The following is a story I read, and I knew I had to share it with the group. You see, it is always so easy to fall into the “I can’t do it.” trap and falling backward in despair at how tough it is to conduct business in today’s environment. Today, business is like an unruly floor polisher … so, read on …

“I can remember a period in my life when I was unemployed and money was running short. I needed a job very badly and it seemed as if no one was hiring.

A very good friend of mine approached me one day with an offer. “I’m going to have to let this job go and I was wondering if you would like to take it over?”

“That would be great,” I replied.

I went to speak with the manager and he said he could use me, but never gave me a start date. Really needing the job, I made it a point to go and check in with him every day. I knew he would eventually get tired of me and give me a starting period. Finally one day he said, “You can start Monday morning.”

Come Monday morning, I showed up for work extra early. I was ready to do my best. When I went inside I was informed that I would be buffing the floors. My friend was there to show me how to operate the buffer.

“It’s real easy,” he said, running the machine very smoothly.

He handed it over to me and said, “Here, you give it a try.”

I grabbed the handles with a “no problem” attitude and gave it some gas. To my surprise, the buffer whipped around in a big circle, running over my friend’s brand new pair of boots, and sending him jumping up on a check-out counter.

Several times, I tried to run it again and failed. I really had to fight that thing to make it go.

“What am I going to do?” I thought to myself. “I finally found a job and I can’t do it. Am I going to have to tell them I have to quit?”

After several rough days of buffing, I finally made up my mind that I was going to do this. For about a week, I struggled with the buffer, putting all my weight and strength into it. Eventually, I learned the trick was not to struggle with it at all, just go with the flow of it, and by the second week, I was showing off and running it with one hand.

A few months later, I thought back and wondered what would have happened if I had given up that first week. I certainly would not have had the newfound confidence or a paycheck. Sometime after that experience, I started a new job that required the use of a buffer. I even had to train others to use it, and I always got a kick out of seeing them run it for the first time. I knew, though, if they stuck with it, they would do just fine; they just needed a little encouragement and a lot of practice.

Michael Jordan said, “Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.”

Kip Davis

Kip Davis is the city planner for a small rural town in Arkansas. He writes a weekly column for the town newspaper called “Positive Motivation For The Real World.”

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There is no substitute for persistence! It cannot be supplanted by any other quality! Remember this in the beginning and it will hearten you when the going may seem difficult and slow.

Those who have cultivated the habit of persistence seem to enjoy insurance against failure. No matter how many times they are defeated, they finally arrive up near the top of the ladder. Sometimes it appears there is a hidden guide whose duty is to test people through all sorts of discouraging experiences. Those who pick themselves up after defeat and keep on trying arrive; and the world cries, “Bravo! I knew you could do it!” The hidden guide lets no one enjoy great achievement without passing the persistence test. Those who can’t take it simply do not make the grade.

Those who can “take it” are bountifully rewarded for their persistence. They receive, as their compensation, whatever goal they are pursuing.

Napoleon Hill
From Think and Grow Rich

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Are you looking at receipts all over your desk?

Are you stressed about having your taxes done?

Are you overwhelmed with all the paperwork?

If you answered yes to any of these question, then please call Executive Accounting, Inc to let us take the stress and hassle out your business life and get you on the right track for the Fiscal New Year. We want to you spend more time developing your business and less time on paperwork. We can help you build Business Plans, Strategic Plans or Action Plans. We can also take care of your budgets and build your financials to compare your budget amounts to your actuals with a variance. This will enable you to see where your funds are being spent at a moments notice.

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“We were not created to be eaten by anxiety, but to walk erect, free, unafraid in a world where there is work to do, truth to seek, love to give and win.”

~ Joseph Ford Newton, Author

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Bill Gates Got Lucky (How you can get lucky, too.)

Since the mid-1990s, Bill Gates has held the title of the wealthiest person on the planet. As the CEO and founder of Microsoft, his estimated net worth has at times exceeded $100 billion, making him the world’s first (and only) “centibillionaire.”

We like to believe that we live in a logical, orderly, cause-and-effect world. For every outcome, there’s a clear-cut explanation and a direct connection. And once we understand the cause-and-effect connections, we want to believe that the same results will happen for everyone.

Water boils at 212 degrees, and 2 +2 = 4 … for everyone. But even in hindsight, can we really determine how Bill Gates became the richest person in the world? And if we can, is it something that can be duplicated?

Two widely held perceptions about becoming rich (as opposed to inheriting wealth) are that you need to be smart and you need to work hard. So if being smart and working hard are the keys to making a fortune, then Gates wealth would make him the smartest person in the world, and the hardest working. Is that true? No.

