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25 Skills That Lead to Bigg Success

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By Bigg Success Staff
05-13-08

Life Skills

twenty-five

In this article, we summarize five articles that discuss crucial skills for success. You’ll find the five key points from each article here along with the link so you can get any additional information you may want.

5 Things to Understand About Your Brain

#1 – Your brain is unique.

#2 – Your brain thrives on challenge and flow.

#3 – Your brain is a physical organ.

#4 – Your brain deals in emotions as well as thoughts.

#5 – You have multiple intelligences.

Ronald Gross is an expert in this area and and expands on these ideas in his book Peak Learning: How to Create Your Own Lifelong Education Program for Personal Enlightenment and Professional Success.

… and speaking of your brain …


5 Tips to Get Your Brain Thinking More Creatively

#1 – The George Costanza Method

#2 – Change your commute

#3 – Call things by the wrong name

#4 – Write with your other hand

#5 – Listen to a radio talk show that really ticks you off

David Wahl, of the Creative Creativity blog, wrote this great post. Get all his details about how to trick your brain into taking a fresh look at the world.

 

5 Suggestions to Get Things Done

#1 – Separate projects from tasks.

#2 – Learn the power of the verb.

#3 – Use technology to manage tasks and projects, but don’t get distracted by it.

#4 – Get your information at regularly scheduled times; don’t let it interrupt you.

#5 – Don’t seek out distractions to give your brain a “break”.

These suggestions come from Tiffany Monhollon over at the Red Suit blog. Read everything she had to say about moving beyond multi-tasking to actually get stuff done.


5 Ways to Keep Distracting People from Distracting You

#1 – Don’t have a place for them to sit.

#2 – Stand and come out from behind your desk.

#3 – Meet them at the door.

#4 – Provide an uncomfortable chair.

#5 – Take notes.

Mark Shead, of the Productivity 501 blog, offered these great suggestions. Get all the details about keeping distracting people from distracting you.


5 Ways to Make Yourself More Likeable

#1 – Be positive.

#2 – Control your insecurities.

#3 – Provide value.

#4 – Don’t be judgmental.

#5 – Become a person of conviction.

Justin Hartfield wrote this excellent article with five tips to increase your likeability.

(Image by woody1778a,CC 2.0)

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25 Tips to Take Control of Your Life

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By Bigg Success Staff
05-13-08

Work – Life Balance

25 

Most people find that achieving balance between their personal and professional lives is one of the biggest challenges they face. In this article, we summarize five articles that help you get in control. Each article includes five tips, which he have highlighted here, along with the link to each article so you can explore the topic more if you want.

5 Burnout-Busting Tips

#1 – Combat boredom.

#2 – Avoid focusing too much on your job.

#3 – Avoid office politics.

#4 – Avoid overworking.

#5 – Better manage your time.

Get the full details on these tips to bust job burnout from this great article by Dr. John M. Grohol at PsychCentral. And now for some more on office politics …

5 Pointers on Office Politics

#1 – Don’t try to change or resist company culture.

#2 – Practice self-awareness.

#3 – Manage your stress levels.

#4 – Be approachable all the time.

#5 – Network before you need to network.

This is a fantastic post by Penelope Trunk, The Brazen Careerist and author of the fantastic book, The Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success. Read the entire post for all the details of her five tips to survive politics at work.

5 Time Management Tricks

#1 – Tame the e-mail beast.

#2 – Eliminate unnecessary meetings.

#3 – Put up boundaries.

#4 – Find your rhythm and schedule around it.

#5 – Say no.

Marci Alboher did a great job with this article for the New York Times. Read her full description of each of these five tips and you’ll have time on your hands!

5 Tips to Set Boundaries Even if You’re a Workaholic

#1 – Choose flow-inducing hobbies that engage you and pull your mind away from work.

#2 – Set goals in your personal life just like you do in your professional life.

#3 – Schedule dates with people for non-work activities.

#4 – Use technology to separate your professional and personal lives.

#5 – Decide in advance when you want to say no.

These suggestions come from the blog of Tim Ferriss, author of the great book, The 4-Hour Workweek.  This was a guest post by Anne Zelenka, editor at large of Web Worker Daily. Check out her full article on five boundary-setting tips for people who are obsessed with work. 

5 Tips to Make Your Next Family Vacation a Bigg Success

#1 – Try something different.

