About to Give Up

I have a goal and I'm ready to give up. I'm discouraged and don't want to do it anymore. It just doesn't seem worth it. Any words of encouragement?

You haven't failed. As long as you're still working towards something, your failure or success isn't finalized. Even if you're not seeing results or it's getting more and more difficult, you are moving towards success as long as you're still moving.

This is your defining moment! When you are this close (I'm holding my index finger and thumb together to indicate the closeness) to giving up, but don't, and push on and find the strength to overcome temptation, you'll realize the power you have.

The old you may have given up without a second thought, but that's the you that existed before you began this journey. That version of you is gone. You're stronger now. You've learned more. You can find the confidence to do this.

Take note of what you have already achieved. Celebrate your accomplishments and know that more are to come, but not if you give up. You HAVE to keep going. You owe it to yourself. Think of all the hard work and sacrifice you've been through. Think of your most difficult time and ask yourself how you would feel if at that time you knew a future version of yourself would be giving up. And think of a future version of yourself either enjoying the fruits of your labor or regretting not pushing a little harder in a moment of weakness.

Give it some more time. Find someone to help you. Try a different approach. Just don't give up. Not today.

Playing with Calculators

Saving money is HARD! And I'm saying that as a natural born saver. I often prefer having saved cash that could potentially be used for something than the actual thing I end up using it for. But still, saving money is HARD!

What motivates me are these online calculators that tell you the results of paying off your mortgage early or earning compound interest on savings. It helps me see that over time (sometimes a very long time) these little sacrifices I'm making will really start to add up. Here's an example:

Let's say I want to upgrade my cable package to include more than PBS and Univision. This upgrade will cost $20 and I figure there is $20 worth of wiggle room in my budget, so why not? Well, if I hop on to Dave Ramsey's Investing Calculator and see what $20 a month invested for 40 years would give me at a modest average annual rate of return of 5%, I'll realize that a lifetime of cable TV will cost me $30,647.87 in potential investment. Is it worth that much money to get the Discovery Channel in HD? Maybe I'll just stick to my Seinfeld DVDs.

In all reality there is a good chance I'll upgrade my cable before retirement, but the point is that there will be hundreds, if not thousands, of $20 decisions I'll be making throughout my life and I should consider the long term consequences of each one.

Another Example: If you're a pack a day smoker and quit for the next 40 years you'll save $250,000 by investing that money instead. Plus you're more likely to have fewer health care costs and a better quality of life.

Here are my two favorite calculators to use:

Dave Ramsey's Investing Calculator
Mortgage Amortization Calculator

Comic from www.xkcd.com

Breakfast

I tend to like sleep so much that breakfast pays the price. I have my morning routine planned to the minute and a good nutritious meal just doesn't fit into it right now. Well, these facts should change my routine as well as the routine of anyone like me.

A healthy breakfast means...

• Improved concentration and performance
• More strength and endurance
• A healthier weight (That's right. People who eat breakfast tend to weigh less than those who skip it)
• Oh yeah, and not sitting around starving and watching the clock until lunch time

Here are 9 Fast, Healthy Breakfast Ideas from Real Simple. Follow the link for more pictures and more info about the breakfasts below.

1. Fruit and Cheese
2. Peanut Butter Waffle
3. Plain Doughnut with Chocolate Milk
4. Strawberry Shake
5. Morning Pizza
6. Energy Bars
7. Egg McMuffin
8. Cereal Sundae
9. Huevos Rancheros

Use one of these ideas, or create your own fast and healthy breakfast. Wake up ten minutes earlier, or get ready ten minutes faster to eat a good breakfast and enjoy the benefits.

Teachings

I actually LOVE vegetables. I just never buy them...or eat them.

7 Keys to a Happy Life

We all know that money doesn't buy happiness. There are plenty of miserable people living in the finest mansions and there are plenty of happy people living in the darkest basement apartments. If money isn't the key to happiness, what is? Below are 7 keys in no particular order. This isn't a comprehensive list by any means, but if you make progress in these 7 areas, you'll be doing okay for yourself.

Purpose - To be happy in life, you have to feel like your life means something. This sense of purpose could manifest itself in a number of ways. Your role in your family, profession, church service, etc... Define your purpose and take pride in fulfilling it well.

Gratitude - Gratitude for what you have brings happiness. Yearning for things you don't have brings sadness. Working towards a better standard of living is good, but not if you never appreciate it when you get it. For every desire you are working for, have ten things you already have and are grateful for to back it up.

Optimism - Believe in and hope for a brighter future. See the opportunity in misfortune. Trust that one way or another everything will work out. An optimistic attitude will do away with feelings of despair and hopelessness.

Friendship - It's important to have someone close to you who will celebrate your success and lift you up when you're feeling down. Friends and family make life worth living. Strive to develop meaningful friendships and relationships with family.

Faith - People can be quick to point out all the evil done in the name or religion, but slow to recognize all the good done through true religion. Believe in something bigger than yourself. Pray. Strive to live the teachings and morals of your faith.

Integrity - Be honest to others and yourself. Do what you say you'll do. Be the best person you can be, even when no one else is looking. Who wants to spend their time with someone who is dishonest, two-faced, and fake? Without integrity, YOU will be that person, and you'll have to spend a lot of time with yourself.

Service - The beautiful thing about service is that it takes the focus off of your own trials and difficulties. When you're the most beaten down, depressed, and lost, find an opportunity to serve someone else. It will allow you to distance yourself from your problems momentarily and return to face them with new confidence in your ability to affect change in your world.

Anyone can use these 7 keys. Start working on them today. They don't cost anything.

Priorities

This question comes from Coach Vaughn in Springville, UT

"My beautiful, loving, would-sacrifice-anything-for-me wife really needs me to be nice and treat her like she deserves to be treated right now, but instead I'm writing this blog post. What should I do?"

Stop writing. Go to the store. Buy her some treats. Tell her you love her. Massage her feet. And give her your undivided attention for the rest of the night.

How Bad Do You Want Success?

How Bad Do You Want It from Greyskale Multimedia LLC on Vimeo.

When you want it like you want to breathe, you'll get it.