Do you hate the thought of working past 55 or 60? Do you hate not being able to live the life you deserve today? Do you hate not knowing what your financial future looks like? It's time to stop doing what you hate, here's your host, Mr. Harold Green.
Hi everybody. This is Harold Green of Bright tree financial group, and it is time to stop doing what you hate. Aloha there. I hope you have had a phenomenal week. I've had a good week, a little bit difficult here and there, but overall,
(00:38): I would say it was a good week. I want to talk to you guys today about something very serious. And the title of my show is titled mad focus. That's right. Mad focus. And we're going to talk a little bit about the things that you can do to focus better. And I'm also going to talk to you about some things that will kill your focus. I mean, things that are just distractions, maybe one distraction after the other. We're going to dig into that, but my day started off really great. And it has a lot to do with the focus. So I, I was up at about 3:30 AM this morning. It's a Saturday. Usually it's Saturdays or the last day of the week for me. And I, I just kind of, I've been in a routine for years where I wake up super early Saturday mornings, you know, get some things knocked out get my little Bible study done, get my gym workout done.
(01:41): And because the workout has a lot to do with the focus that clears my mind. It also reduces stress. So I got an, a pretty good workout and burn a lot of calories. I think it was like 900 calories. I usually either go between 900 and 1300 calories and a workout. I try to get them as intense as I can because I noticed that the more intense my workouts, the more focus I have for the day, you guys ready, we're going to get into this show. One, two, three, let's get it. Focus for me is a very difficult subject and topic to talk about. And when I come across something difficult, I always turn to my Awan. My go-to, which is the Bible. You guys, you know, you guys know me. I talk about my faith. I talk about my beliefs in God and because they, you know, it has served me extremely well, even from when I was a kid.
(02:42): And I'll tell you guys a little story about when I was a kid and how I became a fiduciary advisor. I think it was what I was meant to be. But at the same time, there are events that have happened in my life that have shaped me into become a fiduciary advisor that have bumped me along the path. And it's led me to where I am today. And that was when I was a kid. My mom would always take me to church. My family was, was big in church and they had, you know, prominent roles in church. And so they wanted all of us kids to get involved. So I was in choir. I mean, I just kinda like, you know, we were like church rats when we were kids. And a lot, a lot of times we were just playing around and acting a fool and you know, not really paying attention.
(03:34): And so one day my granddad said, he said, Hey, I want you to start doing the message for the offertory. And the message for the offertory is when you, when you stand up before the crowd and you talk about giving and how giving is important and what the purpose of giving is and, and, and what it all means. And so I think I was like probably second and third grade when they started me on that. And I tell you, I was so nervous when I had to do it the first time. I almost peed on myself to tell you the truth, but I got through it and I would do it every Sunday. And then after a while, I got more and more comfortable with it. But here's the thing, what I took away from that. So not only did I have to give the offertory message, we collected the funds, and I also had to count the funds and then secure the funds.
(04:26): And then we would take the funds to the bank and then deposit the funds into the jar and the church's bank account. So I've been dealing with money since I was a kid. And I've learned how to, how to handle it, you know, how important it is. And you know, but growing up, I kind of fell away from that. And then I started abusing money, which got me into a bad place. So I kind of went away from the things that, you know, that served me well. And then as I became an adult, I got back to those things. And so I want to start off by just reading something to you guys out of Genesis 13, which is very important. It's about Abraham and lot. And it's really a story about focus and what you focus on. You get, I'm going to say that again, what you tend to focus on, you get it's about Abraham and lot.
(05:17): It was uncle and nephew. And so I'll start in verse one 13, one, and Abraham went up out of Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had and lot went with him into the South. And I'll give you guys a little secret to this. If you read back before that, you'll, you'll find out that lot. Wasn't supposed to be with Abraham. Abraham was supposed to go by himself. So they were both rich and they had a lot of cattle, a lot of livestock and the place they went together, it wasn't enough for, for both of them to feed all of their kids and all of their families. And they got into a fight. And usually when you hook up with people that you're not supposed to be hooking up with, things tend to go, right. And so they said, okay, we're, we're relative.
(06:01): So we're not going to fight each other. You know, let's, let's you go this way. I go that way you go left. I go, right. But if you want to go the other way, I'll go the other way. And so basically what happened is they went their separate ways and it says Abraham dwelled in the land of Canaan and lot dwelled and the cities of the plane and pitched his tent to ward Saddam. And if you guys know anything about the story of Sodom and Gomorrah were places that were not so great, there's some things going on there that were just like, just not good. Saddam was cool called I think it was the city of sin. So if you read it right, a lot, pitched his tent toward the city of sin and sin just simply means shortcomings. I mean, so we all have shortcomings and so, no, one's perfect, but here's what he did.
