In unpredictable economic climates, just like in outdoor adventures, clear guidance is key to avoiding making decisions driven by fear. For business owners and professionals alike, having a robust business financial planning strategy can act as your North Star—providing direction when external factors become overwhelming.

As the world dealt with the uncertainties of 2020, many individuals and companies grappled with questions about the future. At LotusGroup Advisors, we encourage a steady approach to navigating volatile times by following a well-crafted financial plan, designed to mitigate risks and focus on long-term goals. Whether it’s the turbulence brought on by a global pandemic or political shifts, the answer remains consistent: a solid financial plan will be your guide through the storm.

In both hiking and sailing, it’s vital to know where you’re headed before the journey even begins. Without a clear sense of direction, uncertainty can lead to rash decisions. It’s no different in business financial planning. As conditions change, the businesses and individuals who fare best are those who have both a destination and a plan for how to reach it. But how do you build that financial compass?

The Core of Business Financial Planning

There are six essential components that form the backbone of a successful financial plan, ensuring that your business and personal financial goals are aligned, no matter the challenges ahead.

1. Budgeting and Annual Spending Knowledge

At the heart of business financial planning is a clear understanding of your budget and annual expenses. Without this, you can’t determine whether you’ve reached financial freedom or if it’s achievable at all. Establishing these numbers allows you to stay on track with your financial goals.

To gain a clearer picture of where your business stands, consider using advanced financial software that can quickly and accurately give insights into your expense tracking. Tools like QuickBooks or Xero help business owners maintain real-time oversight of their budgets and cash flow.

2. Insurance Planning

Insurance planning is essential for protecting your business from catastrophic risks. Whether it’s liability, property, life, or long-term care, having adequate coverage safeguards your business and personal finances from unforeseen disasters. Analyzing your current insurance policies will ensure you’re not overpaying for coverage while also filling any gaps that could leave you vulnerable. LotusGroup Advisors specialize in reviewing and optimizing insurance plans to minimize risk exposure.

3. Debt Management

Debt can be one of the largest inhibitors to achieving financial independence, particularly for businesses. Part of business financial planning is knowing when to prioritize debt reduction and when to invest in growth opportunities. LotusGroup assists clients in debt consolidation, refinancing options, and strategies to lower interest payments—helping you focus on building wealth.

4. Tax Planning

Effective tax strategies are critical to business financial success. Most business owners overlook available tax-saving vehicles that could save thousands annually. From maximizing contributions to retirement accounts to employing tax-efficient charitable giving methods, understanding the tax landscape allows businesses to retain more capital for future investments. At LotusGroup Advisors, we offer customized strategies tailored to your financial situation, enabling you to stay compliant while reducing your tax burden.

For more information on tax-efficient strategies, see Forbes’ guide on tax planning for small businesses.

5. Estate Planning

Estate planning is not just for personal finances; business owners need to ensure that their estate is well-organized to avoid complications for their heirs and stakeholders. Having updated wills, trusts, and business succession plans is a crucial aspect of business financial planning, and failing to plan properly can result in a loss of business continuity. With professional estate planning, your business can seamlessly transition in the event of your passing or retirement.

Discover the importance of estate planning.

6. Investment Strategy

A solid investment strategy rounds out your business financial planning by ensuring that your assets are working toward your long-term goals. Once your budget, insurance, and taxes are in place, LotusGroup can help you craft a portfolio that’s designed to meet the specific returns necessary to reach financial freedom. Rather than taking excessive risks, we believe in achieving consistent, long-term growth through balanced investments.

As you structure your investments, you might want to explore sustainable options or emerging industries that offer high growth potential. Staying informed about market trends and diversifying your investments ensures that your financial plan remains resilient even in volatile markets.

Navigating Uncertainty with Confidence

During uncertain times, the greatest asset you have is a well-constructed financial plan. The ability to focus on what you can control and let go of what you cannot is crucial in maintaining business continuity. By centering your focus on long-term goals, your business financial planning becomes the North Star guiding your decisions.

At LotusGroup Advisors, we understand that financial returns are important, but they are not the only factor in a successful business plan. When clients set clear goals and follow a detailed strategy, they can weather short-term market fluctuations without deviating from their ultimate destination—financial freedom.

If you’re interested in building or revisiting your business financial plan, give us a call. Our team of advisors is ready to help you navigate both the calm and the stormy waters ahead.

Explore more insights on business planning.

The post Finding Your North Star in Uncertain Times appeared first on Lotus Group.

An investment portfolio plays a crucial role in building wealth and risk management, especially for business owners. Owning and operating a business brings unique risks, making it essential to strike a balance between business and personal investments. A well-diversified portfolio can protect business owners from economic downturns and ensure that they have enough liquidity to meet both personal and professional financial goals.

Understanding Investment Portfolio Risk

Business owners face a variety of risks that can impact their wealth, including industry volatility, economic shifts, and unforeseen challenges like pandemics or market crashes. By creating a comprehensive investment portfolio, business owners can mitigate some of these risks while also growing their wealth for the long term. While many business owners focus heavily on their company’s performance, it’s crucial to have personal investments that are independent of business success. This creates a buffer for times when business earnings fluctuate or decline.

