I was standing in line at the grocery store, reading the latest tabloid headlines on the Princess Kate baby bump watch, when I couldn’t help but overhear the conversation going on ahead of me.

“You know we have a coupon for these in our circular,” the cashier was informing a customer, a well-dressed woman of about 40 years old. He was gesturing to a pair of 12-packs of Diet Pepsi the woman had in her cart.

She shrugged him off. “Oh, that’s all right,” the woman replied nonchalantly. She leaned over the register in a semi-secretive fashion. “I really shouldn’t be drinking them anyway,” she confided.

I was blown away. The cashier was telling the woman she could save an extra $1 a case – $2 in all – on a purchase she already intended to make. And what did she have to do to receive the discount? Simply walk over to the store’s entrance and pick up the in-store circular containing the aforementioned coupons. Instead, she said no thank you, paid for her order, and walked out the door without a second glance.

I Don’t Pay Full Price

I have a rule when I go out shopping: I don’t pay retail prices. It doesn’t matter where I am or what I’m buying. At the grocery store, I always scour the weekly ads – online at the store’s website, where I can see all the weekly promotions, not just the ones included in the printed circular – as I formulate my shopping list; then, I match that list up with coupons I already have. It takes me, what, an extra 15 minutes a week? But, over the course of the last year, that simple organization tactic has shaved an average of $25 a week off my grocery bill.

I do the same thing when I need to fill up my gas tank. As soon as my low gas light flickers on, I immediately head to the web to check out which local stations have the lowest gas prices (my favorite site to do this is GasBuddy, although there are now plenty of apps for iPhone and Droid platforms that let you do the same). I can see which station in my neighborhood is beating out the others when it comes to price without burning fuel cruising the streets. (Extra bonus if my Discover Card is offering 5% cashback on gas station purchases that month.)

Any time a family member or a friend has a birthday, I use my ability to avoid paying full price to both of our benefits. I head to sites like Plastic Jungle or Cardpool to snag discount gift cards to department stores, restaurants, and hotel chains I know my friends frequent. For example, my mom has a serious thing for Gap jeans. When her birthday rolls around, I hit up Plastic Jungle, where I can get a Gap gift card at a 9% discount. The result? I can score a $50 gift card for just $45.50 – meaning I can use the $5 I saved to get her a discounted Starbucks gift card as well!

Coupon Sites & Daily Deals

The web – and smartphone apps – are chalk full of sites designed specifically to help you pay the lowest amount of money for the greatest amount of goods. There are daily deal sites like Groupon, LivingSocial, Plum Deals, and Deal Chicken, all of which can offer you 40, 50, even 60 percent off a products and services in your area. Some of the daily deals they offer are simply gratuitous – I get that. I mean, who really needs 50% off 12 microdermabrasion treatments? But when my husband and I needed to get our carpets deep cleaned before an open house, we were able to pay $50 to have our first floor steam cleaned, instead of the full price of more than double that.

There are plenty of sites – and, again, apps – that help you find coupons as well. SmartSource and RedPlum, the two main coupon booklets you’ll find in your Sunday newspaper, also let you print out coupons on their websites. Other sites, like Retail Me Not, keep a catalog of coupons and special promotions – some uploaded by companies, some uploaded by fellow shoppers – to help you score discounts. All of these sites are absolutely free.

Why Pay Retail?

Even though it’s been several weeks since my encounter with the Diet Pepsi lady at the grocery store, I still can’t stop thinking about the episode. A 2011 survey found one-quarter of American adults are living paycheck to paycheck, meaning millions of us are looking for ways to cut costs and keep spending in line. It’s baffling to me that someone wouldn’t take advantage of an easy opportunity to save money.

Reader, how often to you pay full price, even when you know there’s a discount readily available? What are your reasons for eschewing coupons, daily deals, or other discount methods? Time? Convenience?

