Category Archives: Ready for Better

These works were originally created for the Ready for Better Series

Ready for Better?? It’s Coming

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Better is coming soon.

The Ready for Better Thursday Blog Series is in the midst of a tranformation 🙂
Please stay tuned!!
What’s to come??
  • a whole new website/blog/utopia
  • wider range of subject material
  • guest bloggers!! Maybe YOU!!!
  • richer, deeper, more colorful, and funner(ha!) mental “weirdness” from yours truly, the king of weird!!
I sincerely hope that the newness on the horizon will bring you a more valuable experience that engages, entertains and tickles the brain!
Thanks for being AWESOME!! I know that every eye on these words belongs to someone who is!!
Sincerely
Aaron Nichols







True North Financial Fitness Coaching
aaron@truenorthffc.com
785-218-6134
http://www.truenorthffc.com… ** new domains coming soon**

TMI?? You know that’s how I roll!

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A Manifesto is Brewing…

Every Thursday, on this blog, I’m throwing out the most writable thoughts that come to mind between 5:00 and oh, maybe 8:00.

Lately I’ve enjoyed posting real-life silliness and seriousness that is fun to write and therapeutic for me to share.

After posting, especially a personal topic, I just love to watch the Stats page climb through the next few days. It shows me the results of how many visits have piled up.

I am amazed and blessed, flattered and honored to have a regular following of readers of these words. Thank You, Thank You, THANK YOU!

You may wonder about the “Ready for Better” topics and their origin? As I’ve stated, my thoughts are a scrambled high-voltage buzz of white noise that goes with me everywhere I do, maybe yours are the same??

During my daily brain bombardment, when a tasty topic or observation comes to mind, I have a piece of paper that I scribble it on. I am now on paper #2 since beginning this blog in the fall of 2010. Like paper #1 before it… It’s a random patterned mess full of scribbles!!! 🙂

BUT, I am struggling with a certain topic. In fact, I’ve put off writing it several times. It seems too big to jump into, and with it comes risk and fear 🙂

You see, I LOVE the fact that you are reading this right now. I want to engage, inspire and share with you.

I do not however think that all of my thoughts are palatable to everyone. Some things may push a boundary beyond entertainment or even inspiration and into new world of thought…

I can see, that from my previous-self’s point of view, it could come across just as uncomfortably crazy as Alice’s trip down the Rabbit Hole.

However, I have been irreversibly changed in the last year. Just like Neo in the movie the Matrix… I have taken the Red Pill.

New Truths have been shown to me. They have opened my eyes.

I now live with a New Perspective.

And… I LOVE IT!

But, as the saying goes… “The only person who likes change, is a baby with a dirty diaper.”

So, as I struggle with finding ways to share these new perspectives. Please, please know that from the beginning, every step of my journey, was meant to help someone else find hope and answers in their own situations. Whether it be purely financial peace that someone is reaching for; or just to raise their own awareness that they deserve Better!

So far, I am failing at directly helping the people in my community through personal coaching. This was one of my goals that I’ve yet to fulfill.

Here lies the root thoughts that are growing into something bigger than a blog post.

My recent experiences and new perspectives have started the simmer of a brutally honest, viciously raw and searingly white-hot Manifesto of ideas that, when written, will leave me gutted wide-open, vulnerable to all…

I am not sure that I am fit enough to explore further down this rabbit hole right now. It’s scary…

but I’m training for it 🙂

You as readers, have shown me with your visits that when I am most personal and most honest, the most of you show up…

I wonder how far you’ll go with me on this journey??

The time is not now to decide Red or Blue, but I hope for all of us that when it is time, You and I will have the Courage to Try.

Thank You again for being here with me on this blogging adventure. It really is much more than that. Ready for Better is my personal journal, told through show-and-tell.

I hope we are all appreciative of each blessed day that we have been given on this Earth.

I truly do Love You. Thank You. I am literally thrilled with You being here with me!

Stay tuned, who knows what fun could come from all of this!!

