In Episode 4 of the Man Vs. Debt Podcast, we cover how you can “Rally Your Friends and Loved Ones.”

We’ve talked about this here on the blog before, as it’s one of the single biggest issues that holds people back.

Note: We also cover this content on the final day of Week 1 in You Vs. Debt. Registration for our new Kickoff 2012 class closes soon, so don’t delay! The class starts together on Monday!

What We Can Learn From The News:

At the beginning of each podcast, I cover three news stories from the past week. We attempt to have a little fun and pull out a positive nugget from each story featured.

• Story #1: Wikipedia Blackout a Grand Gesture or Grandstanding?
• Story #2: What Would You Do With A Billion Dollar Bank Error?
• Story #3: Heroes of the Concordia Crash

Why having your friends and family on board is important:

1. It’s been the #1 factor of any positive change in my life.
2. Realizing that “the meaning of any communication is the response it elicits.”

1. Realize you can’t change them.
2. Let them change organically.
3. Start with WHY it’s important to you.
4. Seek their input. Listen.
5. Leverage outside influences.
6. Lead by example.
7. Make it a routine.

How you can help the podcast explode:

Our first three episode have been downloaded or streamed over 25,000 times!  Whoo-hoo!

If you’ve listen and enjoyed any of the podcasts so far, would you consider leaving a quick, passionate review in iTunes?

Click here to view and/or subscribe inside of  iTunes!

(The newest episode may take a few hours to show in iTunes, but it WILL download if you subscribe.)

Thanks again for everything!

Xoxoxo,

-Baker

Is it possible to change your life in 15 minutes a day?

For the last 18 months or so, I’ve been on a quest to answer that very question.

Here’s what I’ve got so far… YES! It’s absolutely possible.

When you consistently apply your time toward creating the life you love, those bite-sized chunks will create an incredible surge of momentum. They compound. They stack. The efforts multiply each other.

In fact, we’ve found that the person who spends 15 minutes a day for a week – almost always has better results than the person who only focuses once a week for 2 hours.

*****

Today marks the launch of our next You Vs. Debt course – and it’s designed to change your life during the next six weeks using a series of bite-sized chunks that you should be able to knock out in 15 minutes each weekday.

As long-time readers know, we’ve poured a lot of sweat and tears into the development of this framework.

Here’s some of the new structure we’ve created:

• Daily lessons are delivered via video, MP3, and text transcripts.
• Each video contains a lesson, a specific challenge, and a worksheet that you’ll be expected to fill out.
• Our accountability forums offer a place to share your journey to debt freedom with others who are in the same place.
• We’ll send out weekly accountability surveys to track your progress and check your momentum.
• You’ll have the opportunity to unlock badges and publicly display progress on your profile and in the forums.

We all know what we “should” be doing with our finances.

But for so many of us – we’re not doing it. Like I explained in my TEDx talk, that was our situation as well – UNTIL we got serious about changing our habits and our way of thinking.

We’ve been talking about this concept in our posts and podcast episodes this month. I asked you to seriously consider where you are in the phases of debt reduction.

And here’s the awesome thing about You Vs. Debt. Because we’re designed to providing accountability and community support, and to building good habits, it’s an incredible resource no matter WHICH phase of your debt journey you find yourself in.

In our Fall 2011 class, we had people who were currently at their highest debt level ever – and some who started the course with ZERO debt, following the program to make sure they stayed consistent and debt-free.

The last You Vs. Debt class paid off more than $280,000 in debt – an average of more than $1,000 per person – during the six weeks of the course.

And more than that, these class members changed the way they THINK about debt and their financial futures.

For instance, check out this note from Sherice, who paid off $7,372 during the Fall 2011 class. You read that right – more than $7,000 in 6 weeks! She says:

“Your course gave me so much more than I expected. I think I can say my husband and I are successfully winning our battle with debt (but that’s the small part). The big part … my perception of debt was really suffocating me. So much so that I stopped dreaming … I lost my passion for me. You really helped me get that back and inspired me to find my voice again.”

