February 2005
Dear Appreciated Clients and Friends,
Welcome to the middle of winter where the experience of snow, cold, and cloudy skies gives us renewed appreciation for hot soup, down comforters and fireplaces.
As a southern transplant, I thought I would never get used to the idea of winter as a real season. I grew up thinking about winter as an inconvenience in the cycle of life. A time of less: less daylight, less sunshine, less freedom in the outdoors.
I find now that my transformation must be complete. For I find that I look forward to the treasures of winter. The scenes of snow in the forest outside my window, the feel of cold air against my cheeks, the extra time set aside for rest, reading and reflection.
I find winter’s biggest treasure to be that it is a natural time for self exploration. Just like the plants that are dormant, waiting to bloom into the glory of spring, we too can get quiet and plant our seeds for expanding our self expression.
In that regard, this month’s article is on making New Years resolutions more than a passing thought or words on a piece of paper.
Enjoy the season.
Blessings,
Mackey
Contents:
Grow Your Business Now is the time to take inventory and create a strategy to move your company forward in new and exciting ways in 2005. Upcoming topics include:
Here is what one participant said:
“Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. What I have learned is invaluable!”
Call Mackey at
859-331-7755 for more information
In the
News:
There is a new
newspaper in town, Women’s Business Cincinnati. In March 2005, Mackey McNeill will
be featured in this paper on the topic of Investing and Women. Women's
Business Cincinnati is a resource, mentor and a tool to keep working women in
touch with each other. Each issue features working women and all columns are
written by women who are experts in the particular field they are writing about.
Each issue showcases the expertise and perspective of working women in
the tri-state region.
Subscribe at www.womensbizcincinnati.com
Making a Difference: Scanlon & Associate
“Mackey’s statement at the beginning of her book
The Intersection of Joy and
Money matched my mission statement exactly – the idea that we are all here
to make a difference during our time on this earth.” – Janet Scanlon, Scanlon
& Associates
When Mackey’s book, The Intersection of Joy and Money, was published she gave it to her friend and business colleague Geof Scanlon. As fortune would have it, his wife Janet read it before he did.
Janet resonated with the book from the beginning. “Mackey said early on in the book ‘My personal belief is that we are all here to make a difference in our time on this earth.’ When I returned to college years ago we had to create a personal mission statement and that is exactly what mine says!”
Janet is also committed to making a difference and is on the Board of the Kenton Conservancy and also the Kenton Conservation district and invests in environmentally friendly companies.
Another benefit of The Intersection of Joy and Money that Janet appreciated was the worksheets and exercises. She highly recommends the book as helping in uncovering where you learned your views and beliefs of money
Janet considers herself lucky in that she had a wonderful role model growing up. “My father died when I was very young and my Mother had to raise my three older brothers and myself on a very limited income but we never wanted for anything. We actually thought we were ‘rich’!”
“The book really makes you think about what money means to us. Once you can answer that question it helps you focus on what you want to achieve,” Janet explains.
Scanlon and Associates is an insurance and securities brokerage firm. They are located in Mainstrasse Village in Covington, KY and specialize in group fringe benefits and helping companies get the best package for their needs. Please feel free to contact Janet at (859)655-9600 or visit her web-site at www.scanloninc.net.
The New Year is a natural time for making resolutions. Some of the most common are, losing weight, exercising, changing your eating habits, saving or making more money. All too often you soon find your once glee filled determination slipping from your grasp and your resolutions become empty words on a piece of paper.
What makes the difference in a successful new year’s resolution and an unsuccessful one? If you could define the anatomy of a successful resolution what would it be? What are the steps to achieving lasting change?
Surely the answers to these questions would raise your self esteem. For with every unfulfilled resolution you lose a degree of credibility with yourself and begin to set up an internal dialog of distrust. You begin to discover that you are “saying” a change, without feeling or knowing you can really do it.
There are two fundamental shifts that must be made to become a successful changemaker.
All too often you make a resolution out of frustration. In that moment of “by golly I am going to do this” you choose to make a 180 degree change. You fail to take into consideration that whatever behaviors you adopted to get to this point took you years to “perfect.” Somehow you imagine for a moment that you can simply erase all that learned behavior in an instant.
The truth is change is easier, and sustainable in small bites. If you want to save more money, rather than doubling your savings, increase it by 5% a month. In 15 months you will have doubled your savings and hardly have noticed. Want to go a little faster? Increase your savings 7% a month and you will have doubled your savings rate in one year. Suffering is a choice. Why not choose change with ease and grace?
If you have promises to yourself over the years and not kept them, you have lost credibility with yourself. When making a resolution, ask yourself if you believe it at every level? Do you feel that you can make this change? Do you believe in yourself? Am I thinking thoughts of success or self doubt? Inventory your mind, body and spirit. Unless you get congruence at all levels, your change process will be frustrating and end unsuccessfully.
If you discover a pool of negativity in your thoughts, try the following exercise. Get quiet and still. Welcome in compassion and non-judgment. Close your eyes and put your attention down low in your body, just below your belly button. Ask all your negative thoughts about your resolution to reveal themselves. Welcome them. Once they begin, journal what comes up. Imagine your self doubt passing through you with every line your write. When the feeling in your body is one of confidence, you have paved the way for a successful resolution. If one session doesn’t completely dissipate your negativity, repeat the process.
Change does have an anatomy. There are four stages of change. Just like having a map on a long road trip gives you confidence by marking your progress, understanding the stages of change can ease your frustration and keep you focused on the positive.
We will go over these four stages in the
next Joy and Money newsletter, April 2005.
If you can’t wait till then, find them in The Intersection of Joy and
Money, pages 73 to 78.
Favorite web
site:
www.about.com the one place on the Web where you'll find passionate people with practical advice and solutions for almost any problem. Whatever your needs, the answer is... About.com.
Upcoming
Events:
The Joy and Money Forum
February 21,
2005
The topic is complimentary currencies:
You say, what is complimentary currency? The one you probably know the best is Delta’s Frequent Flyer miles. It is a form of “currency” you use to buy things, originally airline tickets, but now you can buy products as well. And if you are short on miles, you can buy them.
So we have all had some experience with complimentary currency. I am asking you to come to the Joy and Money Forum on February 21st and find out more. Our goal is to determine if there is enough interest in the Cincinnati community to distribute a local currency here.
Why local currency?
This month's Joy and Money Forum will be held at the New Thought Unity Center located at 1401 E. McMillan, Cincinnati OH. For more information or to RSVP please call us at 859.331.7755 or email us at Mackey@CultivatingProsperity.com.
SRI preview
Expand your mind over lunch on March 29, 2005. We will spend the first ½ hour, learning the truth and dispelling the myths of Socially Responsible Investing. The second ½ hour, we will discuss investment basics. Make a difference every day by voting with your money. Join us on March 29th and find out how to get started. Call 859-331-7755 to register.
E mail
addresses:
We finally took the plunge and changed our e mail addresses to coincide with our URL. Find us now at firstname@cultivatingprosperity.com For example, Mackey@CultivatingProsperity.com To make it easy for us all, the old e mail addresses will be operational indefinitely.
The Joy and Money Newsletter is published by Prosperity Publishing.525 West Fifth Street Covington, KY 41011. 859.331.7755 www.JoyandMoney.com