Hi, I’m Kip Kint and I am a Success Coach. As a Success Coach I am also a Financial Coach since the two are so often closely linked together.

As a Financial Coach I often tell my clients, “If you don’t change your financial paradigms all you will have is change…

…as in a pair of dimes.”

Pardon the pun, but I couldn’t resist. Your financial paradigms, or the way you view and relate to money absolutely determines what you do with money. So, if you do not have the amount, or the level of control that you would like when it comes to your money the first thing to check is your paradigms about money.

Paradigms and beliefs about money can run very deep. They begin forming during childhood and on into our teen years and young adult life. If you have not had the financial results you would like to see in your life then consider that some (or even all) you have learned about money up to this point may be incomplete or inaccurate.

This is not an indictment of your parents, your upbringing, or your education. People do the best with what they know. But, if you are willing to acknowledge that your results are not what you want them to be, then you must be prepared to take the next step that follows, which is to call into question your existing beliefs about money and entertaining the possibility of shifting your paradigm.

We have all heard the saying, “If you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten” but have you ever stopped to think that if you always think the they you have always thought, you will always do what you have always done? If you are going to change your results of course you will need to change your behavior. But to truly change your behavior and sustain that change you absolutely must change your paradigms.

If you are ready to start changing your financial paradigms, which can be a difficult process to undertake, you might consider getting a Financial Coach.

Again, my name is Kip Kint and I am a Financial Coach. I am one of the original Rich Dad coaches. I can help you to shift your paradigms and change your behavior so that you achieve the financial results you truly want.

To your Success!

Kip Kint
Financial Coach
Mission Ignition, Inc

Well, that’s a loaded question, especially considering that I am a coach. However, let’s consider it for a moment. What are some of the reasons people turn to a coach? Generally speaking, they want to improve their performance. Heck, even Tiger Woods has a coach and he’s probably the greatest golfer who has ever played the game. So why does he have a coach? It certainly isn’t because he needs a lesson in the fundamentals. It is because the objective feedback from a coach can be invaluable to improving performance, and this particular example is only referring to golf. So, what about a Success Coach, or Life Coach as they are sometimes referred to? Do you want to get better at communicating? That’s a big part of life. Do you want to be better in the way you manage your time or organize yourself for ultimate success? Big parts of life, wouldn’t you say? And yet, like Tiger, you probably don’t need a ton of help with the fundamentals. You just need someone who has the professional experience and expertise to give you the feedback you need AND hold you accountable for implementing it into your life.

Might I suggest you assess the balance in your life to see if you are possibly out of balance and how that may be affecting your success (Click here to assess your balance now) . Next, ask yourself these three questions:

1. What is my top goal for the next 12 months of my life?

2. How long have I been pondering this goal?

3. What is going to make the next 12 months different so that this time I accomplish it?

If you have solid answers to these questions then congratulations, you are well on your way. If not, might I suggest you entertain the idea of getting a coach. If Tiger has one, maybe you should too!

To Your Success!

Kip Kint
Success Coach & President
Mission Ignition

Imagine that you are standing on a beach. You have 100 pounds of seaweed in your right hand. It is wet, heavy, messy, smelly, tangled, and has bugs crawling in it. It is generally unpleasant in virtually every way. It is heavy enough that you are straining just to keep from dropping it. And you don’t want to drop it because you perceive that mixed in with the unpleasant seaweed are many important things you would not want to drop. So, you hang on.

In your left hand you have one tiny, shiny grain of sand. Though it is small it is very pleasant to look at as it catches the sunlight. Have you ever noticed how a beach sparkles in the sunlight? If you were to look at this shiny grain of sand under a magnifying glass you would see that it looks almost like a jewel or gem because it has been polished by the pounding waves for thousands of years.

What weighs more, the seaweed or the grain of sand? Of course the seaweed far outweighs the grain of sand. But what does each represent?

The seaweed represents all the problems, trials, challenges, annoyances, frustrations, overwhelm, inundation and stress that often accompanies some of the weighty, urgent, important things in our lives.