That’s what we know can happen when you surround yourself with positive influences. I can’t make you (or anyone else) show up and focus for 15-20 minutes a day.

But your life CAN change.

You can change it.

*****

Maybe you’re not ready to make that commitment yet. And that’s OK. But if you are, we’d love to tell you more about You Vs. Debt.

You literally have nothing to lose – because not only does your enrollment cover LIFETIME membership, meaning you can participate in the class as many times as you like – we also offer a DOUBLE your money back lifetime guarantee.

Put simply: If you invest the time and the work and you DON’T at least cover the cost of the course in debt paid off, we’ll not only refund your money, but we’ll add in a $97 Amazon gift card (yes, really).

*****

We believe we can empower you to make a difference. Check out You Vs. Debt here.

If you have friends who are ready to be held accountable and get started changing their lives, spread the word. Our team has a goal to help ONE MILLION PEOPLE get out of debt, and to do that, we’re going to need the help of those who have been positively affected by our message!

If you’ve read this far, I know you’re serious about leading the life you want – the one in which you’re truly your own “success story.” So here’s our challenge to you. Learn more about You Vs. Debt. Share the info with a friend or family member.

Then, leave a comment here with one positive change you’ve made in your life in the past six months.

No, silly, this doesn’t need to be a result of this blog or our course.

I just want to hear what sort of progress you are making…

Big or small, what’s on positive change you’ve recently made?

-Baker

Note: You Vs Debt opens today and closes this Friday. First day of class starts on Monday!

In Episode 3 of the new podcast, we cover the “6 Phases of Debt Reduction.”

Having talked to thousands of people (on all different parts of their debt journey) over the last few years, I’ve noticed a couple patterns that have emerged.

It seems that almost everyone, regardless of income level, country, or age, goes through 6 clear phases when taking back control of their financial life.

What We Can Learn From The News:

At the beginning of each podcast, I cover three news stories from the past week. We attempt to have a little fun and pull out a positive nugget from each story featured.

• Story #1: The Most Unusual Job Interview Questions of 2011
• Story #2: NBC’s Super Bowl Ads Sell Out at Record Prices
• Story #3: If you think Suze Orman’s new Pre-Paid Debit Card is a bad idea, you’re an “idiot”.

I also pointed out what was the best Super Bowl ad last year (by far): Young Darth Vader.

The 6 Phases of Debt:

1. Free Your Mind… (I show off my singing voice – can’t miss it)
2. Wake Up!
3. Suck it up and Budget.
4. Stop Buying Crap.
5. Earn More Money.
6. Bringing it all together (for the long-term).

We cover an overview of each of the 6 phases, along with tips on what to focus on if you are in that phase of the game.

Help the podcast reach even more people!

We’re still Top 10 in our “investing” category of iTunes. And still being featured as “New and Noteworthy in iTunes”.

Help us keep up the amazing momentum!

Word of mouth is still the most amazing method to spread the news. Is there a friend, coworker, and family member that would enjoy the podcast? Send it to them!

You can also click here to view and/or subscribe via iTunes!

(The newest episode may take a few hours to show in iTunes, but it WILL download if you subscribe.)

If you are extra impressed, don’t forget to leave a review inside of iTunes. This really helps!

Which phase are you in?

Xoxoxo,

-Baker

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

I’m really excited to launch the first episode of the brand new Man Vs. Debt podcast!

Our team has been working hard on exploring the ins and outs of the podcasting world – and to be honest – I’m really, really enjoying it so far.

We’ll be taking off next week for Christmas, however starting in 2012 this will be a weekly podcast. One hour a week of action-packed, non-stop fun! Whoo-hoo!

Notes on Episode #1:

• We start with a section that will be named “What we can learn from the news!” in future episodes. News is typically boring, negative, annoying… or all of the above. We try to spin that around and actually learn something from it!

