A Tribute to Steve Jobs

Posted on January 26, 2012 by ChuckHolmes

Steve Jobs is one of my personal business heroes.  I’ve studied him for several years now.  He definitely created a legacy with Apple Computers and Pixar.  What I admire most about him is his tenacity, leadership and perseverance.  I’ve decided to share a few of my favorite Steve Job’s videos with you today.  I hope you enjoy them.

The first video is a video about passion.  Here it is.

In this next video, you will learn more about his life.

In this last video, you will see some of his thoughts on life and failure.

Enjoy the videos. RIP Steve Jobs.

 

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How You Should Vote in 2012 and Beyond

Posted on January 19, 2012 by ChuckHolmes

Today, I’d like to talk about how you should vote.  Please know that I’m not trying to tell you which party or which person to vote for. Instead, I simply want to share a few ideas to make you think through the process of how you vote.  I’ve found that most people don’t put much thought into who they vote for.

They base their decision off advertisements, debates, and their political party.  Even worse, a huge percentage of Americans don’t vote at all!   I think every eligible American should vote.  It is fundamentally one of our most important rights.  If we don’t vote, we could one day lose our freedom to vote.

Many people will tell you that their vote doesn’t matter.  If it was just one or two people in America saying this, I would agree.  But, the problem is that tens of millions of registered voters don’t vote, because they think their vote doesn’t matter.  Sometimes you wonder how an election would turn out if everyone did vote.

So, my first challenge to you is to always vote at local, state, and federal elections.  My second challenge is to put some thought into your vote.  Spend a few hours and research the candidates and the issues.  Make a list of things that are most important to you and evaluate the candidates based upon those issues.  To explain what I mean, I’ll share my top 10 criteria I use to evaluate our current candidates.

Here is my list:

  1. Improving the Economy
  2. Balancing the Federal Budget
  3. Controlled Government Spending and Smaller Government
  4. Flat Rate Income Tax for all
  5. Term Limits for all Politicians
  6. Less Government Regulations for Businesses
  7. Reduction or elimination of government social programs
  8. Reform Social Security
  9. The Importance of Individual Rights and Private Property
  10. Modifying our current stand on Foreign Policy

This is the list I use to evaluate each candidate.  Once again, I’m just showing you an example.  I’m not trying to tell you what to think.  Please know that candidates’ views, even in the same political party, can vary greatly.  So, you have to do your research and find out what each person stands for.  You can do this by visiting their individual websites, listening to debates, and reading publications.  Don’t just show up on election-day and vote for someone you know nothing about.

Obviously, what is important to you will be different than what is important to me.  I respect that.  So, make your own list and then do your research.  You might be surprised at what you find out.

You have to remember that the people we vote for “run our country.”  So, make sure you select the best qualified person (based on your criteria and values).  I recommend you spend at least 4-5 hours researching ALL of the candidates and evaluate them in accordance with your list.  After you do that, you should have
a great idea about who you should vote for.  Sometimes this person will be in your affiliated political party and
sometimes they won’t.  And remember, your vote does count.

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Why You Need Your Own Mastermind Team

Posted on January 12, 2012 by ChuckHolmes

One of my favorite books of all time is “Think & Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill.  I credit the information in this book to “transforming the way I think about success.”  One of the principles in this book is the importance of forming your own Mastermind Team.   A Mastermind Team is a group of 3-10 (ideal size) people who share ideas about a certain subject.  The purpose of the team is to help everyone in the team get better results with what they are trying to do.  Here are a few examples of how a Mastermind Team can help you:

  • You want to get in shape this year.  So, you find 3-5 people who are in tip top shape and you meet once a month (by phone or in person) to share ideas with each other about fitness.
  • You own a car dealership.  You find 3-5 car dealership owners in different towns (or states).  You host a monthly conference call to share ideas about finding new customers, generating more sales, increasing profits, etc.
  • You want go on vacation somewhere different.  You find 3-5 people who have traveled extensively, and you get together.  You let people tell you their stories and you get lots of great ideas of places to go.
  • You want to improve the effectiveness of your work group.  You want to do a better job managing people.  So, you find 3-5 managers (outside your company) and you get together for lunch to share ideas with each other.

