Taking Care of Business

We were able to make it outside today to get a jump start on the yard work. It felt amazing to get our hands dirty this early in the year. In past years we would still be about two months away from making the decision to procrastinate another two months, but not this year. Over the last 6 months we have tried to make a habit of taking care of all of our work before it stacks up and becomes a problem.

If this reminds you of something that you need to do. Get up and get it done. There is no better feeling than the one you get when a weight has been lifted off of your shoulders.

-Scott

Proverbs Chapter 26

I have to apologize for falling behind again on the Proverbs Challenge. We had a busy week last week that caused me to get backed up on my posting, and then once I am behind…it’s hard to catch up. I don’t want to just skim the chapters and give you a half attempt at my summaries, so I’ve decided that I will just have to start today with chapter 26, and then post them from that point on. The chapter numbers won’t correspond with the date, but hopefully you’ll be ok with that! This way you won’t get bombarded with 10 different chapter summaries all in one day!

I have read and re-read chapter 26 a few times and what I keep getting out of it is advice on the way that we think about, speak about, treat and compare ourselves to others. Verse 12 reads, “Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.”

In “The Richest Man Who Ever Lived”, Steven K. Scott speaks of problems with arrogance and laziness by discussing verse 16, which reads, “The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men that can render a reason.” His thoughts are that “those who are lazy don’t work because they think they’re better than people who do.”

I will close with what I took as the most important lesson from this chapter. I know that it is both applicable on a personal level as well as a business level. There always seems to be people who have negative or pessimistic opinions about the things that other people do. Many times it seems we are the most critical toward those whom we love the most, like our spouses and children. I’m sure it is for many different reasons, but verses 20-22 & 27 in my opinion speak directly to those of us who have ever voiced those opinions in a way that may have been hurtful or discouraging to others. They read:

“Where no wood is, there the fire goeth out: so where there is no talebearer, the strife ceaseth. As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire; so is a contentious man to kindle strife. The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly…Whoso diggeth a pit shall fall therein: and he that rolleth a stone, it will return upon him.”

I know we’ve talked about this in the past, but it’s been awhile. How often are we super critical of the hopes and dreams of our children and spouses…all in the name of being “realistic”? We claim that we are “protecting” them from disappointment and defeat. What you are really doing is destroying the beginnings of self-confidence and any self-worth that they have. When children are small they literally believe that they can do ANTHING. Now…don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen my share of American Idol tryouts and have witnessed the product of “deaf” parents telling their children that they are the best they’ve ever heard, and those kids literally BELIEVE that they are. I always wonder if they are deaf as well!

We should instead help our spouses and children progress and expand upon the talents and qualities that they already have. I think a lot of times we are so afraid of rejection that we don’t even want to try, and pass those fears on to those that we love. Verse 22 is so profound to me, “The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.” How many times did you have to hear that you weren’t good enough, or that rejection was a BAD thing, or that your goals were impossible before you started to believe that as a kid? In reflecting on my own life and past accomplishments, this verse rings so true. No matter how many compliments, awards, and opportunities that occurred in my life, the negative comments or hurtful remarks always seemed to stick. They are wounds. I don’t want to be responsible for any of those in the lives of those that I love. I want to help direct my children to find what they are good at, and what they TRULY enjoy; not just what’s “safe” or easy. Scott and I are so grateful to be at this point in our lives where we are taking those steps, however BOLD, to do what WE love and not worry about the road there, or the resistance we may or may not receive. We’re not scared. We’re more afraid of how we’d feel for the rest of our lives if we didn’t try! That’s what you should be encouraging your spouses and children to be afraid of, if anything!

-Camber

The Fruits of our Labor

I want to share with you what has happened since we started this blog and set ourselves out to accomplish our goal. In the last five months we have seen some amazing things happen. Things that some people that we knew a year ago would say were impossible. The mental, physical and spiritual transformations that have taken place have been truly remarkable. I am not writing this post to brag or gloat, my hope is simply to inspire. I want our readers to know that they are months or weeks away from being able to see results in their lives.

The following paragraphs are some more detailed results that we have created for ourselves over the last 6 months. We have done nothing in addition to what we have posted about. We are not lucky; we have done the exact same things that others who have practiced these principles have done.

Physical: From where we were early last year, we have increased our income in multiples. We are not the type of people who are going to give an exact number, but we will say that we have more than doubled our most successful financial months. We also have attracted to ourselves a great job that allows us to work together, and allows me to work from home and be with my family. We have attracted great business ideas, which are now being turned into reality. We have attracted a nice home that is very comfortable and more than suits our needs. We have attracted a beautiful yard with room to play and garden. And lastly we have attracted a wonderful city to live in, with excellent new friends.

Mental: We have become more in control of our circumstances. We see the good in everything, even what we once might have called negative afflictions. We think about our goals every day. We have gained more confidence. We have become better at not allowing negative influences to affect us.