• Next, we talk about finding your “Big Why.” That’s the deep reason that you desire a change in your life.

• Then we visit the audio from my recent TEDx Talk which explores the question, “What does FREEDOM mean to you?” Even if you’ve already seen the video, you may be able to pick up something new while playing the audio in the background.

• Before we wrap up, I share a quick interview I recorded with Hannah Loaring. Hannah is a MvD community member who recently paid off $26,000 in just 9 months and completely changed her internal confidence and key relationships. She sheds a lot of insight into her recent success!

As always, I really appreciate your insight, comments, and suggestions.

We have nearly a page of improvements, features, and fun things we’d like to add in the next couple of episodes – and I know you guys will help us add plenty of fantastic ideas to it!

A special thanks goes out to Cliff Ravenscraft for working with me on getting set-up and optimized and Pat Flynn for inspiring me to “be everywhere” with the message.

How you can help the podcast jump out the gates!

The best possible way to help is to listen to the first 2-3 episodes as we put them out – and let us know what you think!

Click here to view and/or subscribe via iTunes!

(It may take an hour or so for the podcast to show in iTunes, but if you subscribe it WILL download even if it’s not showing yet.)

If you really enjoyed the episode, please leave a quick review (this is done by clicking “view in iTunes”). Great reviews is how iTunes knows which podcasts to share and recommend with others!

So as you are SAFELY driving to your friends and family this Christmas and New Years (or you are hitting the gym for that new workout), pop in the podcast and give it a listen. Exciting times!

Have and amazing holiday season!

Xoxoxo,

-Baker

I’m extremely excited to share with you a talk I gave as part of TEDx here in Asheville a little over a month ago. Some of my favorite online sources of inspiration are TEDx Talks, so I was honored to be invited to give one myself!

I spent a lot of time planning and preparing what I believed to be the most powerful and concise version of our message here at Man Vs. Debt. I’m extremely pleased with how it turned out!

It revolves around finding your own answer to one powerful, life-changing question.

It’s less than 20-minutes long. I think you’ll love it!

Note: I have a deep passion for speaking and would love to add a couple more events to my 2012 speaking schedule! If you know of any opportunities, conferences, or events – don’t hesitate to reach out to me. You can email me directly at Baker(at)ManVsDebt.com.

What did you think?

Let me know in the comments below!

Jonathan Fields’ new book Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance is being unleashed into the world!

In the video review above, I share my honest feelings about the book along with my two major takeaways from consuming it over the weekend.

Note: Today is the very last day to take advantage of special pre-order bundles available at the book’s website. Tomorrow is the official launch (these offers go away)!

Uncertainty is something we all deal with.

Anytime we attempt a major life change, we face uncertainty. Anytime we attempt to solve a problem with creativity, we face uncertainty.

We all face uncertainty, but most of us go about this in the wrong way!

We attempt to eliminate uncertainty from our lives. We try to get to a point of absolutely certainty before we take action.

But if we wait around for a moment where we have complete certainty… we end up doing NOTHING!

Anything in life worth doing is going to involve massive levels of uncertainty.

If Jonathan has taught me only one thing, it’s that action in the face of uncertainty is the path to a fulfilling life. In fact, it’s a requirement of a fulfilling life.

Here’s a recap of my takeaways from Uncertainty:

• Major Takeaway #1: Our fear of being judged is keeping us from living the life that we know is possible. We must take concrete steps to counteract this. (Jonathan covers these early in the book.)

• Major Takeaway #2: 90% of the fear and doubt of a life change exists only in our heads. You’ll always have some uncertainty, but a few simple questions can dissolve the majority of it almost immediately. (This comes later in the book.)

Jonathan’s three questions (Chapter 9: Own The Story Line)…

My favorite part of the entire book happens in Chapter 9 towards the end.

