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Announcement: Christmas has been Postponed!

Kate Phillips — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 01:11:57 +0000

Think about it - do you look forward to seeing your family and friends on Christmas because of the gifts that they bring, or because of the GIFT that they ARE!?

With all due respect to Santa Claus, the biggest gifts we can give this or any season do not come in wrapping paper. Bring joy, peace, and goodwill in your sleigh, and you will be a welcome visitor anytime of year.

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Paying it Forward at a Starbucks Stand

Kate Phillips — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 07:02:33 +0000

I made a stop at the QFC grocery store in Redmond Ridge Saturday night. I was on my way home from teaching a “Wealthy, Worthy and Wise” workshop and I needed a few groceries. It had been a long day with an early start, and besides the groceries, I was also in the market for a shot of caffeine. I stopped by the in-store Starbucks stand and ordered a mocha from the friendly young male barista. After writing on the cup and ringing my drink into the register, he started telling me a story before allowing me to pay for my drink. “This morning, our store’s assistant manager decided to pay for his drink and also the drink of the person following him,” he explained. “The next person did the same, and people have continued it all day long, paying for the next person’s drink.” Sure to let me know that there was no obligation, he added, “So your drink has already been paid for. If you’d like to contribute to the next person’s drink, you can.” My first reaction was surprise at hearing the words, “Your drink has already been paid for.” It felt like I had won a little scratch card prize or something. My money was already out of my purse, and it seemed natural to “pay it forward” and contribute to the next. The barista paid the cash register out of money collected in a brown paper bag, then put my money into that same bag. Then he looked particularly pleased, and announced to me, “You’re the 100th person to ‘pay it forward’ today!” I loved that he was keeping track. I loved that he recognized that something out of the ordinary, no matter how small, was happening. I loved being part of it. I took my mocha and started pushing my cart around the store, collecting the items I needed. The mocha…

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Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself

Kate Phillips — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:07:16 +0000

I was so moved by the words of FDR at his inaugural address, and struck by the timeliness of what he wrote for our own time as well, I wanted to share this excerpt. Given March 4, 1933, this speech was delivered in the depth of the Depression. “This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days. “In such a spirit on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties. They concern, thank God, only material things. Values have shrunken to fantastic levels; taxes have risen; our ability to pay has fallen; government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income; the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade; the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side; farmers find no markets for their produce; the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone. “More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment. “Yet our distress comes from no failure of substance. We are…

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Autumn Contemplations, Financial Chaos, and Spring

Kate Phillips — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:19:05 +0000

The chaos in our financial markets seems to stand in contrast to the serenity of a beautiful fall day, with many-colored leaves on display and the gentlest of breezes giving them breath. But look closely… I often find that my life tends to mirror and follow the season, both in exterior patterns and interior rhythms. And perhaps the financial markets, which at a glance appear to be such a contrast to this autumn beauty, are doing the same. Leaves die and fall to the ground in preparation of winter. It is “Fall,” literally, the season of falling leaves. The trees shed their leaves in preparation for winter. They anticipate the coming season of longer nights, less sun, and cooler temperatures. As fall becomes winter, visible growth comes to a stop, although the roots continue to burrow into the soil in preparation of spring. I believe we are witnessing the “Fall” of the financial markets. Literally. (I don’t mean their demise or their destruction – I’m not that dramatic or pessimistic.) It’s Autumn in the banking industries and the stock market. The crazy growth of spring seems to be an illusion. Inflated profits, inflated prices, inflated expectations…. And while much attention has been focused on the excesses of Wall Street, there has been plenty of over-reaching on Main Street too. The average American saves 1% of their income, but spends up to $104% of their income. How is that even possible!? The average American is more in debt each year than the last. I hear that Americans are more likely to declare bankruptcy than graduate from college, and now that we can’t refinance our homes due to ever-growing equity, we are up a creek without a paddle. We want, we buy. “Buy now, pay later!” “No interest for a year!” Credit is not a bad thing. Credit has…

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The Cure for the Recession (article)

Kate Phillips — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 05:39:54 +0000

“The quality of our life is the quality of our emotions.” Gas is over $4 a gallon, meanwhile foreclosures are up, workers are being laid off, and business owners are tightening their belts. The word “recession” is bandied about, sometimes in whispers (as if we’re afraid the economy might hear us), other times in not-so-soft complaints. I’m a prosperity coach, not an all-powerful genie who can cure this country of what ails it. However, I may have some “cures” that may help our individual suffering in a measurable way. We all have feelings about the current economic climate. Maybe we feel fear, frustration, worry, or resignation. Perhaps we feel relief that our job is safe, and guilt that our neighbor’s was not. Typically, the more we are personally and physically affected, the more intense our negative emotions are likely to be. And from a sheer “happiness” perspective, I would suggest that these emotions, and not the recession itself, are the cause of any pain we might feel. Understandably, when unemployment, foreclosure, illness or death comes to your household, it presents challenges, often challenges we have not yet learned to face. But who has not known or heard of a person with incurable cancer who was as peaceful as the Dalai Lama? Illness is not a reliable predictor of negative emotions (though much research indicates that laughter and optimism aid in healing). Being wronged does not preclude forgiveness and inner peace. Bad traffic doesn’t necessitate road rage. And call me crazy, but I don’t think a recession (whether personal or national) means we must succumb to gloom, doom, and fearful fretting. I once heard an intriguing statement: “The quality of our life is the quality of our emotions.” In other words, whatever we are feeling…

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