Thank you for joining me today for “Creating Your Amazing Life and Times”. Please reach down and hit the “Subscribe” button. I'm glad that you are joining me for episode number 55.

Let's start with what is money and what does it do. Money is a tool for trading goods and services. Does money have intrinsic value? No, its value is based on faith and what it can be traded for, as a tool it is easy to use and provides for a better experience. Is money bad or evil? No, in fact the opposite is true. Money is a means. The problem comes when it is the end or the meaning. As a tool money is meant to be used. That is what it is for. Money has energy, it is energy. If your belief is money is evil, bad or worthless. Would your energy accept or reject money. Would it attract or chase away money? I used to be needy for money, I wanted money, but I was not good at accepting money. The energy I had was not in alignment with money. Because of that money I wasn’t attractive to the energy of money.

If you meet someone that is negative, who bad mouths you and doesn’t want to be around you, How much effort do you want to put into being around them?

“While making money was good, having meaningful work and meaningful relationships was far better. To me, meaningful work is being on a mission I become engrossed in, and meaningful relationships are those I have with people I care deeply about and who care deeply about me. Think about it: It’s senseless to have making money as your goal as money has no intrinsic value—its value comes from what it can buy, and it can’t buy everything. It’s smarter to start with what you really want, which are your real goals, and then work back to what you need to attain them. Money will be one of the things you need, but it’s not the only one and certainly not the most important one once you get past having the amount you need to get what you really want. When thinking about the things you really want, it pays to think of their relative values so you weigh them properly. In my case, I wanted meaningful work and meaningful relationships equally, and I valued money less—as long as I had enough to take care of my basic needs. In thinking about the relative importance of great relationships and money, it was clear that relationships were more important because there is no amount of money I would take in exchange for a meaningful relationship, because there is nothing I could buy with that money that would be more valuable. So, for me, meaningful work and meaningful relationships were and still are my primary goals and everything I did was for them. Making money was an incidental consequence of that.”

― Ray Dalio, Principles

If we are tapped into the energy of money and know how to use it to bless the lives of those that we meet, money will be much more attracted to us. If we are Smart and healthy and happy without money we will be the same with it. Money is a magnifier. It does not change feelings, It does not provide self worth, It doesn’t improve relationships. It in and of  itself doesn't provide health. It can buy things that do produce health like better food personal training. But that is in using it as a tool like it is supposed to be used. So let’s get going with goals that will make you attractive to money.

I want to let you know how much I appreciate each of you spending your time with me today. I think of you each day. You are a big part of my life and I’m glad you are here. If you haven't yet, do yourself  and me a favor and subscribe to this channel. Also, Set up a time and let's discuss how you can use these tools and others to get your amazing life and times!

Thank you for joining me today for “Creating Your Amazing Life”. Please reach down and hit the “Subscribe” button. I'm glad that you are joining me for episode number 54.

Ambition is a double edge sword. It can create Freedom and give you choice. It can also make you a slave to the albatross of obligation. The question you are probably grappling with is where is that line, where does your ambition go from your ally to your enemy? How do you know when to pull back on the reins to keep it from running your Stagecoach off a cliff?

So what does this mean?  Let us say that you're going out for your favorite meal. You are hungry and you've been looking forward to this meal for a really long time. Say the cost of the meal is $55 but you have been looking forward to this and you are excited and feel it is worth it. After you finish your meal and you're good and full now they ask you if you want a second meal for the same $55. Well now it doesn't look so good and certainly it isn't worth spending another $55 on. The meal is now worth a lot less. This is a “Marginal benefit” which means the benefit decreases as the quantity consumed increases. I know that when I go to restaurants after the meal even the dessert menu is a marginal return. If you have a second home would you want to buy the one next to it also? Do you buy a second of the same car? Probably not because of the benefit being less than it was for the first. The more you have the less valuable everything becomes. You have to decide what you are after and what is enough. It is different to strive to create a lifestyle, or from having security and abundance for yourself and your family. Those are important. It would be a sin against nature to live less than prosperously  and below the skills and ability you've been bestowed with. This is a time of enormous opportunity!

I wish each of you to have a prosperous lifestyle, whatever that means to you. But that is what you have to decide and then quickly start calculating the marginal benefit of more, because more for more sake is actually less. Because at that point you are likely trading what you value more like time, Freedom, lifestyle, control, flexibility, liberty, balance, or  peace of mind for more stuff or achievement accumulation. All of which has a marginal benefit drop off to it. I am being thoughtful, I am calculating  what I want and how I achieve my goals. I’m checking these to minimize the trading of what is priceless to me, for things that have a diminishing marginal benefit. Be sure you do this for yourself, then you'll know how to properly rain in and steer your ambition. I will always be ambitious, I will always be productive, I will never retire until I am retired to a spot of ground. I will not rush there either. But success is not a lot more stuff, it is not in a storage unit or a bigger house. That is only accumulation or consumption. Success to me is about being in full control of my choices, it is the ability to choose what I want to do, when I want to do it, and the way I want it done with who I want to do it with. I am building a life that is on purpose and by my design, that is real freedom or success that is really living. That is what an amazing life is. So who is going on this trip with me?

