4) Failing to Plan = Planning to Fail

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t’s said that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.  Analyze this.  Think about it, if you fail to plan, you do not have a plan.  If you don’t have a plan, then how can you increase your chances of success?  Anything worth having is worth working for.  You’re already working hard; why?

What do you want out of life?  (Listen to The Tubes’ song What Do You Want From Life).  You’re already putting a lot into life; what do you want?  What do YOU want?  Security?  Love?   Companionship?  Money?  Power?  Revenge?  To take care of your parent or child?  To be rich?  Famous?  To lose weight?  To pay your bills on time?  To vacation?  A private island?  To not be a bag lady?!  Get in touch!  Trust yourself.  Follow your path.

Generally, you’ll value those things for which you worked, more than those for which you did not.  Do you really want to count on dumb luck for success (like a lottery - although see our website in case you win - especially if trusting yourself has lead you to win in the past), or are you willing to take your bull by the horns?  Think sales: people associate value with price.  If the price is high so is the perceived value.  You’re already paying a high price; why not plan your hard work to get what you want?!

Values.  What’s important to you?  Achievement?  Security?  Independence?  Honor?  Integrity?  The Kids?  Your marriage?  Your home?  Your business? Your career?  Your body?  Your health?  What people think of you?!  What you think of yourself?!  Feel about it.

Mission.  Your Mission is kind of how you like to do things.  Mission always wins over goals, so don’t fight your Mission.  If your goal is to be President of your company but you can’t take stepping on toes as you climb the corporate ladder, you probably won’t be President.  Know thyself; be true to thine self.

Goals.  If you don’t know where you’re going, how do you know where to go?  Are you going anywhere?  How do know when you get there?  Andrew say, “You can’t get where you’re going if you go somewhere else!” - Where ya going?

When you know, you can plan to get there.   But on this night, how does one eat this elephant?  You may be tempted to feel overwhelmed; rest easy, rest confident, breathe, focus, remember your goal frequently, use affirmations.  Use objectives; eat your elephant one bite at a time.

Objectives.  Objectives are the step-by-step actions you take to systematically pursue your goals.  MBO (Management by Objectives) was developed during WWII and brought back to corporate business.  This lead to the economic and corporate growth of the 1950s, you know, The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit.

Think about the Allies’ goal of taking back Paris: first, they took ‘Hill 238’, then ‘Hill 239’, etc. until they entered Paris.  Manage by objectives.

            Plan.  Do you have a success plan?  A plan for systematically accomplishing your life and/or short-term goals, with a little wiggle room?

Like most things in life, planning and organizing is 80% of the chore.  Look at, and digest, what we’ve already discussed!  Think about the guy who used to go on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson to set the world domino record.  He had to get the attention of the producers, book the gig and negotiate money, ship his dominos or arrange for a sponsor to deliver them; he had to decide what to wear on air and while setting up the dominos, he had to decide how to be prepared for problems like an unlevel floor or vibration during the show that could topple them early, book a flight, pack, get to/from the airport, check-into a hotel, get to the studio & visit the set, set up, change, perform and celebrate before going home - and maybe capitalizing on the publicity.  PHEW!  He’d spend 6 hours that day setting up the dominos so that when they went on the air, they’d topple in 4 minutes.  But he did it.  Line up your gig and line up your dominos.

Getting started is the hardest part (‘the first step is the hardest’).  When you have started, remember to congratulate yourself.

Review Your Plan.  Do your short-term goals lead to your long-term goals?  If you have to run errands, line them up in some order: geographical, chronological, something logical or efficient (expedient; doing it fast, few problems) and effective (doing the RIGHT things efficiently).

Prioritize. What if the Allies took Hill 239 before 238 or didn’t have air support or ammunition or tanks?  What about Joe Mancuso’s Entrepreneurs’ credo of ‘Ready, FIRE, Aim’?

I recommend the following outline for prioritizing:

1.    Emergency Management - deal with your emergencies first so that you can focus on your longer-term goals and responsibilities.

