A challenge with managing money can be money in and money out (cash flow), It is not enough to track when we are paid by an employer or contractor and the amount we are paid monthly. The best way to overcome cash flow problems is tracking the exact dates when we are paid, the amount and when our debt payments are due.

Many debt payments are due at the beginning of the month. If you do not have fund coming in at that time, it is important to save funds from the previous month’s income to make those payments.

Once we make it a habit to track income and expenses by due dates, we are better positioned to avoid cash flow problems and avoid unnecessary overdraft and late payment fees, credit issues and more.

Want to learn more about the cash flow, follow this  podcast,  https://open.spotify.com/show/1YinIbad3ZOAAVwejIEecs

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If you want to keep yourself from spending more money than you should during the holidays, there are five questions you can ask yourself before going shopping. These questions are designed to help you think about who you are shopping for, why they are on that list and what you can do to show them your love without blowing your budget.

Understand that powerful reasons for wanting to achieve a goal will help us stay on track. We set most goals with superficial reasons. Those superficial reasons will not keep you from going overboard with gift giving. 

The 5 questions I share here will give you the opportunity to give for all the right reasons, limit your spending and show your family and friends the love you have for them. All this and you can come out of the Christmas season debt free. Imagine that!

Limiting beliefs are exactly what they seem. They limit your potential because they prevent you from believing in  yourself.

You can want to do the best in anything. Your limiting beliefs will create doubts, fears, and make you think the effort isn't worth it. Why does this happen? It happens because you haven't faced those limiting beliefs. You've probably never stopped to question those beliefs.

Getting rid of limiting beliefs is possible. Your job is to believe differently.

What will it take?

· You have to identify those limiting beliefs.

· You have to face them  and decide to let go.

· Become aware of those limiting beliefs every time they appear  and tell yourself why they are not true.

· Replace your limiting beliefs with new and empowering beliefs

What will push you forward?

· You must have a powerful reason for wanting to change.

· You have to know how those beliefs are affecting you in a negative way and decide that they no longer serve you.

Where do they come from? Every bit of information you've been exposed to during your lifetime.

It's time to make a change and get rid of your limiting beliefs

Want to learn more about the process of self-discovery? Follow this  podcast,  https://open.spotify.com/show/1YinIbad3ZOAAVwejIEecs

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We talk a lot about how important it is to make time to discover who we are. If you want to increase the likelihood of achieving a goal, you have to understand who you are.

Is the problem how can I find out who I am?

Become the observer of your life, being aware of what you do every day.

Let me offer a small suggestion. Observe your way of brushing your teeth. If you think about it, on occasion your parents or perhaps a dentist gave you suggestions to take care of your dental health. Brushing your teeth is something that has become an unconscious act. You don't have to think about the steps. It's like being on autopilot.

The next time you brush your teeth, watch the process. This is a simple way to become an observer of your life. With this small step, you will see that you will begin to notice other things you do daily.

I hope that with this step you feel motivated to discover who you are. Don't judge yourself. Just be aware of what you're doing. Over time you will decide if you want to change something in your life and having observed who you are will help you make the changes you want.

There is a method for changing our behavior to align with what we want to achieve, and it starts with the Successful Living Path to Prosperity, built on the 5 Pillars of Success:

· Self-Discovery/Inner Healing

· Lifelong Learning

· Income-Producing Activities

· Financial Capability

· Social Responsibility/Community

Today I want to talk about Self-Discovery. Why do I speak about this the most? Because without it, success will remain elusive.

Nothing changes until you change your mind. To change your mind, you must get to know yourself.

Who are you? You are the most important person you will ever meet. Do you really know how you think? Where do your beliefs come from? The come from so many influences during our lifetime. From the moment you are born, you start to see the world through the eyes of your family and everyone around you. Once you are off to school, you begin to be influenced by the world outside your home. From there you embrace the beliefs of coworkers, friends, and all sources of media.

You become what you focus on. The more you focus on a belief, it becomes part of who you are. It leads to your habits and how you interact with the world.

Knowing this, I ask you again, who are you? Are your beliefs and behaviors in alignment with the life you envision for yourself?

For today, I want to leave you with a small step towards self-discovery:

“Success cannot be achieved without a mind willing to change” Start by becoming aware of your beliefs by being present with your thoughts. Become “conscious” of what you feel, say, and do. If possible, write what you learn from this step.

Who is in the driver’s seat of your life? Are you controlling the vehicle that is taking you where you want to go, or are you on autopilot? Are you getting to your destination and not realizing how you got there? Let’s talk about taking control of the wheel of life.

Do you believe you are a limited human being? I remember when I was a child, and I was taught that I was created in God’s image. I thought about how awesome that was. Imagine me, a little girl, thinking I could live the life I imagined. Of course, back then it was more about candy and toys and pretty clothes. At times it was about wanting my parents to be happy. If I was made in God’s image, there wasn’t anything I could not do. Then I grew up. It appeared what I had thought, wasn’t exactly what I understood. Slowly, I stopped believing in myself and the power I possessed inside to be, do, and have whatever I wanted. That was then.

As I began my journey of self-discovery and read thousands of books, magazines, books on beliefs, religions and so many interesting things, I rediscovered the power I possess to create the life I desire. I am in control of my life. How I live it is a choice. I cannot control the world around me. What I can control is how I handle it.

