Bob Norton Consulting - January 2021

Bob Norton Consulting - January 2021

NortonAccountingServices.com 985-640-6072 [email protected] JANUARY 2021 NORTON NEWSLETTER EASE OF MIND • AVAILABILITY • FLEXIBILITY • INDIVIDUAL APPROACH • EXPERIENCE • TAX SAVINGS OPPORTUNITIES THE REAL ESTATE TAX PRO ™

Most financial advisors will tell you to “Pay Yourself First.”What they mean is, before you spend any money you receive, you should set aside a certain amount to save and invest in your future. Well, this also goes for your business. In the book, “Profit First,”Mike Michalowicz describes a simple system that business owners should implement to make sure that their business is generating cash flow for the business and income for the owners. No one likes to budget, which ultimately results in profits being eaten up on unprofitable expenses and the owner not having anything left over at the end of the year. The system in this book is a method that business owners can use to make sure they have funds left over at the end of the year. And, it’s easy for anyone to follow. We used a system similar to the one in the book to handle reserves and seasonal expenses. However, I like the simplicity and certainty of the system in the book, so we began implementing this system in December. I highly recommend this book and will be helping clients transition to the system to transform their businesses in 2021. FROM THE DESK OF Bob Norton

The Future Is Bright and Promising

Don’t Give Up on Your Dreams

it’s time to get serious. Doing what you can to make sure your dream becomes a reality might be difficult. Often, it requires the right mindset, determination, and planning to get started, but once you do, you’ll be on the right path to accomplish goals. Even the most difficult dreams can come true by taking these steps. The most important step in accomplishing any dream is to plan. Planning not only gives your dream a more concrete feel but it also allows you to get an idea of how long it will take and what you might need to succeed. Whether that’s taking a vacation to another country, starting up a business, or writing a book, getting that first rough idea will help you in the long run. Even with the pandemic, you can still plan. If you want to travel, now might be the perfect time to start saving, so that when traveling restrictions are lifted, you don’t have to worry about money.

When it comes to fulfilling our dreams, there’s a lot that could distract us from those goals. Unfortunately, for hundreds of thousands of people, 2020 was one large distraction. Over the course of every hardship last year, many people may have lost sight of their dreams. Yet, even if you’ve lost sight of them, I want to encourage you to not give up on the dreams you have. Jan. 13 celebrates Make Your Dreams Come True Day. I know that this holiday might seem like it’s telling people to accomplish their dreams in a day, but that’s not what it stands for. I believe this is a great holiday as it reminds us that our dreams are not only important to us but that we should keep trying to achieve them. It serves as a starting point. As we leave 2020 behind, and look to the future, it’s a perfect time to turn our thoughts to those dreams once again.

–Bob Norton

A dream is an idea — but it can’t stop there. If you have a dream you want to achieve,

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To get started, set some time aside to think about what your dreams are and start on a plan. I know that’s easier said than done. I have a hard time getting some free time in my own schedule, but what I’ve found that helps is to actually account for that planning. If you use a scheduling app, or even Google Calendar, to keep your day straight, open it up and find some time where you aren’t so busy. That could be in a week, even two weeks — no matter when that gap in your schedule is, jot down some time so you can plan for your dreams. Even if you can only spend 5–10 minutes on it, between several days, it’s still better than no planning at all. The thing about dreams is that they aren’t overnight successes. Dreams like these can happen, but they are very rare. Usually, to accomplish things, it takes time and effort. All dreams can evolve from a figment of an idea and become a reality, all it takes is that first step.

As we enter into 2021, I want to encourage everyone to rekindle their dreams and make them shine

IS DEEP FOCUS THE SECRET TO SUCCESS? How to Find Your Flow in 2021

you have disappeared. That makes accomplishing your goals feel like less of a struggle. It’s no wonder high- achieving hobbyists, workers, and creatives crave the feeling! HOW CAN YOU GET IN A FLOW? Usually, a flow state isn’t planned — it just happens. In a BBC article, author Steven Kotler describes flow as “a

Have you ever started working on an important project and looked up at the clock after what felt like minutes only to find that hours had passed? If you have, you’ve probably experienced “flow state,” aka the Holy Grail of concentration and achievement. WHAT IS A FLOW STATE? Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes a flow state as a “focus that, once it becomes intense, leads to a sense of ecstasy, a sense of clarity: you know exactly what you want to do from one moment to the other; you get immediate feedback.”That sounds complex, but you can also think of flow as being “in the zone.” And it might be the key to achieving your New Year’s goals. That’s because a flow state almost always coincides with tackling a difficult task, and when you’re in a flow state, even the most challenging things feel relatively easy. WHY ARE HIGH ACHIEVERS OBSESSEDWITH FLOW? Flow state doesn’t only happen for people with desk jobs. You can get it while running, playing chess, dancing, or climbing a mountain, and it’s considered the Holy Grail because it has a host of benefits. According to the meditation app Headspace, those perks include heightened focus (goodbye, distractions!), a sense of clarity, feelings of happiness and pleasure, and the impression that all obstacles ahead of

happy accident.” But he also notes that we can make ourselves “more accident-prone.”To set yourself up for a flow state, find a quiet place to work and choose an activity that’s difficult but meaningful for you. Ideally, it should be something you’ve already put work into perfecting. If you’ve never tried painting before, you probably won’t find flow on your first attempt, but an experienced painter could achieve it while mastering a new technique. Some people claim that being in a flow state is a form of meditation and that learning how to meditate can help you reach it. To that end, apps like Headspace and Evenflow (for iPhones only) are great places to start! Before you know it, you’ll be finding the flow like a pro.

