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Get Stuff Done
Ban yourself from Netflix, close the candy crush app, sign out of Facebook, and get stuff done. Don’t put off getting your car work done, if you can afford it at all, get it done. Don’t put off finishing that home improvement/cleaning project. Write the email to your coworker. Get the design done. Brainstorm and write it down. Get Stuff done. Do I always do this? No. The thing is that I know that’s helpful. I have done it. I was challenged by one of my advisors to read more. I read a whole novel in a week this past week, and though I’ve been short on work this week,…
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Live Within Your Means
That’s a challenge, especially with small means, but it’s certainly a form of self-control. Living within your means, means understanding that your income is what you have to live on whether you like it or not. It means understanding that even when you want something, whether it be a dinner out, new furniture, a cool vacation, or a fancier car, if it isn’t in your budget, you can’t afford it. If you only have one couch but you want two, but you haven’t paid for your housing yet this month, you can’t justify it. To some, this may be obvious but it’s sometimes hard to put into practice when friends…
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A Year with High School Ministries
Holy moly I just finished up a year volunteering in high school ministries, and goodness did I love it and learn a lot. All the grades of kids who were in senior high this year I had as students in junior high. It was quite an experience seeing kids through these ministries and seeing them grow into young adults. Not only that, but we also had a number of families join the church in the past couple of years, and they’ve students have been great additions to the group. It’s been crazy to put myself back in these students shoes, and deal with very different questions through the years. I’ve…
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A State of Mind that is Helpful
I’ve read that “poor is a mindset, broke is a place you’re just passing through” – Dave Ramsey. I understand that not having much disposable income can totally be just a season, but I see value in having a “poor” mindset to keep you on track for your goals during a different kind of season. For me, I try to live frugally, now more than ever. I am always trying to be very aware of how much money I spend. Sometimes that means I have a “poor” mindset. What I mean by that is that I have to limit myself in this season of my life so I can get…
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Memorial Day (300th Post!)
First let me address how thankful I am to service men and women, especially those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. While we shouldn’t take it lightly there is something wonderful about taking this day to not only remember them but also enjoy our freedoms as Americans on this day. So go out, have a burger, cruise the lake, take a drive to a park, and maybe take a moment of silence during those activities to remember those who have given so much, and while you’re at it thank a veteran. Today also has special importance to me for a different reason. As you may have guessed by the title I…
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Bread Of Life
I picked up some great insights from my pastor’s sermon this morning. Find him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/JaredCarlsonGPC Jesus calls himself the bread of life, often this can seem somewhat odd, even to those of us who call Him our Lord and Savior; it’s just not something you hear otherwise. But it’s so important. You see our life with God means a fulfilled life, not a perfect life. To loosely quote some things that Jared said, “Don’t repackage or adjust God’s revelation, when you do that it ceases to be His.” That and, “Accommodation never produces conviction, and appeasement never produces obedience.” When faith depends on sight it leads to…
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Buy Low Sell High
I love asking for nuggets of wisdom, often people will tell me the first thing that comes to their heads, and I kind of love that. I get to hear what they’re currently thinking about or at least something that has stuck with them. So when I heard “buy low sell high” from a family member, I knew there was something there. I want to break down the phrase, the idea it’s getting as is that anything you buy you should try and purchase at a good value, whether it’s a low-cost item or a higher cost item, you should almost never be paying more than the quality/value demands. There…
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Pin-Ball
My grandparents have a lot of cool antiques in their home. Our current family favorite is their pinball machine. We played it at Christmas and almost every time we come over now we squeeze in a game. It’s fun to enjoy the old machine as it’s from 1962 and try to beat each other’s score. My aunt has the high score right now, I’m…working on it. From simple toys and games, to old board games, these items still have value in today’s culture. These toys are often simple but well made, and still fun. That isn’t to diminish the value of new technology and the good toys and games it…
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An Hour Saved is an Hour Earned
If you haven’t heard it before, time is precious. I realized at my temp job today that the phrase a penny saved is a penny earned could also be related to time in a way. Since temp work is paid hourly us contract workers are more aware of each hour passing at various points during the day. When anyone earns money you can technically always break it down to how much you earn an hour. I remember thinking this way back in high school, and so when I was at the store considering a purchase, or at a restaurant considering my order, for instance, I would think of how many…
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Professional Lures
On my Praxis program call tonight, a couple of us participants had our business profiles analyzed. One of my main takeaways was that I need to incorporate catchy titles onto my work to encourage click-throughs. What immediately came to mind was “click-bait” which one of the advisors promptly edited to professional “click-bait”. Click through is so important, if you’re not putting out compelling enough titles to get people to click on links they won’t see more of your content, and you can’t nurture a relationship through that, they have to see what you’re about but you also need to show (read: prove) them that they’ll see something of value to…
