This weekend my family and I attended a party at the home of our friends David and Tia Graham. It was their celebration of becoming debt free. The Grahams, avid supporters of Dave Ramsey and his Total Money Makeover plan, moved to East Tennessee from Jacksonville, Florida without ever even stepping foot in the county. It’s an amazing story.

When we arrived at their house, they had a banner announcing, “Live Like No One Else So LATER, You Can Live Like No One Else”…..and signs with quotes taped on the walls with messages from authors, celebrities, leaders, etc. Beverly Sills’s, “There are no shortcuts to anywhere worth going”; and Joe Montana’s, “It’s not about falling down…it’s about getting up.” were two.
After lunch, the Grahams had us move outside. We were instructed to pick one piece of paper which listed an “excuse” for not managing money well. Each piece of paper had a bulls eye on it. The excuses included “… but I love to shop”, “I get frequent flyer miles”, and, “but I don’t LIKE beans and rice!” Then, taking turns, we were given a sling shot and a small rock to try to hit the paper to conquer our excuse (I think my rock ended up in the next county!)

Then we were inviting to take part in a Plasectomy. The Grahams, and at least one other couple there, among them, The Monkey parade, had long ago cut up their credit cards refusing to give in to the “I need it now mentality”. Like a fan at a rock concert, Tia cheered as others at the party cut up their American Express, Visa, Discover and other credit cards. I got so caught up in the moment I cut up my Delta Platinum Card travel card and nearly cut up my library card and driver’s license too!

It’s been proven that people spend more money with they pay for things with plastic. So in support the Grahams and to reduce some of the frivolous spending we do, we are going plastic free. I think we’ll be richer as a result.

Are you taking the challenge too? If so, leave a comment or link to your own blog post about it!

Tim Richardson is an inspirational speaker who speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies, associations, and national conventions. He is the founder of the The Worlds Biggest Blog Party an event which will connect bloggers from all over the world to raise money for charity. He is also founder and president of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund. For more information on Tim, go to www.TimRichardson.com

I’ve been on an extended trip which included a speaking engagement in
Orlando, six days on the beach in a quaint Florida beach town, and running
in the Rayz Awareness 5K run in Daytona Beach, Florida in memory of Bill Walter my best
friend who died of cancer. The time away and the
things that occurred during this period caused me to ponder the value and
importance of time. It was on my mind a lot last week…Time remembering a
best friend who lived richly in his 36 years but sadly was taken in the
prime of life. Time with old friends and making some new ones. Time with
family on the beach building sandcastles and memories that I hope long
linger in the minds of my children. Time watching and listening to the surf
roll in and out. Time to hold loved ones longer and closer as the horror
unveiled on the VT campus.
It’s robbery to waste it on things that don’t matter.
Yet we’re all guiltyof too much time on the computer, too much time in front of the tube, too much time at work, too much time chasing things that might make us rich in finances but poor in spirit.

Each day is the same for everyone - 24 hours, 1440 minutes, 86,400 seconds. Seize each and every moment, making sure to include time to create richness
in your life and the lives of others. Write a handwritten letter to a
friend, do something kind for someone without an expectation for any return,
bake something for a neighbor, pick up trash on your street or in a park,
give sincere appreciation for a service provided, give a bigger tip to your
waiter, refer business to a company you admire. Hold those near and dear to
you a little longer and a little tighter today.

The clock is ticking..

Tim Richardson is an inspirational speaker who speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies, associations, and national conventions. He is the founder of the The Worlds Biggest Blog Party an event which will connect bloggers from all over the world to raise money for charity. He is also founder and president of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund. For more information on Tim, go to www.TimRichardson.com

I am sometimes guilty of rushing stuffing too many things into too short a
period of time. I love my work and my project to find the Richest People in
America is as gratifying and inspiring as anything project in my 18 years as
a motivational speaker. I must confess though that I occasionally miss the
true rich moments in life because I am working to get my message out in my
writing and professional speaking. As the father of five, there are lots of
rich moments in my house. This short video clip was yet another reminder of
how precious my little people are and how quickly life pass in the big
scheme of things.

Tim Richardson is an inspirational speaker who speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies, associations, and national conventions. He is the founder of the The Worlds Biggest Blog Party an event which will connect bloggers from all over the world to raise money for charity. He is also founder and president of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund. For more information on Tim, go to www.TimRichardson.com

Forbes has done it again! They have hacked. me. off. I swear, they are giving me enough material to write and blog about for a couple of lifetimes! On CNN  recently, I saw that Forbes has released their list of the most expensive celebrity divorces.

Why are people so attracted to the every move of A-list celebrities? perhaps it is the so-called “Law of Attraction” espoused by The Secret. Are people are attracted to gossip and and others’ poor relationships because those two things are mirrored in their own lives?

The older I get the more grateful I become for the role models I had in my family… two sets of grandparents married over 60 years, my parents and my inlaws both have been married more than 50 years, and nine brothers, brothers-in-law, sisters, and sisters-in-law whose marriages total more than 150 years, and without a single divorce, I’ll add!

Maybe if someone writes a list of the longest and happiest marriages, celebs like Michael Jordan or Neil Diamond and their respective wives (their divorces both cost over $150 million) might have made it to their golden anniversaries.

