Money for Hot Wheels

If I gave my son a choice between a 5 dollar bill and a candy bar, I am pretty certain he would take the cash ! By the way, he's only 4 years old. Malachi, my son the financial wizard would most likely turn around and tell Daddy to put the 5 dollars towards a Roth IRA. Such a good boy. Nah, in your dreams Daddy!

He would say something along the lines of " yay, now I can go buy some Hot Wheels"! 

 I am VERY PROUD that my four year old knows a little something about  the value of money!

Like any proud parent should, I love to brag on my children. But honestly, EVERY CHILD deserves to be bragged on. Building upon this opinion, globally, every family should have access to financial literacy programs for their children. That way,  every parent can be as proud of their children as I am of mine.

This is a global thing

My kids will never ever need to borrow
money. Of course, they will borrow it for the right reasons. Home ownership, car lease, vacation home, or they will borrow money and use it to make more money.

Why would anyone raise financially illiterate children? Probably because they handle money poorly themselves. The truth hurts.

Where do we even start when it comes to teaching our children about money, financial responsibility, and financial literacy? Maybe it has to start with a desire to model it our own lives.
We have to reach a point in our lives where we say "enough is enough". Every dollar we spend, we must ask ourselves: "If I buy this, what will it say in the future to my children? What will I be able to teach them about money with this purchase? "

Teaching our children can be as complex as teaching them about balancing a checkbook or as simple as putting gas in the car. Okay, putting gas in the car may not be an example of financial responsibility. Or could it be? What can we say to our kids about putting a better quality gasoline in our cars? How about "pay now or pay later? " Maybe we educate them here on the value of taking good care of our cars so as to minimize expenses later.

Maybe with each and every purchase we can find something to teach our children. Words like delayed gratification, saving, finding a good deal, or getting what you pay for come to mind.

This blog is taking a slight turn. I want kids to be good stewards of their money . I also strongly believe that by starting with our children's financial literacy , we can strengthen our own countries financial future.

THIS IS NOT AN AMERICAN THING.
THIS IS A GLOBAL THING.

As this blog grows, we will translate it into many other languages. Together, we will learn from each other as we teach our children about making good financial decisions.

And maybe, if we pay close attention and listen carefully, our children may have something to teach us about money.

A long journey ahead

I have a long journey ahead of me. I am busy overcoming anxiety, depression, stress, and a whole bunch of other things

  But I am committed to not letting anything prevent me from overcoming these struggles. I want to be an example to others that we can over anything.

I realize that these are powerful words to live up. If my past were any indication of my future success, then it wouldn't even be worth it to try. 

So I am throwing away my past. Only the present exists.

I don't even want think about the future. I have so much work to do NOW.

Am I scared? Yes, I am a little scared because I don't know what I am doing and I have so much to learn about building a life that I can be proud of.

I am going to try to not take this journey too seriously so that I can help more people relate to my story. If. I can make people laugh along the way, then
I will have succeeded.

You want it too much

Someone once said to me "You want it too much". They were saying that I wanted success too badly and that it would inevitably spell disaster. Like I would come across as desperate or a "loose cannon" to anyone that I was " trying to do business with".A border line lunatic trying to get rich with little effort to show for it.

How could anyone put a label to desire? Who are they to put a name on the fuel that lights the fire. If I possess a burning desire to succeed then making mistakes won't derail my train. Wanting something intensely sounds much better than just holding on to a pipe dream and hoping that one day your  genie shows up on your doorstep promising you three wishes.

Wanting something badly enough will mean that you are likely to be able to be specific about what it is you truly want in life. You may not know exactly how you are going to get there, but you will have one advantage over most people: You can then say without hesitation that YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WANT.

From there you give credibility to the words " nothing's gonna stop me". It won't matter who laughs at you or who tells you your crazy or that it will never work. You can just laugh and say that yes, I am crazy. It takes a truck load of crazy to become successful. The kind of

Success that can be defined by the letters :

L, E, G, A,  C,  &  Y. 

Can I be in your blog Daddy?

Daddy: Okay Malachi, I am doing a blog post. What should I talk about?

