Mastermind Alliance

The concept of a mastermind alliance was made popular by Napoleon Hill in Think and Grow Rich. In a nutshell you start an alliance with others to create a synergistic relationship. The collective knowledge will produce better results. Over the years I have definitely bounced around different groups. I have benefited from every alliance I have been a part of and I hope the members have benefited from me as well.

I want to share with you the members of my alliance that have been a constant the last few years. This alliance is made up of some of the best in their field. Unfortunately I don't contribute much to them but what I take from them I try to share with others. These people are successful because they share and serve others and so I'm sure they don't mind that I use what I learn from them to share also. I will break them up into different categories below.

Religion:
Besides going to church every Sunday I try to listen to and read books by Joel Osteen. The book that turned me on to this pastor was Become a Better You. After reading this I started to watch him on TV when I could find him or downloaded his free podcast. His messages are always so positive and he's very articulate. An amazing story teller that knows how to apply scripture so that you understand what God wants from us. You can also find more information on him and his ministry at Joel Osteen.

Motivation:
This next man has been called a natural treasure. After reading many of his books I can see why. If you are going to add any of these people to your own Mastermind Alliance he definitely has to be one of them. This man has been through it all and if anyone can get your mind out of the gutter it would be Zig Ziglar. He has so many books out from Success for Dummies to his latest Embrace the Struggle: Living Life on Life's Terms. Go out and pick up any of his books and I guarantee it will alter the way you think and make you a better person. Check out his website at Ziglar and at least sign up for the newsletter and maybe download his podcast.

Money:
At Cal State Northridge my major was in Business Administration w/ an option in Finance. As a kid I read so many books on cash flow, time value of money, and leveraging money. This made me a little arrogant and I stopped listening to advice from my parents regarding money. I should have read a book about debt and how debt has the ability of making you a slave and really killing your spirit. I first saw Dave Ramsey on the Fox Business channel and thought why does this man have a show and there's really nothing sophisticated about the advice he's giving. No get rich quick scheme or how to settle your credit cards for 50 cents on the dollar. Just biblical teachings about money and common sense. He even goes out and says that he just gives you advice that your grandparents would have given you. This man has been through bankruptcy and now is a success story. Need to get back on track about money then check out The Total Money Makeover. You can also check out his site, Dave Ramsey , and check him out on the radio or Fox Biz.

Family:
I am going to go ahead and admit my mad crush on this woman. I am sure she has been responsible for saving many relationships and I'm not just talking about husband and wife. She offers great advice for women, men, and children. I just recently added her to my alliance but I always wonder how much of a better dad I could have been had I found her years ago.   I am currently reading Bad Childhood---Good Life: How to Blossom and Thrive in Spite of an Unhappy Childhood but she also has so many books. For men I suggest Ten Stupid Things Men Do to Mess Up Their Lives. For women I suggest Ten Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Lives. I'll get to those books but I had to suggest them just from the testimonials I've heard on her radio show. Check her out at Dr. Laura and listen to her from a live feed or on her radio show.

I hope this helps some of you in your lives cause I know the above have helped me tremendously. At least bookmark the links I have given you for them cause their sites offer helpful tools. I know I didn't include anyone for Politics but the truth is I admire the founding fathers so much that I try to read history books for that but in this world of ours it's a constantly changing and learning process.

Want Financial Prosperity? Get Back to the Basics

I know I'm not the only one that had an affair with credit. We were so in love with each other and just like everything else in my life that has been easy, credit turned out to be my downfall.

Purchasing items, going out to eat, and buying gifts felt good. Well temporarily until the bill came at the end of the month. Then it really hurt once the teaser rates ended. All of a sudden I was a slave to the debt I had incurred. Mortgages, credit card payments, car payments, income taxes and business slowing down was the perfect combination for disaster. Then add salt to my wound and we take our tax money to bail out the banks for their irresponsible business practices. Let me just file bankruptcy but my ex-wife had led me to BK before and I knew it wouldn't solve my love/hate affair with money.

I came across Dave Ramsey's show on Fox Biz. Not sure what kept my eyes glued to his show but it was probably a combination of his common sense talk and his accent. I would watch him on a regular basis and then found him on the radio. His show is now on 980am KFWB from 9am-12pm Monday through Friday. I eventually took the plunge and bought his book,

This book has really opened my eyes and put me on a basic plan of getting my life back. It's also teaching me values that I can now teach my kids. For those of you who are having any kind of financial difficulties or would like some material that you can use to teach your children then tune in to Dave Ramsey. He's helped thousands of people get out of debt and move on to financial prosperity. I'll let you in on what most people say is the secret. Create a budget and stick to it. He doesn't sell a get rich quick scheme cause the only ones that seem to get rich off of those are the ones who sell it. Christian values and biblical teachings about how to handle money is what you'll get from Dave Ramsey.