47 Motivational Quotes to Start Your Day

"You can do it!"

When's the last time someone said that to you? In the daily grind, you might not always receive words of motivation from your managers because they get pushed to the wayside as calls and meetings pile up.

So, think of this list as your personal cheerleader. It's ready to help start your day right and make it one you're proud of.

Today, you'll succeed in connecting with that hard-to-reach prospect. Today, you'll close that complex deal. Today, you'll go from being a good manager to a great one.

Today is the day. So, grab your coffee and check out these quotes!

Motivational Quotes of the Day

1. "People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing -- that's why we recommend it daily." -Zig Ziglar

2. "Someday is not a day of the week." -Denise Brennan-Nelson

3. "Hire character. Train skill." -Peter Schutz

4. "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life." -Steve Jobs

5. "Sales are contingent upon the attitude of the salesman -- not the attitude of the prospect." -W. Clement Stone

6. "Everyone lives by selling something." -Robert Louis Stevenson

7. "If you are not taking care of your customer, your competitor will." -Bob Hooey

8. "The golden rule for every businessman is this: Put yourself in your customer's place." -Orison Swett Marden

9. "If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way." -Napoleon Hill

10. "The best leaders are those most interested in surrounding themselves with assistants and associates smarter than they are. They are frank in admitting this and are willing to pay for such talents." -Antos Parrish

11. "Beware of monotony; it's the mother of all the deadly sins." -Edith Wharton

12. "Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else." -J.M. Barrie

13. "Without a customer, you don't have a business -- all you have is a hobby." -Don Peppers

14. "To be most effective in sales today, it's imperative to drop your 'sales' mentality and start working with your prospects as if they've already hired you." -Jill Konrath

15. "Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, 'Make me feel important.' Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life." -Mary Kay Ash

16. "It's not just about being better. It's about being different. You need to give people a reason to choose your business." -Tom Abbott

17. "Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art. Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art." -Andy Warhol

18. "Be patient with yourself. Self-growth is tender; it's holy ground. There's no greater investment." -Stephen Covey

Motivational Quotes for Every Day

Weeks can feel long and bog you down, and it can be tough to stay motivated. We've all been there and sometimes we just need a boost. I've got just the thing for you -- here are quotes for each weekday to keep you going while you work.

Motivational quotes for Monday

Monday is the day to set yourself up for success throughout the entire week. Check out these quotes about initiative to get you started on the right foot.

19. "Without hustle, talent will only carry you so far." -Gary Vaynerchuk

20. "Working hard for something we don't care about is called stressed; working hard for something we love is called passion." -Simon Sinek

21. "I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done." -Lucille Ball

22. "I didn't get there by wishing for it or hoping for it, but by working for it." -Estée Lauder

23. "Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later." -Og Mandino

Motivational quotes for Tuesday

You're in the swing of things now. Here are a few quotes about overcoming challenges for some Tuesday inspiration.

24. "The key to life is accepting challenges. Once someone stops doing this, he's dead." -Bette Davis

25. "Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new." -Brian Tracy

26. "Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful." -Joshua J. Marine

27. "Don't let the fear of losing be greater than the excitement of winning." -Robert Kiyosaki

28. "How dare you settle for less when the world has made it so easy for you to be remarkable?" -Seth Godin

Motivational quotes for Wednesday

Whoa, you're halfway there! Take a look at these quotes about perseverance for the motivation you need to work through the Wednesday afternoon slump.

29. "Energy and persistence conquer all things." -Benjamin Franklin

30. "Perseverance is failing 19 times and succeeding the 20th." -Julie Andrews

31. "Grit is that ‘extra something' that separates the most successful people from the rest. It's the passion, perseverance, and stamina that we must channel in order to stick with our dreams until they become a reality." -Travis Bradberry

32. "Failure after long perseverance is much grander than never to have a striving good enough to be called a failure." -George Eliot

33. "The secret of joy in work is contained in one word -- excellence. To know how to do something well is to enjoy it." -Pearl Buck

Motivational quotes for Thursday

You're in the final stretch of the week. These quotes about success are sure to power you through until the weekend.

