Economic Development

Money Saving Truths

  • Knowledge and Information Knowledge and Information

If you are going to be successful in business or investing you have to acquire as much knowledge as you can. That doesn’t mean you have to spend six hours everyday watching the stock market or going to university to get a business degree, it simply means you should have a good general knowledge of the basics which will give you more intelligent options to choose from. As you learn to earn you will also learn to avoid making poor decisions that cost you money.

  • Patience and Time Patience and Time

With time anyone can get rich and the earlier you start putting money aside the better. Most financial advisors rave about the magic of compounding interest because it is so effective. Compound Interest is where your earnings from investments are reinvested. So when you are first getting started your reinvested earnings will be quite small, but over time they begin to create a snowball effect. The secret is to get started and be patient!

  • Persistence and Discipline Persistence and Discipline

Despite what many “get rich quick” peddlers would like you to believe, it’s generally not easy to get rich and it will not happen overnight, unless you’re extremely lucky and win the lottery. Getting rich is about taking many small disciplined steps over a long period of time.

  • Goals and Flexibility Goals and Flexibility

Having a set of financial goals will give you strength and give you a clear target to head towards when things get tough. Get clear about where you are now and where you want to be in 12 months, 5 years, 10, and even 20 years. Keep reviewing your goals regularly and be prepared to be flexible and change things if circumstances change. A good financial advisor that has been recommended by a friend can help with some of the financial details of this step. other save buying you can use payday loan

It’s important to get the basic money making steps right in the beginning. Once you have a solid foundation built for creating wealth and are putting away a percentage of your income each week, set about learning a little more about finance and investing everyday. Keep up to date with the business news and learn about different investment products and services. But most importantly, keep moving a little bit closer towards your goal each week and do not ever give up!

Leaders Can Take Charge of Change

David Dell, research director for capabilities management and HR at The Conference Board, has observed, “Both HR and IT have many new issues to address and many decisions to make and implement. But the speed of change in both areas makes the challenge more difficult as it increases the promise.”

Why do people resist change? Leslie Smith, a clinical psychologist and former Web designer in McLean, Virginia, outlines these reasons:

  • Fear of making mistakes or looking foolish.
  • A lack of understanding or confidence about the new system and its benefits.
  • Anxiety about doing more. Employees often feel overworked already, and resist learning something new when it’s layered on top of their existing duties.
  • Change fatigue. Once people learn something new, they’d like to stick with that new knowledge and take a rest.

Jeanie Daniel Duck, author of The Change Monster: The Human Forces That Fuel or Foil Corporate Transformation & Change, writes, “The knee-jerk answer (to failed change efforts) is the people ‘resist change,’ as if ‘resistance to change’ were some kind of sorry genetic code that, if it could be reengineered, would magically produce people instantly eager to do things differently whenever anyone asked. The ‘resistance to change’ answer… is appealing because it takes the blame off the leaders and puts it on those ‘no-good followers.’”

Leaders must take charge of change. There are many things that you can do to ensure a more successful initiative, including:
Communicate. Explain what benefits you expect from the new system and how people’s roles might change. Also make sure that change is championed from the top of the organization and communicate that support.

Collaborate
. Involve prospective users in change decisions and choices. Duck says it’s not the change that’s the problem, but the way it comes down. “People are changing all the time, but those are changes of their own choosing,” Duck says. “People resist being told they have to change.”

Demonstrate. As Duck observes, people are powerfully motivated by self-interest. Technological change is likely to be more successful if people are shown what’s in it for them. “When they’re motivated, it’s amazing what people can do,” she says.

Evaluate. Look at the whole corporate culture, not just IT, to determine how many other changes people are being asked to deal with at the same time, such as a merger or reorganization. Perhaps it’s time to give them a breather.

Commiserate
. Let people know it’s okay to complain, Duck advises. It provides a useful outlet. Although IT may feel like the corporate whipping boy, “that’s the nature of the beast. IT departments have a checkered past,” she says. “They must accept that and be more careful.” Further, allowing complaint and disagreement might enable you to measure resistance before you spend millions of dollars on that new initiative.

Don’t denigrate. Mary Lynn Pulley, Ph.D., is a faculty member at the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, North Carolina. She maintains that the learning curve is upside down: “It’s more of a valley than a hill,” she says. “Whenever you learn anything, your performance actually declines before it improves.”

She refers to that performance dip as the Valley of Chaos, and urges learners to remember that chaos and creation go hand in hand. “Things have to fall apart or disintegrate in some way so that they can come back together in a new way.” Managers must make it clear that mistakes are okay and avoid any kind of punishment for error in a learning environment.

Eradicate. “You must allow for the notion of un-learning as people abandon old ways,” Pulley says. Know that people have to rid their minds and routines of that which no longer works, but be aware that getting rid of the old and familiar can engender fear and confusion.

Tips for Enduring Success and Motivation

1. Success is not achieved accidentally. It is a systematic, deliberate process of deciding what you want to do with your life, what you will do when you get there, and what the steps are to get you where you want to be.

One of the most important aspects of success is the ability to visualize your path and stay focused on your goal until you reach it.

2. The sooner you envision your dreams and develop a plan to turn them into reality, the faster you will accomplish your goals. Mental pictures are a mechanism to lead you down the path of true independence and motivation.

Procrastination is a self-defeating behavior that develops in part due to low self-esteem and fear of failure. Your imagination is like a preview of your future.

If you don’t use your imagination your life will remain mundane and unfulfilling.

3. Overcoming procrastination is the first step in helping you create the lifestyle you desire. You must change the habits and behaviors that led you to procrastinate in the first place.

Change is a slow process so be sure to reward yourself along the way for small achievements.

Instead of focusing on the difficulty of a large task, break it into smaller jobs and create a timeline for finishing them.

4. Several small jobs done over time are much more manageable that one large task with no end in sight.

You’ll be astonished at how much you can get done if you concentrate on one thing at a time instead of cluttering your mind with multiple tasks.

Try tackling the more undesirable tasks early in the day so that by afternoon you can pursue more pleasant activities.

5. Relieve yourself of the pressure created by clutter in your office or home. Develop a filing system, rid yourself of unnecessary papers, and give yourself an organized place to work.

When you exercise self-discipline in your surroundings as well as your behaviors, you will make major strides in accomplishing your goals in a shorter period of time.

No matter what is happening around you, keep your mind focused on the reward you’ll receive by reaching your goals.

6. If people or outside forces distract you, use the power of the human mind to block out what impedes your progress and concentrate solely on the task at hand.

You will make remarkable progress by refusing to let others alter the path you have chosen.

Overcoming procrastination and staying motivated is the way to lifetime success and happiness. You’ll achieve your goals rapidly when you stay focused on your destination and the rewards that will follow.

7. Review your habits and way of thinking to determine what you are visualizing most of the time. If your visions do not lead you in the direction of accomplishing your goals, then you must change them.

Discipline yourself to concentrate on your goals the majority of the time, and if you stray from the path, get promptly back on.

Imagine what the rewards will be when you finally reach your destination and keep that thought foremost in your mind.

Procrastination is of no use to you in your quest to fulfill your dreams. Lose those old habits and replace them with habits that lead to self-motivation and control over your life.

© 2009 Economic Development. All Rights Reserved.