Our instincts as animals constantly push us to embrace a scarcity mindset.

Do you know what I mean when I say “scarcity mindset”?

It’s the belief that “there’s not enough to go around.” That you need to protect, maintain, guard, defend, or hoard.

It’s basic survival-of-the-fittest.

It starts with a spark in our brains and then manifests itself in our attitudes and actions.

In its most dangerous form, the scarcity mindset can be the default way most of us deal with any situation that enters our life. Good or bad, we immediately turn to how it affects the limited supply of what we have.

Obviously, this isn’t a new discussion. People have been talking about Abundance vs. Scarcity for far longer than I’ve been on this planet. But I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about it recently, as it’s starting to reveal itself as an issue in my own life.

3 years ago, we had an incredibly powerful scarcity mindset in our financial lives.

And, to be honest, I believe our scarcity mindset was an asset at this point in our lives. We needed it. We had been living unsustainably for a couple years and needed to ruthlessly focus on what we had, what was left, and where EXACTLY to put that extra money.

By leveraging this survival-of-the-fittest mindset we made some incredible strides in taking back control of our money.

But too much of the scarcity mindset can be poisonous.

Focusing through this “lens” for too long or too hard will cause you to become reaction-based, scared, stressed, and selfish.

Luckily for us, our travels throughout the world and my induction into this amazing blogging world helped radically jolt my perspective in this area. Slowly, but surely I began to realize that this isn’t a “zero-sum game.”

My eyes were opened to the possibilities that existed if I could (as my friend Chris Guillebeau says) increase the size of the pie for everyone.

No longer was there a limited supply of resources. No longer was there a fixed amount of income I could generate. No longer was there a fixed potential for what we could accomplish financially in our lifetime.

This was an extremely freeing time for us.

But I’ve realized that an abundance mindset is only really possible (and beneficial) when you actually have the breathing room t0 let it grow.

Let me use an example now. As our business has grown, I’ve picked up a couple team members. With these team members a vital part of this community and my business now – a positive thing – my overheard, expectations, and pressure to perform have all gone up exponentially as well.

This added pressure has generated stress, tightened our breathing room, and made things in general less flexible from a purely financial standpoint. As soon as we began to feel this restriction, our scarcity mindset began to creep back in.

Now, let me point out that intellectually I know this is part of growing any mission in the world. To grow, this is a necessary step along the way.

So the question is… how do you keep a mindset of abundance when times are financially tighter than others?

A scarcity mindset, within reason, can help us ensure we keep our focus. It can help us budget, plan, and forecast so we don’t implode by stepping on a financial landmine in the future. It can help us allocate our resources in the best way possible.

All of that is fantastic.

But in business, just like in life, we  can’t completely lose sight of the abundance mindset that has made this incredible journey possible.

Can we?

I can’t confidently tell you I’ve found the balance, but at least we are aware of the issue. We’re still exploring.

When a scarcity mindset can help (based on my own life):

1. When you first wake up (in life), leveraging a scarcity mindset to rapidly get yourself breathing room is extremely powerful. This is the basis of the passionate “war on debt” and  battle against clutter we always talk about.
2. Once you have sustainable breathing room, it’s important you don’t let the scarcity mindset poison your attitude and outlook. Focus on finding work you love or a mission you care about. This is the best way I know to show you just how abundant the possibilities really are.
3. When you come across a growing pain or downswing, don’t immediately revert back to the scarcity mindset. Be conscious. Evaluate. Slow down.

Most importantly, just be conscious of this dynamic. Be able to enter into and out of these mindsets as you need them.

The scarcity mindset gets an incredibly bad rap from many people. But I know firsthand how powerful it can be in giving you that breathing room to make other dramatic life changes possible.

Are you stuck in a scarcity mindset right?

I’m interested on your own thoughts and experiences in this arena.

• Do you feel at times you’re stuck in a “there’s not enough to go around” mindset?

• Do you feel like it’s ever been beneficial in your life?

• How do you keep from snapping back into it whenever adversity pops back into your life?

Whether you share your answers or not, you need to answer these questions in your own life.

I thought I had this figured out, but maybe not. I’ll keep you updated!

Xoxoxo,

-Baker

“Laura, did you hear about Steve Jobs?”

“Yeah, I can’t believe it. I’m surprised at how sad I am really. It sucks.”

“Me too. It feels like my favorite musician died, you know? I feel a weird connection…”

*****

I was surprised last night to hear Steve Jobs passed away.

As I watched the tweets pour in, this is what I came away with:

Seriously, when’s the last time we cared this much about the leader of a billion dollar company?

People around the U.S. are getting together and protesting greed, excess, and bloated corporations as we speak… yet we celebrate this man who ran one of the largest, most powerful brands we’ve ever seen.

What did he do so different?

