Faith Based Investing

Here is Jay’s latest article at www.christianpf.com

http://www.christianpf.com/christian-view-of-life-insurance/

What About the Risk?
Many people believe that starting a business is a risk, and it is. But why do Christians often seem the least likely to take risks? After all, do we serve a God who played it safe or a God who was willing to risk it all? Where some see investing or starting a business or going out on their own as taking on an excessive amount of risk, a faithful manager sees this as taking on more responsibility. It has less to do with risk than with taking on a greater role in God’s calling for their lives.

In today’s world, I believe that not having your own business is an even bigger risk because there is no such thing as job security. It is quite possible for someone to work their way up the corporate ladder and be fired without warning.

Take Jim. Jim worked for a marketing company for more than twenty years and was downsized without warning. His wage went from over $100,000 a year to zero, and he still had all the bills to pay from his $100,000-a-year lifestyle. He had no equity ownership in the company and no voting rights. The company owed him nothing, and that’s exactly what they left him with.

How do you deal with risk?
This is not to say that self-employed people are immune to such risks; their business can also suddenly dry up. However, self-employed people generally know how to create their own work. They are looking for work every single day unlike most 9-to-5 employees, who often get comfortable in their jobs and do only what is required to hold on to the jobs they have.

Many who own businesses have developed multiple sources of income and if something was to happen to any one of them, they could survive on the others. Most 9-to-5 workers, if faced with termination, would have very little to fall back on.

It’s true that every investment you make has an element of risk to it. Here are a few examples:

* CDs, savings accounts, Treasury bills, and other short-term investments carry inflation risk. Inflation historically runs at 3-4 percent annually.
* Stocks and mutual funds carry market risk. This means that their value will fluctuate and have the ability to lose principal.
* Corporate and municipal bonds carry interest rate (interest rate changes can increase or decrease a bond’s value) and default risk (potential to lose your money).

The Greatest Risks
But the risks listed above are quickly overshadowed by the two greatest risks of all:

* Lost Opportunity Risk: The risk that you will miss out on an opportunity for gain because you failed to act (invest).
* Shortfall Risk: The risk that you will outlive your money because you invested too conservatively. This is the biggest threat to your long-term security.

Yes, God is in control of wealth distribution, but He cannot bless investments that are never made. And I will tell you right now that God does want to bless you. He wants you to do well fi nancially. He wants you to live a debt-free life. He wants your bank account to swell. But most important, He wants your heart. Will you invest your time, talent, and treasure to glorify Him?

We Deserve Better!
As business owners and entrepreneurs, as a hard working Americans, as a men, women and children – no one deserves to be $35,000 in debt! As our deficit is skyrocketing second by second, our National Debt is SO LARGE, each and every person in America now owes over $35,000 toward the National Debt. Why are we mortaging our children and grandchildren’s future? Let us send our Government a Message!

On April 15, be part of the Taxed Enough Already (TEA) party rally in your community
On the day you pay your taxes, Wednesday, April 15, join others across the country and in your hometown who will be participating in TAX Day TEA party rallies in front of their city halls. The TAX Day TEA party rally will begin at 12 noon. Go to www.teapartyday.com

Are you fed up with a Congress and a president who:

* vote for a $500 billion tax bill without even reading it?
* are spending trillions of borrowed dollars, leaving a debt our great-grandchildren will be paying?
* consistently give special interest groups billions of dollars in earmarks to help get themselves re-elected?
* want to take your wealth and redistribute it to others?
* punish those who practice responsible financial behavior and reward those who do not?
* admit to using the financial hurt of millions as an opportunity to push their political agenda?
* run up trillions of dollars of debt and then sell that debt to countries such as China?
* want government controlled health care?
* want to take away the right to vote with a secret ballot in union elections?
* refuse to stop the flow of millions of illegal immigrants into our country?
* appoint a defender of child pornography to the Number 2 position in the Justice Department?
* want to force doctors and other medical workers to perform abortions against their will?
* want to impose a carbon tax on your electricity, gas and home heating fuels?
* want to reduce your tax deductibility for charitable gifts?
* take money from your family budget to pay for their federal budget?

If so, participate in the TAX Day TEA party rally, the Taxed Enough Already (TEA) party.

Bring your cell phone and call Congress and the president while attending the TAX Day TEA party rally (Representative and Senators, 202-224-3121; President, 202-456-1414). Tell Every American about this effort by forwarding this invitation to your friends. Together we can make a difference. www.teapartyday.com

Huh? Give my leg? What is Jay talking about? That’s gross!!! Did Jay watch the movie 7 Pounds one too many times?

Now that I have your attention…

The Gift I’m talking about is a LEG-a-c-y!

