3 Tools You Need to Beat the Economy

Figuring since it's Tax Day, I could offer a little insight on how to overcome the Economy. Will it be easy? Heck no! Will it be useful info? Maybe. Will it guarantee success? That's up to you!

There are 3 skill sets that make you valuable in any economy - professional skills, people skills, and leadership development skills. All of these skill sets will increase your value and your income.

• Professional skills. Whether you are a doctor, real estate agent, mechanic, waitress, teacher, home business owner, or customer service rep, you must know the basics of your profession. You must be willing to learn new, specialized skills. The difference in a professional and an amateur is your skill.

• People skills. People are everywhere! You work with them, live with them, buy things from them, and sell things to them. And where does money come from? People! If you learn more about people than you do anything else, you will be unusually successful. If you learn great people skills, you will attain income security. Those who do not have people skills are usually the first to be laid off.

• Personal development & leadership skills. People with high leadership skills have extremely high influence and high value in the marketplace. They are consistently working on improving themselves, and they raise up other leaders. They have a "no excuse" mindset. They focus on producing results. They do not let circumstances define their success, but they take personal responsibility to create their own success.

Year 2012 in Review

This past year has been life changing and eye opening. We bought a house, after so much struggle with job loss and losing our home in Florida, we were able to move into a home of our own again. I was accepted into and graduated from a prestigious Business Bootcamp! That was mind blowing what I learned and how much I grew during that time. I earned a Success Club trip to Disney World. My husband and I went to Vegas for Coach Summit -- It was an experience that will forever be one of my top 10 favorites in my life. I met new friends, I met celebrities. It was amazing! My marriage has gotten stronger. My husband & I have really built an incredible relationship and it's all built on a foundation of trust, hard work, health and fitness. We are slowly learning how to become debt free. The financial freedom once we pay off our last bit of debt will be indescribable! I've done a lot of personal growth: I'm overcoming anxiety and learning how not to care what others think of me. I'm learning how to be a successful business woman. I'm learning how to be the best leader for my team and help others have a more fulfilling life of their own. 

It hasn't been all roses & balloons though. For 2 months we weren't sure how we'd buy groceries or keep the house heated. Work was slow. Money dried up and things got real tight. And it's still very hard financially for us right now. We had some ups & downs with our children and even moving into our new home had some trial & error moments. Our life is far from perfect! But we strive every day for progress and keep moving forward one step at a time. We've learned that nothing God puts in our path is meant to break us, it's meant to strengthen us and keep us pointed towards our goals. Many people give up in the face of adversity and say it's just too hard, it's impossible. That is the wrong attitude! We may get pushed around and tripped up by life, but we damn sure will fight to stand back up and keep pushing forward. That is the right attitude!

What many people don't realize is that we can change our attitudes about life. It takes some work, but it can be done. The more we accept other people and their faults and quirks, the less judgmental we become. The more we decide to share the goodness that's within us, the less selfish we become, and the less likely we are to hang on to material things. The more we learn about other's emotional or physical problems, the more understanding and compassionate we become. YOUR attitude is one of your gifts to the world, all day, every day. What kind of gift do you give? And is it a gift that remains strong, steady & true no matter what happens to you?

Would You Do This?

Would you be willing to live like no one else?

 We have made a big decision. This is something that's important to us and I felt it was something different to share with my Facebook "framily", y'all mean a lot to me and I love each of you, all for different reasons. So I feel it's ok to share this. It's nothing bad and nothing to feel bad about. We are happy with our decision :)

Ok let me explain. We may be crazy and going against the norm, but we've decided to have Christmas different this year. Every year so many people go into debt or spend money they don't have to buy stuff they don't need because they've lost sight of what the holiday is all about. Christmas comes with or without a tree or gifts. It's December 25th, every year, regardless if we have a tree up & gifts under it. Every year we bend over backwards and stress out trying to make sure we get our kids & everyone else the stuff (they don't need) to make them happy and in the process we end up not paying bills or scrimping on groceries or maxing out credit cards to have the money (we don't really have) to do it. NOT this year... We don't have the money! We've had some financial trouble, so things are worse than tight. BUT - We aren't stressing or worried our kids will be scarred for life because they didn't get to open any presents. They will be fine! We have already talked to them about this and they understand (having good kids is a blessing). We don't have a tree either... This year will be focused on what matters: family, having a warm, safe, dry home. Electricity, running water. Food on the table (we will have a nice Christmas dinner), love, community and being together. Those are our gifts.

In an effort to start a new lifestyle that will snowball us out of debt, this is our first step. We will live like no one else, so later we can live like no one else. 

Priorities

As a Health & Fitness Consultant it is my job to promote a healthy lifestyle, fitness, a better way of life. I show people how to incorporate fitness, cleaner eating and personal growth into their daily lives which teaches them how they can live a happier, more fulfilling life. I love teaching this to others. I've learned so much about myself along the way.

