 What you see above is a record of debt owed to me and payments made by my son. Earlier this year he wanted to make a large purchase that was outside of his current financial ability, and he approached me for credit. We discussed it and I agreed that it was a worthwhile investment for him because the product relates to his income source and one of his dreams (future goals), and because it was a lesson on debt that I want him to internalize ASAP. You know, it's one thing for me to repeatedly say don't get into debt, and another, more powerful thing for him to experience it. This isn't the first time he's experienced being indebted to me for a purchase, of course, and obviously owing me hasn't hit him hard enough just yet so I'm thankful the opportunity presented itself again while he's still under my charge. I was inspired to write this post today (6.29.2016) because he came to me and asked for money, and I happily replied, "I will not loan you anything else until your current debt is cleared." And let me tell ya ... he put in an hour's work to get back on track settling this debt because he doesn't want his bank to remain closed. Folks have asked me about giving allowances and how I determine how much to pay him, and I'll share that with you in a future post later this month. My most-popular mentoring session is The Financial Breakthrough. If you're in need of a money turnaround. Don't wait another minute. Schedule with me today to prepare for increase in your future.   My 2016 running season is progressing wonderfully. I completed my longest run - distance and duration - of the year 3 weeks ahead of schedule. I'm a warm-weather runner, and spring came early in the Northwest so I'm taking full advantage of it. I did my first run February 17; two full months before I began last year. Here it is three weeks later and I completed my first five-miler of the year. I'm excited about that because I usually take 6-8 weeks to get up to hour runs of 5 or more miles. I did it in three weeks because I joined a running a group and a challenge to run at least 1000 KM (621.371192 miles) this year. It's amazing how little electronic badges on an app and 10,000 others who love running can motivate you to push yourself to achieve your goals. I even ran five days straight last week. Which is a quite a bit of running for recently coming off of a four-month break. I'd planned to rest Thursday but the weather was gorge so I had to get in a 5K. Then I planned to rest Friday but someone proposed #FiveMileFriday so I went for it. I ran slow and talked myself through it. The strategies I used to get through this milestone have been included in my talk on supernatural strategies for success I'm giving at The 3rd Annual Grow Your Dreams Conference in April. By pushing myself in running this year I've seen many success strategies with fresh eyes. They include:
  Last week I wrote about putting systems in place for small business so this week I'm tackling systems for home and relationships. We all fall into one of the following categories:
I have systems for business and home. To give you an idea, one of the many things I do at home is wash dishes once a day as one of the last things I do before going to bed. I'm not willing to wash dishes more than once a day - holidays and special occasions are different, of course - because I have other things to do with my time. But what I need for the day is ready when I get up each morning, in addition to waking to a clean and empty sink to fill throughout. Included in this process is that if someone wants a dish that's in the sink after breakfast or lunch, it's their individual responsibility to clean it for use. This system works in my household and everyone's privy to it. It may not work in yours, but it's now a framework you've been exposed to that will help you adopt a system for your life if you need one. When I worked outside of the home and didn't homeschool, when we came in the door each afternoon, you put your shoes in the cubby under the washer, washed hands, backpacks were emptied and papers were sorted into two baskets - what I needed to review and homework. Snack was served and homework was completed at the kitchen table as I made dinner. You also need systems for relationships. Whether work or personal you need to know each party's expectations, needs and desires and determine which are appropriate for you to fulfill and which you're willing to meet. For example, it's not proper for you to return to work each week after your days off and share your personal experiences with your manager. However, it's very appropriate to share your daily happenings with your spouse and family. Just as business owners train employees, we have to train our loved ones how to treat us. Right now I'm learning my sweetheart and he's learning me. We're teaching each other how we need and want to be treated by the other and aligning our behaviors. We're communicating our expectations so that systems can be developed as we move forward. These systems won't always be the same because people change, but it's easier to adapt something that already exists than it is in these beginning stages where we're creating one process from two different entities. I'm teaching on this in greater detail in a live web event Tuesday, October 13, 2015. I encourage you to look over your business/work, home and relationship systems this week and note any areas needing improvement. If you've already received enough information to implement change, get it done. if you need an outside pair of eyes to target a success strategy schedule a call or book a package today. I'd love to help make your life easier.   I'm a planner. Even before I was a teacher I wrote daily lists of what I needed to get done. Still do, of course, even more so now because I have more tasks to complete as an entrepreneur. I recently spoke with a client and soon after listening to them share their concerns I was able to pinpoint what they needed to do to break through in their business - and life if they'd put the same processes I shared in place at home. Very simply, they need systems put in place. This client is high-achieving, brilliant and skilled at money-making but they were struggling and only experiencing a portion of potential success in each of their business streams because, until we spoke, they didn't plan processes all the way through from start to finish, they didn't document them and obviously they couldn't put those non-existent plans in place and follow through to see if they worked. One complaint the business owner had was that the employee at one location "didn't know how to do anything." I dissected that belief with the following questions:
