Which Ticket Do You Have?

     I was sitting on the couch at my grandmother-in-law’s house watching TV while she and my wife spoke. She was telling my wife about how she has on a small scale been buying lottery tickets for the last few years (or maybe decades......). With her being 75 years of age and having the notion of “making it big” one day made me wonder. Why does the lottery drive people more than goals?
    
      Here we are, fully functioning, intelligent, able bodied people, yet we would rather rely on chance solely to make our fortunes. The odds are so astronomical that you know you are wasting your money. Yet people still do it in droves! People still put all of their faith in it. People come up with systems to pick numbers that they KNOW will be a winner. Yet and still, people would rather do that and work as a cashier than to roll up their sleeves and make something out of nothing.  We have become a "microwave" society in more ways than the kitchen............

     Truth be told, running a business of some sort does rely on a bit of faith and chance, but it is of the tangible type. One that you can see come to reality day by day. You can’t see a lottery ticket making you millions until they don’t call your number.

     I am not wearing my preacher hat today, but merely saying cheers to those that are working towards a goal. A person with a goal is a person on fire. There is nothing more meaningful or honorable. Coming from a past of working for somebody else’s goals I will tell you that I feel invigorated knowing that my efforts are for my future.

     Working for somebody else is pretty much like hoping you win the lottery (and that's ok for many people). I just wish I would've stopped paying for their tickets and made my own sooner!

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Do You Give A Duck?

You’ve just had a major car accident and we need to hospitalize you for a week.  How much is your recovery worth?  You gotta pay if you wanna stay!

This is what happens everyday in our country.  Unfortunately many of us are in denial about the possibility of major unexpected events happening to us.  See how this recent study shows how optimistic people are:



Not to be morbid or a pessimist, but here’s the reality:

• In 2012, around 2.36 million people were injured in car accidents and 33, 561 died.¹
• Every 34 seconds someone suffers a heart attack and in 2010 1.9 million new cases of diabetes are diagnosed for people 20 and older (results are over 1,900 deaths a day).²
• 1 in 2 men as well as 1 in 3 women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime (results are over 1,500 deaths a day).3
• Over 37 million Americans are classified as disabled; about 12% of the total population. More than 50% of those disabled Americans are in their working years, from 18-64.⁴
• The average length of a hospital stay is 4.8 days and it costs an about $10,000.⁵

Here’s the complimenting financial reality of this:



Now having the wool pulled off of you, what are you doing to prepare?

Unfortunately it is not a question of it things will happen, but when will they happen and how will you handle them.  It’s bad enough these events are physically, mentally, and emotionally straining, but adding the financial aspect is adding insult to injury (no pun intended). 

Quite simply, as I always say:

Have A Plan, Not A Plea.

Do something to help your employees prepare for this.  Undoubtedly if they work for you for some length of time, their families often expect owners to do something to help.  It’s the right thing to do, but do it the smart and fair way.

1. http://www.nhtsa.gov
2. http://www.heart.org , http://www.diabetes.org
3. http://www.cancer.org
4. U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2011
5. The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, sponsored by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

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The Worst Thing About Ambition

The worst thing about ambition is that we don’t all have it.

I come from humble beginnings……… I don’t say that to be dramatic, but to add context to this and to maybe see why I’m wired oddly!

My father is a U.S. Army helicopter technician and has done that for the past 40+ years proudly.  My mother works at the base commissary (grocery store) and has for 30+ years.  Both of my parents showed me, taught me, and instilled in me the value of hard constant work.  They also scared me with it because I didn't want to have to do the exact same job that long! 

While they did this, at the same time my mother has this “everything will be all right” air about her.  She has this hopeless optimism.  No matter what was going on she was always optimistic.  I mean no matter what.  She especially did this when it came to my future.  I didn't quite know the value of it then and quite frankly it could be annoying at times!  That’s one of the very same characteristics of ambition!

