Water Under the Bridge
Two weeks ago we had a major incident in a game that involved a team and a league with which I have very much respect. They are our closest friends, as far as competitive leagues go, and we often help each other out. It was an unfortunate and disturbing situation that could have festered and grown into a long-term feud.
Today we had to play the same team again. Our coaching staff and team made a conscious decision to “let bygones be bygones” and just show up, play our best, and allow the kids to have fun no matter what the circumstances. It seems their team did the same and, even though we lost the game, we had a fantastic time at their park.
Again Ms. Peevie, both teams truly had a choice. I will repeat again what one of my old girlfriends used to say quoting her mother, “If you are looking for trouble, you will find it.” This is so true. I would translate that to this situation as “If you are looking for a fight, you will find it.” Had either team shown up “looking for a fight” they probably would have found it somewhere.
But that’s not what happened. What happened is all the adults involved took the high road and taught the kids on both teams how to put our differences aside, focus on the objective at hand, and just go out there and play the game. This was obvious from the time warm ups started and I am proud to say that I was part of it.
How many times in your life have you had a dispute, argument, disagreement, or outright fight with another person, only to end up being best friends? Why is it that this happens? So often we look to that person next to us and say to ourselves, “How did I ever end up teaming up w/ this guy?” My assistant coach during the spring is a guy I have the utmost respect for, but when we were on different teams we were always at odds. Now together, we are very powerful.
Who was it that said, “keep your friends close, and your enemies closer?” So what happens when our enemies become our friends? What human dynamic causes this to occur so often? Passion is an emotion from which we derive so much pleasure, but it is also a major cause of dispute. This is prevalent throughout all societies.
My first Real Estate instructor was the most colorful instructor I ever studied under. He used to take the boring legal parts of the real estate game and paint them with passion so vivid that his students would get lost in the particular dispute he was discussing. He would always end every one with one or the other parties saying, “it’s the principal of the thing.” At this point he suggested we pack our stuff up, walk out of the room, and let the attorneys figure it out since they were the only ones who were going to get paid now anyway.
Coaches are passionate about their teams, parents are passionate about their kids, kids are passionate about the game, this is a recipe for conflict. If we recognize and understand this, we can overcome anything that occurs “on the field.”
I preach to my kids every game, “what is the most important pitch?”. The next one of course. We can’t change the one before it no matter what the outcome. Therefore, if we as the adults put prior “pitches” behind us and focus on “the next pitch”, we are certainly better off. If we hold on to hostilities, no matter how justified, we are simply “looking for trouble”. Do we really want trouble? Is this what we want to teach our kids? Do we tell our kids as they go off to school, “go get in trouble today honey.” Of course not, we say “have a nice day”, or some other semblance of good wishes.
So why do we so often show up at games “looking for trouble”? Don’t we know we are certain to find it? Today anyway, everyone involved decided to put our troubles behind us and let the kids enjoy the game. I am proud to say I was a small part of this situation and know in the future, our relationship with this particular league remains in tact, as it should.
Who is your best friend right now that you fought with initially? Please tell us the story, we would love to hear it!
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Now is the Time to Consolidate Debt
Are you a Little League parent looking for debt consolidation help? Maybe you are trying to get free from your debts – lower payments, cut interest rates, consolidate debts into one payment, or just get debt free faster? Bills.com debt consolidation tips and resources so that you can get the best debt consolidation option for your situation.
This site is a collection of all the tools you need to get on the path of debt consolidation. Endless amounts of information can be found here including news, average rates, advise, terms, articles, success stories, and a questions and answers section. In today’s economy a major step towards increasing cash flow is decreasing outgo. debt consolidation can do this.
My personal favorite debt consolidation is combining all your bills into one simple and easy to make payment with a lower interest rate and smaller payment. Lumping all your high cost credit cards into one smaller lower interest loan can greatly reduce your monthly cash output thereby increasing the cash in your pocket. One simple payment is a much better alternative to credit counseling or bankruptcy and before you know it you will be debt free fast!
Check out bills.com for debt consolidation.
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My Bills.com IQ is a B
I took this awesome Credit card debt help quiz that really helped me out. My billsiq is a B. That’s pretty amazing since my normal financial situation is a D- at best! I heard Dave Ramsey of Fox Business News’ The Dave Ramsey show say one time that he never really had much of a problem making money, it was keeping it that has always been his problem. I can relate!
I am pretty good at figuring out how to make money. It’s fairly simple, just work harder. Managing it and keeping it around? Different story! So I heard about the bills.com IQ test. Pretty cool and fun. I took it, and I got a B! I guess I know what I should do, I just don’t do it. I need some discipline! Ironic, considering this is what I teach on a daily basis.
It is a five part quiz. The first part is credit, then debt, budget, wealth, and life plan. Fairly easy questions for the most part, but ones that cause you to take a serious look at your finances. Good progression as well, from credit to debt and eliminating both, then budgeting creates wealth which leads to a life plan. Very good plan.
Once you complete the test, it gives you advise for every question and offers solutions to overcome any challenges you are having.
Take the quiz at this link:
My Financial Haiku:
I work the day long
Just to find my savings gone
Bye money bye bye
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Personal Loans for Strapped Parents
Little League is getting expensive! And travel ball? Forget about it! How about equipment and uniforms? Practice shirts, home and away uniforms! Insane. Gas prices? Outta control! It is all so overwhelming.
Enter Personal Loans. A great opportunity if you need a loan quick. Whether you are remodeling or have fallen on temporary hard times, Personal Loans can help.
The best part is that you can apply right online! Also, in most cases, home ownership or collateral is not required. The money can be used for whatever you need it for. They will match the right personal loan lender for your specific needs.
Hey, everyone needs a personal loan from time to time. With the strain on families these days it seems more and more people are finding it hard to make ends meet. If you are in this situation then apply for loans online
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Bills Got the Best of Me
Every now and then I like to take a look into my own personal life lessons to provide guidance for my readers. Some people are born with a natural instinct to save money and not spend more than they make. I am not one of those. I think Dave Ramsey said it best on his Fox Business Network show when he said “I have always been able to make money, it is holding on to it that I find difficult”. I am paraphrasing, but this definately describes me!
In my youth, one of my dumbest sayings was “it’s only money, you can always make more”. I was fooling myself. Retaining money and staying out of debt are the most important things you can do to further your financial situation. No matter how much money you make, interest will eat right into it. My brother is a big stickler for eliminating debt, I didn’t used to agree with him, but now I have to admit he was right. Man I hate when that happens!
Anyway, my point is, everyone has financial struggles every now and again. A long, long time ago my live-in girlfriend and I were struggling making our bills. Her dad gave her some great words of wisdom. He told her no matter how much you make, there will aways be times you can’t make your bills. You just increase your lifestyle. I once heard Robin Quivers say that about Howard Stern. She told him, “you just move your lifestyle right up their with your pay”. This was before he was a $100 million dollar man!
If you find yourself in this situation, the first thing to do is get out of debt fast! A site that can help you is called BillsIQ . Check it out, if you can reduce your obligations, consolidate your payments, and reduce your overall monthly outlay, you can begin to chip away at that agonizing debt.
Click the link below to visit bills.com.
BillsIQ
Have you ever faced financial challenges? How did you deal with them?
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