Category: Money

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Ed McMann, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson

Celebrity deaths and the meaning of life

This week three major icons of my youth have passed away. Ed McMann, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson.

I have learned that events like this have a deeper meaning in life. Each death represents loosing a part of my self. I am looking into what each of these represent to me.

I mostly remember Ed McMann as being the guy with the big checks from Publisher’s Clearing House. I guess to me he represents the quest for easy money. Money from winning a sweepstakes rather than earning if by creating and delivering value. This part of me needed to die to help me learn how to make money. If I won money randomly, I would not know how to make more and would still be stuck in a scarcity mentality.

I most fondly remember Farrah Fawcett as the pin up girl. Her perky posters were every where during my pubescent years. And the popular girls copied her hair style. To me she represented the girls who were totally out of reach. My childish ideas of relationships made me think the only way to attract a girl like that was to have fame or fortune or both. This was the idea pushed on my by the marketers who used her photo to sell their products. “Buy our widgets and have a shot at this girl.” Now, I know that no woman is out of my league. People are just people and we all have the same basic needs and desires. It is simply a matter of generating attraction and has nothing to do with possessions or position.

I was never really a fan of Michael Jackson and I was somewhat surprised at how popular he was. I remember him as part of the Jackson Five. I never paid much attention to him when he painted his face to look like a clown. I guess that fact that he had his own amusement park meant that he never really grew up. He really just wanted to be a kid. And that is how I most fondly remember him: The little spunky kid in the Jackson Five upstaging his older brothers.

Combined, these deaths all seem to represent the loss of part of my youth. Maybe it is time to let go of some of the childish ideas that have been holding back my progress. I need to let go of the idea that some things are out of my reach. I need a bigger vision for my business. No one is going to bring a big check to my door; I have to go create my own. There is nothing wrong with my being a kid at heart as long as I realize I am also capable of making my own decisions and accepting responsibility for my own actions.

All week long, I have had the son Barracuda by Heart running through my head. I read today where that song was written in response to their manager trying to force the band to go in a direction that did not feel right to them. I think that is what is happening in my business. I have to choose the path that feels right to my heart. I am trusting that the money will come. Maybe not in the form of Ed McMann bringing me a big check, but it will come.

I may have to make some side trips along the way, but I will always be pursuing my true path. Having multiple streams of income is a good concept to work with as I do tend to get bored with doing the same thing all the time. So for now, I plan to continue building a safety training program, giving advice on Jeep repair, learning about dog behavior and studying metaphysics. Somehow, they all will fit together.

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Filling out Tax Forms

I have finally taken time today to sit down and fill out my tax forms.   I like using the Tax Cut software form H&R block.  It seems more intuitive to me than Turbo Tax.  Plus I have all my old data in Tax cut so it is easier to import last years tax data than if I switched to Turbo Tax.

I have 1099 forms from Google and and couple of other clients to put in as income and a ton of business expenses to off set them.  Looks like I will be getting a small refund.

Now I have to see if it is better to include my son’s interest income on my tax form or make a separate one for him.  I love having tax software to run multiple scenarios.  I am always amused at people who stress over whether they should take the standard deductions or itemize.  I just run both ways and see which one gets me the best return.  No stress; just trial and error.

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The Emotional Power of Money

The Emotional Power of Money

I have been reading bout how having a powerful emotional attachment to something causes it to appear in your life. The law of attraction and other similar principles build on this basis.

As my primary focus of 2009 is to improve my financial status, I have been looking at my emotion triggers about money. My first observation about myself is that I just don’t get that excited about having or making money.

I remember my grandfather Callaway got really excited about making money. The highlight of his month was opening his bank statements to see how much interest he had earned. His favorite years were during the carter administration when his simple bank accounts were drawing 14 percent interest. He got so excited about seeing his bank account grow that he never gave a care that prices for things had gone up faster than his bank account. He truly loved making money and he did.

I was very happy for his savings after he passed away. I am still enjoying the new Jeep Cherokee I bought with my inheritance money.

While I do enjoy the things money can buy, I just can’t get too excited about the money itself. In fact I really enjoy creating things on a limited budget. For example, my off road Jeep is built with stuff that I have created myself or have sourced form inexpensive sources. I take great pride in being a member of the Cheap Bastards Club on the XJlist forum.