The tiny, shiny grain of sand represents the little things in life that we feel good about. It could be any little thing, even as small as cleaning your sock drawer and feeling good about it, or doing a good deed for someone, or getting a hug from a child, or appreciating the beauty of a rare double rainbow. The point is that these are the small things in life that we feel good about. As nice as these little things are, and as good as they make us feel, the seaweed still far outweighs the individual grains of sand. However, where did I say you were standing? That’s right, on a beach. And what weighs more, the hundred pounds of seaweed or the entire beach? Of course, it is not even close. The beach may weigh millions of tons. The seaweed pales in comparison. There is an old saying, “I can’t see the forrest for the trees.” Well, sometimes we cannot see the beach for the seaweed. We need to count the tiny, shiny grains of sand in our lives so that they can accumulate in our hearts and minds, thus forming a beach of happiness, peace, and success.

Oh, the seaweed will still be there, but I can promise you it will pale in comparison to the beach full of wonderful things in your life.

I will leave you with a little poem I wrote to remind you of this principle of the Sand and the Seaweed:

The Shining Sand
by Kip Kint

The other night I had a dream
I was standing on a beach
Heavy seaweed filled my arms
Relief could not be reached

I wondered why this burden was mine
Such heavy weight to bear
This seaweed filled with sorrow
Requiring all my care

Then in my dream I understood
The meaning of it all
The seaweed was all my trials
And bearing them was my call

Then in the midst of my labor
I saw the sand sparkling bright
At once it came to me with clarity
The shortness of my sight

Each grain of sand had been polished
Over thousands of years of time
By the pounding waves of the ocean
Into priceless jewels sublime

These little gems, though lighter
Than the seaweed in my hold
Represent the small but priceless things
With worth much greater than gold

And though the weight of the seaweed was great
And weighed upon my mind
The weight of the entire beach was greater
With those grains of sand combined

When you can’t see the forest for the trees
Because the weight of challenges demand
You may be focused on seaweed so much
That you cannot see the sand

That precious sand, those little things
They have so much to teach
But only if we count them up
Will they ever make a beach

A beach of blessings, a beach of joy
A beach where one can stand
And know that life’s heavy seaweed is light
When compared to its shining sand

To Your Success!

Kip Kint
Success Coach & President
Mission Ignition, Inc.

Okay, so last time I wrote about the 4 Levels of Competence. Here is a quick reminder:

1. Unconscious Incompetence (You stink and don’t know it)
2. Conscious Incompetence (You stink and you know you stink)
3. Conscious Competence (You are pretty good, but you have to think about it)
4. Unconscious Competence (You are really good, and it is automatic - a habit)

So, this week I want to talk about how to progress through these levels in order to maximize your effectiveness.

I want you to imagine that you are driving down the road in a high-powered Ferrari Testarosa. You are traveling 100 mph on a 6-lane Superhighway. It is long and straight; really built for speed. As you look far off into the distance you come to the sudden realization that you are not headed where you want to go. In fact, you realize that you are not driving at all. You look over to see who is in the driver’s seat only to discover that your “brain” is at the wheel. You have just moved from Unconscious Incompetence to Conscious Incompetence.

When I say your “brain” I mean that part of your brain that is responsible for processing your reactions to external stimuli. You ”your higher self, your values, mission, and vision for what matters most to you” that’s the part of you that is in the passenger’s seat. You see, your brain is primarily concerned with how quickly it can process the particular stimulus it is presented with. To do that it uses something called Neural Pathways. These pathways in the brain are created by repetitive use. The more use they receive, the more of a Neural Superhighway they become, meaning stimuli can be processed and action (or rather reaction) can happen almost instantaneously. The only problem is that the pathway your brain uses may not lead to the response that your higher self might prefer and the ultimate outcome you desire.

For example, I have an uncle who every time someone comes even remotely close to cutting him of on the road he automatically responds by letting the other driver know how passionately he feels about it, generally using colorful sign language punctuated with the generous use of his horn. Surely it is not the most effective response, but it is the response his brain is conditioned to give because of the frequent use of that particular Neural Pathway, or in this particular case, Neural Superhighway.

