Daniel was a wage slave—chained to his desk fourteen hours a day. But even working those grueling hours, Daniel knew he needed to bring in more income. His family was nearly starving, and not just for food. His wife and kids needed him to be more engaged in their lives. Daniel said:

“I knew I needed a change; otherwise, my family was going to give up on me.”

So he came up with an idea. Why work for someone else when he had enough contacts to start a business on his own? Daniel began with the vision of changing his life. He found his purpose, which was to better support and be available to his family; he found his passion, which was creating websites to help ministries expand globally; and ultimately he was able to launch a web design business. Because he executed each step with precision, he is now making more money, working less hours, and loving the new life he created.

What about you: are you a wage slave?

Bloomberg provided further proof that the largest companies aren’t always the best. Their publications (as of December 31, 2008) show that 49% of the companies in the S&P 500 (largest, most widely known companies) had lower prices in 2008 than in 2000. In fact Merrill Lynch lost 78% in 2008, AIG lost 97%, Fannie Mae lost 98% Freddie Mac lost 98%, while Wachovia lost 85%. Still not convinced?

From 2000 to 2002 GE lost 53%, from 1999 to 2005 Coca-Cola lost 40% within seven years, from 2000 to 2002 McDonald‘s lost 60% in three years, even trusty old Wal-Mart lost 37% from 2000 to 2007 (a 8 year span). These are some of the largest companies in the entire world. If they can lose almost half or more of their value within a relatively short period of time, biggest isn’t always best!

Don‘t get me wrong, large company stocks have their place in a portfolio. My point is just don‘t assume that if you buy the biggest and best companies you will profit. As they say “timing is everything”. In order to truly understand an investment opportunity, much homework is needed. You should evaluate a company‘s financial potential by looking at a wide number of financial data available at sites like Morningstar, Valueline, Zacks, and Yahoo Finance to name a few.
Where do you turn for financial advice? I’d love to hear your thoughts…

Read BEFORE you sign…

Variable annuities are complex investment products, often described as mutual funds wrapped in an insurance policy. Under a variable annuity contract, an insurance company agrees to make periodic payments to you, beginning either immediately or at some future date. You purchase a variable annuity contract by making either a single purchase payment or a series of purchase payments. Variable annuities are a favorite product of advisors seeking to maximize their incomes as they often pay commission of 3, 4, 5, or even 10 percent! That‘s right, for every $100,000 you invest, your broker may make $3,000 to $10,000… all for filling out a few forms!

Problem #1: Outrageous fees

In addition to high commissions, variable annuities have high costs compared to many other investments. These expenses essentially guarantee you won‘t achieve a reasonable long-term rate of return. It‘s like you have a ball and chain!

Here’s a typical expense structure:

Mortality and Expense Charge 1.50%

Sub Account Management Fees 1.00%

Unreported trading costs 0.78%

Annual Administrative Expenses 0.15%

TOTAL EXPENSES 3.43%

Problem #2: Long surrender periods

This means your money is tied up! If you want to sell your annuity, you will pay dearly. For example look at a typical surrender schedule on a 7 year annuity (far right): www.jayperoni.com, ©2010, All Rights Reserved 10 Mistakes that Could Jeopardize Your Financial Future 2010 Edition 18

This means on a $100,000 investment you may have to pay $2,000 to $8,000 or more to sell your annuity. Talk about inflexible! Yes, most annuities do allow you to withdraw up to 10% per year without penalties, however, you can never completely cash out until the surrender period expires. In the investment world seven years is a long time and things change rapidly. Being stuck in an expensive annuity is not a place you want to remain in limbo.

Problem # 3: Complexity

For most investors, variable annuities are quite complex investments. Between knowing what a subaccount is, how living and/or death benefits work, surrender schedules and fees, withdrawal options, on and on. Variable annuities are so complex that many advisors who sell them truly don‘t fully understand what they‘re selling.

JAY’S SOLUTION: My advice would be to avoid annuities like the plague. There are far better investment choices in this world that are cheaper, more flexible, and provide more attractive returns.

When you look at investing, there are really only five choices. Here’s a look at the classes of assets you’ll generally be considering when you invest:

1. Start or Operate a Company: Selling a product or service that meets the needs of the marketplace can be the fastest path to financial freedom. However, this can also be the riskiest and least likely to succeed when you evaluate your choices.

2. Stocks: Although past performance is no guarantee of future results, stocks have historically provided a higher average annual rate of return than other investments, including bonds and cash equivalents. However, stocks are generally more volatile than bonds or cash equivalents. Investing in stocks may be appropriate if your investment goals are long-term.

