Val has been a member of the Tribe Mastermind Community since February. She shares her views on why discovering your passion is so important, connecting with people authentically and why becoming a member of the Tribe is so impactful to your business.

The first question I asked Val is regarding what she is most passionate about. What fires her up every morning as her feet hit the floor. Val is most passionate about supporting others in realizing their potential. Whether through coaching or blogging, she shares the opportunities that life has to offer to learn, grow and create. Val choose this path is because she feels that people can move through life letting the winds of fate bounce them here, there and everywhere, or they can take action and move towards their dreams. She believes that discovering your passion is the first step in creating a better life. Through personal development and self improvement steps, Val enjoys supporting others as they find their passion.

Since Val uses online social media and her blog to connect with people, I asked her to share one tip that you could use today to enhance your online presence. Her main focus is on being authentic, open and transparent in all your interactions with others.

Val shares these important tips:

• Be yourself, allow people to get to know you.
• Engage your followers in conversations and interact with them.
• Maintain a high degree of integrity in all your interactions online.
• Be positive and supportive.

To wrap this up, I asked Val what is the most important reason for being part of the Tribe.

Creating lasting connections with positive-minded people has enriched Val’s life. The sense of community within the Tribe is why she enjoys this so much. Opportunities like Mastermind groups and business ventures are key components that have enhanced her online experience.

To connect with Val, visit her at www.valwilcox.com. You can also find her on Facebook or Twitter.

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Here for your support,

PS Make sure you’ve subscribed to my F*REE OFFER to the right, so I can send you my 26-page “Revolutionary Blogging and Social Media Diagnostic Report”. You’ll also be able to take a  short questionnaire and have the opportunity for a little 1 on 1 time with me. Check it out! –>>

I’ve learned some very important principles from Jonathan Budd in this process that have catapulted my own ability to be successful within whatever niche or industry I choose.

What is your definition of success? And what would you add to this video?

Looking forward to your comments…

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Yours in mastery and success,

PS So, what would you add to the conversation? What is working with your online business right now? Have you gotten the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful? Are you plugged into the best network of like-minded people? Have you shifted your mindset to be a SERVANT or a GO-GIVER?

Make sure and subscribe to my NEW FREE OFFER so you can receive my 26-page Blogging and Social Media Diagnostic Report and Complimentary Consultation…

Although I am not familiar with James Rickard of the Stewardship Services Foundation, I found myself once again empty with the wisdom of these truths. This is not to say that they are not appropriate or valuable but often the underlying behavior or root cause has not been addressed.

Imagine a person who goes to the doctor complaining about a headache. So the doctor runs some tests and finds nothing. The recommendation is to take a pill to relieve the symptoms. Although this works, it now requires the patient to manage the symptom and not the root issue, which was drinking coffee caused the headache.So the patient has a decision to make. Stop drinking coffee or take a pill to manage the pain.

As with most financial issues, success comes from control, discipline and knowledge. These are not always popular concepts as so often we are wanting as financial professionals to allow clients to do what they desire without having to truly make changes.

So I took the liberty of taking the 14 truths listed and delving further into the issues, using my financial planning practice as a backdrop into the behaviors of my clients with respect to these issues.

1. What is emotional spending? Whether we buy a home, car or new shirt the process of spending involves both our intellect and emotions. The real issue is impulse spending. Clients who struggle with this issue do not control their habits just because they have limited cash or credit cards in their wallet.

In fact one of my clients found that they spent more money when they moved to cash or debit cards instead of credit cards. Why? Because the credit card provided a monthly statement of accountability where as the cash and debit card did not.

You can’t change the impulse until you understand the impact it has to your ability to achieve your long-term goals. This is not easy and frankly has caused more folks to fall into a financial slavery than any other behavior. This is the crux for most clients.

2. Saving and investing are not the same. Heroes save people from getting hurt, we save money to protect it from spending.

How many of us have “invested” in a texting plan? An investment is an expectation that we put money or time into something that will provide us an increase in value that exceeds our initial contributions. So how does a texting plan become an investment? Perhaps what we really have is a texting plan that saves us money.