34. "Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success." -Dale Carnegie

35. "Action is the foundational key to all success." -Pablo Picasso

36. "The ladder of success is best climbed by stepping on the rungs of opportunity." -Ayn Rand

37. "Formula for success: rise early, work hard, strike oil." -J. Paul Getty

38. "The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will." -Vince Lombardi

Motivational quotes for Friday

It's Friday, or should I say Fri-yay! Pat yourself on the back for the hard work you've put in all week. Here are some determination quotes to help you cross the finish line.

39. "Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal." -Henry Ford

40. "It is your determination and persistence that will make you a successful person." -Kenneth J Hutchins

41. "You can waste your lives drawing lines. Or you can live your life crossing them." -Shonda Rhimes

42. "Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way." -Abraham Lincoln

43. "Done is better than perfect." -Sheryl Sandberg

Motivational Quotes for Seizing the Day

44. "Don't ask if your dream is crazy, ask if it's crazy enough." -Lena Waithe

45. "The act of doing something un-does the fear." -Shonda Rhimes

46. "Be poor, humble and driven (PhD). Don't be afraid to shift or pivot." -Alex Rodriguez

47. "#1 make good decisions, #2 everything else." -Rand Fishkin

Congratulations! You made it to the weekend. 

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- Doug Myrick

6 Ways to Ensure a Long-Lasting Retirement

For most people the road to retirement is a multi-step process that lasts a working lifetime. To that end, here are six ways to plan and ensure a long-lasting retirement.

1. Set Retirement Goals

It all starts with setting goals. Long-term goals define how much you want to have saved in various accounts by the time you retire. These goals have to do with how you want to live in retirement, where you want to live, and so on. It’s important to realize that even long-term goals will likely change as time and circumstances warrant.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Ensuring you are financially secure throughout retirement starts with setting financial and lifestyle goals, as well as what age you would like to retire.
• Make sure to understand the different retirement plans available to you, including how they are taxed.
• If you plan to work during retirement be aware of the potential tax consequences.
• Also plan with your spouse in mind, as well as exes if you are divorced—you may be entitled to some of their retirement plan savings or vice versa.
• Monitor your progress every step of the way and be aware that long-term goals can change over time.

Meeting these goals requires that you maximize savings while minimizing taxes, keep expenses in check, set age-appropriate goals, and monitor your progress every step of the way.

2. Pay Attention to Timing

Timing as it relates to retirement tends to revolve around what has long been considered normal retirement age—the upper 60s. That said, when you should retire is a highly individual thing.

As with financial goals, this is also subject to change. Everything from declining health to unexpected wealth (winning the lottery, for example) could alter your plans.

Important: The age for receiving full Social Security retirement benefits is now 66 or 67, depending on when you were born—but waiting until age 70 increases them by 8% each year you delay taking them.

One important aspect of timing has to do with the specific age of 59½, the first time (usually) when you can draw on your tax-advantaged retirement savings without incurring a penalty. There are financial and tax implications of drawing down your nest egg before and after age 59½ to consider.

If you don't plan to retire early or don't need to tap your retirement savings at 59½, it's best to let your nest egg grow and to continue contributing to it. Keep in mind that required minimum distributions (RMDs) don't kick in until you are 70½ for most retirement accounts.

3. Understand Available Retirement Savings Options

Understanding available employer-sponsored savings plans, including 401(k), 403(b), 457, SIMPLE IRA and SEP plans, provides the foundation for building your entire nest egg. You should also know the importance of having a traditional and/or Roth IRA as part of your overall retirement savings picture.

In addition, you should learn how a Health Savings Account (HSA) could save you money before and after retirement.

These retirement savings tools, together with effective and tax-efficient investment strategies, will provide you with the best insurance you can have when it comes to avoiding financial disaster.

4. Plan for Extra Retirement Income

Although retirement is often thought of as a time to kick back and relax, most people find themselves as busy as they ever were, though doing different things. For many, staying busy also means earning extra income. Some people buy and manage investment property. Others turn a hobby into a small business. Still others get a part-time job, both for the money and the social contact.