So, what to do about it. Once again, imagine you are in the Ferrari. For now, the brain is still driving. You look out to the right side of the highway and see a beautiful place far off in the distance that you would like to get to. Then you notice that in between the highway and the place where you want to be there is a field of incredibly tall grass with no road or pathway of any kind through it. Yet, you know you want to get there. So, you decide to propose a change of course to your brain. Of course, your brain immediately fixates on the fact that there is no pathway at all, let alone a marvelous Superhighway like the one you are currently on, and says to you, “This is exactly why I am driving and you are not. Can’t you see how fast we are going. So what if it is not where you want to go. That is a minor detail compared to how fast we can travel on this Superhighway.”

It is difficult to argue this logic with your deeply scripted brain, primarily because your brain does not make these decisions based on logic. As we said before, to the brain, speed of response is all that matters. For you there is only one thing left to do. You must grab your brain by its metaphorical collar and yank it out of the driver’s seat. You must assume control, pull the Ferrari over, drag your brain out of the car and arduously press forward through the field of tall grass, forcing your way through, dragging your brain kicking and screaming behind you until you reach your desired destination. You will be happy you did. This is Conscious Competence, getting to where you want to go even though it is not easy, nor automatic. Your brain, though it will know it is a good place you have arrived at, will focus on the difficulty of the journey. If you don’t travel that same course again soon the grass that was briefly bent as you made your way through will show no trace of your journey shortly after.

You must travel your new course again, and again, and by so doing the grass becomes matted down, then slightly worn away into a small path, then a byway, then a highway, and before you know it you will have a new Neural Superhighway leading you to a more effective response and course of action. In fact, you could even put your brain back in the driver’s seat and it will prefer that new Superhighway you have created since the old one has now fallen into disrepair from lack of attention and use. This is the highest level of competence where you become Unconsciously Competent.

So, get in the driver’s seat and forge a new Superhighway… a Superhighway to Effectiveness!

To your Success!

Kip Kint
Success Coach & President
Mission Ignition, Inc.

There are four levels of competence:

1. Unconscious Incompetence - Translation: You stink and don’t even know it.

2. Conscious Incompetence - Translation: You stink, but at least you know that you stink.

3. Conscious Competence - Translation: You don’t stink anymore. In fact, you’re getting pretty good, but it’s not automatic, yet. You have to think about it consciously, but you are able to execute competently when you do.

4. Unconscious Competence - Translation: You are the complete opposite of stinking. In fact you are excellent, and the best part is you don’t even have to think about it. It is automatic for you. It has become a habit (the good kind).

So, where are you? No positive change can be made in ignorance. You must have awareness to get to Level 2. Focus all your effort on correcting the things you are aware of at Level 2, and repeating over and over the things you do are doing well at Level 3. That repetition will ultimately lead you to Level 4 where lasting success can be achieved.

To Your Success!

Kip Kint
Success Coach & President
Mission Ignition

Sometimes the road of life feels bumpy…

…although we don’t usually get the warning sign.

But is it the road of life that is so bumpy?  The road might actually be like this…

…and still feel quite bumpy.  Why is that?  Well, it may not be the road that is the problem.  It may well be the wheel you are traveling on.

There is a certain balance to life, call it the Wheel of Life, and if your Wheel of Life is out of balance your ride is going to be bumpy, even if the road is smooth.  Your Wheel of Life has 8 “spokes” if you will.  Each spoke on the Wheel of Life represents a different significant role or segment of your life.  They are:

1. Business/Career
2. Finances
3. Health
4. Family and Friends
5. Romance
6. Personal Growth
7. Fun and Recreation
8. Physical Environment

When you look at these areas in the Wheel of Life they look something like this:

Once you self-assess your performance and satisfaction on a scale from 1 - 10 in each area your actual Wheel of Life may look a little more like this:

Now, imagine driving on such a wheel.  It wouldn’t matter how smooth the road is, the ride is going to be quite bumpy.

“What if I am all 3’s?” you might ask, “Isn’t that balanced?”  Well, technically speaking, yes.  However, that would be a little like putting perfectly balanced skateboard wheels on a Ferrari.  The car would have to work hundreds of times harder to travel only a fraction of the distance and speed.  We don’t just want balance, we want optimal balance.