This is not to say that Gates isn’t smart. He is. It’s not to say that he hasn’t worked hard. He has. But the definition of smart is subjective. If he was a contestant on “Jeopardy,” Gates might lose because he wasn’t up on popular culture, or sports. Even in his field of specialty, it’s likely there are several people who know as much or more than Gates about computer programming. As for working hard, a day laborer in a developing country may expend more physical and mental effort than Bill Gates every day, just to make ends meet. So, if Bill Gates doesn’t owe his success to working smarter and harder than everyone else, how did he make so much money? Is there some other secret ingredient?

After deliberation and study, here’s our conclusion: He got lucky. While much credit is due Bill Gates for having good ideas and following through on them, the biggest factor in his mind-blowing financial success is that he was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time.

He was born in the United States, to parents that could afford private education, just as computers were becoming commonplace in business and commerce. Those are just three factors in the Bill Gates story that were entirely beyond personal control. Yet if you changed any one of those variables (or a dozen others in his life), Bill Gates, even with his intelligence and work efforts, wouldn’t be the richest person in the world.

Here’s an analogy to help explain the interplay of effort and luck. Imagine that Gates applied his intelligence and work to buy a lottery ticket. Other people used their smarts and work to buy a ticket, too. At the end of the 20th century, Bill Gates just happened to have the winning ticket. Call it fate, karma, destiny, random chance, the hand of God, whatever, but the financial rewards that Bill Gates has received far exceed his talent or effort. Like a lot of “success stories,” luck played a significant role.

Everyone Plays In Two Lotteries

Continuing the lottery analogy, it’s accurate to say there are two games of financial chance. The first lottery is the same one Bill Gates entered. Through certain productive behaviors, you can “buy a ticket” for the chance at happy financial circumstances. Although you may not always “win big,” at least you are in the game.

The second lottery is one that delivers financial tragedy. There’s not always a clear-cut cause-and-effect explanation, but some people just end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. They buy investments just as values are dropping, have an accident that wipes out their savings, get downsized out of the best job they ever had. Even the smartest, hardest working people can be overwhelmed by financial bad luck.

Considering the impact that random events can have on your financial life, the realistic goal of any financial strategy should be to give you as many chances as possible in the good lottery, while minimizing your exposure to the bad one.

How to get in the “good” lottery:

1. Develop a valuable skill in a field that you enjoy
2. Accumulate assets (i.e., Save)
3. Find opportunities to be an owner
4. Be diligent – stick with your plans

How to stay out of the “bad” lottery:

1. Take on minimal, manageable debt
2. Discipline your lifestyle – live within your means
3. Protect/insure your assets, including your economic value
4. Be vigilant – stay on top of your plans

Some people see the two lotteries as being separate games requiring separate solutions. As a result, they may ignore or overlook some of the actions. An entrepreneur focused on winning big with a business opportunity may take on too much debt, or not bother with insurance. Conversely, some people are so concerned about losses they may shun opportunities for great gain. They might turn down a lucrative job offer, or pass on a chance to buy a discounted property.

But the two lotteries are interrelated. The more you do to stay out of the bad lottery, the more chances you have in the good lottery. And while there are no guarantees of winning big, every good action improves your odds for success, and for avoiding failure.

Planning your Financial Future: Earning Your Luck

The essence of “planning” for your financial future is making decisions that improve your chances for success, while acknowledging that factors beyond your control may render some decisions irrelevant. This doesn’t mean planning your financial future is a futile exercise. Rather, it provides a framework for realistic expectations.

In the face of the uncertainties of life, there is an understandable desire for security and stability. This desire can make people susceptible to promoters of financial vehicles and strategies that promise “no-risk secrets” and “guaranteed results.” (When that booklet arrives in the mailbox with the headline “Let me show you the insider’s way to capture large profits – guaranteed!” we want to believe there really is a fool-proof formula for great wealth.)

But great wealth isn’t achieved through a secret formula. There are no secrets, there are no guarantees. The only practical approach is good financial management, but even the best management can’t guarantee great wealth. However, good management will usually result in more opportunities for good fortune.

Returning to the richest person in the world: On one hand, Bill Gates got lucky. On the other, Bill Gates earned his luck. Are your financial decisions putting you in a position to get lucky?

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Bruce Hildreth is a financial advisor with Wealth Strategies Northwest based out Portland, Oregon. Bruce specializes in helping his clients increase their long term wealth and making sure their assets are well protected. Bruce has been working with employers and their employees for over 15 years to improve each one of his client’s financial future. He may be reached at 503.221.1226 or bruce.hildreth@glic.com.

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