Sincerely,
Aaron Nichols

True North Financial Fitness Coaching

785-218-6134

Got a leaky Wallet? Bulging budget or none at all? Dilapidated Debt that you’re sick of living with?  You are losing hard earned dollars every month! Let me show you how to spackle the cracks and firm up your financial foundation. DIY or using my professional services, either way, the best time to fix your finances is Now!

Aaron’s Insecurity – A Tale of Balls and Walls

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I have to be the most insecure Guy in the known universe.

I’ll prove it right here.

This picture (from my backyard) has four main elements.

  • A Garden
  • A Volleyball
  • A Set of Golf Clubs

Can you guess what the fourth is?

The symbolic Wire Cage around them all? Yup, Dang; You Smart!

The wire fencing represents the barrier in my mind that has kept me from Trying new things throughout my life.

All 3 of the hobbies in the picture are things I have recently decided to give my very first ever effort into trying.

Back to the insecure part…

All 3 are things I used to be too scared, too embarassed, too nervous or too chicken to even attempt.

Seriously??

Yes.

That little wire cage really doesn’t do justice to the enormous mental Wall that I used to have built around attempting anything that might involve Failing.

Fear of Failure…

actually

Fear of Failure!!

has probably been the most costly emotion that has ever entered my heart.

Somehow, my entire life, up until recently, I have carried around a humongous weight.

It sounded like these thoughts:

  • If you make a mistake, you’re a screw up.
  • If you fail at trying something, you’re a failure as a person.
  • I fear looking stupid in front of others.

ummmmmmmmm

wellllllll

I recently figured out for myself that…

I was completely wrong about that!

Actually the TRUTH is:

  • If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.
    John Wooden
  • Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.
    Henry Ford
  • He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson

So, maybe some of these ideas resonate with you?

Surely you haven’t been:

– afraid of planting a few vegetables (because the plants will all shrivel up and die, or produce a poisonous fruit that kills you dead, telling the world that you’re a fool for trying to plant a garden!)

or

– afraid of joining a Sand Volleyball League (because you’ll miss the ball every time, get winded, fall down and die in the middle of the court!)

or

– afraid of saying Yes to play in a Free golf tournament (because every ball you’ll hit will go sideways, you’ll lose all your equipment when you drive the cart into the lake and everyone will yell at you to get off the course, after which you’ll die!)

Okay, maybe there’s a little exaggeration in there… but you get my point?

Somewhere in the last year, when I decided to jump out of the mainstream world and try my own thing, I figured out that even when all kinds of things don’t go like you planned, and goal after goal has gone unreached… You Still LIVE to see another day!

Then, taking that knowledge, and feeling much free-er, and confident that, by the Grace of God, life will go on, even if things don’t go perfectly…

I decided to TRY the challenges that came along my path and presented themselves to me.

Guess what: It’s been a BLAST!!

Learning that I can grow and expand my “normal” self in ways that I didn’t know was possible has been nothing short of amazing, in my own mind.

Sure, these may seem like little things to you but… You aren’t :

The most insecure Guy in the known universe!!

So: When new ideas, or challenges come along your way, do you jump at them with vigor? Or do you pass on them with Fear being the main reason?

If talking about improving your financial situation, so that you end up with More Money and Less Stress sounds like your version of Gardening, Volleyball & Golf… well, I know just how ya feel!

I know that taking that first step, and telling yourself that you are worth it; is key. Guess what, if it doesn’t work out, you will go on living to see another day. And that my friends, is the new beginning of your fantastic fresh world of possiblities!

In fact, if you work yourself out of debt and have lots of cash on hand, and Hate it, then the bank will surely loan you enough to get back to where you started!…

You CAN begin the journey to debt-freedom today. You ARE capable of living the life of your dreams. You Will succeed when you set your mind to it. I believe this about You with all My Heart 🙂

So! Enough rambling for tonight.

I’m gonna’ work on my swing, swat a few serves and yank some weeds before this night is over…

‘Cause truthfully, I need lots of practice at all this stuff; heck, I’m just a beginner!!

(oh yeah, and I grew my hair out too… I know: I’ve completely lost my “normal” mind… THANK GOD!)