So, do you have to be all 10’s?  Not necessarily, but consider this: You decide what a 10 is for you.  We are not talking about perfection; we are talking about what you want in any given area of your life and fulfilling your vision for that part of your Wheel of Life.

Whatever the heart and mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.

~ W. Clement Stone, American Best Selling Author and Founder of Combined Insurance Company (now part of Aon Corp.), 1902 - 2002

If you lack balance how can you stand, let alone travel from where you are to where you want to be.  Balance is the very key to lasting success, in any part of your life.

Take your own Wheel of Life Personal Assessment by clicking on the Wheel of Life below:

To Your Success!

Kip Kint
Success Coach & President
Mission Ignition, Inc.

The following is a short Fable I wrote some years ago.  I believe it teaches a very important principle.  Enjoy:

Ladies and Gentleman, gather ’round and lend your attention full.
As I venture to tell a tale of woe, the Parable of the Farmer’s Bull.

Once upon a time, not so long ago, there was a gentle and kind-hearted farmer. Though he lived in meager times, he had an industrious mind and an entrepreneurial spirit. He was quite successful in his farming business, having specialized in such crops as corn, wheat, barley and hay. He also enjoyed a small but thriving dairy farm.

One day this farming entrepreneur was struck with an idea. “Cattle ranching could be quite profitable”, he thought to himself, “This could be just the thing to add to my small but growing enterprise.” He already had a fair number of cows from his dairy business that he could begin with, but what he was lacking was a quality bull to act as sire for a growing herd. So, the farmer conducted some research and diligently shopped around. Finally, he found a rancher in a nearby village that had a quality bull for sale. One thousand dollars was his asking price. Not cheap for the time period, but then again quality never is.

The farmer and the rancher conducted their business and closed the transaction. The farmer paid the rancher one thousand dollars cash and promptly began his journey home with his new bull in tow, mulling over his plans with excitement along the way.

About a week later the rancher from whom the farmer had purchased the bull came to call. He said to the farmer, “I know this is going to sound strange, and I am sure you will not be pleased, but I need you to pay me another thousand dollars for that bull.”

The farmer was indeed not pleased. In addition he was also confused. Had he not alreadypaid one thousand dollars for the bull? Hadn’t the price already been agreed upon?Was the bull not already his? All these thoughts and more went through to the farmer’s mind. Finally, all he could bring himself to ask the rancher was, “Are you sure I need to pay you another thousand dollars?” The rancher replied, “I am sure.” And with that the farmer reached into his satchel, retrieved another thousand dollars, and handed it to the rancher.

Trying to ease his troubled mind regarding the circumstances surrounding the purchase of his bull, the farmer quickly immersed himself back into his new cattle business and soon forgot all about the rancher and the extra thousand dollars.

However, after another week had passed, the rancher came to visit the farmer once again. He began much the same way as he had during the previous visit. “I know this is going to sound strange” said the rancher as he went on to explain that yet again he required another thousand dollars for the bull. All the same thoughts again went through the farmer’s mind about having already paid, the bull already being his, and also about how expensive this was getting. But, once again all the farmer could bring himself to ask was, “Are you sure?” “I am sure” said the rancher. And with that the farmer paid the rancher yet another thousand dollars for the bull.

This continued for several weeks until eventually the farmer had no more money left to pay. In fact, the farmer found he was bankrupt. He lost his new cattle business, his previously successful farm, his beautiful home, and all that he possessed. The farmer was left with nothing. He was destitute.

Now, in the beginning I told you this was a tale of woe, but this sad little story is not without a moral.

The moral of the story is:

Never, never, buy your own “BULL”!!!

Now, I am fully aware that my little parable is blatantly corny, maybe even a little too obvious in its play on words. And even though you may have rolled your eyes, I am pretty sure you won’t forget this story any time soon. The truth that it speaks is quite plain.

There is an old saying, “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” It is one thing for us to buy our “bull” once, maybe even twice, but to buy our own “bull” again, and again, isn’t that just too expensive? To fool ourselves over and over, isn’t the price just too high?