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In an attempt to learn what makes successful people tick, as well as simply getting to know other bloggers out there, I've decided to bring you an interview with a successful personal finance blogger every week or so. This week we have the pleasure of picking the brain of Bob from ChristianPF.com.

A little about Bob…

Bob started ChristianPF.com in 2007 and has a passion to help others succeed in all areas of their financial lives. The tagline for his site is "Make it. Save it. Grow it. Give it."

Interview Time…

GBR: What prompted you to start ChristianPF.com, and how long have you been involved with it?

Bob: I started messing around with the idea of blogging in early 2007 and launched ChristianPF in June of 2007. At the time I was learning everything
I could about personal finance and money management and I just felt compelled to share about it – particularly how it related to what I saw in the Bible – and blogging just seemed to be the perfect outlet for it.

GBR: What's the single largest financial mistake you've made in your life?

Bob: I wasted a lot of money on college. I don't regret getting my degree, but I paid for it like a fool. I bounced from school to school losing credits during each transfer and I took out a ton of loans – some that I probably didn't really need. And after all was said and done I had very general degree that cost me a ton of money and wasn't likely to open up many great job opportunities.

GBR: What is your current financial goal?

Bob: Since starting the blog we have paid off all our student loans, credit cards, car loans, and everything else except the house. So, paying off the house is our current financial goal – and I cannot wait!

GBR: If you had all the money in the world, what's the one thing you would buy, and why?

Bob: The biggest motivator for me to have all the money in the world is to be able to give a ton away. But you asked what I would buy – so it would probably be a few wonderful businesses with the advice of Warren Buffett.

GBR: What are your 3 absolute favorite posts found at ChristianPF.com?

How to Make Money With a Blog

How I Escaped the Rat Race

16 Ways to Save Money by Not Being Normal

So there it is, the inside scoop on Bob and his personal finance blog, ChristianPF.com. Be sure to check back for interviews with David from MoneyNing, Brad from EnemyofDebt, Philip from PTMoney, Len from LenPenzo, and more!

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I always talk about how there’s a silver lining in everything. Some of you find it annoying. Some of you just simply don’t believe it. Well, I’m about to do it again. I’m about to show you 5 ways that this crappy economy has been a blessing in disguise.

1. Learning to Live Within Your Means

It’s pretty hard to blow lots of cash, make your minimum online credit cards payment, and buy that new sports car when you have no money. While I agree it’s not the best way, one of the most effective ways to teach people how to be more frugal and live within their meansis to live through a recession like the one we’re in now. More and more we’re becoming a hyper-consuming culture, and this economic downturn has been a huge wake-up call for a lot of people. There will always be those who never learn, but for many, the lessons learned throughout these past several years are ones they won’t soon forget.

2. A House As An Investment… Not So Much

Considering a large part of the economic downturn has had to do with housing, lots of people are now beginning to understand that owning a house may not be the best investment after all. It’s still possible to make money in the Real Estate market, but not for those that don’t do their homework or aren’t willing to take as much risk as is actually required. It’s like this: would you put 90% of your money in the stock market at age 64, one year before you retire? No? Then why would you put $1300 worth of mortgage payments into one type of asset (your house), leaving you with a small amount of money, if any, you might use to invest elsewhere? That doesn’t sound too diversified to me. 

3. Being Downsized Is An Opportunity

Call it what you will, being laid off, becoming a victim of downsizing, or plain ol’ gettin’ canned (being fired), but all of these things can be opportunities in disguise. Just like my guest post at PTMoney explains, instead of seeing the loss of a job as a horrible, terrible, earth-shattering thing (not that it isn’t), instead choose to see it as a chance to find something you enjoy doing more than that last job. Maybe take this time to start that business you’ve always dreamed of, or maybe just take a little time to figure out exactly what you want to do. Either way, you’ll have to figure out something, might as well make it something you’ll be happy about.