 

Sincerely,
Aaron Nichols

 

True North Financial Fitness Coaching
785-218-6134

Got a leaky Wallet? Bulging budget or none at all? Dilapidated Debt that you’re sick of living with?  You are losing hard earned dollars every month! Let me show you how to spackle the cracks and firm up your financial foundation. DIY or using my professional services, either way, the best time to fix your finances is Now!

 

The Little Blue… P’ P’ P’ Powerhouse!

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I Think I Can, I Think I Can, I Think I Can!
One of my favorite childhood bedtime stories, (and there were tons of ’em!) was The Little Engine that Could.Seeing the cover here, really takes me back to a hot summer night at Ten ‘Oh Three, South Hickory in Ottawa, Kansas… With the attic fan moving cool air through my bedroom after a late evening bath… Hair still wet, tucked under a sheet in my smurf-print underwear and a metallic-glitter-print Dukes of Hazzard T-shirt reading one of these great Golden Books 🙂

Anyway, the story is about a happy little train who’s broken down, but has an important payload that must make it to the other side of the mountain. There are lots of stuffed animal toys and dolls and red-cheeked apples for all the little girls and boys 🙂
They were in desperate need of another engine to help them out.The few different trains who came along at first had their own reasons to pass by, until finally the little blue engine showed up and decided to give it a shot.

The main quote from this little story still resonates today as a great lesson.

You can do incredible things when you tell yourself “I Think I Can, I Think I Can, I Think I Can!”
When I bring up all this financial stuff… And openly talk about being Debt Free, using the simple solid financial principals taught by Dave Ramsey and many others… What are your first thoughts?
Are you like the Shiny New Engine?
“I am a passenger engine! I have all the shininess and cushy comforts of brand-new-ness. My financial ways have brought me this slick stuff. It costs a lot. I am in debt, but I have good credit and I can make my payments. So I am not interested in working my way up and over the debt-free mountain.”
Or are you like the Big Strong Engine?
“I am a freight engine. I have important sophisticated ways of handling things! I have a strong income and I do things my way. I can pull heavy loads and make big things happen. I do not need to bother with these little ideas. I am too powerful to need to be up and over the debt-free mountain!”
Or are you like the Old Tired Engine?
“I am tired. I have had such a long and strenuous journey. I am rusty and need a break. “I cannot, I cannot, I cannot see myself chugging up and over the debt-free mountain.”
Or maybe, just maybe, you are just like the Little Blue Engine!
“I am not the strongest, or the biggest. I have never attempted something like this before. I do see how important it is to get to the other side of that debt-free mountain! I want to see what life is like over there!”So determinedly you start say to yourself “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!”

Getting off to a slow start is okay, because by having true belief that “You Can”… Then reaching the top is possible and the Ride down the Other Side… will be Breathtaking!!!

Remember that the whole point of this story is to help the little girls and boys? Yes, our journey to debt-freedom may bring unprecedented joy to us… but think of all the good things we can do for the little ones in our life, when we have not a payment in the world and we just want to give and spread God’s love!If you’ve got that Little Blue Engine inside of you, then I am your biggest fan! I know what it’s like to make that journey myself, and I’ll cheer you on in any way I can. I believe you can do it, and I hope you do too!

Sincerely,


Aaron Nichols
True North Financial Fitness Coaching
785-218-6134

Got a leaky Wallet? Bulging budget or none at all? Dilapidated Debt that you’re sick of living with?  You are losing hard earned dollars every month! Let me show you how to spackle the cracks and firm up your financial foundation. DIY or using my professional services, either way, the best time to fix your finances is Now!

Pain and Understanding – Thanks Morgan for 16.5 great years!

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Playing God…

For years now, we have joked and talked about my old dog Morgan. The energizer bunny of the canine world; this shaggy black Shepard/Collie mix has been through it all. In her 16.5 years she’s had both front legs broken, fought in tons of scraps and battles, then even got run over by me in my own driveway a year and a half ago.

She refused to give up.

She kept on going and going and going. In the last year or so, even with one eye blind and a busted up partially working body, she kept going…

Until today.