(06:49): He pitched his tent toward the city of sin. And next thing you know, you guys read further, he ends up there and then next thing you know, things happen there. And then pretty much ends up losing his wife and so on and so forth. So he started off by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He never should have been there, but then he just, he, he focused on something he should not have focused on. And I'm going to tell you guys again, what you focus on, you tend to get. So there's something I call the four DS or the dangerous DS if you want, I want to call them, but I'm going to skip a little bit and talk about my focus and the things. I think the three events that happened in my life that changed my life. I focus for ever and allowed me to get to where I am today.
(07:46): I'm going to call them the, watch, the drive, the Bible study, the wash, the drive, the Bible study. I'm going to start with a watch. When, when I first got to Hawaii back in 1994, my cousin Jay column, JJ was here. He was stationed here in Hawaii before me. And I was so excited to hook up with my cousin again, because we grew up like brothers and stuff. You know, the, the, the dirt rock fights and all the stuff we used to do with our kids, just a blast. So JJ was here, has wife was here. Also his brother, Antonio was here. They got stationed here in Hawaii together. So I was extremely happy. And then I had just got married. And so, you know, my wife and I, we were just extremely happy to hook up with my cousin. And so the first thing he did when we hooked up and we got together, we went to this place called Hanauma Bay, and Hanauma Bay is one of the most beautiful places in the world.
(08:37): You can go there and you can snorkel and just kind of like stay there for hours and hours and hours, hours, and hours and hours. And so we got our snorkel gear and I made a mistake and I had, I had just bought this brand new two-tone watch. It was really nice, but it had the band that like the elastic type of the metal band, the stretch, the stretch band. So I ran and I dove head first into the water with my watch, Sean, I hit a wave. And next thing you know, my watch was gone because it was too close to the show, or there is a lot of sand that was kind of kicking up and I couldn't see, and that just ruined my, it ruined my day, but it didn't last. And so after we were done snorkeling, we got in the car and we drove up to the lookout and the lookout was overlooking this place community called Hawaii, Kai and Hawaii has a very beautiful place.
(09:32): I don't know if you guys urban Hawaii, but certain parts of it. You know, it's really nice, but it's place whole Hawaii. And I looked there and I said to myself, I said, I will live here someday. I will live here someday. And that set the tone for me. Okay. So I began to think in my mind, and it was like a pipe dream at that time, because I was only, I think it was like 20 years old. I hadn't even made 21 yet. And so I said, man, I'm going to live here someday. So we went on about our life here in Hawaii. And the next thing you know, I got a job that, where I drove out to Hawaii to visit people, I'd probably told the story before I would visit people in their homes. And, you know, some people had really nice houses and I would go and deliver their policies or review their life insurance policies with them because that was my job at the time.
(10:24): And so again, I was like, wow, now I'm driving out here to Hawaii to, you know, to deliver policies and some time went on. And next thing you know, I had met friend and that friend became extremely successful and he was able to buy a house was right on the Marina. That was well over a million dollars and beautiful home. It was just phenomenal. I had probably never been in a house that nice. And so he would have Bible studies at his house on Friday night, we would go out there and visit. And one night a guy had got lost coming out to his house. And so he said, Hey, why don't you go pick him up? He's lost over here at this, this, you know, this place over here, he's lost. And so the next thing, you know, I go over and I pick the guy up long story short.
(11:14): It was at the condominium Gaydon condo, the gated community that I live in now. And when I drove it drove up to the gate, I was like, wow, it would really be nice to live here someday. So when we went and back to the Bible, study out over the water, you can see this condo all lit up Christmas lights and everything on it. It was very beautiful. And so every time I went there, I would focus on that. I would see that. And next thing you know, my business became successful. And then we were able to move out to that area of Kauai community in that community rented a condo, a townhouse. And then the next thing, you know, we're putting in an, on a place in this gated community. And it was, we got up to the gate and I was like, wow, this is crazy.
(12:00): We're about to, we're about to go in here and look at a place. And one of the things that came to me was Harold, you don't deserve that. Why are you, why are you even looking here? But I sent in my mind, why not me? And anytime you're facing something and you think you deserved it and you've worked hard for it. You got to say to yourself, why not me? Okay. And so we went in, we looked at it, we put our down payment down and we did everything we needed to do. And it was hell, but we actually qualified for the loan and, you know, we got the place and that just started me off on, on a whole different trajectory. And along the way, I've always taken time out to refocus and to repurpose all my goals, my dreams and my, and my objectives.
