Christian Living

How To Change Your Life For The Better

by Brother Carlton 
03/04/23
Not For Sale
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There's a challenge for you at the bottom of this article, but first, let me set the stage by ranting a bit and sharing some thoughts about life, wealth, and opportunities.

As you know, most Americans are having difficulty surviving these days because they didn't prepare properly for their future.

They've depended on good luck or fortune or Uncle Sam's measly retirement plan via Social Security (or Insecurity, depending on how you phrase it) to pay their bills and future expenses.
We are told that Social Security is a partial retirement plan.

Most of us have opted for benefits from our government instead of our God-given rights.

Many of us, myself included, have not done as well as we could in planning our future. We've been hit by higher living costs because of inflation, supply disruptions, various setbacks because of the stupid mistakes we made, accidents we suffered, misfortunes, automobile breakdowns, and other factors which took away our wealth.

Certain expenses were not foreseen or figured into the equation and so
we drifted through life trying to earn a living but needed a more intelligent plan.

Many Americans have or will earn well over one or two million dollars in their lifetime but have yet to save or invest sufficiently.

This lack of financial intelligence is tragically sad.

Ask yourself if you are living the life you always wanted.
If you are not, then ask yourself why you are not.

Did you or do you have the plan to change things for the better?

Most people drift through life, hoping, wishing, and dreaming for a better tomorrow without any real plan to achieve a better tomorrow.

Do you have any meaningful goals, be they spiritual or financial?

What could you do with an extra $1,000, $3,000, or $5,000 monthly?
This amount of money would be a life changer for most people.

Would you like to travel and do missionary work in some exotic parts of the world, capture the beautiful scenery of a foreign country or camp out along the mountains?

According to scripture, making friends with your money is wise, and most of us would be pleased to have more money to make more friends.

Making the most of what you have by growing your internal and external wealth seems like a sound philosophy.

If you're a bit like me, you might have spent much time dreaming and wishing for certain things when you were younger.

I grew up in a poor milieu reared by my great-grandmother.

My guidance came from the Bible and some close Christian friends.

My thinking, however, suffered because of my poverty mindset and a lack of proper—training in wealth creation.

If most of your friends are poor, you will likely also be poor—after all, birds of a feather flock together, as the saying goes.

Many mistakenly think that being poor is inherently a spiritual benefit. Not necessarily.

Stepping out of your comfort zone and acting in your best interest is often good.

For example, in my late 30s, I took a giant leap. I moved from Stockton to Hollywood to pursue a dream of film acting, and although I didn't get what I thought I wanted, the good Lord did give me a measure of success that I would never have had if I hadn't taken action and moved from my comfort zone to a strange city.

In Hollywood, I met several friends and got to be on multi-million dollar movie sets and see how the film industry worked.

I am glad I made that decision instead of going to Bible college.

Had I not chosen to pursue a film career in Hollywood, I would never have met some wonderful friends, nor would I have learned so much about marketing from a famous marketing giant, nor would I have been on the many multi-millionaire movie sets and got photos with some famous people like the late Charlton Heston from "The Ten Commandments" or Kate Winslett from "Titanic."

 It was exciting to learn world-class copywriting and marketing skills from a marketing giant around 1998.

While living in Hollywood and finally buying a computer, I studied some top copywriters, including the late Gary Halbert. Jay Abraham and Dan Kennedy were also men from whom I learned valuable lessons.

I wrote copy and practiced by reading fascinating, persuasive sales letters and advertisements.

The internet caught on, and I often read the compelling copy all night.

My eyes were glued to the many exciting pages trying to sell me some product or service.

It's good that I had little money back then, or I might have spent it all on the many offers I came across.

Poverty has some advantages.

From the marketing tapes I listened to, my mind is set on fire about how to help small businesses, including my own, to grow more prosperous.

I even thought about becoming a professional speaker but shot this idea down because I didn't quite think joining the National Speaker's Association was going to propel my success.

I saw it more as an expense than a surefire thing.

In 2001 after putting acting on the back burner, I re-started my junk removal business using a website to capture more affluent clients.

 By 2003 I earned enough money (around $89,000 part-time), moved my mother and me out of Hollywood, and bought my first home, a townhouse, for around $245,000.

After prayer and some nudging from a friend, I moved my mother and me from our studio apartment, which was our home from 1997 to 2004.

Looking back on my life, I see ups and down. Both progress and regress, but isn't that true for most people?

