Washington Women Veterans Summit 2009

Posted by Glenn Leach on September 3rd, 2009 filed in Glenn's Blog Posts
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“Top 10 Ways to Get Out of Debt and Build Wealth” is the title of my workshop at the Women Veterans Summit this year.  I’m so excited about being asked to speak at the 2009 Washington Women Veterans Summit, being held Sept 12, 2009 at the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center.  This is a huge FREE all-day event offering workshops, networking, and hundreds of exhibitors offering services and information for Women Veterans.

When I first entered the mortgage business after a successful stint as a sales training manager under Sunny Kobe Cook of Sleep Country USA fame, I was very nervous about working in such a volatile industry and scared about whether or not I could attract enough clients on my own.  Sunny had a way of making sure we always had a steady stream of customers to serve.  Like her ads or hate her ads, people came in to buy her products. 

Turns out I was right to be nervous about the mortgage biz 

I would have months where I had too many customers to serve properly, followed by months where I couldn’t find a customer to save my life.  I would embark on month’s long campaigns focusing on a certain type of borrower or lending program, start reaping the rewards from the effort, only to wake up one morning to news that guidelines had changed, programs or products  had been eliminated, and I no longer had anything to offer these potential clients I had spent so much time and effort attracting.

I’ve learned so much about myself

This roller coaster ride was exciting and challenging, filled with extremes of exhilaration and frustration.  I’d start each day believing I could do it and then face and almost constant bombardment of roadblocks and doubt.  Yet I continued on because each client that I successfully helped brought joy and satisfaction and hope for tomorrow.  Through it all, I’ve learned so much about myself, about risk vs. reward, about money, success, perseverance, and security.

As I’ve dealt with clients who are struggling – hit hard by the economy, being affected negatively by the changes in lending, living under the assumption that home values always go up, that jobs last forever, that disaster cannot happen to them, and that credit will always be available to those who need it – I’ve been working on solutions and strategies to help people succeed, regardless of outside forces.  I’m driven by the desire to help my folks get from “Here” to “There”, regardless of where their “Here” is right now.

Help for those struggling with credit, debt, spending, earning…

That is why I am so excited about being asked to present at this Summit.  It has given me a deadline to gather and organize and compile these ideas I have.  I’ve spent a lot of time recently updated and revamping this website to accommodate these ideas and I will add to it as I expand these areas.  The plan is to continue to offer help to those struggling with credit, debt, spending, earning – with specific ideas and strategies.

We’ll expand on the creative ideas about home buying and selling strategies, how to manage your home’s equity wisely and safely, and how to grow wealth.  The “There” I’m shooting for, for all my clients and readers, is the “Peace of Mind” that can only come through “Financial Security”.  I’ll create my Legacy by helping others create their own Legacies.

If you’re a Women Veteran who wants to register for the Summit, here’s the link:  http://www.dva.wa.gov/women_vets.html.  Deadline for registration is Sept 7^th.  Again, it’s free!  There should be well over 1,000 other attendees there too so don’t be surprised to see old friends!  And you’ll come out of the day with loads of information and resources you didn’t know before, better prepared to face an uncertain future.

Contact info for Glenn Leach can be found at http://legacyg.com/gleach.htm 

Do You Have A Dream?

Posted by Glenn Leach on August 28th, 2009 filed in Build Your Wealth, Glenn's Blog Posts
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Today, August 28, 2009, marks the 46^th Anniversary of Martin Luther King’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech.  Take some time today and read or listen to the complete speech (I did) – it is powerful and moving – a reminder of a darker time in America, yet a beacon of hope because so many of King’s dreams have already come true.  People can change – and that gives us all hope for a better tomorrow.

King gave his speech standing on the steps on the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.  The speech was the culmination of the massive day-long “March on Washington” event that King helped to organize.  Thousands of people rallied together, peacefully marching the streets before listening to songs by Bob Dylan and Joan Baez and speeches by Charlton Heston, Roy Wilkins, and John Lewis before King got up to speak.

March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

Although the event is remembered today as the “March on Washington”, the full title of the event was actually “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom”.  Should we be rallying today for “Jobs and Freedom” too? 

An excerpt from the speech reads:  “When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” 

You don’t have the “right” to be happy

I love the reminder that King gave of the “dream” of our Founding Fathers:  that all Americans should have the right to pursue happiness.  We don’t have the right to “be happy”, only the right to pursue happiness for ourselves.  The underlying theme of the Civil Rights Movement of the early 1960’s was that hatred and predudice was preventing others from pursuing life, liberty, and happiness by limiting opportunities for employment and free association.

King wanted all people to be allowed to pursue their own individual dreams – to become all that we can become without artificial barriers in our way – to be judged by “the content of our character”.  We as a country have accomplished much since his speech and that should be celebrated today.

What is your dream?

Do you have a dream?  Are you actively pursuing happiness?  Thousands of American soldiers, civilians, and even King himself gave the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that you have the right to pursue your dreams.  Are you doing it?

Do you need a better job?  What are you doing today to put yourself in position to have a better job?  Are you daily improving your skills so your work has more value?  Or maybe you are struggling with the burden of debt?  What are you doing to attack that beast in your pursuit of financial freedom?  You have the right to be your own bailout!  To fight your way out of it!

As King said:  “I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.”

Identify your dream and pursue it with all your might!  Don’t let anything get in your way.