Managing extra income during retirement could have tax consequences. If for, example, you take Social Security benefits and continue to work those benefits might be lowered depending on your age and how much you earn. Working during retirement could also bump you into a higher tax bracket, particularly if you are subject to RMDs.

5. Don’t Forget Your Partner

Retirement for couples is a joint project and can be complicated. There are timing issues to ensure that you and your partner both gain maximum benefit from Social Security, including those specifically related to spousal benefits.

There are personal and emotional issues as well. If, for example, one of you keeps working while the other retires, how will household management change? On the other hand, the huge life changes of retiring at the very same time can also be unnecessarily stressful for a relationship. 

In the event of a divorce, you may be subject to a qualified domestic relations order (QDRO), which could require you to split your pension or retirement savings with your ex-spouse.

6. Mind the End Game

For most people, age 50 is the beginning of the retirement end game. Ideally, you will start by fortifying your nest egg with catch-up contributions. You will also need to review your investment mix more frequently to make sure you have the right combination of securities to mitigate risk while ensuring sufficient growth.

In the last year or two before you retire, you will need to review both healthcare and home-repair needs and see that they are completed while there’s still a salary (and, one hopes, employer-sponsored health insurance) coming in.

This may also be a time to make charitable contributions that will be more beneficial tax-wise before your income declines.

Finally, you will need to pay attention to the early years of retirement, before RMDs kick in and your taxable income potentially sees an increase.

The Bottom Line

The road to retirement includes setting goals, timing, taking advantage of retirement savings options, understanding the impact of taxation and tax benefits, planning with a partner (if you have one), and staying on top of it all when you actually get there. You’ll need to monitor your progress every step of the way and make adjustments when needed.

If you take the six steps above, you should be able to head into the next stage of your life well prepared and funded.

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- Doug Myrick

Flea and Tick Populations Continue to Rise

Plenty of pests pose health risks to humans, but there are also those that can be harmful for the four-legged family members as well. Summer is prime season for ticks and fleas, which pose serious health risks to pets. Dogs are very susceptible to tick bites and tickborne diseases so it is important that pet owners take precautionary steps to prevent flea and tick infestations. Fleas and ticks are especially problematic in the warmer months and experts are actually predicting a banner year for tick infestations. Time spent playing outside with pets or walking in the woods or in tall grassy can put pets at risk for picking up these pests. It's important to carefully check pets frequently throughout the season.

To help homeowners protect their families and pets this summer, here are five important precautions to prevent an infestation.

1. Keep outdoor play areas and lawns groomed and clear of brush, grass clippings, woodpiles and leaf debris.  These are ideal havens for rodents such as mice and rats which are renowned carriers of fleas and ticks. 
2. Bathe and groom pets often and visit a veterinarian for professional flea and tick treatments.  Also, inspect them daily, especially the front shoulders, back and ears.  Fleas are notorious hitchhikers and with the ability to jump more than 200 times their body length, it is extremely easy for them to catch a ride on a pet and into a home.
3. Vacuum frequently.  This will help remove fleas and prevent the laying of eggs.  It’s important to remember that fleas are not only fantastic hitchhikers, but also professional escape artists. After vacuuming, immediately dispose of the bag.
4. When outside, in areas where ticks are common, it’s important to dress properly.  Wear long-sleeved shirts and pants and if possible, wear clothing light in color so ticks are easier to detect. Also, use a tick repellant containing DEET or Permethrin and when returning indoors, inspect clothing and skin and pets for ticks, especially the head and behind the ears.
5. If a flea or tick infestation is suspected, a pest professional should be contacted immediately to eradicate the problem.

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- Doug Myrick

Is forced telemedicine the future of healthcare?

Would you take unlimited 24/7 access to primary care doctors via smartphone, tablet or computer, with zero out-of-pocket co-pays, if it meant you’d have to pay a lot more money to see your regular doctor in person?

Welcome to the future of telemedicine, also known as telehealth.

Insurance giant Humana is betting many will be happy with such a trade. The company has partnered with a telemedicine provider called Doctor on Demand to offer a discount-priced teledoc-based health insurance plan it calls On Hand.

The plan, which costs employers up to 20 percent less than traditional plans, became available in Florida on June 1.