When the road gets bumpy and I get a flat, I don’t have to panic. I know what to do. I can change my own “tire”. I have options. Those options may not always be the one I wish to I could choose, but I have choice, nonetheless.

How you live your life is your choice. How can you choose to be happy when the world around you is violent or sad or full of hatred? You focus on something different. You choose to do something that will change your perspective. You decide if you are going to contribute to the hatred, the sadness and violence or you choose to find peace. You think about being loved and how grateful you are to be loved. You remind yourself of the things that have happened that made you laugh; made you feel good and make you happy.

What makes life so complicated is how much time we spend thinking about what isn’t, instead of changing what is. So much about change comes down to taking a small step. I cannot change my environment overnight. What I could do is start thinking about other options. The more you spend time thinking about what you can do now, the more you begin to focus your brain on finding ways to make those changes possible. I know this may unrealistic. What if you give yourself permission to prove me wrong? What if you learn more about the power you possess to change your mind and change your life? What would it hurt?

Take a chance on you. Test the idea that you can genuinely choose the life you desire.

What is mental fitness? I prefer Flinders University’s definition:

“Your ability to cope with and meet the psychological demands of life, without undue fatigue or damage to your mind or body”.

“A personal framework for understanding what we can do, as individuals, to build a happier and more productive life.”

In my book, The Successful Living Podcast, I speak extensively about self-discovery. Awareness is the first step when it comes to self-discovery. Without it nothing can change. If your goal is mental fitness, you must have the desire for it. The desire for mental fitness comes from the desire for feelings of well-being and good health.

This is where behavior change starts to happen. You must believe that mental fitness is desirable, important, and necessary. Therefore, you have to start with becoming aware of your beliefs around fitness. In particular, mental fitness.

This awareness leads to goals for achieving mental fitness. Like any fitness goal, you make choices based on those goals. Once those goals are established, your behavior must align with your goals.

Where can you start? Start by becoming aware of your habits and how they affect your mental health. The foods you eat, the physical environment in which you live and the beliefs you embrace lead to your habits. Becoming aware of those habits is a great start towards mental fitness.

If you are experiencing symptoms of depression or other mental health concerns, please seek guidance from your physician before considering any mental fitness goal or program.

When I started my company I knew nothing about it. You would think I did because I worked in management my entire working career. I had the good fortune of working for a man in Italy, on a military base, that taught me everything he knew about running a business. I was twenty two then. Every job I ever did after that first job was in management. Of course I was able to start my business. What I didn't know was how to run it. Every company I worked for was already established. All the systems were in place. There were processes for hiring and they had an HR person. There admin people and other workers. Everything was in place. My years of business experience and continuing education gave me what I needed to have a business that in 2021 celebrated its 13th year. Only in recent times did I focus on improving the systems and processes I needed to run my business efficiently and limit the number of hats I have to wear. Not having a good plan for how to run and grow your business limits your potential to grow it into a company that can one day be sold as part of your succession plan. Make time to look at your business with fresh eyes. Take a day off. Put an away message on your phone and email. Tell your team that you cannot be reached that day and focus on the gaps, the holes and anything else that needs your attention for your business to grow. This is something we should all do at least once a year. I focus on my business with obsession. I am constantly improving what we're doing. If you want to have a succession plan, you have a business that can be sold. Whatever the future holds for your business it will be closely relatated to how you're running it today.

How you start your day sets you up for how the rest of the day is going to go. I get up early in the morning and start working because I can feel tired in the afternoon. The sleep problems I've had most of my adult life, make it hard for me to do creative work or projects that require a lot of thinking and writing. Do you hit the snooze button ten times in the morning? Do you misplace your car keys and cannot find them in the morning? If you are not a morning person, do a few things the night before. As soon as you wake up, what are you thinking? Do you start complaining? I choose gratitude and meditation to get myself in the best mood. 

I share a few ideas for making your morning and day better and why getting to know yourself is so important for this.

In the United States, August starts the buying season. Even with the pandemic, people start getting into a buying and spending mindset because of back to school. We are bombarded with ads about the things we need to buy for children going back to school. This mindset stays with us, as we go into September and the end of the year. How prepared will you be to increase sales during this season?

Once everyone gets into the spending and buying mindset, it goes beyond back to school. The buying doesn't stop at gift giving either. Women typically do the buying in their homes. As women entrepreneurs, we have to keep that in mind and decide what products we have that we can sell while people are in purchasing mode. 

You may not have a product or service that most people would buy as a gift. What you need to remember is that people in a buying mindset are buying for themselves too. Your job is to decide what product or service makes sense to advertise now and get ready.

What do you have to do to prepare? Most people are buying online. What technology will you need for online sales? If you do not have an online store, what will you do now to get ready? You will need to think about the purchase and what is needed. Shipping and handling services will have to be in place. What inventory needs must be met to be ready for an increase in sales. 

I cannot predict what will happen during this season of buying. What I can predict is that those of us that prepare now will be better positioned to sell our products or services than those who do not.

As a financial coach I would feel terrible if I did not stress the importance of budgeting for this shopping season. The pandemic assistance programs for entrepreneurs and many others are ending in September in the United States. It will have some impact on the buying season, but it will not stop it. What do you offer that someone will consider a good investment in the next few months?