain from spending ANY money on any of the other days. That means you decide the days you'll spend, you make sure you put gas in the car on those days, you buy groceries on those days, and you do whatever needs to be done on those days and discipline yourself not to spend on the other days.
4) Commit to saving 10% a week of what you spent during last week- That means if you spent $150.00 last week (and still have no idea what value you received for that amount of money), next week, save $15.00 and stick it in your savings.

One of the quickest way to grow your money to a level of wealth is to treat the money you have as if it were already that exact amount you desire, i.e. cherish it and take good care of it. The diligent in finances never lack for ANYTHING.

Forgiveness but Not Trust (Read Time: 1 min)

On a flight home this weekend, I picked up December's issue of Success Magazine. In it, I found an interesting article that did something I'd never read before: distinguish between forgiveness and trust.

I've always said "Forgiveness doesn't mean you go stupid." Brash? Yes. True? Absolutely! But, in this article, the author points out the solid tenet behind this idea. He explains that while you can forgive someone, forgiveness does not require that you trust that person again or ever.

Extraordinary success happens when you trust and honor who you are. Forgiveness is a requirement for extraordinary success. Unforgiveness keeps you stuck in the past. Forgiveness frees you up to create your future. Without forgiveness, you have no momentum upon which to build your success.

However, just because you forgive someone does not mean you have to trust them now... or ever. The ability to forgive comes from knowing that 1- you can forgive, 2- you trust yourself, and 3- when people show you who they are, you believe them. In this way, you can forgive someone, let the past go and still know who they are enough not to put yourself in a similar situation with that person in the future.

At the end of the day, knowing the difference between forgiveness and trust

comes down to one very critical success quality:

Wisdom

Finding the Silver Lining (Read Time: 2 min.)

When trying to execute a plan, achieve a goal, or live a dream, it's important to know what states of being make you most effective.

The highest level to operate from is gratitude. When you come to a place of being grateful for EVERYTHING, the "bad" experiences no longer haunt you, the mistakes no longer consume you and you are able to fast track your goals because you are free from the mental baggage that most people call the "past."

In every situation, there is a silver lining. It's not a matter of being like Pollyanna. It's a matter of answering one question: Do I want to be the victim or the victor in this situation? The victim lives in a constant state of repression, trying to forget what was, afraid of what will be, and unsure of how to live now. The victor accepts what was, embraces what will be and knows that, in this moment is his or her power to choose differently.

You don't have to be perfect to live your dream. You don't have to be lucky to have the life you want. However, you must be grateful. The more gratitude you have, the faster your dreams become real. Test this out.

How many complainers do you know who live extraordinary success on a consistent, continual basis? I don't know one.

No matter what the day brings, keep in mind one rule of thumb:

Never complain, never explain, always BE grateful.

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Sometimes You Want to Scream! (Read Time: 2 min.)

Remind me to NEVER allow someone to book me a flight with multiple connections allowing for less than an hour between flights. I'm not naming any specific airlines but said airline took off late, arrived at my second stop late and, after power sprinting nearly 2 miles to Concourse D, I missed the flight by TWO MINUTES!

I got to an empty check-in counter out of breath, sweating and PISSED. At that moment, all I wanted to do was spew out emotional poison at whichever airline employee showed up next and, in a moment, she was there.

I was mad and she was politely ignoring my frustration. I asked her about another flight. She explained it would be a two hour wait and I slowly stopped seething. After all, yelling at her might ease a little tension but it wouldn't change the fact that I'll be waiting two more hours for my flight. So, calmdown I did... And what have I done for the last two hours?

Breathe, eat, walk and work...

I guess this was my opportunity to apply the Stay Strong message I sent out about emotional poision... Don't send out so you don't have to take in.

An Extraordinary Success Blocker You Can't Afford to Have (Read Time: 2 min.)

Overconfidence is an extraordinary success blocker and most people straddle the fence between believing in themselves too little and believing in themselves too much. Confidence is key to any level of success. Overconfidence is the beginning of a loss of success.

When you get overconfident, you take for granted the principles of consistency, persistency, and passion. You begin to live under the illusion that your success is all YOU and, in this way, as long as you exist, so too does your level of extraordinary success. This couldn't be farther from the truth.