Today was just like any other day for Morgan – she was in her favorite cool spot on the garage floor, she stumbled to get a drink, stumbled back and pretty much was just chillin.

Little did she know that I had already planned for “her time” to come before Memorial Day Weekend. Sure the past week had it’s extra struggles for her, but not much more than any other… so how did I know it was time?

I had prepared myself and I had prayed and today around noon, I felt at peace enough to load her up one last time and take her to town….

I was choking myself up in the hour or so before I left. I felt like it was somehow unfair for me to decide the moment that was right… I was hoping it would happen naturally before now, so I could avoid the responsibility of it… I knew that her fate was up to me and I was just praying that I was making the right choice for her.

Then one of those “God Thoughts” popped into my head while I was contemplating things out in the back yard…

Morgan is old. Really old for her breed. She’s in terrible health. She is in obvious daily pain. This choice for me to let her go is actually easy when you look at it like that… It’s the right thing to do.

What about God’s choice to let people go?

This week started out with a vicious tornado ripping through Joplin, Missouri. It took the lives of at least 122 people. Sure the houses and things are gone. The replaceable things. But the people and families that will never see each other… well, that is pain that stays with us forever.

I think of other times that God has taken people out of this physical world. Like my Dad drowning when I was four years old. Or my cousin Megan, who left my heart shattered… Or my good buddy Derrick, such a young and vibrant newlywed dynamite blast of a guy to be around… These are just a few of the spectacular people I am privileged to have known, loved and lost over the years…

How hard do you think it hurts God to know that somehow, someway, in terms that are Impossible for us to understand, he’s done the right thing?

He loves us. He’s taken us on as his responsibility. He’s created us and this world. But, his ways of thinking are not like ours…


Isaiah 55:8 (New International Version)

 8 “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.

So just like me today, when I was holding Morgan’s head and petting her coarse black fur for the last time, I do think that God knows the right thing to do.

I have not always thought that. Plenty of people I know have experienced my sadness, rage and terror in these tragic moments. I may not always be able to understand from now forward either… But, in this moment, when I had my tiny version of playing God, I did.

I do know that if we let him, he’ll lovingly hold us and care for us in these painful times of loss and transition.

I feel that God’s Grace and presence has been shown this week with the absolute outpouring of support, love, donations and assistance to the Joplin area. If you have loved ones down there, then prayers are continuing for you and your family. This human loving connection is now showing it’s amazing abilities, and awesome it is.

I hope this meandering off of the financial topics for this week is okay with you. I thank every reader of this blog that I have a place to share my “God Thoughts” and all my other crazy ones too. Please share yours with me. I would love to hear them 🙂

Sincerely,





Aaron Nichols
True North Financial Fitness Coaching
785-218-6134

Got a leaky Wallet? Bulging budget or none at all? Dilapidated Debt that you’re sick of living with?  You are losing hard earned dollars every month! Let me show you how to spackle the cracks and firm up your financial foundation. DIY or using my professional services, either way, the best time to fix your finances is Now!

You Gotta’ Know When to Hold’Em, Know When to Fold’em!

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Pocket Rockets – Big Slick – Cowboys or Ladies, Yup: “I’m All In!” Okay, maybe on Middle Pair or Suited Connectors too, just depends on the Feeelin’…
Ever play a friendly game of pitch or hearts or spades or maybe pinochle? Well these games are fun, but the one we’re talking about today is Texas Hold’Em Poker.
A poker table surrounded by family and friends can have all the drama, excitement, strategy and disappointment that you can find on the WSOP with a little less $$ at risk.

