Do we all secretly think, “my life would be so much easier if I won the lottery…or a rich aunt left me a million dollars or… my business finally hit it big?” In the end no matter how we fall into money, it is how you manage that money that really matters. In my career life I haven’t always made the best choices so I try to teach my students to realize every penny you get is a gift ultimately from God so be good stewards. Save some, give away some and use some. Keep on living prudently.
Here’s the story of a family who was given an amazing gift but 3 years later are in trouble again. What can we learn from them? I believe we are blessed so we can bless others. We shouldn’t just give our disgards away but give those who can’t afford it some really nice things. But be sure to mentor them along the way.
"Best Bargain Gone Wrong" edited
by Donna L Montaldo
I enjoy watching ABC's "Extreme Makeover" and always end up shedding a tear when they "Move That Bus!" although I do not come close to the tears which predictably are shed by design team members. The program is successful at creating a lot of warm fuzzy moments while we a family's life forever changed for the better.
At least that is how things are supposed to work.
The Harpers' Story
The Harpers, while living in the projects in Brooklyn, New York, suffered the loss of their 2-year-old son who choked to death before paramedics could save him. The Harpers needed a change. Desperate to get away from the projects, took on extra work until they had enough money to buy their first home.
Wanting a safe place for their children to live, they found their first home in Clayton County in Georgia. But the house turned out to be a major money pit. The roof was filled with holes and a broken septic tank would fill the home with raw sewage.
Their new house became so intolerable that many times they would be forced to sleep in their van, until the van was wrecked.
Having spent all their money on buying their home, the Harpers were unable to afford the desperately needed home repairs.
Then their lives took an extreme change. The ABC program, "Extreme Makeover," saw the decrepit condition of their home and came to the rescue. Together with Atlanta-based Beazer Homes USA and several volunteers from the community, the Harpers received a new home. But it was not just a home, but rather a sprawling 4600 square foot mini-mansion. The inside of the home was filled with top-of-the-line appliances and home interiors, four fireplaces on the main level, a solarium and a home office plus a three-car garage.
All the construction costs and the labor were free. Total value of the project was an estimated $700,000.
We all slept better knowing that the Harpers' had a beautiful and healthy home and could now focus on the future.
But unfortunately that is not how things have played out for the Harpers. The Atlanta Journal Constitution recently reported that the house is up for auction because the Harpers used it as collateral for a $450,000 loan to start a construction company which failed.
Squandering or Financial Ignorance?
Usually when you give a gift you have no claim to what happens to it, but I suspect if you ask some of the volunteers who donated money, time and expertise to help the Harpers, they may not be happy with this news.
Was it squandering or financial ignorance which caused the situation? Perhaps their dream of starting a business seemed possible with much of their other financial burdens under control. And possibly it could have worked had one of them had a good understanding of finances to make sound decisions.
ABC said they advise all families who got a new home to find help from financial planners. It could be possible that the Harpers looked to the money lenders for good financial advice.
Why So Grand?
Many of those selected for "Extreme Makeover" appear to be living frugal lives as a necessity. Often the homes built for them tower over that of their neighbors, almost to the point of being ostentatious.
For some, managing taxes and other financial responsibilities of owning a large home could become a financial disaster. I’ve always wondered why ABC producers feel it is necessary to build such big homes rather than sensible homes, but then I guess they would have to change the name of the show to just Makeover.
Moving forward,
Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
A Keeper
We live in a time when professional organizers are very popular. Stay lean and mean. Travel light. If you haven’t used something for a year – throw it out. My wife is a saver, like her mom who grew up in the depression and her mom who raised three girls in the depression. Grandma would wash aluminum foil, eat around the bruises on a pear (not just toss it) and sew most of their clothes from scratch. I on the other hand clean out my closet by tossing it all except my one pair of really broken in pajama pants. I got this email from Cheri Kelley, MSW. LSW. It made me think twice about what I value and what society deems valuable.
A Keeper
Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a housedress, lawn mower in one hand, and dish-towel in the other. It was the time for fixing things. A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we keep.
It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy. All that re-fixing, eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more.
But then my mother died, and on that clear summer's night, in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more.
Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away...never to return. So...While we have it... it's best we love it...And care for it...And fix it when it's broken..... And heal it when it's sick.