See, I had the typical go to college ambition because that’s all my parents knew and I thank them for that.  I never had the entrepreneur ambition or at least I didn't know I did.  I didn't realize it till I was on a full scholarship studying computer engineering and it hit me that I don’t want to build machines or work on software my whole life! 

Long story short, I switched majors to accounting and took a long break in school, but had full time jobs selling in the process.  Enter ambition.  Sales and accounting showed me I can do or be what I want to really.  Problem is, a lot of adults don’t really feel that way about any adults.

The worst thing about ambition is that people who don’t have it don’t understand it.  They even shame it.  It’s so bad that somebody who wants to work hard enough to get a raise at a “job” bashes someone who has a business they are trying to grow.  Why is it we tell children they can be anything they want to but once they cross over the 18 year old line we way you have to get a respectable job, work hard, and maybe retire if you've climbed the ladder enough?

I respect everyone who can and has the desire to do that, but why do I get looked at like an alien for wanting to challenge myself to increase my business to what I want?  America was built on this but it is so watered down now that 1% of our population is the “upper echelon.” 

The worst thing about ambition is you don’t necessarily choose when it shows up.  Sure kids all have it, but somewhere around middle school we forget.  I didn't recapture mine until my 30’s.  This is after drifting through my 20’s having short fizzles of it, but since it arrives now people think I need to spend at least 15 years trying to get comfy!  Why can’t I want to spend 5 years pushing myself so the next 10 are cake?

The worst thing about ambition is it is not an accepted characteristic in all avenues and ages. If you accept mine now, great, if not then you will later.

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Chrome, An Essential Business Mineral

I LOVE GOOGLE CHROME!!!!

Did I come on a little strong…………………….?

I can’t talk enough about the productivity elements that Chrome offers to business people.  I've battled between Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome for a while, but now I’m a heavy metal head!

Why you ask?  Let me tell you:

1.  Synchronization – I drive a lot for my work and I have an Android phone so it is great to have all of my contacts and prospective addresses synced to my phone and other devices.  Even if I’m just thinking about going to a place, if I searched it on my notebook it quickly pops up on my phone (huge time saver).

2.  Speed – I know Chrome does use a lot of resources on your computer, but when it’s going it’s very fast (I’m all about time saving).

3.  Extensions -  This is the number 1 reason why I love Chrome.  I've found some great extensions that make my work a lot more productive and insightful.  Here’s a section on those  (the bullet title links go to the Chrome Web Store):

1.  Stayfocused – do you ever find yourself just sitting in your email inbox or drifting around LinkedIn or Twitter because of one notification?  Stayfocused allows you to set a timer for websites you use and then when the time expires you cannot login to these sites until the next day.  I’ll tell you what, when you know you can’t get into your email until the next day you look at it with more focus, speed, and efficiency!

2.  PowerInbox – this one just allows you to see any social media emails more completely.  Follow people from your email and unsubscribe from a list right from the inbox without even opening the email!

3.  mxHero Toolbox - Best extension ever!  I send a lot of emails and the fact that this one sends the tracking response right to your email you can see if you have a response on your phone.  Even schedule emails for later and set the email to remind you if you don’t receive a reply by a certain time.  Huge email supercharger!!

There’s a few more, but I think these 3 will get you well on your way to web wizardry!

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I Got 99 Problems And ……….

……. Healthcare is number 1 !!



The new year is here and for a lot of people improving their health is a resolution.  Now it’s a mandated law for all of us! 

With that being said, this creates a new budget for a lot of people.  This can either be something that has never been in a person’s budget, an increase in an existing budget, or a decrease.  Either way, a lot of health insurance deductibles are rising. 

This is similar to what happens in the automotive insurance world because people choose a low monthly payment with a high deductible.  I believe this is because most car damage wouldn't be a necessity to fix.  Quite frankly, it’s a little less important to fix your windshield than to fix your heart.  Therefore a lot of people will be financially exposed by going from an average deductible of $2,000 to $4,000.  This doubles the amount that you are responsible for towards your health carrier.  Health expenses planning should be as high on your list as getting your beach body because they both need to be handled by March!