I know this well.
Truthfully the Texas Hold’em Games that I have played in over the last several years have been more of a source of camaraderie, social time & family fun than any money-making-or-losing endeavours.
But a thought occurred to me recently whilst the game was slowly getting going for the night…
“Nobody wants to win early”
Huh? Why would that be?
Well we all want to win Big don’t we?
You see the early games are usually when people are just getting warmed up. There are fewer people at the beginning to enter the pot. They haven’t decided to risk much yet on their hands. The stakes are therefore quite small.
A general feeling among the players at these Non-Tournament games is that our luck and skill can only bring in so many winning hands. It is near impossible to take every pot for a whole night. I’ve never seen it done.
So if our Luck is finite and we know we want to win big. The best time to win is later in the game.
If we spend our dough riskily in the beginning, maybe win some, maybe lose some, we don’t lose big, but we Cannot win big, there just isn’t a bunch of chips being bet to take. If we lose all we’ve brought to play with, we are done.
We need to have chips available later in the night. More people show up. Many have lost a little and bought more chips to play with. The stacks around the table grow. The betting gets bigger. The stakes are higher. Now is the time to use your best skills. Ideally, you don’t have to risk everything to take down a big hand, when you’ve built your wealth slowly over time.
So conservative play early, leads to the chance to be in the game later when the stakes are much higher. The big winners understand this, and consistently over time, they can beat out luck.
How come in Life “Everybody wants to win early”?
We want to have the things now that it took our parents or grandparents 30 years to accumulate. Waiting to save up for stuff or cars or the house we deserve is Not part of “what everybody thinks”.
Truth is: the principle works the same in Life as is does on the Poker Table. Winning Early, doesn’t mean Winning Big, in fact it can prevent us from being in the game at all later on…
The record number of bankruptcy cases and the state of our economy in general is proof of this. Lots of Americans thought they had big blessings of the house, car & lifestyle of the American Dream, for just a few reasonable monthly payments. Those things weren’t blessings, they were burdens.
Those who showed us the Real American Dream didn’t borrow their way into it, they paid as they went, started small and invested over time.
“Radical” ideas of conservative spending and money management are starting to look a lot smarter now.
These three things are the essence of poker: Mystery, Risk & Luck. Without any one, the game completely changes.
In Life we can embrace the Mystery, feel the thrill of Risk, but there are proven ways to beat out Luck.
I hope you take the time to educate yourself on what these proven ways are. If you have Any questions, I would be glad to show you the way.
You DO Deserve to Win BIG!!

Sincerely,

Aaron Nichols
True North Financial Fitness Coaching
aaron@truenorthffc.com
785-218-6134
http://www.truenorthffc.com/

Got a leaky Wallet? Bulging budget or none at all? Dilapidated Debt that you’re sick of living with?  You are losing hard earned dollars every month! Let me show you how to spackle the cracks and firm up your financial foundation. DIY or using my professional services, either way, the best time to fix your finances is Now!

Debt is Normal – Be Weird!! (like me… or like you are built to be…)

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You’re Weird! At least Different. Okay, maybe Unique?
I know and appreciate this about You…
I have 758 friends on my facebook page and 158 people “like” my business True North Financial Fitness Coaching. That is quite a few right?
The stats are showing me that I have around 25 regular readers of this blog. A rather small amount compared to those who may have access to it.
So, statistically, if you are reading this right now, you’re one of those 25.
THANK YOU! For being in this small minority of people who take time every week to tune in and read whatever crazy ideas my Thursday mind has conjured up!
I am Very interested in Your Story, what sets You apart, and which topics that I’ve written have spoken to you the most.
I want to continue to let these words flow from my own unique mind.  I also now want to know what unseen force has magnetized Your weird brain to mine!
Would you please do me the honor of engaging via:
email: aaron@truenorthffc.com
or text: 785-218-6134
or facebook: www.facebook.com/cydeburn
I would LOVE to hear from you! How about a couple questions to ponder or answer if you feel so moved.
1.Who Are you.
2.What makes you want to learn more about financial peace?
3. Do you envision yourself in a wealthy future?
4. Does a blog about Dogs, Motorcycles, Geese and Gravestones have Anything to do with Money?? (ha!)
Thanks so much for your feedback, as this unique… Actually SPECIAL community grows, I want to send appreciation to You for being part of it.
Gravestones??? Yup.
Yesterday, I had a few extra minutes to spend before seeing a client in Ottawa.
I drove out 15th street to Highland Cemetary. As usual, I rolled up quietly by the grave markers for My Grandfather, Grandmother and Dad.
Just less than a year ago in this same place I quietly asked a question to these family members about leaving my job, going my own way and trying to build a business from scratch… They spoke to me then as they do now…
“We’ve got your back!” is actually the message conveyed to me by them.
I just loved that. Thanks Again to Everyone “Up There.”
Yesterday though, a New message came. One that I’ve never realized before…
This whole Weird, Different, Unique way that I see and am now persuing life and my goals is actually in my DNA. This is proven in the camera-phone pics below.