This is true...For marriage...And old cars...And children with bad report cards...Dogs and cats with bad hips... And aging parents...And grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it. Some things we keep. Like a best friend that moved away or a classmate we grew up with.
There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are special...And so, we keep them close!
Good friends are like stars...You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.
Moving forward,
Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
A Keeper
Their marriage was good, their dreams focused. Their best friends lived barely a wave away. I can see them now, Dad in trousers, tee shirt and a hat and Mom in a housedress, lawn mower in one hand, and dish-towel in the other. It was the time for fixing things. A curtain rod, the kitchen radio, screen door, the oven door, the hem in a dress. Things we keep.
It was a way of life, and sometimes it made me crazy. All that re-fixing, eating, renewing, I wanted just once to be wasteful. Waste meant affluence. Throwing things away meant you knew there'd always be more.
But then my mother died, and on that clear summer's night, in the warmth of the hospital room, I was struck with the pain of learning that sometimes there isn't any more.
Sometimes, what we care about most gets all used up and goes away...never to return. So...While we have it... it's best we love it...And care for it...And fix it when it's broken..... And heal it when it's sick.
This is true...For marriage...And old cars...And children with bad report cards...Dogs and cats with bad hips... And aging parents...And grandparents. We keep them because they are worth it, because we are worth it. Some things we keep. Like a best friend that moved away or a classmate we grew up with.
There are just some things that make life important, like people we know who are special...And so, we keep them close!
Good friends are like stars...You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.
Moving forward,
Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
Wisdom
A wise man will hear and increase learning, and a man of understanding will attain wise counsel. Proverbs 1:5 (NKJV)
In other words, you are one wise guy if you learn from others. I think we often think it shows weakness to seek others advice rather than figuring things out on our own. Tell the truth, when you get lost is it hard to stop and ask directions…and even harder to ask your spouse if they know how to get to wherever? Or do you gladly take advice from others? To take advice I have to first recognize I don’t know it all. In other words I have to swallow my pride and admit I could actually learn from another.
Have you ever been working through logistics with a co-worker or your spouse and you both think your method makes the most sense? So then you fight over which method to employ rather than realizing, it doesn’t really matter which way we do it, either way will get the job done. It is kinda crazy how much time can be wasted on how to do something when if one had just backed down, the job would have been completed already.
I have 3 main mentors that have helped me a lot in business, in spiritual struggle as well as life in general. I interviewed them and am in the process of trying to get the tapes into a written form so I can offer an ebook of some of the simple yet life transforming advice they gave me. I have benefited greatly from their wisdom and from reading a bit from Proverbs regularily. If you’ve never tapped into the wisdom of the book of Proverbs in the Bible you are missing out. It has 31 chapters, so you can get a chapter full of wisdom every day of the month.
Start this week out wise.
Moving forward,
Jeff Roach
www.justintimefreight.com
In other words, you are one wise guy if you learn from others. I think we often think it shows weakness to seek others advice rather than figuring things out on our own. Tell the truth, when you get lost is it hard to stop and ask directions…and even harder to ask your spouse if they know how to get to wherever? Or do you gladly take advice from others? To take advice I have to first recognize I don’t know it all. In other words I have to swallow my pride and admit I could actually learn from another.
Have you ever been working through logistics with a co-worker or your spouse and you both think your method makes the most sense? So then you fight over which method to employ rather than realizing, it doesn’t really matter which way we do it, either way will get the job done. It is kinda crazy how much time can be wasted on how to do something when if one had just backed down, the job would have been completed already.
I have 3 main mentors that have helped me a lot in business, in spiritual struggle as well as life in general. I interviewed them and am in the process of trying to get the tapes into a written form so I can offer an ebook of some of the simple yet life transforming advice they gave me. I have benefited greatly from their wisdom and from reading a bit from Proverbs regularily. If you’ve never tapped into the wisdom of the book of Proverbs in the Bible you are missing out. It has 31 chapters, so you can get a chapter full of wisdom every day of the month.
Start this week out wise.
Moving forward,
Jeff Roach
www.justintimefreight.com
Beat Time Wasters
I appreciated this article I found on aol. To best use your time figure out when you do your best work. I know I am most productive early…sometimes like really early. My peeps enjoy my 3 a.m. emails.
Get a Life!
