Earn More Now

​We all have a monthly entertainment budget. There’s a certain amount of money and time that we spend on that entertainment budget. We also all have a monthly education, learning and personal development budget.
 
Today I’d like for you to reflect on the amount of time and money that you dedicate to your own personal development, education, learning experiences.  I have a sobering message today--Your income will not grow until you do.

What we need to embrace is that we are compelled and responsible for expanding our own knowledge, skills and most importantly expanding our own attitude. Somewhere in the Bible it says “Stand guard at the gateway of your mind.”  What that means to me is that we have to be very careful to watch what we let in, what we say, and what comes out of our mouth.
 
If you’re constantly speaking negatively of others or yourself or the economy, your boss, your spouse, your kids—How is it possible that you are going to positively enhance your life? When my mother was young she was an optimistic person. Toward the last seven years of her life she became extremely negative. My father on the other hand has always had an insatiable optimistic view of the world. So I had a choice—I could choose my mother’s attitudes or my father’s. Either way I had to make a choice.  There’s only so long we can play the blame game on how we were parented and use that as an excuse on why we are currently not succeeding.
 
My father in his Cajun accent used to tell me “Can’t ain’t a word.” But as I got older I chuckled at this saying; it was a great reminder. We didn’t use that word. Oftentimes at the brink of achieving a significant increase, day after day I constantly see people lay down and quit. It drives me nuts. They convince themselves thru powerful negative self talk, they just can’t do it.
 
Show me a loser and I’ll show you someone that is comfortable with the habit of quitting when circumstances of life get difficult. Show me a winner and I’ll show you a person that has developed the skill of being comfortable with being uncomfortable.
 
Don’t fall for the myth that successful people are successful because they are lucky, or smarter than you or better looking than you, or because they did something unethical or immoral to get ahead. Most unsuccessful people use this rationalization to justify their lack of initiative to make some small changes that can lead to huge results.
 
What I’m asking for you to embrace today is to turn your entertainment time into education, learning and self development time. Well Marvin, I don’t have a big budget. Fantastic, I’m going to give you some ideas you can afford on virtually no budget.
 
Everyone reading this has access to a computer. Then you have access to free information at places like Google or Bing. All you have to do is think of a word and search it, and then you are into a library of information. Wikipedia.com also has unbelievable information that you can access.
 
Some of my favorite online destinations include The 4-Hour Workweek, Jeffrey Gitomer and Seth Godin. Another thing that inspires me is blues music, and one of the best is Louisiana’s own Tab Benoit. (He founded Voice of the Wetlands, a non-profit to help build awareness about the loss of wetlands in south Louisiana.)
 
You can also use public libraries and open up to huge worlds. Give yourself the opportunity to read in a library for one hour on a Saturday or Sunday.  How about a public book store? How about asking a friend or coworker if you can borrow a book to read?
 
I’m asking you to read—and I am strongly encouraging you to devour the material—read deep into the meaning of what can develop you further.
 
Get started on your journey toward education and self-development, not towards entertainment. Write your comments here about things you read (books, websites, blogs…your call) and share how you are improving “YOU.”
 
Have a marvelous day! Remember, marvelous performance is not accidental, it’s always intentional.
Peace, Love and Gumbo~
Marvin LeBlanc

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