New York Living

Hi All.
I know you've been ITCHING for me to start my blog up again, haven't you?! :)

Thanks to all my friends and family who encourage me and cheer me on via my social networking updates. Instead of posting verbose Facebook statuses and articles I find inspiring, I've decided to start the blog up again for you to choose to read in your free time.

I have started a new entrepreneurial endeavor in my life that I'm very excited about with a product that I can really get behind. This business is changing people's lives, and I'm proud to be a part of it. I love working with such encouraging, strong, no nonsense people who understand it's about relationships and hope, not about the bottom line.

For the last 10 years, since I've been on my own, I've made the conscious decision to do everything for what I call "The Story". I want my life to be exciting, fulfilled, and an inspiration. One that reflects God's love for everyone, and leaves a legacy. To keep that goal, every decision I make is for the betterment of The Story of my life. I want to look back one day and know that I did everything I could to make my life what I wanted it to be, for myself, for those I love, and for the world at large.

I've been reading a lot lately about how to have the life you want. It's not about money, it's not about fame or racking up 1000+ friends. It's about finding a place where you are constantly happy being challenged.You MUST take risks to reap any sort of benefit. You MUST challenge yourself to reach new levels. To move forward, some degree of risk is involved. Every relationship, every new job, etc. you are welcoming possibilities that you can't see because they involve jumping in and hoping for the best. It's alarming to me the amount of people who are complacent and refuse to invest in their lives. They bitch and moan that they don't have what they want, when in reality, if you want change bad enough, you'll do anything to make it happen.

Ramit Sethi is a young, intelligent business entrepreneur with a successful website and following. I was introduced to him when I lived in LA and was looking for help with my finances. I suggest you subscribe to his emails. This is one that I received today that rings true to what I've been experiencing in my life lately. I'm sorry for the crazy spacing, but you get the drift:

"In yesterday’s email, I was trying to decide whether I should move to San Francisco even though it wasn’t the “right” financial decision.

THOUSANDS of you told me how you’d handle it.

You might be surprised by what I decided.

And in this email, I’ll share a “psychological framework” that you can use to make big decisions in your own life.

Ok, technically I should have stayed in my Palo Alto-area apartment because I had an awesome deal and I was saving tons of money every month. But I wanted to move to SF (even though my expenses would DOUBLE) so I could hang out with friends and meet new people.

I had some money in savings, so it wouldn’t be an immediate hit...but from a strictly financial analysis, I should have stayed where I was.

And yet...I DID IT. I moved to SF.

I did the analysis...then totally ignored it and went with my gut. I packed my bags and moved into a new SF apartment weeks later.

Guys, sometimes you have to make decisions NOT on the financial analysis, but on what intuitively feels right. This is why the “debt snowball” works, even though it’s not the mathematically correct way to pay off debt. A lot of engineers and economists reading this are sputtering right now, saying, “Bu...but Ramit...what about the NUMBERS???” These people find more comfort in Excel models than in the reality of how humans actually behave.

My decision to move wasn’t just a random decision. This is a pattern I’ve seen among my top-performer friends over and over: They make decisions that seem ultra-risky to outsiders...but what those people don’t see is the way top performers think about risk.

Key MISTAKES people make when thinking about risk:

·       Most people think all risk = bad. If I quit my job, I’ll be out on the street! If I invest in the market, I’ll lose all my money! If I try to start something new, I’ll fail...and then it’s all over for me! Waa (cue sad Hans Zimmer orchestral music)

·       And so many people live a life of fear insidiously bubbling under the surface...never powerful enough to cause them to change, but just deep enough to get them to stay where they are, paddling in the same place for life

Key POSITIVE psychological frameworks that top performer use:

·        If you use the Tripod of Stability, you can keep the major things in your life stable...so you can be afford to be ultra risky on a few core things

·        Top performers are confident enough in their own abilities that they can jump “feet-first” into situations, counting on their own skills to help figure it out

·        Does this always work? No. But even if the worst happens...how bad is it really? I would have just packed up and moved back down if I couldn’t afford it

I call these psychological frameworks “Success Triggers,” and I want to share more of them with you.

Think about it. The idea of carefully weighing your risks/potential rewards...and knowing when to step out on the ledge and take a risk...that is an incredibly powerful Success Trigger.

When was the last time you let a risk hold you back and wait until you were “ready”?

And when did you say, “Screw it -- I’m going to try this and see what happens”?

Which one gave you MORE? MORE options, MORE results, MORE freedom?

That’s the power of employing a Success Trigger, or psychological framework, to guide you in the tough decisions you face.

(By the way, guess what? A month after moving, I got a $20,000 raise. I NEVER expected it. I never planned for it. But when I moved to SF, I knew I would force myself to start thinking bigger.)

Life coaches, AKA unemployed people who give other people advice, would call this “manifesting success.” I don’t know about that, but I do know that top performers routinely step into situations they’re not “technically” equipped for...knowing that they trust themselves to find a way to succeed.

Examples of applying this Success Trigger:

- Applying for a job where you don’t “technically” meet the requirements

- Emailing someone who’s “technically” way more important than you to meet for coffee - Joining a course that’s slightly more advanced than you’re “technically” ready for...but busting your ass to ramp up quickly..."