Do we invest or save our marriages? At times both. The issue of saving money is too broad of a topic. Why are you saving and how much should you be saving? Let’s first take the issue of why.

Primarily it’s because we want to buy something at a later date, 1-5 years. The other is for an emergency fund to be discussed later. $100 a month is out of context. What if I want to buy something in one year that costs $2,400, I will need to save $200 a month not $100.

The second issue is that savings accounts do not get 7.5% returns; they get very little if any returns because that is not their goal. The real return is the monthly contribution from the saver toward the goal. The funny part is that we as a society have moved toward instant gratification and if I want something I typically can finance it and have it now…no need to save.

So the practice of saving is really about delaying our desires, thus giving us time to reflect so as the day approaches when we can buy the item of our desire we might find that it is not worth it. The power of saving is the clarification of our goals and the real cost of its value.

3. This next point is real solid. I often tell clients that the secret to retirement is real simple. Earn money, live on less, and invest the difference. The hard part is actually doing it.

We have all felt the pain of wanting to have what others have and therefore we shrink the available amount of money for investing in order to keep up with the guy next door. As my wife says, “the grass is greener on the other side, but you don’t know what their water bill looks like” That’s some powerful wisdom.

Each one of my clients is in a different place in life. At times they might have been making great money only to go through a divorce, have children, change jobs, or buy their dream home. Each one of these events changes their ability to “invest the difference.”

So my advice to clients has been that when you are making more money, resist the temptation to “reward” yourself or increase your standard of living. This is especially true for my clients who are in sales. When the commission check arrives make it a habit of going out to a nice dinner or concert for your reward, this limits your spending to a few hundred dollars not a monthly commitment to a new car or boat.

So when do they get to increase their standard of living? When two things happen. First they must increase their contributions to their retirement, which is effectively saying that as their current standard of living increases so shall your future therefore it must be funded.

The second is to make it a habit of living on your income from three years prior. This forces you to not change your expenses based on a single good year, and it offers a buffer should your income decrease significantly. Imagine if all those folks who were involved with the real estate boom implemented this strategy. Would they have had time to adjust their expenses?

4. There are times that financing pleasure items may be appropriate. First let me reiterate the previous points made about control, discipline and knowledge. If a client has true control of their financial life then some of these pleasure things won’t even be a consideration. This is not to say that pleasure items are bad, but often my clients have different priorities and pleasure items are not at the top of the list.

If a client has an investment account that is designed to address the purchase of pleasure items, and it is earning 7% and the financing option is 4% would it be a smart decision to lose the 7% rate of return?

Let me once again reiterate that my clients do not get to be in this position without some tough financial decisions made years earlier. This is a reward not a right.

5. Ok, now we can discuss the emergency fund issue. First ask yourself what is classified as an emergency. Death, major car repair, job loss, medical bills, or something else? There are small, large and catastrophic emergencies. The major emergencies usually involve death, or a sickness such as cancer.

This is not what the fund is used for. If your dryer stops working or you have to replace a transmission, this does not constitute using the fund. The purpose is to provide time. Most often the fund is used when a change in jobs or health might be better served with time to consider options.

We have all heard that homes should have what is referred to as a defensible space. This simply means that a home with a cleared area around it can be defended against a fire. It gives time and protection to make better decisions.

How much should be in this fund? The amount should provide 6 months of basic expenses, which will be different for all people. Most of my clients would find $5k of emergency funds as an inadequate number.

6. Credit card control is under the impulse control issue. I use my credit card for 80-90% of all expenses not including mortgage or car loans. I do not use it for points or miles, but ease of use and accountability.

Once a month I get a total of all expense and it’s itemized with details. Then I pay it off. If all card holders did this the credit card companies would go out of business.

7. Life insurance is critical to that catastrophic emergency also known as death. Some clients like to have a policy that will pay for all their debt issues so their spouse will be debt free. The problem is that we often forget the future debt we are working on such as children’s education and retirement needs.