 

Take a look at this picture. In the foreground, the small stone is my Dad’s, the next is his parents’.

Just yesterday it occured to me that all the other stones in the area are factory-made, polished and purchased and pretty.

Ours? Nope.
Natural limestones gathered from the family farmstead and built by a Nichols hand. No perfectly straight edges, no shiny finish. This is the Nichols way… Our Way and it is manifested in family honoring family…

This is in my DNA, it is my nature to be different.

I was blown away by this simple realization.

Honestly, there have been times in life that I have been very uncomfortable with feeling like an outsider, or weird or not part of the normal crowd.
Now that my weirdness has led me down a path to debt-freedom, entreprenuership & passion for helping others, I couldn’t be happier about all of it.
Funny how God works. He’s given us all the tools we need, to be the person we came here to be. Sometimes they lay unseen right in front of our faces for years at a time.
Are we ready to open our eyes?
Because you are reading this, because you are one of the 25. I believe you are. Only weirdos would tune in every week to this silly blog.
Thanks to You too for “Havin’ my Back!” I trust you’ll be here next week for more!

Sincerely,

Aaron Nichols
True North Financial Fitness Coaching
aaron@truenorthffc.com
785-218-6134
http://www.truenorthffc.com/

Got a leaky Wallet? Bulging budget or none at all? Dilapidated Debt that you’re sick of living with?  You are losing hard earned dollars every month! Let me show you how to spackle the cracks and firm up your financial foundation. DIY or using my professional services, either way, the best time to fix your finances is Now!

Fear-Be-Gone! Get Financially Ripped one Baby Step at a Time!

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Clank… clank… clank… clank…  thud, whirr, clank, whirrr, whirrr, thud, CLANK. A hushed but audible radio plays in the background. Several sweaty bodies are scattered around the place, in various contortions of abstract motion.

I find myself very uncomfortably standing at the front desk of the Ottawa Nautilus Fitness Center circa 2001…  Hang on for this story, you’re gonna laugh!
Looking across the vast gym, I am completely out of my comfort zone and feeling absolutely insecure.
To go back to that place and time I should provide more about my lifestyle at age 22. I’ll make this part fast… #1 Goal? Have FUN!  Then work hard and Play Harder! Every night is a new adventure, Never worry about tomorrow! Needless to say, the fitness level of my body and my wallet was completely Out of Shape!
I don’t remember exactly what brought me to the Gym. It may have been the latest great idea of the group of guys I ran around with. We were going to be in great shape and have fun doing it!
Honestly though, standing at the front of this gym in downtown Ottawa, all that energy and excitement had drained out and fear was taking over…
My mind observed a whole new and alien world to me. I didn’t know what was what. I felt no bearing on where to start. I felt silly for being worried so much about something that seemed so simple to all the other folks in the gym.
I feared looking stupid, doing the wrong things & having my weakness of body and strength on display for all the gym to see.
I had years of guilt washing over me. I never was interested in physical fitness until now. What had I been thinking! Was it too late? Did I deserve a fit body when I had neglected mine so long? I saw myself on square #1.
In my head, everyone here had worked out for 4 hours a day, every-day for their whole lives. They were all triathletes and here I am, the weird new kid who probably will drop the bench-press bar on my face or something! I had beaten myself mentally, before I ever tried.
Anyway, I did sign up to be a member.
I began on the treadmill. I jogged a little and let my new surroundings sink in. I tentatively played with the machines trying not to break them or me. I met “the guys” for some light lifting and low reps. It didn’t kill me 🙂
Over the next few weeks, I began to feel more comfortable with my own capabilites. I did, little by little, learn to enjoy this new facet to my lifestyle. Step by step on the treadmill, my confidence grew and I came closer to being comfortable in my body and in this once terrifying place…
That experience began an understanding for me that I always want physical fitness to be part of my life. A gym-rat I am not. I did later become a big fan of bicyling and had about 3 years of very rewarding miles out on the trail. Although the focus comes and goes, I’ve never forgotten how good it feels to be in shape and confident in my physical abilities…
Sooo, this world of financial fitness? How does it make you feel?