Malachi: But daddy, what should our channel name be? Ok, I'm gonna start making up names for our channel. I'm gonna call it the Daddy and Malachi show. Let's add some more pictures.

.

Daddy: Okay, here you go.

( he would pick the picture of me with the head injury).

Malachi : Can I just have one more candy? Please? Please?

Daddy: OK, one more.   

Malachi : Let's go.

Daddy : Go where?

Malachi : Get the candy

Daddy: What candy did you get?

Malachi: Skittles.

So, my son thinks that a blog post and a YouTube channel are the same thing. For now, I will not try to explain 21st century social media. 

Daddy :

What else should I say today?

Malachi: Um, I don't know. 

The end of today's Malachi inspiration I guess.

I'm gonna quit my day job

Tomorrow morning I have to get up before most of the west coast does to go to a job that I despise.

Wait a minute. That should read "a job that I hate".  The job wasn't at all what I thought it was going to be.

Don't quit your day job? Well, I am planning to do just that. Obviously, that famous little line has other connotations than just employment. Since,  I am not a comedian in training, I'll use it here.

Let's keep in short tonight. I have to awake in a few hours to go to that wonderful job of mine.

Ok, I will cut to the chase. Sometimes it's okay to quit. Life's way too short to keep doing things that aren't doing you any good. Quit this, quit that. Some things and some people deserve your quitting them. If you don't, they will eat you up inside until you regret the last 5 wasted years of your life.
Quit those things, yes. Your dreams and goals? Never.

Share the journey

Look up personal development on YouTube and it seems everyone wants to tell the world about their personal success story. They will share how they got there and the struggles they endured on their way to the mountain top.

But very few people ever document their journey. They don't share the frustration and the sleepless nights that tend that inevitably accompany the long road to success. When we don't hear about the journey, we miss out on the failures and the pain.

What else could we call it but "pain"?
The word "journey" could easily be replaced with "struggle". This struggle comes complete with the aforementioned frustration and sleepless nights. But it also accompanied by fear, loneliness, stress, anxiety, and a dozen other emotions.

The truth of the journey to success is that is hard in capital letters!  No one really talks about how difficult it is to break away from obscurity and find your way to notoriety. Rags to riches and poor to wealthy. None of these successes happened overnight.

There were long hours, missed holidays and birthdays, missed meals, lost sleep, and a host of other sacrifices. Friendships were damaged or lost and marriages were tested or all together broken.

Ultimately, the price to pay for success is an individual one, different from person to person. However, the consensus among nearly every success story is that the journey there was not an easy one. Lottery winners, inheritances, and trust fund recipients are another story. Anything that one does not have to work for to get is ultimately unworthy of true definitions of success.

Change you first

Your credit card debt seems insurmountable. Your marriage is falling apart. Your teenager hates your guts. If the sky were falling, it might just fall on you only. Most of your friendships don't last.
Being overweight is something you just accept because the struggle is just too hard. Perhaps you are not overweight ; you just hate your body because you are always sick or lacking energy
 Meeting new people is scary for you because you hate talking about your life. Not to mention your confidence level is non- existent and your communication skills are sub-par.

What am I going to do , you ask yourself. In spite of all your flaws and struggles , you still dream of some how doing some good in your life.

What you need to do is change yourself first! Change you first! Work hard on you. Start with small things and let the big things take care of themselves.

Maybe you could get a life coach or a personal trainer. A new hobby might be walking or bike riding. Don't think of exercise as something you have to do
Try fooling your brain into thinking the exercise is just a new hobby. You might just start to enjoy your hobby long before measurable results appear.

Examine your life and see what areas need improving. Above all else, seek help!!! Whether it be professional help or just a caring friend, never try to make huge changes on your own.

I have had to overcome so much in my life and I have lots of help along the way.

YOU CAN DO IT! I realize that is a cliche statement, but so what? What's the alternative. Your life continues to spiral out of control until you have no choice but to demand help.

Make the decision now that you are going to change your life. Don't wait.
Your body and your mind are worth it when it comes to putting in the extra effort.

One more thing, it's true what they say " when you change, everything changes!" While it is true that not all change is good, in your case we are talking positive, lasting change.