Your success is built and based upon your daily thoughts, plans and actions. In the moment that you change course and stop doing the things that got you to this place, you will find that your footing begins to shift. Before you know it, you're out of the limelight, your success is waning, and you won't know why.

To you, it'll be as if nothing changed. After all, you haven't changed so why should life?

The truth is this: If you change what you give to your dream, you alter the entire dream. Don't get it twisted. This is not about "hard" work.

Hard work says "I have to work hard to get what I want and if I ever stop working hard, then I'll stop getting what I want." Extraordinary success is not a 2+2 = 4 kind of thing. It's really a 3X3 to the third power kind of thing. Your success multiplies in astronomical ways based on minimal amounts of input. You give your all in a little and there's no telling as to how it'll grow so it's not about you doing a certain amount of work to get a certain amount of result.

However, it is about you approaching ANY and ALL work with the same level of initiative, fire, passion, purpose, and planning that you did at the very beginning... and that's where most people lose out.

Fervor in the beginning of a journey is easy. It's new. The goal is new. The dream is new. It's like a shiny, new car. It even smells good but talk to me when you've been in the dream for years, when there've been good and bad times and here's where the champions are born: Champions don't get defeated by the discouraging vicissitudes of the game. In fact, it's in the tough moments that they bring their passion to the forefront because they understand that passion and purpose at all times is exactly what they need to succeed.

What am I saying here?

Confidence is key. Overconfidence is a death sentence. It's so easy to become overconfident without ever noticing until it's too late. Remember that your best cure to the overconfidence bug is to remain grateful at all times, to check your passion and purpose level at all times and to use the rough patches as opportunities to train yourself to keep doing what you know must be done in the SAME SPIRIT that you began it with.

Everybody Has a Second Life (Read Time: 2 min.)

Walk through life with an open mind. That way, no matter what anyone does, says, or who they become, you'll adapt with joy and ease.

Close minds lend themselves to incorrect assumptions and premature judgements. When a person thinks you're a certain way (and you're not), no matter what you do, who you are, or what you have, in their eyes, you will always be something other than WHO YOU ARE...

The key to realizing full potential comes in recognizing it in other people.

When one person achieves, it demonstrates the fact that ALL can achieve. But, it's bigger than that.

There comes a moment in life when you realize that people aren't as "normal" as you once thought they were. You walk down a street with a new sense of awe because you realize that people have talents, gifts, dreams, and desires that they never tell to anyone, dreams that make them some of the most fascinating people you'll ever meet.

The reason so many people lack faith and confidence in their dreams is because they've bought into the false notion that few people have "big" dreams and even fewer actually achieve them.

Remember: EVERYBODY (including mom, dad, sister, brother, cousins, teachers, police officers, co-workers, and the janitor at the grocery store) has a SECOND LIFE, a dream they avidly pursue, the highest version of themselves that they can muster, a goal or plan that they secretly pursue with all their hearts... and you'd never know it to look at them.

Just as you have a dream in your heart, so does each and every person in the world. When you deny, laugh, or criticize their dreams, you're doing it to yours as well. We climb or fall together. When you truly get that, you become a dreamcatcher for other people. You cheer them on and cheerlead their endeavors. You encourage them in their defeats and guess what? Before long, absolute strangers start to do it for you in return...

Remember: Tony Robbins was once a janitor. Suze Orman was once a waitress. There is nothing new under the sun.

Everybody has a second life...

What is Stay Strong? (Read Time: 2 min.)

You dream, you start, and, at some point, you always stop... Why is that?

You have a dream, you've got a plan but you're missing the one thing that guarantees success....
Would you like to have that in spades?

Premiere Stay Strong members do!
Why?

Because they invest in the one success training membership that teaches the ONLY skill that GUARANTEES unlimited success! STAYING POWER

At Stay Strong, we have one mission: to teach the science of STAYING POWER.

You aren't who you were yesterday.

You're not even who you were five minutes ago.

Isn't it time you got into the driver's seat of your life?

It's time to Stay Strong!
Kassandra Vaughn, CKO ROI Coaching

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