Want to write a book or take your writing career to the next level? Sign up for the Author Platform Summit that will be held online from May 15-18, 2014.
During this special free online summit experience you will learn from best-selling authors, publishing industry experts and leading authorities who will share strategies to help authors and anyone with something to say or sell build a platform of success. On May 15-18 you will have free, on-demand access to watch video teachings from each of our speakers. You can watch online whenever you want. Each teaching will share a few specific tips from our experts with a focus on actions that you can take immediately.
I’ll be sharing at the summit along with a number of other best-selling authors and experienced book marketers. I’m excited about this and can’t wait to soak up all the great information and practical advice that will be shared.
And did I mention this is FREE? Yes, it is. What a great value!
Every week for 52 weeks, I'm sharing a different way you can save $100 this year. If you do all of these things, you'll be able to save over $5,000 this year alone! Many of these things will likely be things you're already doing, but hopefully all of you will pick up at least a few new ideas or some inspiration from this series.
Can you believe it? We’ve made it to the end of this 52-week series. It ended up taking me a few months longer than 52 weeks, but I’m just going to celebrate the fact that I followed through with writing all 52 weeks!
For our final installment of this series, I want to talk about contentment. Because truly, this is the heart of frugality.
“Man’s Search for Meaning ranks as one of the most thought-provoking books I’ve ever read. In it, Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl writes about his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp.
Everything was taken away from the Jewish prisoners. They were stripped of their clothing, their pictures, and their personal belongings. The Nazi captors even took away their names and gave them numbers. Frankl was number 119, 104. But Frankl said there was one thing the Nazis couldn’t take away: ‘Everything can be taken away from a man but one thing: the last of human freedoms–to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.’
The most important choice you make every day is your attitude. Your internal attitudes are far more important than your external circumstances. Joy is mind over matter.”
When you learn that stuff doesn’t buy happiness, your life suddenly becomes much richer. As I wrote about in this piece on contentment (stop right now and go read this post, if you haven’t already!), when we were first married and our budget was so tight, I quickly learned that contentment is a choice.
You can choose to be contentment — whether you are in the middle of a feast or a famine. Why? Because contentment isn’t about what model of car you drive, how big your house is, what brands of clothes you wear, what kinds of foods you eat, or how much money you make.
Contentment is first and foremost about your heart. It’s an attitude you can get up and choose to have (or not have) every single day.
Stop expecting to buy something every time you run an errand. I was so guilty of this before we switched to using cash. I would think that I deserved a little treat for having to get out and grocery shop or run errands. Direct your thinking towards expecting less.
2. Ignore the urge for more, more, more.
This is easier said than done in today's society. We are constantly bombarded with different advertisements telling us that we need more. We have to retrain how we listen to or pay attention to such ads. When you become immune to advertising, you might find that your desire for more decreases.
3. Look at what you do have.
This idea is by far the one that has helped me get over my obsession with stuff. One way to do this is by verbally thanking our Creator for what He has given us. When I am more mindful of the blessings that I have been given, then I find that I am less mindful of my humanistic desire for more.
We’re moving to Tennessee in two weeks, so the next two weeks are going to be quite full with packing, last-minute to-do’s, and lots of good-bye get-togethers. It’s a bittersweet time in our lives — we’re excited about the many new opportunities and adventures the future holds, but we’re also sad to leave behind dear friends and family here in Kansas.
Because we’re trying to squeeze in extra time with family and friends and prepping for the big move, I’m keeping it simple for the next few weeks and just setting six weekly goals.
How did you do on last week's goals? What are your goals for this week? I'd love to have you share your progress on last week's goals and your goals for this coming week in the comments. Of, if you've blogged about it, leave your direct link below. Let's cheer each other on to live purposeful and productive lives! You can download a free customizable weekly goal-planning sheet here.
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