So do it. Change you first.

I am not your motivator

I am not your motivator. You won't get a phone call from me at 3 a.m. telling you to get your tail in gear and go after what you want. No one will provide you with your own cheerleading squad or a pep talk. Of course, others might be able to be there for you when you reach out to them. But the cold, hard truth is that you have to be your own motivator. You have to reach down deep in your gut and find your own motivation.

Motivation doesn't ever come easy. Finding it requires determination and tenacity. We all have to figure out what motivates and then we have to act on that motivation.

Staying motivated can prove even mor difficult. With life's distractions and detours, even the best of intentions can destroy your motivation.

Our favorite television shows have been killing our motivation since its invention. Detours come in the form of things such as a new job, a move to another state, or even a death in the family.

Do you think that you could be motivated enough to sacrifice going to see the big game for the sake of your dreams and goals? Could you make the hard choice to wait on having children or even dating at all.

Your life is going to hurl countless motivation killers at you like missles. What will you do? How will you respond?

Stay motivated ! Don't quit. Don't let the distractions of life completely derail your progress. You dreams and goals are very important. Keep fighting for them. Your future depends on it.

To do list hysteria

I always have a to-do list.  It's rarely on paper or rarely leaves my head but it's a to-do list. It is full of long- over due things that drive me crazy that they are not done.

Whether it's paperwork or phone calls, the undone threatens to undo me. It's headache causing, stress inducing, and mind numbing irritation.

Don't bother me kids, I am working on
my to do list. Wait, I forget. My kids point to a half dozen items on the list.
Maybe that's why it drives me so crazy. The idea that there are important things that pertain to my kids explains the stress.

What's more is that this list is continually growing and that only adds to the hysteria. Get one thing accomplished and two more items replace it.

What do I do to get a handle on my to do list before it consumes me? Well,  I only try to get one thing done at a time. Save multi-tasking for some other work-a-holic. Tackling one list item at a time makes it seems so much more manageable.

The opposite of overwhelming stress that accompanies to do list management is the triumphant feeling that comes with the completion of eaach individual task.

One thing at a time. Keep it simple silly. Don't let your list overwhelm you. Overwhelm your list with progress and movements. Get 'er done and get it done.

Turn your to to do list into a I got it done list.

200 am and my son is watching youtube videos

Does it make me a horrible parent that I am allowing my son to watch YouTube videos at 200 in the morning. Well, you be the judge of that one!

I will say this, Malachi is only up this late because he was waiting earlier for Daddy to come home from work!

Between my two jobs, I don't see my family as much as I would like to. Not complaining, just stating the facts.

He was watching " Plants vs Zombies " videos .

 Now he is watching " Grand Theft Auto 5 videos on YouTube.

I want to give my kids a life that they can be proud of from a Daddy they can be proud of. So whenv I am not working , I want to be there with them. Spending time with them. Creating memories.

A clean home helps with motivation

You come home from a hard day at work. You spend some time helping prepare dinner and get the kids ready for bed.

Now, you are even more tired and just want to sit in front of the TV. But your future fortune needs attention and you feel like you are about to pass out from exhaustion.

Thinking about your goals and dreams, you get off the couch and begin to psych yourself up to get something positive done. But as you walk around your house, your motivation to do anything is destroyed by your awfully dirty house. 

Whether it be the kids or just plain neglect, the house is in dire straits. 

Don't panic, try working on JUST ONE ROOM. Then use that success of accomplishing that room cleaning as motivation to do anything that moves you forward in the direction of success .

You are not alone. So many households struggle with the overwhelming task of keeping their house clean. If all else fails, tell yourself that one day you soil be able to pay a housekeeper to do the cleaning!

Why I do what I do.

Here is my motivation:

What is your motivation.
We all want to change the world and make a lasting impact. But in the end, faith and family comes first.

4:52 a.m - showered, awake, and on-time

I feel surprisingly awake for two hours of sleep. I feel fine now, but if I had to repeat this scenario 3 or 4 days in a row. , that would be torture.