Jonathan suggests that when we’re faced with any decision or major life change, we need to ask ourselves the following:

1. Question 1: “What if I go to Zero?” — Write down the worst possible outcome of trying and failing. Be realistic, but be honest.
2. Question 2: “What if I do nothing?” – Write everything that’ll stay the same if you take NO action to change.
3. Question 3: “What if I succeed?” – Write down what would happen if you DID accomplish the change or shift in your life. Be as specific as possible.

Whether or not you can get your hands on a copy of Uncertainty, I challenge you to apply Jonathan’s 3 questions to a big decision or change in your own life.

Write down (on paper) your answers to each of the 3 questions.

For me, I didn’t even have to spend time looking at the answers. Just the process of writing down my answers immediately dissolved 90% of the fear and doubt I had attached to a recent decision.

It was almost all in my head!

Give the exercise a try – and I strongly recommend you grab a copy of Uncertainty and read it this weekend.

For more information check out Jonathan’s raw, inspiring book trailer…

[Can't view the video? Click here for more info (and to watch it in your browser)...]

It’s one of my top three books for anyone who has to creatively solve problems in business or life. And I’m guessing you probably fall into that category.

Jonathan Fields is a brilliant man.

Uncertainty is a brilliant book.

How do you currently deal with uncertainty in your life?

*****

I’m a bit exhausted, but far more excited to announce that the newly-redesigned You Vs. Debt class is open for registration starting today!

We’ve designed the structure of the course to focus around daily, bite-size chunks that anyone can knock out quickly.

It only takes an average of 15 minutes per day, but when applied consistently over the 6-week framework, this amount of time can yield fantastic results.

Here’s some of the new structure we’ve created:

• Daily lessons delivered via video, MP3, and text transcripts.
• Each video contains a lesson, a specific challenge, and a worksheet that you’ll be expected to fill out.
• We’ll send out weekly accountability surveys to track your progress and check your momentum.
• You’ll have the opportunity to unlock badges and publicly display progress on your profile and in the forums.

But more important than fancy, new features is the why…

There are millions of people in financial situations that keep them pinned down. And the truth is, a big percentage of these people know better.

They even know exactly what needs to be done. But they still can’t manage to bring it all together and change their habits.

Over the last two weeks, we’ve talked about how habit change is not about simply knowing more. It’s about understanding how our emotional mind and logical mind work together to create lasting change.

I’m so passionate about this non-conventional approach, that I’ve designed You Vs Debt around it completely.

The entire focus is to get people to stick with the program and finish.

I’m CRAVING results for the people who jump in on this. We’ve broken it down into small pieces. We’ve installed game mechanics to help make it fun. We’ve brought together a community of other like-minded people.

I can’t make you (or anyone else) show up and focus for 15-20 minutes a day.

But I’m sure as heck going to try!

If you think this may be a good fit, go check out the guarantee we are offering on the class right now!

Seriously, we are THAT intent on getting results for people who show up and stick to the plan.

Your one-time enrollment also covers lifetime membership! 

Meaning even if you miss a week or two, you’ll be able to pick up where you left off in any future classes down the road.

*****

Lastly, I’ll be doing a no-holds-barred Q&A session this coming Wednesday at 9 p.m. EST.

It’s the first time I’ve done something like this and I’ll shoot out more information about it tomorrow. If you’ve ever wanted to ask about finance, debt, travel, business, life, or anything else you can think of… this is the chance. It should be a blast!

*****

Thanks again for all your support. If you know someone who can use motivation and accountability to passionately attack their debt – I appreciate if you forward them over to You Vs. Debt this week.

We’re going to blow the roof off this class!

Note: Let me know what you think of the video above! It’s a sample daily video (Day 5) from the new 6-week You Vs Debt class that opens early next week!

There are hundreds of factors that weigh into the success of a change.

But time and time again, I’m convinced that one single factor outweighs all the others:

The support and excitement of a respected loved one!

I know for sure that the financial changes I’ve made, the growth of this community, or any of the strides I’ve made in person freedom and creativity wouldn’t have been possible without the support and excitement of Courtney.

