New Year, New Dreams, and a Fresh Start

Time to put the past behind as it has no place in 2021. What happened in 2020 stays there. I don’t mean the pandemic and all the shutdowns, but the grudges I held against others and the fights I may have had with people. It’s a new year and that means you’re forgiven.

A fresh start awaits me in 2021. That includes reading. I already started on a reading project at Christmas, and that’s the story of Hall of Fame safety and former Pittsburgh Steeler Troy Polamalu. I’m already on Chapter Six and thus begins the USC part of Troy’s life. He would play at Southern California before being drafted in the first round by the Steelers in 2003.

He was the heart and soul of the Pittsburgh defense in the 2000s. He descended from a great Samoan king. I !earned a lot about his upbringing in Oregon and his family life. His other brother was a great athlete, however, drugs and gangs derailed those dreams. His USC days set the tone for the Trojans to become of the best teams in the nation. He played with Heisman trophy winner and top pick in the 2003 NFL draft, Carson Palmer.

In the spring of 2020, before COVID became a household word, I was taking a class at church called Financial Peace University. I had taken it before in another life and wanted a fresh start this time around. The class was much different this time, with only nine weeks but the same seven baby steps. Joining Dave Ramsey this time around was daughter Rachel and personal finance and retirement planning expert Chris Hogan. Rachel definitely is following in her dad’s footsteps and educating everyone to live like no one else so later, they can live like no one else.

While I was off work in the Spring, I took the time to read their books. Chris Hogan’s Everyday Millionaires and Rachel Cruze’s Love Your Life Not Theirs. Both books pertain to the world of personal finance and money habits.

In Chris’s book, I learned that ordinary people can build extraordinary wealth. You can have $20 to your name in your early 20s and think getting rich is just a pipe dream. But if you educate yourself and discipline yourself, then it’s possible. The testimonials from these everyday people who became millionaires are astounding. Buy the book and read it. You won’t be disappointed.

Rachel’s second book was the one I read. Her first one is about teaching kids how to use their money wisely. I learned in ‘Love Your Life Not Theirs’ not keep up with the Joneses. When someone keep up appearances, you know something’s up. Life isn’t always as good as it looks on social media. Comparing your life to theirs will only make you feel insecure and inferior.

Here’s what I learned from my boss babe and blogger friends, social media is not real life. Facebook isn’t the whole picture and neither is Instagram. If you stay true to you and live and love your life, you will be just fine.

I look forward to reading ‘Retire Inspired’ starting this week and learning from it. I’ll have an updated report next week in the blog on this book as well as Rachel’s new book ‘Know Yourself Know Your Money’. I’ll dive into both this week.

Before I close out the blog, I want to give The Trendy Bunny Studio a shoutout for their event tomorrow night. This Goals Journal Class will help those create a Visual Goals journal and there will be a guest speaker. Tickets are required for entry. For those who can’t make it tomorrow night, Alisha has said this event will likely be once a month and a series. Sounds like a great night.