I could go on and on, but I hope you are starting to get the picture.

Most sports teams use this concept.  They have a head coach and several assistant coaches with subject matter expertise.  These subject matter experts advise the coach so he can make better decisions.
Another example is senior Army leaders.  All Generals have a staff of subject matter experts.  These staff members advise the General of their area of expertise, so he can make an educated decision.

But, you don’t need to be a sports coach or Senior Army Officer to create your own Mastermind Team.
If you are a stay-at-home mom, you could meet with other stay-at-home moms once a month (or periodically) to get new ideas.  You can learn better ways to entertain your kids, time management skills, meal ideas, best places to find bargains, or anything else you want to learn.

The secret to forming a successful Mastermind Team is to find a group of people who want to help each other succeed.  The success of the group must be the important thing.  Everyone must contribute.  It also helps if people in the group aren’t your competition.  In other words, if you are trying to move up the corporate ladder in your current company, you shouldn’t ask your peers (from the same company) to join your Mastermind Team.  In this example, you could find people from different companies to join your group.

You will find that the most successful people in the world have their own Mastermind Teams.  If they do it, shouldn’t you?  The easiest way to get started is to determine “what” you want to focus on.  Once you do that, look for successful people with knowledge on that subject.  Invite them to join your group.  Meet regularly.  Build friendships.  Share ideas.  The results will be worth the effort.  Good luck!

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5 Ways to Improve Your Lifestyle in 2012 (without making more money)

Posted on January 5, 2012 by ChuckHolmes

You don’t always need to make more money to improve your lifestyle.  Sure, having more money
helps.  But, I’ve also discovered that the more you make, the more you spend.  And the more you earn the higher percentage the government takes in taxes.  To me, lifestyle is about having enough money to do what you want AND having the time to do it.  Unfortunately, few people have both time and money.

That being said, there are some simple things you can do to improve your lifestyle this year, without making ANY extra money.  I will share a few ideas with you below.

  1. Calculate How Much You Make Per Hour: Take your total earnings for the year, and divide it by the number of hours you work.  Make sure you include commute time too.  Let’s suppose you work 50 hours per week in your job, and you commute 8 hours per week.  That equals 58 hours per week x 52 weeks (3016 hours per year).  Let’s assume you make $40k annually in your job.  So, if you divide $40k by 3016, you make $13.26 per working hour.  This is frequently referred to as life energy(how much one hour of your working life is worth).
  2. See if You Can Find a More Enjoyable Job, Closer to Home, and Work Less Hours per Week: Let’s assume you could find a fun job working closer to your home.  The pay is only $30k per year, but you only work 40 hours per week (instead of 50) and commute 2 hours per week (instead of 8).  In this example, you work 42 hours per week x 52 weeks (2,184 hours per year).  If you divide $30k by 2,184, you make $13.73 per hour.  In this example, you make $10k less per year, but you make more per hour worked.  Your #1 priority should be to make the most amount of money in the least time possible.  That way, you can get your life back.  Please note that this doesn’t mean having the biggest salary.  You have to factor in your total time worked to earn that salary.
  3. Reduce Your Living Expenses: Another way to increase your lifestyle is to reduce your living costs.  For most people, their mortgage (and misc. housing expenses such as cable, water, and electricity) takes up a large portion of their income.  What if you could save $500 to $1000 per month by finding somewhere cheaper to live?   This means you would need less money to live, which frees up more of your time to do what you want.
  4. Stay Out of Debt: Is your $600 per month car payment (plus insurance, upkeep and gas) really worth it?  Is your ego so important that you have to keep up with the Jones’?  I will tell you that for most people, their car payment is their first or second biggest expense (along with housing).  Personally, I refuse to have a car payment.  Sure, that means my car isn’t as nice as my neighbors, but I’m saving that money each month (which improves lifestyle).  This means I can work less and maintain a similar or better lifestyle.
  5. Go Out To Eat Less: I’ll be the first to admit that I do enjoy going out to eat.  But, it is expensive to visit nice restaurants.  And you can normally make the exact same meal at home for less than 1/3 of the cost.  By going out to eat less, you will save more money, so you won’t need to earn as much.  This will significantly improve your lifestyle.

