STAYING FOCUSED IN AN UN-FOCUSED WORLD!

Chaos seems to be abounding everywhere. Fear and uncertainty are all around us. What to do? Stay focused with what the Lord has called you to do!

Every century has had turmoil and seemingly insurmountable obstacles. With today’s technology we are made instantly aware of what is happening all around the world. This overload of information can make even the most stalwart of us feel overwhelmed.

A suggestion-stop the information overload! How much news can each of us handle and how much do we want to know anyways? Balance is needed more than ever.

What has God put in your path to do? Focus on that. A stay at home Mom? Business person? Working a 9 to 5 job? Life is made up of mundane activities, at times, but that is the stuff that life is made of.

In Ecclesiastes, the Word tells us that for a man to enjoy his work in his lifetime, this is a blessing. We tend to live in the past or the future. We all need to learn to live in the present and enjoy life one day at a time.

Focus on your family, spouse, career, neighbors, church -activities-the regular stuff that life is made of. Stay focused on your life and your purpose.

This will not only keep you focused on what is important but you will develop a peace in your life knowing that what you are accomplishing is meaningful in God’s eyes.

Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts

DISCERNING THE TIMES!

We are getting into the Fall of the year and, even though it’s been very hot lately, (not complaining!), we know that the seasons are changing. We expect it and are not surprised.

Have you also noticed that the stock market also has changed unexpectedly in October of most years? Why this is only the so called experts will have the answer! For us out of the loop, we need not be taken by surprise.

If you have read my prior blogs, you know that I am not a big fan of the stock market. I believe that this has been manipulated over and over again and the people running this don’t seem to be losing money-they can count on the government to bail them out!

I also believe that the stock market is a tool that keeps people in FEAR. Is your Faith in the stock market or in GOD? The times are changing and they will keep changing at an accelerated pace.

As we progress into the future, we would be wise to realize that changes will occur in more rapid ways and that we need not respond or be in fear. We are heading into unprecedented times and for those of us who have Jesus as our Savior and are really following him, we have the assurance that everything works out for the good for those that BELIEVE!

Discerning the times requires that we know and have confidence in HIM who controls the times and seasons. Do you?

Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts

LIVING FOR THE MOMENT!

My wife and I will be celebrating 40 years of marriage in January of 2010! At this point in our lives, we have lived through raising children, seeing them through school, enjoying grandchildren, surviving the ups and downs of marriage, health challenges, you name it-the stuff that life is made of.

We have learned to enjoy life moment by moment and to cherish the little things. At times, if we are not careful, we find ourselves living in the past or being too concerned about the future and we miss TODAY!

Today is really all we have. Let's enjoy today and be thankful that we have been given another 24 hours. Whatever challenges you may be facing at this time, take the time to look around and learn to enjoy the process.

I celebrated my 58th birthday in July and I plan on living a long and prosperous life and to do that I must enjoy the moments as they come my way. How about you?

Enjoy your day!

Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts

WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTING?

Our expectations have alot to do as to what comes into our lives. I have learned not to focus on the news, as it is usually negative and that will affect my thought process on a subconcious level.

If we allow negative to come in, it filters our perspective and we will not be expecting positive results. I don't mean that we should be unconcerned about what is happening around us, but we should not focus on it.

I have learned that by expecting the best and believing for the best, I am "calling those things that be not, as if they were". We can all control our actions and thought patterns by making a conscious decision on a minute to minute basis.

Things to avoid: Television, newspapers, and negative people! If you have negative family members-avoid them! By expecting good things to happen to you, you are developing a frame of mind that can handle most anything that life throws at you.

You become focused on the good of every situation that comes your way. Tragedy may come but you know that " all things work out for those that believe!"

Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts

LIVING A BLESSED LIFE!

Do you feel you are living a blessed life? If you are alive you should! We all tend to get focused on the business of life and do not stop to smell the roses. I just got back from a business trip to Orlando, Florida and I had the best time traveling there and back to Maine.

My flights were on time, no waiting, beautiful weather. Everything was near perfect. A blessed trip! Little things make a whole lot of difference if we take the time to appreciate them.

