barbarafilla's Blog: Financial Management

Canceling credit cards is one strategy many people are using these days as a way to manage their personal and business financial situations and stretch their cash resources.

I discovered good information on how to cancel your credit card to share with you. How you cancel a credit card is important to retain your credit rating and FICO scores.

See the attached pdf file on step by step process to cancel a credit card. Feel free to share this information with your friends and family.

The credit card information is not intended to be comprehensive. I recommend that you do further study to get all your questions answered and to seek updated information in the future because policies and procedures change.

For your convenience, I have more info on several relevant credit card topics.
-- Changes to Your Credit Cards
-- How to React to Interest Rate Hikes on Credit Cards
-- 10 Things Credit Card Issuers Don’t Reveal

If you would like this additional information, contact me by email on my BraveHeartWomen website or at bfilla@gmail.com.

Barbara Filla
http://www.braveheartwomen.com/forum/Passion-Branding/Welcome-Page/1000530

Wealth - What are your thoughts and mindset regarding wealth? How does a wealth mindset or lack thereof affect your potential for business success or your personal success? View the video below. I invite you to share your thoughts, comments and experiences.

John C. Maxwell is an icon on leadership and success. His book, “Failing Forward”, is one of my favorite books and one of the first books I read on leadership and success. A mentor recommended it when I ventured into a new business in a new industry.

I share a ‘longer quote” from “Failing Forward” with you on timeless and timely wisdom.

The Impossible Question

When I was growing up, one of the questions I used to hear from motivational speakers was this: “If the possibility of failure were erased, what would you attempt to achieve?”

That seemed to me to be an intriguing question. At the time it prompted me to look ahead to life’s possibilities. But then one day I realized that it was really a bad questions. Why? Because it takes a persons’ thinking down the wrong track. There is no achievement without failure. To even imply that it might be possible gives people the wrong impression. So here’s a better question: If your perception of and response to failure were changed, what would you attempt to achieve?

I don’t know what obstacles you are facing in your life right now. But whatever they are doesn’t matter. What DOES matter is that your life can change if you’re willing to look at failure differently. You have the potential to overcome any problems, mistakes, or misfortunes. All you have to do is learn to fail forward. If you are ready to do that, turn the page and leg’s go!

Your First Step to Failing Forward
Realize There is One Major Difference Between Average People and Achieving People

Look at the way an achiever approaches negative experiences, and you can learn a lot about how to fail forward. Read through these two lists, and determine which one describes your approach to failure:

Please see attached file for "Fail Backward and Fail Forward Chart " from John Maxwell's book.

Think about a recent setback you experienced. How did you respond? No matter how difficult your problems were, the key to overcoming them doesn’t lie in changing your circumstances. It’s in changing yourself. That in itself is a process, and it begins with a desire to be teachable. If you’re willing to do that, then you’ll be able to handle failure. From this moment on, make a commitment to do whatever it takes to fail forward.”

Ponder this wisdom and choose to Fail Forward often.

Barbara Filla
Passion Branding Community
Passionate about assisting you to Fail Forward to success.

Here’s our simple Success journey – a process filled with fun, excitement, challenges and results!

1. Afraid of being a Fool.
2. Look like a Fool
3. Fool
4. Successful Entrepreneur
5. Genius

They make sense to me – I’ve been at every one of these levels more than once. How about you?
Once you started, did you persevere to reach the ‘Genius’ stage as an entrepreneur?

These steps come from John Maxwell’s book, “Failing Forward”.

Barbara Filla
Passion Branding Community
Passionate about assisting You to become a Genius! Join Passion Branding Community.

What if Thomas Edison Quit? He would have failed and the world wouldn’t have light bulbs and many other inventions. It’s reported that he tried 10,000 times before the light came on. So, did he fail 9.999 times?

No, because he didn't quit. It just took 9,999 lessons to learn how to make the bulb shine. He never quit. He learned another lesson from each of the 9,999 tries. Each time he created a new idea, a new strategy to implement.

That’s the lesson for us. When something doesn’t go as planned, we never Quit. We examine why it didn’t work and develop a new strategy. Maybe we tweak the process a bit or in a major way; maybe we take a new direction or a new path, but we never Quit.

