May | 2010 | Ryan S. Taylor

Archive for: May, 2010

NFL Rookie Financial Follies

May 20 2010 Published by ryanstaylor under Finance, Success

I’m a huge football fan. When football season is over, all I can think about is the start of the new season. Spring and summer are wastelands of sport since I’m not into baseball or basketball. Arena Football is a mildly diverting entertainment, but nothing beats football in the fall.

In the off-season, I keep up with the draft, free agency, trades, firings and hirings, and general football news. I watch the draft to see the new talent and what team they end up on. You ask if the kid is going to be a starter out of the gate, or is he going to be a bench-warmer for the first year or two? For some, depending on the team, he’s going to start. For others way down the draft ranking, he’s going to be on the bench for a while.

I read a fascinating article from the National Football Post written by Jack Betcha about how to spot a rookie who’s setting himself up for financial disaster. It never dawned on me before, but if you watch the draft, you’ll see many draft picks in exquisite bespoke suits costing thousands of dollars. They adorn copious quantities of bling, including Rolexes, gold chains and studs. Then you ask, how in the hell did they get all the money to pay for that when they haven’t even been drafted yet? They have no income! Are their parents rich? Are they courted already by agents and marketers? Well, the answer is simple: they are loaned the money.

Betcha says, “It’s commonplace now for rookies to borrow and spend over $300,000 before draft day and another $300,000 before they’ve signed their first contract. Believe it or not, there were many late round picks who bought $70,000 cars and were easily $50,000 in debt by draft day.” Incredible! Before they’ve even signed a contract, they’re up to their ears in debt! But, they’re going to me instant millionaires so they can just pay it off when they get their signing bonus. True, but why waste the signing bonus paying back debt when you can use that money to set yourself up financially for the remainder of your career?

Betcha agrees. He says that if a guy goes nuts for the bling before the draft, he’s very likely to go broke after his career is over. He says over 75% of players go broke after their days of playing in the NFL are over.

So who loans them the money? It’s usually the agent’s firm or the kid’s financial advisor. They’re able to secure large loans based on the kid’s earning potential. The loans are usually cash advances “disguised as marketing advances.” An advance is just another word for loan. Like an author or musician who receives an advance to write and record, that money is repaid with proceeds of book and music sales. For the athlete, he has to pay it back with the signing bonus or salary.

The agent or financial advisor rarely say no to their clients when asked for fear of being fired. Yes, it’s bizarre for a financial advisor to be fired for declining to loan his client money based on sound financial advice. But, these kids rarely know the first thing about money management, and their parents rarely know as much.

Betchas says he would like to see potential draftees coached on life skills and money management prior to the draft, but that may not help. For many of these kids, it’s all about the bling. There is no long term outlook.

This is just another example of living within your means. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying the finer things in life and making large purchases, only if you have the means. Debt is not the way to enjoy bling. If you get a career-ending injury in the first few years, you’re through! There is no more money coming your way. You’ll end up hocking your bling just to pay the bills. Is it worth it? What good is your Bentley if the repo man is coming to take it away?

Learn from professional athletes who have managed their money well and have thriving careers post-football. There are many of them out there, from the legends to the analysts on ESPN and NFL Network. When it comes to money, always think long term.

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Alone Time

May 16 2010 Published by ryanstaylor under Health and Fitness, Leisure

Everyone should have some time set aside every day to be alone; away from spouse, kids, friends, and coworkers. Alone time also means away from computers, phones, iPhones, Blackberries, and TV. Why? For many reasons: relaxation, calm the nerves, gather your thoughts, come up with new ideas, contemplate and revitalize.

This doesn’t mean doing deep meditation, it just means getting away from everyone and everything for a short while. There is always a demand for your time. This is a brief way to alleviate that.

There are many ways to be alone. I prefer sitting out on my patio with a good book, cigar and scotch. I also take long walks in the evening. You can do something as simple as staying in your bedroom with the door closed. You can go to a quiet park, the beach or sit at a your favorite coffee shop or cafe. You don’t need to completely isolate yourself from people though that’s okay, and sometimes preferable. You do need to get away from those that place a demand on your time. When you’re alone, don’t answer calls, don’t check email or Facebook. In fact, don’t bring a laptop or tablet. A good book is fine.

How long you stay alone is up to you. It can be for 15 minutes or all day. It doesn’t really matter how long as you get some piece of mind and are not distracted. I find my alone time immensely relaxing. I’m more creative, I sleep better at night. I spend more time outside than I normally would. I’m reading more books than every before. I’m finding that I want to spend more time alone.

This is not to neglect your family and work obligations. Your alone time is a temporary oasis that allows you to better manage your obligations. Let your family, friends and coworkers know that you require some alone time every day. Build it into your schedule. Most of them will understand and may even set their own alone time.