There are many factors involved with life insurance and just about as many viewpoints. I take a simple approach, take care of the need. Once that is addressed you can get more complex. Simplistically I like to see a client replace their income for life. If a client earns $100k a year then I would suggest a 2 million dollar policy. This is based on us taking 2 million dollars at death and investing it at 5% which generates 100k a year forever for the remaining spouse. So the amount of coverage is based on their actual need.

8. Owning your home and cars outright at retirement is a concept from a different generation. The generation today looks at things differently. How many people do you know in their 50 and 60 who bought a home in the last 10 years with a 30 year mortgage? There are so many variables involved in a good financial plan that owning your home outright is not always reasonable.

9. This is a great statement and should be taken very seriously. Start and commit to creating a financial plan, not just a retirement plan. Sitting down and looking at all aspects of your financial life helps create a plan. People often contribute to their company 401k plan with matching contributions included and are shocked to find that they are not able to retire.

10. Already discussed in Truth number 8.

11. Having and implementing a reasonable budget is foundational. Again refer to the points made earlier about understanding priorities and controlling impulses.

12. Bad debt vs. monthly obligations. Similar to my previous comments in Truth number 4, credit cards and loans are not always bad debt. Let’s reframe the issue. If I had to use a credit card to buy food for my family would that be bad debt? Can I spend money on my utilities that is wasteful? Absolutely.

As we spend money we do so in different ways for different reasons. Keeping it a bit simpler, if my client keeps their need for money at retirement in check with their current standard of living then they will maintain a balance. A client with a need of $100k a year today will still need $100k at retirement. If $20k a year is spent in “bad debt” payments then I simply assume that that will not stop at retirement.

Again spending money on things we do not need without addressing the future need will be bad. Perhaps an example will help. If I take on a $100/mo payment of “bad debt” or “good debt” I will need $24k at retirement earning 5% in order to continue making that $100/mo payment.

All of a sudden the purchase, good or bad has a long-term consequence that I will have to decide if it is worth it.

13. Tax law is complex and few are able to fully take advantage of this complexity. Accountants focus mainly on your current tax liability. A good financial planner should be able to help you make decisions that take advantage of previous issues as well as future ones.

Those that treat tax law with respect and operate a business with this in mind often make better decisions. Your accountant does not know when your miles driven were for personal or business reasons. They simply ask for the number of miles driven. You need to know what the rules are and how to maximize your opportunities. Some business people will buy a new car not because they need a new one but because they want to take advantage of the tax write-off.

If you give money to a charity so you can write it off, please stop. You are not saving any money doing this, it costs you money. Give to a charity because you believe in its mission. The tax write-off is simply a thank you from the government for doing so.

14. Finally the issue of an estate plan. For some this is a tough one. It makes people realize that their future may be limited in years. For many of my clients I want to make sure that the family is taken care of, assets are put in place, and estate taxes are limited. Wills do not avoid probate, trusts do. Those most likely to get a trust in place are those who have personally experienced a family without one.

From: Rich Todd, Kary’s Financial Advisor

If any of you resonated with Rich’s content here, please leave a comment of what you learned and took away… If you’re serious about getting on the correct path for your own financial future, message Kary and he can connect you with Rich for more advice.

Yours in Knowledge & Wisdom,

There’s a simple reason for that…  ‘most’ people (97% of the public) have no business going into business for themselves. They don’t have the right mind set, or the fortitude to stick with it, or to be teachable, or the strength to see it through to the point where financial freedom shows up.

So… what I’ve put together here today is a list I gathered at a seminar (by James W. Rickard of the Stewardship Services Foundation) recently that may be the missing element for at least ‘personal financial stability’ that the majority of people can put to practice with a few shifts in organization and self control.

If put to practice you’ll find yourself free from financial stress, void of unnecessary spousal tention over money, and living a life of comfort and peace.