In summary, I define lifestyle as having both time and money.  Most people think that making more money is the answer to their troubles.  I disagree, because most people who make more, spend more.  Your ultimate goal should be to maximize your life energy, so you can make more per hour, and work less.  That way you have the time and money to do what you want.  The easiest way to do this is to evaluate your current living situation and make small changes to where you live, what you drive, where you eat, and what you do for work.  I hope that helps.

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7 Ways to Make a Difference in 2012

Posted on December 29, 2011 by ChuckHolmes

This is my favorite time of year.  I really enjoy the last few days of each year, because I can spend a week reflecting on the past year and planning the upcoming year.  In 2012, my biggest goal is to try to make a positive difference in other people’s lives.  In addition, I want to help others make a positive impact in other people’s lives, too.   In order to do that, I’m going to share seven simple ideas with you on how you can make a difference in 2012.  Let’s get started.

  1. Spend More Time with Your Spouse and Kids: Make it a goal to spend more quality and quantity time with the people you love.  Set aside a date night each week for you and your spouse.  Schedule time in your busy schedule for activities with your whole family.  Have a game night.  Find fun things you can do without watching television.  Eat dinner together.  Talk.  Visit new places.  More than anything else, focus on building good memories with your family.
  2. Volunteer : Spend 1-2 hours each week volunteering at an organization you are passionate about.  This could be your church, a veteran’s group, an orphanage, an animal shelter or any other cause that excites you.  I don’t know about you, but I always feel good when I volunteer my time to others.
  3. Improve Current Relationships: In addition to spending quality and quantity time with your spouse and kids, why not improve your current relationships with others? Call your own old friends.  Write letters to people.  Do what you can to improve or grow 2-3 relationships.
  4. Be Thankful: Rather than always complaining about what you don’t have, be thankful for the things you do have.  Make a list of everything you are thankful for.    Post your “I’m Thankful for…” list on your refrigerator.  Whenever you feel blue about not having something, take a moment and read your “I’m Thankful for” list.  And stop comparing yourself with the Jones’.
  5. Change Your Routines: We are creatures of habit.  Try to create some new routines in your life. Wake up earlier and read or exercise.  Find a new job where you can use your natural talents and abilities to make a difference.  Drive a different way to work.  Watch less television and spend less time online.  Read more books.
  6. Become a Mentor: Find someone you can mentor, in addition to your children.  This could be through Big Brothers, at work, or in your community.  Invest time helping someone else become a better person.
  7. Compliment Others: Look for the good in others, and give them sincere compliments.  When you see someone doing something right, tell them good job.  When you see someone dressed nicely, give
    them a compliment.  Try to give one sincere compliment to someone you see, each and every day.  And don’t forget to compliment your spouse and kids too.  Just make sure you are paying a sincere compliment, not just trying to flatter someone.

In summary, these are seven simple things you can do to make the world a better place in 2012.  I hope
you will join my movement to try to make a positive difference in 2012!

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Escape the Rate Race: How to Live with No House Payments

Posted on December 23, 2011 by ChuckHolmes

The rat race sucks.  People start working so they can buy a house and get a car.  And then have to be a “slave to the system” for another 30 years, just to make those payments.  I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of it!

I’ve recently started researching a concept known as “homesteading.”  It’s the process of living off the grid.  It’s simple living at its finest.  You still have a home, but a much smaller home.  You won’t have utility payments
and you could probably live off 10% of what you are earning now.   You can even have your own garden.  And best of all, you can get your life back!  You can have time to read, sleep, garden, write, or pursue other interests.

Wouldn’t it be great to live without a house payment, credit card debt or car payment?  Wouldn’t it be
nice to tell your boss “I’m out of here?”  I think so.  I stumbled across this YouTube video on my search for the answer.  I find it absolutely fascinating.  Check out the video and tell me what you think!