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For Great Ideas, Do Nothing

May 09 2010 Published by ryanstaylor under Goals, Health and Fitness, Leisure, Motivation, Success

Where do the best ideas come from? Or when? Is it when you’re actively engaged in a task? Or in the shower? Do your best ideas come when you’re doing something, or doing nothing? I find my best ideas come when I’m not doing anything.

In this day of always being busy, the thought of doing nothing is anathema to many people, especially at work. The thought is, if you’re not busy, you’re not doing your job properly. You risk losing your job, or you risk a competitor taking over customers and your business. The culture of numerous companies is based on non-stop productivity. There is no room for downtime. Everyone is busy doing something, whether or not that something is contributing to the growth of the company. Downtime is necessary for mental vitality.

We take work home with us. We check email at all hours of the day. We never stop and we wonder why we can’t seem to get anything done. We wonder what we can’t breakthrough with new ideas that will propel ourselves or our company to the next level. There’s one solution: do nothing.

I have my best ideas when my brain I’m walking; when I’m in the shower; when I’m having my daily cigar and scotch; when I’m driving; when I’m laying down or sitting. If I’m laying down or sitting, I’m not watching TV, reading, or listening to something. I am not doing anything. My mind is allowed to wander. It is at this time where new ideas flourish. Solutions to perplexing problems magically appear. Experts agree that if you’re stuck on a problem, one of the best solutions is to walk away from it. Take a walk, do something else, relax, have a cup of coffee. The key is to take your mind away from the problem. Distractions work, but doing nothing is better. In one moment, you’ll have an epiphany and solve the problem. This has happened to me so many times.

Even if I don’t have any problems to solve–and there are always problems–I need to come up with ideas for this blog. I generate most of my ideas during my daily walks. Except for my evening walks, I do not listen to any programs or music. I let my mind go and ideas come rushing in.

If you’re not in the habit of doing nothing, or it seems unnatural to you, give it a try. Take 30 minutes and go for a walk. Sit in your chair for 15 minutes with no TV or computer. Use your morning shower as an idea generator. It’s important to capture these ideas. You will forget them when you return to work. Keep a small notebook and pen handy to write down the best ideas. Some ideas will be so strong, you’ll want to act on the immediately.

Get started! Do nothing!

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Self Help Industry’s Perpetual Repackaging

May 05 2010 Published by ryanstaylor under Goals, Motivation, Success

I read and listen to a lot of self-help products. Pretty much all of them espouse the same thing. For all of the self-help literature on the market, there is a finite number of tried and true techniques that generate success. All of it starts and ends with your own volition. You can read every book and never be successful if all you do is sit on your ass all day visualizing being successful.

The self-help industry repackages the same techniques over and over. Some one repackages a 100 year-old book and turns it into a marketing phenomenon, i.e. The Secret. Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, and The Law of Success have been the basis for thousands of derivative self-help products. Just take an obscure self-help book and repackage it into a $300 audio course. Or you can do what some gurus did after the Secret phenomenon died down. They started critiquing the Secret! They said while the Secret was great, it didn’t tell you everything you needed to know. There were missing secrets!! These gurus will reveal the missing secrets of success in his new $200 DVD program. In the self-help world, there is always a new secret, a missing link to success, a newly discovered process that will guarantee riches. New product is required. Gurus can never rest on their previous product. They need new products to sell, new seminars, new cruises, and new retreats.

I’ve written about this before and I’m not knocking them for doing it. They are in the business of selling themselves primarily, and their products. They need their speaking gigs and their seminars because that is the primary income source. The books and products generate income, but are almost ancillary when it comes to speaking and seminars. Now coaching is all the rage. Nearly everyone has started a coaching program as it brings in subscription-type revenue, expensive subscription revenue! Still, it’s a business and these people need to maintain their image and lifestyle. They are selling success and they need to prove how successful they are. They perpetually repackage the same material in their books into more expensive seminars and coaching programs.

Success is relative. Gurus need to sell an image of wealth, health, happiness and vitality. Many of them are fantastic speakers. They are preeminent salesmen. Many of them got their start in sales and marketing. They put on a great show, then give you the hard sell at the end. That’s the part that always bothered me. The presenter may give you useful, actionable information during the seminar. But it’s not everything. For more money, you can get more secrets, more tips, more coaching, more, more, more!

Honestly, you can buy Napoleon Hill’s Law of Success book for $13 at Barnes and Noble and learn everything you need to know about success and never have to spend another dime or attend an expensive seminar or retreat. All you have to do is act on what you read.

Success does not come by visualization alone. That is just one step. You have to act on opportunities that come your way. You have to obtain the necessary desire to achieve your goals. You have to stop complaining and stop blaming. You have to just do it, to coin a phrase!

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