Are these blog topics, and word Budget or Dave Ramsey, bringing anxiety, just to think about? Is the thought of using cash as your spending tool just as scary as a squat-bar loaded with giant weights? Do you feel guilt for years of couch-potato-like financial habits? Does it feel like it may be too late to start getting in shape?

I know those feelings.
I’ve lived those feelings too.
I was also the poster-child for out-of-financial-shape-ness!
I had all those same feelings when I began my journey to financial freedom. I thought it was too late. I thought I had too much debt. I thought I had no control on the cost of living my life.
I had that same gym-like anxiety sitting in the waiting room at a hospital reading Dave’s book the Total Money Makeover. I was afraid people in public would see that I was out of shape and weak with my money…
Truth is, just by being IN the gym. Just by having that book IN my hand, I had Victory.
I had taken the first baby step. I was TRYING!
Every little step of progress helped me to feel more confident than the last. The fears of “what if I can’t”, “what if it’s too hard” & “what if I fail” start to melt when you get moving in the right direction. The act of trying is what shrinks the fear.
If I can become financially fit, believe me, So Can You!
I see things from the other side now. I have mastered the equipment and techniques of building a solid financial body. I still enjoy the adrenaline of working those money muscles. And Yes, I fall off track every once in a while, just as all humans do 🙂
If you want a personal trainer who understands. One who has transitioned from taking bill-collector’s calls to being completely debt-free, then my coaching services are for you. We’ll use the Baby Step approach to gaining confidence and climbing toward debt-freedom.
My money-gym membership info is available at http://www.truenorthffc.com/ check out “What is Coaching” for details.
You have the ability in you. I can show you how to put it into action. And, YES you will be more attractive, inside and out, when you know that you have a buff & chiseled
financial physique!

Sincerely,

 

 

Aaron Nichols
True North Financial Fitness Coaching
aaron@truenorthffc.com
785-218-6134
http://www.truenorthffc.com/

Got a leaky Wallet? Bulging budget or none at all? Dilapidated Debt that you’re sick of living with?  You are losing hard earned dollars every month! Let me show you how to spackle the cracks and firm up your financial foundation. DIY or using my professional services, either way, the best time to fix your finances is Now!

We’re droppin the Green Flag!

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Financial Fitness. It’s coming on like a nitrous-powered dragster. Can you feel the ground rumbling?
Surely you are noticing this new wave of thinking. It’s actually old school that is now becoming cool again 🙂
  • Interest in having savings.
  • Pride in conservative spending.
  • People starting to go on a Stuff Diet.
  • Less impulse to get a loan for a purchase.
  • Overall more emphasis on wise money habits.
This is absolutely the best thing to come out of the change in our economy in the last couple years. The growth of our relationship with debt and it’s impacts on our lives is tremendous.
We all had a wonderful chance to learn how important it is to not be spread too thin with our money. I see GREAT things in the future for those who’ve learned from the mistakes of our culture in recent years.
Wise people from Ottawa and the surrounding areas about to embark on a financial learning journey. They have chosen to attend Financial Peace University. These classes are being held all over the nation. I am volunteering to host one at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Ottawa. It starts on Monday night… I AM EXCITED!!!!!
“More than one million families have attended Financial Peace University with amazing results. On average, these families paid off $5,300 in debt and saved $2,700 in just the first 90 days!” (from DR’s website)
All 18 people in my class had a pivotal moment when they made the decision to do this. With one little three letter word of “yes”, they’ve transformed thier financial future forever. VICTORY with a word.
It won’t be easy, but Everyone who attends all 13 weeks and implements the changes, will be driving a fast moving dragster toward Financial Peace!
Proud and honored are just a couple of the things I feel about being the host for this event.
I have personally lived the experience of the ride to debt-freedom. It will be inspiring to watch this class develop toward the same goal. In this group setting they will see that they are not alone. Together they’ll support and encourage each other. It will be a wonderful gathering of energy focused on the acceptance of debt-reality and real action toward improvement!