Even when we are undergoing life challenges: health issues, family issues, economic issues, you name it, we can still be living a blessed life. As a Christian, I appreciate what Jesus has done for me and continues to do. HE is the same, yesterday, today, and forever!

Be thankful for the food on your table, a nice day, your family and spouse, your job or business. Being thankful is a key part to living a blessed life.

Are you thankful? You must be living a blessed life!

Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts

PEACE ROBBERS: PART I

Ever been irritable? I have and not just once. If you learn to un-clutter your life and keep things simple, you will be amazed at the transformation that occurs.

Today’s economy is geared towards getting people to buy, buy and buy some more to stir up the economy. What happens? We buy too much stuff. In my neighborhood this summer, it seems that every other house is having a garage sale. Selling their stuff!

Don’t be a compulsive shopper who has to have the next new or better “thing”. Clutter robs your peace, especially if you bought in on credit.

Don’t be a hoarder or a miser. Learn to give things away and your money to worthy causes or charities. This takes your eyes off of you and on to other people. You can be a blessing in someone else’s life and you don’t need to be giving away a lot. A smile, buying an ice cream, listen with an attentive ear-get the picture?

Live below your means. Every get a 10% raise, OK maybe a 5% raise and immediately you have figured out how to spend it. Not good. You would be amazed on how little you can live on if you watch your spending. 10% tithe, 10% savings, and the rest can be used for living expenses.

Get out of Debt! This is actually the # 1 robber of peace. Stay tuned for more!

Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts

HANDLING STRESS!

I have talked previously on how watching negative news can fill us with worry and fear. We can be stressed from a variety of sources: work, family, health, finances, children, etc.

If you want to find people with no stress in their lives-go to the nearest cemetery! Some stress is necessary in our lives but a lot of stress can have negative consequences.

Thoughts on handling stress:

1. Exercise for at least 20 minutes every day. The best way to get stress out of our bodies and mind.

2. Eliminate negatively from your life. Negative news, negative family, negative friends, etc.

3. Don’t make value judgments about people or events. You are putting emotion into an event that does not need emotion. Disconnect your emotions from the event.

Keep a light heart. See the good in all situations, if you look hard enough you will find it. Learn to laugh more. We tend to be too serious about life’s issues.

Live in the moment. Forget the past, you cannot change anything. Don’t live in the future, it is not here yet.

Enjoy the simple things- a good meal, a sunny day, your spouse, children, etc. Practice being thankful.

A thankful heart is a joyful heart!

Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts

WORRY AND FEAR: ENEMIES OF SUCCESS!

Ever worry too much? What you worry about seldom happens and you cannot change anything by worrying. It drains your energy and keeps you focused on the negative side.

If you are in the habit of watching the news and reading newspapers, you will find that you will worry about all sorts of things that you have no control over! They never talk about good stuff on the news only the negative. What to do? Stop listening!

Believe me if something really bad happens someone will let you know. We can only control our actions and, therefore, focus on what you can do.

Fear is also a destructive emotion. We can be cautious but fear is the opposite of Faith. When you are operating in fear you cannot be in Faith!

Fear will keep you paralyzed, Faith will move you into action. Worry and fear are focused on the negative. Faith is focused on the positive. This does not mean that you have your head buried in the sand, it means that you expect good things to happen.

Today people are obsessed with the economy. We need to realize that economic cycles happen on a regular basis-up and down. This is nothing new. This too will pass. Nothing every goes up forever. We are undergoing a correction and then we will again see an upsurge.

Worry is wasted effort, fear is faith on negative steroids!

Don’t worry-be happy!

Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts

TOO TIRED FOR LIFE?

Sydney Harris once said “ A winner paces himself; a loser has only two speeds: hysterical and lethargic.”

In today’s fast paced lifestyle, it can be easy to run on empty. Too many things to do and not enough time. I am a firm believer in taking good supplements on a daily basis and this is crucial for our long term health and stamina.

If you find yourself fatigued on a regular basis you need to reflect on what the long term consequences can be. To operate at your optimum, you need to be refreshed and energized.