If you desire to be successful in life, you must have systems in place to facilitate success. People grow up in households and are trained to thrive in that specific environment. Students have new teachers every year, semester and sometimes quarterly, and each teacher trains them on that teacher's specific expectations. As a professional mentor, I train my mentees on my processes for both of our optimal success. When a new employee comes to work for you or a new student comes into your classroom, they have basic understandings of how things will operate but they must be trained to prosper in your specific environment. McDonald's has what's called McDonald's University to train their employees on their systems and processes. As a customer of McDonald's I know how some things are supposed to be done, but I don't know the inner workings because I'm not required to provide service for them. They have documented systems in place for ease, uniformity, expectation and success. Their system has been implemented, tested and proven and every one of their employees knows what's required for their respective position. It doesn't matter if your businesses are small and that you have one employee at each location. You still need to have a written plan in place because employees are actually representing YOU, and they have to learn how to do that. Next week I'll share how this same process is effective at home and in relationships. You have the right to be successful in business. But if you're struggling or not quite thriving yet, schedule a call or book a package. As in the example above, you may be missing that one thing that will put you over the top in sales and productivity and I can identify the perfect strategy for you.  Whatever our area of expertise, as parents, career people and entrepreneurs it's our responsibility to share our success strategies with the next generation. My favorite principal (boss) was Ms. McElroy. She saw potential in me, encouraged me and mentored me to successive promotions for four years. There were sometimes scenarios when she'd ask other teachers, "What would Zari do?" I was a classroom management, resource and Reading instruction expert. There are experts in every field. Find one who's achieved the level of success you desire and learn everything you can from them. Watch this short video and share your thoughts. ZariMy first and main Mentor inspired the instructions to be doers and not only hearers. If you want a quick piece of advice for success that’s it right there – be a doer and not only a hearer. I have the most success with mentees who are doers. And when they follow my instructions and do the work, they’ll achieve every breakthrough they’re seeking. It’s a guarantee. That makes for a great mentee: one who listens, receives the revelation and then acts on it. That’s the basics of being a winner. Hear and then do. Last week I mentioned that being a proficient listener wasn’t natural to me. It’s not natural to anyone. Look at toddlers. We are taught to listen by experiencing the positive rewards it brings. Great mentees hear, receive and do. Poor mentees choose otherwise and remain stuck. You're a poor mentee if you one who replies to advice given with comments such as, "I know, but ..." and "You don't understand what they did to me." You know what? I know they hurt you. I know what they did was wrong. The problem is you're the one dwelling on it instead of healing and thriving, and they're not. And you very well may "know" with your head what I speak to you, but you haven't implemented the revelation in your heart or life or you would be living abundantly and not in need of the deep work that I do. I’m a doer. A successful doer, not a spinning my wheels going around in circles because I refuse to change doer. Even when I don’t have someone else walking through a situation directly with me, I still do because I want the next level. Whatever that next level is. For example, I’m sacrificing sleep by working from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. to get to the next levels in a few areas of my life. No one else is walking through this with me, no one else suggested I do it, but I’m doing it because I know I’ll get where I want to be in a specified amount of time. How do I KNOW I’ll get to the next levels? I know because I’ve made a similar sacrifice before and achieved the results I needed and also because actions have natural reactions and my actions are producing the reactions I desire. I’m not just doing to do. I’m focused and am performing a specific pattern of tasks that lead to specific results. I’m only about 33% of the way through my program and I’ve already experienced more breakthroughs than I can count. Become a doer. Stop just hearing and not doing and you will succeed. I'm a witness. When you're ready, schedule a call or book a mentoring package. If you need a custom package that we create together, that's perfectly fine. I do it all the time for clients whose budgets are in between one of the standard packages. The goal is to get you to a place where you're experiencing the life of your dreams because it is possible. Time flies, don't wait.   
Remember: A mentor is not your friend. Their sole purpose is to train you in an area of present weakness.
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Zari Banks, M.EdAuthor, Teacher, Mentor and Speaker 
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