Are you Coasting?

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The great tragedy with coasting is that you can only coast in one direction. (Brian Tracy)

Sometimes words come together and they don’t mean anything, then one day you are driving in your car and you hear these words.  They are not anything different then you heard before but at this particular point in time they not only have a meaning but a purpose.

Coasting through life….I have heard of people doing this and at one point this was what I thought I wanted to do.  But when you think about what coasting is you begin to see that it, like Brian Tracy states, is one direction. For me I asked myself what is the value I get out of coasting.

Let us compare to people going to the top of a mountain.  Person one starts at 9,500ft in a 2010 Corvette.  This person takes their time and reaches the summit in 2 hours.  Stopping along the way to take pictures and spending some time in the gift shop that is located near the summit of this 14,000ft peak.

Person two starts at 9,500ft with a 40lb pack.  This hike requires a 3 day journey crossing streams, dodging insects, breathing the ever thinning air, maneuvering across snowfields and then summiting the 14er. 

In the end both will have reached the summit of their respective peaks but who is a different person because of it?

Why do I have so much in Student Loans?

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It's that time of year for both parents and students, the time to figure out how to pay for college tuition. With the average price of tuition alone being over $26,000 a year for private colleges, and over $9,000 for public universities.   The average student loan debt for a four year degree is over $23,000.  The average student loan payment is a around $250 for ten years.  Recently I have seen a number of clients with $40,000, $50,000 and even up to $150,000 dollars of student loan debt.

           When ask what would you do differently they replied:

• taken advantage of the college level classes available in high school
• went to less expensive schools for the first few years
• taken more classes and graduated earlier
• graduated on time  

Most shared stories how they misused any extra funds. I know I used extra student loan money to purchase my prized 1968 Volkswagen van. I have heard stories of students using the money for spring break, clothes, furniture and more. What are some of the things you regret your purchased with student loan money?

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Financial Stress

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Most people learn to live with stress. It usually starts out small and gradually builds up over time. Most of us realize stress is a way of life here in America. In my office I see so many peoples whose lives are packed with stress due to financial struggles. They can’t sleep. They can’t enjoy time with family or friends. Even when they are resting, they are thinking about all the bills. Several recent surveys have stated that between 60 and 70 percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. They are simply just getting by. They are using their credit cards and lines of credit to get to the next month. 

Is this really the way to live? Speaking from my own experience, stress will take its toll on your body and your relationships if not reduced. The effects show up as sleeplessness, high blood pressure, stomach problems sore muscles and more. Is it all worth it? The stuff we buy such as cars we can’t afford or huge homes that stretch our wallet. Many people are all just one minor financial event away from a disaster. How can we reduce financial stress. Well from where I sit there are only four things to do.

1) Tighten up your current budget if you have one (get a budget on paper if you don’t have one.)

2) Sell some stuff. (Use the first $1000 for an emergency fund) 

3) Increase your income (extra job or extra hours)

4) Contact your creditors and share your struggle and ask for better terms.

There are no magic pills out there. Do one or all of these 4 things and your margin can increase. Not talking about it and hoping it will go away is not a solution. 

All of these “bail out” programs we see on TV are scams. There is not President Obama program for you and I when it comes to consumer debt. These TV and radio ads are a scam and a rip offs. Please do not buy into them. If your are struggling with the stress of debt, talk with a friend and get some professional help and support from a trusted professional. Financial stress in the number one killer of marriages today. Don’t sit there in silence and let it get you. Get mad at it and attack it using one of the four suggestions above. 

I would love to hear your stories of how you kicked the bottom out of the financial stress in your life.

Dave Williams

www.lighthouse-coaching.com

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Goal setting for the second half

Can you believe it, the first six months of the year have flown by. Here we sit wondering where the first half of the year went. Back in January many of us set New Year’s Resolutions. What happened to your resolutions? I am doing great on two goals, OK and one and not so well on a fourth one. The key for me is to write the goals down on paper. Experts say that 93 % of people cannot clearly identify their goals and that only 3 % of Americans write down their goal.


I am a list kind of person so I do write down my goals and then take time monthly and revisit the goals to see if I am getting closer to meeting my goals. I use the July 4th weekend to reset my goals. Some things have changed and I need to reset and refocus. I also share my goals with my wife and with friends and co-workers to help me be more accountable. What about you, what are your goals for the second half of the year? What have you crossed off your to-do list and what it the one think that you just need jump started on? Written goals are the first steps to a healthy and successful life. The next step is making a plan to reach your goals. Check out our free goals worksheet at http://www.lighthouse-coaching.com/forms/. This form will help you set goals for the following areas in your life: financial, physical, personal development, family spiritual, social and career.

Share with us, what goals you have set for yourself.

Are you working in your passion?

We are on vacation in St. Johns and it is incredible to meet so many people who have followed their passion and are doing what they love. To them work is like play. Our Scuba instructor Josh had tried professional drumming and being a teacher but the sea kept calling him. For the past 10 years he has been sharing his love and passion for diving with people like me who are new to the sport and love the experience of seeing all the great underwater sights.


In contrast there was Kyle who sat at the desk signing people up for 12 hours a day. He said it was better than laying foundations for 12 hours a day. He has a degree in business communications and wants to be a salesman.


I hope it works out for Kyle, I don’t see the passion in his eyes for sales. I see the dollar signs. If you do what you love the dollars will follow. You will work longer and harder, you will push through more obstacles doing what you are passionate about.


Are you looking forward to going to work today because it excites you? Share your story

Dave Williams
Lighthouse

Groundswell

So I am reading this book Groundswell by Charlene Li & Josh Bernoff. In it Groundswell is defined as a social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations.

So I think it begs the questions....Do you think that "Groundswell" will last or replace the big corporation?