Spiritual: We have become part of a new ward, (what our church congregations are called) with very spiritually intuned people. We live in a very spiritual home. We have more capabilities to study the scriptures, ponder and pray. Our faith has become stronger.

We are extremely happy with our results. We are thrilled with life right now. We know that this can happen for anyone, it is simply a matter of being a doer. My advice, however you may take it, is to stop letting worries, disbeliefs, and excuses hold you back from what you are capable of. We can all have happiness, we just have to make it happen.

-Scott

Being “Good Stewards”

I have never been one to budget, only because we’ve never had anything more than exactly what we needed to survive. 2010 has started off amazingly, and we’ve decided that it would be wise to become better organized with regard to our finances so that we are prepared for growth. According to dictionary.com a “steward” is, #1. a person who manages another’s property or financial affairs; one who administers anything as the agent of another or others, or #2. a person who has charge of the household of another, buying or obtaining food, directing the servants, etc.

Years ago, when I worked for a chiropractor, his mentors had a formula for managing money that I remembered some things about. They had a list of ways to categorize your money that I remember liking. It was similar to the list that we have created for ourselves below.

1. Tithes 10% (charitable contributions…on their list this was last, but for us it’s first)
2. Taxes 15% (not everyone will need to do this. Since we are self-employed, we need to set aside this amount per month.)
3. Savings 6% +something extra that I’ll share in a minute (I remember it being important to pay yourself first. This is as close to first as it can be.)
4. Monthly Expenses (These are all of our recurring monthly bills; utilities, phones, internet, insurance, etc.)
5. Food and Gas (We set aside a specific amount to be split between food and gas each month.)
6. Financial Promises (For those of you who don’t know, this is our phrase for any outstanding debt that we may have. We have picked a specific amount that we will dedicate to those “promises” each month until they are gone.)
7. Fun and Vacation (Anything leftover after #’s 1-6 is split 60/40 between Savings/Fun, so 60% of what is left is added to the original 6% set aside for savings and the rest (40%) is available for the “Fun and Vacation” account.

We’re using QuickBooks to make all of this happen more easily, rather than having seven separate bank accounts, we’re able to have these different accounts in QuickBooks. At the end of the month, I take the total earned for that month and disperse it according to the above formula. After I pay bills, I just pull up QuickBooks and deduct transactions from their respective “accounts”. IT’S SO GREAT! I am such a visual person and it helps me to see what’s where, rather than just seeing a bunch of money, and worrying every time that we are out trying to do something fun as a family that the money we are using is being taken from something else. I’ll keep your posted!

-Camber

Goals

“Those with goals tend to succeed because they are focused and know where they are going, while those without goals do not.”

Ted Karam
Author

Impossible Possibilities

I had an excellent conversation with someone very close to me the other week. The topic of goal accomplishing came up and the typical “you cannot do what is not realistic” conversation ensued. “Here is the thing,” the other party proclaimed, “It is not realistic to think that you can accomplish everything that you set your mind to.” “I mean what if you said that you wanted to be as fast a Hussein Bolt? There is no way that a 5’11” white boy would ever be able to do that. It is just physics and anatomy. You would be wasting your time and setting yourself up for disappointment.”

Here are my thoughts on this conversation. It is probably true that I would never be as fast as Hussein Bolt, but not because I think that it is a physically impossible, but because it is not my passion and I have no drive toward that goal. Every person has impossible possibilities within them, but it is not physics that will make them possible, it is faith and passion. For this person to tell someone this who actually had this passion would be a devastating blow to their passion. If a person has a passion towards a goal this big and is willing to work like crazy to accomplish it they should absolutely go for it no matter what others say. On the other hand if this same person has this large aspiration but has the habit of changing their passion every week, they should probably be wise to focus on something that is a little more tangible to their drive. However, it is not our responsibility to tell someone that they cannot do something. We all know that there is someone out there that is a record breaker, but we cannot possibly think that we are sure who that is, so why be a skeptic? It is always good to be an optimist; you never have to make excuses when you are wrong.

The point is that even if we are certain that it would be impossible for someone to accomplish a certain goal, we are on the wrong side of thought if we deny ourselves, and others, optimism. If you are unsure of capabilities, believe in human potential. Always look at things with the thought in mind that we as humans who have flown to the moon, have run a 4 minute mile, can throw baseballs over 100 miles per hour, and can heal our bodies under the most impossible circumstances, can certainly accomplish whatever we set our minds to.

-Scott

Great Advice

I believe God is managing affairs and that He doesn’t need any advice from me. With God in charge, I believe everything will work out for the best in the end. So what is there to worry about. – Henry Ford

Proverbs Chapter 25

Proverbs chapter 25 was a slightly shorter chapter than most, but there are a couple of verses that pack a punch. I will only focus on them, because I personally feel that they point out something vital to success in the world that we are currently living, and that the wisdom contained in these two verses is what is horribly lacking. You’ll see what I mean.