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How to Get What You Want in Life

Posted on December 19, 2011 by ChuckHolmes

How do you get what you want in life?  And why is that some people achieve great success, and reach their goals, while most don’t?  I think it really boils down to three things.  I first learned about these principles in Napoleon Hill’s classic book Think & Grow Rich.  So, I can’t take full credit for this idea.  Here is a summary of the secret formula on how to get what you want in life!

 # 1 Desire: All achievement begins with desire. Having desire does not mean you will achieve success.  But if you don’t have desire, you definitely won’t accomplish much.  Personally, I believe that desire is much more important than talent.  I know lots of talented people who don’t amount to much.  More importantly, talent can be learned, but desire is something you either have or don’t have.  And if you have desire and talent, you will be practically unstoppable.

Desire is defined as “a strong feeling as wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen.”
Personally, I think of desire as something you have to have.  It’s something you can’t live without.  You have to want something so bad, that nothing else matters.

 # 2 Plan of Action: This is where the rubber meets the road.  In fact, this is what separates a dreamer from a doer.  To achieve your goal, you need a written plan.  That means that you need to take out a piece of paper and write down what you want to achieve in life.  Once you do that, you must identify the action steps that you need to achieve along the way, in order to reach your goal.  It is said that less than 3% of the population has written goals.  Are you part of that 3%?  Personally, I’ve been writing down my goals for the past 9 years.   I set daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and life-long goals. That single activity alone has helped me become one of the
most productive people I know.

When you have a plan, it’s much easier to achieve your goals.  Even if everything doesn’t go as planned (it won’t) you will have spent enough time thinking through your plan that you will be able to identify alternate routes.  Although your route might change, your destination will stay the same.

# 3 Persistence: I learned a long time ago that anyone can come up with a great idea.  But, it takes a special person to follow through with their idea until they achieve their goal.  We all face obstacles and struggles in life.  Most people give up at the first sign of failure, while the people who make it big follow through until they succeed.  Playing it safe won’t get you very far in life.

I can’t really blame people for being wussies.  After all, we are taught all through school that failing is bad.  Personally, I think failure is good.  Most successful people “failed” countless times before they made it big.
Think about how many times Albert Einstein failed, before he created the light bulb.

In my opinion, these three things will ultimately determine your success in life.  One isn’t more important than the other either.  All three steps are vital to your success.  Unfortunately, I’ve met very few people who have these three things.  But the ones that do always end up on top!

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How to Live a Balanced Life

Posted on December 6, 2011 by ChuckHolmes

If you want to live a happy, successful and fulfilling life, you need to learn how to “balance” different areas of your life.  I’ve met plenty of people who had successful careers, but never spent time with their spouse or kids.  And I’ve met other people with great careers, who also had a great family life, time for hobbies, and a strong spiritual life.  What separates these two groups of people is balance.

I’ll be the first to admit that I enjoy working.  I’ve found that when you love what you do, you don’t feel like you are working at all.  It’s more of a labor of love.  However, even if you love what you do, it’s important to keep things in perspective, and not be so consumed by work that you neglect other areas of your life.

This means you need to make time for your spouse, kids, friends, spiritual life, hobbies, exercise and more.  Sometimes this is difficult to do.  Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that way.  Listed below, I want to share three useful tips for keeping your life in balance.  Let’s get started.

  1. Set Your Priorities: Your first objective is to set your priorities.  In other words, what is most important to you?  Is it family, kids, hobbies, religion, or friends?  Make of list of what is important to you and then rank these categories in order of importance.
  2. Schedule Your Time: Your next objective is to schedule your time each month.  Personally, I think it’s really important to have a day planner and block off your time.  At the beginning of each month, schedule time for your hobbies, for your spouse, for your kids, religious time, work time, exercise time, etc.  Once you do that, you will have a game-plan each month.
  3. Evaluate Your Progress Each Month: Your last step is to evaluate your progress.  On the last day of each month, evaluate the month.  How did you do with each priority?  Did you spend enough time with your kids, wife, job and hobbies?  Or, was your life out of balance?  If it was out of balance, what are you going to do to fix it this month?

