Tagged: love

17May

Appreciation Is an Important Key to Wealth and Relationship Success (BlackEnterprise.com)

Posted in Business and Professional, Debt, Finance, Men, Romance and Relationships, Women | Leave a comment

Why you should avoid investing in things & relationships that don’t appreciate

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There aren’t too many people today who don’t desire success in the areas of love and money. Unfortunately, people struggle with identifying principles to generate success in both of these key life areas. In an attempt to assist with this dilemma, I have identified one word that is a key to achieving success in both wealth and relationships. Allow me to introduce you to APPRECIATION.

According to dictionary.com, the root word appreciate has multiple meanings: to be grateful or thankful for, to value or regard highly or to raise in value.

I could stop the article here because the definitions really speak for themselves. However, allow me to further elaborate in order to ensure the point hits home.

When it comes to finances, the world’s wealthy understand the power of investing in assets that appreciate in value. Their knowledge has allowed them to master the art of creating a Return on Investment (ROI). Very rarely do you see wealthy people amassing a lot of goods (e.g. cars, clothes, etc.) that don’t add value to their financial lives. Notice I said wealthy and not rich. Rich people generally make a lot of money; whereas, wealthy people create avenues to grow their money. Many of the wealthy individuals I know live very simple and money savvy lives. They don’t pride themselves in purchasing the latest shoes, purchase depreciating automobiles or maintaining a closet full of designer fashions. Many are quite frugal.

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10May

Why Your Mate’s Character is More Important Than Their Money (BlackEnterprise.com)

Posted in Career, Family, Finance, Life, Men, Romance and Relationships, Women | Leave a comment

Why a love interest’s money can only take you so far

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Let me offer this quick tip to you as a public service announcement: If you desire a truly healthy relationship with someone, focus more on their character than the amount of currency they make or have.

It seems that in today’s society, there is a lot more focus placed on income and not enough attention on people’s character. Unfortunately, a number of men and women have resolved within themselves to list income as an item on their future mate checklist. God forbid they run across someone who meets the majority of the core areas like love, respect, compassion, etc., but happens to work in education or in a factory. Is someone who meets all of the character requirements, but only makes $30-$50K automatically ruled out?

I know it sounds absurd, but I’m sure many of you have heard of stories where a friend, family member or co-worker may have eliminated someone from consideration because they didn’t make enough money. If you haven’t experienced this personally, consider yourself lucky to not have had to deal with such superficiality. I believe our culture’s infatuation with money and success has been one of the contributing factors to the decline of healthy relationships. However, that’s entirely different topic to deal with.

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29Apr

Love & Money: Can You Afford Not to Forgive? (BlackEnterprise.com)

Posted in Family, Life, Men, Romance and Relationships, Women | Leave a comment

Why your unforgiving nature may be leading to bankrupt relationships

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In the financial world there is a debt-forgiveness option known as bankruptcy. Bankruptcy is an option some people choose when they have acquired a considerable amount of debt and feel as if they’ll never be able to repay it in an expedient or efficient manner based on their current financial structure. There may be many reasons cited for the accumulation of the debt including, but not limited to, credit cards, medical bills, automobile purchases, etc. However, the bottom line is when the weight of managing debt becomes unbearable, people may select an alternative that simply allows them to start over.

Well, similar to the accumulation of debt from a financial point of view, many in today’s society are carrying a considerable amount of relationship ‘debt’ due to unforgiveness.

Recently, I’ve had discussions with individuals regarding their inability to forgive others who have wronged them in some way. After reflecting upon those discussions, the importance of exercising forgiveness towards those who are, or have been, a part of your life became very apparent. In order to set the foundation of my perspective, let me first define what forgiveness is.

Forgiveness is the process of relating to an offence committed directly or indirectly by yourself or an individual and releasing them from it.

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05Apr

Love & Money: Is the Art of Commitment a Lost One? (BlackEnterprise.com)

Posted in Business and Professional, Men, Romance and Relationships, Women | Comments Off

On investing, commitment and finding purpose

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As we approach the end of the week, I’d like you to take time and discuss “Is Commitment a Lost Art?” with your co-workers and friends to get their thoughts.

The majority of people in our society desire to be in healthy, successful and prosperous relationships. Unfortunately, many of them are unprepared for the twists and turns that accompany commitment in a relationship. In previous generations, there was an emphasis placed on remaining committed even when challenges surface. Contrary to popular belief, commitment isn’t a magical switch that you can turn on and off, but it is a deliberate and dedicated lifestyle a person chooses to live. As I teach during my workshop sessions, commitment is only validated after you’ve been through some sort of opposition.

I know you’re over there thinking, “How can I tell a person’s ability to be committed?” I’m glad you asked. Here are some ways you can begin assessing a person’s capacity for commitment:

1) How committed are they to their family? – People who are uncommitted to those closest to them are a potential risk to you in a relationship. There are exceptions to this assessment, especially if they grew up in an unhealthy environment. However, if a person has never experienced a healthy relationship environment, then how can you expect for them to provide one for you?

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29Mar

Do Women Get to Keep the Ring After a Broken Engagement? (BlackEnterprise.com)

Posted in Finance, Men, Romance and Relationships, Women | Comments Off

A break up can soon turn into a financial conundrum

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I received an e-mail from a faithful supporter regarding an issue she is having with her former fiancée. I’ll call them Kevin and Kim in order to protect the identities of the involved parties.

Kevin and Kim met 3 years ago at an office holiday party and hit it off from their first conversation. They dated for a year and a half before Kevin decided to pop the question. During an intimate Saturday evening gathering with family and friends, Kevin presented the apple of his eye with a $14,000 diamond engagement ring. Sounds like a romantic fairy tale right? Well not in this case!

Shortly after getting engaged the two began to argue about financial and family matters! Not seeing a way to compromise on the various issues, Kim decided to call off the engagement. There’s nothing wrong with Kim’s decision correct? We’d rather have the couple call off their engagement rather than find themselves in divorce court a brief time after marrying. It’s actually a very mature decision to make. However, here’s the complication. Kevin decided he also wants Kim to return the $14,000 ring since the engagement is off. Do you see any problem with his request? Is the engagement ring a gift or a marriage earnest deposit?

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29Mar

Seven Years Without Sex: Author Kenny Pugh Tells Why He Says ‘No’ to Sex (BlackAmericaWeb.com)

Posted in Men, Romance and Relationships, Sex, Women | Comments Off

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Single women: Would you date a man who is absolutely committed to celibacy?

No sex until marriage. Not even once. And it’s not negotiable.

Kenny Pugh, author, financial professional, motivational speaker, is taking an unconventional approach to life as a black man in 2013: Sexual abstinence.

At 38 years old, Pugh is black, male and heterosexual, and hasn’t had sex in more than seven years. And he doesn’t plan to be sexually intimate with a woman until he gets married.

“I’ve been celibate for seven years and I’m an advocate for a lifestyle that empowers people to make good decisions about relationships moving forward,” Pugh said in a recent interview with BlackAmericaWeb.com.

It’s an old-school philosophy in a new-age era because sex, Pugh says, clouds good judgment. But some women aren’t down for celibacy, Pugh said, and some openly question if he’s really heterosexual.

Pugh, a contributing writer with Black Enterprise magazine, is promoting his new book: “Can You Do It Standing Up: A Different Position On Relationships.”

 

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