2.    Inventory & Systems Management:

a.    Take Inventory - Figure out from where you’re starting (e.g. Assets (what you own), liabilities (what you owe), budgets, credit, schedules, responsibilities.)

b.    Develop/establish a system for dealing with your day-to-day activities.  (When a woman gets home at the end of the day, do you know what she probably does the minute she closes the door behind her?  She takes off her shoes.)  We all have systems of which we’re not even aware; recognize them and become conscious.  Do you open the mail before you take off your coat?  Where do lay/open the mail?  How do you divvy it up?  Where do you put the bills?  When do you pay the bills?  How do you pay the bills?  How do you keep records?  Do you reconcile your bank account?  How do you keep tax records?  Where do put paid bills and tax records?  How long do you keep records? 

3.    Risk Management - figure out how to not fall backward

a.    Common Sense (the least common type) & Con’t Ed

b.    Emergency Funds (cash in the bank)

c.    Credit Availability (the right type & amount, managed responsibly)

d.    Insurance (transfer the big risks to another; OPM - other people’s money)

4.    Long-term Goals (short, medium, long)

Implement.  You have a plan, just do it.

And congratulate yourself, again, for starting - the hardest part.  The first step is the hardest.

Balance.  You have to balance everything to be healthy or successful.  Ride the bicycle.

You need balance between being & doing, living for today & planning for tomorrow, saving & spending, waking & sleeping, working & playing, eating & exercising, Mind-Body & Spirit and that human creation called money: Assets (what you own) & Liabilities (what you owe) - a Balance Sheet; Income & Expense (Income Statement - helpful for budgeting & tax planning) and Inflows & Outflows (a Cash-flow Statement - helpful for gauging WHEN money goes in and out).  The planets have balance for spinning, the Earth has balance between night & day, the moon & tides, sowing & reaping.  Practice balance.  Practice balance like in yoga.  Practice.  (That’s how you get to Carnegie Hall.)

When you get there, take notice.  Matt say, “If you ain't where you at, you no place”.  Be there.

Manage Expectations.  Remember Murphy’s Law?  Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong (and usually at the worst possible time).  Well don’t forget Schwartz’s Corollary: Murphy was an optimist!  So build in wiggle room and flexibility.  Try to foresee what could go wrong so that you’re not surprised and already have a B-plan.  Plan for the worst, Hope for the best.

There was a study in the 1970s that concluded that everything takes 2.8 times longer to do than you think it will.  Build in extra time.  But don’t forget Parkinson's Law: work expands to fit the time allotted to it.  So set timelines and deadlines and coordinate them.  Think about ‘who moved your cheese?’  Stay loose.  Ride the wave.  When you’re good or lucky, ‘hang 10’.  The only constants in life are death, taxes, and change.  Adapt; embrace change.

Mindset.  The above actions are management functions, so start being a manager.  Think of yourself as the CEO of your personal business (not your professional career).

Your personal business is just that - YOUR personal business (as long as your actions don’t infringe upon the rights of others).  It includes things like how you like to dress (clothes that can be laundered or dry-cleaned?), travel (subway or cab?), dine (cook or delivery?), vacation (Jersey Shore or Paris?).

At Simons Financial Network, we work for executives, entrepreneurs, professionals, ‘artistes’ as their Personal Business Managers - their personal CFOs (Chief Financial Officers).  For one fee, we run our clients’ financial lives as their Trusted Family Advisor performing banking, bill-paying, budgeting, cash-flow management, credit rehab & management, negotiating credit rehab and home & car purchases, record-keeping, financial & estate planning, insurance & investment oversight, tax planning & preparation, entrepreneurial counseling and additional customized or special services.  The client gets to focus on earning & spending their money while we handle the middle step of managing it.  We advise, you decide - you’re the CEO.