I sometimes feel that if I had more money that I might not be as creative. I might just go buy parts for my Jeep instead of making them.

Looking at the opposite side of the issue however, I have a very strong emotion response to the lack of money. I have huge fears of going broke.

My fears of loosing money are so string that when I first lost my job with Westvaco, I broke out in hives. The red spots on my skin expressed the fear that I could not express verbally.

Often when I look at my dwindling checking account and my falling stock values, I feel a strong emotional response. I really don’t want to be broke. I like having enough money to buy gasoline, electricity, food and internet connections.

My study of the Law of attraction as well as Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich show me that where ever I have the strongest emotions that is the direction that events in life will lead me.

I am now working to turn this situation around. I am taking action on two fronts. I am using my fear of poverty to inspire me to act. I am pushing forward in several areas at once that have the potential to deliver income.

I am also working to take my focus off of making money and on creating value for others. I love helping others and I can generate plenty of emotional energy into creating something to help others. This blog is one example. I hope that what I write here will be of benefit to other people. I know that if this work proves valuable to other people, I will find ways to monetize it.

I am working to also change my attitude about rich people. In the past I have seen rich people in a very negative connotation. Defiantly not something I wanted to be. Now that I understand that people become rich not by stealing form others but by providing value to others.

Even the bootlegger that I grew up near was only providing a service to her customers. She simply gave them what they wanted and they gave her money in return. While I don’t think that is the kind of service I want to provide, I now see that she was not evil, she was simply providing a service that people wanted. She delivered value to her customers and was financially rewarded for her efforts.

It is my desire to provide valuable service to my readers and coaching clients. I desire to use my skills, knowledge and experience to help other people improve their lives in any area they choose to focus on.

I have a great deal of experience in a wide variety of fields and I know I can help people who wan tot be helped.

By focusing on creating value for my readers and clients, I will be shifting my focus off my fear of being poor and more toward creating value. If what I have experienced so far with the law of attraction holds true, I expect to see financial abundance follow soon after I make a shift in my thinking.

I will keep you posted on the results.

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How to make lots of money in this economic recession.

The apparent downturn of the economy has everyone worried about their finances. However, this is an excellent time to rethink your economic situation and begin to take control of your life and your income.
This economic recession is a time to reevaluate what is important in your life. Are the things you spend money on really important to you? Take a moment to consider some of the non essential items that consume your monthly budget. I remember getting by just fine without cell phones and faxes twenty years ago. I am sure I could go back to living with out them if I chose to. I sure would miss the internet however.

Making money used to be all about getting a good job and doing what someone else tells you to do for twenty years or more. Then you can retire and enjoy life.

In our modern economy however, there is no certainty that a job will take care of you. Look at all the big businesses that are going under and laying off workers. It does not matter how good a worker is, if their store or plant is closed, they loose their job.

In my case, our plant was profitable and I was getting good reviews, but because my division had minimal growth potential the company I worked for closed my plant and put me and 175 other talented workers out of a job.

So I am now in the process of learning how to really make money. I am studying the methods of people who are making money in any kind of economy. I am studying the people who made money during the great depression. I am studying the people who built great empires and financial institutions out of nothing but a vision.

Come and join me on this journey of learning the smart approach to making money. Learn the secrets to having wealth during any and all economic conditions. Learn how to create and deliver value to people so that they will want your services or products. Learn how to make a positive difference in people’s lives and be well rewarded for your efforts.

I am preparing a series of classes where we will study the classic works of Napoleon Hill, Wallace Waddles and others who studied the secrets of making money from some of the greatest empire builders of the early twentieth century. Next we will study modern methods of applying these theories and look at examples of people who are successfully implementing these strategies.

We will study various systems for distributing value to people who will appreciate what you have to offer. We will study the various tools available to learn what your unique gifts are and how you can create value to share with others.

Making money can be a truly win win proposition. If you create and deliver value to others, they will happily exchange things of value with you. This secret is the foundation of making money in any economy.

If you are interested in learning more and joining me on my journey of exploration into this realm of study, join my upcoming classes.

Send an email to contact@mikestarwbridge.com to learn more about how to join my classes. Classes will be held in Cleveland, TN. If people from other areas are interested in participating, I will arrange for the classes to be recorded or look for ways for you to participate via telephone. Just let me know your preferences in a short email.