It’s really that simple.

Courtney’s support has been the #1 factor in every positive change I’ve made in the last 5 years.

Now, don’t let me paint you a rose-colored picture here. Most times we don’t start on the same page. Many times getting to the same page isn’t the prettiest in the world. We are far, far away from being the perfect family or couple.

But we have found a way to prioritize being on each others’ bandwagon.

If Courtney believes deeply in something (and I’m aware enough to know that), I try to do my best to be her #1 supporter and fan. It may not happen overnight, but we are well aware of how important this support is in our lives!

But I know from experience that things don’t always go smoothly…

In addition to learning from our own mistakes, I’ve heard from hundreds and hundreds of readers of the last few years with similar hiccups.

Sometimes our own excitement and values can be so far apart from our loved ones that we can feel completely alone.

But that’s rarely the actual case. And in these vulnerable moments many times we can find ourselves scapegoating our loved ones:

“I’m ready for change, but my husband just won’t help me out…”

“We’d turn around our finances, but with three young kids in school we just have too much responsibility to do ____________.”

“My friends don’t get it…”

Some or all of these statements may be true in your life.

But it’s my experience that it’s easy to blame others than realize just how much control we DO have in our own lives.

I read a quote – or truth of sorts – a couple years ago and it stuck with me.

“The meaning of any communication is the response it elicits.”

I love this way of thinking, because it returns the responsibility for results back onto me. If Courtney doesn’t give me the response or support I’m looking for, it’s very likely a result of poor communication on my part.

This may not be true ALL of the time, but it’s definitely been true MOST of the time for me.

With this paradigm in mind, here’s a recap of the 7 tips from the video:

1. Realize you can’t change another person…

You can force, manipulate, coerce and brainwash… but not forever.

In the long-term, you can’t force lasting change onto anyone else.

Lasting change comes from within.

Trying to quickly force a change in another person will always blow up in your face. It elicits a defensive reaction and turns conversations into arguments in the blink of an eye.

But that doesn’t mean you are hopeless.

You can encourage change. You can model healthy change. You can communicate, listen, and evolve with those you love.

But the first step in the process is to realize you can’t change them.

2. Allow change to happen at its own pace…

Once you’ve realized that you can’t force or rush change, you learn that you have to allow it to occur at its own natural pace.

You’ve experienced circumstances and influences that have ignited an excitement or an urgency for change.

How selfish is it to expect that any other person immediately experience that same level passion? You are different people with different ways of processing influences in your environments!

You’ve got to respect your loved one’s internal timeframe for an organic build up of excitement.

That’s a fancy way of saying be patient.

I’m not telling you to wait forever. I’m not telling you to accept a lack of action or effort.

I’m simply suggesting that real excitement and passion only grows when there is room for it to happen naturally for each person involved.

Patience, young grasshopper. Patience.

3. Start with why this is important to you…

Whenever you approach your spouse or loved one, frame the entire discussion with why this change is important to you.

Not why this change is the right path.

Not why this change must be done.

Not what has been done wrong.

Not what some other person has done better.

Start with why this is important to you.

Reach deep down. Find the vulnerable, open, honest reasons why why you are excited and passionate about this change.

Most importantly, be optimistic. Be happy.

There is a time and place for recognizing and learning from errors. Moving away from a painful moment can be a big motivator in your journey.

But not now. This is not the time for that.

Start with optimism.

Start with why it’s important to you.

4. Seek their input…

After you state why it’s important to you, seek their input.

Ask them what’s important to them about the topic or part of your life you’ve just talked about.

Don’t ask them what they think about what you said. This is a formula for them to take the opposite side and defend.

Instead, ask them what’s important to them about ___________.

Then stop talking.

Don’t interrupt. Don’t risk breaking the flow.

Listen.

When they are done, this is often times a great place to end the initial conversation. There’s nothing wrong with a short discussion of what’s important and then some time away to think.