4. Recognition of Job Performance

On the other side of the coin, if you were lucky enough to have retained your job, chances are your employer still had to tighten his belt a little and makes some cuts somewhere, possibly including some of your co-workers. This means a couple of things. One, if you didn’t get fired, then you’re probably one of the more vital employees. Two, you’re now more visible, and there are more opportunities for you to make your mark and show off those awesome ideas you’ve had bouncing around in your mind. Three, the chances that your boss and coworkers will have a general feeling of appreciation towards you simply because you really stepped up during this hard time is pretty high, which results is a little social capital come performance and evaluation time. 

 5. Economic Ha rdships… Bringing Families Together Since 2007

Sometimes difficult situations can tear relationships apart, but more often than not they can emerge through the fires of the forge as stronger, more resilient relationships.  This applies to families, business relationships, marriages, and even simple friendships. Having a common enemy and a shared issue (the crappy economy), is part of it, but simply taking some time to realize what you’d have if you didn’t have any money or belongings at all, and to reflect on what’s really important can do absolute wonders.

Have any other suggestions as to how this current economic climate can be looked at in a positive light? Share your comments here.

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So I came across this article over at Financial Samurai today titled "The Fittest People Have the Lowest Self-Esteem." I couldn't agree less with this article, and especially the comments people left. So, I'm here to clear up a misconception or two.

It would really help you understand this post if you skimmed that article.

If I had simply came across this and had never heard people respond in this manner about this subject, I might have just passed it over, but this viewpoint is slowly becoming a pet peeve of mine, as I hear it every so often from lots of people at work, as well as some friends too. 

To be honest, this is EXACTLY what I myself used to think, especially about the guys checking themselves out in the mirror, until I started really, and I mean seriously, lifting weights myself.

I have to make a confession to make my point: I myself look in the mirror while at the gym a little more than I need to, but this behavior does not come from a sense of low self-esteem, or some need to keep reminding myself that I have at least a little muscle.

It's pride from a job well done.

It's the same exact thing as writing an awesome post and reading and re-reading it several times simply because you're quite proud of how it turned out. There's no need to keep reading it or looking it over, you already know it's more than good enough, and you certainly know what it says… after all, you're the one who wrote it.

Looking in the mirror like that is the quick little reward for pushing yourself and lifting more than you've ever lifted before. It's the quick little reward for thinking you've reached your limit, but instead of quitting, you throw on another 10 pounds, and extend your limits that much further.

That, and there's the practical reason for looking in the mirror: after a grueling workout, your muscles are so engorged with blood and there's such a massive "pump" occurring that you do literately look much bigger than when you walked into the gym, and that doesn't last long. There have been times when I've been working out, have pushed myself past my limits, and then caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and immediately responded with the thought, "holy crap! that's me???"

Another practical reason people who seem to be in tip-top shape keep at it, and harder than most anyone else, is because of the endorphins that are released from such an intense gym session. Endorphins are those feel-good chemicals that your brain releases, and I gotta say, it's pretty much addicting. The feeling of well-being and pleasant fatigue that washes over you for hours after a good workout at the gym makes every minute spent there worth it.

Just like any other kind of chemical however, your body, and psychology, adjusts to a certain amount after a while (just like that first cup of coffee doesn't do much to wake you up… it's really only after the 2nd or 3rd one). One must keep pushing themselves to experience that elated feeling of accomplishment and general contentment.

Lifting weights and pushing myself to, and beyond, my limits on a daily basis is one of the largest sense of accomplishments I've ever experienced in my life, hands-down.

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I am in so much physical pain right now.

Throbbing, aching, burning physical pain. Pain that I choose to put myself through and will choose to do again. Next time, I’ll put myself through even more of it. And yes, it will hurt that much more.

But I absolutely, positively love it.

I sit here writing this only moments after returning from the gym, after forcibly making a conscience choice to get on the treadmill, crank it up to 7.0 MPH at an incline of 1.0, run at that pace for 10 minutes straight, and then crank it up to 8 MPH every other minute for the next 25 minutes straight.