A new telemedicine law signed last month by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will make it easier for physicians licensed out of state to provide services to Florida residents. Out-of-state doctors can pay a one-time $150 registration fee to see Florida patients.

Modern technology and ultrafast connectivity is undoubtedly changing how health care is delivered around the world. The internet makes it possible for specialists on the other side of the globe to participate in complex, delicate surgeries, as well as for surgeons to examine patients being treated by paramedics in an ambulance or on a living room floor.

Yet, online examinations have been widely available for several years now, but analysts say we’re just not warming up to the idea as they expected.

- Doug Myrick

Steer Clear Of This Bad Financial Guidance

The internet is full of financial advice, but you can’t trust everything you read.  Sharing some examples of tenets you should think twice about:

• “Don’t sweat student loan debt.” You can’t bet on debt forgiveness once you’re out of college. Don’t borrow more than you need, and develop a plan for paying off debt as quickly as possible.
• “Trade in your car often.” Some people trade for a new car every other year. That means having a car loan for the rest of your life—which means spending money you could use for other purposes.
• “Credit card balances are no problem.” Carrying a balance means paying interest, which makes getting out of debt even harder. Do your best to pay off your bill every month in full.
• “Buying a home is better than renting.” Sometimes true, but not always. Remember that buying a home comes with fees, mortgage payments, property taxes, and maintenance costs. Depending on where you live, renting may be a better option—and allows you to be more flexible if you have to move for a new job.
• “Wait to save for retirement.” You have lots of time to think about retirement, right?  Wrong. The earlier you start saving, the more money you’ll have once you hit 65 or 70. Waiting until you’re older gives you fewer options.

- Doug Myrick

Thwart Dog Bites

Did you know that dog bites cause over 2,000 injuries that require immediate medical care in the United States each day? You can be held legally liable if your dog bites someone. Fortunately, this loss is usually covered by the homeowners policy, with some exceptions. In fact, around 33 percent of all liability insurance claims paid by homeowners policies are for dog bites!

Even if your insurance covers the claim (and any ensuing lawsuit), however, imagine the personal grief you and your family would feel for the injured friend, not to mention the time and trouble you would incur in cooperating with your insurer in defending the claim following a tragic event involving your pet.

Therefore, thwarting such an ill-fated occurrence should be your primary objective, and there are steps you can take to reduce or prevent dog bites. Here are some suggestions from the professionals.

• Consider dog breeds carefully prior to selecting a pet. Some breeds may be more aggressive than others. A veterinarian can help you decide which breeds might best fit your lifestyle.
• Spay or neuter the animal, as this often decreases the aggressiveness of dogs.
• Seek a veterinarian's advice quickly if your dog becomes aggressive.
• Socialize your dog from an early age to encourage appropriate behavior.
• Never leave dogs alone with small children.
• Avoid aggressive games with puppies and dogs, such as tug-of-war.
• Do not place your dog in situations where he or she can be teased or feel threatened.
• Train your dog to obey commands.
• If your dog does bite someone, a board-certified plastic surgeon should treat this person to minimize scarring and potential disfigurement.

There is one other loss exposure concerning dogs you should consider. You may face liability claims if your dog gets out into the road and causes or contributes to an auto accident. You can be sued for violation of leash ordinances by allowing your dog to run at large. Use a well-maintained and sturdy fence or other safeguards to reduce this exposure.

If your dog does injure someone despite all your efforts to avoid it, report it to your insurance company immediately to assure your coverage is not jeopardized for late reporting.

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- Doug Myrick

5 Ways Life Insurance Can Help You in Retirement

As retirement draws near, it’s only natural to look at your life insurance coverage and wonder whether any changes should be made. After all, you might have first purchased life insurance half a lifetime ago. Back then, it offered a great way to safeguard your income during your prime working years, particularly if you had young children to raise or decades of future mortgage payments to consider.

Some examples of how life insurance can offer advantages in retirement include:

1. Wealth transfer to heirs: Life insurance is one of the most effective methods for creating an orderly succession of assets to future generations and establishing a legacy via charitable bequests.