3. Bonds: Historically less volatile than stocks, bonds do not provide as much opportunity for growth as stocks do. When interest rates rise, bond values tend to fall, and when interest rates fall, bond values tend to rise. Because bonds of r fixed interest payments at regular intervals, they may be appropriate if you want regular income from your
investments.
4. Cash Equivalents: Cash equivalents (or short-term instruments) such as money market funds offer a lower potential for growth than other types of assets but are the least volatile. They are subject to inflation risk, the chance that returns won’t outpace rising prices. They provide easier access to funds than longer-term investments and may be appropriate if your investment goals are short-term.
5. Alternative Assets: The term “alternative assets”  is highly flexible and is used to describe specific physical assets, such as natural resources and real estate, as well as methods of investing, such as hedge funds and private equity. In some cases, even geographic regions, such as emerging global markets, are considered alternative assets. These are often investments that are unrelated to other asset types.

If  God is the owner of everything then don’t we need to ask what He would like us to do with His money? If we truly want to Serve God by where we invest, should we care about what He cares about?  1 Peter 4:10 says “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms”  So this leads to a big question:  “how can we serve others through our investments?”

According to Peter, we are expected to use all of our gifts.  Now if we are fortunate to have a surplus, shouldn’t we consider it a gift and not just invest solely for ourselves but also for the benefit of others? When we follow God’s principles we can funnel God’s love and grace and participate in the blessing of others!  How amazing is that?

I believe this involves two main points when we invest:

1) We should desire to make  investments that are in line with biblical values and avoid investments that clearly violate Godly principles. With so much evil in this world,  many in corporate America promote anti-biblical agendas.  As Christians, do we really want to be investing in the abortion, pornography, or gambling industries?  Do we want to promote homosexual activism?  Do we want to invest in companies producing products that kill or destroy lives or trap people in addictive lifestyles?

2) We should desire to not only only save for our family’s future but also for generations to come.  Shouldn’t we be as a Body of Christ, be investing more in the Kingdom?  By giving more to Churches, ministries, charities, and organizations making a difference, we can not only spread earthly wealth to the less fortunate, we can also grow eternal wealth that will save lives and souls for His Glory!

Don’t know about you, but talking like this, gets me excited about investing!

Why do so many people have trouble finding their passion? Often it is so far beneath the surface that it is out of sight and out of mind. If you have a relationship with Jesus, are you passionate about Him? Money tends to be the primary motivating factor for many as they choose a profession, but most would not identify money as their true passion.

In his book Marketplace Christianity, Robert E. Frasier says:

―For people who are passionate for Jesus, there are dozens of well-trod paths into ministry but few into the marketplace. Have you ever heard someone say, “I’m so passionate for Jesus, I just have to go into business”? Why don’t we hear that? Because, without ever saying so, most Christians believe that a marketplace vocation and passion for Jesus are mutually exclusive. This is one of the great tragedies of modern Christianity, and it has robbed millions of people of their passion and purpose, and robbed the Son of God of His inheritance in us.”

God has instilled a passion within you

He has programmed within you a desire to participate in activities that are natural, rewarding, and fulfilling. Some find these early on. Others never truly discover their passion.   Almost every successful person I have met found a way to consistently tap into his or her passion. Once they found a way, they also discovered how to earn a living through it. If you discover what your interests and passions are, you will always be far more successful than if you just go through the motions.

Take some time to search yourself and determine what really makes you tick. A great resource I have found to help you evaluate your passion can be found at http://www.48days.comwith Dan Miller, president of 48 Days, specializes in creative thinking for increased personal and business success. He believes the most effective life plans are achieved by integrating natural gifts, unique personality traits, and one’s own values and passions.

In No More Mondays, Dan writes, ―I believe every one of us has a unique calling. It’s certainly not something reserved for a chosen few who end up as pastors, priests, or monks. We all fulfill that calling being excellent as we express or talents and abilities, and our dreams and passions. Anyone can do a job, but a calling is lived out by a person who has tapped into wisdom that goes beyond education and intelligence.

Dan is active in helping individuals redirect careers, evaluate new income sources, and achieve balanced living. He believes a clear sense of direction can help us become all that God designed us to be.

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.”

I read this story recently and it reminded me of how important integrity and reputation truly are:

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business and live a leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor.

The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career. When the carpenter finished his work, the employer came to inspect the house. He handed the front-door key to the carpenter. “This is your house,” he said. “My gift to you.”

The carpenter was shocked! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. So it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less than our best into the building, then with a shock we realize we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it over, we’d do it much differently. But we cannot go back. Build wisely!