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ARE YOU UP FOR A CHALLENGE? Focus on Fitness for 30 Days

FEBRUARY: DRINK UP Tracking your water intake and challenging yourself to drink more can help you feel more energized and make progress on your other goals. Start by calculating how much water you need to consume. Experts suggest taking your body weight, dividing it by two, and drinking that many ounces of water each day. (For example, a person who weighs 150 pounds should drink 75 ounces of water.) Can you drink that much water each day for 30 days? If not, drink more each day throughout the month until you reach your goal. Give it a shot. We guarantee you’ll have more energy! MARCH: BULK UP Choose one area of your body to focus on this month. Want to improve your arm strength? Work your way up from five to 50 pushups throughout the month. Follow the same formula with squats if you want to focus on your legs. Or, try planking to strengthen your core. Start the month by holding the plank for 30 seconds and work your way up to 2–3 minutes! As you progress in each challenge, you’ll notice significant improvement. For the best results, rest whatever area of your body you’re focusing on during your regular exercise routine. (That’s how muscle grows!)

Everyone’s done it. We’ve rung in the new year on the promise that this is our year to get healthy. We’re going to finally lose the weight, eat healthier, and feel better than ever. Sadly, many of us fail at this endeavor every single year. Let’s make 2021 different! Work toward your wellness goals by trying monthly challenges. These challenges allow you to focus on one area of your wellness each month, which will ultimately ensure you create sustainable habits. Here are three challenges to get you started! JANUARY: STEP UP Getting extra steps in during the day is the quickest way to introduce more activity into your life. Start easy and just track your regular steps for one week. Then, set a goal to get 1,000 more steps than that in the following week and build from there. Keep going until you’re regularly hitting a number that is at least 5,000 steps beyond your baseline! (If you don’t have an Apple Watch, Fitbit, or other fitness tracking device, find an old- fashioned pedometer and get to work!)

Take a Break!

Inspired by SkinnyTaste.com

Korean Beef Rice Bowls

Ingredients

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1 tsp fresh ginger, grated 2 tbsp gochujang sauce, or more if desired 3 cups cooked brown rice 1 small cucumber, sliced 1/2 tbsp sesame seeds, plus more for topping 2 scallions, thinly sliced

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1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce 2 tsp light brown sugar

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1 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 1 lb lean ground beef 1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed

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Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, 2 tbsp water, brown sugar, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes. 2. Spray a deep, nonstick skillet with cooking oil and place over high heat. Add the ground beef and cook until browned. Break up the meat with a wooden spoon as it cooks. 3. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger to the meat and cook for 1 minute. 4. Pour sauce over the beef, then cover and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. 5. Divide rice evenly into four serving bowls. Top each with scant 2/3 cup beef, cucumber slices, sesame seeds, scallions, andmore gochujang, to taste.

PARTY WINTER YEAR

FIREWORKS FRIENDS JANUARY MIDNIGHT NEW

BEGINNING CELEBRATION CLOCK COUNTDOWN FAMILY

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Norton Accounting Services, LLC

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Desk of Bob PAGE 1 Make Your Dreams Shine PAGE 1 How to Find Your Flow in 2021 PAGE 2 Make Resolutions Easier With Fitness Challenges PAGE 3 Take a Break PAGE 3 Korean Beef Rice Bowls PAGE 3 Is the iPod Dead? PAGE 4

Favor — and Found a New Audience Is the iPod Dead?

How America’s Favorite MP3 Player Fell Out of

• A $199 iPod isn’t as big of a loss as its more expensive counterpart, the iPhone, if your toddler drops it in the toilet.

Media outlets have been declaring the iPod“over” for years. In 2017, a USA Today article blared, “Say goodbye to the iPod era,” and a 2018 Reddit thread asked, “Why are iPods still a thing?”But, despite that lack of consumer confidence, Apple continues to sell brand-new Apple iPod Touches on its website for $199 and up, and it just updated them in 2019 —why? As it turns out, the iPod is now a tool almost exclusively for kids. When the first iPod MP3 player was released in 2001, adults went nuts for it, but these days, we can listen to music on our versatile smartphones, which have supplanted the iPod for most people. Young children, however, don’t necessarily have the smartphone option — and many parents don’t want them to. An iPod has become a gateway device: It’s the perfect way to give a kid the independence of listening to music on the go without exposing them to everything a smartphone has to offer. According to a Medium post by Yash Patel, the Apple iPod Touch has stuck around to serve this new audience because the pairing benefits both parents and Apple. There is a plethora of pluses for parents:

For Apple, selling iPods brings in additional revenue, but there’s an even bigger perk. As Patel puts it, giving a kid an iPod “brings them into the

Apple ecosystem, thus making them more likely to buy an iPhone when they are ready for an upgrade.”With a net worth of more than $2 trillion, Apple can afford to play the long game. If you’re interested in buying an iPod for your child but you’re not sold on the $199 price tag, we can’t blame you. Luckily, there are plenty of secondhand and refurbished iPods floating around the internet at deeply discounted prices. BackMarket.com sells refurbished Nanos, Classics, and Touches with a 12-month warranty for as low as $40. Whether you’re shopping for your kids or just want to kick it old school, that’s a great place to start.

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iPods have music and games to keep kids busy.

• Kids can stay in touch with their families using FaceTime and iMessage on an iPod, but they can’t call or text (as there’s no service plan).

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