It is all about the perspective...

Some Dreams...

to be a millionaire.
to get a driver's license.
to climb Mt. Everest.
to be famous.
to have a dream car.
to own a business.
to fall in love with one's best friend.
to get an A on a major exam.
to laugh everyday.
to travel around the world.
to live in one's dream home.
to help someone else.

to tell someone you love that you love them.
to eat, at the next meal.
to have a roof over one's head tonight.
to have clothes on one's back.
to be safe.
to see.
to breathe one more breath.

Dreams, and life, can be put into perspective, if you really think about it.
What is important, really?

Dream BIG.
(Never stop dreaming. Dreams are possibilities for greatness. The world needs more great moments!)

the most important thing

It is the only thing that you have a limited amount of it. So to share it is the most precious thing we have to give someone, to give a stranger in need, to give to a loved one, to give to nothing- to waste.

Your time.

Use it wisely.

It is YOUR time, no-one else's.

Reach for your dreams.

Know what those dreams are, and go get them, with ALL your heart and ALL your determination.

Don't let anyone, including yourself and your habits, or anything else waste your time; it is yours, and yours alone, and it is the part of your world that you never get back to use again.

How we spend our time tells us (and the world) what is important to us, who is important to us, and what we want to get out of life.

Make sure that the people closest to you know how important to you they are, before your time runs out... right now. We don't know when our time will run out.

Do something before it is too late....

a plan

It has become clear that to get to where we want to go in life we absolutely need to know, beyond a doubt, where we want to go; we need a plan.

Only in the last few years have I had the opportunity to expand my goals and dreams to include the next 10 years of my life. Before that, I had goals, but none set to a time line. I just hoped they would be achieved, somehow, sometime. Now that they are set to a time line I am able to back track in such a way that I know what I need to do, and by when. This being said it is not easy to stay loyal to these time lines, as old habits of procrastination and of our friends and family to keep us in their "safe zone" get in our way and slow us down; hopefully just slow us down and not stop us from achieving the goals and dreams we have, and want to achieve.

Do you have a bucket list? How many items are on this list? What are you working on now, to getting to where you want to be?

The point: make a plan... and do not let anyone steal your dreams, ever! Your dreams are really the only thing, besides God, that is truly yours!

We are who we want to be...

I have come to the conclusion that we are who we want to be, even if we don't want to be who we are.

Let me explain. I have heard it said that the situations we encounter we are faced with due to our decisions and choices we have made up to that point.

One of my friends, bless her heart, can (and will) write quite an impacting biography. Her experiences are comical, life altering, and at times heart breaking. The part of her story that helps confirm this theory is the fact that she finds herself in a situation, again, and again, and again... and is broken and confused every time she finds herself in the situation. I believe she gets there for a few reasons.

1) She has learned to make choices the same way every time similar situations arise, which places her in a scenario that creates the emotional stress that she knows well.

2) She makes decisions so she remains in her comfort zone. I know that we all tend to make decisions that do not put us out of our comfort zone, even if the zone if a zone of stress and discomfort. It is known, and people want to be where they feel "safe" (as some times the "safe" zone is not safe at all).

I find myself following the same habits. I have started to grow out of my comfort zone in creation of new comfort zones, but it is hard, and scary, as it is a step into the unknown and new territories.

Most people say that they are not happy with their lives, the way their life has turned out, or where their life may be going; I have been very discontented with where my life was going too. The ONLY way to change my life is to change the way I think, and how I make decisions, and then be ready to take-on the discomfort that comes with the results that comes with my new decisions. I do my best every day to make choices that help push me out of my comfort zone and to move me one step closer to an end that I do want to see realized.

I also believe that the ability of making preferred choices comes with knowing who we are, why we make the choices we make, and then know where we want to go. What is the legacy you want to leave when you pass? What dreams do you have deep inside of you? The first step is to set goals, and know where you want to go, then you are in a place to make the decisions that will get you from where you are today to where you want to get to. Education comes with this challenge too. Reading books, talking to people who have achieved what you want to achieve, listening to good CD's, and watching specific shows that will teach us about the skills we need to know to learn about who we are and what has taught us to make our decisions. It is our responsibility to utilize our new decision making skills and actively push our lives in the direction that we choose to move it.