Each step is an experience that moves us forward – one step closer to success. The process is “Failing Forward” like John Maxwell says.

The world is on your side. It wants us to succeed – to never fail by quitting. It provides us with abundance in our thoughts, heart and actions to have the passion, determination and commitment to ‘fail forward’ one step at a time. Quitting is not an option.

Will you accept that abundance and the challenge to let your light shine bright for the world?

Barbara Filla
Passion Branding Community Coach
Passionate about assisting you to let your light shine bright

Image: www.freefoto.com

Sometimes I call procrastination by a term that feels better - patience . It’s time to clarify.

What is patience?
The dictionary says:
(a) quiet, steady perseverance; even-tempered care; diligence; to work with patience.
(b) an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay.

That’s pretty straight forward. I am patient most times, sometimes overly patient. Patience can turn into procrastination, then frustration, and even overwhelm when several projects are unfinished.

What is procrastination? comes from Latin word which means “forward to tomorrow”
The dictionary says:
(a) to defer action; delay; to procrastinate until an opportunity is lost.
(b) to put off till another day or time; to postpone, prolong

It’s easy to procrastinate when we dislike or fear a task or situation. Or if there is something more enjoyable and attractive to do at that same time.

Procrastination leads to using excuses to shield ourselves from feeling guilty, and it helps us rationalize our actions. In addition, we lose vital energy and enthusiasm. Some excuses we use:
- Better late than never.
- I work better under pressure (so we let things go until the last moment).
- I believe that if it was worth doing, it would have been done already

If only they were effective, huh.

Here’s an area I procrastinate that causes frustration, waste of time when I can’t find what I need. There’s a small table next to my computer where I put notes and pieces of information gathered while on the phone, personal info that’s important, emails, phone numbers, ideas and thoughts. The information pile grows like “Miracle Grow” fertilizer on plants and flowers. Add to that the phone, recorder, daily planner, notebook….

Now the pile needs attention…. can’t procrastinate any longer. Waste of time caused by accumulating info rather handling it immediately.

Solutions for procrastination:
-- Do unpleasant tasks first thing in the morning, and get them out of the way.
-- Set realistic “To Do” list with reasonable completion dates, so don’t get overwhelmed. Have a plan.
-- Break down larger projects into smaller, achievable tasks
-- If need to be motivated, just start right now, which will lead to the next step, next step, until you build the momentum that motivates you to continue

Final Thoughts:

“Procrastination is the bad habit of putting off until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday.” Napoleon Hill

“Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow – That is patience.”

How will you practice patience today? Start with just one situation.
What procrastination habit will you eliminate today? Just one.

Barbara Filla
Passion Branding Community.

Strawberry weekend! 120 lbs. of juicy, sweet red strawberries. That turned into 31 qts. of fresh freezer jam… and strawberry shortcake, scones, smoothies, and froze (? quarts – too many to count) for future smoothies, school lunch peanut butter-jelly sandwiches +…

Enjoyable to watch the teen-age grandsons, my son and his wife come for 1st, 2nd, and more of shortcake or toast with strawberry jam….. and hear the “MMmm Good! Brings back memories of my 3 sons growing up, swallowing up food into a never-filled ‘sink-hole’.

These boys are interested, which is even more precious. We take a bit of time for fun, sharing skills with younger generation and getting significant $$ savings compared to buying frozen or fresh fruit on store shelves… a win-win. Blueberries and raspberries are coming up soon…. Just found a blueberry farm, pick your own.

Do you have a favorite strawberry, blueberry, raspberry recipe you’d like to share?

Make this a b..ery good week for you!

Barbara Filla
Passion Branding Community

Is that an easy question? Or a hard question to answer? …Who is it?

I’m going to talk about something totally different for a moment, so the answer isn’t visible immediately. I’ll share the answer with you shortly….who that is. Stay with me.

“Do not follow where the path may lead.
Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
Harold R. McAlindon

This quote excites me, frightens me, challenges me, it beckons me, it revs up my mind into ‘high gear’ as many ideas and thoughts come whizzing by.