The choice is ours, but we have to be awake and aware as to what our own “bull” really is. We must be willing to acknowledge within ourselves that we are responsible, that we are accountable for the choices we make. Ultimately it was the farmer who was responsible for the demise of his business and financial well-being, not the rancher. Sure, we could rightly say, “Shame on the rancher” for fooling the farmer once, but shame on the farmer for being fooled time and again.

So as my little parable draws to an end, keep this thought in mind my friend

Over your own eyes never pull the wool, and never, never buy your own “bull”.

To your Success!

Kip Kint
Success Coach & President
Mission Ignition, Inc.

© Kip Kint; Mission Ignition

This week’s Success Blog is about the Emotional Bank Account.  Stephen R. Covey writes about the Emotional Bank Account in his book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.”  Many other great authors have also written about this concept.

The Emotional Bank Account is a metaphor for the level of trust we have built (with deposits), or the trust we lack (because of too many withdrawals) in our relationships.

Pick a relationship in your life and assess your Emotional Bank Account balance by giving the trust you have built with that person a score ranging from -10 all the way up to +10.  If you have built amazing trust through consistently depositing with that person, if they get your meaning even when you make a mistake in your communication, because they know your heart and they trust you, then your balance is high.  If you can’t seem to say anything right in their eyes, if the slightest mistake on your part seems to make things even worse, then you are probably way overdrawn.

Identify the deposits and withdrawals in this relationship.  Seek to maximize your deposits while minimizing withdrawals.  As you do keep the 3 Keys to the Emotional Bank Account in mind:

1. Make Valid Deposits - Find out what the valid deposits are, from the other persons perspective.  While the Golden Rule states, “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you” the Platinum Rule as written by Dr. Tony Alessandra is, “Do unto others as they would have you to do unto them.”  This is the rule to follow when seeking to make deposits with others.
2. Make Deposits Sincerely & Unconditionally - If there are “strings” attached, if you have a hidden agenda or expect something in return, then what you are hoping to be a deposit will most likely become a withdrawal.  Be sincere.  Make the deposit unconditionally, with your only motive that of wanting to build trust.
3. Make Deposits Consistently - You know the old saying, “What have you done for me lately?”  Well, this certainly applies to the Emotional Bank Account.  If you make a bunch of deposits in the short term, then nothing for quite a while, then the other person starts to wonder about the sincerity of your previous deposits, or if they have done something “wrong”, or if you just don’t care anymore.  Be consistent.

Now, imagine that all of these keys are taken and locked in a box and you need one Master Key to access the other three.  That Master Key is Personal Trustworthiness.  The whole focus of the Emotional Bank Account is to build trust.  This cannot be done if we ourselves are not trustworthy.

Now, I encourage you to take this principle and apply it to your relationships.  Make it part of your purpose to build trust in your relationships.  With great trust comes great influence, and with great influence you have the power to effect happiness… yours as well as others’.

Quotes to live by:

You can’t talk your way out of a problem you behaved yourself into.
~ Stephen R. Covey

Discover your purpose, and then live ON PURPOSE.
~ Kip Kint

To Your Success!

Kip Kint
Success Coach & President
Mission Ignition

When is comes to success we have all heard the age-old question, “How do you eat an Elephant?”  And of course the answer is, “One bite at a time.”  But, which bite do you start with?  No one ever seems to ask (or answer) that question.  First, to be successful you must break your elephant down into Hunks, Chunks, and Bites, then schedule appropriate time to “eat” the bites.

Your goals are nothing more than elephants.  You must break goals (elephants) down into Hunks, Chunks, and Bites and then schedule time to “eat” the “bites” of your goal, or in other words, perform all the various tasks associated with your goal.

This is one of the primary systems discussed in the Mission Ignition Launch Workshop & Coaching Program.  We refer to these as Achievement Systems.  With Achievement Systems you systematically approach your goals and break them down into manageable pieces which are then time-activated into your schedule.  I will finish this week’s Success Blog with a little poem from an unknown source:

You can eat an elephant.
Oh, yes you can it’s true.

They may be huge but not to worry,
they aren’t to big for you.

Just how can I eat such a thing
that’s so immense in size?

Just look at it in pieces
and make them all bite-size.

You see to look from head to tail
can be a daunting task.

Many would just give up now
and let the elephant pass.