#2 – Do your homework.

#3 – Leave work at home.

#4 – Plan for anxiety.

#5 – Make time to bond.

You can read all that Dr. Edythe Harvey has to say about making the most of your next family vacation in this great article from Newswise.

Find out when we post new articles. Subscribe to the Bigg Success Weekly.

Hear today's lesson and laugh on The Bigg Success Show. 

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9 Questions to Answer Before You Make Extra Mortgage Payments

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Bigg Challenge
One of our listeners, Randy, is considering making paying his mortgage every two weeks instead of every month so he can pay it off faster. He wants to know if this is a good idea..

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Bigg Advice
We can’t give you a direct answer, Randy, but we will give you nine questions that will help you determine if you should make the extra payments.

#1 – Do you have any other debt?
Chances are your mortgage is the cheapest debt you’ll ever find, after taxes are considered. So if that’s the case, you should pay off your other debt first.

#2 – Do you have an emergency cash reserve?
The general wisdom among financial planners is that you should have somewhere between three months to a year of living expenses in an account that’s readily available.

#3 – How good is your credit rating?
The better your credit rating, the better chance you have to borrow in the future at a reasonable cost should the need arise. When you make extra payments, you’re essentially investing in an illiquid asset. So if your credit score needs some improvement, work on that first.

#4 – How do you feel about debt?
Some people don’t like having any debt at all. If you’re one of them, and if you’re happy with the answer to the first three questions, then make extra payments!

#5 – What’s your interest rate?
This question gets you ready to determine your best financial move. There are two things you need to know:

  • the interest rate on your mortgage
  • your tax bracket (i.e. how much you’ll pay in taxes on your next dollar of income, that’s called your marginal tax rate).

Multiply your interest rate by (1 – your marginal tax rate) to get your after-tax cost of interest.

#6 – How disciplined are you?
If you’re likely to just spend the extra money if you don’t make extra mortgage payments, then by all means just make extra payments. If you’re disciplined
(or 686 set it up so you don’t have to be]), then you’re ready for the next question.

#7 – When do you plan to retire?
In general, the longer you have until you retire, the more aggressive you can be. So if you plan to retire in a relatively short time, lean toward extra payments. If you have a relatively long time before you retire, you’re probably better off investing.

#8 – What could you earn if you didn’t pay off your mortgage early?
You figured out your after-tax interest cost in Question 5. That’s your cost of money. Now you’re going to look at how much you can make from your investments. That’s your projected return. If the return on your portfolio is greater than your cost of money, that’s a sign you shouldn’t make extra payments on your mortgage.

#9 – Will your current portfolio support your desired lifestyle?
If you already have enough money to keep you happy for the rest of your life, why do anything risky? Just pay off your mortgage and reduce your risk even more.

We’ve offered some general advice here. Find a certified financial planner or CPA to help you with your specific situation. 

Want to read more? Here are the
310 9 questions you should ask before paying off your mortgage]
in more detail.

Our bigg quote today comes from Walter Savage Landor:

“We talk on principle, but we act on interest.”

But you shouldn’t pay down your principal unless it’s in your best interest.

Next time, we’ll share a love story with lessons. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

 

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I Don't Know How to Spell Millionaire, But I is One!

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On the show, George shared a story from when he was a young man. So, obviously, this is an old story! He met a gentleman who was very successful in business and real estate investing. But you wouldn’t have known he had a dime to his name.

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora | iHeartRadio | Stitcher | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSS | Subscribe in iTunes, Stitcher and more.

George said he can still picture this man sitting at the table in his coveralls with his cap. He was a great guy who said something George never forgot.

This man said, “I don’t know how to spell millionaire, but I is one.”

How did he become a millionaire?
He bought something!

Not a new wardrobe. Or a bigger house, a new car, a second house, or a boat.

He bought an income-producing asset. He bought a duplex.

What he bought is important
He put down a small amount of money and found a bank that helped him finance the rest of it. He improved the property by doing minor things like painting, putting down new carpet, and some basic landscaping.

So now he had a property that looked much better. So tenants were willing to pay more to live there. So he increased the rent.

Then he went back to the bank because he was making more money. They gladly refinanced his loan, because the income from the property would support it.