The Wrong Yardstick!
Too many people measure success using the wrong yardstick! They use worldly measures to define what success looks like. I know for the longest time, success to me was wealth, power, recognition, and status. I bought nice cars, a nice home, more and more things just to prove I was worthy, but you know what? I became less focused on what really matters in life – God, family, friends, and the pursuit of true contentment and happiness. I’m not saying you cannot have God and wealth. It is how you use wealth that is most important! For me, the more I acquired in the pursuit of meaningless things, the less satisfied I became. Go figure! I became the “king of meaningless things”. Learning from my past mistakes has true been eye opening and life changing!

As many seek to leave this world a better place, they truly desire to change, touch, and impact their children, grandchildren, and all those they will leave behind. Rather than leaving solely money to those they love, most people I encounter seek to leave a lasting legacy – a way to keep their memory alive and continue their life purpose beyond the grave. Any meaningful legacy begins with defining what true success looks like!

True Success
Meaningful success comes when you use your time, talents, and treasure to serve others. In Matthew 22:37-39, we see, “Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” It is truly when we reach out and serve others; we make our mark on the world.

Step 1: Look at how you define success – your mission
If success is tied to money and things, you will never find satisfaction. What do you truly want to do in your lifetime? Have you accomplished what you set out to do? Are you on the right path? Have you set a “finish line” – where you decide when you will have accumulated enough money & possessions? How much is enough? How will your version of success allow you to help others?

Step 2: Look at how God created you – your calling
Research has shown financial success is not linked to satisfaction or happiness. Neither poverty nor incredible wealth leads to happiness. Satisfaction and happiness are far more likely the result of finding your purpose in life and obediently serving God. What has He called you to do? What are you passionate about? What are your core values and beliefs? What do you do easily that is difficult for others? How can you find eternal significance?

Step 3: Establish a game plan to create a legacy – your plan
Once you understand your purpose and calling, you will be able to create a better vision of who you are and where you are heading in life. Now you can focus on ways to create your ideal future. How can you free up time in your schedule to pursue your calling? How do you create a financial plan to fund your calling and legacy? What goes your legacy look like? What values are you leaving for your children, grandchildren and others? How do you find more serving opportunities? Who will help you implement your plan?

Step 4: Maximizing your potential – your performance
The last step in the process of being more fully engaged in the purpose God has called you to involves evaluating your progress. This involves analyzing your performance and analyzing opportunities as they come and go.
How do you decide one opportunity over another? What are some of the tools available to make a bigger impact?
How do you maximize your gifts and minimize taxes? How do you ensure and protect your values and ensure when you’re gone your vision will be carried forward? How do you ensure your vision is in line with biblical principles?

Your Legacy

Now it’s your turn! How do you want to be remembered? What if you only had a short-time left? Are you taking steps to teach your children, grandchildren, or others about what you value most? How can you have your life purpose transcend your life? Take the time today to plan your future because every day is a precious gift from God. We have no guarantees that we will be able to plan tomorrow so start today. Need help with coaching in this area? Please feel free to email me at info@jayperoni.com for more information!

I have created a process based on biblical principles that evaluates ten areas of your life to ensure you are creating a meaningful legacy for those you leave behind.

Many Blessings,

Happy Easter to you and your family. I know for me, it is a great day to reflect on the amazing sacrifice God made for us. Imagine a God so loving, so merciful, so forgiving that He would send His son to die a brutual death on the Cross. He died so we could live forever! Words cannot even begin to describe how much this means. To receive such a gift and to be blessed beyond belief?
Today as I spend time with my family and reflect upon the many blessings I have in my life. A loving, supportive wife, four beautiful healthy children, and I get to do what I love every day. How have you been blessed? I’d love to hear your story.

This Easter weekend, I wanted to share something that I have read continuously over the years.

“If I Were The Devil”

By the Late Paul Harvey (Paul Harvey News)

* I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the world.

* I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come from man’s effort, instead of God’s blessings.

* I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people, instead of the other way around.

* I would dupe entire states into relying on gambling for their state revenue.

* I would convince people that character is not an issue when it comes to leadership.

* I would make it legal to take the life of unborn babies.

* I would make is socially acceptable to take one’s own life and invent machines to make it convenient.

* I would cheapen human life as much as possible so that the life of animals are valued more than human beings.

* I would take God out of the schools, where even the mention of His name was grounds for a lawsuit.

* I would come up with drugs that sedate the mind and target the young and I would get sports heroes to advertise them.

* I would get control of the media, so that every night I could pollute the mind of every family member for my agenda.

* I would attack the family, the backbone of any nation.

* I would make divorce acceptable and easy, even fashionable. If the family crumbles, so does the nation.

* I would compel people to express their most depraved fantasies on canvas and movie screens, and I would call it art.

* I would convince the world that people are born homosexuals, and that their lifestyles should be accepted and marveled.

* I would convince the people that right and wrong are determined by a few who call themselves authorities and refer to their agenda as politically correct.

* I would persuade people that the church is irrelevant and out of date, and the Bible is for the naive.

* I would dull the minds of Christians, and make them believe that prayer is not important, and that faithfulness and obedience are optional.

* I guess I would leave things pretty much the way they are.