Beat Those Time-Wasters at Work
By M. WOLFE
There’s the Monday Blues. Wednesday is hump day. Then TGIF! This cycle we call the workweek shapes our lives. But, what we don’t finish during the week, we carry home with us in the form of stress. How do you stay productive throughout the week while reducing your stress level? How can you leave work on Friday energized for the weekend? Some say time is money. It’s also your life. And time management is key to being in control of your own happiness.
Terrific Tuesdays
On which days of the week are you at your best? Typically, we don’t think much about plain old Tuesday, but, according to an Accountemps survey, Tuesday between 10 A.M. and noon is considered to be the peak of our productivity. Monday was the second most popular day for people feeling at the top of the game. According to Max Messmer, Accountemps chairman and author of Managing your Career for Dummies, “Tuesday serves as a catch-up day after the weekend and many regularly scheduled meetings occur on that day, which may decrease the time available to complete tasks.” Most view Tuesdays as an opportunity to focus their efforts and establish momentum for the week.”
Find Your Rhythm
Are you the first one in the office in the morning? Or does the morning bird annoy you? Do you feel refreshed after lunch, or fall asleep? Learning your own personal “power hours” is essential. Also, be sensitive to how your peak performance times mesh with others’. Whether it’s asking for a raise or sharing your thoughts for increasing your company’s bottom line, timing is everything. Use down times to your advantage. When you’re on slow mode, doing tasks that take less brain-power is a good use of time. Professional athletes know this. No runner can sprint for long periods of time. The longer you work without a break, the less efficient you become. When you’re very tired, you may not even realize it and errors creep into your work. When totally exhausted a nap might be your best strategy. Research shows that a quick 20-minute “power nap” increases productivity.
More tomorrow…
Moving forward,
Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
Get a Life!
Beat Those Time-Wasters at Work
By M. WOLFE
There’s the Monday Blues. Wednesday is hump day. Then TGIF! This cycle we call the workweek shapes our lives. But, what we don’t finish during the week, we carry home with us in the form of stress. How do you stay productive throughout the week while reducing your stress level? How can you leave work on Friday energized for the weekend? Some say time is money. It’s also your life. And time management is key to being in control of your own happiness.
Terrific Tuesdays
On which days of the week are you at your best? Typically, we don’t think much about plain old Tuesday, but, according to an Accountemps survey, Tuesday between 10 A.M. and noon is considered to be the peak of our productivity. Monday was the second most popular day for people feeling at the top of the game. According to Max Messmer, Accountemps chairman and author of Managing your Career for Dummies, “Tuesday serves as a catch-up day after the weekend and many regularly scheduled meetings occur on that day, which may decrease the time available to complete tasks.” Most view Tuesdays as an opportunity to focus their efforts and establish momentum for the week.”
Find Your Rhythm
Are you the first one in the office in the morning? Or does the morning bird annoy you? Do you feel refreshed after lunch, or fall asleep? Learning your own personal “power hours” is essential. Also, be sensitive to how your peak performance times mesh with others’. Whether it’s asking for a raise or sharing your thoughts for increasing your company’s bottom line, timing is everything. Use down times to your advantage. When you’re on slow mode, doing tasks that take less brain-power is a good use of time. Professional athletes know this. No runner can sprint for long periods of time. The longer you work without a break, the less efficient you become. When you’re very tired, you may not even realize it and errors creep into your work. When totally exhausted a nap might be your best strategy. Research shows that a quick 20-minute “power nap” increases productivity.
More tomorrow…
Moving forward,
Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
Use Your GI Bill
Want to use your GI bill to train online to be a freight broker…or for another career? We are proud to be approved by the Department of Rehabilitative Services to train vets for a new career. Our course and others are offered through 400 colleges across the country.
Our online partner, Gaitlin Education recently received a letter from one of our honorable veterans asking if he could use his GI Bill to for online education. Here is the (edited) answer to his letter with lots of links that should be helpful to many:
Hello Mr. Campbell,
Thank you for your request to use GI Bill towards a GES online program. One of our partners, Excelsior College, has several Gatlin Education programs (including Freight Brokering) approved for GI Bill benefits, and I am sure they would be more than willing to help you with the benefit process… When using the GI Bill benefit, Excelsior has two options of fulltime attendance and half-time attendance. The administrators at the campus will provide you with the information needed to process your GI Bill. Thank you for your patience, and please do not hesitate to contact me again if you do not find what you are looking for.