What he did next is even more important
He took this money from the bank and bought another investment property. A slightly bigger one. Which he then improved. He kept doing this over and over again until he became a millionaire. Eventually he owned a whole bunch of things.

What you don’t need to become a millionaire
You don’t have to be that smart to become a millionaire; just be sensible. It also doesn’t take that much money to get started. You don’t have to be a super savvy business person. And you don’t have to have a fancy education, although education is a good investment.

And you don’t have to wear flashy clothes!
 
4 tips that can lead you to a million dollars

#1 – Start small.
Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Assume you’ll lose everything, so don’t invest more than you can afford to lose.

#2 – Know your strengths and weaknesses.
Get help. If you’re handy, find someone who is financially savvy. If you’re financially savvy, find someone who’s handy. If you have time but no money, find a partner with money. If you have money but no time, partner with someone who has the time.

#3 – Make yourself accountable.
The CEOs of the biggest companies in the world answer to a Board of Directors. Get someone who will hold you accountable – be it a mentor, a coach, or a partner.

#4 – Logic, not emotion, rules.
Don’t fall in love with a property. You’re not looking for cute; you’re looking for cash flow. Don’t rent to a tenant because you like him or her; rent to them because of their good credit score.

Our bigg quote today is by Brian Koslow:

“Any self-made millionaire listens for opportunity. The average
person listens for what's wrong and why something won't work.”

Paying attention may just pay you a million!

Click on our Comment link below to share your thoughts 
Click on the Share This button below to Digg, Stumble, Mixx, etc.

Next time, we’ll offer up nine questions to answer before you make extra mortgage payments.

Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

 

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BIGG Success Logo boxed

I Don’t Know How to Spell Millionaire, But I is One!

/in , /by

On the show, George shared a story from when he was a young man. So, obviously, this is an old story! He met a gentleman who was very successful in business and real estate investing. But you wouldn’t have known he had a dime to his name.

Subscribe: Google Podcasts | Spotify | Pandora | iHeartRadio | Stitcher | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | RSS | Subscribe in iTunes, Stitcher and more.

George said he can still picture this man sitting at the table in his coveralls with his cap. He was a great guy who said something George never forgot.

This man said, “I don’t know how to spell millionaire, but I is one.”

How did he become a millionaire?
He bought something!

Not a new wardrobe. Or a bigger house, a new car, a second house, or a boat.

He bought an income-producing asset. He bought a duplex.

What he bought is important
He put down a small amount of money and found a bank that helped him finance the rest of it. He improved the property by doing minor things like painting, putting down new carpet, and some basic landscaping.

So now he had a property that looked much better. So tenants were willing to pay more to live there. So he increased the rent.

Then he went back to the bank because he was making more money. They gladly refinanced his loan, because the income from the property would support it.

What he did next is even more important
He took this money from the bank and bought another investment property. A slightly bigger one. Which he then improved. He kept doing this over and over again until he became a millionaire. Eventually he owned a whole bunch of things.

What you don’t need to become a millionaire
You don’t have to be that smart to become a millionaire; just be sensible. It also doesn’t take that much money to get started. You don’t have to be a super savvy business person. And you don’t have to have a fancy education, although education is a good investment.

And you don’t have to wear flashy clothes!
 
4 tips that can lead you to a million dollars

#1 – Start small.
Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Assume you’ll lose everything, so don’t invest more than you can afford to lose.

#2 – Know your strengths and weaknesses.
Get help. If you’re handy, find someone who is financially savvy. If you’re financially savvy, find someone who’s handy. If you have time but no money, find a partner with money. If you have money but no time, partner with someone who has the time.

#3 – Make yourself accountable.
The CEOs of the biggest companies in the world answer to a Board of Directors. Get someone who will hold you accountable – be it a mentor, a coach, or a partner.

#4 – Logic, not emotion, rules.
Don’t fall in love with a property. You’re not looking for cute; you’re looking for cash flow. Don’t rent to a tenant because you like him or her; rent to them because of their good credit score.

Our bigg quote today is by Brian Koslow:

“Any self-made millionaire listens for opportunity. The average
person listens for what's wrong and why something won't work.”

Paying attention may just pay you a million!

Click on our Comment link below to share your thoughts 
Click on the Share This button below to Digg, Stumble, Mixx, etc.

Next time, we’ll offer up nine questions to answer before you make extra mortgage payments.

Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

 

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