2. Access to cash: If you believe the same level of coverage will no longer be needed, you can access the cash value of a permanent life insurance policy to help fund your retirement.

3. Support for a widow/widower: Perhaps you want to ensure that a surviving spouse is able to pay certain expenses after one of you passes away.

4. Protection from the onset of chronic illnesses: Many life insurance policies allow people to access the death benefits for chronic illness before death.

5. Charitable giving: Life insurance can be used in several ways to support an individual’s charitable giving strategy as retirement approaches.

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- Doug Myrick

10 Things You Absolutely Need To Know About Life Insurance

Life insurance is one of the pillars of personal finance, deserving of consideration by every household. I’d even go so far as to say it’s vital for most. Yet, despite its nearly universal applicability, there remains a great deal of confusion, and even skepticism, regarding life insurance.

Perhaps this is due to life insurance’s complexity, the posture of those who sell it or merely our preference for avoiding the topic of our own demise. But armed with the proper information, you can simplify the decision-making process and arrive at the right choice for you and your family.

To help, here are 10 things you absolutely need to know about life insurance:

1. If anyone relies on you financially, you need life insurance. It’s virtually obligatory if you are a spouse or the parent of dependent children. But you may also require life insurance if you are someone’s ex-spouse, life partner, a child of dependent parents, the sibling of a dependent adult, an employee, an employer or a business partner. If you are stably retired or financially independent, and no one would suffer financially if you were to be no more, then you don’t need life insurance. You may, however, consider using life insurance as a strategic financial tool.

2. Life insurance does not simply apply a monetary value to someone’s life. Instead, it helps compensate for the inevitable financial consequences that accompany the loss of life. Strategically, it helps those left behind cover the costs of final expenses, outstanding debts and mortgages, planned educational expenses and lost income. But most importantly, in the aftermath of an unexpected death, life insurance can lessen financial burdens at a time when surviving family members are dealing with the loss of a loved one. In addition, life insurance can provide valuable peace of mind for the policy holder. That is why life insurance is vital for the bread winner of a single-income household, but still important for a stay-at-home spouse.

3. Life insurance is a contract (called a policy). A policy is a contract between a life insurance company and someone (or occasionally something, like a trust) who has a financial interest in the life and livelihood of someone else. The insurance company pools the premiums of policyholders and pays out claims—called a death benefit—in the event of a death. The difference between the premiums taken in and the claims paid out is the insurance company’s profit.

4. There are four primary players, or roles, in a life insurance policy. These roles belong to the insurer, the owner, the insured and the beneficiary. The insurer is the insurance company, responsible for paying out claims in the case of a death. The owner of the policy is responsible for premium payments to the insurance company. The insured is the person upon whose life the policy is based. The beneficiary is the person, trust or other entity due to receive the life insurance claim—or death benefit—in the case of the insured’s passing. For example, I am both the owner and the insured for two life insurance policies (with two different insurers, as it happens). My wife is the beneficiary of each. We walk through the numbers together at least annually (and after major arguments, to prove that I’m still worth more alive!).

5. Life insurance is a risk management tool, not an investment. While some life insurance policies have an investment feature that can offer a degree of tax privilege, insurance is rarely an optimal investment. There’s usually a better, more efficient tool for the financial task you’re trying to accomplish. If you haven’t yet filled up your emergency cash reserves, paid off all non-mortgage debt, maxed out your 401(k) or Roth IRA, contributed to an education savings plan (where appropriate) and set money aside for large purchases you expect in the next decade, then you likely need not concern yourself with types of life insurance that contain an investment component. (You’ll see why in #7.)

6. There are two broad varieties of life insurance about which you should become aware—term and permanent. Term life is the simplest, the least expensive and the most widely applicable. With term life, a life insurance company bases the policy premium on the probability that the insured will die within a stated term—typically 10, 20 or 30 years. The premiums are guaranteed for the length of the term, after which the policy becomes cost-prohibitive to maintain or you decide to let it lapse. Yes, this means that you may very well pay premiums for decades and “get nothing out of it.” But that’s good news, because it means you’re winning at the game of life.