Balancing personal investments with your business strategy requires understanding both the rewards and risks of different asset classes, such as stocks, bonds, and real estate. Stocks may offer high returns but can be volatile, while bonds provide stability. Real estate, meanwhile, can offer a balance of appreciation and income but requires careful management.

The Importance of Diversification

Diversification is a critical component of a successful investment portfolio. When your assets are spread across different sectors, industries, and asset types, you reduce your exposure to the downside of any one investment. This is particularly important for business owners who may already have a large portion of their net worth tied up in their company.

Consider allocating a portion of your investments into stocks and bonds that are not directly related to your industry. This strategy can help offset any losses that your business may incur during a downturn. Real estate and international stocks are also excellent diversification tools to protect against domestic market volatility.

Learn more about wealth management strategies.

Asset Allocation: A Tailored Approach

Asset allocation refers to how you divide your investment capital among different asset classes, such as stocks, bonds, and real estate. This allocation should be based on your financial goals, risk tolerance, and the time frame in which you expect to need access to your funds.

Business owners often need more liquidity than the average investor because they must have cash reserves for their business operations. Your investment portfolio should account for this, ensuring you have sufficient liquid assets in case your business faces financial strain.

For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many business owners faced severe cash flow issues. Those who had invested in liquid assets like bonds or money market funds could access these funds quickly to cover short-term expenses, avoiding costly loans or asset sales. Therefore, strategic asset allocation is essential for balancing both personal and business financial health.

Understanding Risk Tolerance

Risk tolerance varies significantly between business owners and depends on various factors such as age, industry, and personal financial goals. Younger business owners may be willing to take more risks in their investment portfolio, given that they have more time to recover from potential losses. In contrast, business owners nearing retirement age might prefer a more conservative portfolio that prioritizes capital preservation.

Assessing your risk tolerance is crucial when developing your portfolio strategy. A good rule of thumb is to avoid putting all your financial eggs in one basket. For instance, a business owner who has substantial business equity should consider diversifying into lower-risk, more liquid investments to mitigate potential downturns in the company’s value.

Learn more about risk management for investors.

Benefits of Long-Term Planning

A long-term approach to investing can significantly reduce the overall risk of your investment portfolio. While markets may experience short-term volatility, long-term investments have historically yielded positive returns. By taking a measured, long-term view, business owners can benefit from the compound growth of their investments.

One effective long-term strategy is dollar-cost averaging, which involves regularly investing a fixed amount of money into the market regardless of current conditions. This approach reduces the impact of market fluctuations and ensures that you are steadily building your portfolio over time.

Additionally, having a long-term investment portfolio complements business planning, allowing owners to withdraw funds at key moments such as expansion opportunities or retirement. Having a solid investment strategy can also provide peace of mind, reducing financial stress during periods of market volatility or business uncertainty.

Read more about retirement planning for business owners.

The Role of Professional Guidance

Working with a financial advisor who understands the unique challenges faced by business owners can help you design an investment strategy tailored to your needs. Advisors can offer insights on tax-efficient investments, retirement planning, and estate planning—ensuring that both your business and personal finances are aligned.

Many business owners focus primarily on their company, neglecting personal investments. However, building a diversified investment portfolio is essential to securing both your personal financial future and the longevity of your business. A financial advisor can help you make informed decisions, balancing risk and reward to ensure your investments align with your long-term goals.

Why do business owners need a financial advisor? Read more here.

Building and maintaining a strong investment portfolio is critical for business owners who want to achieve long-term financial security. By diversifying investments, tailoring asset allocation to your risk tolerance, and focusing on long-term growth, you can create a portfolio that protects your wealth while providing flexibility for business needs.

With professional guidance, you can align your business and personal financial goals, ensuring that your investments work to support both. A well-structured portfolio not only protects you during uncertain times but also creates a foundation for future growth, enabling business owners to achieve both personal and professional success.

If you’re a business owner looking to diversify your investment portfolio or seeking financial advice, LotusGroup can help guide you through the process, providing personalized solutions that align with your unique goals.

Contact us for personalized investment strategies.

The post Investment Portfolio Risk for Biz Owners appeared first on Lotus Group.

Navigating the New Year  

We are two months into the New Year.  Do you set goals or make New Year’s Resolutions?  Is this an exciting year for you, with new possibilities, personal growth, or career advancement in your plans?

Or maybe this is a year of unknowns, with a mixture of fear and anxiety, possibly including a career move, changes in the family structure, or adjusting to the “new normal” of retirement or loss of a loved one.

Whatever circumstances you find yourself dealing with today or facing tomorrow, it helps to have a plan to guide you along the way.

Like driving in an unfamiliar area, having a GPS to guide the way can make the journey less stressful with more certainty you’ll end up where you want to go.

What makes a GPS so useful in finding your way through unfamiliar territory?

It simply takes you where you want to end up and provides the easiest route available to get there.

GPS can tell you how far and how long it will take; It will even provide step-by-step instructions for every turn, so all you need to know is the next step, the next turn.