You can pay us a fat, possibly tax-advantaged fee to do it for/with you - and often it makes sense to delegate (another management function) - or you can do it yourself.  But it needs to be done.  And it implies having to make difficult decisions.  As the CEO, you are responsible to your stakeholders: yourself, your family, maybe others, maybe society.  You may have to make difficult decisions, such as buying the kids clothes or taking cabs, manicures or eating out.  This is where your values come in (tempered by common sense, such as a cab late at night for safety) and you may have to choose between two equally hard, distasteful options like bankruptcy or high debt payments and a second job and no time.  But you’re the CEO; someone has to make the decisions.  Not making a decision or not taking action is a decision.  Take out some of the emotionality and make the tough decisions.  Get used to it.  Practice decision -making.  It gets easier and it feels good.  Learn to say ‘no’ at least once a day.

Monitor & Manage.  You have to watch what’s going on.  Is it working?  How might you tweak it to make work a little better or smoother?  Or prettier, or faster, or simpler, or easier?  Tweak it.  Or leave it alone on purpose, not by ignoring it.  Is income big enough to cover your budget?  Where can you cut back?  How can you earn more?  How can you earn the same, but be happier in your work?

Sometimes, you’ll have to cope.  Sometimes, you’ll feel like a cork swept away by the river’s current.  When that happens, just keep your head above water, watch the rocks (emergencies) and flow with it the best you can.  Down the river, you’ll have learned to guide what’s now a kayak and, although the current still takes you, you’ll be able to steer - including to the bank.  THE bank - your ‘wealth bank’.

How do you define wealth?

Make a plan.  Ride the bull, ride the wave; hang 10.

3) Life Isn’t a Fountain?

   

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here’s an old joke about the man who’s looking for the meaning of life.  He’s obsessed and unhappy, and during his quest, he gives up his job, his wife, his family, his home and ultimately loses everything.  He hears of a wise sage, who lives high in the mountains.  He treks to this foreign land and climbs the mountain.  He endures cliffs, storms, cold, snow, thin air, and exhaustion, but finally reaches the guru’s cave.  Upon seeing the hermit, he asks, “What is the meaning of life?”  The sage responds, “Life… is a fountain.”  The man thinks for a moment and can’t understand.  He impatiently says, “I’ve given up my wife and family and job and home; I’ve lost everything and traveled around the world to climb this mountain facing storms and cold and cliffs to discover the meaning of life, and you’re telling me that life is a fountain?!”.  The guru looks at him surprised, and responds, “Life isn’t a fountain?!”

            Life is what you make of it.  Lemons can be made into lemonade; the sour made into sweet.  The unusable can be made usable; the boring can be made exciting.  You can live your life on purpose or you can live your life by accident.

            I believe a famous Harvard study from the 1950s showed that those with goals had a 100 times better chance of being successful in life than those without goals.  Those that actually wrote them down had another 100 times better chance of success - or 10,000 times!

            There’s a man who died about a decade ago, who had a list of over 100 life goals including things such as visiting every country on the earth and riding in a submarine.  When he died, over 100 of them were accomplished; he didn’t get to visit the moon, but almost every other goal was achieved.

            Have you written down your life goals?  Do you have constant reminders like lists, photos, alarms, calendars?

            You want to set a goal and then find a way to achieve it.  If you first analyze whether or not a goal is achievable, you may not pursue it.  Moreover, that’s a shame.  It’s also a shame to steal a dream; dreams are free, so dream big!  Would we have gone to the moon based on ease?

John Greenleaf Whittier said, “For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: "It might have been!"

            I also recommend not being motivated by fears, but by goals.  That’s how to achieve on purpose.  Then you can congratulate yourself, bask a little and do it again - maybe even motivate or teach others!

Be motivated by goals, not fears.

Life is a Fountain; jump in!

2) The Maiden and the Tax Collector

Once upon a time, there was a Fair Maiden.

            One day, a Tax Collector, Sam, came aknocking on her door.  The Fair Maiden kept the chain on the door when she peered through the crack to greet Sam.  Sam told her that he was her uncle, and that she must pay taxes.