I used to run long distances on a regular basis and I found that I would get to a certain point and thought that I would have to stop because it got so difficult. I found that if I could push through I would get a second wind and go much farther than I ever anticipated.

Alertness and fatigue occur in about 90 minute cycles just like hunger does. If you are aware of this, you will realize that this is a cycle and you can get through it. Extreme fatigue can hit you after lunch or after work and this can last up to 2 hours.

You need to plan for this and not give up. Consider the following:

1. Drink plenty of water. This will help to flush out toxins.
2. Breathe deeply and sit up straight. This increases the air capacity in your lungs.
3. So some quick exercise. Push ups or a shor walk work wonders.
4. Use short naps. Remember short! 15-20 minutes.

You’ll be surprised at your energy level!

Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts

WHEN ARE YOU AT YOUR PEAK?

With everything that you normally have to do on any given day-they are times that you are at your peak and times when you are not. Consider the following:

1. You have about three hours of peak performance.
2. Five hours of good performance.
3. Six hours of feeling as if you are operating on six cylinders instead of eight.
4. Two hours of complete exhaustion.

People are different. For some- peak performance is in the morning, for others afternoons or evenings. Where are you?

Once you know where your peak time is you are in a better position to plan the following:

PEAK TIME ACTIVITIES:
1. Business writing.
2. Decision making.
3. Negotiating.
4. Work related reading.
5. Report writing.
6. Studying.

OFF PEAK ACTIVITIES:
1. Bill paying, errands.
2. Meals, personal phone calls.
3. Exercise
4. Informal discussions
5. Shopping.
6. Housework.

You can add or subtract from the above, but are you getting the picture?

Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts

BALANCING YOUR PERSONAL TIME AND BUSINESS LIFE!

B.C. Forbes once said “ The business of life is not business, but living”. How true. Most of us face a challenge when trying to balance life, work, business, family, hobbies, etc.

One thing I have learned is that we have to schedule our personal time just like we do business appointments. When you are living a satisfactory, successful life your business and personal hours are closely intertwined but we have to learn to focus on business and personal activities at the appropriate times.

Don’t drag stress and worry from your work to your personal life and vice versa. By separating both, you’ll find that job-related worry and stress levels can be reduced as much as 90%, leaving you more time and energy for personal activities like spending quality time with your friends and family.

If we don’t watch out business time priorities often seem to take precedence over personal time priorities. One reason we all work hard is to have time with our families and do those activities that we like.

Your personal time should be more important-if you want a balanced life. By nature, I am a workaholic. I like to work. There are always emergencies at work but, hey, life is going by while we are all handling emergencies!

Jobs and businesses come and go-but you only have one family, wife, kids! Make time to enjoy them.

Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts

TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR TIME!

Who doesn’t need more time? It seems that there is always more to do than the time we have. We all have 24 hours per day and to be truly successful we need to eliminate unneeded tasks, chores, duties, etc.

People will make demands on your time and if you are not disciplined you will find that you are letting other people control your time! There is no excuse for not putting a priority on your time.

Everyone has a phone at home or a cell phone. Have you ever been busing doing something and the phone rings- you answer it and an hour later you are still trying to cut off your friend. When the phone rings it does not mean you need to answer it, it just means someone is calling!

If you are doing something important-don’t answer. Believe me if it’s important, they will call back.

If you must know who’s calling-get an answering machine or caller ID and you can decide if you at least want to answer.

This also applies to answering emails. I have several email accounts and believe me they can get clogged up real quick. Check it twice per day. Most of it can wait.

Choose a set time every day to return calls and email messages. You’re the boss right!

Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts

KEEPING CONTROL OF YOUR TIME!

Thoughts on keeping ahead of the curve concerning time:

1. Arrive early and never late.
2. Be on time all the time.
3. Be ready before you leave the house.
4. Leave your car keys in the same place-easy to find.
5. Ignore the phone and doorbell when getting ready.
6. Fill up your gas tank at the end of the day.
7. Add at least ten minutes to your drive time, when driving to an appointment.
8. Carry at map at all times or GPS system.