My thighs are burning. My calves are throbbing. My ankles are aching.

What does this have to do with personal finance, or anything else for that matter here at Go Be Rich? Everything.

You see, I was going to sit down at some point tonight and write about how working out and staying fit can lead to a more happy, positive outlook on all aspects of life, ranging from family to career to money.

Now however, what I was planning on writing just seems far too removed and impersonal.

What I’m going to write about instead is this: Passion. You’ve got to have a burning, throbbing, seething passion for what you want to accomplish.

There are many things I want to accomplish in my life. One of them you’re all already aware of, and that’s to break free from this cycle of daily existence and accomplish a feat so miraculous few ever get to experience it: total financial freedom. Another one of my goals is to achieve the highest level of physical fitness that I can. Until tonight I thought they were two separate things. They’re only separate on the surface.

Each and every time I began one of those 8 MPH minutes, I was forced to dig something up from inside myself that pushed me through. I didn’t WANT to run that fast at first, it was painful, it made me sweat, and my chest and lungs burned. But the more I pushed myself through sheer strength of will, the easier it became, and I found that I had much, much more to drudge up from the depths of my being than I ever thought I did.

20 seconds into these 8 MPH minutes, I found myself feeling elated, found myself thinking that I can indeed do this, and that realization alone drove me on. 30 seconds in I began to think I could not only do this, but any other thing I decided to do, like earn a crap-load of cash off of Go Be Rich. I pictured what that Google Adsense check would look like, I imagined the look on my friend’s and parent’s faces when I showed them proof that someone was actually paying me to write what came purely from my own mind, what was solely my creation.   

This drove me on for 20 more solid seconds, until the home stretch arrived, the last 10 seconds. This got tough, this began to hurt… this was where I either sank or swam. All of the thoughts that ran through my head the previous 50 seconds were just cheap talk… it was easy to think like that when, compared to these last 10 seconds, I had merely been taking a stroll on that treadmill.  

And then it was over.

I turned the treadmill down to 7.0 MPH, which felt like a stroll through the park, and began the recovery period of 2 minutes, until I once again summoned up the motivation, the passion to bust out another 8.0 MPH minute.

And here I am writing this, only moments after that run, putting the passion and the drive I had drudged up from god knows where inside of me and applying it to this blog.

That’s what your goals require. That’s what your goals deserve.

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I’m going to present an idea to all of you out there that will probably scare you badly enough to send you into an epileptic seizure just from the sheer suggestion.

Here it is…

What if all of the money you’ve worked hard to save and invest was suddenly, completely worthless?

I mean worthless. As in, not even $1 million dollars would buy you a loaf of bread. Toilet paper would be a more valuable currency.

Sounds scary doesn’t it?

A Little History Lesson…

This all comes from a discussion I had with a co-worker about the hyper-inflation that occurred in Germany in the year 1923. While I don’t know a lot about the subject, this is the basic gist of it; There was nothing real to back Germany’s currency (like a gold standard), and Germany had incurred expenses from World War 1 that they began to have trouble paying back,  so in response they simply printed more money, causing inflation. The government tried to fix that issue by, well, printing more money. On and on it went, until workers in that country were given daily breaks to rush to grocery stores with wheelbarrows full of cash just to buy some bread.

These workers were given time to do this during work because by the time the day was over, their money may have become worth half of what it was worth the day before.

Imagine being given time off of your job to rush to Wal-Mart to buy food, because by the time 5 pm rolls around your $1 may only be worth $0.50. And this happened EVERY DAY.

Would You Still be Happy?

This post could go a lot of ways… it could discuss why a gold standard is a good thing, it could discuss why government shouldn’t just print money… it could even discuss the parallels between Germany’s history and some of the current events in America… Instead we’re going another route.

What would you have left in this situation?

I for one spend so much time trying to reach my goal of becoming financially independent, and dreaming about the life I will live once I get there, that the thought of finally reaching that goal, and then having it all taken away, being told that what I have is worth nothing, is heart-wrenching.