(12:50): And every year I take about a week or two and just really think at the end of the year, what is it that I'm focusing on? Because you get what you focus on. Okay. And it can be good or bad. All right. But here are some dangerous DS that can throw you off the dangerous DS. Number one, distractions. Oh my God, man. I hate distractions with all I have. I, I hate, I hate distractions. And why, because distractions are kind of light like my kryptonite and I'll be on a really good roll. And next thing you know, boom, some kind of distraction will happen either. Either it's a person or it is a situation or it is a circumstance. And I'll tell you something, negative distractions are, are magnetic. And you kind of bring them on yourself, either through a door that you have left, open somewhere or something going on in a relationship that you failed to deal with.
(13:59): There's always something you can do to get rid of the distractions in your life. And they have to be dealt with. Sometimes they are painful. Sometimes they are family members. Sometimes, you know, it could be a friend or something and you know, distractions can just come out of nowhere, but you have to learn how to handle them. Sometimes you have to rock the boat before there is smooth sailing. I know it's painful, but I'm going to tell you something out of all the great people that I've studied, they have one thing in common. They all know how to deal with distractions. You will never be great. You will never be successful. You will never accomplish anything that you set out to accomplish until you learn to handle distractions. Number two, disappointments.
(14:49): I have faced my fair of disappointments. And sometimes it has a lot to do with relationships. It has a lot to do with like our own shortcomings. Maybe self-inflicted wounds or unforced errors, but disappointment, you know, they're going to come. And sometimes they come and, and you know, in the, in the form of people, problems, sometimes people, they don't know how to handle themselves. And there's a saying out there that goes like this hurt people, hurt people. When you come across people that are hurt, they talk hurt. You know, a lot of times, the only thing you can do for them is pray for them, wish them well and kind of send them on their way. But if you allow hurt people into your life, they're going to hurt you. And then you're going to become the hurt person that hurts somebody else. One of the things that I pray to God all the time, please help.
(15:42): I mean, not to hurt people or cause anyone any type of unnecessary pain, because I am not a perfect human, I make mistakes. And I pray all the time that that God will help me to make sure I'm not hurting anyone. I'm not stepping on anybody's toes. I'm not doing anything unnecessarily to cause anyone pain because I don't want to be a disappointment one. Cause I hate when people are a disappointment to me, another thing, disasters, storms, man. Sometimes things just come out. You like, like, like we had this I'm not even going to get into all the, the things that have happened in my life. But I've had a lot of, a lot of disasters happen to me, different tragedies and things like that. That could have thrown me off that could have really derailed my life, but I learn how to deal with disasters.
(16:34): And the biggest thing you have to do is recover. Sometimes you have to take time to recover from disaster. Sometimes we try to plow through them. Sometimes we try to push on, but we have to take a moment and recover from our disasters. There's a lot, a lot of other DS out there that I can get into. But for the sake of time, I just wanted to share with you guys, the thing moving forward is you tend to get what you focus on. And so there's a lot of things happening in the world today that has really distracted a lot of us. And that's a big one right there. So we've got to put these distractions aside and we have to learn how to focus on our future. Key to handling that is to make sure you have a well balanced plan. And if you don't have a plan to get yourself from where you are today, to where you need to be or a plan that will help buffer you from some of the distraction, some of the disappointments in some of, in some of the disasters, a lot of this stuff is avoidable, but you just have to have a plan and you have to have eyes out for you and you have to have people looking out for you and you have to have a team that can help you through this.
(17:45): And so if you want to know more, you can go to my website, retired now, retire wild.com and then go to the rapid retire section, download the game changer form, or just get in contact with me, gave me a holler (808) 521-4401. And I'll be in touch with you to help you stop doing what you hate. Another thing I just want to say real quick is we finally got our college funding system up and, and it's it's about there. And if you want to know more about how I can help you create a blueprint to get your kids through college, or you may have friends who need help with college, or a lot of times people won't say they need help, but you know, and it's an embarrassing topic. But if you know people with kids that are in maybe ninth grade to 11th grade or so on, have them go to my new site.
(18:35): It's bright www bright B R I G H T F G Fox trot, george.info to learn more about the college funding system. So thank you guys for listening in today. Thank you for allowing me to share with you. I want you to have some mad focus because we're coming up on the end of the year and it's time to revamp and to retool and but make sure you get some rest first. Okay. Cause it's hard to focus without rest and then, and then we can go from there. So until next time you guys, one, two, three,
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