I want to let you know how much I appreciate each of you spending your time with me today. I think of you each day. You are a big part of my life and I’m glad you are here. If you haven't yet, do yourself  and me a favor and subscribe to this channel. Also, Set up a time and let's discuss how you can use these tools and others to get your amazing life!

Thank you for joining me today for “Creating Your Amazing Life”. Please reach down and hit the “Subscribe” button. I'm glad that you are joining me for episode number 53.

If you want to Invent, If you want to do any innovation or anything new, you’re going to have failures because you need to experiment…” Jeff Bezos  It takes failures to get to success. One or two successes can pay for many losses. You might have been like me. My thought has been Failure means time to move on. “If at first you don’t succeed, give up and move on right.” Failure can be hard. I didn’t know how to feel good about it plus there was always something shiny off to the right or left that would catch my attention. It was easier to move on than to buckle down and fix things.

Despite the truth of all this the facts are I didn’t get good at anything because I always moved on before I could. The sad part is I got stuck in the failure and never made it to the windfall because I gave up. It is so easy to look around at all the good ideas because there are many out there and there is someone that will share them with you. I was the kind of person that I would say yes to the 99 different opportunities and say no to the one. I will admit that I still moved forward and grew just not at the rate I could have had I stuck with one and worked through the failures.

I have said that this time I put a line in the sand and burned the boats and will not go back. But I tell you there have been multiple times that I was so close to giving up and getting a job. If i had to count the times in the last 6 months I would need both my fingers and toes and still might be short. Pruning my life has been such a chore. I have so much deadwood. That is the amazing part of it though. Because of cutting all that deadwood there is so much room for new fruit to be produced. So much more energy to feed that fruit. I can feel a bumper crop coming on.

I know that it will not be easy. I have not failed for the last time. I have more to learn. I will learn it and keep going. I will say “no” to the crappy stuff that doesn’t support my mission so that I can focus on the things that will grow it.

I want to let you know how much I appreciate each of you spending your time with me today. I think of you each day. You are a big part of my life and I’m glad you are here. If you haven't yet, do yourself  and me a favor and subscribe to this channel. Also, Set up a time and let's discuss how you can use these tools and others to get your amazing life!

Thank you for joining me today for “Creating Your Amazing Life”. Please reach down and hit the “Subscribe” button. I'm glad that you are joining me for episode number 52.

So one of the things that I have had trouble with is I have tried to be clever about my productivity. I move from one thing to the other too quickly and too often and that has created a life that is scattered and non productive. When you look at pruning a tree or a bush, pruning keeps the tree or a bush from growing unruly.  When we prune it then produces much more. Our lives are similar, I was always moving from one thing to the other but not moving forward in big ways. It is because of not staying productive. I would not follow this rule. But small causes are the ones that produce big results.

You have heard of the 80/20 rule. It says that 80% of effects come from 20% of the causes, but if you look at that 80/20 rule. You will find that it is part of every endeavor. Our leverage will increase our abilities exponentially as we tighten what we concentrate on. Most of us have been taught the wrong curve for success, we think along the lines of the bell curve. It follows the leverage curve which looks different. The Leverage curve goes straight until the very end and then just goes up at a steep rate at the end where success lies. Now this leverage curve is the one that makes all the difference in productivity because that's where the 20% should come from. It is not about finding ways to do more it is about only doing what is most important. Only doing the things that only you are here to do and saying no to all the things that don’t move you closer to your goals.

Warren Buffett said “That for every 100 great opportunities that are brought to me, I say no 99 times.” pretty powerful right,  he also quoted “That the difference between successful people and very successful people are very successful people say no to almost everything.” So I'm working on learning to say no to things that do not fulfill my purpose. Because like I mentioned in another podcast I'm really big into saying yes but each yes is a “no” to other things. When we focus on saying yes only to things that ignite our purpose it makes us more productive and exponentially increases our output. So pick carefully.

We must “Stay Lean” meaning we cut the fat from our lives. Staying lean means taking out the things are not important and freeing up all the time that we use to spend on things outside of our purpose. You might know of the book “First things 1st” by Steven Covey. It talks about doing the most important things and getting them done then move on down in priority. They will really move the needle. Tom Peters said that “Your calendar is the only thing that demonstrates what you care about” so what does your calendar say that you are? I've been spending some time on this and I know one of the things that my calendar says is important to me is my family and my wife. Your calendar reflects who you want to be. If I can’t say “hell yes” to something then it will be a no. There is nothing in the middle of the road here anymore.

