I received a pretty cool email from my Aunt today. I don’t know who the original author is but it applies to any year not just 2010. Good stuff to keep in mind.

HANDBOOK FOR 2010

Health:
1.       Drink plenty of water.
2.       Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3.       Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants…
4.       Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm and Empathy.
5.       Make time to pray.
6.       Play more games.
7.       Read more books than you did in 2009.
8.       Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
9.       Sleep for 7 hours.
10.    Take a 10-30 minutes walk daily. And while you walk, smile.

Personality:
11.    Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12    Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13.    Don’t over do. Keep your limits.
14.    Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15.    Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip.
16.    Dream more while you are awake.
17.    Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18.    Forget issues of the past. Don’t remind your partner with His/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19.    Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don’t hate others.
20.    Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.
21.    No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22.    Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn.  Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23.    Smile and laugh more.
24.    You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree….

Society:
25.    Call your family often.
26.    Each day give something good to others.
27.    Forgive everyone for everything.
28.    Spend time w/ people over the age of 70 & under the age of  6.
29..    Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30.    What other people think of you is none of your business.
31.    Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life:
32.    Do the right thing!
33.    Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
34.    GOD heals everything.
35.    However good or bad a situation is, it will change..
36.    No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up..
37.    The best is yet to come.
38.    When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39.    Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

The main points Dave highlights are:

1. Be specific.
2. Make your goals measurable.
3. Make sure they are your goals.
4. Set a time limit.
5. Put them in writing.

Check out the article for more details.

I am almost finished setting my goals for the year. There maybe 1 or 2 more that come to mind in the next few days. One of my main goals is to do something fun with my daughter each weekend. Whether it is a craft, a kid-friendly recipe, visiting an attraction (using an entertainment book coupon of course) or trying a new restaurant, I want to expose her to new and different things besides the typical trip to the playground. Although that’s always a lot of fun as well and it’s FREE!

There is also a Strong Life Test for Women to help you determine the roles you were created to play.

According to the results, my lead role is an INFLUENCER. I begin by asking: ‘How can I move you to act?’ My supporting role is CREATOR where I then ask: ‘What do I understand?’ Hmmm, interesting stuff…of course I am now hooked on learning more of the detail behind these roles.

You can download a free chapter of Marcus Buckingham’s Find Your Strongest Life book by logging into Oprah.com. In Chapter 5 of Find Your Strongest Life, Marcus Buckingham shares the stories of two women: Anna, who is happy, successful and fulfilled; and Charlie, who feels none of those things. Anna’s distinct approach to life strengthens her, while a flawed approach has led Charlie astray.

Read Find Your Strongest Life and discover:

• How to make the most of the role you were born to play
• How to get others to understand who you really are
• The successful strategies of other women like you

A strength is something that completes you. A weakness is something that depletes you.

You can take the workshop that Marcus Buckingham offers for free via Oprah’s website. For your convenience a quick summary of the Marcus Buckingham workshop materials are also listed below:

• Syllabus – This details what you will need to do before you take the workshop as well as the activities you will complete in each session.
• Green Cards – You’ll use the green cards to write down all of the times when you loved a task or felt strong during the course of a week.
• Red Cards – You’ll use the red cards to write down all of the items you loathed a task or felt weak (drained or bored) during the course of a week.
• Strength Statement – In Session 6, you’ll create a strength statement for each of the things you wrote down on the green cards.
• Weakness Statement – In Session 7, you’ll create a weakness statement for each of the things you wrote down on the red cards.
• Strong Week Plan – In Session 8, you’ll create a plan with key outcomes, activities needed to meet those outcomes and strategies to leverage your strengths and minimize your weaknesses for a strong week.

The 7 Baby Steps are listed below.

1. $1,000 in an Emergency Fund
2. Pay Off All Debt with the Debt Snowball
3. 3 To 6 Months Expenses in Savings
4. Invest 15% of Income into Roth IRAs and Pre-Tax Retirement Plans
5. College Funding
6. Pay Off Your Home Early
7. Build Wealth and Give!

Dave explains the details of each baby step in his book, The Total Money Makeover and if you would like more in-depth study, you can sign up to attend Financial Peace University (FPU). There you will learn more about budgeting and household finances via a video series of powerful lessons taught by Dave! After the video, attendees usually participate in a facilitated group discussion.

I attended FPU at my church and was so inspired that I purchased the videos so I could view them at home and share the message with my family and friends. It seriously changed the way I look at debt and household finances.

Now, not only am I motivated to get out of debt, I am just as fired up to share this powerful information with others! Check out this printable version of Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps. Make several copies and pass on the knowledge with someone else today!