The answer may be in a video tweeted out by Richard Branson last night. It’s a 1997 Apple commercial narrated by Steve Jobs himself:

Or maybe the answer can be hidden in what I consider one of the most motivating videos on the internet (Steve’s commencement speech at Stanford):

Or maybe we can find the answer in this simple quote:

“Being the richest man in the cemetary doesn’t matter to me… Going to bed at night saying we’ve done something wonderful… that’s what matters to me.” -Steve Jobs (WSJ 1993)

Steve Jobs inspired millions to change the world.

In honor of Steve, here are my two new life goals:

I will help one million people get out of debt.

I will raise one billion dollars for charity.

Over the last three years, I can point to at least 100 emails of people who’ve claimed we’ve helped them in whole or part get completely out of debt. I will record the names of each person, all the way to one million.

I’ve also helped raise $45,500 for charity so far through this blog and other online avenues. Before I’m done this will be $1,000,000,000.

The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world… 

Are the ones who do.

How will you change the world?

*****

I’m going to do something today that I haven’t done in a while.

I want to ask *you* a direct question.

You see a person on the street asking for help – asking for money or food.

What do you do?

There are more than a couple sides to this debate – and to get more information I called one of my best childhood friends who works every single day with the homeless on the streets of L.A.

He gave me his answer – which was a bit different than mine. I won’t provide you either (yet) – as I want to know your uninfluenced opinions on this.

When we get to L.A. in a couple months – Josh (my friend) has offered to take us into the streets with him, so we can see a peek behind the scenes of what goes on.

Let me start you off with this:

• Does it matter if they are male or female?
• Does it matter young or old… healthy-looking or scraggly and weak?
• What if they ask for food outside a restaurant or fast food chain?
• What if they asked for a cup of coffee as you walked into Starbucks (yesterday)?
• What if you are overseas – in a third world country – instead of your home city?
• What if they have a kid with them – does that change the equation?

I’d really appreciate hearing your perspective – the issue has really been weighing on my own heart. I’ll report back more once I hit the streets of L.A. myself (and use the discussion below in that post).

So here it is again (comment below)…

You see a person on the street asking for help – asking for money or food.

What do you do?

*****

Over the weekend, I was reading the Bible with Courtney, when we stumbled upon the section below, from James 2:14-17 (NIV):

(14) What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?  (15) Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. (16 ) If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? (17) In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

Wow.  Instantly after reading that passage, I had one of those lightbulb moments in life.  That’s me. I’m the guy who says “Have a safe trip… I hope things get better…  We’ll be thinking of you…”

I feel that I’m kind by nature.  I really do hurt for people when they are in need.  I really do wish that their circumstances would turn for them.  I’ll even take time to listen and provide any advice if that’s what I feel they need.

But often, I stop short of helping them in any real, tangible way. Why?  I’m not sure.  I guess because it’s convenient.  It’s convenient to think “Oh, I hope that homeless guy catches a break” or “I’m not giving him any money, he’ll just spend it on booze.”

So many times I hear myself saying, “If you need anything… anything at all… let me know!” I really do feel that way when I say it to people, but at the same time… this is such a cop-out.  I know 95% of the time, even if they were in need of help, they’d have trouble asking.  Even with an open invitation, our society teaches us not to rely on others… not to ask for help.

Talkers vs. Doers

Yesterday, J.D. Roth published a post entitled, Action Not Words:  The Difference Between Talkers and Doers.  You need to read that post, I think it is one of J.D.’s best posts he’s ever written.

It’s so easy to be a talker, especially when it comes to helping others in need.  It’s easy to put the ball in their court… Let me know if you need anything… It’s easy to hope that they get help.

But, we don’t have the time… make it!

But, we don’t have the money… change your priorities!

As a cultural, we love saying “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed.” It makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside.  It lets me feel warm and fuzzy, while keeping my selfish priorities in tact!

But a Doer, they take the hard next step.  They offer help outright. They take the burden off the person and need and take it upon themselves.  They stop and talk to the homeless… they walk them to the food stand to buy them food.  They apply to be foster parents, even when they could easily have more kids themselves (or once their kids are grown and moved out).

They do more than wish and hope… they act. They prioritize their time and their money to enable them to give a little of both. They show their beliefs and their faith through actions.  They lead and inspire, both the people they help directly and the people (like me) on the sidelines and waiting to jump in the game.

Courtney and I have the ability to put helping others and volunteering at the front our lives.  In all likelyhood, so do you.

We’ve decided to take steps in the coming weeks and months to re-prioritize the role kindness and giving play in our lives.  We want them to be at the very front, leading our other values not just in theory… but in action.

I’ll share details about our personal changes in the coming weeks.  Come join us.  Take action.

photo by dhilung

As most of you have heard by now, Haiti has been really taken by surprise by a recent earthquake.