Tim Richardson is an inspirational speaker who speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies, associations, and national conventions. He is the founder of the The Worlds Biggest Blog Party an event which will connect bloggers from all over the world to raise money for charity. He is also founder and president of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund. For more information on Tim, go to www.TimRichardson.com

Ali Turkel is a thirteen year old who already gets it. She has figured out, unlike many peers her age, it’s not “all about me”. For her Bat Mitzvah project, she had a concert to raise money for Heifer International. She has great role models in her parents Bruce and Gloria Turkel and her grandparents, all who believe it making a difference. Check out her story. Better yet, share it with your children, grandchildren, or other young people. And don’t have a cow, give one instead.

Tim Richardson is an inspirational speaker who speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies, associations, and national conventions. He is the founder of the The Worlds Biggest Blog Party an event which will connect bloggers from all over the world to raise money for charity. He is also founder and president of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund. For more information on Tim, go to www.TimRichardson.com

I am reading Seth Godin’s book Little is the New Big. Essentially, he used his blog as a way to write his book.  What a novel idea. He says blogs should have:

Candor

Urgency

Timeliness

Pithiness

Controversy

(Utility, maybe if you want six)

I heard Seth speak at National Speakers Association annual meeting a few years ago. I liked what he had to say and I like his books (Purple Cow is a great one too).  If you are blogging, why not photocopy page 23 of his book to keep these things in mind as you write.  

****

Yesterday, I received a call from a client who had heard me speak at an association meeting last week. She called to thank me for writing her a thank you note (okay she also wanted to discuss booking me as a keynote speaker too). Her call reminded me how important handwriting notes are and how passe they have become. People just don’t do much communication personalization.

She told me that she grew up in an area where it was long distance call to all her friends so she wrote (and received) letters from her friends. Do kids today write letters? For that matter do adults write very often?

Frankly, I think sending electronic birthday greetings (i.e. Blue Mountain) and Christmas cards is incredibly tacky. I even find Christmas cards with no personal note pointless. Why send a card without writing something! 

Perhaps Seth is right, small is the new big.  I think you can make a much bigger impact and connection by communicating with a smaller number of people and do it in a much bigger way. Believe it or not, personalization, like a simple handwritten note, is big today. Real big.

Tim Richardson is an inspirational speaker who speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies, associations, and national conventions. He is the founder of the The Worlds Biggest Blog Party an event which will connect bloggers from all over the world to raise money for charity. He is also founder and president of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund. For more information on Tim, go to www.TimRichardson.com

While the Florida Gators were playing the Ohio State  Buckeyes for the National Championship, I was reading about another champion - Chad Varga. Varga played basketball at Pitt from 1994-97 and professionally in Spain after getting his college degree, but that’s not what makes him a  champion. It’s his story that he now shares as a motivational speaker in public schools and churches that makes him remarkable.  

As a child, he was abused. He also witnessed things first-hand that many parents shield their children from watching on TV or in movies.“My story used to be abnormal, but today it’s normal,” Varga said. “I hear a lot worse when I talk to these kids. Sometimes, we’re numb to what’s out there. We want to believe these problems are a million miles away. But they’re not. There are a lot of kids hurting. They need hope. They need expectations. They need to realize the impact of the choices they make on the rest of their lives. They’re scared to stand up for what’s right because they’re so worried about what their friends will think. ‘At some point,’ I tell them, ‘you’ve got to get over your fear of what people think.’ ”

Varga was raised in a broken home by his mother, a recovering alcoholic and drug addict. Growing up, he and his sister were beaten by their mother and she took them to Detroit area crack houses. He saw his mother almost die from a cocaine overdose and eventually witnessed her being taken to prison. She forgot his 11th birthday party because she was drunk. He witnessed many fights she had with her boyfriends and once saw a murder.

“I tell the kids, ‘Regardless of what’s happened to you, it doesn’t give you an excuse to give up or quit,’ ” Varga said. “There’s a real connect there because they know I had every reason to fail. “Sure, I contemplated suicide. But what if I had done that? I’d have never known what I have in my life now. I’m not talking about material things. I’m talking about my relationship with God. I’m talking about the love I have for my family. I’m talking about the teenagers I’ve been able to reach. It’s like I tell the kids. ‘You can’t quit. You don’t know what’s ten years ahead.’ ” So what’s ten year ahead for Varga?  He plans to run a youth home in Johnson City, Tennessee on 150 acres of property which was given to him. “I decided there was more to life than dunks,” Varga said. “Everybody thought I was nuts. They still do.”  

I bet there are a lot of kids who don’t think he’s nuts. In fact, they probably think of him as a champion. One that will win again and again. 

You can find more details on his Web site: www.inspirenow.com.

Tim Richardson is an inspirational speaker who speaks about how giving increases employee morale, lowers employee turnover, increases customer loyalty and creates higher profits for Fortune 500 companies, associations, and national conventions. He is the founder of the The Worlds Biggest Blog Party an event which will connect bloggers from all over the world to raise money for charity. He is also founder and president of the Bill Walter Melanoma Research Fund. For more information on Tim, go to www.TimRichardson.com