Dennis Bridges On Carving Away The Fear

I wrote this piece a couple months ago to my business clients and colleagues, whom I keep in touch with outside of these “Personal Strategy Notes”, and I felt that as we turn the corner into March (and we’re staving off the lions, hoping for lambs), it was something that ALL of my contacts should hear.

It’s about how we process the world around us.

But before I get there, a tax-related alert (and follow-up from last week):

* The Department of Treasury has announced that the IRS will not collect additional taxes from those 50,000 (or so) taxpayers who had already filed using the bad forms 1095-A. In other words, if you’re one of those 50,000 taxpayers who has already filed using those bad forms and you would have owed money by using the corrected forms, there’s no need to file an amended return. If, however, you have already filed and the revised forms benefit you (meaning you’re due money back), you likely want to amend your returns. Give us a call if that’s you: (770) 984-8008

http://1.usa.gov/1wF01wZ

If you have NOT filed your taxes yet, and you received a bad form, it is important to note that we need to wait for the corrected form 1095-A to arrive before we can send your paperwork into the Treasury.

Now … I pay attention to this stuff, so you don’t have to.

Honestly, I’m tired of seeing clients and friends who are “beaten down” by all the fear and stress in their lives.

And there is one major source for it — which is entirely optional.

I suggest you “opt-out” of it, if you will.

Dennis Bridges On Carving Away The Fear
“Derive happiness in oneself from a good day’s work, from illuminating the fog that surrounds us.” – Henri Matisse

Life in the modern world isn’t always a trip in the sunshine.

But it’s made so much harder by the tendency of our world to suffocate you with mental junk and global negativity.

I believe that the number #1 danger for ALL of us moving forward in 2015 is allowing today’s world to starve your brain with “junk food” and deaden your spirit with the overwhelming feeling that you are small, insignificant … helpless.

I’ve learned to avoid the 24-7 news channels, and the sites online that traffic in fear. I figure that I’ll see what I need to when seeking out resources for our clients about current events. But recently, I did, in fact, watch some CNN.

Now, CNN is about as bland as you can get — it’s “normal” to “normal” people. But I also realize, most “normal” people accomplish relatively little in their time on this planet (at least on the outside). Those of us who are going somewhere in life must have better things to do than to listen to talking heads opine about dozens of tragedies that we can’t (and won’t be able to) do anything about.

But right now, the world is swimming in negativity. And you need to be serious and proactive about it. Because — if you don’t — it’ll kill your vocation, kill your career growth, kill your dreams and everything you really care about.

The mass news media is NOT your friend.

They feed on fear, and they sell paranoia, division and hyperbole. It’s what they do.
And not only must you protect yourself from this drip, drip, drip of depression, you need to fight it on behalf of your family and friends, your coworkers and customers.

Tell them what’s good. Greet them with a smile and with encouragement. Tell them what they’re doing right. Give them a voice to the hope within their bones — which is too often buried in a junkpile of media-fueled negativity.

You (and they) need to celebrate little tiny victories. Every. Day.

This is an essential skill for a business owner — and for all of us: when you have a major victory in your life, you need to find encouraging people who will celebrate it with you. Because good news is good news indeed.

Let’s continue to make the rest of 2015 full of JOY, shall we?

Warmly,

Dennis Bridges
(770) 984-8008
E. Dennis Bridges, CPA