The news reports aren’t improving either.  It looks like it’s going to be a really tough couple of months years ahead, let alone what it will be like over the next week of search, rescue, and clean up.

I’ve read and strongly believe that aid within the first couple weeks (even the first couple of days) is very critical in these situations.  At the same time, I know that many are conflicted as they want to make sure donations are being used to actually help those in need.

Recently, charity: water sent out an e-mail (and a blog post) about donating directly to their partners in the region.  I trust the mission and the objectives of charity: water and therefore wanted to pass along the information, in case any of you haven’t seen it yourselves.

The following was taken from charity: water’s most recent blog post:

Haiti was hit yesterday by what could be considered the worst natural disaster for the region in the last 200 years.

An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.0, shocked the country just before 5 p.m. on Tuesday, collapsing buildings and cutting water and electricity services in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas. Aftershocks of 4.5 magnitude or higher continued through the night and early Wednesday, thwarting immediate aid efforts for an estimated 3 million affected by the quake. Thousands are expected dead or injured and many more will be displaced with their homes reduced to rubble.

Photo courtesy of @LisandroSuero.

charity: water’s two local partners, Partners in Health and Concern Worldwide, are reacting to the disaster swiftly and comprehensively.* We need your support. In the interest of immediate relief, we’re asking that donations be made straight to our partners.

To donate to Partners in Health’s efforts, click here.
To donate to Concern Worldwide’s efforts, click here.

Already one of the poorest and densely-populated countries in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti has struggled to overcome the effects of a slew of rough storms in 2008 before this week’s disaster. More than 4 million people (42% of the population) already lack access to safe drinking water. Disasters undercut development efforts tremendously.

If you have a non-profit or source that you trust and/or have given to, you can list it in the comments below.

Courtney and I will be using the charity: water partners listed above.

Let’s all keep them in our thoughts.

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Happy Thanksgiving America!

Courtney and I decided on a whim to record a Thanksgiving video highlighting the top 3 things we each are most thankful for this year!

We took it in one shot and tried to make our selections a little more specific than general (although Courtney did a much better job at that).

[If you don't see the video CLICK HERE to go to the site to watch it!]

Milligan lasts all of about 15 seconds and if you watch, Courtney and I are constantly spying on her as she has a free-for-all in Courtney’s classroom for the rest of the video!  I know you parents out there will give us a break .

Yes, I know the framing is horrible.  It’s a spontaneous holiday video, not a documentary!

Seriously, though, I’ll be working more on figuring my new Flip out… Gotta get the kinks worked out before we hit the road again! 

What are the top 3 things you are thankful for this year?

Let us know your own below!  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

XOXOXO,

Adam, Courtney, and Milligan

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This isn’t the first time I’ve shared this concept with you, but I feel it’s important to spotlight again.

Courtney and I still aren’t giving like we want to. We aren’t giving almost anything financially, nor are we volunteering time or skills to a worthy cause.  The lack of monetary giving isn’t really a secret, though.  If one wanted they can view the public tracking of our finances and clearly see this absence.

Part of me wants to blame traveling and being mobile.  After all, it’s much easier to give time when you are part of an active, local community.

Part of me wants to point to the fact that we don’t have any money to give.  Which, like the traveling excuse above, is a load of crap.

We have the money to travel, to bungie jump, to fly to Bangkok, and to go to a Pearl Jam concert this Friday.  I’m not saying that we shouldn’t do these things, but that it’s obvious that if giving was a priority then we would find the money to give.

Give less now, in order to give more later.

This is the number one justification I employ in order to convince myself that it’s o.k. not to give right now.  There’s only one problem with this…  I think it’s a dumb concept.  A really dumb concept.  Somehow, I still allow myself to hide behind it.

The basic premise is simple:  If rather than giving, we took that money and time and invested it…  we’ll be able to give so much more in the future.

• For example, we could use it to pay down debt and thus become debt-free more quickly.  Once debt-free we’d be able to make an even larger difference with our freedom and our full income.

• Or instead of volunteering our time, what if we used that to further build our income opportunities.  Eventually, in theory, this would result in much more income and possibilities down the road.

It sounds good.  And to be honest, I really believe in it.  I believe that Courtney and I are going to find ways to give back on a large scale in the coming 5, 10, 20 years.  Maybe that’s why it works so well for me…  I’ve really bought into the concept.

Why I’m scared this concept will blow up in our faces…

There are two big reasons why hiding behind this concept sucks.

First, it’s an insanely slippery slope. Right now, it may seem paying off our debt or investing in income opportunities is a much better (long-term) use of our time.  But let’s assume we accomplish those things?  Are we sure we’ll start giving?

Milligan will be older…  we may even have more kids down the road.  What about college funding?  Isn’t it more important to enabled our own children the possibility to go to college before we give?