Right across the parking lot from our store"  ( pier 1) lies another parking lot. Yesterday afternoon, carnival trucks started appearing there. By last night, the entire carnival seemed to be all set up and  ready to make money! They don't waste any time!

1:43 AM and blogging

I have to be awake in 2 hours. I start a shift at my new job at 500am. I just got home from my primary job. I changed my availabilty to be off on Tuesdays so that I won't be in this situation again. The kind of situation that finds me working on 2 hours of sleep.

Thankfully, I slept half of the day earlier. I was off from my secondary job.

I just wanted to share one of the realities of my life. 

I do what I have to do! 

Now, I have to sleep!!!!

I'm not there yet

I don't write these posts from the perspective of someone who has made it. I haven't "made it".  I am far from where I want to be.

But that's okay.

 I'm headed everyday in the right direction. There's no doubt about that. Everyday, I am doing something to better my life or to move forward in the direction of my dreams and goals and visions.

Some days are harder than others. Other days are damn near unbearable. They are days that I feel like freaking packing up my crap and just escaping to who knows where. Escaping because sometimes I get impatient and I want to be there now but I have to remember and the journey is just as important as the destination. Maybe I will never reach destination because it's when I reach that destination like many other successful people" I will just move the bar forward. That's also okay.

As long as I take, time to reflect on my successes and celebrate those successes then it will always be okay to push the bar even further forward.


I know that I'm not in this journey alone I know right now it definitely feels like that. Perhaps I should get used to it because they say it's LONELY at the TOP. Maybe they say that because sit back and wonder where were all these people when I was on my journey when I was struggling and fighting and clawing and scraping for every tiny little bit more hint of success. Where are all these people when I wasn't at the top when I was at rock bottom or when I was just dreaming of who I could be come and where I was headed.

Perhaps this is the wrong mentality. Maybe that's why they say surround yourself with like-minded people surround yourself with people whose minds are focused on success. We all need people in our life that'll help us to persevere in times of turmoil or struggle or strife. We all need people that we can turn to in time of need or in time of frustration. We all need people that we can call when we're ready to throw in the towel or just run for my future. You can't run from what's coming all you can do is run towards it.

I'm not there yet but rest assured I will be there. They say to make big goals and my biggest goal it has to be a millionaire by age 46. That's just a little bit over 5 years from now. Go big or go home. I'm not there yet, but I will be.

You gotta get angry

You can't sit back and just take the abuse from your employers for ever. Life is too short to spend it being
Frustrated over hours and schedules and bosses. You could be at one job and you may have 7 or 8 people who are bascially your bosses. Or you could be somewhere else where no one seems to be in charge.

How long will you work insanely long hours and holidays and spend your days just looking at the clock ?
How much longer will you put up with missing family time and parties and practices and games and on and and on.

You have to make the decision to prepare as they say to " fire your boss"
.  Get fed up with the bullshit.

Choose financial independence.
Tell yourself that no matter how long it takes, I will make it to financial independence. I will not depend on SOMEONE ELSE for ANYTHING.

YOU have to take chare of your life or as they say someone else will.

YOU GOTTA GET ANGRY.

Not punch the wall angry but the kind of anger that boils up inside of you that drives you that motivates you. The kind of anger that says I can't take this anymore I can't live this way I cant take 70 hour work weeks anymore. Can't take having someone tell me when I have to be somewhere or when I have to leave or when I have to get up or when I have to go to sleep that's basically what your employees do when they dictate your schedule.

YOU GOTTA GET ANGRY

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.

Forget vacation time.  Choose to chase after a life where your entire existence is a vacation or at least if you wanted it  to be. Financial Freedom is time freedom.
The freedom to do what you want when you want,how you want, and with whom you you want.

You are not there yet so you gotta get angry. Angry at yourself for not being in the position you truly would like to be in. You are not there so figure out how you are going to get there. Decide to persist. Decide to endure. Decide to enlist in the fight for your time freedom and your financial freedom.

You gotta get angry.

Part-time on my fortune

"I am working full - time on my job and part- time on my career . "  That is a quote from the late great Jim Rohn. This quote is timeless because it says so much.