This can make the overwhelming seem manageable!

The GPS even warns you if you make a wrong turn and how to get back on track.

Wouldn’t it be great to have a GPS for your 2019 goals?

Just plug in the end point, press “calculate best route” and your ideal navigational route appears with step-by-step instructions.

Since that technology doesn’t likely yet exist, maybe we can design our own GPS.

Designing Your GPS

G   =         Game Plan

P    =         Priorities

S    =         Singular Purpose

Our G.P.S. begins with the end in mind (our Game Plan to reach our goal).

The coordinates that set our course are determined according to our Personal Priorities.

This provides the filter for “calculating the best route” by avoiding areas where we shouldn’t spend our time and energy and directing our path by staying focused on what matters most.

This last statement is maybe the trickiest to nail down, “what matters most.”

It should become apparent when we focus on the “S” of our G.P.S. or our Singular Purpose.

A wonderful book I recently finished brings this issue of singular purpose into acute clarity (the book is The One Thing by Gary Keller).

I’ll paraphrase for the context of this discussion.  What is the ONE THING you could do this year, this month, starting now, that having done it will make other things easier or unnecessary?

1. If your singular purpose is FINANCIAL your response may include things like, “live within my means” or “save adequately for retirement” or “eliminate my debt” or “automate my bill pay.”
2. If you singular purpose is about CAREER your response may include things like, “make more money” or “achieve a promotion” or “make that career move” or “bet on myself this year.”
3. If your singular purpose is about RETIREMENT your response may include things like, “discover a plan for a ‘new normal’” or “establish new priorities and a renewed sense of purpose.”

Our lives are full of unknowns.  Some things we can control.  Some things we can’t control.

Knowing (and accepting) the difference can make all the difference in our level of stress and joy.

How Can We Help?

Lotus Group is committed to helping each individual maximize their human potential.

That could mean generating investment income to support your  lifestyle needs, while allowing you to bet on yourself in a new venture, career change or next opportunity.

It could also mean outsourcing a key responsibility of your life (finances), so that you may prioritize on yourself or your family.

Or it could be as simple as just wanting a quick chat “pick me up” chat.

Don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know how we can help make that happen.

We truly enjoy helping clients to setup their financial G.P.S. and helping to steer it towards long-term security and financial independence.

If you’re early in the game and need the encouragement to start – we can help you clarify the best moves now.

If you’re late in the game, maybe early into a life transition or retirement – we can help you navigate the unknown.

Setting and achieving your goals for the year ahead can be a daunting process.

Just as your GPS provides you with step-by-step instructions to your desired destination, your own internal G.P.S. can do the same.

As always, our Private Client Advisors can help you “calculate the best route” for 2019.

The 2019 Game Plan begins and ends with our company motto:

Make.Life.Count.

How can we help you?

Best,

Doug

The post Purpose & Priorities – What is your Game Plan in 2019? appeared first on Lotus Group.

Have you ever met someone who is extremely successful that also seems completely happy and wondered what they were doing differently?  As it turns out they don’t have any secrets, they simply focus on happiness and success follows.

Happiness and success are subjects that have been researched and written about endlessly. Shawn Achor, who wrote the bestselling book The Happiness Advantage, conducted some of the best research.  He found only 25% of a person’s success is determined by their intelligence and technical skills, the other 75% is determined by three things:

1)      Optimism

2)      Social Connection

3)      Stress Management

The good news is all three of these things can be learned with a conscious effort, practice and time. His studies have also shown that success does not bring happiness.  When people who base their happiness on success achieve a goal the resulting happiness is short-lived before they set their sights on a new objective. Optimism, Social Connection, and Stress Management are imperative to success for good reason.

Optimism

It isn’t a surprise that optimists are happier and healthier than pessimists, so it makes sense that they are more successful as well.  Although pessimists see the world more accurately, it can come at the expense of their health, success, and happiness.  Some of us are naturally optimistic, but what about others who are naturally more realistic or pessimistic?  Fortunately optimism can be a learned trait.

Changing an attitude is as simple as changing the internal story that occurs during a negative event.  Pessimists tend to think of negative events as permanent (it will never get better), universal (everything is against them), and personal (this was my fault).  Optimists have the exact opposite reaction to negative events.  They tend to see them as temporary, having a specific cause, and not their fault.

All that is needed to change from pessimistic outlook to an optimistic outlook is to change the internal story.  Instead of permanent, universal and personal, consciously change the story to – a temporary setback that had contributing factors outside of your control that can get better. It may seem too simple to be true, but research has this process actually works.

Social Connection

Having friends and family to connect with, build deep connections with and to lean on when necessary is paramount when it comes to increasing happiness and success.  The more you give, the more you get, this is due in part to the law of reciprocity.  Reciprocity is so strong, that people feel obligated to return a favor regardless of how much they like the person that gave the favor or even if they did not want or ask for the original favor.  Reciprocity is its strongest when it comes to friends and family.

Stress Management

Stress has a presence in all of our lives and we have to deal with it on a fairly regular basis.  How someone handles stress makes a significant impact on their level of success.  The book Choke, by Sian Beilock studies stress and how top performers handle it.  Similar to optimism, changing the way you see problems is not only key in becoming a top performer, but also  in being a happier person.

