The Pursuit of Happiness Through Difficult Financial Times

In the pursuit of happiness, many of us believe that having lots of money will make us happy. According to Jean Chatzky, the author of the book “The Difference,” this is not always true because once you have money, more money won’t buy more happiness. The happier you are, the more money will come in.

Some of us have been through bad financial situations. With bills piling up, creditors calling, and the household income barely enough, life still goes on.  You can make the best of it or just plain give up and lose hope. Financial problems can  be  very stressful  for anyone but there is always room to make a change in your attitude. In such difficult times, what are the critical factors that can make a difference in your life? Jean Chatzky tells us all about the main traits that you have to be successful.

Happiness and optimism are two of the keys in making more money because these two traits help you solve problems and come up with great ideas. Even if you fail the first time, being optimistic will help you try again, and again.

Having resilience means you can overcome anything and that includes financial problems. These people never denied that their finances were suffering. They were able to concentrate on how to take control of the things that they could change and let go of the things that they could not.

Having passion to lift yourself up from your financial struggles is another key element to financial success. Loving what you do is very important and when you love what you do for a job then you are on the road to financial stability.

Social capital is acquired by seeking out advice from people who can help you get to the next level of income. Value the relationships you have and reach out to people that you can help and those who can help you. Take time nurturing these relationships.

Wealthy people have the funds to spend lots of money but most of them are not foolish spenders at all. In fact, they save money on a regular basis. This is a fundamental goal for anyone wanting to improve their personal finances.

We usually have hunches about what might happen next. These intuitions will help you make decisions about spending and investing your money. Most wealthy people have developed  good intuition and this gives  them a big advantage. Learn to listen to your intuition when you are making financial decisions.

Taking calculated risks in the market is a good way to make money whether in good times or in bad. Those that lost thousands in their investments are slowly beginning to see those dollars come back. Let your money work hard for you.

Being grateful for your particular situation is key to being able to move on and learn from the past. People who get rich and stay rich, express their gratitude by contributing to organizations and communities that they care about.

Use these principals of gratitude, passion, resilience and optimism to change your attitudes, set realistic goals and return to your path of financial prosperity.

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. ~Albert Schweitzer

Personal Finance Give Up-Itis

Personal Finance Plans

Have you given up trying to succeed with your financial plan? Have you gone through personal finance disasters? Do you suffer from give up-itis?

You may be wondering what give up-itis is. To explain that, let me share with you a story from Donald O. Clifton’s book, “How Full Is Your Bucket?”

U.S. Army chief psychiatrist, Major  (Dr.) William E. Mayer,  did a study of the lives of soldiers who were held as prisoners in the Korean War. He studied 1,000 cases of soldiers who suffered extreme psychological depravement as POWs.  These people didn’t suffer physically as in being tortured, but they were systematically deprived of the normal benefits one can receive from friendship and support.  They caught a deadly disease:  extreme hopelessness.

The methods used to cause this hopelessness were conniving and deceitful. The death rate in the POW camps there rose to 38%, the largest in military history. Half of those soldiers died because they had given up.

To break down the spirits of the soldiers, they were offered small rewards for ratting out their fellow inmates. Nothing happened to the inmates as a result of the news, but alienation soon crept into the camp. The North Koreans in charge held mandatory group meetings where the prisoners were forced to tell of all of the bad things they had done and any instances of good that could have been done, but failed to be done.  Without emotional support, the prisoners soon began to give up.  Some would go into their huts, sit in a corner, pull a blanket over their heads and were dead within two days.

You may have suffered from a recent financial loss of some kind, perhaps a loss of a spouse, a job or your personal health.  If you can learn from the hopelessness the soldiers  suffered as prisoners of war, you can start getting your financial life back on the right track.

Don’t give up and pull the covers over your head preparing to die. Seek out friendships that are emotionally supportive. Support other people in their struggles with life and you will fill that emotional bucket you need to avoid give up-itis.

With emotional support, you will be able to face things in your personal financial life that you never thought you could face.

Five Personal Finance Tips

1. Be honest with yourself about what has happened to you. Find out where you are right now with your money.
2. Re-examine your living expenses and what you actually need to survive. Is there any place that you can cut back on spending? Where can you most effectively decrease spending?
3. Evaluate your income as it is now and make plans to increase it. There are many ways you might be able to earn extra income to help you through. Odd jobs and piece work types of jobs are plentiful.
4. Start tracking your expenditures if you don’t already do so. Tracking what you do is the best way to help you pinpoint the problem areas that you may be causing.
5. Set goals that you would like to reach and tell a friend about them. Emotional support from friends is really invaluable to you.

What is your plan to improve your financial situation?

Here Are 5 Dream Killing Stumbling Blocks to Avoid at All Costs

Is anybody out there – especially in this day and age – not looking to create a more fulfilling, abundant life for themselves? To ask this question in a different way, are you completely happy with the direction your life is headed or is there room for improvement?

I’m going to assume you said that there is room for improvement. I know I’m not going too far out on a limb making this assumption. After all, who doesn’t want to get the most from life? We all only have one shot at being on this big, blue marble called Earth so why not make our time here all it can be?

Getting more from life is the result of applying learned skills. It doesn’t happen by chance and you better not leave it up to luck. Oh yeah, and hoping things get better for you will not make it happen either.

In large part, learning how to get more from life will come about in one of two ways. The first way is in learning how to do something and the second is in learning what not to do. Think about it, learning what to do will help you develop a plan for success while learning what not to do will help you to avoid the stumbling blocks you’ll encounter along the way.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at 5 common dream killing mistakes you’d want to avoid at all costs.

Dream Killer #1
Don’t hold back – Whether or not you’re attacking an area beyond your current scope of expertise, dive in head first. By not shrinking away from the new task at hand you will find areas of strength you didn’t realize you had. You can then allow yourself to carry these new strengths with you into your future endeavors.

Dream Killer #2
No Excuses – You and you alone can propel yourself on to live a life of prosperity or you’re the one to hold yourself back to live a life of mediocrity. Which direction you choose to go will be determined by whether or not you make excuses. You see, you can make things happen for yourself or you can make excuses but you’ll never be able to do both.

Dream Killer #3
Do not fear the unknown – Everybody has a unique gift to share with the world. Through treading unknown waters you’ll be giving yourself permission to discover your own unique gift. When that gift is found, and applied on a daily basis, a fulfilled and successful life naturally follows.

Dream Killer #4
Do not blend in with the crowd – Success is derived from distinction. If you can find a way to separate yourself from the pack you will be able to service others in a way nobody else can. Once successful, competitors will start to follow you but your positioning will keep you a few steps ahead.

Dream Killer #5
Accept That You Are Not Perfect – The heck with perfection, it does not exist. Unless you are an Olympic athlete there is no reason to expect a perfect outcome every time you attempt something. As long as you get into the game of life and put yourself out there unabashedly you’ll find that the world really is your oyster.

Yes, there is no doubt about it, in life you can achieve great success by developing yourself a roadmap to follow. That roadmap can stem from being aware of what kinds of mistakes you’ll need to avoid along the way.

Get the book FREE: This article is based on the book “A PLUM IN THE SYRUP: 17 Observations, Suggestions And Truths You Can Adopt To Live A More Fulfilled Life.” In his book, author Daniel Herzner delivers practical advice which anybody can use to live more successfully. To get a free copy of this empowering, 101 page book please visit: http://www.APlumInTheSyrup.com/

By Daniel Herzner
Article Source