You are taking care of your family and the bills with your job and on the side you are working hard to build your fortune.

Take blogging for instance , if you are bogged down by long hours at work and come home tired all the time, you have to wonder where and how to find time to work on your blog.

Welcome to my world. I work 60-70 hours a week split between two . There was a time where I was working three jobs. But the demands of one of my jobs became greater than that of the third job so two jobs remain.

I have a wife and three kids and we live in a 2 bedroom apartment. Since I started blogging I have made time. Yes I have made time to blog. Whenever I have 10 or 15 minutes, I have found that I can do a quick post.

I'm going to build this blog to something incredible. But I know that I will not be able to do it on my own. I will need to enlist the help of many people. I've always wanted to write I've always wanted to blog. But for whatever reason, I never had the initiative to get a good blog off the ground and keep it going consistently for a long period of time.

As I have said in a previous post, I realized that my post can be short or my post can be long. It doesn't matter. The only thing that matters right now is that I'm getting my thoughts onto the page.

I think we lose sight of the idea that people want to see results they want to see say a Blog have 6 months to a year at least a blog post. They want to follow a Blog that they know will continue to have fresh post and fresh content. They also want to know that they can count on the writer or writers to interact with them and address their questions and comments. They want their voice to be heard just like the Blogger wants his or her voice to be heard.

As you embark on your quest to have your voice heard, work hard in this journey and remember that you are working part-time on your fortune.
One of your goals should be to replace your full-time income with your part-time income. Keep up the good work ! I want to hear about your progress. Let's Lets share this journey together.

How long do my posts need to be ?

I think that one reason that many people procrastinate on posting on their blog is that they are very concerned with how long their post should or should not be.

Why? It's your blog. Do whatever you want! You can always go back and add to your post. The main thing is to get started.

Finally, keeping yourself from being too concerned with post lengths will ensure that what your writing reflects you more.

Personal.

Unique.

Undicisul

Heart-felt.

Uncommon.

You.

Balance in your life

If you are ever going to realize your dreams, you will, lose some sleep. You might be up late some nights finishing something or trying to perfect it. No matter the case, you will lose some sleep.

The harder your drive to succeed , the more you will begin to lose track of time more often. That is not necessarily a bad thing though. But it could be if the rest of your life begins to unravel while you seemingly spend every second persuing your version of success. If this happens, you may find yourself more likely to give up on your journey all together.

One way to prevent utter chaos in your life, is to make sure that there is balance in your life. Family, Faith , etc. The most important things in your life are there for a reason, so it's important that they don't get left in the dust. Choose instead to examine your life to see where you might be wasting time. Focus on efficiency and slow steady growth. You will be amazed at how much you will accomplish when your life is in a state of balance.

Will you stay the course ?

You say that you want to be successful. The big question remains: Will you stay the course? Will you persevere through the tough times ? Will you hunker down and dig in?

The most successful people will tell you that success does not happen over night.

 As crazy as it may seem, success tends to materialize just beyond your biggest failure or the point that you find yourself ready to quit. Ready to give up.

F*ck this sh*t man , you think. It's too hard. I should have listened when they warned me. I should have paid attention to the warning signs.

Look. When you find yourself saying these things, remember why you got started in the first place. Remember what you are fighting for. What you have fought for. Those who have obtained their own personal measure of success will attest to the fact that IT'S WORTH IT!

If you don't keep striving for your own success , you are likely to spend too much time wallowing in regret and what what it's.

Even if you don't think you have what it takes to to stay the course, go for it anyways. You are bound to find the help you need along the way.

How big is your heart?

How big is your heart? Who will you help along your success journey? Maybe you are the type of person whose heart burns to help people. You look for opportunities to change the situation around you.

People are always talking about how they want to change the world. The reality is that the idea of changing the world" is no small feat.If more people would work ysimply  to exact change in their own surroundings, imagine the difference that could be made !
Me personally, My heart burns with an ever present desire to help people. Along my success journey ( this journey never ends), I am always paying attention to the situations that I find myself in so that I can best help with the resources  that I have been entrusted with.

