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The Best Advice is Free (or at least very cheap)
I went to an estate sale last Saturday to bid on a property that needed a lot of work. I'm part of an investment group that's looking to rehab run down properties into something beautiful any homeowner would love.
I went with a real estate agent I hadn't met before, but who has been in the business for 19 years. He regularly works with investors and taught me a lot at that sale about what to do and what not to do.
The auctioneer (his last name's Parish) called out that he has a real estate course for investors if anyone was interested (Investors United School of Real Estate). I suppose he was assuming that most of the people in the crowd were interested in reselling the property - not living in it.
I asked my real estate agent if the course was worth the money. "It costs thousands, right? Most of these programs do. Is it worth it?" He told me that he'd had several graduates of the course work with him, and they still didn't know the basics. "Don't waste your money," he said.
In the front of his book,
Creating Success from the Inside Out, Ephren Taylor says, "I want to be really clear about one point: I'm not here to give you a 'How-To' guide to riches and fame. Anybody who tries to offer you his or her step-by-step 'E-Z Guide' to achieving wealth is usually selling something of little value. In fact, the value is almost the inverse of the cost of the information: in other words, the more expensive the course, the less real-world value it often has."
Instead, Ephren suggests reading the Bible and learning how successful people think. (Reading his book is a great way to do that. Ephren's the youngest-ever African-American CEO of a publicly traded company.
Learn more about Ephren.)
Bottom line: I'm not taking a real estate course. I'm going to keep reading and working with this successful real estate agent. He gives great free advice. After all, out of it he gets a regular client who's going to make him money.
Amy Grant and Trisha Yearwood on Gratitude and Family
From:
Your Family Table Amy Grant recognizes the value of making small changes to improve her family's health and well-being. She balances a busy work schedule with much-needed family time by keeping the right perspective and never losing sight of the bigger pictures. "Say out loud the things you are grateful for," she explains. "Gratitude is a good beginning for physical health, for emotional halth and for spiritual health."
Trisha Yearwood acknowledges her family has been central to her success. "The encouragement along the way from my parents...those little things they said that stayed with me," she says. "I think that's a major reason why I'm here." As for making small changes in cooking, exercise and attitude, Yearwood's stance is "Everything in moderation, including moderation!"
Amy, Trisha, and Little Big Town will be appearing together on the Great American Country Channel for the next few months. If you're a fan, you should check it out.
Thursday 4/24 at 8:30 pm and 12:30 am
Friday 4/25 at 1 pm, 10:30 pm, and 2:30 am
Friday 4/25 at 10:30 pm and 2:30 am
Saturday 5/3 at 2:30 pm
Sunday 5/4 at 5:30 pm
Monday 5/5 at 9 pm and 1 am
Tuesday 5/6 at 1 pm
Saturday 5/10 at 2:30 pm
Sunday 5/11 at 4 pm
Friday 6/13 at 1 pm and 2:30 am
Saturday 6/14 at 9:30 am and 5 pm
Kim Alexis has a new show!
Supermodel Kim Alexis, a wonderful role model for Christian women, stay at home moms, working moms, and really, just about anyone, has a new show! She's the host of
She's Got the Look, a reality show that's looking for the next supermodel over the age of 35. She'll help judge gorgeous women in the prime of their lives and give one lucky winner a chance at a supermodel career.
She's Got the Look
Role of Millionaires in Our Troubled Economy?
What do you think millionaires should be doing to improve our economy?
I have a friend who helps people facing foreclosure by buying their houses. She then sells them "rent to own" to people almost ready to buy their own homes. What she's doing saves one person's credit rating and helps another own their own piece of heaven.
As far as things that haven't been done yet, I'd like to see someone start a car company that completely boycotts the use of traditional oil and gas sources. What about selling cars that run 100% on biodiesel? What about Walmart or independent gas dealers selling biodiesel at their stores?
What are your ideas?
Labels: christian millionaire, corporate America, economy, millionaires
The "LAW" of Abundance
I've read a lot of books by self-help gurus about the law of abundance. In "The Richest Man In Babylon" - a classic in the how-to-get-rich genre - we're told to give 10% of our income away to others. When we do, the universe gives us more money.
Why is it that this law of abundance works for anyone? Christians are told to give 10% of their money to God without a promise of monetary reward. Christians may wonder why people like Bill Gates and Oprah, who have so much and give so much away, still get more money. Is it the law of abundance?
I don't think there's any such thing as the universe giving us more when we give something away. That's a nonsense way to say that something without any thought processes what so ever (the universe) knows when we're generous and repays us.
A friend of mine named David (not a millionaire, just a very smart man who knows business and has built up multiple companies to million dollar status) believes that God wants Christians to give money away. God's not limited to using Christians, though. According to him, God will give more money to anyone who gives money away generously. They're just a means to getting money to those who need it most.
Oprah's Big Give is a great example of someone without a traditional Christian view of God giving generously and receiving lots of money in payment for even putting the program on the air. Do you think Oprah's not making money off of this? Of course she is. But, many people are waking up to the idea that it feels great to do wonderful things for others who can never pay you back.
According to David, God places more money in the hands of those who are generous, because he knows they'll give it to the poor and needy. It's not a law of abundance - it's the law of God's abundance.
That makes a lot of sense to me.