The people that handle stress the best are people that see problems as challenges and are excited to conquer them.  The people that handle stress poorly see problems as threats and they worry about them.  If you interpret your bodies’ signals as you are in trouble and need to get out, you will likely ‘choke’.  There’s likely been a time in your life when a stressful situation caused you to ‘choke’.  Instead, try to think of the situation as a challenge and a call to action.

Make. Life. Count.

The wonderful thing is that the research has been done, and the process to being happier and more successful is proven, all you need to do is utilize it!  Make changes today to become happier and healthier and in turn more successful.

Take action, and enjoy the results!

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FOMO Defined

FOMO, or the “Fear Of Missing Out”, can lead to a fun, spontaneous life, but it can also lead to financial ruin.

We’ve all heard the age-old saying, “The best things in life are free”, but in reality, living a fun-filled life of travel and adventure requires a constant flow of cash.  Unlike their predecessors, Gen-Xers and Gen-Yers are much more interested in living in the now, a lifestyle more focused on instant gratification.

Of less importance is suspending life’s luxuries in favor of delayed satisfaction and saving for the future. The implication of this behavior is that money, and a lot of it, is being spent now and isn’t going into savings that will lead to financial freedom and stability in the long run.

The Allure

You’re sitting at home on a sleepy Friday evening, content with your glass of wine or a beer and a movie when it happens.  You get a text from a friend spontaneously requesting your presence for a fun night out. Your initial reaction is a quick, “nah”, but with just a tiny push from your friend you start thinking about what you could be missing out on, who they might see, what memories they might create without you.

FOMO isn’t always nights out, it comes in a variety of disguises.  Sometimes it reveals itself in trips, concerts and other experiences. It can also be shopping that induces FOMO. You fear missing out on fitting in, having the latest fashion, enjoying the best TV watching experience, not being able to play Madden on the newest gaming console, and so on.

Financial Implications

This gut reaction, undisciplined spending style is the exact behavior that forces people to live paycheck to paycheck seemingly never able to catch up, let alone get a step ahead.

FOMO quite literally denies people the most basic level of financial freedom, an ample emergency fund and a growing retirement portfolio.

To be clear, financial freedom does not entail an inactive or a meticulously planned lifestyle, but it does require a strategy that includes saving a set amount every month.  You can still live an exciting, adventurous life; you just need to temper that with a bit of discipline.

Counter with a Lifestyle Plan

Budgets don’t work for the same reason diets don’t work, people simply aren’t disciplined enough and don’t want to live a confined life.  The ones that do work don’t overindulge, but they still allow some of the good stuff.

To conquer FOMO you need a lifestyle plan that negotiates the right balance between saving and spontaneous luxuries.

So how do you do that?

Implementing FOMO Protection

Creating a lifestyle plan and sticking to it takes a lot of expertise and work that normally require a professional to help build it correctly who can also hold you accountable, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get started on your own.

1. Get a handle on your fixed monthly expenses, such as rent/mortgage, car costs, utilities, cell phone, TV, memberships, insurance, etc.  Are there areas you can cut some monthly cost?  Are there things you spend money on each month in a fixed manner that aren’t really that important to you

2. Determine how much you should be saving each month for your long term lifestyle and financial stability.  This could be retirement savings or emergency account savings, but it is the ongoing maintenance and support of your lifestyle.  It’s imperative that you have a plan to save the amount necessary to ensure you get to where you want to be down the road in the short and long term.

3. Whats left over after your fixed expenses are paid and your savings are taken care of is your monthly discretionary spending (groceries, dining, clothing, etc.) and your FOMO spending.

The key here is automation.  You must automate your savings every pay period or every month to ensure it happens and that you are paying yourself first.

Where people get it wrong is putting their discretionary and FOMO spending before their savings, making savings the ‘whatever is left over’ pile at the end of the month, which is often nothing.

With a properly crafted lifestyle plan, when you spend the last of your FOMO money for the month, there is no mo’ FOMO for you!

If you’d like guidance on crafting your lifestyle plan, or help figuring out how much you should be saving to hit your short and long term goals, send me a note and we can discuss.

The post The Financial Implications Of FOMO (The Fear Of Missing Out) appeared first on Lotus Group.

You worked hard your whole career, became well-respected at your craft, saved well for retirement…and yet are having a terrible time pulling the trigger and retiring.

Why is it so difficult?

The answer lies in the psychological and emotional barriers that millions of people experience when making the transitions into retirement.  Let’s explore those barriers along with some ideas on how they can be overcome.

