Keeping Money in its Place || Port Alberni Investment Advisor

As an investment advisor in Port Alberni, I work with clients to help grow their money.  In today's blog, I am going to post a sixth topic in a group of seven key areas that are important to most people in order for them to feel that they have a good life.  If you haven't read my previous six blogs, please go back and read them in order to gain a better understanding of this series.  This sixth blog is titled "Keeping Money in its Place".  Money is important to us all.  It gives us the freedom to do the things we love to do, to buy a home, a car, send our children to school, go on vacations and more.  However, we have evolved into a consumer driven society, and sometimes we give money the wrong place in our lives.  When we buy material things, it gives us a temporary satisfaction, but the excitement of that new purchase doesn't last for very long.  For those who need that constant thrill that only purchasing a new item can give them, this can become something close to an addiction.  People will go to extreme measures, racking up thousands of dollars up on their credit cards, just to purchase the things they want, but don't necessarily need.  Stop and think about what is truly valuable in your life.  Most would agree that they are the things that money can't buy.  The first six topics I blogged about in the first few posts on this series, meaningful relationships, meaningful productivity, spiritual awareness, mental and physical health, are very important to us.  If we are drowning in debt because of our need "to buy", these six areas are all going to suffer.  We might think we are buying ourselves "the good life" when we heedlessly spend our money to buy "stuff", but eventually we will recognize that we can't keep up the pace and the debt becomes overwhelming.  Evaluate the important things in your life  and recognize where money belongs in the grand scheme of things.  Define your own true values, set your financial goals and live according to those values.  Keep money in its place, and you will truly start to live abundantly.  If you or someone you know is looking for financial or investing advice, please give me a call as I would be happy to discuss and work with you to help you achieve your long-term financial goals.

Photos by Stirling Images Photography

Enjoying Physical Fitness || Port Alberni Investment Advisor

Fitness is very important to me.  Being fit helps me keep up with the demands of my busy job as an investment advisor in Port Alberni.  It gives me the energy to enjoy my free time, without being exhausted from my busy work schedule.  There are so many benefits to physical exercise, but the biggest hurdle for most people is finding the time to commit to a regular exercise program.  Let's look at the benefits and hopefully they will convince you to get moving!  We all know that there is increasing evidence that physical activity and fitness can protect us against a variety of diseases and ailments such as heart disease, diabetes and many types of cancer.  Plain and simple, physical activity can help reduce the risk of premature death.  Physical activity helps with weight control and builds and maintains healthy muscles, bones and joints.  Excess fat on the human body is suspected of leading to all sorts of physical ailments and disease.  Physical exercise is a great way to keep our bodies healthy and strong and it increases our energy level so we are better able to cope with the demands of our responsibilities, whether at home or at work.  When it's time to relax, the physically fit are better able to de-stress and unwind.  Being physically fit can improve our psychological well-being so that we feel more emotionally and mentally stable, confident that we can cope with the demands of our daily lives.  Studies have shown that people who exercise regularly, can better maintain physical and mental function and are more likely to remain independent as they get older.  There are lots of good reasons to get fit, and there are lots of ways to do it!  So get on your runners, and as the Nike slogan tells us....just do it!!  It's good for you!  Here are a few photos to get you thinking about what you can do to get some exercise.  And if you're looking for ways to get your financial well-being in tip-top shape, please contact me for a consultation, because I'm always looking out for your best interest!

Photos by Stirling Images Photography

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Enjoying Good Mental Health || Port Alberni Investment Advisor

As an Investment Advisor living and working in Port Alberni, I enjoy the relationships I am able to develop with people - my family, my friends, my work associates and my clients.  Maintaining a positive relationship  of trust and caring with my clients is a very important aspect of my job.  Recently I’ve been blogging about what we need in our lives to feel we are happy and enjoying a “good life”.  Investment advising is my way of helping my clients achieve this financially, but I also like to stop and think about supporting them in more personal, intangible ways.  Enjoying life isn't just about money, it's about feeling good about who we are and where we are at any given point in our life.  This is the fourth blog in the series and today’s topic is about mental health.  Good mental health is necessary for people to feel secure, content and to acquire a sense of balance within their life.  Don’t confuse mental health with mental illness!  Mental health is about our overall psychological well-being.  When we get a sense that we are enjoying life, and able to cope with life’s challenges, we are in a positive, mentally healthy state of mind.  The way we feel about ourselves and our relationships is an important element of our mental good health. When we are able to recognize our strengths and weaknesses, we become better able to learn positive coping strategies for when the going gets tough.  Struggles often come our way in life, but when we are mentally healthy, we are able to cope and problem-solve effectively.  It is then that we become content and are able to enjoy life and have fun.  Our good mental health makes us more confident and gives us positive self-esteem, a willingness to take on challenges, to learn and adapt to changes along the way.  Our mental health also has a tremendous impact on our physical well-being and vice versa.  As you think about your fitness program, don’t forget to include a fitness check on your mental well-being.  If your mental health is strong, you are strong!  Only you can make healthy choices for yourself, and this should include choices that are not only healthy for your body, but for your mind as well.  Any sports or fitness coach will tell you that you not only have to get your body strong and in good physical condition, but you have to develop mental strength too. So get fit.  Exercise your brain as well as your body.  Reading, doing puzzles, studying a new language, talking to people, eating right, sleeping right and keeping physically fit is a great way to keep your mind strong, alert and healthy!  Here are some photos to help you think about what you need to keep your mental health in tip top shape...from moments of solitude...to making your brain work for you by reading, writing and challenging your brain....and also, perhaps even more importantly...to have some fun!


Photos by Stirling Images Photography

Spiritual Awareness || Port Alberni Investment Advisor

In this third blog about finding “the good life”, I am going to touch on spiritual awareness.  It is a fairly difficult thing to define because it can mean different things to different people.  Generally, it is a greater understanding of one’s own spirituality and how it can help you better relate to the world around you.  Some find spirituality with formal religious practices, while others achieve spiritual awareness through meditation, a walk in the forest, or working in their garden and communing with nature.  Spiritual awareness comes to us when we find a sense of inner peace and knowing that this is the right path for me.  Spiritual awareness brings about an awareness of who you are as a person, and knowing yourself completely.  This is true enlightenment.  We do not truly enjoy the world around us when we are plagued by fears, doubts and worries.  We must find an inner sense of peace and joy to see the beauty of our lives.  Helen Keller said that “The most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt within the heart.”  If we learn something profound and true and can let it become part of us, felt within our heart, we have made the first step towards achieving enlightenment. 

Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
- Lao-Tzu

Here are some photos that reflect the inner peace and beauty in nature. 

Photos by Stirling Images Photography