We are constantly changing and adapting to new situations and environments, and so we must learn from our experiences AND from the experience of others.

How do we make progress?

Ultimately it is by the grace of God.

But God uses means too.

I firmly believe that everybody should be reading more books starting with God's word, the Bible.

Powerful ideas that can help you succeed and set yourself right with God are found in good books.

Last year I read 32 books.  Never had I read so many in one year.

This accomplishment was not so much for entertainment but for education and self-improvement.

The late millionaire Jim Rohn said, "Work harder on yourself than you do on your job. If you work hard on your job, you can make a living, but if you work harder on yourself, you can make a fortune."

How many Americans couldn't benefit from more income?

Almost everybody, and the way to do that is by adding more value to other people.

Ask yourself, Is there too much month left at the end of the money?

Sadly there are several reasons why this might be true for you.

1. Lack of a good career choice
2. Lack of a savings plan
3. Lack of intelligent investing
4. Not adding enough value to other people's lives
5. Inflation (a factor out of your control)

Of the five above, which came off the top of my head, only one is a circumstance not in your control. The other four are in your possession.

We all need or should desire more wisdom which is the right or correct use of knowledge.

We were not taught financial wisdom in high school, or at least I wasn't.

As we approach our older years, we should be enjoying the harvest of what we planted in our youth, but sometimes we end up reaping the failures we planted instead.

Here's An Exercise That Could Change Your Life For the Better

1. Research at least three part-time home-based businesses that you would enjoy that could meet your financial goals.

2. Reduce the risk if your finances are low by searching out low-cost opportunities and ensuring they have a guarantee attached to them.

You don't want to waste money on big promises that offer you no risk reversal.

3. Discuss your top choices with a close family member or trusted friend. Scripture says there is wisdom in a multitude of counselors. Pray and ask God to guide you to a business where you can add monthly income to your bank account.

Some People Trade For Profits As a Side Hustle

Last Friday, I made about a thousand dollars from two Exchange Traded Funds, also known as ETFs.
I watched these like a hawk because the markets can move against you quickly, and you want to cut your losses short.

I speculate with my retirement account, which some think is crazy, but I do it to increase my net worth but only on a part-time basis.  Obviously, I am not a conservative investor, but my risks are calculated to minimize risk.

For about 4 hours, I watched my positions and the movement of the markets.
My earnings per hour were about $250.00

This put a smile on my face, and it felt good.

Learning to take advantage of distortions in the market can give you generous profits.

This is not gambling but rather a smart speculation.

As investing guru, Doug Casey said, "We are all speculators today."

When you achieve a measure of success beyond your previous
successes, you then realize what is possible, and your attitude improves.

Instead of thinking, "I can't do that," or "That's impossible," etc
You shift your thinking and start using leverage to optimize your outcome.

There is a logical process of getting from where you are to where you want to go.

Optimize your assets.

Optimization is achieving a greater result or outcome with the least amount of money, energy, and time and with the least risk.

Some people's time is worth much more than mine.

Many people my age or younger are multi-millionaires.

This is a good thing for those making their wealth ethically.

I am reminded of the temptations of having too much wealth, but that is not usually our problem. Just the opposite is true for most Christians. We have too little material wealth because we've been taught that it is not spiritual.

While money is only for this life, it is this life we live now, and money is a necessity.

Work is a necessity, and in all labor, there is profit. So work, but work smart. Use your gifts, talents, and unique mind to earn more with less effort.

In my junk removal and property cleanup business, I make or try to consistently make $200 per hour.

Could I do better than this?

Could you do better than this?

Of course.

You must add value to other people's lives and be rewarded accordingly.

Start reading more books on improving yourself, acquiring more skills to monetize, and getting better results from all your efforts.

Take a public speaking course like one from Dale Carnegie or join Toastmasters. From there, you'll get up in front of a group and share your best thoughts.

Start meeting new people and make friends using your unrighteous mammon, as scripture teaches.

Now it has been said that there are three types of people in the world:

Those who make things happen,
Those who watch things happen, and
Those who wonder what happened.

This weekend take action to change your life for the better.

Why?

Because we only have so much time on this earth.

Time is your most valuable asset.

Let's use it wisely, as many of us have.

Redeem the time for days are evil.

Carlton Pruitt ministers the gospel to the Los Angeles area. Formerly a Hollywood actor (SAG member) and junk removal expert, he now spends most of his time studying the scriptures, writing articles, hymns, and poems, and doing street preaching. See all his videos on YouTube brother Carlton.