Your requested program’s website is: https://www.excelsior.edu/Center_for_Professional_Development/Programs/Business/Freight%20Broker-Agent_Training
Freight Broker-Agent Training
Your favorite client – an up-and-coming fashion designer in New York City – needs to have a large order of samples in Los Angeles by Friday. She’s trusting that you’ll find the right carrier and meet her deadline; and you will. Matching shippers and carriers is what the freight broker business is all about. Adding great customer service? That’s what you’re all about.
According to Entrepreneur Magazine, the Freight Broker business is one of the top home businesses to own. It requires little upfront investment – all you need is a computer, telephone, and fax machine – and you have the potential for earning a six-figure income.
The school’s website is : https://www.excelsior.edu/portal/page/portal/Center_for_Professional_Development
For Gatlin Education Services loan and payment plan information view http://www.gatlineducation.com/loaninfo.htm or for information on our courses, please view www.gatlineducation.com
The administrators’ names are: Mr. Walsh, D. and Ms. Cooper, D.
Thank you for your interest.
Moving forward,
Jeff Roach
www.justintimefreight.com
Our online partner, Gaitlin Education recently received a letter from one of our honorable veterans asking if he could use his GI Bill to for online education. Here is the (edited) answer to his letter with lots of links that should be helpful to many:
Hello Mr. Campbell,
Thank you for your request to use GI Bill towards a GES online program. One of our partners, Excelsior College, has several Gatlin Education programs (including Freight Brokering) approved for GI Bill benefits, and I am sure they would be more than willing to help you with the benefit process… When using the GI Bill benefit, Excelsior has two options of fulltime attendance and half-time attendance. The administrators at the campus will provide you with the information needed to process your GI Bill. Thank you for your patience, and please do not hesitate to contact me again if you do not find what you are looking for.
Your requested program’s website is: https://www.excelsior.edu/Center_for_Professional_Development/Programs/Business/Freight%20Broker-Agent_Training
Freight Broker-Agent Training
Your favorite client – an up-and-coming fashion designer in New York City – needs to have a large order of samples in Los Angeles by Friday. She’s trusting that you’ll find the right carrier and meet her deadline; and you will. Matching shippers and carriers is what the freight broker business is all about. Adding great customer service? That’s what you’re all about.
According to Entrepreneur Magazine, the Freight Broker business is one of the top home businesses to own. It requires little upfront investment – all you need is a computer, telephone, and fax machine – and you have the potential for earning a six-figure income.
The school’s website is : https://www.excelsior.edu/portal/page/portal/Center_for_Professional_Development
For Gatlin Education Services loan and payment plan information view http://www.gatlineducation.com/loaninfo.htm
The administrators’ names are: Mr. Walsh, D. and Ms. Cooper, D.
Thank you for your interest.
Moving forward,
Jeff Roach
www.justintimefreight.com
Leaders Value Time
“Everything comes to those who hustle while they wait.” Thomas A. Edison
To say that time is money is an insult to the power of time. Leaders know that time is their most precious commodity, valued even above wealth. They hold the currency of twenty-four precious hours in their hands. The use of these hours will determine success or failure, want or gain. Effective leaders lord over time. They make its minutes and seconds their slaves in order to accomplish their purpose.
They start meetings on time and end the same way. They set sensible borders to house deliberations or planning.
They don’t use ten words when one will do. Their presentations are well-planned, relevant, and interesting, but also concise.
They relax, but never dally. They are alert to their prime time – the hours of the day when they are most effective. They pause to regroup physically and mentally.
Effective leaders plan their time well. Each day has an agenda, whether formal or informal. Nothing is done without a purpose, even if that purpose is rest.
A leader considers killing time to be a capital crime.
Todays blog is from Minute Motivators for Leaders by Stan Toler. A great little book for quick inspiration.
Moving forward,
Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
To say that time is money is an insult to the power of time. Leaders know that time is their most precious commodity, valued even above wealth. They hold the currency of twenty-four precious hours in their hands. The use of these hours will determine success or failure, want or gain. Effective leaders lord over time. They make its minutes and seconds their slaves in order to accomplish their purpose.
They start meetings on time and end the same way. They set sensible borders to house deliberations or planning.
They don’t use ten words when one will do. Their presentations are well-planned, relevant, and interesting, but also concise.