Let's NOT let our old habits stagnate our life!

Harnessing our choices is a very effective way to harness our dreams and make them happen. It WILL NOT be easy, but IT WILL be worth it...

Stay strong... make good decisions... live the life you are excited to be living!

Save money...

We, on average, in Canada, pay about 50% of our income to the tax man. We are taxed on our pay cheques, when we buy gas for our car, when we buy concert tickets, when we travel (air port taxes, flight taxes, and more), and when we buy anything we need for our day-to-day activities (GST, PST, HST).

Today I read a statement that made me think... "the BEST way to avoid paying taxes, is to not buy anything". It is true! If you don't buy that new TV, you will be able to save yourself a lot of money that would have been charged to you in the form of taxes (HST- in BC). This amount could be upwards of about $100, depending upon the cost of the TV.

Just think of how much money you could keep in your pocket if you were able to avoid paying everyday taxes buy choosing to shop responsibly! By not buying the TV, not only do you save the money that would have gone to the government, but you also save that $500 (or so) that would have been the cost of the TV, too!

I am all about keeping the most of the money I worked so very hard for! Are you?

Change your habits... change your future!

"Give to Caesar..."

I have been reading lately a book called, "The Ten Secrets that Revenue Canada does not want You to Know", by David M. Roth. It is eye opening. I challenge you to get your hands on this book and then take the actions needed to get your financial future into your control, and get to where you want to go. With the help of a financial educator, and the ideas in this book I believe that your life (all around experience, as finances effect ALL areas of your life, including your stress levels and marriage success, and future endevors) will be substantially renewed with hope and clarity!

This tid-bit is simple. It is knowing where your tax deductions from your pay check are going. Before reading this book I had always got excited about my tax returns (except the years I had to pay, that is... I mean, who actually enjoys paying taxes, honestly?!). I had not once thought about why I got a return, and what that means to me during the year.

1) I get a return because I paid too much taxes during the year.

Okay. So? This means that the money I get returned to me is out of my control. I cannot use it to purchase groceries, gas, or other items needed for day to day use. It also means that I do not have to opportunity to choose to invest this same money for my future success. I was not impressed when I realized this fact.

The second part to this that angers me is that they will keep my money, UNTIL WE ASK for it back. They will keep it if we do not request it, through our tax returns. This would be considered thievery, if it were to happen outside of the government. How can we let this happen any longer?!

Alright, so they have our money. So what. So what?! They are not housing it inside a giant mattress till we request it back; no way, they invest it and make money on OUR money, the money they shouldn't really even have, except that we are have given it to them willingly by paying "extra taxes" on our pay cheques (the main way). I know I have done this for years, paid extra taxes with each pay cheque, so I don't have to pay taxes later.

How do we get our money back into our control. Go to your employer, if you have one, and request to fill out a new set of tax forms. Make sure to place a number (the relevant number for your situation) in line 13, INSTEAD of $zero. By placing a total there they will take the least amount of taxes out with each pay cheque, placing more money in your hands. *NOTE: I would recommend you speak to a financial educator who is willing to help you place that bit of "tax" money in places that will best help you get to where you want to go, financially.

Also, when filling out the tax forms make sure not to request extra taxes to be taken out. There is a place on the back of one of the pages to make this request. By filling this section out you are willingly giving a specific amount of money, on top of what they will automatically take out, to place in their professionally managed portfolios making the government more money.

2) By having the government only take the minimum amount off of your pay cheques YOU are able to get your money working for YOU! In the hands of professionally money managers (PMM) investment portfolios YOUR MONEY is MAKING YOU MONEY, not the government! (Again, talk to a financial educator to help you with this action, as you may need a very substantial amount of money to open an account when trying to access PMMs, where as a financial educator may be able to help you get access to the higher returns, through PMMs, without the high startup investment. There are really great financial educators in North America who do not charge their clients a fee. You get the service, and at a great "price"!)

My suggestion... "give to caesar what is Caesars..." and keep what is yours. Read the book, and start to change your life!

*If you would like help finding a great financial educator I would be willing to help you find one in your area.