Will you become a badass at making money after reading Jen Sincero's book?

If you aren’t making the kind of money you want to make and are new to the self-help genre, Jen Sincero’s You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth might give you the motivation you need to move your life forward.  In this book, Jen Sincero tells her story of how she went from financial struggle to financial prosperity within a relatively short time.

When Jen Sincero initially considered getting rich, she had some hang-ups about money and wealthy people. Her beliefs interfered with her ability to generate more money.  Thus, she decided to challenge these false beliefs. Sincero believes that others may need to challenge their false beliefs, too, before they will give themselves permission to take the actions necessary to get rich.

Pay attention to your thoughts and the language you use about money. Don’t make statements that limit your ability to earn more, like “I’ll never be rich” or similar types of statements.   Instead, use your language to build yourself up and look out for opportunities that will help you earn more money.
Money is both energy and a unit of exchange.  We receive money for the value we provide to others.  Because what we focus on increases, focus on financial abundance to increase your financial flow.  Focus on your appreciation of money, your plan to get rich, and give as much as you can to prime the pump to be able to receive.

Use affirmations and visualization to create the feeling of abundance even if you are currently experiencing a lack. On a similar note, spruce up your environment to feel better about yourself. This could mean upgrading your wardrobe, cleaning up the clutter in your space, or even moving to a spot near the beach like Sincero did. This move helped to spark her creativity to create more wealth.

Both gratitude and faith are important to cultivate on the journey to becoming wealthy.

These are the action steps to follow to grow your wealth, according to Jen Sincero:

(1) Decide how much money you will make, what you will use the money for, and think about how wonderful you will feel when you get it.

(2) Make a commitment to get the money.

(3) Make a plan on how you will get the money and break that plan down into smaller activities.

(4) Meditate on the life you will create with the money you make and feel deep gratitude and faith that it is on its way.

(5) Whatever you do to earn money, be your best. Give it your best effort.

(6) When the universe offers a solution to your goal of making more money, grab on and take it.

When Jen Sincero became serious about getting wealthy, she created a website,
writeyourdamnbook.com, to help authors write book proposals to become published authors. Jen Sincero already had two published books at that time and she was a successful writer.

In order to do this, Sincero used a coach. The first coach charged her $7.000 but that coach helped her to build her website and so she was able to pay off her credit card bills soon afterward. But even with the website, Sincero was still not earning enough money to make her feel wealthy.

The second coach Jen Sincero used charged her $85,000 for personal coaching. Jen Sincero was able to become a nationally known name after following the advice of her second coach. Sincero obtained the money by borrowing it from a wealthy woman. Sincero recognizes that everyone will not have a wealthy person to tap for money to borrow to receive expensive personal coaching but coaches helped her in creating a better life for herself so she shares what worked for her in her book.

Keep going until you become wealthy.

If you have been reading self-help books for awhile, you are already familiar with most of this since it has been covered in Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, T Harv Eckert’s Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, and Wallace Wattles, The Science of Getting Rich.

But if you are new to this genre, Jen Sincero’s book might give you the motivation you need to get started on your journey to creating wealth. Also, she delivers her story with plenty of amusing anecdotes and some cuss words to keep you entertained along the way.

Rating. $$$$ out of 5  This was a fun read, and it is motivational but other than Sincero's personal journey, there is nothing new here. There are no great new insights on how to become wealthy unless you can afford an expensive coach. But I suggest you always try out the less expensive options like joining a mastermind group or finding a mentor at SCORE first before investing in expensive coaching.

Best wishes.

Copyright 2017, Christine Esser

This book was purchased, not a gift.   

This book can be purchased on Amazon by clicking the first link below. Disclosure: We may receive a small commission from your purchase, but this will not raise the amount you pay. Thank you for reading this review. Comments are welcome.  We have not received anything from the author or publisher in exchange for this review. Money Book Millionaire's summary

Can You Use These 10 Tips from “Work Less, Make More,” by Jennifer White?

Work Less, Make More by Jennifer White is mostly for people who can exercise some control over their own schedule. Thus, if you own your business and have complete control over your own schedule, you will likely find some tips here that you can use to earn more money and work fewer hours.

Work Less, Make More, published by JohnWiley & Sons, is based on White’s 10-step program. White was the founder of a coaching firm, JWC Group, and she created this 10-step program to help her clients redesign their lives to live a more fulfilling life.

The first lesson, if you are currently stressed out, is to determine what is stopping you from living the life you want. After all, you are the person responsible for your life. What is causing you to either work too many hours or not earn enough money during the hours you work? And if you are stressed out right now, begin by taking better care of yourself so that you do not show up appearing stressed out when you interact with your customers or clients.

