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8 Friday, June 10, 2011 www.hamiltoncountyherald.com
HAMILTON COUNTY HERALD
“How to Get Out of
Your Own Way”
By Tyrese Gibson
$24.99 / $27.99 Canada
275 pages
They say the economy’s getting
better.
They say things are looking
up, that business is starting to
recover.
But they couldn’t prove it
by you. For months now, you’ve
been spinning your wheels in the
sand, your dreams on hold along
with your life. You’re wondering
if the economy is to blame or if
there’s something else…
In the new book “How to
Get Out of Your Own Way” by
Tyrese Gibson, you’ll see that
your problems may be attributed
to something much closer.
Growing up in a rough area
south of L.A.’s Watts neighborhood,
Tyrese Gibson had plenty
of opportunities to get in trouble.
Gangs were all over, but –
despite that his father was absent
and his mother was an alcoholic
– Gibson somehow avoided the
worst. It helped that his stepfather
guided him, and that he had
a regular church life.
According to the National
Foundation for Credit Counseling,
the top financial new
year’s resolution for consumers
in 2011 is cutting back on debt.
The
Bookworm
By Terri Schlichenmeyer
He also had a goal: to make
music.
Gibson says he loved to sing
and perform, which led him to
win a talent contest and opened
the doors to a multifaceted
career. Gibson is usually known
by only his first name to fans of
his movies and music.
“Over the last decade, I
have come to realize that God’s
purpose for me is to reach out to
people,” he says. “… I want to
give people permission to want
better for themselves.”
This book is the result.
The first step in taking
your life “to another level” is
to “know that there are better
circumstances you can be in.”
Learning to love yourself enough
to find them is “technically getting
out of your own way.”
Learn to think differently,
he says. Find a positive spirit,
stop living negatively, and
clean up your surroundings. If
people think of you the wrong
way, work hard to change that.
Become a role model, especially
for your children. Wisely
choose your “circle of five” and
don’t hang out with anyone
Now that the year is nearly halfway
over, how many people have
kept that pledge?
If your resolve is starting to
fail, the Tennessee Society of
who doesn’t deserve your time.
Share your ideas with the world.
Understand that “selfish” isn’t
necessarily a bad thing.
“Always be strategizing and
you will be prepared for the good
and the bad.”
Tired of going nowhere,
fast? “How to Get Out of Your
Own Way” may help motivate
you. Or maybe not.
There’s no doubt that this
book will help readers to stop
sabotaging themselves and their
careers. Author, singer, and actor
Tyrese offers sound advice mixed
in with personal anecdotes that
well-illustrate his points, and his
words will resonate with today’s
youth.
And there’s the thing:
“How to Get Out of Your Own
Way” seems geared more toward
younger readers in need of a
boost. Gibson, in fact, devotes
several pages to teens and an
entire segment to dating-mating
issues that seasoned businesspeople
likely won’t find relevant.
If you’ve been in business
for a while, “How to Get Out of
Your Own Way” probably isn’t
a good fit for you. But for new
grads or someone who’s landed
that first important job, you’ll
have a hard time finding something
better.
The Bookworm is Terri Schlichenmeyer.
Terri has been reading
since she was three years old
and never goes anywhere without a
book. She lives on a hill in Wisconsin
with two dogs and 12,000 books. ❖
CPAs offers these tips for making
it happen.
Get the big picture
Begin by adding up all your
outstanding consumer debt. You
Brainbuster – Make your brain tingle!
By Kay Bona
The inspiration for my
trivia puzzle today came from
one of our sons. He just got
back from some training in the
desert of California and was
telling us about the Kangaroo
Mouse, a little rodent that I
never knew existed. Here are
some more interesting critters!
1. Which of the following
critters can survive without
access to water for over a
year? Desert cottontail rabbit;
Desert tortoise; Black-tailed
jack rabbit; North American
porcupine.
2. Whi ch of the following
musk-scented critters is
often referred to as a wild pig
although it is actually in a
family all of its own? North
American porcupine; Collared
peccary; Skunk; Coatimundi
3. Whi ch of the following
birds is fast enough to kill
and eat rattlesnakes and is
the official state bird of New
Mexico? Sonoran ostrich;
Gambel’s quail; roadrunner;
Golden Eagle.
