Gratitude Friday & High Performance Achievement

This is a repost from March that Brad over at EOD reminded me about so I thought I would share it. Enjoy!

When I was at the Dave Ramsey live event we picked up this audio cd of Dave at a meeting for his employees. The tape was so great I decided to share the 8 Steps outlines on the tape in my opinion on how they work.

1. Establish a big, hairy, audacious goal - In the tape the goal was running a 26k marathon. In my case its becoming debt free by October.

2. Plan out in the incremental steps that will lead you to accomplish your BHAG- To become debt free I have taken on what is called the baby steps: baby emergency fund, debt snowball. Both have worked great in the last two years and I believe working the baby steps is by far the best plan out there but it only works when you get intense!

3. Find people who have accomplished the same or similar goals and find out how they did it - At first I didn't have a support group or anyone I knew that was on the same path now I have Brad over at enemy of debt (he is debt free and awesome) and a host of other people that are in the PF blogging world. Talk about motivation!

4. Heed the warning from the experts, but don't dwell on the negatives - Some warnings I have found about becoming debt free were: have a blow fund which I didn't listen too and still have problems with it sometimes. As far as the negatives I can think of any but in Daves case they told him to pace and sometimes he wouldn't and also that he would quit at the 2o mile mark, which he didn't!

5. Decide what you are willing to sacrifice to hit high-performance achievement - This was a big one for me, over the last few weeks I figured out getting out of debt was most important to me. Working at the salon is secondary, even dating is not so high on the list (scary right) but I made the choice to put debt first, when this is over I can move on to another BHAG!

6. Keep away from negative people and get around positive influences - Trust me this has been so detrimental to my success. The better things get the more I realize how much I need positivity in my life. Its important to have your own personal cheer team because right when you are ready to quit the cheer team is yelling YOU CAN DO IT!

7. Visualize your plan in your mind repeatedly - I see myself being debt free all the time and its so cool to feel a taste of what it will be like when I become debt free I just can't wait!

8. When you win, enjoy it! Celebrate - I plan too!!

Thank God I'm Married...

Pastor Eric Thomas is one of the most dynamic motivational speakers I have ever met! He came to my church I believe it was last year for fathers day to speak and all I could say was wow. He has a link on youtube called "Thank God its Monday" and each Monday he gives an encouraging message so you can start your week off great!

This message about marriage happens to be my favorite since I am a big fan of marriage especially happy ones. I am not married yet, but one day I do hope to take on the Mrs Title. Today I am happily single but even as a single this message spoke to me not just about my future but my current state. Pastor Thomas talks about being the person you desire your spouse to be. So basically if you want to see them cook for you, then cook for them. If you want them to be romantic, YOU start being romantic first.

Marriage can be hard but I promise if you listen to this message you will begin to think differently. Check him out!

I am Soul Purpose Newest Consultant

A lot of great things are beginning to unfold in my life and I am so excite to share it with you all. First things first I entered to be apart of enemy of debts DEBT REDUCTION CHALLENGE! Its going to be the first ever blog meets reality series and I am so excited. Brad is one of the first friends I met while starting my debt free journey and I have watched him do amazing things. He has a great passion for helping people get out of debt and really if you are around him enough you WILL catch the get out of debt bug.

I don't know when the contestants will be announced but If I am picked I will get to blog about it via VIDEO along with a chance to win $1,000 towards my snowball!! I mean can it get any cooler than that?

In other news, I recently interviewed for a position with the Department of Labor for the State of Michigan...... IN DETROIT!! If anyone knows me its been my 6 year goal to move back to Detroit to begin helping my community rebuild as well as live out my debt free goals. I know Detroit isn't in the greatest of conditions but when its all said and done home is really where the heart is and whenever I go home my heart just grows fonder, even in the state that its in. If I don't get the job, I will be a little sad but I have already resolved in my mind that 2011 is going to be a great year no matter what!!

Last but certainly not least I have just become a consultant for SOUL PURPOSE!! I absolutely ADORE the products and my favorite among everything is the Brown sugar (like me body scrub). I swear on everything I own this is the best body scrub in the history of man kind (no exaggeration). In efforts to beautify myself and make some extra cash in the process I have become a consultant. I am super motivated and excited to begin promoting a product and business that I stand by 100%. If you would like to know more about soul purpose feel free to contact me at www.kimike.soulpurpose.net and I will be happy to help you!!

Im so excited about new business ventures that cost less than $50 dollars to start, friends who are supporting me, and living out all my dreams. As Dave says, live like no one else so later you can LIVE like no one else!!!

Is 2011 treating you right?

My home was sold!!!

The last time I blogged I wasn't in the best place in my life but I am feeling a whole lot better. My home sold December 23, 2010 two days before Christmas. Talk about a wonderful gift right? My debt seems like its not moving even though I have been paying it... strange I know. I trashed my laptop shortly after I wrote my last post here and I now have a new one as of a month ago. So I am really excited to write again. I didn't know when the inspiration to write would come back but I'm glad its here. For a while I thought I would just wait until I became debt free but then you guys would miss all the fun and excitement in between!!!!

For Christmas I went to Chicago to visit my dads family which includes cousins, great aunts and my favorite lady my great grandma. For new years my mom, brother, and I went to New York to watch the famous ball drop. We had the most fun and it was great time with them both.

So I am back for good and I am so looking forward to paying off this last bit of debt. It keeps stalking me but I'm getting a ppo out on it and promise If it returns to my door step I won't be liable for what happens to it!!!

what have you guys been up to??

