by Loral Langemeier

Reprint of original article posted on Liveoutloud.com

Can you see your Financial Freedom Day beckoning on the horizon?

While you definitely want to keep your sight on the horizon, there is something nearer to focus on: what you do Today that brings you closer to your vision of Tomorrow.

What is the next step?

The most immediate thing you can do that will set the stage for the work ahead is to manage your lifestyle cycle. I’ve talked before about lifestyle cycles versus wealth cycles. Switching gears on this one is difficult for a lot of people, and one of the main reasons people have come to me for coaching. But, it is also crucial for your future success at wealth building that you take the time, now, to focus on the ways you currently treat your money and re-prioritize.

I like to say “build your assets, then build your lifestyle”. And, the good news is that the lifestyle that results can be the one you may have only dreamed about up until now, better than anything you have yet to experience!

What is controlling the direction of your wealth machine? Is it liabilities? Or, is it assets? The obvious answer should be that assets need to be the driving force. Look at most people: they go to work, they live for Friday when they receive their paycheck, maybe they treat themselves to dinner out and a movie, wait for their tax return and use it as a down-payment on a boat, which is another liability stacked on top of possible credit card debt, mortgage, car loans, etc. – it goes on and on. What you will find is that most people are not satisfied by this, and feel they are in an endless cycle. They may feel good for the short-term, but they feel the rug could slip out from under them at any time.

When you focus on assets rather than liabilities, you can forget standing on a rug: you are standing on the financial equivalent of concrete!

Next time, I’ll talk about building a wealth cycle foundation, which is where you want to position yourself.

About Loral
Loral Langemeier, founder of Live Out Loud, is the best-selling author of, The Millionaire Maker: Act, Think, and Make Money the Way the Wealthy Do. A team made multi-millionaire by age 35 she actively invests in business, the stock market, multiple real estate ventures and more. Through her diverse experience, she developed the concept of a Financial Wealth Cycle which is the core of her coaching programs. President of several companies, Loral is a nationally known speaker, coach and author.

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You’ll find these goodies on our Products homepage. Check it out and enjoy a preview of “The Millionaire Maker: Act, Think, and Make Money the Way the Wealthy Do”.

Here’s to your wealth and success!

Brion

Reprint of original article posted on Liveoutloud.com
When we think of wealth, there are usually particular pictures that come to mind: homes with more rooms than we can count, a pool, expensive cars in a long driveway, designer furniture and fashions. Ah, the lifestyles of the rich and famous!

So, we get the impression that if we don’t have musical talent, great sports ability, or the capacity to churn out award-winning movies, we can at least work harder, or find a better paying job. Once we start getting paid more, then we count on the fact that we can now buy more. It’s time to now move into a larger house so the kids can spread out, and it’s time to put the old clunkers to rest and buy brand-new vehicles to ferry us back and forth to our jobs and the kids to soccer practice.

Doesn’t this seem like a wealth cycle? Aren’t we on the gravy train now?

As a matter of fact, the answer is no. Emphatic no. The reason? The additional money you are earning is being poured into avenues that are not earning you money in return. While the house will be the most worthwhile investment, think about the car: it begins to lose value the moment you drive it off of the lot. Same with a boat, or an RV.

Acquiring goods is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can be if it places you into a cycle of expense and liability. Your money is caught in a never-ending cycle of “spend more” and on a much different level from “earn more”.

How do you switch gears?

It comes down to building a wealth cycle. With a wealth cycle, you pay yourself first. With a car or a new wardrobe? No! In a wealth cycle, you work to accumulate assets that you will then invest so that it will create passive income. It’s the gift to yourself and your loved ones that keeps on giving.

When you think about the lifestyles of the rich and famous, you may also remember some of the sadder stories: famous people who are suddenly having to claim bankruptcy and having to sell their lavish home at a desperation price. Unfortunately, a lifestyle cycle is a spiral that has no foundation, and when it falls, there is no safety net. In a wealth cycle, the foundation is laid first, and the lifestyle can be built into your plan.

So, what is your preference? Lifestyle cycle or wealth cycle?

About Loral
Loral Langemeier, founder of Live Out Loud, is the best-selling author of, The Millionaire Maker: Act, Think, and Make Money the Way the Wealthy Do. A team made multi-millionaire by age 35 she actively invests in business, the stock market, multiple real estate ventures and more. Through her diverse experience, she developed the concept of a Financial Wealth Cycle which is the core of her coaching programs. President of several companies, Loral is a nationally known speaker, coach and author.

Reprint of original article posted on Liveoutloud.com

Hopefully you have taken some time in order to take stock of exactly where you are, in the NOW. Next, your vision needs to look beyond the now and towards your financial horizon. Where do you see yourself by the end of this year? The end of next year? By 2010?