Sometimes, it may seem as if it's very difficult to help people. A lot of people don't want help or they refuse help. But you will definitely come across people that need your help desperately and it will be in those times that your heart will be filled with the enjoyment and the satisfaction that helping people brings.

Don't forget the realities behind those words " you can't help others until you help yourself". It is here that you proceed with a caution because there is a big difference between taking care of your own needs and outright selfishness.

In order to best help others, you will have to examine your heart and your motives. What you really hope to gain from a particular interaction. If your motives are pure than your answer should be centered simply around the basic satisfaction that helping others brings. Far too many people have alterior motives. This is why, most people are reluctant to stop when they see a vehicle parked alongside the highway.

How bad do you want it?

I'm thinking about you. I'm wondering what drives you. What motivates you.
What have you been wanting to do so badly that it HURTS? YOU feel the pain deep in your heart. That goal or dream that has always seemed to be just out of your reach.
How bad do you want what you want? Do you want it bad enough to give up things? Do you want it bad enough to end some not so good relationships?
Are you willing to sacrifice?

How bad do you want it?

Why do you want success? What will you do with it? Will you even recognize it when you earn it?  Will you have the fortitude to reset the bar when the time comes? That is will you reset your goals once you have obtained them?
How bad do you want success? Do you want success as bad as you want to breathe? (credit to Eric Thomas) . What about your mindset hinders you from keeping your focus on your journey?
Is it even worth the struggle or the pain? Will others benefit from your gain? Are you motives selfish or are they pure? Will you be able to take constructive criticism when necessary?
If you are reading this, it's 4:00am Pacific Time. I am glad you are here, in my corner of the internet. I want to inspire you. Motivate you. Propel you to take action. This journey is hard, but you need not do it all alone. If you are reading this drop me a line.
How bad do YOU want it?

Millionaire By 46?

I'm gonna start a blog and I am gonna call it "Millionaire By 46." One of these days, I am going to create posts for it . If I start this blog and then stop, it will be because I am an average American procrastinator. Then again, there will undoubtedly be other reasons for not continuing to post. Maybe there will be some streaming show that I will have been dying to watch and/or finish. Or some life-threatening laundry emergency demanding my attention. Of course, there's always the kids. If a diaper doesn't need changing, if I wait a minute or two, at least I will know where to find one. I'm sure there will be toys somewhere in the house needing to picked up or a bathroom needing my attention.
Many other reasons will likely stand between me and blog creation.creation. Naps might take precedence or even better, actual sleep. I might get hungry and forget my train of thought.
There will be lots and lots of reasons ( excuses) as to why I ( I will probably stop the blog before it goes anywhere productive. I will not attain any level of measurable  success, not to mention have large numbers of readers or make any money from my blog. WHY IS THAT?
What is likely to keep me from blog stardom?
Start with an appetizer of excuses, a main course of procrastination, and a dessert full of fear. My excuses will be numerous. It's too hard. No one will read it. I won't know what to write. I will second guess myself to frustration. In terms of procrastination,my favorite words will be tomorrow, later, and not right now. The fear will come in bags of I won't be good enough, fear of failing, and even the fear of success.
As if this list wasn't long enough, I might even be tempted to be overly concerned with pleasing everyone, political correctness, or offending people.
I might be afraid of writing to the wrong crowd. Too old , too young. What if Google puts me too far below on its search engine? What if I forget to spell check or punctuate where I shouldn't punctuate.
I could even caught up in trying to save the planet or otherwise " good things".
Surely there will be someone needing my moving to another house expertise or the overdue yard work I feel obligated to do for them. I could just end up being everyone's "yes man" who never says "NO". Call John, he's your man. If he can't do it nobody can. And on and on and on.
STOP!!!
* ( John pauses and rereads the title)
Millionaire By 46?
That's right.
 No excuses.
No blaming.
No doubt.
NONE of the fears .
None of the distractions.
Only GETTING AFTER IT.
Only MASSIVE ACTION.
OnlY GETTING IT DONE.
In 5 years,, I WILL be a MILLIONAIRE. More importantly,  I will be helping MANY people become millionaires themselves.
The real journey has begun.  Stay tuned.