Create a vision of the life you want to live. Be specific in the number of hours you want to work and the amount of money you want to make. Get a journal and begin using it to monitor your progress in creating a vision for your life.

Second, focus on only doing the things you do best. By focusing on what you already do best, you have a better chance of being paid more and reaching the income target in your vision statement. Become a master at what you do best and you can earn even more.

Third, focus on doing less but doing what really matters to get paid. Follow the 80/20 Rule and focus your attention on the twenty percent that pays you the most. When serving a customer, focus on the top three things that matter the most to that customer.

Remember to eliminate, delegate and automate in those areas where this can be done. Negotiate to have someone else do tasks that are not a priority for you.

Fourth, time is your most important asset so spend some time thinking about how you are using your time. Some people are able to get more done when they reorganize their workweek to achieve more results. White suggests that you rearrange your schedule so that you have laser days (start with at least two) where you focus on the top three activities you do. Also, schedule some support days where you schedule administrative tasks like customer service, creating proposals, paying bills, etc. Third, schedule at least one free day where you do no work at all but instead do what you enjoy, such as hobbies, sports, shopping, beach days, etc.

White suggests that you focus an entire day on each activity. Do not combine laser activities with support day activities because it takes additional time to refocus when we switch activities.  Be certain to schedule all the stuff on your “to do” list into discrete time slots on your calendar

Fifth, say “yes” to yourself and “no” to other people’s requests on your time.

Sixth, find a way to use leverage by duplicating yourself. Duplicating is not delegating administrative tasks, it is finding someone who is just as good as you to get the work done.
An alternative to getting another person to do the work is to use technology and automate the work where possible.

Seventh, add value where you can so that you become the most valuable person to someone else’s success. What you deliver should be more valuable than anyone else’s product or service in the marketplace.  You can do this by focusing on them, not yourself. Also, solve their problems, be a resource for others, and make your work memorable.  Spend more time with your most important customers.

Eighth, your creativity will determine your ultimate success. If you continue to do the same things, you will get the same results. Thus, you need to use your creativity to think of new solutions to earn more. Develop new ways of doing things. Create ideas to fill a need. Create an inspiring environment that is comfortable and pleasant to work in.

Ninth, focus on generating more income. If you create the highest value, you can ask for the highest price. Money grows by time and rate of earnings; thus, you must save some of the money you earn if you want compound interest to work for you. You can create more income in many ways. Some of the ways people earn more money are by creating products to earn royalties, buying properties to have rental income, creating and selling consumable products, and by selling a business that they grew into a profitable enterprise.

Tenth, take the time to develop relationships with everyone that you come into contact with. These people could include customers, clients, neighbors, business associates, accountants, lawyers, employees, friends, children, spouses, and everyone.  Money exchanges hands through people.

Overall, if you own or manage a business and have control over your schedule, these ten tips can help a person earn more money. But most people don’t have full control over their schedules so they will need to pick and choose which of these tips they can implement.

Rating: $$$$ out of five.

Copyright @ 2017 Christine Esser

This book was purchased, not a gift.   

This book can be purchased on Amazon by clicking the first link below. Disclosure: We may receive a small commission from your purchase, but this will not raise the amount you pay. Thank you for reading this review. Comments are welcome.  We have not received anything from the author or publisher in exchange for this review.

Looking for a new job or career direction? Designing Your Life Can Help Provide Guidance

Finding a first job or a job in a new career is difficult when you do not already have access to the hidden job network that others are using to find all the best jobs. If you or a loved one are in this bad situation, Designing Your Life: How to Build a Joyful, Well-lived Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans can help by providing some direction.

In Designing Your Life, the authors show how new graduates and people who would like to change careers or jobs often find themselves stuck because of the false beliefs they hold. By modifying their beliefs to beliefs that help them to see their situation differently and by generating new ideas, these people can get unstuck and move forward into a life that is better designed for them.

The authors show people how to find work that both energizes and engages them. With new ideas about the types of work that might be a good fit, the authors show how to move forward with these new ideas and test them in the real world to see if they will work for them by designing small experiments or prototypes to test out the new ideas.

Additionally, those who are savvy will learn how to access the hidden job network and find a new job in an area they find interesting.

As the authors acknowledge, life design is a life-long process and this book provides the techniques and tools anyone can use to design a good life.  The first link is for the book by Burnett and Evans. the second link is a book summary written by Money Book Millionaire.  We may receive a small commission if you make a purchase using this link. Thank you.

This book was purchased, not a gift.   