Today is Black Friday. There are tons of people all over the U.S. swarming the retail world for all the 'great deals' on tv's, gadgets and well...in my opinion...JUNK! Useless crap that no one NEEDS. What has become of people's priorities? They can spend hundreds of dollars on JUNK, yet they claim they can't afford to eat nutritious food or afford a fitness program that actually costs LESS than the crap they're standing in line for or camping out for days to buy. What is WRONG with this picture?

People have become so distorted in how they view their priorities. THINGS have become more important to them then their health or the health of their family. It's really a shame and very heart breaking.

If only they would see that if they would invest their money wisely...so many more rewarding things would happen for them. I do my best to show them, lead by example. Sometimes I don't feel like I do enough. But I am only one person and I do what I can. It's up to them to make the changes. To decide to make better choices. If they don't, that's not my fault...it's on them when they don't feel well or end up in the doctors office for an illness or disease that could have been prevented.

I pray for these people. I pray for them to change their priorities and choose HEALTH over JUNK!

The Compound Effect

A few weeks ago a friend commented on a Facebook status I wrote, that said 'Where did Amy Leever go?' You see, in the last 3 years, I've done a lot of changing. The most changes have happened over the course of this last year. I've been doing a lot of Personal Growth and learning about myself.

I've been reading a lot. Books like "First Steps to Wealth" by Dani Johnson, 'Money Makeover' by Dave Ramsey, 'The Slight Edge' by Jeff Olson and most recently I started reading 'The Compound Effect' by Darren Hardy. These books have given me some really interesting insight to my life.

I know, I know -- these 'self-help books are a bunch of hogwash', 'these things are a scam. They only want your money', 'these so called 'experts' don't understand my situation', etc. I have had the same exact attitude once. But that's the point! The only way to change your life is to change your thinking. Step outside what you've been taught to believe in and try something new. Open your mind and grow up!

My daily choices have gotten me where I am today...If I gain some weight it's because of my daily choices, if I am tired and cranky, it's because of my daily choices. If I am out of money and can't pay my bills, it's because of my choices...see where I am going?

What I'm learning is this: I am the only one responsible for how things are in my life. I am responsible for how I act, how I feel and how I think. No one else is to blame. It's the same lesson I've been reading in 'The Compound Effect'...

"No Man's Land"...

This is described as the place where you aren't really unhappy, but you aren't really happy. It's the place where we numb ourselves to our dreams, wants and desires to fit into the time, energy and money we currently make or have.

Complacency is what it's called and something we should all fight against. Fear of being uncomfortable has gotten us a life full unmet dreams, expectations and never reaching our potential. Sometimes it happens so subtly we don't really notice until years later, but all the small, seeming insignificant decisions we made each day over the years have gotten us to the point where we are now.

Our choices, behaviors and habits will determine our future and are an accumulation of our life as we know it now. The good news is that we can always start making better choices, create better habits that create different behaviors and the beauty is, it does not have to be one big change...small steps will make a HUGE difference in the long-run.

The Compound Effect is always in motion, positive or negative - we are either Moving Forward or Sliding back.

THERE IS NO STANDING STILL
(Thank you Darren Hardy! - The Compound Effect)

Isn't that eye-opening? When I read that, my heart skipped a beat and it really had me thinking about all the choices I've made throughout my life. And I started thinking wow...so all this time I thought it was the governments fault I've always been poor. It's the way life is, and I'll never expect anything different because I was born to a life of hardship and poverty. When all along it's been ME. My choices that got me where I am.

When I weighed in at 220 pounds, lost, broken, sick, in pain, depressed, miserable and ready to end it all permanently...it was all because of my BAD choices that put me there.

My bad choices with finances and not having a solid plan in place has left us in debt and always struggling to make ends meet. We are always living hand to mouth because we've made poor choices with our money. We've let money enslave us, rather than making our money work for us.

When I decided to take control and fix all that. My choice to change helped me lose 50 pounds, change my body, change my life and change my mind. It had nothing to do with the economy, the government or someone else's choices -- it was all on me!

The economy still sucks. The government still can't figure out what it's doing. But me...I'm happy, healthy and building a business. I'm prospering. I'm successful. I'm learning new things and making new friends. That's all on me too!

My choices, my behavior and habits have determined my future. The small, insignificant decisions I make each day are accumulating. And one day they will all snowball into the vision and dreams I have set for myself and for my family.

The more I learn, the better I can put the lessons towards getting out of debt and make a better life. I will live like no one else, so then later I can live like no one else. That's all a mixture of the Personal Growth I've been going through. So 'what happened to Amy Leever?' -- I've changed my way of thinking, so I can change the way I live. I've stopped blaming other people and circumstances and have taken responsibility, put it where it belongs; on me.

I am the ruler of my own destiny!