Dave Ramsey

I’ve been listening to Dave Ramsey’s radio show recently and have to say, I’m hooked. Sure, he’s been broadcasting since 1992, but why would I have listened then since I didn’t care about finances when I was a kid?

I know this isn’t about time tracking, but bear with me. Hours are money if you work for a living (and, who doesn’t?).

Listening to his show reminds me of talks I had with my mom when I was younger. We’d talk about everything under the sun, including financial topics. Dave Ramsey really teaches how to get out of debt, save for retirement, and pay off your house.

He has a thing he calls “Baby Steps,” and here’s the process:

Baby Step 1: $1,000 to start an Emergency Fund

Baby Step 2: Pay off all debt using the Debt Snowball

Baby Step 3: 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings

Baby Step 4: Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement

Baby Step 5: College funding for children

Baby Step 6: Pay off home early

Baby Step 7: Build wealth and give!

Anyways, I wanted to share since this guy has some really terrific things to say about financial planning, and I’ve been watching it a lot recently.

One of my favorite quotes, which is almost his slogan is: “If you will live like no one else, later you can live like no one else.” ― Dave Ramsey

You can read some other quotations here.

Eisenhower’s Golf Calendar

I didn’t know this before, but apparently Dwight Eisenhower played over 1,000 rounds of golf in his 7 years in office. Staggering! Can you imagine a President doing that nowadays? I can’t.

Anyways, I liked how Golf Digest visualized his golf playing on a calendar.

To see a full size image, check out this PDF.

Annual Report: For a Person

Here’s a sweet idea! Make an annual report for yourself! Too bad it would probably take 20 hours just to produce a report this spiffy. Nicholas Feltron was recently shown holding his annual report in the Wall Street Journal.

View his annual report for 2007.

I’d wager that Mr. Feltron is the sort of person that wouldn’t spell his own name wrong, but for some reason the Wall Street Journal did. At least he got it right in his report, which is beautiful. I’d also guess that Feltron is the sort of guy that tracks his time — wise. Anyways, I thought it was cool and wanted to share.

Michelangelo Painted the Sistine Chapel Ceiling in 4 Years

I recently returned from 3 weeks in Italy and while visiting the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican I was struck by how quickly the ceiling had been painted. Only 4 years! It really made me think about how many people go about their lives hating their jobs, working for people they don’t like, and not really doing anything meaningful.

You know what’s most interesting? It was one of the first painting projects that Michelangelo had ever done. Yeah, seriously isn’t that amazing? Of course he was well known for his abilities with sculpture — a sculptor with little painting experience.

So the lesson to be learned is to always do what you love, and do your best.

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Dyson on Failure

James Dyson created thousands of prototype vacuums over 15 years before he was satisfied with his product. In an aptly named article titled Failure Doesn’t Suck, Dyson recounts how he created the product and his thoughts on failure.

I made 5127 prototypes of my vacuum before I got it right. There were 5126 failures. But I learned from each one. That’s how I came up with a solution. So I don’t mind failure. I’ve always thought that schoolchildren should be marked by the number of failures they’ve had. The child who tries strange things and experiences lots of failures to get there is probably more creative.

Sir James Dyson

“Make no little plans”

I found this quote and had to share it:

daniel burnhamMake no little plans. They have no magic to stir men’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency. Remember that our sons and grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us. Let your watchword be order and your beacon beauty. Think big.

Daniel Burnham, Chicago architect. (1864-1912)