4. Which of these poisonous
critters has venom
glands on its lower jaw and
therefore does not “inject”
its nerve toxin, but just lets
it seep into the wound as it
chews? Western diamondback
rattlesnake; Gila monster;
Sidewinder; Tarantula
5. Which of the following
subspecies of whitetail deer is
considerably smaller than most
whitetail and can be found
in the southernmost areas of
California, Arizona, and New
Mexico? Huachuca whitetail
deer; there are no deer in the
desert; Coues whitetail deer;
None of the above.
6. These rodents are usually
called Pack Rats because
they obsessively collect materials
to use in the construction
of their nests. What is the
official name of this species?
Bushy-tailed woodrat; Desert
kangaroo rat; Brown rat; Black
rat.
7. Arizona’s San Pedro
River is one of the most
famous riparian areas in the
world. Among the 400 species
that call it home is the
second smallest species of owl
in the world. What is this
owl’s name? Pygmy owl; elf
owl; miniature barn owl; great
horned owl.
ANSWERS
1. A desert tortoise (Gopherus
agassizii) gets what little
moisture it needs through its
food (cacti, grasses, flowers,
etc.). It is illegal to harm or
capture a wild desert tortoise.
Diversions
Four steps for paying down your debt once and for all
2. The collared peccary
(Peccary angulatus) is also
known as a javelina and is
the only wild, pig-like critter
native to the US. They have
terrible vision and a musky
smell.
3. A roadrunner (Geococcyx
californianus) can run at
speeds up to 17 mph! On rare
occasions when one does take
flight it can only stay airborne
for a few seconds.
4. The gila monster (Heloderma
suspectum) preys on
eggs, birds and small mammals.
It stores fat in its tail
for use during winter months.
Gila monster bites are rarely
fatal in humans.
5. Coues whitetail deer.
The Coues are so much smaller
in stature than other whitetail
deer from the Midwest
and Eastern US that they were
once separated into their own
species.
6. Bushy-tailed woodrat
(Neotoma cinerea). Pack rats
build complex nests called
“middens.” Their nests are
often built in small caves, but
can also be found in the attics
and walls of houses.
7. Elf Owl. Native to
Mexico and the American
Southwest, elf owls are 5 to 12
inches tall and have a wingspan
of 15 to 16 inches.
may be in for a pleasant surprise,
if you come up with what seems
like a reasonable number, or in
for a rude awakening, if the total
is larger than you expected.
In either case, before you
can create a plan to eliminate
debt you must know how much
you’ve got. What you find may
change how much money you
want to pay off each month and
how long you can realistically
expect your efforts to take.
Cut the cards
Now that you know how
much you owe, you must take
one important step to prevent
adding to that amount: stop using
your credit cards. Lowering your
existing balances won’t help you
if you are only adding to them
each month.
If doing away with plastic
altogether is not possible, budget
yourself a specific amount that
you can spend on credit monthly
and stick to it. Then keep track
of everything you spend so that
you are sure to stay within your
budget.
Attack the highest
rates first
As a general rule, it’s best
to begin by paying off the debts
with the highest interest rates
because carrying those balances
is costing you the most each
month. If you’re not sure how
much interest you are being
charged on each credit balance,
check your monthly statement
or contact the credit card issuer
or lender for more information.
If you have a strong payment
record, this may also be a
good time to try to negotiate a
lower rate with all of your credit
card companies. Your CPA can
offer further advice on any questions
you may have related to
the interest rates you are paying.
Pay above
the minimum
The longer it takes you to
get rid of debt, the more time
you will spend paying interest
on it.
For example, if you have
a $3,000 balance at an 18 percent
interest rate and pay only
a minimum $60 each month, it
will take you 26 years to erase
that debt.
In the meantime, you will
end up handing over a total of
$6,863 in interest in addition
to paying off the original $3,000
debt. Raising your payment to
just $100 every month allows
you to wipe out your debt in
in about three and a half years
and slashes your total interest to
$1,016.
That’s why you should
always attempt to pay more
than the minimum due on any
account. You may have even
noticed some helpful incentives
for paying off your amounts right
on your monthly statement.
Legislation passed a couple of
years ago requires credit card
issuers to disclose how long it
will take consumers to pay off
their balance if they only send in
the minimum amount due each
month.
In most cases, it can be
sobering to realize how many
months – or years – you will
spend paying interest on your
outstanding balances.
In fact, 25 percent of consumers
said that seeing those
numbers made them pay more
each month, according to the
National Foundation for Credit
Counseling.
Source: Tennessee Society of
CPAs ❖