The great thing about this new law is that it greatly improves citizens access to means of preventative care and reduces small emergency costs.  You have to realize though that these health insurance companies will get their money one way or another.  Either you will pay more monthly and less at the hospital or pay rock bottom monthly and take out a loan when you’re in the ER…….

Plan for the worst and hope for the best is what my wife has always said and now we all really should.  Don’t let a decision to get a cheap insurance bill now affect  your family later when you actually have to use that plan.  Cover your risk (the deductible) so bankruptcy doesn't cover you.

Have a plan not a plea.

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This is really a problem….

In 2013 the United States personal savings rate was 4.20%.  That means that a little over 4% of a household’s income is saved over a period of time. 

4%

The median household income is about $51,017 ₁  with an average household size of 4.16 people ₂………………

That means that about $2,000 is saved a year (yeah right) and that is to be used for retirement, emergencies, hospital bills, and child expenses…………

With the new policies for the Healthcare Exchanges rolling out, it will not be odd to see a deductible of $4,000 for the Silver plans (the “benchmark” plan offering the federal savings subsidy).  In general, before Obamacare arose, the Kaiser Family Foundation found that the average deductible was $2,086₃ for a single person.  That number is already outside of the bounds of the average American’s savings.  Now double that………….

Imagine one doctor visit eating up years of savings for you and you have health insurance………..

The funny thing is that the deductibles for most Silver plans is $4,000, but the maximum annual out of pocket is $6,350.  So the Affordable Care Act does greatly help with preventive care, which all human beings need to improve their quality of life, but for the emergencies it only pays out about $2,000 which is what “we” save on average! 

The creation of national healthcare is a novel idea, but we all now need to intelligently plan our income and expenses so that we protect our futures. 

It’s great to have fire and pet insurance, but now you should look into income insurance, because if something disables you will you have the ability to pay your bills?

Have a plan not a plea.

_{1. Median Income Falls For 5th Year, Inequality At Record High http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/17/median-income-falls-inequality_n_3941514.html2. The demographic evolution of U.S. households  http://smartblogs.com/leadership/2013/02/18/the-demographic-evolution-of-u-s-households/3 . High-deductible health plans are a growing trend for employers  http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/09/28/5200346/high-deductible-health-plans-are.html}

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Disney Drive

Hello all! 



I normally don’t get on a soap box, but I was feeling especially dirty and in need of cleansing............

I was watching some Christmas Disney movies with my son the other day when something struck me.  The spirit of Disney is the entrepreneurial spirit. 

Every Disney movie has the you can do it drive.  The impossible is possible notion. 

The movie that brought me to this idea depicted Mickey Mouse as a poor Christmas tree laborer (yeah right!  Mickey poor!) trying to do whatever he had to in order to get Minnie a gold necklace for Christmas. 
He had a horrible job with low pay, but he had a goal and a dream.

How many of you say that something is a must like Nemo finding his way home or like Simba reclaiming his throne?

Whether your 4 or 40, every single Disney movie is the life of an entrepreneur.  The world against you.  Odds so high you can’t see over them.  People doubting your every step from rise to rest. 

It was in that moment that I really saw the genius and soul of Walt Disney.  Although he is long passed, he was just a man that wouldn't quit.  Decades after his passing his movies still show that tenacity.  Just when days seem their bleakest and darkest, the hero pushes through a breakthrough. 

How close are you to getting your Princess Jasmine even though you’re a beggar?
How much more passion do you have to show to get a beauty if you’re a beast?
How many people have to tell you that you can’t be “real” before you change your wooden reality?

Whenever your situation gets you down you may not have to pop in an inspirational CD.  Just go through a child’s movie collection!  Think of it.  We teach children to dream from the moment they can see, but somewhere around puberty we forget to do that. 

Be a child.  Be foolish.  Be a dreamer.
Be that person who pulls the sword out of the stone when hundreds before you said it can’t be done.

Be Disney.

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