         The Fair Maiden apologized, and asked him if she could have more time to pay her taxes.  Sam grimaced but consented, and told her that she had 40 days to do so.  The Maiden was a little nervous because she had heard news, and stories from friends, about big bad wolves coming to the door and threatening to huff and puff and blow their houses down if they did not pay their taxes.  But she took Sam at his word.

The Maiden quickly set about making a list and organizing herself so that she could figure out how much tax she must pay.  She knew that a Judge of the Land had said that there were rules, but that no one must pay more than their fair share.

First, the Maiden called her Trusted Family Advisor.  He gave her a list of the basic items that she should organize.  He told her that afterward, he would help her do the rest.

So the Fair Maiden set about her chores.

First, she made a list of her income.  It was somewhat easy since almost everyone who paid her had given her a note of how much.  Not only had she earned income from work, but she also had saved a little, so she earned interest on her savings.  She had also invested in a friend’s bakeshop in town.  The bakery was turning a tidy profit, and yielded her a nice little dividend.  Finally, she sold a pig for a profit and she listed it, too.  She had once overheard a fat merchant in town doing such a thing - albeit on a much grander scale, a capital gain.  She knew that she invested her ‘capital’ in the pig and concluded that her capital had gained value.  She was very proud of herself for both understanding the concept and for having made a profit!

Next, she set about making a list of the money she spent on the things that the people of her land valued most: health, a home, helping others with losses - like if her house burned or she was robbed -, charity, some of the money she spent for her work, and money she spent on paying others to help her with her money, and figuring out how much tax she must pay!  She also made a list of the taxes that she had to pay other tax collectors, because she knew that if she told Sam, he would have to allow her to deduct some it from what she must pay him!

She thought, “I think I’m ready.  I must call my Trusted Family Advisor and tell him that I am ready to meet for the next step.”  And she did.

Her Trusted Family Advisor came to visit at the appointed time, bringing his abacus, a small chalkboard and his very fine timepiece.  She served him tea and cakes from the bakery and they sat to review her efforts.

“Very fine organizing”, he smiled and said.  Then they talked about each item and some more.  The Maiden learned a lot; she asked many questions.  Her Trusted Family Advisor, patiently explained all of the answers, even the ones that she thought were ignorant and was scared to ask.  When they each had answered all of the other’s questions, the Trusted Family Advisor took her work with him to do some calculations - but not before she wrapped a few more of the fine baked goods from the bakery.

A few days later, her Trusted Family Advisor, again, called upon her with a few more questions.  A few days after that, he returned triumphantly, and told her how much tax he calculated she must pay.  She thanked him profusely, and paid him a fee for such a fine job.

She was so excited and so proud that she told closest friends, and they all wanted to meet him.

Soon, Sam came aknocking on her door again.  She was very confident about opening the door wide, announcing what amount of tax she owed and then dropping the coins into his open hand.  He just watched.  And then he smiled.  He said not a word, and just turned around and walked away.

After some three years went by, she had never again heard from Sam, the Tax collector, so she knew she never would.  And she lived happily ever after!

1) ...In the Beginning

I

 have diverse interests and a handful of favorite things in this life: food, exercise, sex, travel, the beach, my 10-speed bike, my ‘78 Firebird, my Adidas Superstars, my Seiko chronograph, business & money, intellectual, cultural & spiritual pursuits, Star Trek, women, and my friends & family - not necessarily in this order.

I believe in honor, integrity, and balancing ‘doing’ with ‘being’.  I also believe that, while on this Earth, we have certain priorities in which we must involve ourselves; priorities that may not be important if there are other Universes or an afterlife.  These assets must be employed, and skills honed, to survive.  To thrive, we must learn to integrate and balance them: body-mind & spirit.

I founded Simons Financial Network in 1981 to change the world one client at a time.

In spite of having studied business at New York University, and enjoying a fast-track career in health & fitness, it began to look like I wasn’t going to get to start my nationwide chain of health clubs.  So I created a financial services boutique.