Verses 14 and 15 read, “Whoso boasteth himself of a false gift is like clouds and wind without rain. By forbearing is a prince persuaded, and a soft tongue breaketh the bone.”

Scott and I receive a bunch of emails each day, and receive phone calls from different groups at least once a month. Definitely more at times than we’d like. They each offer the “BEST” of this and that. I am actually grateful now for these emails and calls, because we have learned that we want to be genuine in our desires to help uplift others. In a successful business there needs to be an equal partnership between the “business” and the “client”. If there isn’t, and one party is receiving more than the other; the relationship won’t succeed. (This doesn’t mean equal money, but the VALUE of the knowledge or help received must be equal to the “money” being exchanged.)

As we read in verse 14, we know that we have to be REAL. We can’t and won’t claim to be something that we are not. We will only be us, and hope that those who are needing “us” will be found. Most often, that is by patience and “forbearance” as we learned in chapter 15. We must prove ourselves. Those were some powerful learning verses!

*Sorry…this is an addition…I noticed something that I HAD to add to this as I was moving on to chapter 26. The final verse of chapter 25 reads, “He that hath no *rule over his own spirit is like a city that is broken down, and without walls.” *My footnotes say “self-mastery” for the word “rule”. GREAT VERSE!

-Camber

Proverbs Chapter 24

I need to start chapter 24’s comments out by quoting verses 3-5 because they are great!

“Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches. A wise man is strong; yea, a man of knowledge increaseth strength.”

The next portion of this chapter blows me away. As I was beginning to read verses 12 and 13, I immediately had strong impressions of the personal example I would share to help illustrate my feelings as I read those verses. It was a little off subject, but I was hoping that you would understand what I was trying to say. Then, when I read verse 14, I found the confirmation of my exact feelings on verses 12 and 13. So with that said, I will give you verse 12 and 13 first, then my story, and then verse 14 with my confirming answer.

“If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works? My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste:…”

Without going into too many details, Scott and I have become very aware of the food, drink, etc. that we put into our bodies and that we feed our children. As you know, natural health and nutrition are a HUGE passion of mine! (HUGE may actually be an understatement) I was asked to teach a class on health and nutrition last week for the women in our church congregation. At one point in the lesson, I gave the ladies an example from my youth to hopefully help them better understand my feelings about my knowledge on the subject. I shared with them that when I was younger, I was taught that we should always wear our “Sunday Best” to church each week. As young kids we would sometimes question what that meant because we would see different people dressed in so many different ways, some “more appropriate” than others in our opinions. We were further taught that it is supposed to be OUR personal “Sunday Best”.

Verse 14 continues, “So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off.

I strongly feel that as my awareness and knowledge has increased, so has my level of expectation and accountability. It doesn’t matter what the subject or circumstance, we are each accountable to our own level of understanding and comprehension. Push yourself! Don’t let that detour you from growth, for that is truly the reason that we are here. To GROW! I’ll leave with you with a quote that I feel confirms my feelings even further! What a great chapter!

“Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.”
Oliver Wendell Holmes

-Camber

Proverbs Chapter 23

There was an interesting verse in Chapter 23 that I wanted to point out because I think that most people would interpret it one way, and I am going to propose another.

Verse 4- “Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.” Now, would any of you interpret that to say, “It is a sin to be rich, and you shouldn’t spend your time gaining wisdom”? I believe that that would be the complete opposite of what was actually intended when these verses were written. First of all my footnotes have the word “treasure” referrenced for the word “rich”, and then a scripture verse in The Book of Mormon which we personally revere as scripture to compliment the Bible give you my answer to the second half. The verse that it refers to is 2 Nephi 9:28 which reads, “O that cunning plan of the evil one! O the vainness, and the frailties, and the foolishness of men! When they are learned they think they are wise, and they hearken not unto the counsel of God, for they set it aside, supposing they know of themselves, wherefore, their wisdom is foolishness and it profiteth them not. and they shall perish.

We’ve said before that it is “the LOVE of money” that is evil. Scott and I know that if we were to “labour to be rich” for the reason of having riches alone would be wrong. We know that we would not be blessed, because our hearts would be set upon the riches. I had a friend the other day suggest that when creating goals, you get to the real reason for the goal. A lot of times we think to ourselves…”Well if I just had a lot of money…all of my goals would be accomplished”. You have to think and focus beyond the money though, or your goals aren’t satisfied. We are grateful to look past the money and focus rather on what we want to do ultimately, and the WAY to do those things will become possible! So…ask yourself WHY you want the money?

One last verse that I highlighted and loved was:

Verse 23- “Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.”

-Camber