How does this statement make you feel, make you think. What dreams does it bring to you? Wow! Isn’t that fun and energizing to open up a thought and let your mind, your creativity take charge?

Now, back to the answer to the original question.
Who’s the hardest person in the world to lead?

Me - It’s hardest for me to manage and lead ME!
You - It’s hardest for you to manage and lead YOU!

Does that make sense? I have not lead and managed me at times – my thoughts, my feelings, my energy. I have an idea, a dream and develop a great plan. I work the plan diligently, give it all the effort and energy I have… until I hit a roadblock(s), get overwhelmed, or just feel weary after working a long time. Success does come most of the time, even though it’s not at the level I believe was possible. And at times I failed. Has this ever happened to you?

Why and how does this happen to us?

A couple reasons:
1. We are so close to the project, so intimately and intensely involved, we are not realistic about the project, about our progress, about that current status or the roadblock(s) and challenges. It’s always easier to size up other people and their projects than it is to see ours realistically. Thus we don’t see where our difficulties and issues lie, which mean we don’t lead ourselves effectively.

I’ve had that experience, and said this to myself and others many times. It seems so easy to see the big picture, recognize missing pieces and such. I am an objective observer with other.

2. It’s easy for us to cover over our challenges, undesired results with excuses that feel reasonable to us. We rationalize why it didn’t go as planned. When our emotions are involved, it clouds the real picture.

A Simple, Effective Solution

1. Use an accountability partner, a coach, someone who looks from the outside in and will share the truth with us. Be open and honest in sharing with them, and listen to their responses. When we listen to them and accept their counsel and advice, we can take a better path, make corrections, adjustments, and get much better results.

2. Set realistic goals, so we don’t give up on them except for the rare and critically important reason.

3. Know when it is right to lessen our effort or to give up and know when it is right to be persistent.

Barbara Filla
Passion Branding Community

Your mindset is the starting point of everything in your personal life, business, and all of life.
Mindset determines what, how, why and when you do anything = the RESULTS you get.

“You can do all things correct, but if you don’t have right mindset at that time, you’ll blow it.
You can be the weak link in the chain, so constantly work on daily basis for the right mindset.” Quote by Charlie Drake.

What is mindset?
Mindset is your mental attitude or disposition. It pre-determines your responses to – and – your interpretations of situations. It’s a habit.

Simply, it is made up of 2 words: mind and set: it’s what mood and attitude YOU set in your mind. YOU have total control over your mindset.

Our mindset will embrace and manifest any attitude, philosophy, principle we choose. Make sure you choose positive, helpful, effective mindset principles to manifest every minute, every hour, every day.

See more on Mindset
View more articles on mindset, effective, positive principles and attitudes.
-- Passion Branding Community. Click on Documents, then on Mindset category.
7 articles: authenticity, believe in you, responsibility, integrity and more.

I invite you to add your topics and articles there, pose a question in the discussion area. Your wisdom is always valued.

Make everyday a more happy, successful day by manifesting a positive mindset!

Barbara Filla
Passion Branding Community

– by the Master, Andrew Carnegie as told by Napoleon Hill

-- Food for thought to dream your dreams in detail, lustrous color
-- Enlightened advice that works
-- Results that fulfill our dreams

Here’s Andrew Carnegie’s advice. I placed this video in my resource library to review often.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQ0hHIQIr_E&feature=player_embedded

My hope: this message resonates with and inspires you toward peace of mind, enlightened hope on your path toward achieving your dreams.

Barbara Filla
Passion Branding Community

A couple major reasons I want to share:
- I want results and maybe someone else can benefit as well. To see others 'win' would be awesome joy.
- I want to conquer some fears. Fear of not following through to the end; fear about an old habit that has resurfaced; fear about the ‘lone ranger’ syndrome.

I’m challenging myself by being open to all of you, feeling ‘what if… I don’t make it.. you will all know too. I can’t hide from you.” I certainly can’t hide from myself…. ever. I've had success before, then failed, then success. Fear appears again and must be overcome.

