PERSONAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Good Life Principles – Joy
Joy is one of the greatest focus points for people that have a good life. We have seen books such as “The Joy of Cooking.” These books promise joy as a by-product of doing something. There are also products using the “Joy” trademark, such as the liquid dishwashing detergent by this name. The selling point is that if you use the product, you will have joy. In all these examples, joy is the result of some activity.
Real joy is something different. Most people equate joy with happiness. The two are similar notions but different. Happiness shares the same root as the word “happening.” Both come from the Middle English word “hap” which means chance or luck. If you have a lot of money, you will be happy. If you go on a cruise, you are happy. If you marry the right person, you are happy. There is happiness in joy, but joy is much deeper.
Joy is not dependent on your health, your relationships, or your circumstances. Joy accompanies the presence of a good life. Once you understand this, you can accept that joy is a choice you must protect at all times. It is transcendent and eternal, but sin, wrong choices, and distractions can diminish our experience of it. However, it never truly goes away. That is the good news; it has a transcendent nature. I have learned to find the image of joy that helps me understand that joy is ever-present. We all have that place where we find balance in our life. During my live programs, I discuss the place where we can find balance and be reminded of the true joy we have in our lives.
Many people live in constant turmoil. They’re always upset, frustrated, and have some kind of major challenge that’s keeping them from having joy in their life. They can’t sleep at night because they’re too worried. They don’t like the people they work with. They get aggravated over the smallest things. When they have to sit in traffic or something doesn’t go their way, they lose their cool.
It’s extremely important that we know how to live a life of joy. We need to be flexible and willing to make some adjustments. When things happen that would normally bother us, we have to put our foot down and just say, “No, I’m not going to let that take my joy in life away. I’m going to rule over my own emotions. I’m not going to allow myself to get upset and aggravated. I’m going to choose to keep my joy in life and not give it up for something that doesn’t even matter in the long run.”
It is that choice that you will make over the next 30 days that will help you continue on your path to the good life you need. I look forward to sharing time with you next month on our next focus point for a good life.
PERSONAL FINANCIAL TIP
When Income Increases, Don’t Increase Spending
Whenever I finish a talk or a one-on-one conference, I always end by asking one favor. “Please keep in touch because I want to hear your story.” Nothing is more inspiring than when you can you see yourself in someone else’s story. I spoke with a gentleman a while back that I think a lot of us can relate to. He was just astonished that he and his wife were making a lot more money than they were 5-10 years ago, but their situation hadn’t seemed to change. I told him that he was not alone. One of the problems that we all get into is that our spending increases right along with our income. It is mathematically impossible to get ahead if you are spending what you make.
I heard a frightening statistic the other day. As a country, we are saving as much of our money as the country did during the depression. We are obviously making more money respectively, but we are spending all of it. When I first started working with people to eliminate debt, I was so surprised when I would sit down and speak with someone that I considered “rich.” This person was making over $400,000 a year but the conversation could just as easily have been with someone who was making $40,000 a year. They just had more stuff. They were spending what they were making and from a stress point of view, they were no better off than the person with the lower salary.
One of the keys to financial success is to live below your means. For instance, if you get a raise from $50,000 a year to $62,000 a year, try to live as if you make $55,000 a year. For the most part, most people are making enough money to build unbelievable wealth but their expenses are too high. So if you get an increase in income, don’t increase your spending and remember, the more debt you get rid of, the wealthier you are going to be. If you are getting older, 10 percent in a 401k is probably not going to cut it. Eliminate your debt so that you can invest more than 10 percent of your income.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.”
Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist Monk, 1967 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee
BECOMING AN EFFECTIVE LEADER
Change Management
There are two types of change—the desired type and the forced type. The desired type of change is a planned change that is thought through and is therefore anticipated and proactively induced on an intended time table. Then there is change that is forced on you due to things beyond your control. No matter which kind of change you may deal with, there are always factors that you must consider. Dealing with change is more an issue of leadership ability than mere management skills.
How do you manage change? Here are some factors that a leader must take into account when change is required. People have a natural resistance to change. The timing of the change may not be convenient. Often, change requires extra work, inconvenience, stress, training, and unexpected additional capital investment. No matter if the change is desired or forced, a leader must react positively and quickly to effectively manage change.
The bigger the change implemented the higher degree of leadership skills required. The leader must embrace change and make change a positive experience. Effective change management requires trust, involvement, understanding, commitment, timing, and confidence. A leader must communicate the reason for the change clearly. He must be convincing that the change is necessary and will bring improvement, growth, efficiency, and opportunity.
During the transition period, unexpected circumstances will usually occur. That is when true leadership is displayed by modeling courage, confidence, and decision-making ability. The results of properly managed change are a new synergy and higher productivity.