My individual coaching services are best for the kickstart needed to get your financial engine rebuilt and idling correctly. We can even work together toward a sweet tune-up and solid reliable ride.

Financial Peace University is always a recommended follow-up to that package. For the long term health of your money-motor, FPU provides instruction for You to become your own certified mechanic, customizer and driver of a Real Financial Hot Rod! Are you ready?
Visit the first night of an FPU Class near you. It is free with no obligation. I warn you, it is tough to see the fun and not want to join up. In this race, Everybody gets to win!
Sincerely,

Aaron Nichols
True North Financial Fitness Coaching
aaron@truenorthffc.com
785-218-6134
http://www.truenorthffc.com/

Got a leaky Wallet? Bulging budget or none at all? Dilapidated Debt that you’re sick of living with?  You are losing hard earned dollars every month! Let me show you how to spackle the cracks and firm up your financial foundation. DIY or using my professional services, either way, the best time to fix your finances is Now!

Sno’ Money

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Good Morning from a Brightly Snowlit, Chilly and Debt-Free Corner of Princeton, Kansas.

Honestly, I’ve been wanting this fluffy white stuff to show up!  I’ve had a snow-blog idea that’s been rolling around in my mind for awhile now. Hope you enjoy!
Here it is, Your Challenge: Cover a thousand square miles in 5 inches of white fluffy frozen powder in just a few hours… Okay…

How would you begin a process like this? What would be your first step? Can you even fathom it?

Well it’s a huge area – so you need something really really big right? Where would you start? Seems like waaaay to big a project to ever get going!

And from these pictures from south and west of Princeton, we have proof once again that it can be done. It is proven time and again every winter here in Kansas…

I am amazed when seeing this beauty and realizing that it is all done with billions of tiny snowflakes that are each created unique. The first several billion of these creations fall to the ground and melt immediately! They Give of themselves to cool down the surface so the others can take hold. Eventually with more and more and more flake effort, the whiteness starts to stick and then takes over…
How opposite of thinking is this from anything that ever crossed the mind of a human. Our creator’s ways are just beautifully amazing.

A day of country cruising and enjoying the new-fallen snow reminds me that we are not nearly as smart as we think we are. Our minds are not built like that of our creator. But we can learn those ways.

When it comes to finances, we believe we have the right answer. We believe that our way of Spending Money Wisely and Having the Things We Need is best.
With research we find out that these are not the ways of the wise and learned in the recorded history. Dave Ramsey will say he teaches God’s and Grandma’s ways of dealing with money. It actually goes way beyond that. The wise teachings of old from all over the world, every faith and nationality, are all chock-full of emphasis on Giving, Saving and Then Spending.
Is this the way that your mind approaches payday?
Our universe has such a perfect rhythm and balance, but we are not using this architecture in our own lives. The more we can find out about the True ways of handling money, the more we find out that our potential is surprisingly inconceivable.

Not all winter blessings are out in the cold. Not all rich blessings are money. Case in point: I was blessed to share Monday’s Snow Day Drive with the beautifully adventurous Lindsay. Yup, God likes me 🙂

We do have the ability and responsibility to blanket our financial future with snowy white riches.
If you’re ready to begin this process, throw out all your smart ideas. Get some of God’s. He seems to know what he’s doing 🙂
Sincerely,

 

 

Aaron Nichols
True North Financial Fitness Coaching
aaron@truenorthffc.com
785-218-6134
http://www.truenorthffc.com/

Got a leaky Wallet? Bulging budget or none at all? Dilapidated Debt that you’re sick of living with?  You are losing hard earned dollars every month! Let me show you how to spackle the cracks and firm up your financial foundation. DIY or using my professional services, either way, the best time to fix your finances is Now!