Duncan Nugget #343: Your Ego vs. Your Bank Account

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If you let it, your ego will kill your bank account.

Recently, I witnessed someone have a major idiotic episode. This young guy, fresh out of grad school, buys a new, fully loaded BMW trying to show off to some woman. I'm sure you can figure out the rest of this story.

Crazy car note. Jacked up credit.

Hiding from the repo man.

No girl.

People do it all the time. "Makin' it rain, baby", but they can't afford to pay the water bill. They allow their bank accounts and credit to be ruined by the clothes, cars, jewelery, gadgets, big houses, etc. that they want to impress other people.

There's nothing wrong with having nice stuff. I'm just saying...don’t let your ego lead you somewhere that your bank account can’t follow.

Million-Dollar Question:

When it comes to your ego vs. your bank account, 

which one wins?

Duncan Nugget #19: Knowledge is Power?

Knowledge is power.

That's one of the biggest lies ever told about success. At best, that statement is only halfway true because it's only half of the statement.

Knowledge is power IF...you use it.

The gap between what you know and what you do is crucial to your success. Most people aren't unsuccessful in life because they don't know what to do. They are unsuccessful because they don't DO what they know how to do.

Million-Dollar Question:

Are you using your knowledge to the fullest?

Duncan Nugget #202: Live Your Life

"Oh I get it! The point of life is to live."

Recently, that was a student's Facebook status. As you can imagine, his status immediately generated a couple of sarcastic comments:

"omg. lol"

"AHAHA you hit the nail on the head didnt you?"

Even if he was only clowning around, that is a profound statement. Here's my comment:

"That's the truth and most people don't get it. So, be happy you do. Duncan Nugget #202: A lot of people spend their whole life dying. Dying of boredom. Dying of loneliness. Dying from stupidity. And the list goes on. They do nothing. They just fade away and after they're gone nobody remembers that they were even here. LIVE your life."

Million-Dollar Question:

Are you living your life? 

Really?

Duncan Nugget #196: Haterism

I just finished reading this article Why Do People Hate on Young Entrepreneurs? | JuniorBiz and it reminded me of this Duncan Nugget:

Haterism is an excuse. It gives people a chance to justify their bitterness and mediocrity.

"If I only had this..."

"If only my parents did this..."

"If only my life was like this..."

Garbage.

If you only had no haterism and made no excuses you would be headed towards success. Then you would be on the other side of the fence and...

Somebody would be hating on you.

Munch on that.

Scholarship pitches not always real - Business - NewsObserver.com

Hey...you gotta watch out for stuff like this.
Scholarship pitches not always real - Business - NewsObserver.com

10 Most Attractive Employers for Young People 2010

Universum, an employer branding company, recently surveyed nearly 130,000 students at top academic institutions around the world and asked the students to chose their ideal companies to work for. The Millennials have spoken. Here are the top ten business and engineering employers:

Read more »

Duncan Nugget #360: Your Own Business Equals Free Time?

Somebody just told me he wanted to start his own business so that he could have more free time. HA!!! Boy is he gonna be surprised. LOL. Time is never free and with any business, it takes a few years before you have some to spare.

You make a living from 9 to 5. You make a fortune from 5 to 9.

Think about that...or you might miss it.

Finding Scholarships: A Few Nuggets

[NOTE: Check out an updated version of this article, Finding Scholarships, here on my Facebook page.]

There are a ton of websites and a gazillion tips on how to get scholarships. Here are two nuggets that I suggest to students and their families. 

Duncan Nugget #224: 

Where ever you spend money, ask for money.

Subway, Chik-Fil-A, the grocery store, the mall, hotels, your cell phone carrier, the auto shop and any other businesses that you can think of, are great places to find scholarships.

Anyplace that you, your friends, and your family are spending money is a potential place to get a scholarship. So, go to some of the businesses in your community and ask them if they have money for college bound students.

If you are out shopping or paying a bill ask an employee or the manager if the company gives out scholarships. You could also go to the company website or call the corporate office as well. (The number should be on the website.)

The worst thing they could say is that they don't have any scholarships. But if they do have some and you get one or more, how happy will you be?

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Everybody Has A Vice, Right?

I just read an interesting article from MSN about frugal billionaires. I agree with what was written, but I was laughing to myself when I realized all of them, except for Slim, still own multi-million dollar private jets with fuel that cost thousands of dollars every time they take off.

I guess everybody has a vice, huh?

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/SaveMoney/6-ways-to-live-like-a-billionaire.aspx

Duncan Nugget #104: An Irresistible Reason

When it comes to motivation there's the Push Principle and the Pull Principle.

Push comes from willpower or someone forcing you to act. Pull comes from someone persuading you to act or an irresistible reason.

Force, willpower, and persuasion can be extremely powerful, but they ebb and flow like the tide. An irresistible reason is…irresistible. It gets you moving when you don’t feel like moving because...it's irresistible.

Million-Dollar Question:

What's your irresistible reason for striving 

to reach your true potential?

How Do You Forgive?

Q: hi! Mr. Duncan, I think I'm at the right place at the right time. I told myself that I will learn how to forgive myself and other people and live in peace with them. But it is so hard and I don't know what to do anymore.

—Doreen

South Africa

Doreen, the first thing you want to understand is that there is a difference between forgiveness and healing.

Duncan Nugget #362

Forgiveness is a choice. Healing is a process. 

When you or someone close to you has done something to hurt you, it's extremely difficult to begin the healing process until you muster up the strength to forgive the person.

I know, I know. He (or she) did you dirty, so why should you let him off the hook, right? Forgiveness isn't about letting someone off the hook. It's about giving yourself the freedom to move on to a better place in your life. Think about it.

When my father first beat his crack cocaine addiction, I wasn't jumping for joy.

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The SAMMY Scholarship Awards

A friend sent me this info on Facebook:

The SAMMY scholarship awards kicked off recently. If you know a high school student-athlete who excels on the field, in the classroom AND in the community, they should apply! Prize includes a $7,500 scholarship, a trip to Disney and starring in a Milk Mustache ad! Check out bodybymilk.com for more info and official rules.

Breakthrough Collaborative

This is an awesome program:

At 33 locations across the nation and abroad, Breakthrough Collaborative launches motivated middle-school students on the path to college and prepares older students for careers in education. The core of all Breakthrough programs is a proven students teaching students model.

• Helps middle school students thrive in the top college preparatory high schools in their communities
• Creates teaching opportunities for outstanding high school and college students
• Prepares over 700 student teachers and 5,400 college-bound students annually
• Ranked as a Princeton Review Top 10 Internship
• In its 32-year history, Breakthrough has helped more than 20,000 students prepare for college