We’re talking seismic changes here

Many people long hold the idea that they will just unplug from their working years and all of a sudden have all this time to do the things they always wanted to do, and their days will be filled with pure joy!   However, rarely discussed are the real challenges that that we face in retirement due to the emotional changes that we face. These challenges aren’t about finding good retirement places like Eden Retirement Living, but more so about mental stability in regard to the transition. Consider the following:

• What will you do when you move from a fully structured work day that flies by, to a blank canvas of options in how you fill your day?
• You are mentally stimulated and challenged through your work, what are you going to do to replace that stimulation to keep your mind sharp?
• You used to see and meet with your friends/colleagues daily in meetings and over lunch break, but now you have to call people up to make plans every day…and they aren’t often available.  How will that make you feel?
• Your self-identity is strongly built around your work self, what will your new identity become now you will have to re-invent yourself into someone new?
• You were constantly ‘producing’ through the years, saving money, and growing your wealth.  Now, you are finally to the point of living off your savings, but deep down there are uncertainties about how much you can spend and how much risk you can tolerate since riding out the next market cycle isn’t quite the same as it was before.

Pretty much everything gets reset when you move into retirement.

What to do, and where to start?

As you head into retirement, a number of questions become critical to think about ahead of time:

• What are you going to fill your days doing?
• Who are you going to spend your time with?
• What hobbies are you going to pursue (often determined by those you spend time with)?
• What did you always want to do, but just never had the time (learn a foreign language, wood working, volunteering, playing more golf, etc.)?
• What motivates you?
• What are you passionate about?
• What do you want your legacy to be?
• How will you structure your finances to not run out of money, but also emotionally handle the risks?

These are some heavy questions that require some heavy thinking.

Where to get help?

The biggest challenges faced by most pre-retirees is uncovering the answers to these underlying emotional questions, and then deciding to address them.  Along the way, some find joy in figuring these out themselves while others benefit from getting help and advice through the transition.

There is certainly no shortage of financial advisors who are ready to help with the financial side, but that doesn’t help with the much larger and more important issue of lifestyle transition.

This is where a handcrafted lifestyle solution is needed.

The problem isn’t so much that you don’t know or have never thought about the answers to many of these questions, it’s that unless there is some structure provided to actually sit down and address them (take the time to think through them, write down all your thoughts and goals, prioritize the list, set time-frames, and then put together a plan you’re excited about), it just doesn’t happen.

Left unaddressed, these unresolved questions only grow bigger and more pronounced and can get in the way of living a care-free and happy retirement.

Let us know if you or someone you care about could use some help transitioning into retirement successfully and happily.

The post What’s Your Retirement Lifestyle Plan? appeared first on Lotus Group.

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The gym is rocking. Skrillex is bumping and twelve people are ready to bust their asses at 6am. They start with basic stretches and move quickly into the ladder – high knees, laterals, ballistic squats, side cuts, pushups. Everyone’s heart rates climb and after 5 minutes, it’s time to get after it for real.

Today’s Functional workout is a euphemism for ‘you want to die’.

And die is exactly what I wanted to do. In the first 5 minutes of exercises, I wanted to quit. In over 6 months of training, I had never thought that, but I was out of fuel.

Roughly 72 hours earlier, I began Day 1 of the SNAP Challenge (aka Food Stamp Challenge).

The rules were simple:

• Live on $4.56 per day for 7 days, including beverages
• Eat only what you pay for (no freebies)
• No dining out because food stamps aren’t accepted

Let’s be clear: I’m not trying act as if I’d understand what it’s really like to live a life of poverty where living on food stamps is only part of the struggle.

I chose to test the challenges of poverty and nutrition although I could have tested other things like poverty and eating organic, fresh vs. frozen, restricted diets, convenience, variety, etc.

This wasn’t about ‘surviving’ a week; this was about getting the most nutritional bang for my buck, seeing what I could do, and learning from that.

This was a self-experiment to achieve greater self-awareness and empathy.

If you aren’t familiar with self-experimentation, you can make significant discoveries with a sample size of one.

“The true method of knowledge is experiment.” – William Blake

“It doesn’t matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn’t matter how smart you are. If it doesn’t agree with experiment, it’s wrong.” – Richard P. Feynman

Yes, there’s a bias inherent in self-experimentation but there is value one can derive.

Setting Baseline Controls

I’m a little obsessive about measuring progress so I already had baseline statistics.

You should know that I also eat out a lot. A LOT. So my lifestyle effected my baseline and making both a food and lifestyle change contributed to my results.

I decided to track these areas to test the effects of my choices while living on food stamps:

• Weight & Body Fat %: Tanita scale and measured myself each morning.
• Acidity: Phion Diagnostic ph Test Strips tested at the same time each morning.
• Energy During Workouts: Self-evaluation post workout.
• Sleep Cycles: $0.99 iPhone app which I’ve been using nightly for the past 2 years.
• Daily Nutrition: Free iPhone app called MyFitnessPal.
• Daily Observations: Took notes throughout the day.

A lot of questions ran through my mind when I decided to do this so I focused them down to what I felt were important questions for me to answer for myself.

Surely those who truly live on food stamps aren’t asking these questions, but then again, this was my experiment to gain greater self-awareness and empathy.