I think I would still be happy however.

Would you still be happy? I mean actually happy, happy with the people in your life, with yourself and the kind of person you are, happy with the decisions you’ve made in your life?

Keeping Perspective

It’s important sometimes in our pursuit of success and prosperity to keep in mind the difference between goals and life. My goal is to be financially independent. My life does not depend on me being financially independent.

I like to think that my purpose, my life, has been given to me in order for me to accomplish my goals and the things that I want to do, all the while helping others along the way reach their goals. It’s not the goal itself that’s important; it’s how you get there that matters.

Yes, it would be painful beyond belief if I reached my overriding goal, only to have it taken away by the ineptitude of others, but I would still be happy with the fact that I had actually accomplished my goal, and that I did it in the best possible way. 

This can all be summed up in one quote, a quote I have on my fridge at home.

“Would you like yourself when there’s nothing else around?”

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I’ve read a lot of the self improvement books over the past several years, books that instruct us on how to manage our time, our money, and how to cultivate the characteristics within our beings that will bring us ever-lasting success and happiness.

It all gets old after a while.

At first, those little kernels of wisdom found between the book covers excited me, and I soaked up every bit I could. Looking back at the period of time that I first began to discover this genre, I must have seemed like an eager, naïve kid, thinking that all I have to do is read this stuff and internalize the lessons and that would be that, I would be on my way.

Now don’t get me wrong, 90% of the stuff found in these books is helpful advice, things that people are much better off with than without, but there is a danger in relying on it all too heavily.

For example, until just recently, I had actually begun to use these books as a type of crutch, thinking that I needed to learn just a bit more, and then I would finally apply that knowledge to whatever various goal I had at the time.

Basically I was waiting for this magical moment where everything would click and I would be able to accomplish my goals within an amazingly short amount of time and with incredible results.

Truth is, that “magical moment” is magically non-existent.

I went even further past this point of paralysis though, to a point where I ended up making all of these lessons a part of me, without actually applying any of these lessons in a practical way. I would deprive myself of anything throughout my daily life that would detract from any of my goals, be it the goal of saving money or making my mile-and-a-half run time in under 9:00 minutes (yeah, yeah, I’m an over-achiever even among military folks…).

I became almost hardened in a way, and I was beginning to look upon others whose behavior was “counter-successful” with disgust.

I’m not really sure what made me snap out of this rut, but eventually I came to my senses and realized that something wasn’t working. Thinking about it now, it was probably the realization that I wasn’t actually accomplishing anything, and that I was increasingly unhappy.

The more I thought about it, the more I started to visualize success like this:

Removing behavior that inhibits success

+

Actively pursuing your goals

__________________________________________________

=

Success

Take a wild guess as to which part of the equation I wasn’t doing at all (hint-it’s the actively pursuing your goals part).

Then the question became why.

I think the answer for me was that I felt that if I let up on trying to prevent unsuccessful behavior, I would slip back into old habits of laziness and other unproductive acts. I think I was afraid to let up a bit and focus on both parts of the equation because I didn’t trust myself to stick to what I’ve learned.

There was only one way to get over this… I simply chose to get over it. I chose to lighten up a bit, while at the same time taking specific action towards some of my goals. I discovered that many of the things I had learned through these self-improvement books I really had internalized and made a part of myself, meaning that when I relaxed a bit I didn’t slip back into old bad habits, and I didn’t have to keep an iron grip on every aspect of my daily life.

Not only did this improve my mood and make me generally happier, but it made me more productive and efficient, and oddly enough my newfound, more relaxed attitude seemed to leave me with more energy at the end of the day.

I guess the moral of the post can be summed up by saying that you’ve just got to get out there and try something… anything…everything… regardless of risk, regardless of the possibility of failure.

Essentially, you have to have some blind faith in yourself.