What if you had a terminal illness and you knew you had less than a year left, how differently would you live?  You would probably start “living it up” and doing the things you planned on doing “later in life”.  You would speed up and accomplish all you could before you were called “home”. You would probably laugh more, spend more time with loved ones, and change a lot about yourself.  My question is why wait until you get news that you’re about to die?  Why don’t we fully embrace life and start living more now – create our ideal life today?

Start with ten things… what 10 things do you want to accomplish before you die?  Stop waiting!  Get started on them today!

Or do you wake up exhausted, frustrated, and wishing you had more leisure and relaxation?

Make no mistake about it: we live in a rest-oriented society.  We want more free time, additional holidays, extra vacation days, and longer weekends…

Why?  Because we hate our jobs!

Look around you.  There’s no shortage of unhappy people – miserable, worn out, desperate to find a greater purpose!   Far too many people participate in an unfair exchange – time for money.  What a waste!  When you get paid simply for time, you are literally wasting time.  According to the World Bank, life expectancy is around 78.4 years or 28,616 days.  Assuming the average person spends 30 years in an unsatisfying J-O-B, they have wasted over 25% of their life assuming a person works:

• 5 days a week
• 50 weeks a year
• 30 years of their life

This adds up to over 7,500 days which is greater than ¼ of our life!  With so many people who loathe what we do for a living, this is alarming!

Find work you love now or else!

Many of us would rather die than get up for another day of work.  Think I’m kidding?  Four out of five workers do not have their ideal job!   I’m not saying those who are unsatisfied with their work are suicidal, but two of the leading factors that contribute to taking one’s own life include depression and money problems.  Not finding your purpose and passion (aka dream job) can lead to depression and money problems thus increase the odds that someone feels hopeless, depressed, and yes, suicidal!

Think about this: if we as Americans spent as much time looking for meaningful work and the pursuit of living life to the fullest, how many of us would ever want to retire? Our bodies can breakdown, our mental sharpness can diminish, but our will to contribute to society should never burn out.  Stop wasting time planning your retirement and start focusing instead on finding what God put you own earth to do!

Be “found”

My good friend Kevin Miller at Free Agent Academy helps the “lost” and “found” gain more purpose and passion through self employment.

The group I call the “lost” are those who are a little lost in life.  They are trying to find their purpose, their passion, and are actively trying to find their calling.  Many of them are still working 9-5 jobs, but eventually they will get it, they are pursuing more passionate work thus there is hope!  Though still lost, soon they will find where they are supposed to be!

Within the Free Agent Community there are so many who have “found” their true callings.

There is:

• Justin Lukasavige at Lukas Coaching, a radio show host, author, and helping others turn dreams into reality as a business, financial, and career coach.  Justin has helped me make great strides!  He is the host of Coach Radio and author of Become a Coach.
• Then there’s Kent Julian at Live it Forward, speaker, author, career coach, and one of America’s foremost authorities on intentional living, leadership, and REAL™ Success.
• Also there’s Joel Boggess at 4 Points Coaching, working exclusively with students and professionals in transition.
• Deb Ingino at My Wired Style , Mom, Author & CEO. She helps equip people with the tools to discover their DISC Wired Strengths so they can create effective families, businesses & communities.
• And Andy Traub, helping businesses grow through tech tools and social media strategies
• Don’t forget Cliff Ravenscraft, the Podcast Answer Man, helping others create their dream podcast or radio show!
• And countless others who are living out their dream jobs, businesses, and ideal life!

They have started businesses around their passions, they have created incomes doing what they love each day, and they are making profits that are plentiful!

Are you lost or found?

I asked myself, “why wait until retirement?” That became my life story in 2009. I had enough of New England. Though it was the only home I ever knew. It was the place where most of my friends and family lived. It was home of my Patriots and Red Sox! Yet, it was also the place with long dreadful winters, liberal politics, huge church-less populations, and enough traffic to drive anyone mad!

So Karen and I always wanted to live near the beach. Our four children were young enough and not settled in school. So it started with a couple of road trips to check out a few places we had identified on www.findyourspot.com. We took extensive quizzes on what we were looking for in an ideal location to live. We visited Wilmington, NC and Charleston, SC and absolutely fell in love with Mt. Pleasant, SC. The beaches, the weather, the laid back lifestyle, and an exciting church at Seacoast made it easily an instant favorite spot.

There are many places you don’t mind visiting, but few places you can see yourself settling in. Mount Pleasant, for us, was a place we could see ourselves living for many years to come after only a three day visit! Four months later, we packed up the family and drove over 900 miles to our new home. Why wait until we retire to live the life we were created to live today? What are your thoughts? What’s holding you back from living your ideal life today?