I decided to test the following questions:

1. What are the effects on my body from the choices I make?
   Daily tracking and measurement helps me understand how these choices affect my body.
2. Can I receive enough nutrition in order to keep an active lifestyle?
   Many of those on food stamps are manual laborers so they expend a great deal of energy and calories in a day. I can’t change my sedentary job so I decided to stick with my workouts and see the effects of my food choices.
3. What lifestyle habits would change vs. stay the same?
   When you have the option to eat out all the time, it’s easy to set meetings involving food or drinks. Making food changes what I do and what time I do them.
4. Does practicing misfortune lower my fears?
   Philosophers across the world have long taught us to value that which cannot be taken away. Stoics like Seneca taught us to actively practice poverty while asking yourself, “Is this the condition I so feared?” Tibetan Buddhists create and destroy sand mandalas to symbolize the transitory nature of material life and Hindus practice Vānaprastha which is a gradual detachment from the material world.

Clint Gehde, Co-Owner of Element 3 Lifestyle, is one of the best trainers in Denver, hands down. He’s been a trainer for 12 years, has a B.S. in Kinesiology Science from the University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, and certified nationally for the past 10 years. He’s also a great friend and pushes me past my limits. When I told him about this challenge, he was excited to help me craft a meal plan.

So were my friends on Facebook, and there were no shortage of opinions:

(my favorite suggestion: “buy a hunting license”)

The plan was simple: protein and carbs.

The protein intake helps keep sustainable energy for when my sugar levels drop. Protein also usually comes with a little bit of fat and in this case, that was a good thing.

Fat helped maintain energy levels when I started the day, especially working out, when my energy levels were already going to be low due to low sugar. Energy is pulled from fat storage so weight loss was likely to occur. Not a bad thing.

I worked through combinations of foods but the reality is that I’d have to go to the store to find what was on sale and then buy foods that worked together.

With $31.92 for the week, I decided to spend roughly $29 (receipt here) and keep close to a 10% cushion in case something unplanned occurred. Hey, I am an investment advisor.

Pre-Workout: 100% whole grain bread and 1 tbsp Skippy Natural honey flavored creamy peanut butter

Post-Workout Breakfast: 2 medium white egg omelet with salt and pepper and ½ cup oatmeal with water, mixed in 1 tbsp peanut butter

Snacks at 10am and 3pm: ½ cup oatmeal with water, ½ banana, ½ tbsp peanut butter

Lunch and Dinner: 4 oz chicken breast (frozen, raw) seared and baked, seasoned with salt and pepper; 2/3 cup frozen green beans or spinach, salt and pepper to taste; 1 cup canned black beans, rinsed to reduce sodium

Beverages: 10 cups minimum of water per day, 1 green tea packet for morning caffeine, 1 to-go packet of pink lemonade light for low calorie sugar water

I tracked my measurements at the same time every day to keep it as controlled as possible.

• Weight: I went from 190 lbs. to 183 lbs. without adding any muscle. That’s 7 pounds of fat loss in as many days which equates to a 3.7% drop in body fat. I consumed 1452 calories per day, substantially less than my ideal target of 1700-1900 calories per day.
• Acidity: I went from a somewhat acidic environment at 6.25 to an unhealthy acidic body at 5.5. Cancer thrives in an acidic body so the odds of fighting it go down. In order to increase the alkaline, I would have needed to eat more greens and less protein. That would have been more cost effective, but I’d have less protein to provide me with sustainable energy.
• Energy During Workouts: On day 1, I measured an 8. By day 3, I was down to a 2. Remember the story above? I ended up completing the workout and when I was done, I sat with my head in my hands, frustrated. I realized that if a laborer were to try to eat as healthy as I did, they would not have enough energy to do their jobs. They can’t cut reps so they have to increase their intake of starchy, low-cost carbs that are less nutritious.
• Sleep Cycles: For the past 2 years, I’ve slept an average of 06:45 per night, with a 70% sleep quality rating. During the week on food stamps, I slept the same amount but my quality reduced to 55%. Food Stamps helped me have an access to quality and nutritional food, but could not do much about my sleep. Less time in REM means waking up with less energy. Less energy means it’s harder to get through the day without feeding yourself empty carbs to give yourself a boost of energy. Less sleep also affects your recovery time when doing manual labor although I wasn’t able to track that.

The conclusion was obvious: either eat healthy and have less energy or fill up with empty calories.