I want to let you know how much I appreciate each of you spending your time with me today. I think of you each day. You are a big part of my life and I’m glad you are here. If you haven't yet, do yourself  and me a favor and subscribe to this channel. Also, Set up a time and let's discuss how you can use these tools and others to get your amazing life!

Thank you for joining me today for creating your amazing life. Please reach down and hit the “Subscribe” button. I'm glad that you are joining me for episode number 51.

So last night after my podcast I went to the gym and played basketball with my day. Actually we shot the basketball. Neither one of us is ready to run up and down the court yet but we are improving. As I was shooting the ball a good deal of the time I know as soon as it leaves my fingers whether or not the shot will go in. My muscle memory knows what it feels like if I throw it right and if I have it goes in. I bet you have experiences like this. As soon as the ball leaves, I know. If it is off I would announce “I Missed” or “That’s Short” telling people that I had not made the grade before it even became apparent. This announcement was not even conscious anymore. Once the shot left if it was off I would automatically say it. Now if I had not announced it would it be less noticeable? NO everyone watching would still know that I had missed the basket. Why is it that we feel the need to announce our shortcomings?

Why did I do this? I’m certain that it started because I thought that it would make me more likeable. That I would be more accepted by others if I announce my shortcomings. Is that crazy or have you ever done something like it? Another reason that I might have started doing this is to reduce expectations on me. To reduce responsibility and manage expectations. Is basketball the only place in my life that I do this? “NO” in fact “HELL NO.”  I do this in a number of places and with many things! Does this create the Amazing Life I want “NO.” But now it is a habit! One that doesn’t serve me but habits do not need to serve us for us to keep them. There only needs to be an apparent or expected payoff for us to keep doing them.

So how and when do you announce your shortcomings to those around you. How will you change that?

I want to let you know how much I appreciate each of you spending your time with me today. Those that are here are good friends I think of you each day. I love you. You are a big part of my life and I’m glad you are here. If you haven't yet, do yourself  and me a favor and subscribe to this channel. Also, Set up a time and let's discuss how you can use these tools and others to get your amazing life!

Thank you for joining me today for creating your amazing life. Please reach down and hit the “Subscribe” button. I'm glad that you are joining me for episode number 49.

So as a kid were you ever told by a parent, teacher, coaches or whatever that what you're aiming for is not possible for them or that it's impossible to reach? Sometimes  the dream dies later as you get older and you get tired and instead of trying to pivot once more you decided just kind of throwing the towel this time for good. It's sad when a dream dies. And more often than not it dies far too soon.

So here are five dream killers;

So don't let fear, failure, lack of belief in yourself, comfort or boredom kill your dreams and defeat you in your Amazing Life. These are the enemies that I need to crush, so I can achieve my potential. Which of these enemies give you the most trouble: fear, failure, belief, comfort, or boredom?

I want to let you know how much I appreciate each of you spending your time with me today if you haven't yet, do yourself  and me a favor and subscribe to this channel. Also, Set up a time and let's discuss how you can use these tools and others to get your amazing life!

Thank you for joining me today for creating your amazing life please reach down hit the “Subscribe” button I'm glad that you are joining me for episode number 48.

I want to let you know how much I appreciate each of you spending your time with me today if you haven't yet do yourself a favor subscribe to this channel set up a time and let's discuss how you can use these tools and others to get your amazing life

Thanks for joining me today for “Creating Your Amazing Life.”  Please reach down and Hit the “subscribe” button.  I am glad you are joining me for episode 47.

News Agencies are drug pushers and the negative news is their drug and the goal is to get you addicted. Those behind big media companies know you and how your brain is wired better than you do, they know that to survive your brain is constantly on the lookout to protect you from the threat of disaster. Are these people in the news media just awful, corrupt, and terrible people, not really we just need to understand their goals just look at income, they get paid for your attention. The competition for your attention has never been bloodier; they aren’t just competing with other news networks; there are newspapers, hundreds of cable and satellite channels, plus YouTube and every news website or RSS feed. They are also fighting every blogger, Facebook, or Twitter stream. There is a bare-knuckle brawl going on out there to capture your attention, Ever wonder why it's hard to keep control of your own attention? With this noisy world appealing to or manipulating the single greatest primal instinct we have as a species; the threat of danger and using the very survival and the psychology of our nature.

The reality is violence around the world has dropped dramatically. There has never been a safer time in all of human history than right now. But that is not our perception based on how the news media has been hijacking our attention and focus. So let’s go over some facts just so that you know  what we're talking about is real. Worldwide your chances of dying a violent death are less than .02% of what they were during the thousand years of the Middle Ages that is a reduction of 99.8%. Those are extremely safer odds. They have continued to drop in the last 30 years another 333% Non fatal firearm attacks are down 400% the last 20 years.