Going "Write" Through It

I am back this time with a vengeance and I got a pen in my hand! Blogging at times can be your worst enemy when you are feeling down or it can be your best friend when your feeling up! If your me however I am deciding to write myself through these hard times. Certainly I am going through some things but the fact still remains Im here and that alone is enough to write about.

So through these next few months and year I will be back to blogging for as long as my thoughts inspire me to do so. I have no idea what about but I will have something to say. When I first started this particular blog the goal was to journal my financial experience but it was also to inspire others who face similar financial struggles. Truth is you just can't always write about the good and leave out the bad because there will always be some. But hopefully my issues financial and non financial inspire others to at the very most KEEP HOPE ALIVE! (I thought that was funny).

Currently I am working on getting an interview with the author of "Girl make your money grow" Gail Perry Mason" My desire is to have her come speak at my church which I think would be amazing! I just had a light bulb moment, I could do a panel of financial guru's kinda like Oprah's debt diet at my church!!! (writing that down).

Other than that, my debt snowball is at a stand still, Im in between fighting being an utter mess and well you know that comes with plenty retail shopping. Hey don't judge me lol. Seriously being able to just buy something is allowing me to have one less thing to worry about. Yes I still keep tabs on my money but paying down debt is the last thing on my mind. ITS ON MY MIND, its just not at the front! The year is winding down and I just as soon figure that I will bring in my student loans right under 10,000 into the new year and work on some new avenues of income to push it along once I get my ball back to rolling.

Haven't heard anything regarding my home being sold but I am still praying I get the call really soon. Thats all I have for today but there is certainly more to come with a focal point of course......

whats on your mind????

Burnt Out

A lot has happened over the last few weeks and I know instead of blogging regularly I am always giving "updates". Certainly life has me currently in a place where at times I am not sure if I am coming or going but im still here. Its easy for me to hind my stresses around everyone. Most of the time I feel when I am smiling around others I give people some sort of hope thats its possible to find happiness. Of course we know happiness is only situational and if you chase it long enough you might end up disappointed at every turn....

Church has been my source of "life" during this time of uncertainty. We recently held a conference that was a huge success and I was honored to be part of the planning team.


On the outside looking in things are great, I have friends and family that love me and a church that I absolutely adore. But on the inside I can't shake the feeling that something is missing. I honestly don't want to go to work each day. Im happy to have a job, but man I hate it. Yes I know we are in tough times so I really should not complain. But when I think about my financial goals, I remember that being able to leave my job was one of the reasons I decided to get out of debt.

Im not their yet and even when I get there sometimes I wonder if my view of my current status will change or will I remain complacent. I have been off for a few days and I am dreading returning to work. I know when I get there its the same paperwork, same people, same phone calls. Swallowing that pill is so hard when you know what you want to do but can't. I wish I could just call it quits, but I worry more about what people will think of me more than what I know I could accomplish if I didn't have my job. I have been in this place before and I remember that prayer brought me out so its what I must do.

Im not giving up, Im just gonna take a break......

Why Are You Committing

Today, I was given an opportunity to reflect on what it means to commit to something. At some point in time, each of us find something to commit to, be it work, church, families, or ourselves. As I evaluate what it means to be committed I realized that first I have to be committed to an end result. Work = paycheck, Eating healthy = longer living and so on. We all know the old age saying "you get in what you put out" This is true in just about every area in our lives with the exception of grace and mercy given by God.



As it relates to my walk with Christ I understand that my commitment is never ending. However unless I have something to clearly aim for I will most likely always fail. For example being a bible scholar, I could pray until the cows come home for God to help me remember all the books of the bible but chances are I won't get that unless I actually STUDY the bible.



In order for me to stay on track with my walk I have to be real with the fact that I am AIMING for SOMETHING. Boldly put yes I do want something from God. Just as we reward our children for getting good grades, or cleaning their room we are rewarded by God. But make no mistake he does for us not because of our works but because we are his children. I am also aware that there are things you must do because you are apart of "this family" meaning we don't pay you to take out the "Family trash", you do it as YOUR contribution to this household. You also do it because if you didn't you might end up with a raw behind !! I honor and I respect my heavenly father. I am obedient to him because his is my "father" because of what I know I can have from my "Father" and because this is how I show him I am proud to be a part of "the Royal family"



So I say all that to say, as a leader, a future leader, or leader in the making. It is always inspirational and beneficial to know where YOU are taking us as a whole. I know through Jesus Christ I am going to heaven because I have confessed, repented and turned away from my sins. My reward is clear, I understand it and do my best to live by it to its completion . Where do you want to take your ministry. Do you want to help 100 people get saved in 1 year? Do you want to serve 300 meals to the homeless by Christmas? Do you desire to have every person in your camp "Debt free" (hey thats my vision). What are your people doing to make sure they reach that goal? Is there a time line for each of us? How are you measuring progress? Are you celebrating progress??



I have seen through out my life how God has given me a clear vision, and opened doors to get me there. We have celebrate together both publicly and privately. His commitment to me and PROMISE to me allows me to continue to be a part of HIS ministry. My goal IS to one day see heaven, but what am I gonna do while I am here on this earth.



So I set forth a task to write a vision, make it plain, measure your success, celebration your success and realize your hard work will eventually pay out. Its not about "if it doesn't we will be iight" WHY because you can't stay committed to something you can't see progressing. You can't do it alone, you need people to catch your vision but you also need a plan to get there.