I, the ‘Trusted Family Advisor’, offered ‘one-stop shopping’ that included basic offerings such as financial planning, investments, insurance and tax preparation, but later added specialties such as Divorce Financial Planning (I helped found the Association of Divorce Financial Planners) and Credit Rehabilitation (where I taught the topic at New York’s Learning Annex for 12 years) and my flagship Personal Business Management service where I became the personal CFO for executives, professionals and people in the arts (I came from a show business family).

However, later I was struggling and no longer enjoying the daily grind.  My marketing consultant asked me ‘why not do something you enjoy, not just something that earns money?’  I thought, ‘how smart was that?!’

I knew that I, basically, liked what I was doing but I was ‘lost in the forest’.  We analyzed my practice, and what we came up with was amazing!  I made two lists: one of my most profitable clients and one of my favorite clients.  We compared the lists to see who was on both; they were all women!  He looked at me and said, “Eric, you’ve been doing this by accident, it’s time to do it on purpose”.

I’ve never looked back.  That’s the way the Universe is.

            Women have critical needs and special interests as their earning power grows and familial relationships change.  Financial professionals and the media seldom adequately address these issues.

            When it comes to money, women have different skills, attitudes, and strengths than do men.

Historically, women went from ‘Daddy’s house’ to ‘Husband’s house’ and en route seldom felt confident about money.  They were given a household allowance to manage but seldom dealt with investments, taxes and estate planning.  Yet they were expert at creating budgets, saving, and prioritizing; skills many men disregard.

 Men often act empowered about money, a great leadership skill - and in fact, they may be great earners.  But earning money and managing money are two different things.

Many men suffer from ‘a little knowledge is a dangerous thing’, thereby encountering what Joe Mancuso, business consultant, coins as ‘Ready, FIRE, Aim!’  They get to boast at the cocktail party about the ‘killing they made in the market’, but they don’t mention their numerous losses.  They suffer from greed and holding investments too long (i.e. lacking a disciplined ‘sell strategy’).

Conversely, women are more motivated by goals such as making sure that the rent is paid, the kids are tended, that she can periodically vacation, and that she can afford to retire versus becoming a  ‘shopping bag lady’ - still one of the most prevalent fears. 

Men often have a financial team (e.g. accountant, banker, broker, insurance agent) where women don’t.  These professionals often address most of their comments to the man (i.e. ‘the decision-maker’) and lack the patience and skill to explain concepts and details to a woman.  (Yet women control the majority of money in America even if the money isn’t in their name!) 

Today’s woman doesn’t appreciate not having important decisions explained to her; she wants to learn and then make her own decisions.

Men tend to categorize; women tend to integrate.  Money can be ego and power for a man, but is a tool for a woman.  And financial planning presumes the integration of many separate but related areas such as divorce, tax, retirement, college funding and long-term care.

I like to teach (in addition to being trained as a financial planner, I’m trained as a teacher and have taught for New York University and numerous other organizations); women like to learn - how symbiotic!

Women make plans and patiently stick to them; men often want to know how much money they made by the close of ‘market’.  Women don’t feel this need to hit ‘home runs’ versus consistently ‘hitting doubles’. (Babe Ruth was both the ‘Home Run King’ and the ‘Strike-Out King”).  Consistency wins.

Women are willing to delegate and don’t feel the need to micromanage their money.  In return, they expect a high level of service, respect, and effective communication.

Women stick to their plans, giving the plan time to work, the way seeds need time to take root and grow.  They monitor their progress and make adjustments as necessary, like watering a garden and pulling weeds. (During the ‘90’s women made more money in the stock market than did men - not due to better security selection, but due to lower trading costs since they traded less frequently!)

Women are also profitable clients as they are loyal and appreciate the economies of scale that one-stop shopping provides.

Women also send referrals since it is in their nature to openly communicate and share.

I like women.  Women and money, let’s sing: ‘…these are a two of my favorite things’.