Poverty has declined over 300%, it went from over half the planet to under 17% world wide of education and Global literacy has jumped 10Xs in the last century and all of these numbers are growing exponentially in the positive direction like never before these are absolutely the best safest and most prosperous time we've ever seen and luckily for us experienced in all of human history. But that is not what will be reported on the TV or the radio.

We are fed what we crave and enslaved by our wiring. We are fed like an addict by a drug dealer. But we have a choice we can stay away from the drug dealer. We can choose not to use, we can go into recovery. We can have a different life if we choose and act.

I appreciate each of you for spending your time with me today. If you haven’t yet, do yourself a favor and subscribe to this channel. Setup a time and let us discuss how you can use these tools and others to get you to “your amazing life.”

Thanks for joining me today for “Creating Your Amazing Life.”  Please reach down and Hit the subscribe button.  I am glad you are joining me for episode 38.

So today I went on a hike near “Mirror Lake”  As I am hiking down the trail and thinking I notice how the trees that are right next to the trail are different. All of them have no branches on the trail side for the first six or so feet. But on the other side the branches go all the way down the tree. I looked more closely and some of them had places where branches had been trimmed off in that  area to keep the trail clear.  Other trees look like they had never even tried to grow branches till after the height of the trail. So in the micro environment of the trail the trees grow differently than all of the other forest.

This started me thinking about how this plays into the environment around me and the racial situation we have found ourselves in. So what micro environments have we created in our communities? How do these micro environments affect race? As I contemplated this I realized that we have micro environments that have experienced poverty for generations. This affects the way people grow. What is a problem that we should be aware of and we need to change is the fact that the Black, Mexican, and American Indian races experience this in numbers that are statistically impossible to be determined as naturally occurring. The numbers who make it out are not enough in comparison to the population size. So why do large groups of these races show up disproportionately in poverty? We have created micro environments that make it more difficult to grow to their full potential.  For example: the racial wage gap shows that a black male makes about $13000. a year less than a white male. This is a micro environmental causation that has diminished the freedom that this country espoused. In order to be totally free we must change these issues so that everyone has an equal ability despite their “Paint Job” as Les Brown put it.

Look at your actions and intentions. What do you do? What do you think when it comes to other races? How can you make changes in your own backyard? How can you increase the American dream for all races?

I appreciate each of you for spending your time with me today. If you haven’t yet, do yourself a favor and subscribe to this channel so you can “Create Your Amazing Life!”. Setup a time and let us discuss changing the micro environment and your life.

Thanks for joining me today for “Creating Your Amazing Life.”  Please reach down and Hit the “subscribe” button.  I am glad you are joining me for episode 46.

Alright so today I want to to talk about or to introduce this subject with this poem. It is called “The Bridge Builder” by Will Allen Dromgoole.

An old man going a lone highway,

Came, at the evening cold and gray

To a Chasm vast and deep and wide.

Through which was flowing a sullen tide

The old man crossed on the twilight dim,

The Sullen stream had no fear for him

But he turned when safe on the other side

And built a bridge to span the tide

“Old man,” said a fellow Pilgrim near.

“You're wasting your strength with building here;

Your journey will end with the ending day,

And you will again you will you'll never again pass this way;

You've cross the chasm, deep and wide,

Why build this bridge at evening eventide?”

The Builder lifted his old gray head;

“Good friend, in the path I have come,” he said

“There followed after me to-day

A youth whose feet must pass this way.

This chasm that has been as naught to me

To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be;

He too must cross in the twilight dim;

Good friend, I am building this bridge for him.

So I have a problem I think of myself and I think pretty highly of myself at times. I sometimes think I'm better than other people around me. I know more, or that my ideas are better, or any of those types of things. I think of myself sometimes rather than thinking of other people. I don't always know what other people have been through. I don't always understand why they feel the way they feel. I am often able to judge them despite not knowing these things. I can say that “I know better,” “They are wrong in thinking this way,” “that that doesn't make any sense,” or “that's not how life is rigged.” There are all kinds of excuses that I can come up with as to why I'm right. Whether or not I am right doesn't really matter, because what does matter is the fac that I feel like my action, or my beliefs, are better, or stronger. So it can be a problem because when we don't see what other people go through, or don't understand what other people have to have experienced. I know that there are times when I am difficult. There are times when I am wrong, there are times when I am full of myself. So today, here and now I'm going to commit to be more thoughtful of other people and to be able to see more of what they experience, rather than concentrate on my experience that's what I'm going to do

I appreciate each of you for spending your time with me today. If you haven’t yet, do yourself a favor and subscribe to this channel. Setup a time and let us discuss how you can use these tools and others to get you to “your amazing life.”