It’s good, I know in my heart, to stretch to a higher level of belief in myself, to follow through, to move forward, no matter what.
.
To achieve our dreams and goals, 2 major components have to be present.
I’m sure you are already aware, and let’s review.
-- We are crystal clear about our goals and dreams, and focus on them daily, many times each day.
-- We commit to and follow through no matter what… on a daily, consistent basis.

I recall many times in my life when I took charge, took control of mind (mindset, conscious and unconscious) no matter what the situation. I did that because it was imperative to support my family, take charge of my life or whatever. My ‘Why’ was huge.

However, life changes and I’ve become lax with that habit, and the old conditioning is trying to resurface. Now is the right and best time to indelibly re-imprint that habit into my nonconscious brain again…. “whatever it takes” is my commitment.

My Goal - crystal clear, in written form, with total commitment from me:
I am 18 pounds lighter, feel energized, feel attractive and healthy, expressing sincere appreciation and smiling with joy as I skip through the day feeling light as a feather inside and outside.

I also learned over time that I can’t accomplish my goals and dreams alone to the extent I desire. So I share and am ready to receive and accept all the outside support passed my way.

What goal or dream for yourself are you willing to commit to, to follow through with? I invite you to join me in a weekly group, mastermind, support, encourage...let’s achieve results together. Let me know via email here or my personal email, platinumbt@yahoo.com if you’d like to participate in a small group to make your dream come true.

Barbara Filla
Passion Branding Community

I’m in the process of learning some new, exciting things to feel better, live better and reach a business goal (more on that at a later date).

A thought that came to me. Losing some weight would make me feel better, have more energy, help me fit into the closet of clothes I’ve grown out of and save money not needing a new wardrobe…. more.
That thought came, it got stronger and turned into a daily thought, more like a dream goal. As it grew in strength, related thoughts and ideas appeared.

In life everyday is a new practice day. Just as a successful musician practices on a daily basis, we practice life and business every day, every hour, every minute. Hmmm. Here's another opportunity to practice.

If I am to accomplish my goal, I have to be in better shape, be fit and sharp in mind, body, heart and soul.

Since I am the leader, the creator my life, my thought generated a ‘thought’ business meeting that has the intention and purpose to develop a plan of action to implement my thought. Attending this meeting are many members: habits formed through previous successes, lessons learned from failures, preconditioned mindset attitudes, all my experiences throughout life, the ideas and assistance from the Universe (my God) I attracted when I had that thought, and more.

All these members are sitting at the conference table, ready to give their input as I embark on a new dream (thought), this new goal. Each member has strong beliefs, they are assertive and want their ideas and thoughts to be primary focuses in the plan (MY plan, MY dream and goal).

My conscious mind, my unconscious mind, my emotions and feelings, my spirit, my mindset - hear and are being affected by all this input…. causing ‘temporary’ confusion, chaos, hesitation, articulation of positive action steps, great ideas, negative things.…

I am the leader, the creator of my life… I must keep that focus on this principle as this meeting and subsequent decisions and actions take place. I must make choices and decisions on who to listen to, what to listen about. I must choose to ignore ideas and plans that are negative and lead me farther away from my dream and goal. Who and what is the best to listen to, to choose… what is my FINAL Decision? I have the FREEDOM, the opportunity to make a choice. So Cool!

How I Can Make the Best Decision? Some important mindset truths:
I must trust myself because of years of experience throughout my life.
I must remember to be open to receiving and then accepting.
I must believe in the decisions and choices I make.
I must commit to take action on a daily basis that is focused on achieving my dream and goal.
I must be persistent and never give up. Maybe it will need to be revised, adjusted, but I NEVER give up.

Final Decision
My Goal - crystal clear, in writting, with total commitment from me:
I am 18 pounds lighter, feel energized, feel attractive and healthy, expressing sincere appreciation and smiling with joy as I skip through the day feeling light as a feather inside and outside.

Give yourself a marvelous gift everyday – practice life - make a decision and commit to it 100%.... small or large decision. And enjoy the practice of implementing it on a daily basis.

Barbara Filla
Passion Branding Community

What are your strengths? Here’s an easy, excellent way to discover your strengths.

