#GreatWomen #inspiration #hope
“You may never fail on the scale that I did, but some failure in life is inevitable.”
So said J.K. Rowling, who was once on the verge of poverty, but who went on to write the Harry Potter series of books.
Peggy Anderson has compiled great messages from great women in a book titled, “Great Quotes from Great Women: From Marie Curie to Michelle Obama – inspiring words from women who have shaped our world.”
“The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude,” the book quotes mega TV star Oprah Winfrey.
“If I had to embrace a definition of success, it would be that success is making the best choices we can … and accepting them,” the book quotes Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook, and author of the bestselling book, “Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead.”
These disparate quotes have one thing in common: success involves choices.
That’s a hard concept for some to grasp. Many think they are governed by circumstances. They see very few real choices to make their lives better.
Rowling and Winfrey were each poor at one time. They made the choice to break away from that to do something great.
Sandberg, too, had to fight hard battles to succeed as a woman in a largely men’s world of technology.
The point they make is that circumstances happen, but they don’t have to define or defeat you.
Many folks have had a rough time of it over the last decade or so. Some may have had good jobs that disappeared. If they were lucky, during that time they found other work which more than likely doesn’t pay as well as the job they lost.
With a job loss often comes a loss of lifestyle and, to some, a loss of identity.
Yet, as one looks around, there is so much good to be thankful for.
Once way to get your head right is to focus on what’s good in your life – family, friends etc. Be thankful for what’s good, and the bad in your life will be much easier to overcome.
Also, there may be much good out there that you don’t yet know about. Be on the lookout for that person either in your life or who will come into your life that may show you a way you can better your circumstances. There are many such ways to better one’s financial circumstance and, at the same time, help one grow as a person.
If you are someone looking for something good to come into your life, and are willing to check out something you may know nothing about, message me.
Rowling, Winfrey and Sandberg all found something good to come into their lives. Some might say they were lucky. Most who find great success acknowledge their good fortune, but also believe they put themselves in position for good fortune to come to them. They looked for it, made themselves ready for when it would come and embraced it when it did.
Certainly, they had some talent. But there are ways out there to succeed without any special talent, education or expertise – just a willingness to learn and desire to make one’s life better.
So if you’re tired of your current situation, take on the attitude that if it is to be, it’s up to me. Then, just go for it.
Peter
Monthly Archives: June 2017
MILLENNIALS: MORE SAVERS AND SPENDERS THAN INVESTORS
#millennials #investors #savers #spenders
Millennials don’t see themselves as investors.
According to the 2016 Fidelity Investments Millennial Money Study, 46 percent of the millennials surveyed considered themselves as savers, 44 percent considered themselves spenders and only 9 percent considered themselves investors.
This study was quoted in an Adam Shell article for USA Today, which was published April 27, 2017, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Despite Wall Street’s attempts to woo the nation’s largest generation into the stock market, millennials have yet to embrace investing, Shell’s article says. Only one in three say they invest in stocks, the article quotes a Bankrate.com survey.
A Black Rock study says nearly half of the millennials surveys found the market “too risky,” the article says.
And, four in 10 say they don’t have enough spare income to put away for the future, the article quotes a financial literacy survey from Stash, a financial app.
Let’s break down the facts. If you are a saver, and are putting money away, where are you stashing it? In a bank? Under your mattress?
In this market, the rates of return on that money between those alternatives are not far apart.
Secondly, there is wild and crazy – “risky” – investing, and there is careful investing. Each requires consultation with someone you trust , but here’s a good rule of thumb: as you start investing, look for more conservative vehicles, i.e. relatively safe mutual funds. As your wealth grows, you can diversify and take a few, well-thought-out risks. If you really do well, and want to play, take a very small amount of money and invest aggressively.
Here’s another rule: it’s difficult to have a nice nest egg for retirement just keeping your money in a bank. There are very few, if any, traditional, regulated banking products that are paying decent returns. Banks are wonderful institutions for your checking account, and perhaps a small savings account to cover unexpected expenses.
But to really be a saver for retirement, you have to take SOME risk. And, make no mistake, EVERYONE has to save for retirement. As stock-market-loving baby boomers can attest, you never know when your job is going to go away.
For those of you in the category of not having enough spare money to save for the future, there are ways to solve that problem. First and foremost, you have to make saving for the future a priority in your life. Even if you see yourself as a spender rather than a saver, you have make SOME saving a priority, or the fun you are having today will turn into poverty when you retire, or when that good job goes away.
A suggestion might be to look at the many ways out there to use your spare time to earn a secondary income. To check out one of the best such vehicles, message me.
In short, saving is not just prudent, but necessary. The more you save when you are young, the more you will have, and the better your life will be, when you are older. If you are a millennial, talk to your parents about what to do. However their lives have turned out, there are lessons in their lives that will apply to you. Don’t underestimate their story, or their advice.
As you save, some risk will become necessary. Though the stock market looks scary, over time it has proved to provide the best returns. Find a trustworthy, knowledgeable adviser to help you get started, and who will continue to work with you. Don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions about fees, returns etc., so that you will have a clear picture of how to proceed.
