Shut Down Time

Hello all,

"Shut Down Time"

For anyone new to the company this is my semi annual shut down email. I believe there are two times a year we need to step back a bit and take a break. July when everyone heads out on vacations and now through the end of the year. The holidays are a special time of year and need to be spent with family and friends. We never stop working because we would stop making money, in fact the office has been jumping the last couple of weeks. This will be my last coffee until the beginning of the year, thank you all for a great 2012 and let's get pumped for an even better 2013!

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe  

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"A penny saved is a penny earned." 
- Ben Franklin

WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE?

Waiting for your ship to come in? Think you need to win the lottery to become a millionaire? Waiting for your inheritance to come through? Dream on - but don't hold your breath. The truth is that "steady as she goes" is the watchword for accumulating real wealth. In baseball terms, the method would be to hit plenty of "singles" and "doubles" and forget about the "home runs."

Consider this method for becoming a millionaire: At age 25, begin setting aside just $100 each month. Invest the money at 12% - yes that is do-able! At age 65, you would have accumulated $1,176,477. In other words, if you never increased the $100 per month, regardless of all the raises and increases in income you experienced over your lifetime, you would have over $1,000,000 in your investment account.

Now let's say you received a very modest $1,000 per year increase in pay over your 40 year working life. By putting aside an additional $250 each year (just 25% of your yearly raise), an additional $191,772 would be added to your million-plus nest egg.

Better yet, here's the easiest method. Beginning at age 20, put $2,000 per year into an IRA for just three years. Never add another nickel to the account. At age 65, the account would be worth $1,153,180.

What if you're already 45 years old (the average age at which Americans begin saving)? You would need to put aside $1,100 each month for 20 years at 12% - giving you $1,187,106 at age 65.

Financial security requires patience, persistence, and self-discipline (sort of like real-life). Spend less than you earn, and put the rest to work for you. It's a simple formula that few ever attempt, yet it yields unfailing results!

Peak Producers Training

Hello all,

"Peak Producers Training"

We have been very delighted with the turn out at the fall training series! I believe this is a great lead into the Peak Producers training that will start in January. If you have been to all of the fall series and qualify for the Buffini training please get with your manager about how to sign up. We will be getting things set on the Buffini website for everyone to sign up this week but I wanted get the dates out to everyone so they can prepare. The training's will be held in Aspen Hill from 9:30-11:30 starting on January 7th. The first week the training's are every day and after that it will be every Wednesday from 9:30-11:30 ending on March 20th. Lunch will not be provided the first week however on the subsequent weeks it will be provided. I will be cooking the lunches and facilitating the training's.

I had a great time on Saturday night, it was wonderful to see everyone together. A very special thank you to Counselors and Hutton & Patt for sponsoring the event!  

Enjoy the coffee,

Joe  

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:

"Repentance is another name for aspiration."

~ Henry Ward Beecher

THE ART OF APOLOGY!

“To forgive is divine.” That’s wonderful for the one who forgives, but what about the one who is apologizing? How do you say you’re sorry without making things worse? What’s the best way to make reparation and regain your integrity?

None of us are saints. For any number of reasons, we’ve committed any variety of offenses. Maybe we did or said something unkind, or made a mistake that cost someone time or money. The question isn’t about making mistakes, because we all do that. The question is how to apologize after the fact. It has become a lost art.

First and foremost in regard to saying “I’m sorry” is to do it as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the more it sounds like “I’m sorry . . . I got caught.” Next comes the explanation of what you did wrong and why it happened. Just be careful not to put more emphasis on the “why” than the “what,” because apologizing is not the same as justifying.

You don’t necessarily have to go whole hog, either. “I regret what happened” sounds a little weak, but “Everything was my fault” can be downright dangerous! Hopefully there is a middle ground where you can simply express how badly you feel about what you did or said.

Now that you’ve shown your repentance, your “victim” can relax, you can relax, and now you can take the opportunity to do something especially nice for the wronged party. Just be sure to say you’re sorry and THEN do something nice – otherwise, you might just arouse suspicion! Oh, and don’t forget – don’t make the same mistake twice!