Ask yourself this question: What do you feel while you are doing an activity?
- It comes naturally to you
- It feels easy, almost effortless
- It just flows, don’t have to try very hard to do it,
- You enjoy doing it, you feel ‘on fire’
- Time flies by when you are doing it
- You concentrate and focus with excitement, energy, inquisitiveness
- You want to do it more and more
- You want to learn more about it
- You feel strong, confident while doing it

Make a list of these activities.
When you are doing something that makes you feel and experience some of the emotions listed above, make note of that activity right then.

You are accumulating your list of strengths…. This is an exciting time because you are discovering strengths you didn’t even realize you have.

Use your strengths to help you find your passion…. or to reaffirm your current passion.
When you find your passion using your strengths as the base starting point, your chances of finding your true passion are excellent. Why? Because you already love and enjoy doing them; you do these things with more ease and more emotions and feelings than other things.

A few years ago I completed a similar exercise when going through a transitional period. What I learned, to my surprise, was that I had been doing my passion for many years, even though I didn’t realize it. I always enjoyed doing what I did, and the exercise reaffirmed what I felt.

Over the years I continued doing many of these same daily and weekly activities, however some adjustments as to where I used my strengths occurred as time went on.

Consulting, strategizing, empowering and inspiring people were always regular activities for me. It started as door-to-door Fuller Brush Rep (I broke the rules of ‘pushy’ sales tactics because I just couldn’t do them; in fact I hated them. Meeting and being with people, assisting them was what I loved. So I tried using a “What questions do you have today and let’s try to find a solution’ approach. I was so grateful it worked… cause I was too scared to do the recommended process.

Six years later my seamstress business started. Later I became an employee in corporate world consulting with clients…. followed by starting and building my own consulting business to entrepreneurs and other businesses and organizations. Consulting, strategizing, empowering and inspiring people has been a dominant theme throughout my life…. no matter what I was doing. It was, is and will be my passion.

I encourage you to become more keenly aware of activities you love doing, make a list of them to see how they fit into what you currently do or what you may want to do.

Enjoy this process and the clarity that will come to you about your strengths. It will guide you toward your passion, your dream business, your dream life.

In great gratitude,
Barbara Filla
Passion Branding Community

I just listened to Ellie's 90-minute presentation. The time went by so fast and I wanted to hear more, more, more.

Do you know what the Prosperity Hormone is? You'll be totally surprised - it's not what you think. It's even better, I think. Truly very useful information.

When you get Ellie's email, sign up. You will be so pleased you did... give yourself this awesome gift!

Barbara Filla
Pasion Branding Community

Last week one day I was reminded what happens when we allow the external world to control us. It was a real re-awakening and reminder, just in case……………..

The sky is overcast with dull gray clouds, intermittent rain coming down, dull thunder is grumbling on and off, grass is yellow, almost white from lack of rain, it’s just gloomy out there, have to have lights on in the house to see………… feels like nature is struggling today, not sure what it wants to do, kind of listless just plugging along from this to that, kind of hopeless or maybe ‘helpless’. Storm sirens just went off. I’m sure you got the picture by now.

I feel sucked into that same kind of energy. Feel kind of dull, listless, lethargic, my body is tired, my eyes are tired and want to close… maybe I should go back to bed and close my tired eyes until all this passes over.

Hmm. This is not the real me. Almost always I rise with enthusiasm, smiling, ready to get going on whatever I’ve planned for the day.

What’s going on? I’m letting (allowing) the external world control my feelings, emotions, energy and my will to live a life. That’s doesn’t feel good.

I’m going to change that because I can, I control my life. I’m going to take a nap, to relieve my tired eyes because that is real.

Two hours later, I woke up, and let my internal self take charge with joy, energy, and enthusiasm. What a difference my mindset and attitude! Joy, energy, enthusiasm, achievement and all that I want comes from the inside, not the outside.

I appreciate that step back to remember how life can feel when I let it, and to reaffirm that I can change my life when I am conscious, aware, and choose to change it. Mindset, attitude……. what a blessing it is when we take charge.

Let today be the beginning of a wonderful week filled with a smile on your face, enthusiasm and joy in your heart.

Barbara Filla
Passion Branding Community