But wait… what about retirement?  It doesn’t make “mathematical” sense to give and give if we don’t take care of our own future.  Heck, we might have the tables flipped on us if we ignore the cost of living in old age.

Maybe we could focus our time on building a sustainable charity, like TOMS Shoes.  This seems better than just giving a percentage of our…  blah, blah, blah.  I hope you see my point.

Who is to say that we ever get to the perfect time to give. I hope we get out of debt, save for college and retirement, create a business we can be proud of, etc…  But why should giving wait?

And that’s the second big reason…  giving shouldn’t have to wait. The point of giving is that it, like everything else, is a journey in life.  Finding ways to give back despite your circumstances is beautiful.  It’s so simple.  Everyone can do something, yet Courtney and I choose to neglect this.

Treating giving as a journey…

You don’t have to have some life altering idea or concept to make a difference.  That’s where my perfectionism comes back and bites me in the butt.  I have friends who are perfect examples of this:

• Cody McKibben lives, travels, and blogs from Thailand and other parts of Southeast Asia.  Despite being just as busy, he is constantly finding ways to give back and has begun targeting non-profits for his design and consulting work.
• My pf-buddy Matt Jabs still manages to regularly tithe 12%, despite being on a very similar, passionate anti-debt crusade in his own life.
• Another great example, is Greg Rollett, who is aggressively pounding the pavement on his own online ventures, yet still finds time to juggle his passion to give back through his creative Rock For Hunger campaign.

None of these examples are unrealistic.  They haven’t founded something on the scale of Kiva.org or CharityWater.org (yet), but they are extraordinary in my book.  Extraordinary because they are normal people on similiar journeys, who simply choose to step-up in an area that I neglect to.

And whatever your situation, I guarantee there are everyday examples of people in similiar circumstances who are walking-the-walk.  People who are treating giving as a journey and not some tangible end goal. Maybe you’re that example.  If so, keep rockin’!

I want to change the world…

I’ll share something with you guys…  I see my future in social entrepreneurship.  My future isn’t as a money guru or a lifestyle guru.  Thinking of that path makes me want to vomit.

What I love doing is… I love connecting. I love networking and meeting people.  I love representing an idea.  I love branding, actually.

My current dream is to dedicate myself to a cause that I would be proud to let everyone I meet know about.  I have a bit of this with Man Vs. Debt, because I really believe in what I’m doing.  But at the same time, MvD isn’t bigger than me…  it is me.

I want something bigger… a CharityWater or a Kiva.  I don’t have to be a founder or anything (consider this an open invitation to e-mail me you two), but rather just part of a passionate team.  I want something I can dedicate myself to fully and that allows me to use every ounce of my talents to help build a legacy.

But I can’t let this vision keep me from giving back now.  Sure being 100% debt-free with a mobile income would allow me many possibilities.  But I’m not satisfied with putting everything off until this perfect storm.

After I hit publish, I’m going to e-mail out to a handful of charities, non-profits, and philanthropic groups that I respect.  I’m going to offer to volunteer a portion of my time and efforts starting today.

I’d make a great part-time blogger outreach intern.  Maybe I could help brainstorm concepts and plans to better use social media.  Maybe I could help spread the message to a group in Thailand while we are there.  I don’t know what the solution is, but I do know that it’s time to at least try.

By the way, if you are part of a group, whose message you think I would connect with e-mail me:  Baker (at) ManVsDebt.com.

I don’t want to live my whole life and look back and say, “Man…  I was just too busy to contribute…”

Are you currently satisfied with your giving?

Have you felt this same ‘slippery slope’ I mention in the post?  In what creative ways are you giving back?  Please let me know of any resources or people that I would like and that are making a difference… I’m always up for some more inspiration!

photo by pedrosimoes7

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzvySMax0jA

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Please continue to submit your feedback on the videos.  I feel like I am improving with quality and delivery, but I need your honest feedback to continue to push me.  If you don’t feel like leaving a critical comment below, you can e-mail me at Baker [at] ManVsDebt [dot] com.

Basic Outline Of The Content In Video

• My Confession:  We aren’t giving as much as we feel we should.

• We give in the basic areas.  Cancer walk/runs, fund-raising, school functions, natural disasters

• Even though specific numbers aren’t important, we can’t imagine giving 10% (for example) right off the top.

• Should giving be treated like an investment?  Give less now, in order to give so much more later?

• Are we modeling our values appropriately for our children?

• If you were on your deathbed, would you be satisfied with the giving you’ve been able to do?

• Once we get out of debt are we really going to start giving?  Or will there always be another justification?  How do we keep from falling into that trap.

• I don’t want to live my whole life and look back and say, “I was too busy to give.”

If you are in debt, do you struggle with same issues?  Are you giving as much as you think you should?  If you are already out of debt, how did getting out of debt change your view on giving?  Did it effect it at all?  As always, please help me work through this issue by leaving your comment below!

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