You should follow these three simple steps every single month.  If you ever “drift” from your priorities, you can reel yourself back in the following month.  I’ve found that these three little steps can make a big difference with balancing your life.   What are your thoughts?

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My Views on Money

Posted on November 29, 2011 by ChuckHolmes

People get jobs, so they can live a certain lifestyle.  They spend their money to buy their own home, buy a car, have a yearly vacation, purchase food and clothing, and other things.  Unfortunately, most people overextend themselves financially and spend more money that they make, regardless of their income level.  As a result, they end up heavily in debt with a mortgage, car payment, credit card bills, personal loans and more.

Because they overextend themselves financially, they have to keep working in their job forever, even if they hate what they do.  It seems like a never ending cycle.  And when people get promoted at work, or get a pay raise, they continue to spend.  As a result, they are trapped.  They have to keep working to maintain their lifestyle.  They are stuck in the rat race forever.

Isn’t it funny how when you are young, you get a job so you can by stuff?  But when you get older, you stay in a job you hate because you purchased a bunch of stuff you thought you wanted.  And now you have to keep
working, so you can continue to make the payments.

For most of my adult life, I fell into the same trap.  I was worried about status, looking good, and owning lots of things.  However, as I mature and get older, I have a different view of money now.  My goal now is to live below my means, stay out of debt, and live a simple, but enjoyable life.  I’ve found that I really don’t “need” all those fancy things.  To me, my time is the most valuable thing.

And because I don’t need all those fancy things, I don’t feel obligated to spend my money on the latest gadgets or the fastest car. Please don’t get me wrong here.  I don’t think these things are bad.  There’s nothing wrong with buying stuff.  But, if your spending habits have forced you into a never ending cycle of (1) needing a job
forever, or (2) having to do work that you hate, I highly recommend you evaluate your current spending habits.  Personally, I’m willing to reduce my lifestyle a little bit, so I can have extra time to do what I want.

To me, time is my greatest asset.  The only things I can take with me when I die are my memories.  And the only way to build memories is to have time.  Although you do need money to live, I think it’s very wise to evaluate how you spend your money.  I think it’s best to focus on simple living, so you can spend time with people you love, build new memories, try new experiences, and live a fulfilling life.  What are your thoughts?

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My Thoughts on Getting Old and Dying

Posted on November 28, 2011 by ChuckHolmes

It amazes me how many people worry about getting old.  For some strange reason, people fear old age
and death.  They fear getting wrinkles on their face, decreased mobility, loss of attractiveness, and countless other things.  I learned a long time ago that old age and death are inevitable.  Eventually, all of us will get old and die.  So rather than worry about it, why not accept it?  Why not look at is as another chapter in your life?

Look at your “living life” as one small part of your “entire life.”  Does that make sense?  Think of death as a long peaceful sleep.  And remember, you will be dead a lot longer than you will ever have been alive.  Another helpful thing to do is to live each day to its fullest.  Try new foods.  Meet new people.  Travel to new places. Build memories.   And by all means, do something that you are passionate about.  Simply put, don’t live a life of regrets.  I’d rather attempt to do something great and fail, than attempt to do nothing and succeed.

Although I’m not a very “religious” guy, I think it’s much easier to have “peace of mind” if you believe in a higher power or some type of “heaven.”  Whenever I think of my loved ones who have already died, I look up into the sky and know they are watching over me.  And I know that one day I will join them.  That gives me peace of mind.

I once participated in an exercise where you had to write your own eulogy.  It was a very powerful exercise, because it let me design my own life and think about what I really wanted to accomplish and be known for.
If you’ve never done this before, take out a piece of paper and write your own eulogy.  What do you want to be
known for?  What do you want to accomplish?  What is important to you?  After you finish the exercise, evaluate your current situation.  If needed, make changes in your life.   Start living a life of purpose.

In conclusion, we will all get old and die one day.  It’s inevitable.  So rather than worry about death, why not
just accept it as a fact and start living a life of purpose?  Why not become the person you want to be and
do what you really want to do?  It’s never too late to recreate your life and become the person you were designed to be.  What do you think?

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