Look at it as if you can
eat it piece by piece,

It may take you a while,
but your goal you will reach.

So, next time you have a task
that is difficult to do,

Remember, you CAN eat an elephant
so take a piece and chew!

To your Success!

Kip Kint
Success Coach & President
Mission Ignition

Have you ever heard of the children’s book entitled, “The Little Engine That Couldn’t“?  Very few have.  It never sold any copies.  The biggest problem was that there was only one page:

“The Little Engine didn’t think he could.  So, he didn’t.”
The End

Not very inspiring either.

Most of us are familiar with “The Little Engine That Could” by Watty Piper.  The text for this delightful and insightful little story follows:

A little railroad engine was employed about a station yard for such work as it was built for, pulling a few cars on and off the switches. One morning it was waiting for the next call when a long train of freight-cars asked a large engine in the roundhouse to take it over the hill “I can’t; that is too much a pull for me,” said the great engine built for hard work. Then the train asked another engine, and another, only to hear excuses and be refused. At last in desperation the train asked the little switch engine to draw it up the grade and down on the other side. “I think I can,” puffed the little locomotive, and put itself in front of the great heavy train. As it went on the little engine kept bravely puffing faster and faster, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.”

Then as it near the top of the grade, that had so discouraged the larger engines, it went more slowly, but still kept saying, “I–think–I–can, I–think–I–can.” It reached the top by dint of brave effort and then went on down the grade, congratulating itself, “I thought I could, I thought I could.”

To think of hard things and say, “I can’t” is sure to mean “Nothing done.” To refuse to be daunted and insist on saying, “I think I can,” is to make sure of being able to say triumphantly by and by, “I thought I could, I thought I could.”

Virtually every endeavor in this life falls into one of 4 Quadrants:

1. Those things that are EASY and WORTH IT.
2. Those things that are DIFFICULT and WORTH IT.
3. Those things that are EASY and NOT WORTH IT.
4. Those things that are DIFFICULT and NOT WORTH IT.

When it comes to Quadrant 1, the things that are both EASY and WORTH IT, should we do those things?  Of course, they are WORTH IT.  Being EASY doesn’t trivialize them or make them any less significant.  All it means is DON’T WORRY!  Don’t stress over them.  Just DO them.  After all, they are not only WORTH IT, they are also EASY.

We will skip Quadrant 2 for now and come back to it in a moment.  When it comes to Quadrant 3, the things that are EASY and NOT WORTH IT, should we do those things?  Absolutely NOT.  They are NOT WORTH IT.  Not worth the time.  Not worth the effort, no matter how easy they are.  Just because they are easy is not reason enough to do them.  They still take time, one of your most precious commodities.  Don’t waste your time on EASY things that are NOT WORTH IT.

The 4th Quadrant consists of those things that are DIFFICULT and NOT WORTH IT.  Should we do those things?  You would have to be out of your mind.  If you are not going to do things that are EASY and NOT WORTH IT, why on Earth would you bang your head against the wall and waste your time doing things that are NOT WORTH and downright DIFFICULT to boot?  To me this it the biggest no-brainer.  Being DIFFICULT doesn’t automatically make something WORTH doing.  DIFFICULTY and WORTH must be evaluated independently.  Don’t do things that are NOT WORTH IT, even if they are EASY, and certainly not if they are DIFFICULT.

Well, that brings us back to Quadrant 2, those things that are DIFFICULT and WORTH IT.  Should we do those things?  Of course we should, they are WORTH IT, meaning they are WORTH the DIFFICULTY that must be overcome in order to accomplish them.  Ultimately, it is the portion of the equation you focus on that will determine your success.

Will you focus on the DIFFICULTY?  If that is your primary focus then you will be like the “Little Engine that COULDN’T” defeating yourself with your own limiting beliefs before you ever begin.  Or, will you be like “The Little Engine That Could” focusing on the WORTH, the value, the positive, believing you can and continuing in that belief all the way until you are celebrating that you COULD.

I think I CAN… I think I CAN… I think I CAN… I KNEW I COULD… I KNEW I COULD…

I KNEW I COULD!!!

To your SUCCESS!

Kip Kint
Success Coach & President
Mission Ignition