So consider this your call to action (the pic makes sense now, right?), because If you never get around to taking any action whatsoever, then failure is no longer a possibility, but a certainty.   

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Okay, so I’m just gonna come out and say it- I’m a nerd.

Of course, I do bathe daily, unlike most nerds. And I exercise nearly every day of the week, which is something hardcore nerds seem to be allergic to. But when a movie like the new Star Trek directed by J.J. Abrams promotes me to write a post about what Star Trek can teach us about our finances, simply because I want in some way to relate a post to Star Trek…I consider myself a nerd.

All kidding aside, Star Trek is chock- full of worthwhile themes and concepts that could translate into beneficial thought concerning what we do with our money.

Considering that the Earth of Star Trek times has eliminated war and disease completely, they just might be on to something.

Warp Drive related to investing or debt elimination:

Consider the forms of propulsion throughout history; walking, animals pulling wagons, sails attached to ships moved by wind, the steam engine, the internal combustion engine, the rockets of the space age… all of these seem rather primitive compared to an engine that propels things faster than the speed of light.

Consider the beginning stages of your investments or debt elimination as those early forms of propulsion. They may not seem like much, and none of them will ever get you as far as warp drive could, but all of them have been necessary to obtain warp drive.

Over time those early steps will grow until one day you’ll look back and be amazed at how far you have come.

If we never figured out how to build the wheel or a simple rocket, how could we possibly travel faster than light?

Diversity of races/species:

In the days of the original Star Trek, the one with Captain Kirk, one of the unique things about the show was that diversity was encouraged and promoted, evidenced by the fact that the crew of the Enterprise consisted of both men and women, in equal positions of authority, enjoying equal opportunities for advancement and recognition.

Additionally shocking was the fact that one of those females was black.

Oh, and did I mention that whole species that haven’t even had a chance to be discriminated against yet, namely aliens from other planets, were treated just as fairly?

The point here is that in order to get rid of debt, build wealth, and achieve financial independence, all of your old ways of thinking need to be at least examined, if not completely reworked. You’ll have to let go of old discriminations and assumptions that have kept you from achieving your financial goals and instead develop and cultivate new behavior that is more conducive to your aspirations.

“I don’t believe in the no-win scenario”:

In the new Star Trek film, an argument between Spock and Young Kirk occurs, concerning a test designed to determine how cadets respond to a situation in which there is no way to win. James Kirk responds with the dramatic (possibly over-dramatic), and defiant line, “I don’t believe in the no-win scenario”.

Sometimes when it comes to our finances, we must also have this stubborn perspective. We must be able to blindly, on nothing more than faith, believe that we will be able to climb out of the deep, dark hole of debt, and one day rise to the point where we can be financially independent.

This will probably be one of the harder things to do; after all, we’ve lived our entire lives believing that those rare, uber-rich individuals are almost freaks of nature, that no common hard-working person could ever come close to that sort of success. Society itself tells us this often enough.

Just believing 100% that it’s possible is at least half the battle. All that’s left at that point is to just take the steps to get there.        

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This is the first entry in the ongoing 52-Week Prosperity Plan. Each week has its own different concept for readers to concentrate on, in an attempt to open one’s mind to new thoughts, ideas, and perspectives. For more information on the 52-Week Prosperity Plan, including tips on how to stay focused, read the introduction to the plan.

Okay, okay, I know this is probably the most cliché piece of advice anyone could possibly give, but for the next 5 minutes or so pretend like you’ve never heard of this new-fangled concept of “being positive.” Just humor me.

Now that you’ve done that, think of being positive as a simple choice, like choosing to scratch your arm or take a breath. Doesn’t seem like it should be that easy, right? Well, in all actuality it really is, but it doesn’t seem that way because we keep ourselves from making it that easy.

How do we prevent a positive attitude?