They relax, but never dally. They are alert to their prime time – the hours of the day when they are most effective. They pause to regroup physically and mentally.
Effective leaders plan their time well. Each day has an agenda, whether formal or informal. Nothing is done without a purpose, even if that purpose is rest.
A leader considers killing time to be a capital crime.
Todays blog is from Minute Motivators for Leaders by Stan Toler. A great little book for quick inspiration.
Moving forward,
Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
People are Watching
Krish is a guest speaker at my school. I had a chuckle over this story he tells in his book:
By Krish Dhanam
The American Dream from an Indian Heart
(Upon completing a training course I led) I found myself standing outside a hotel waiting for the airport shuttle. The shuttle driver was running late and I decided to be proactive, pick up my own bags, and place them in the shuttle. My thought process was fairly simple. If I put the bags in we would save that amount of time when the driver arrived and we could be on our way.
My ethnic looks, coupled with the traveling gear I was loading in the shuttle bus, led to some mistaken assumptions by my fellow travelers. You can say that they mistook me for a baggage handler who could not speak English, as was evidenced by their respective actions. The first random act of ignorance was committed by the woman standing next to me as she beckoned me to repeat the process she had observed me under take. Simply put She used nonverbal commands to ask me to place her luggage in the shuttle. I obliged and returned to my rightful spot and continued to wait.
The next act of ethnic profiling was committed by a gentleman who suggested I do the same with his luggage. Once again I obliged. This time, however, I needed to make a statement of my own. Instead of reacting I remember Zig Ziglar telling me once that in life you need to respond because people are always watching.
As a training ambassador for Ziglar Training Systems I have an obligation to represent my company with the highest standards of which I am capable. Yelling at those people that day would have satisfied me more than anything. I am an educated, honest tax-paying citizen and people assumed I was a baggage handler – many of who I must tell you are also educated, hard-working, honest, tax-paying citizens…Most people would have reacted but I chose to respond. So with a smile I extended my open hand to each of them and netted nearly $4.00 – what a country!
…When I boarded the shuttle and the man realized that he had made a mistake. He simply said, “I wish all my employees had your disposition.”
I appreciate what Krish says. I don’t have brown skin like Krish but I did have a lazy eye as a child. Because of my eye, teachers assumed I wasn’t smart enough to be in regular classes. People may be ignorant but if we give them a break by responding rather than reacting perhaps that grace will rub off.
Moving forward,
Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
By Krish Dhanam
The American Dream from an Indian Heart
(Upon completing a training course I led) I found myself standing outside a hotel waiting for the airport shuttle. The shuttle driver was running late and I decided to be proactive, pick up my own bags, and place them in the shuttle. My thought process was fairly simple. If I put the bags in we would save that amount of time when the driver arrived and we could be on our way.
My ethnic looks, coupled with the traveling gear I was loading in the shuttle bus, led to some mistaken assumptions by my fellow travelers. You can say that they mistook me for a baggage handler who could not speak English, as was evidenced by their respective actions. The first random act of ignorance was committed by the woman standing next to me as she beckoned me to repeat the process she had observed me under take. Simply put She used nonverbal commands to ask me to place her luggage in the shuttle. I obliged and returned to my rightful spot and continued to wait.
The next act of ethnic profiling was committed by a gentleman who suggested I do the same with his luggage. Once again I obliged. This time, however, I needed to make a statement of my own. Instead of reacting I remember Zig Ziglar telling me once that in life you need to respond because people are always watching.
As a training ambassador for Ziglar Training Systems I have an obligation to represent my company with the highest standards of which I am capable. Yelling at those people that day would have satisfied me more than anything. I am an educated, honest tax-paying citizen and people assumed I was a baggage handler – many of who I must tell you are also educated, hard-working, honest, tax-paying citizens…Most people would have reacted but I chose to respond. So with a smile I extended my open hand to each of them and netted nearly $4.00 – what a country!
…When I boarded the shuttle and the man realized that he had made a mistake. He simply said, “I wish all my employees had your disposition.”
I appreciate what Krish says. I don’t have brown skin like Krish but I did have a lazy eye as a child. Because of my eye, teachers assumed I wasn’t smart enough to be in regular classes. People may be ignorant but if we give them a break by responding rather than reacting perhaps that grace will rub off.
Moving forward,
Jeff Roach
www.brooketraining.com
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