This is the exciting part – dreaming and envisioning your success, and then laying out exactly what it is you want to accomplish in your life. This vision will be as individualistic as you are. You are on a mission directly towards your Financial Freedom Day. By this, I mean that this is the day you declare your vision, OUT LOUD. Declare it and live it out loud, and it will become your reality! By determining the end result, you can lay the foundation for the road that will take you there.

Do you want to settle for the life that you currently live now? Yes, we are all grateful to be breathing and alive. But, do you yearn for something more? Do you feel that there is more to you than what you are accomplishing on a day-in/day-out basis? What, exactly, does a “day in the life” consist of for you? Wake up, sit in traffic, work a full day, sit in more traffic, numb yourself in front of the t.v., fall asleep in your chair, only to head into another day that looks like all of your yesterdays? Or, you may feel very successful at what you are doing and accomplishing every day, but feel that there is more to what you are truly capable of doing, but aren’t sure how to get beyond where you are now.

While I can’t promise no more traffic for you, I can tell you that in coaching others with similar stories, there is a way to step out of this pattern and create a whole new pattern and way of life for yourself.

Decide that today, you will live the way you decide to live, and not the way you have felt that you had to live. Explore what it is that you want, and think about what your personal Financial Freedom Day is going to look like, and a timeframe for when you would realistically like it to occur. Do you have an idea? Do you see yourself as a millionaire? A multi-millionaire? What age would you set as your personal deadline to accomplish this goal?

The wheels should be turning in your head, and now would be a good time to grab a pen and a piece of paper. Be bold: write down the date of your Financial Freedom Day. Pen to paper brings focus to bringing a dream to reality. Write it down! Aim to be as realistic as possible. Most of us know that we can’t lose 20 pounds in a week, and recognize that as an unrealistic goal. Neither would saying we are going to own an IBM-sized corporation in 50 years do much in the way of motivating us.

Strike a logical medium between any two extremes – make your goal a realistic and achievable one, a date that you can be passionate about and envision as being more in your near-future rather than in your far-flung future! Keep in mind that you can always make modifications to it later. The main point is to have a focus for you to aim for and get you moving forward, today.

About Loral
Loral Langemeier, founder of Live Out Loud, is known as the millionaire maker. A team made multi-millionaire by age 35 she actively invests in business, the stock market, multiple real estate ventures and more. Through her diverse experience, she developed the concept of a Financial Wealth Cycle which is the core of her coaching programs. President of several companies, Loral is a nationally known speaker, coach and author.

by Loral Langemeier

Spring is finally here – the season of renewal. Take a page from Spring’s book and think about financial renewal as a goal in your life!

When thinking about your financial conditioning, you took a look at how you think about money from a psychological perspective, based on your personal and family background. When talking about your financial baseline, you now take a look at the reality of your present financial situation. Believe me, it is not as hopeless as it may seem!
In my years of coaching others to financial independence and wealth generation, I have worked with all types of people who come from various backgrounds and different financial “stations” in life. It is possible to bounce back from just about any financial scenario. The most important thing you can do right now is to take stock of exactly what your financial picture is. You need to start from somewhere, so the best advice I can give to you is: start TODAY, from exactly where you are right now.
It is critical to have an accurate idea of where you are now, so you know in which direction to head. In order to set up a strategy, you need to know the layout of what you have to work with effective today. It’s actually a pretty simple set of questions.
1) How much money do you currently earn?
2) How much money do you spend? How are you spending it?
3) Are you in debt? For how much, and to whom are you in debt?
4) Do you have anything set aside in savings?
Once you have the basics figured out for your current situation, you have a foundation from which to make educated choices about what to do next. It’s as easy as knowing what’s coming in, versus what’s going back out.
Answering these questions may make you doubt your abilities. Remember, what you did yesterday and last month and last year does not have to be indicative of what your capabilities are for tomorrow. The most important action you can take at this point is just that: decide to take action, and then, take action!
Also, while you are taking stock of your personal financial situation, you may want to take a look at how you keep and maintain your financial records. Do you have piles of paperwork on your desk, waiting to be filed? Do you even have a filing system set up? Believe it or not, being organized in how you keep your records can help you in handling your finances better. If you don’t know where things are, it’s the old adage, “out of sight, out of mind”. It’s time to put these things in your sights, and keep them on your mind. Organized paperwork will help you in knowing where you are, and you will have a good, clear picture of your financial baseline.
Won’t you get started today?

About Loral Langemeir
Born and raised on a farm in Nebraska, Loral Langemeier did not start out in this life with money or connections. Loral, a master coach and financial strategist, built her first business in high school and, by the time she was 34, she’d established a multi-million-dollar portfolio of properties, businesses, gas/oil and notes. Read more about Loral.