1. Control your emotional spending. Never carry more than $50 in your wallet or purse (I recommend $20 for emergencies only) and if the item costs more then you need to either take a lap around the mall or the store or go back home and discuss the item with your spouse as to whether it’s ‘necessary’ or just something you ‘want’…
2. Learn to save money. Put $100+ per month into savings. If you average a 7 1/2%  return over 40 years, you will have at least $302,382 at age 65.
3. Learn to spend less than you earn. (Proverbs 21:20) Leave a solid gap between your spending and your income. Put the extra away in savings so you have money for those unexpected expenses.
4. Don’t finance pleasure items: vacations, cruises, time shares, boats, motor homes, etc… This needs to be non-negotiable.
5. Have cash in an emergency fund. Set different goals as you go. Start with wanting to have $500 in an emergency fund account, then raise it to $1,500 and then $5,000 as fast as possible. Don’t use a credit card! Save up and pay yourself back for these unexpected expenses.
6. Control your credit cards. The statistics are staggering! Over 200 million used every day. In 2001, $670 billion charged on credit cards. In 2008, $2 trillion charged on credit cards. Presently over $800 billion owed on credit cards.  There is $373 million per day of interest income for credit card companies. The average household has 6 active credit cards. 60% carry unpaid balances from month to month. The average household is $800 in debt on credit cards. Statistics say that if you’re $5,000+ in credit card debt they’ll ‘have you for life!’ 17% is the average interest rate! Most just pay the $75 minimum monthly payment, and if they do only that it will take them 19 years to pay off, and they’ll pay $11,578 in interest. (I only use my debit card for ‘charging’ and I have the cash in my checking account.) Now put $75 into savings monthly for 19 years, earn 7% interest, compounded monthly, and you’ll save $35,000. Put $4,000 per year into the same account for 40 years, and you’ll have $875,000!
7. Have adequate life insurance to protect you family. ($400,000-$750,000) I carry more…
8. Be self-insured for life insurance by age 65 or retirement. This means that you have your car and home paid for and your pension fully funded.
9. Have a solid retirement plan in progress by age 40 (hopefully younger). This absolutely takes discipline! Only 47% of people in companies with matching pension plan investing options actually do it! It’s stinkin’ free money people! Max this option out if you’re lucky enough to have this option!
10. Own your home by age 65 or retirement.
11. Have a workable budget. The key is discipline and control. Remember budgets are set up to track our spending patterns and then to set guidelines for spending wisely.
12. Know that there is a difference between bad debt (credit cards and loans) and monthly obligations (food, utilities, necessities).
13. Understand the TAX law as it applies to you. Having a home based business reduces tax liabilities significantly. Consult a home based business tax accountant about this easily overlooked benefit. (Matthew 22: 15-22)
14. Have an estate plan that includes a will and /or a living trust. A living trust helps your loved ones avoid the potential long time delays that probate will force.

Here For You And Your Success,

PS There are so many ways we can improve our own lives, how about the people around us? Take a moment and share this post with your friends on Twitter and Facebook if you feel this will help people over come some of the hurdles of financial stability that we all need and deserve.

My buddy Nick Logan edited my video footage of when we were at Jonathan Budd & Aaron Fortner’s home in San Diego this past March.

Always remember that getting some valuable group training from your main mentor… can’t be beat…Especially when it involves getting schooled in MANBALL! lol I’m looking forward to your commentary on the FUN.

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The challenge is to find them, tap into their greatness, learn from then directly, and then create something lasting and significant for yourself within whatever industry or niche you’re in.

Who are they? What characteristics do they possess? Where can you find one to learn from and get mentoring from? How do you not get led astray by marketing hype and tactics and miss out on the long lasting, truly effective mentors that aren’t so flashy or noticeable online? Is this even possible?

I believe it is possible, but you may have to search carefully to find a leader like that…

In the video below I share what I’ve learned on this topic during the last 18 months online. Many of you will probably relate to my story, and my hope is to reveal a new hidden idea of what Leadership truly means for you…

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Yours in Friendship & Mastery,

PS Thanks for hanging out for a few minutes with me on my blog. I’d really like to hear more about what you feel leadership is, what is looks like for marketers online, and who has helped you along your journey…

I’ll look forward to your comments below and thanks for sharing this post with your social media friends, too!

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