    

7 Steps to Financial Freedom from the Cashflow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki

In Cash Flow Quadrant, Rich Dad’s Guide to Financial Freedom, Robert Kiyosaki, the author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, shares a diagram that his rich dad shared with him when he was a child. The diagram is a square divided into four sections with employees and solo practitioners on the left side of the square and businesses and investors on the right.  Rich Dad explained that those who want financial freedom usually need to find a way to earn money from the right side of the quadrant.

This is the square:

E B
S I        

Kiyosaki’s rich dad told him that in the marketplace, employees, the Es, have core values that cause them to seek a safe, secure job with benefits. Rich dad explained that they are employees because “their core value is security.”

Rich dad said that the solo practitioners, S’s, are small business owners or the self-employed and their core value is "if you want it done right, do it by yourself." Generally, S's are a one- person act and they operate by themselves.

Rich dad said that B stands for big business, like Bill Gates. Bs define big business as 500 employees or more.  B’s say, "I'm looking for a good system, good network, and the smartest people I know to help run my business." They differ from the S because they don't want to run the company by themselves. Instead, they want to find smart people to run the company for them.

An I is an investor. These people have money that works for them.

Bs and Is use the labor of the Es and Ss to become rich. That is why his rich dad wanted him to learn how to become a B and an I. 

Kiyosaki's poor dad wanted him to go to school and get a secure job at a company with benefits. But his rich dad suggested that he should get a job to learn, not to earn, and then he should start his own business.

Step One

Step one to financial freedom is to mind your own business instead of working very hard to make everyone else rich. First, create a financial statement to determine your net worth, observing all your assets and all your liabilities. Second, set financial goals of where you want to be in five years and what you need to do to get there this year. Then break that down into smaller monthly and weekly goals.

Step Two

Step two to financial freedom is to take control of your cash flow. Rich dad reminded Kiyosaki that those who cannot control their cash flow work for those who can. The fastest track to financial freedom for many is to keep living expenses low and use cash flow to invest in assets that generate cash, such as cash producing income property.  Many find it helpful to set aside a specific amount of money or a percentage of income from each paycheck to invest and never use that money for anything else. If you have debt, find a way to earn an extra hundred dollars or two each month and use that to pay off the debt with the lowest balance. When that debt is paid, use the extra hundred or two, plus the amount you paid on the debt you just paid off, to apply to the next debt. Keep doing this until all the debt has been paid.

Step Three

Step three to financial freedom is to obtain knowledge to discern the difference between risk and risky.  To do this, obtain financial literacy.  Rich dad defined financial literacy as being able to understand the numbers and to determine in your mind which way the cash is flowing.  Additionally, financial intelligence was defined as the ability to convert cash or labor into assets that provide cash flow. To do this, spend about five hours each week to obtain financial literacy by reading business pages, listen to the financial news, learn about investing, read financial magazines and newsletters, or play the Cashflow game manufactured by Kiyosaki.

Step Four

Step four is to decide what type of investor you want to be. A-type investors seek problems. B-type investors seek answers. C-type investors are like Sgt.Schultz from the old Hogan’s Heroes show, saying, “I know nothing.” Start small and learn how to solve problems if you want to get on the fast track. Take action by attending financial seminars. Look at real estate for sale and practice calculating the cash flow statement from each property.  Meet with business brokers to find out which businesses are for sale. Attend business conventions and trade expos. Subscribe to business newspapers and magazines.

Step Five 

Step five is to seek mentors.  Kiyosaki’s poor dad wanted him to find a job with a high salary and benefits, to pay bills and live below his means. But his rich dad suggested that he focus on developing passive income streams. Rich dad also wanted Kiyosaki to live below his means and he pointed to a financial statement’s liability column and warned, “And lead us not into temptation.” Consider that the six people who you spend most of your time with are your future.

Step Six

Step six is to make disappointment your strength. Rich dad reminded Kiyosaki that when people are lame, they like to blame.  When learning something new, be prepared to be disappointed because things will not always work out the way you anticipate. Kiyosaki finds it helpful to have a mentor standing by when he tries something new. Thus, even if a deal falls through, you will likely learn something new from your mentor that you can use in the future. When you take action, you will make some mistakes. That is why it is important to start small.

Step Seven 

Step seven is to have faith.  Always listen to your words and only use them in your favor, never against yourself. Personal truths are often revealed during moments of strong emotion. Money does not stay with people who do not trust themselves. Listen to the words that come from your heart, your stomach, and your soul. Believe in yourself and start taking action today.

Conclusion

Write a long-term plan that will lead to your financial freedom and begin working on your plan.

Rating: $$$$$ out of five.  Kiyosaki was the first person I encountered who tried to explain to people that the world is changing and the old financial paradigm used by the older generation is no longer working. If you seek financial freedom, Kiyosaki's books are a great place to start the journey.