Throughout our day, we think ourselves into a negative mindset. It’s as simple as that. Don’t believe me? Try this throughout the week; simply pay attention to any negative thought that crosses your mind. Any negative thought at all, be it big or small, and every time you catch yourself doing this, ask yourself what prompted it, whether or not it’s reasonable, and pay attention to how your mood and outlook automatically dip down into the gutter, at least for a few moments or so.

At first you won’t catch a lot of your negative thoughts (probably because you’re so used to them), but then you’ll notice one or two specific ones… and then a couple more… and then, once you know what to look for, you’ll notice many, many more, some of which recur quite often.

Once you can pick these thoughts out, pay attention to which ones cross your mind more than others. Pick the most frequent negative thought, and come up with a positive counter-thought to replace it with every time it crops up.

Yeah I know, it sounds kind of hoaxy, but trust me, by simply paying attention to your thoughts throughout the day, you’ll learn a lot about what’s going on up there in that grey matter of yours, whether it’s good or bad.  It’s kind of like controlling your own programming.

Tips to stay focused on the week’s concept:

1.       Write the week’s concept down on a post-it or a scrap piece of paper and post it somewhere you will see it on a daily basis, such as your fridge, the bathroom mirror, or even the dashboard of your car (people who ride with you think it’s weird, but it works!). The point is to be reminded of the theme often throughout the day.

2.       Each night before bed, brainstorm two or three ways to apply the week’s theme, and jot them down in a notebook, in your planner, or E-Mail them to your office E-mail address. Then, actually apply them the next day.

3.       In the morning before your day begins, take a moment to think about the weekly concept and how you will apply it throughout your day.

4.       Every night, reflect on how you actually implemented the weekly concept and how it has positively changed your way of thinking or behavior.

5.       During lunch or sometime half-way through your day, take a moment to sit in a quiet place and re-commit, reminding yourself to view the rest of the day through the lens of the concept of the week.

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In order to grow and develop personally, attention needs to be paid to the areas in life that need developing. Unfortunately it’s sometimes hard to keep concentrating on one thing until you’ve mastered it without a plan.

Enter the 52-Week Prosperity Plan

What I’ve done is map out 52 different concepts aimed at improving your life, one for every week of the year. These concepts will challenge the way you think and the way you view the world, those around you, and most importantly, how you view yourself. In the process, you’ll become a more successful, productive, and all-around better person.

How it Works

Every Sunday I will post the concept for the week. It’ll then be your job to apply that concept to all aspects of your life, from work to family to friends. The more you focus on the given concept, the more you’ll notice yourself thinking and seeing things in a very different light.

Essentially you’ll be performing your own Harvard-type experiment as described in my previous post, Powerful Pieces of Paper.

I’ll also be participating in the plan right along with you, and I’ll be taking notes along the way as to how the concepts have changed my way of thinking and behavior. Then, on Sundays, I’ll post those notes and share my thoughts on that week’s concept with all of you.

View all 52-Week Prosperity Plan related articles and info 

Tips to stay focused:

Several simple things can be done to keep your concentration on the theme of the week, including:

1.       Write the week’s concept down on a post-it or a scrap piece of paper and post it somewhere you will see it on a daily basis, such as your fridge, the bathroom mirror, or even the dashboard of your car (people who ride with you think it’s weird, but it works!). The point is to be reminded of the theme often throughout the day.

2.       Each night before bed, brainstorm two or three ways to apply the week’s theme, and jot them down in a notebook, in your planner, or E-Mail them to your office E-mail address. Then, actually apply them the next day.

3.       In the morning before your day begins, take a moment to think about the weekly concept and how you will apply it throughout your day.

4.       Every night, reflect on how you actually implemented the weekly concept and how it has positively changed your way of thinking or behavior.

5.       During lunch or sometime half-way through your day, take a moment to sit in a quiet place and re-commit, reminding yourself to view the rest of the day through the lens of the concept of the week.

If all goes well, this may even become the basis for a written compilation of posts (okay I’ll just go ahead and say it- a book), so good luck to everyone who decides to participate and really put these 52 concepts into practice.