Are You Drowning In Negative Assets?  What Negative Money Is And How To Avoid It

As I counsel people, and watch the lives of the people I love, I've noticed that there are two kinds of money, or assets - the positive and the negative kind. 

There are things we hold onto that go up in value and things that go down.  There are things we hope are going to make money for us that we have to continually feed or maintain.  Some things that we get ourselves into cost us dearly. 

To give you an example of a negative asset, consider someone who believes that buying "small domestic animals" and breeding them will bring in large sums of money.  The animals continue to breed and must be fed, medicated and trained, whether a sale happens or not. 

After a period of time, this person has grown very fond of the "animals" and may not have learned the difference between something that will pan out and increase his actual net worth, and something that is draining all his resources and should be cut loose as quickly as possible, even if he has to take a loss to plug the leak in his finances. 

Although this may seem so obvious to you, don't pat yourself on the back just yet, because although we may not all have purchased living animals, we all have areas where money is streaming through our fingertips.  In some cases, it's rushing out our back door like a tsunami wave. 

You see, when it's OUR problem, we just can't see it.  We have practiced all of our lives to see through our emotions, instead of through ledger sheets and bookkeepers' tallies. 

This is exactly what a trained marketer, business owner or corporation is counting on, and is the purpose for those ads and commercials on TV.  We all know that people don't buy what they need; they buy whatever has stirred their emotions and given them a glimpse of hope for something better, new or more exciting. 

That's why we give examples and life stories of people who have lost large amounts of weight (so you'll buy our diet programs), or of people who won the lottery (so you'll buy more lottery tickets.) 

The truth is there are some negative assets we hang onto right into the grave, because we WANT to hold onto things that are familiar or give pleasure or help us keep an illusion of what it is we'd like to be. 

If you were absolutely serious about making $100,000 this year, what would you do to make this a reality?  (No, …robbing a bank is not an option!) 

I would want to pattern my life after someone who DID make $100,000 or better each year consistently.  I would stop and ask myself if Donald Trump or Bill Gates would do it this way, or if they would cut something out of the picture and regroup. 

Obviously, Bill Gates and Donald Trump would NOT be raising domestic animals and depending on them for their sole source of income, especially when potential customers are holding back their money for the gas pumps or from fear of not being able to provide for what they already have.  They would not purchase an animal, period, if their income source or amount were unstable. 

We can't be sure what they would have done if they were in our shoes, with our education and environment, but there is one thing we CAN be sure of.  They have acquired their fortunes by a little talked about facet of human intelligence called acuity or perceptiveness.  

In other words, they looked carefully at the bankbooks, and what their bookkeepers reported about their investments and projects, and they made a division between what was truly prospering and what was acting like a lead weight, taking up time and money to maintain. 

They were not afraid to cut the negative assets even if they had to suffer a short time loss to prevent losing much more over a period of time to come. 

If we're honest with ourselves, and examine every area of our business and our personal lives, we can also divide between the positive and the negative resources and in doing this one small thing, we will increase our total net worth and our available spending money without having to actually increase our income! 

Isn't that encouraging? 

Again, there is no lack, and there is no reason to hold back on money, except to consciously take control of your life and decisions to make them work for you.  I remind you again that you can't possibly make decisions that will take you where you need to be, if you haven't first determined your goals. 

There is NO LIMIT to the "busy" work you can be doing, and keep accomplishing and adding to your list, but very little of that will actually MEAN anything.  Put another way, very little of your activities (if done without focusing on the goal) will be positive assets or lead to an increase or betterment of your life. 

The smallest motion or task done on time and on target, will net you more value than a year's worth of running in circles. 

So what should you be doing?  Where should you invest your time, money and talents? 

Frequently take stock of your possessions (assets), your friends and business associates (for how they can benefit you), your daily calendar (your time spent), and your business ventures (accounts receivable, income sources, investments). 

• Maintain possessions, (clean tools, replace worn out items, protect by locks or insurance).

• Maintain friendships and networks, (keep up acquaintances, regularly do small favors and unexpected blessings for your "team" and keep them reminded that you consider THEM important) - because such honor is reciprocated.

• Cull your calendar of all items that do not serve the long-term goal.  This is one of the hardest things to do, because almost all of our activities are emotion based.  (For instance, taking the kids to soccer practice and ballet practice and keeping them current with all the teams and groups you're hoping they are cultivating.)

• Examine your business ventures and keep track of which ones are producing and which need to be cut loose. 

Don't get caught up in fear and anxiety over them, but establish a reasonable time period to check back in on each and make a decision. 

Don't let it worry you, but don't let your investments be based on emotions.  No matter how badly you want to keep something that your ancestor thought was special, if it's not special to YOU, it's subject to the cut list. 

Perhaps the most difficult area that any of us have to deal with is our children.  Almost without exception, this generation of young adult people need more support and help from their parents than any other generation in the past. 

The reasons aren't important here, but what is important is how you choose to deal with it.  There are no easy answers in this area, and perhaps only in personal relationships are the rules of this game a moot point. 

It all depends on what you want written on your tombstone.  "He/She was a great mom or dad" or "He/She made the dollar mark every time." 

Is it possible to accomplish both?  (If you can believe television reports, Donald Trump hasn't done too badly in either area.) 

Don't forget to thank your friends, family and associates for helping you get where you are today, and God for giving you life and letting you keep it another year.  

Polish up your talents, remember the great things you've already accomplished and focus yourself!  Have a great ride!