Pay yourself first.  This is a statement that we have all heard at least one time or another. In the book, The Automatic Millionaire, David Bach describes this as a requirement for anyone who would like to be financially successful.  He goes on to explain the why, the how, and even show you how to make it automatic.  He states, “People should take every opportunity they can to save money because it really adds up, and the best way I know to do that is to make your savings automatic.”

Paying yourself first allows the average person to save money, that they normally would not be able to save.  This money can be used to start a business, retirement, a vacation, for college, for a rainy day, or whatever your goals are.  Typically, a person allocates their money in this order.  Pay bills, have fun, and then save.  The problem with this order is that there is never any money left over to save.  People excuse this with “I don’t have enough money leftover”,  or “I don’t make enough.”  Bach quotes, “Change is a funny thing.  Although most people say they want to change — so they can have a better life, with more love, more dreams, and more fun — the fact is that many of us are afraid of change.”  Paying yourself first allows you to save money, without even knowing that you are missing it.  Per Bach, the easiest way is to make it automatic.  Automatic means have your employer deduct a percentage of your paycheck to go into a savings account before you even get a chance to see it.

Paying yourself first means to save, pay bills, and then have fun.  Paying yourself first means to take out a percentage of your check before you do anything else.  It means that you are making a personal commitment that saving is important to you and that you will save a percentage of your income no matter what.  How much should you save?  Bach answers the question this way. To be poor, don’t save anything. To be middle class, save at least 15% of your income, and to be rich, save at least 25%.  To visit David Bach’s website, click HERE.

On my way to a much needed vacation I thought I would do a little reading on the plane. As a Sales Executive at Harvard Business Services I have had the book The Ultimate Sales Machine by Chet Holmes sitting on my desk for months but I have not found the time to read it. I chose this book because it focuses on turbocharging your business. Chet Holmes is an acclaimed corporate trainer, strategic mastermind and business growth expert who has worked with over 60 of the Fortune 500 companies.

I don’t know about you, but a typical day at the office for me revolves around a lot of different things that seem to need my attention all at once. From answering phone calls, to sending emails, to completing my daily tasks. I constantly find myself going back and forth to each of these and often find it challenging to complete a task before I am interrupted by something else. With multitasking being such a prominent part of my daily experience I found the section on time management to be very helpful and interesting.

Chet’s six tips on time management are:

• Touch It Once: Do not revisit tasks, if you touch it take action and complete that task.
• Make Lists: Lists help you stay focused and prioritize.
• Plan How Much Time You Will Allocate to Each Task: This helps you manage your daily tasks and dedicate enough time to accomplish them.
• Plan The Day: Give yourself a time frame to work on and complete each of the things on your list.
• Prioritize: Start with your most important and difficult task. By completing it first you will feel a tremendous sense of control and accomplishment having checked the biggest thing off your list.
• Ask Yourself, “Will it Hurt me to throw this away?”: Clutter hurts your productivity. Studies show that 80% of all filed or stored information is never referred to again. So throw it away!!

I hope you apply these six steps to assist you in completing your tasks efficiently. I know they are going to help me manage my time and be more productive on a daily basis.

While doing some research I came across a few interesting studies regarding dyslexia and entrepreneurs that I found to be very interesting. In 2004, a study by a research center based at Case Business School in the UK reported that 20% of British entrepreneurs identified themselves as dyslexic. (Whereas, only 4% of corporate managers in the same study identified themselves as dyslexic).  In 2007, a similar study suggested that the percentage of dyslexics among American entrepreneurs is in fact greater, where 35% of entrepreneurs identified themselves as dyslexic.

Some suggest that several traits and experiences common to dyslexics converge to create this tendency towards entrepreneurial activity. People who are dyslexic often excel in the one of the fine arts, see abstract patterns where others would not, rely on delegating to get certain things done, prefer to get straight to the point when reading and writing, they value doing rather than studying, show high levels of creative thinking skills, and have experienced failure and bounced back—all fantastic traits for entrepreneurs.

Here are a few very successful famous entrepreneurs who identify themselves as dyslexic: Richard Branson (Virgin), Charles Schwab (Charles Schwab), Ted Turner (Turner Broadcasting), John Chambers (Cisco), Henry Ford (Ford Motor Company), Paul Orfalea (Kinko’s).

If this topic interests you be sure to check out the book written by Paul Orfalea, the founder of Kinko’s called Copy This!: Lessons from a Hyperactive Dyslexic who Turned One Bright Idea Into One of America’s Best Companies.