• Monday: Day 1 and I woke up with a migraine and I hadn’t even started the challenge yet. I slept from 11:30am – 12:30pm and then again from 4 – 8pm. I realized how difficult it was for me to get rid of a migraine while eating this way. Normally, it goes away in a couple hours.
• Tuesday: I love creative work and problem solving and given an extra hour in a day, that’s what you’ll find me focused on. Today, I lacked the energy to think creatively and found myself gravitating to work that I knew I could do easily (e.g. analysis, planning, emails).
• Wednesday: 3 days in and I hit the wall. My body was having a difficult time adapting to the changes and the morning workout sucked. Creativity was at its all time low for the week.
• Thursday: Had a Leadership Denver meeting at a restaurant so I brought my banana and peanut butter, knowing I wouldn’t be able to heat up the oatmeal. I decided not to cheat because those were the rules, but the reality is that someone who lives on food stamps wouldn’t likely turn down a hot meal. They also aren’t likely to be at a restaurant in the first place. I then went to a non-profit event to see Project Angel Heart who cooks and delivers healthy meals to those with terminal illnesses. Seeing all that food around me was difficult but I was inspired by their cause and translated that into discipline.
• Friday: We had a wine tasting fundraiser for Minds Matter where 250 people showed up. There was free wine everywhere and even at our own booth, we had a wine and cheese pairing contest and I love me some cheese. I didn’t cheat and realized how much self-discipline that took. It’s rare that I have to impose that level of discipline on myself so I was happy to have that opportunity and overcome the challenge. Even when we went out for drinks afterwards, I sipped on water.
• Saturday: I cheated at dinner. Raph and I got a suite at the Rapids game for our team and that came with all you can eat and drink. We started at 5:30 and ended around 10pm so there was simply no way for me to bring my food and eat it before or after. I also wanted to be fun for my team as this was a bonding event, so I decided to not make it into an issue.
• Sunday: Was trying not to remind myself that this was the last day because people in poverty don’t have a set timeframe. I ended up planning my meals for the upcoming week with my newly built cooking habits, and went grocery shopping. You’re not supposed to do that hungry, I can vouch for that. With the last $3 still on-hand, I spent it on a stir fry meal for dinner and added a little extra nutrition knowing that the next morning, I would begin to transition to a normal meal plan.

Game Changers are always looking for ways to make an impact and I found this self-experiment to be filled with lessons we can use in business and philanthropy.

• Practice what you fear. Either in your mind or through action – then you have nothing left but to think and act big. Use the ancient Hindu, Buddhist, or Stoic philosophies to not be afraid. Live on offense, not on defense.
• See challenges as opportunities. On Friday morning, I met with a dentist  at a non-profit called KIND (Kids In Need of Dentistry) and she serves the low-income population. She will be using the lessons from this to better educate her patients on not the just the importance of nutrition and teeth, but with practical how-to advice. Everybody now can also contact Alaska Dental Associates for more information and any kind of consultation. This is how we make our ripples.
• Life is an experiment, test it out. We have great ideas every day, but we must have a way to measure them to see if they are successful or not. You can use your own life to conduct experiments to unlock your potential.

First, my incredibly supportive wife Natasha. She helped me daily to make sure that I had all the love, motivation, and tools I needed to conduct my experiment. And my dog Mazaa, whose butt wiggled no matter how low my energy went.

Second, my trainers at Element 3 Lifestyle: Clint Gehde and Justin Holle for helping me craft my plans going into the week, transitioning out of the week in a healthy manner, and constantly checking up on me, even a week later.

Last, my classmates from Leadership Denver 2013. Alongside me are 25 other people doing this experiment and together, we are building ourselves to be well rounded leaders who will continue to do our best to make an impact on this world.

The post A Week Living on Food Stamps: $4.56 per Day appeared first on Lotus Group.

Do you know someone with first world problems?

Like people who hate their job but not enough to find a new one.

Or people who complain that their iPhone 5 maps can’t locate their house with 100% accuracy.

Sometimes I want to drop kick them in the forehead.

Why are some people so unhappy while others are so happy they’re contagious? One reason is based on how they spend their money.

Let’s start with a group of people who spent their money lavishly and are totally miserable: athletes.

In this ESPN article, we learn that some athletes buy houses, cars, new wardrobes, etc. and family and friends start to come out of the woodworks for a piece of the action. In turn, they don’t know who to trust and they become victims to greed, euphoria, and ignorance. They end up with less friends and greater unhappiness than before they went pro.

Another famous study done by the National Academy of Sciences said that life satisfaction rises with higher incomes up to a household income of about $75,000 and levels off afterwards.

So Can Money Buy Happiness?

Yes, hell yes.

But the answer requires you to change your perspective, to change your thinking, to change the game.

You probably know some people who are successful and always happy – to the point that they never “turn off” because they are so happy. These Game Changers may have figured out the secret on their own, but recently studies have been done to prove this point:

You Can Buy Happiness – You Just Have to Spend it the Right Way

Researchers conducted an experiment where they gave people an envelope containing money ($5 or $20) and a note saying that they were to spend the money on themselves or on someone else by 5pm.

Later that night, the researchers spoke with the participants and asked them how they spent their money, how much they spent, and how happy they felt. What did they find?

People Who Spent on Others Got Happier

The amount of money also didn’t matter. What mattered was that people spent something on someone else, not on themselves.

This is great news because it doesn’t mean that to be happy, you have to come up with some mind blowing idea to change the world.

No, you could simply buy Justin Bieber a haircut and you’d feel great. Sure you’d crush millions of little girls’ hearts, but I’d give you a slow applause.

A Gallup Poll was conducted to identify the most charitable nations in the world (money, time, helping strangers) and the United States came in #5 – clearly giving is core to our culture.

More data from Gallup was collected on measuring people’s happiness to find the relationship between giving and happiness.

The results are a positive correlation worldwide except one country (Central African Republic). But for the most part, the rest of the world feels happier when giving money to help others.

Taking this idea to the business world, the researchers got jiggy with it. They found teams who worked together in sales and conducted a similar experiment to the one mentioned earlier.