5. Leverage outside experiences and influences…

If I know one thing for sure, it’s that I’m terrible at having a Teacher/Student relationship with Courtney.

It’s probably a combination of my ego and my tendency to get offended when I recognize naivety in my own actions – but I simply don’t handle it well.

I can be taught by others. I do it all the time.

I love learning from a wide variety of sources…  just as long as that source is NOT Courtney!

All joking aside, it’s extremely difficult for most of us to swallow instruction or correction from someone we are that close with. We want those people to respect us so deeply that we completely block the potential to learn and grow from their experiences.

A great way to avoid this conflict is to leverage outside influences to help:

• Take a class together. Courtney and I did this at the beginning of our financial turnaround.
• Watch a documentary or movie about that topic. This is our method of choice for many healthy eating and food-related issues.
• Send them an article, post, or recording. “Honey, check out this article I loved on ___________.”

Allowing them to leverage external influences will often make it far easier for people to accept responsibility for the new change!

6. Lead by example…

Even with the tips and suggestion on this list, one conversation isn’t going to magically cure all your woes.

Remember, this takes time. Open, honest conversations will help go a long way to building that foundation, but you may still have some patience to practice as your loved ones build that excitement.

While they come around, you don’t have to be sitting by idling.

Lead by example.

Take action. Model the behavior and the baby steps toward change that you are so passionate about.

If it’s financial change you are after, start tracking your own spending. Get your hands on a couple great books on the topic. Enroll in a course or class and start your journey.

Don’t force feed your loved ones, but show them with ACTION that you are serious and committed.

Hearing your words is nice, but seeing you walk the walk can inspire in a way words can’t.

7. Make it a family routine…

Last, but certainty not least, get the whole family involved in this process.

Make it a game. Make it fun, quirky, and interesting.

One of the best ways to get a spouse on board is to encourage yourself to include the kids.

The best example from my own life is when Courtney and I work out. Often times we’ll follow videos like P90X or Insanity and we almost always have Milligan do them with us.

Obviously, she just jumps around and rolls on the floor (and sometimes gets in the way at the WORST possible times), but her effect on motivation is significant.

If Courtney casually says “Milli and I are going to do today’s P90X video…” I’m about 500 times more likely to jump in and do it with them. If Courtney just goes to do it herself, I’ll sometimes her myself justifying “Oh go ahead, I’ll do it later on at a more convenient time for me…”

Yeah, right. That ends up happening about 10% of the time.

The simple fact is I’m much more likely to participate when I know it’s a family activity we are doing together.

This works to help get older kids involved, as well.

If kids see that both parents are on board with a goal or mission, they are FAR more likely to have excitement for the activity or change.

Even Milligan is willing to give half of her toys to the garage sale if she sees that Mommy and Daddy are all putting their stuff in the sale, too.

YOUR CHALLENGE (DON’T SKIP THIS)…

You know I’ve been on a big action kick lately, and this post is no different.

These tips are useless, unless you take action to apply at least one of them in your life today.

At the end of the video, I challenged You Vs Debt members to…

Schedule a 20-minute block of time to have a conversation with a loved one in your life.

You Vs Debt member or not, I want YOU to do this exercise.

Here are your ground rules for this conversation:

1. 100% Distraction Free – No screens are are allowed in a 10 foot radius. No televisions, cell phones, computers, etc… It’s only 20 minutes, you can do it.
2. Low stress and not tired – Ensure the conversation happens at a time that is low stress (unwind from work or business), but also when you aren’t tired (not right as you lay your head down at night).
3. Lead with WHY it’s important to you – Remember tip #3. Start the conversation with why it’s important to you and then LISTEN.
4. Never say “YOU” or “YOUR” – These two words are BANNED from the entire conversation. No exceptions.

Put this post to use in your life.

Schedule a 20-minute conversation for sometime this weekend.

