Live What You Love » Money

Pay it forward

Bob and Mel — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:34:39 +0000

As overwhelming as the economic news is these days, we’ve learned to never underestimate the effects of a simple story. Sometimes, small trumps big. When we first wrote A Trip to the Beach, for example, we never expected to receive letters of thanks. We had hoped to entertain readers with the story of our move to Anguilla and our first wonderful, hair-raising year there. But inspire them? The thought had never really crossed our minds. Yet dozens and then hundreds and by now, thousands of strangers from all over wrote to tell us how grateful they were that we had shared our story. They took to heart our simple tale of living what you love – and they went on to change their own lives as a result. That experience taught us the power of a story.

Now we’re all trying to comprehend the huge story of a global economic meltdown. How are we to deal with such overwhelming events? Well, this would be a time to share our own stories of courage, to help and support each other as much as we can. We invite you to share your own true story of positive change, or the story of someone you know. Someone who is living what they love. Just click on “Tell Us Your Story” at the top of this page or, if you prefer, simply post it here in the blog. Either way, you have the power to offer strength and encouragement to someone in need. You never know the good those words can do!

Benefiting from the bad economy?

Bob and Mel — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:00:57 +0000

The bad economic news just doesn’t seem to end, does it? Food and gas prices are skyrocketing while the housing and job markets are tanking. Everyone’s feeling the pinch—it’s a scary, stressful time. But please don’t use the economy as an excuse to avoid changing your course. A lousy economy could actually be an opportunity in disguise.

Making changes in this climate does take careful thought and planning but nothing good can happen until you move from anxiety to positive action. It’s your choice. You can worry about circumstances that are beyond your control or you can determine which elements of your life are open to change. Maybe it’s your job, maybe it’s where you live or maybe it’s how you spend your spare time. But positive adjustments can always be made.

Here’s your challenge. Find an opportunity to improve some area of your life. Whether the change is big or small, the point is to use the bad economy as a wake-up call. Instead of merely reacting to life’s events as they occur, take charge and create your own circumstances. Each time you make a change, you build the confidence and momentum you need for the next step.

You’re smart. Use your brain and your talents to your advantage. Do more than just survive the bad economy—benefit from it. Take control and make some changes!

To read more about this in the Washington Post, please click here.

Bob Acquires a New Passion

Bob and Mel — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 13:35:30 +0000

When you live what you love, you find that the boundaries between work and fun are no longer separated by a clean line. You end up adding your own passion to everything you do. And that makes for a life full of unexpected pleasures!

Here’s an example. We’ve always loved being retailers but we’ve never had an online store before where photography plays such an important role in conveying the charm and usefulness of the products we sell. When we were first planning our Live What You Love store (http://shop.livewhatyoulove.com/), we wanted the site to have both the right product mix and a lively, colorful feel to it with lots of great images. Originally, we thought we could scan photos sent to us by the artisans or companies we buy from.

Well, it turned out that most of those photos were just awful but we quickly discovered that professional photographers were way out of our price range. Bob had given me a good quality digital camera a few years ago but frankly, neither of us took the time to figure out how to use it. Faced with the challenge of our new online store, Bob took the camera out of the closet and started snapping pictures like crazy. At this point, he’s studied the manual and gone to dozens of websites to learn about apertures, exposure and depth of field. And guess what? He’s having a blast!

In a matter of two months, he’s gone from having absolutely no interest in photography to having a new passion so strong that he bounds out of bed every morning to check the natural light situation for the day. Too bright and sunny? Too overcast? Just right? He loads his pictures into the computer at the end of each shot and asks me to take a look. Do you like this one… or that one, he asks. How about this angle? Maybe a tighter shot? Maybe a little darker? A little lighter?

To save time, some of the photos on our site still come from manufacturers or artisans, but Bob is adding more of his own work every day. Our lack of money ended up making this business more fun for both of us than we could ever have predicted. And as a result, our lives are so much richer.

What’s the color of your money?

Bob and Mel — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:06:10 +0000

Just a couple of days ago, our new book Changing Your Course got a very nice review in The Washington Post–but not in the book review section, as you might have expected. Instead, it appeared in the newspaper’s personal finance column, The Color of Money, written by Michelle Singletary (Article).

Why would a financial analyst devote a column to our book? Michelle understands that in this economy, a lot of people are being forced to consider whether they can afford not to change course. Whether they’re anticipating a pink slip or they’ve already been laid off, whether they’re run out of surplus home equity or they’re actually facing foreclosure, people across the country are getting the kind of wake-up call that makes change a whole lot more appealing than the status quo.
If you’re facing that situation, what do you do next? First, don’t let fear distract you. There are always solutions. Turn to our 5-step D.R.E.A.M guide to start creating your plan for a more fulfilling life, financially and emotionally. And then at noon on July 3, please join us and Michelle Singletary at http://www.washingtonpost.com. We’ll be discussing how to change your course and we’d love to hear from you!

Can You Afford The Life You Want?

Bob and Mel — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:41:04 +0000

We’re often deeply moved by the e-mails we get from our readers. Just recently a woman named Julie wrote, “I am so unhappy in my job, and pretty much always have been, but I can’t afford to do the things I want to do. In order to be responsible and pay my bills, I have to sacrifice want for need. I’m tired of living like this. I feel trapped and have felt this way for quite some time.”

Julie’s frustration is so clear to us that we wonder how she can afford not to make a change in her life. But her question about how to pay for this is the one we hear most when we talk about the importance of living what you love. That sounds great, people say, but the reality is that I have bills to pay!

Well, we’ve never been rich and we’ve often enough been broke, so we know those realities intimately. But we’ve also known that the one thing we could never sacrifice was living a life of passion and enthusiasm. We’d rather do without stuff than live without joy.

Fine, you might say, but how do I actually make choices? Our book Changing Your Course is a great guide to answering this question, with a step-by-step plan for getting the life you want, but the short answer is Do Your Homework. People so often tell us that they can’t afford to live their dream but then they draw a blank when we ask them, “How much, exactly, do you need?”

Until you’ve done all the research and figured out all the costs (and benefits!) of making a change, you simply aren’t qualified to say it’s impossible. You may need to modify your plans. Part of your homework is to research alternative ways of achieving your dream. You probably will have to make some sacrifices. But remember that it’s your life that’s at stake. How much is that worth to you?

Remember:

List all the costs associated with each one of your goals.
Don’t worry about what you think you can afford until you’ve done all your research.
Find the right balance between money and passion.
Don’t listen to people who say you can’t afford to do something.
Don’t allow fear to distract you.

The Big 4

Bob and Mel — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 22:30:22 +0000

Don’t underestimate the importance of sharing passionate experiences with people you care about.

We’ve started 9 different businesses over the past 35 years, always working together and always working hard. Most of our companies have been successful but they’ve all encouraged us to take a careful look at how we’re living.

We drew upon these experiences to identify four important checkpoints that have always helped us determine our choices. These are the Big 4: Passion, People, Environment and Money. And using them as checkpoints for your choices will encourage you to make choices that can change your life.

We’ve learned that living what you love means living a life guided by your passions, surrounded by people you love, in a place you enjoy; we’ve always felt that money’s main function is to makes the other three possible. Life the pistons in your car engine, the Big 4 must all be in proper working order and running smoothly if you want to move through life with confidence and joy.

Think about your own dream and evaluate what’s needed to make it real in terms of people, location, passion and money. Identify what needs adjusting and addressing: Different people? More money? Use the Big 4 to create a plan so your dream can come to life.