On one team, each member was given $15 and told to spend it on themselves however they’d like and on another team, they were given $15 each and told to spend it on their teammates. The result? You guessed it, the teams who spent it on each other sold more.

Think of it like this: the $15 that went into each person’s pockets didn’t motivate them to perform any better but the people who spent it on their teammates, performed better so there’s a huge win on investing money in this way.

The lesson is therefore not what product you should buy in order to make you happier. It’s in fact that you should stop thinking about what to buy for yourself and try giving something to someone else instead.

Or maybe give a coffee gift card to that person with first world problems and ask them to give it to someone else instead of using it themselves.

So how do you change your game? How can you use this personally and professionally? I want to hear what you did, what you gave, and how it make you feel.

Do it, do it now.

The post Money Can’t Buy Happiness? Look at the Smile on My Face – Ear to Ear, Baby. appeared first on Lotus Group.

Anyone can say they hire the best people and that their company is a great place to work, but push someone to articulate their culture and they’ll stumble over their words.

Worse, there will be a difference between what executives, management, and staff feel and that’s not good for business.

At LotusGroup, we set out to codify our culture – to make sure that as the business grew, we kept true to our values and behaved accordingly.

This was important so that clients continued to receive the “LotusGroup experience” while having a systematic way of attracting, hiring, and training the best people and keeping them happy.

We looked to our friends at The Ritz-Carlton where we underwent leadership and service training, and learned that they used behavior assessments when recruiting.

They are known for their legendary service and for hiring Ladies and Gentlemen, so we set out on a journey to build this into our own process.

The result is that we implemented a DISC and Values Assessment for each prospective hire before they are ever extended a job offer. If their profile comes back to be too big of a mismatch between the role and the firm’s culture, we do not hire them.

There have been numerous occasions where we second-guessed ourselves but remained committed to this process, and as a result, have hired extremely talented, hard-working people who love their role and love our firm.

In turn, they spread love to our clients and each other. It’s one big love fest around here!

We’re letting out a little of our competitive advantage because we know that those of you who lead and manage teams, are looking to find an edge. This is it.

And yes, there is a cost for these assessments and for the consultant who debriefs you on the results.

However, avoiding a hiring mistake and expediting the get-to-know-each-other process is priceless.

The end result is greater communication, effectiveness, and profitability on Day 1.

DISC — BEHAVIORS

There are two measures in the assessment that can help you with your team and company culture.

The first called DISC, helps you understand a person’s natural behaviors vs. those they’ve adapted to at work.

People are most productive in environments that compliment and reward their own natural behaviors, that is why the decoration is essential for your daily life, check in muraledesign for more ideas and for the best mural designs ever !

However, natural behaviors may not produce desired results—especially when interacting with people who exhibit opposite behaviors.

The DISC report will reveal a number of opportunities for improvements in communication, driven by the work environment and coworkers’ needs.

By understanding the most effective adjustments to make to achieve success, you can learn how to effectively modify behavior as required.

• Identify how you tend to approach problems and challenges.
• Target characteristics that move you from a “manager” to a “leader”.
• Learn strategies for communicating openly, ethically and directly to get the results the organization needs.
• Measure the performance of a CEO, business owner, manager and/or executive decision maker with no performance supervision.

VALUES — MOTIVATORS

The second measure of the assessment covers “Values.” Values are the drivers behind our behavior; what motivates our actions.

Abstract concepts in themselves, values are principles or standards by which we act.

Values are beliefs held so strongly that they affect the behavior of an individual or an organization. An individual’s experiences, references, education, and training tell us what they can do.

A behavioral assessment will tell us HOW they will do it.

Identifying the values of individuals, teams and organizations reduces conflicts, increases talent retention, improves efficiency and productivity, and energizes any group working together toward common goals.

The benefits include reduced turnover, enormous cost savings and increased employee happiness.

Sound like something you could use?

SPECIAL OFFER FOR CLIENTS ONLY

We’ve put together a special deal for our clients only!

Management & Training Resources LLC is the firm that we sourced, selected, and now use.

After three years of working together, we are confident in recommending them as they are effective, trusted, and battle-tested.

In fact, our consultant, Elizabeth Vino, was the only outside person allowed at our annual meeting in 2011, as she is integral to our success and has helped us build our A-Team.

Here are the details:

• Retail prices range from $499-799, depending on the assessment (e.g. Staff, Sales, Executive)
• With our client-negotiated deal, you receive a 25% discount off of a full DISC and Values Assessment
• Finally, you will receive a 50+ page report and a personal debrief from the best in the business, Elizabeth Vino

You can find out more or claim your special 25% off offer by contacting their President below (mention that we sent you for the 25% discount):

Matthew J. Van Sistine
President
Management & Training Resources, LLC
Direct (303) 557-0524
Cellular (303) 587-7576
Website www.mtr-llc.com

Disclaimer: We have nothing to disclaim here. We like these guys and trust them. We receive no kickbacks or anything.  Hopefully you’ll find this as useful as we do.

The post You Sure You’re Hiring The Best? appeared first on Lotus Group.