Permanent life insurance includes this same probability-of-death calculus, but also includes a savings mechanism. This mechanism, which is often referred to as “cash value,” is designed to help the policy exist into perpetuity. Whole life—the original—has an investment component much like bonds or CDs (but backed by the insurance company). Variable life offers investment options more like mutual funds. Universal life was designed as a less expensive permanent life insurance alternative with added flexibility, but increased interest rate risk for the owner. Although they tend to be more complex and expensive, there are financial dilemmas—often related to business planning and/or high-net-worth estate planning—for which permanent life insurance may be the only solution. There are a few select instances where permanent policies are engineered to maximize the tax-privileged growth of cash value. They are, however, only appropriate for a small number of people and still dependent on numerous other factors to work the way they’re intended.

7. Life insurance can be extremely expensive, but it can also be surprisingly inexpensive. If you apply for a bells-and whistles permanent policy, the size of the premiums alone might cause you to need a life insurance benefit right then and there. But most people are pleasantly surprised when they see the relatively low premiums of a plain-vanilla term policy. A healthy, non-smoking, 30-something male, for example, might pay less than $500 per year for a 20-year term policy with a million dollar death benefit. That same individual might be required to pay 10—or even 20—times as much for a variable or whole life insurance policy with a matching death benefit. No, a term/perm comparison is not apples-to-apples. I would hazard to guess, however, that a recent widower cares little for bells-and-whistles but a great deal for the death benefit. Of course, a smoker will likely pay twice as much for any of the above. Someone with health problems could pay triple or more (or simply be declined for coverage).

8. Determining the optimal life insurance policy for you doesn’t have to be complicated. While we could get really granular with a detailed life insurance needs analysis, it’s more important to get set up with something you can comprehend than it is to push off an important decision due to life insurance’s intimidating complexity. In the vast majority of situations, a household would be well cared for simply by buying enough life insurance to replicate all or most of the insured’s income for a term as long as the household expects to need that income.

Therefore, consider this simple but effective strategy for determining how much life insurance your household needs. Multiply a wage earner’s income by 15 and purchase a policy with an equivalent death benefit for a term that extends until the person insured would presumably retire. Why 15? Because it works. But it works because it results in a number that should re-create 75% of a wage earner’s income if the death benefit was conservatively invested to earn 5% (hopefully plus a bit more for inflation) annually. Here’s an example:

• Dave makes $100,000.
• $100,000 x 15 = $1,500,000 of death benefit
• $1,500,000 earning 5% annually produces $75,000 of income.

9. Consider using a live person to help in your death planning. There are many online tools that can help give you an idea of how much money you should pay for the policy you need. But once you get to that point, I would recommend contacting a real, live insurance agent who can walk you through the application and underwriting process. The premiums at a given insurance company are identical whether you apply online, via a toll-free number or with a person. Indeed, a knowledgeable and dedicated insurance broker or agent may help you save money by choosing the best carrier for your particular situation. Underwriting, by the way, is the necessarily tedious process through which the insurance company classifies how much of a risk you are, based on your current health, past health, the health of your parents and siblings and enough other questions to make anyone blush. Answer truthfully—but succinctly.

10. Know your options when cancelling an existing life insurance policy so you don’t leave money, or coverage, on the table. If you have a policy that isn’t appropriate for you—or you simply no longer need it—it’s important to proceed carefully. First, if you realize that you have overpaid for a policy that doesn’t meet your needs, but you still need life insurance, don’t cancel the wrong policy until the right policy is in place. Who knows, you could learn of a health complication that is going to lead to you being declined for the new policy. Then you’d be left without any coverage. If you have an existing term policy you no longer need, you can simply cease premium payments and it will go away. If you have an unnecessary permanent policy with a cash value, however, you should analyze its present and expected future investment value, as well as any prospective tax complications, before cashing it in. You can do so by requesting an “in-force illustration” and a “cost basis report” from your agent.

I suspect we don’t love talking about life insurance because we don’t like talking about death. No shocker there. But open and honest discussions about planning for an unexpected death can be surprisingly life-giving. And even if you don’t buy that, the chances are good that purchasing life insurance is still an important part of your long-term and comprehensive financial plan.

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- Doug Myrick