This book was purchased, not a gift.   

T

Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson, M.D: Best Book Summary

Have you ever lost something of value and agonized and worried about it?  Who Moved My Cheese gives some tips, through the stories of four adorable characters, on how to adapt when change happens. Learning these strategies will help you always find new cheese.

The story has two mice, Sniff and Scurry. It also has two little people, Hem and Haw. In Who Moved My Cheese, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2002, Spencer Johnson uses “cheese” as a metaphor for what we all want in life, which could be anything and includes, money, good relationships, good health, spiritual growth, etc.  In the story, the “maze” is the location where we find the cheese, which could be your family, your workplace, your community, or anywhere else where you find something you value.

In the story, the two mice and the two little people are faced with an unanticipated change when they look for their cheese in the usual spot at Station C in the maze and they can’t find it. The two little mice, with their simple brains, did not overanalyze things and immediately accepted that the cheese was no longer there and they would need to go find new cheese. The mice used trial and error to find new cheese which was effective.

But, the two little people hemmed and hawed at the injustice of the cheese no longer being at the same spot in the maze and slowly became emaciated until one of them realized, “sometimes things change and are never the same again.”  The little person finally accepted that if you don’t want to become extinct you need to change with the times.

The book is filled with cute reminders, such as,” Movement in a new direction helps you find new cheese.” Also, “Imagining yourself enjoying new cheese leads you to it.” And, “Move with the cheese and enjoy it,” which is my favorite.

So many people are needlessly struggling and ranting and raving about jobs that are now gone and will never return. Staying stuck in the past will not help these people. Finding new cheese, i.e, opportunities will help greatly. Go out and find new cheese.

Rating. $$$$   This was a fun, simple read.  I enjoyed it.

Copyright @ 2016 Christine Esser

This book was purchased, not a gift.   

This book can be purchased on Amazon by clicking the first link below. Disclosure: We may receive a small commission from your purchase, but this will not raise the amount you pay. Thank you for reading this review. Comments are welcome but spam is likely to be deleted.  We have not received anything from the author or publisher in exchange for this review.

Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy: Learn Tips to Stop Procrastinating and Achieve Your Goals

Are you ready to turn your wishes and dreams into goals? Tips from Eat That Frog might help you to stop procrastinating.

Eat that Frog gets its name from Mark Twain who is reported to have said that if you eat a live frog every morning that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long. The point Twain and Tracy are making is that if you take care of your most important, difficult task first thing in the morning before you do anything else, your life will move forward more quickly.

In Eat That Frog, published by Simple Truths, LLC, Brian Tracy gives 21 tips on time management and setting priorities. Anyone can use these tips to get more of the important tasks done.  Here are the first three tips in an abbreviated manner. To get the rest, get the book.

1.  Set the Table 

Before you can know which frog to eat, you must know what you want to achieve. The clearer your goal is, the more likely it is that you will achieve it, Vagueness, confusion and fuzzy thinking will slow you down.  Write your plan on paper using these 7 steps. (1) Decide what you want, (2) write it down, (3) set a deadline on your goal and deadlines on the steps to achieve it if necessary, (4) make a list of all the steps you will need to take to achieve your goal, (5) organize this list into a plan, (6) take action on this plan immediately, (7) resolve to do something every day that moves you closer to your goal. Think about your goals and review them daily.

2.  Plan Every Day in Advance. 

Break down your most important goal into specific action steps and start the first one. Use the 6-P formula - proper prior planning prevents poor performance. Always work from a list. When something new comes up, place it on the list before you do it.  Make the list for the next day during the evening.

3. Apply the 80/20 Rule to Everything. 

The 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto Principle,” is an economic theory that 20 percent of what we do accounts for 80 percent of the results. It is named after Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto who observed that 20 percent of society had 80 percent of the money and influence. These he called the “vital few” and the 80 percent who did not have money, power, and influence were the trivial many. Later, Pareto discovered that all economic activity follows this basic principle. Thus, if you can determine the tasks that will be the most valuable, these should be done first.


Rating: $$$$$ out of five $.   This is the classic time management book that can help almost anyone become more productive.

Copyright @ 2016 Christine Esser

This book was purchased, not a gift.   

This book can be purchased on Amazon by clicking the first link below. Disclosure: We may receive a small commission from your purchase, but this will not raise the amount you pay. The first link is for the book by Tracy. Th second link is for the CD of the book. The third link is a summary of Tracy's book prepared by Money Book Millionaire. Thank you for reading this review. Comments are welcome.  We have not received anything from Tracy or his publisher for this review. Money Book Millionaire is a family member and we like these summaries.