By doing the above, you are becoming a no excuse person. Planning ahead is very important I have friends who are never on time and I mean never. I have learned that if I need to meet them somewhere, let’s say at 3 PM. I will tell them 2 PM and then they will be on time.

Your time is non negotiable. You cannot get back time that is lost. It’s gone! Make the best of the time you have and use it wisely.

Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts

FINDING TIME!

We will never find time for anything-we need to make time. If we consider the time we have on a weekly basis, we need to be good stewards of our time. We need time to sleep, eat, wash up, take care of our stuff, spend time with family, and work!

All of this takes time! How do we manage everything? Very carefully. We need to eliminate activities that are not productive and actually steal our time. One of the biggest- TV time. What a waste. I like to watch Christian programs but this too has to be limited.

Most of everything else on TV is basically garbage and not worth your precious time. If you don’t take control of your time, time will control you.

You maintain control of your time when you:

1. Plan your activities and objectives each day in advance.
2. Prioritize your daily activities.
3. Start on time.
4. Show up on time.
5. Refuse to get sucked into confrontations.
6. Eliminate interruptions.
7. Separate your emotions from the events that occur around you.
8. Maintain a positive, can do attitude.
9. Plan your work, then work your plan.
10. Complete your day by prioritizing your activities for the next day.

Get started today.

Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts

EXCUSES ONLY LEAD TO FAILURE!

People today think that breaking agreements is normal. As a result, much of their lives and relationships are conducted in the context of broken promises.

There are no good excuses. (Unless you die!) Excuses by nature are detrimental to your success, wealth, and well being. You can automatically avoid the necessity of making excuses for failure by keeping your agreements.

Follow these simple guidelines:

1. If you say you will call-call!
2. If you agree to an appointment-keep it!
3. If you tell someone you will get back to them on a certain date-do so!

Promise only what you can deliver. You are telling people a lot about your character when you keep your promises and agreements. You are telling people that you can be trusted and that you respect their time.

I have learned through hard experience that people who cannot be trusted to keep their word are not worth having in your life. These are people who drain your energy and waste your time.

Be a person of your word!

Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts

ARE YOU KEEPING YOUR AGREEMENTS?

Are you doing exactly what you say you are going to do? An agreement can be made with yourself, others, or with a group. Failing to keep an agreement, even with yourself, can have lasting repercussions in both your personal life and in business.

People today do not keep their agreements! It’s an epidemic! People are not people of their word. They are people of excuses!

Most excuses that people give are minor. A commitment is more important than a minor inconvenience. No wavering-no excuses. It’s a commitment to yourself!

Your ability and willingness to keep your commitments are a direct measure of the level of control you have over your life.

If you want to win, you must be able to meet your commitments in the face of excuse producing obstacles. Determination is all that is required to remove most obstacles and we do this by placing a priority on our commitments.

People who do not keep their commitments are not in control of their lives. They cannot be trusted and will not rise to positions of leadership.

Keeping your agreements will increase your self confidence, as you will not be bothered by excuses. You will make things happen!

Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts

MAINTAINING YOUR FOCUS!

To increase your effectiveness you must increase your focus. How do we stop our mind from wandering and going off in different directions? Written goals, objectives, and activity lists are one way.

Our mind will want to go off and daydream if we let it. Our flesh does not like to concentrate and work, it wants its own way and, if it does get its way, you will accomplish little if anything.

Focus is the process of keeping your thoughts, attention, and energy totally on the task at hand. By learning to maintain focus, at your own personal speed you will accomplish the most in the least amount of time.

Discipline is all that is required to maintain your focus and focus is the key to getting the important things done.

Your mind is an obedient servant-it will do exactly what you tell it to do, provided you tell it and your actions prove that you mean business.

But like a spoiled child, if not controlled your mind will take you off in random directions. Your mind is great at making excuses or finding reasons for not starting or sticking to a project.

Discipline means that you choose to operate in the no excuse and only action mode
Eventually discipline will become a habit, and when is does your ability to accomplish will run on automatic pilot without your needing to resort to excuses for inaction.

Choose to stay focused!

Jacques
CreatingWealthThatLasts