Share your experience and tips below…

I’ve mapped out everything I’ve learned from talking with hundreds of people over the last few years, but I want YOUR experience as well.

Have you had success getting on board with a spouse or loved one recently?

How do you rally your loved ones?

Share your frustrations, experience, and/or tips below with others!…

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Today is an exciting day for me. We’re one week out from the opening of my new You Vs Debt class – and to celebrate I’ve decided to share a few sample daily lessons and resources this week with you!

The first week of the six week You Vs Debt class is all about “Motivation & Mindset.”

As we talked about in my last post, this is an extremely important topic that many financial experts simply shy away from. We dig into the numbers of personal finance starting in Week 2, but not before we lay a foundation of excitement, passion, and commitment.

The key metaphor that guides us through this first week is that of The Rider, The Elephant, and The Path – a great construct laid out in the book Switch by Chip and Dan Heath.

Essentially they describe our emotional mind to be like a huge elephant – slow, deliberate, and powerful. Our logical mind is the rider on top tasked with constantly guiding the elephant through the jungle towards a desired destination.

How do most of us try to get this elephant through the jungle?

We force it. We grab the reigns and try to ram this beast straight through the shortest path possible!

We fight, we struggle… we tire, we sore, and finally… we exhaust.

“WILLPOWER!” We scream at the top of our lungs… but it’s no use. We simply can’t keep up the stamina to constantly overpower the elephant.

Is it any wonder most of us burn out when attempting to change a tough habit?

Willpower alone is not enough…

Instead of constantly exhausting ourselves trying to micromanage our journey, Chip and Dan Health suggest we:

1. Direct the rider – First, we need to give our logical minds clarity above all else. We need to know specifically what we are doing and where we are going. This helps us overcome the fear of uncertainty (a huge source of resistance in our logical brains) – and gives us the guidance to make small course corrections when needed.
2. Motivate the elephant – This is where so many of us fail. You shouldn’t be motivating the rider (what most of us try first) – you need to motivate the huge, powerful beast you’re riding! By switching your motivation to feed your emotional mind – you’ll ensure that the elephant wants to come along for the ride. You’ll no longer be caught in a constant power struggle – and won’t burn out nearly as quickly.

This subtle shift to motivate my emotional mind over my logical mind has completely changed the way I approach change in my life.

But the last part of Chip and Dan’s jungle metaphor may be the most important.

They remind us that you can also Shape The Path that the rider and the elephant take through the jungle. This means crafting a positive, supporting environment and removing any negative potholes, obstacles and predators in your way.

Shaping the path makes the journey easier on both parts of our minds. Our emotional mind can push forward without many hurdles – and our logical mind can make small adjustments if we begin to wander off the path at any point.

You Vs. Debt Sneak Peek…

And this is where we find ourselves on Day 4 of the You Vs. Debt class framework. Having just covered how to motivate our emotional minds and direct our logical minds, we’re ready to craft our environment to help support the journey.

Take a sneak peek at a sample lesson and challenge from Day 4:

[Can't see the video? Click here to watch it in your browser!]

Additional Resources:

• Download the Day 4 Worksheet (to complete your challenge at the end of the video)
• Download the MP3
• Download the full transcript

Do This Challenge Today…

This sample lesson (and post) is useless if you don’t take action.

I want you to download this supplemental worksheet and fill it out.

Start by filling out your three levels of positive influences. Next, list the negative people and environments that are dragging you down.

After you are done share the following in the comments (if you are willing):

1. Share the #1 entity in your life that is dragging you down.
2. Share your #1 most empowering influence.
   

Sharing your answers in the comments below will help inspire others to take up the challenge!

Your financial life CAN change. And crafting your environment (or “shaping the path”) is an essential step in ensuring that this change will be long-term and sustainable.

I hope you enjoyed the sample lesson!  To unlock another couple lessons just like it, be sure you are on the You Vs Debt Insider’s list by filling out the form below this post!

Xoxoxo,

-Baker

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