Finally, watch what you spend. Don’t deprive yourself, necessarily, but look for things you can eliminate to allow you to save more money. Remember that a dollar in your pocket generally is better for you than a dollar you put into someone else’s pocket.
Your future could well depend on decisions you make in your youth. You don’t have to depend on things “going right,” if you make good choices now.
Peter
WHEN JOBS ARE SCARCE, PEOPLE LOOK TO DISABILITY PAYMENTS
#disability #DisabilityPayments #SocialSecurityDisability
Between 1996 and 2015, the number of working-age adults receiving disability payments climbed from 7.7 million to 13 million.
The federal government this year will spend an estimated $192 billion on disability payments, more than the combined total for food stamps, welfare, housing subsidies and unemployment assistance.
The above statistics were quoted in a Washington Post article on the rise in people on disability in rural areas, because of a lack of jobs.
The article, written by Terrence McCoy, with photos by Bonnie Jo Mount, was published April 9, 2017, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Post analyzed Social Security Administration statistics and told the stories of several working-age adults in rural America with various aches, pains etc., who are not working and have slim prospects of finding work where they live.
Are they disabled, or just desperate? the article asks.
It’s been said that almost anyone older than 40 can find some ailment that could qualify them for disability.
Desmond Spencer from Alabama, who wouldn’t turn 40 for a few months, according to when the Post article was written, struggled with the thought of being disabled.
As he fielded calls from debt collectors, he felt various parts of his body hurting, as he took family members to a pain clinic.
“There’s a stigma about (going on disability),” the article quotes Spencer. “Disabled. Disability. Drawing a check. But if you’re putting food on the table, does it matter?” the article quotes Spencer.
We can debate whether the government should be paying this much out in disability. We can also debate the qualifications to draw disability payments. We can also debate the amount of fraud that may be in the Social Security disability program.
But when one has no job at a relatively young age, and the job prospects are slim, it’s easy to see how otherwise hard-working people can become desperate, discouraged or defeated, as the article puts it.
But in all the misery, there is good news.
For those who prefer not to be on the dole, there are many ways out there to earn an income – perhaps even a better income than one earned while he was working. To hear about one of the best such vehicles, message me.
To sum it up, many jobs that have been lost are not coming back. Many people who have lost good jobs are forced to take jobs that pay less – even considerably less – than the job they lost.
In some rural areas of the country, jobs in general are scarce and many working-age adults must either move or be stuck without a job.
Some who have become unemployed must also take care of family members with health challenges.
The solution: think long and hard about how you want to live your life. If you are depressed, get treated for it. If not, try to look for ways to be as productive as you can. Disability payments are not the best solution, if you are able to do most things for yourself. By the way, some who could legitimately claim disability do not, and would rather not. They prefer independence.
Look for other ways to survive, even thrive. Do it for yourself, and your family. You’ll feel much better if you look for a different way.
Peter
TECHNOLOGY, MANNERS AND TRUTH
#technology #manners #truth
Has technology begotten rudeness?
Are you tempted to trip someone walking down the sidewalk who is only looking down at his or her phone?
We do know that social media has begotten various versions, or definitions, of truth.
George F. Will, columnist for the Washington Post, took on this subject in a column published April 9, 2017, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Will quotes from the book “Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door,” by Lynne Truss.
The author, whose book was published in 2005, says we are slouching into “an age of social autism,” Will quotes.
Truss foresaw an age of “hair-trigger sensitivity,” and “lazy moral relativism combined with aggressive social insolence,” Will writes.
Carolyn Stewart of the Hudson Institute, who revisited Truss’ book, says social media’s “self-affirming feedback loop,” encourages “expectations for a custom-made reality,” and indignation about anything “that deviates from our preferences,” Will quotes Stewart.
“We no longer hold these truths to be self-evident, we hold all truths to be self-evident, even the ones that aren’t true,” will quotes Tom Nichols, author of “The Death of Expertise: The Campaign Against Established Knowledge and Why It Matters.”
In other words, technology has made us into a rude society with a significant disregard for truth.
We probably are not all that way. Some of us may find technology just a tool to get things done more quickly. We prefer kindness, personal interaction and proven facts.
Some of us may take great pleasure in doing nice things for other people.
Others of us may resent technology as a culprit for putting us out of a good job. Some may even long to meet other nice people. Some may even be skeptical of what they read and hear.
Technology has certainly changed our world – not always for the good. But we become better people when we seek not just civility, but generosity. We become better people when we use technology as a tool, without letting it run our lives. We become better people when we seek out real truth, and base our opinions on it.
If you are one of those, and a machine has taken your job, there are many ways out there to not just earn an income, but to grow as a person. To learn about one of the best, message me.
In short, don’t assume something is true just because it fit whatever you think you believe. If you walk on a sidewalk, look up from your phone. If you are driving, don’t look at your phone at all.
Seek to be a kind, humble, generous person who respects bona fide science, reads and listens to respected and reputable information and is inspired to help others.
Sometimes, rudeness is best ignored.
Peter