With all the news about an economic crisis, Black October, Oil going up and down, the stock market falling, mortgage loans slowing down.... AHHH!!! It makes you want to crawl into a little hole and don't come out until it's over! Or does it?

You know, the day that the Stock Market fell at it's lowest point about a week ago, was the day I brainstormed all day and set my goals and visualized where my business was going to be 6 months, 1 year, 5 years, and 10 years from now. It's a little known fact that more millionaires were made during The Great Depression than in any other era in U.S. history. I plan to be on that list this time around. No matter if there is a recession, depression, obsession. I'm looking at my short term options and long term goals and implementing my business plans.

What about you? Do you have a plan? On paper. Not in your head. Because on paper is where you declare that you are going to make it happen. Are you looking at your options and how you are going to prepare yourself for a possible storm? Are you forging ahead not acting scared and freezing your dreams but are you setting yourself up to achieve your dreams during this uncertain time and most importantly surrounding yourself around those that see this time as an opportunity for wealth? Here is my personal checklist that I recommend to new investors and that I am following.

1. Keep your "Millionaire Mind" Clean. Remove all that negative "Scarcity Mentality" debree that is infiltrating our lives through the news, radio, paper, colleagues. Don't allow any of those thoughts to settle. Continue reading and listening to personal development books: The Millionaire Mind, Think and Grow Rich, The Top 10 Distinctions between Millionaires and the Middle Class, The Secret, etc..
2. Write it Down and Daydream. Write down your goals on paper. Visualize yourself doing what it is exactly you want to be doing and where. How do you feel? How does success feel? At each step, stop to feel yourself there. Daydream every morning right when you start to wake up. Feel yourself lying in bed in your dream house surrounded by the sights, sounds, and smells of everything that comes with it.
3. Start to implement. Once it's been written down. Put it into action. What small steps can you make towards that goal? Make it a priority to take a small step in that direction every day, every week.
4. Make a sacrifice. This is the moment that will seperate you from the rest. Make a short term sacrifice that will yield rewards 100 fold. Is it getting that extra part time job to build your emergency fund while you launch your new venture? Is it opening up time in your busy day to go for a jog or join a gym? Is it buying that product that you know will change your future? Whatever it is for you, remember that it is only short term and this small sacrifice will change your life.
5. Share it. Make yourself accountable by sharing what you are doing with others. Tell the world who you want to be or what you want to do. The more people you tell, the more responsible you will feel to making it happen ( ie. this blog).
6. Celebrate! Each milestone that you reach towards your goal. Celebrate it! Whether it be jumping up and down by the scale, taking your family out to (sensible) dinner, or telling a friend, enjoy the feelings of satisfaction that success brings and don't allow yourself to take that achievement for granted.
7. Repeat. Repeat all of the above and keep moving forward. Prepare wisely for the circumstances around you and keep moving forward. Learn to manage those unseen circumstances before they manage you.

Here's to Education, Wealth, & Freedom! - Flower De Raadt