Business and personal should be bundled

I remember seeking to do business with a good friend a few years ago, and you know what he told me?  I don't do business with friends.  Then he proceeded to share and incident with me that happened between he and another friend of mine.  It just all seemed like there were too many assumptions and emotions got the best of the situation.  They were both good people and I just couldn't understand why that deal didn't go through.  They were still friends afterwards too.  The result of that view of business is this...now my friend is gone to be with the Lord, and if he and his wife had done business with me, his wife and their young child would be in a better situation financially. 
One of the biggest misconception-trains-of-thought told in the business world is never mix business and friendships.  Never get too close to the people you supervise, and don't do business with family.  As one of the greatest business men in America, Art Williams once said in response to those ideas...
(In paraphrase) he said; another key in business is you've got to learn to treat people good.  In Universities they teach you not to get to know your employees, their spouse, nor their kids because you might have to fire them someday.  His response...BULL.  He went on to say how building a meaningful personal relationship is the best way to establish a beneficial working relationship.
ITS BUSINESS, NOT PERSONAL
I HATE that saying, the last time I heard it was on "Takers." The idea of "doing business" is that you offer some product or service of value to others.  Once the transaction occurs, you both leave with an improved situation.  The reasons why people separate business and personal relationships is because they either; do underhanded things in business, and don't want to do them to their friends or family, or they have been burned by someone who didn't live by such a moral code.  This sort of thing gets me upset.
So let's get to the point, those you do business with should be people who care about you and your loved ones.  If you think about it...you most likely already do business with such people.  When it comes to caring for you family, this is best handled through how well you deal with your financial matters.  So in financial matters, you really need the service of someone who cares about what God feels about their service to others, and walks in right character and understanding.  This individual will most certainly look out for you and your family, and be a valuable friend for years to come.  This is the type of business person I strive to be hourly.
So....do you have a meaningful personal relationship with a financial professional? You should.

Enjoy some Art Williams wisdom.

What you dont know won't kill you...

I remember hearing quite a few people who have expressed that they just weren't good with money.  The sad thing is,they say this as if its just not going to change.  The problem with such thinking is that its ghetto.  By ghetto I mean that it is characteristic of Low income individuals (regardless of race) to live with the mind set that they themselves, as well as their situation will not change.

It is should seem strange that we often let situations throw us around.  Sure there are things we can't control, but surprisingly there are many things we can.  The law of reaping and sowing tells us that what we do has consequence, which leads me to the thought:

Let's do better @ waiting. Not sitting idle, nor wasting time, but preparing for the promises to come. We need spiritual patience & stamina.

Patience not to give up because things are difficult, or because we mess up, or it takes longer than expected.  Things come to the dilligent, to LIFE or DEATH.  So keep pressing on!  Do the research, work out the kinks....keep getting better and once you begin to do the right things consistently long enough, blesssings will flow.

COMPOUND INTEREST IN YOUR FAVOR

They say that one of the most powerful things to leverage in finances is COMPOUND INTEREST.  It should be your greatest ally when working your financial plan, and there is also a spiritual element you best not overlook.

GOD CREATED COMPOUND INTEREST

Think about it, the math involved was fabricated into the very world we live in.  Two vessels of DNA become one cell that multiplies exponentially into a person after conception.  A small seed becomes a plant, tree, or vine which can produce more seeds and more plants.  Two humans populated the world. 

When reaping and sowing in life, compound interest is also present.  The growth of the Church is evendent in this, as sowing the word can produce up to 100 fold returns.

Sometime we forget this and wonder why does it seem bad things happen to good people, but the wicked seem to prosper.Romans 8:18 states that even though you suffer now for doing godly things, what you will receive in the end will be substancially greater.  Why? COMPOUND INTEREST.

We live in a "get it now" world where people have placed compound interest AGAINST themselves.  Letting debt grow and compound and weight them down.  Look at the economy or the citizens and also the government.
 
Even spiritually we set up situations that place COMPOUND INTEREST against us.  Doing selfish deeds, holding others back, making things rough for people we come into contact with.  Procrastination is just a way of COMPOUNDING failure at a later date. 

Funny how we always seem to use what God meant for good as a means to add to our own struggles.

It is in our best INTEREST to allow the GOLDEN RULE to work in our favor as well as using COMPOUND INTEREST to save and build tangible money as opposed to pretending to have stuff when all you are really doing is COMPOUNDING PROBLEMS.