Computer Dharma

I met with Sakula this morning. As usual she gave me some interesting advice. Sit, even five minutes a day, or bowing, at the same time each day. Meditation is a training of the mind, a discipline. Also do a mindfulness exercise at the computer or be aware that you are starting to work on the computer and that you are stopping to work on the computer. Mindfulness is not about power it is about a pleasant life. My life is more successful, more interesting with mindfulness. It is not ( usually ) power driven like it was before, and it is not all about my ego, like it was before. I'm still important to my life but not very. Everything flows and I can listen without being so judgemental. Boring listening is no longer traumatic but can be done and it the main thing that my friends and family need from me. It helps everyone enjoy their life and become successful.

Cash is king

I'm realizing cash flow and management are both very important. Management is planning and cash flow gives you the way to implement the plan. It is important to have some cash to manage expenses. In the long run its easier to budget and to save money, or pay off credit, if you have some cash. I am going to try and get my allowance in 3 month periods so I have a cash cushion. Also I'm going to try and get into the "field" as Dr. M describes it and plan my spending around developing a better access to "positive field" experiences. That is my main management plan. My quest is finding more and more positive field and planning my life around it.

KO, Verizon and AT&T

A couple of days ago I took a finance seminar with SCORE. It was really good and I learned that some companies will make money just because their assets, like land, will appreciate. KO has a little over 9% gain per year on assets, I think mainly because they own the land their plants are on. Also on top of that they pay a 2.88% dividend. So that is about 12% gain just on dividends and appreciation. Verizon and AT&T I haven't checked out yet but they pay around 5% dividend which is really good. Even if they just keep up with an 8% market you are getting about 12% a year, which is really good over the long term. If I can make some money trading Chesapeake I may buy some of these stocks for the long term. Also Pitney Bowles has a really good dividend.

Workout

I realize that I am really out of shape. Getting around Eugene tired me out, and A said I really need to work on myself. After I got home I went to the rec center and worked out with SL. I am already sore and stiff but it feels good. I am going to start prioritizing working out and am going to try and lose a little weight and get in better shape. How am I going to deal with little kids in the shape I'm in? If I want to participate with H and A I need to be in shape. Once I get my credit cards paid off I'm going to reward myself for my workouts with more massages. They are a little expensive for now but maybe next year my Chesapeake trade will pay off and I can put the profits into more massage. Also I want to take more short trips. The cats don't seem to mind too much, although Camissa looked sad when I got home.

e-book

I'm considering writing a few e-books and developing a web site to sell them on. I'm going to try Jack Canfield's idea of writing 15 minutes a day. I started today. Basically today was Church, then writing, then I washed my sheets, dusted the bedroom, swept the bathroom floor and made a pasta. Tonight I'm over at Barbara's for Mother's Day dinner and I got a nice Facebook post from Adrianne. Even Dan called and sent over a dozen red roses. I realize I still have some resentments from LA etc. It's time to move on and not dwell on negative relationships. So much for the modeling business. The less I think of those people in my past the better.

NWReia Jason Schubert workshop

This morning I spent about three hours at a NWReia workshop with Jason Schubert. He is really interesting and very motivational. One thing he said "walk away-there are a lot of deals out there" if something doesn't work out the way you want it to. This was helpful as often I get into the head space of my own world and think that deals are limited so I better jump at them or accept the crumbs. Jason helped me realize that I have options and that there are a lot of people out there to do business with and a lot of deals to be done. He talked about the hotel/motel business but listening to him I realized there are a lot of different businesses to be profitable in. One way he adds to his bottom line is by putting vending machines in his properties. He owns the machines and says that they bring in approx. $600 a month. I'm not sure if this is the group of machines or each machine. My point and I think his point is that there are multiple streams of income that are possible if you are creative.

NWReia

Last night I saw Jason Schubert speak at NWReia. He was really good and spoke about how motels/hotels are profitable even with only 30% occupancy. He also talked about spin off businesses such as restaurants, bars, laundry etc. He said he's not so interested in equity, rather income streams. It got me thinking about hotel reits. I'm going to his workshop tomorrow. Also I'm looking at a company called Soltero and am considering buying a little. I will wait for two weeks until I learn how to read the financial reports at my SCORE class. And I'm still watching natural gas. A little later I'm going to the OFOJ group and will have my volunteer celebration. Dr.M told me to drum KLC's voice and to find an image of SL that I like. That is the start of learning alchemy. You use creative ways to communicate and connect with people.