Can you connect these dots?

WHO SAID GIRLS CAN’T:

1. Race Ferraris & Porsches? (Black was the first woman to race the road course at Indianapolis Motor Speedway!)
2. Be successful in a “good ole’ boys” industry? (Black retired by the time she was 40 from the oil and gas industry.)
3. Convince Neiman Marcus to launch your self-published book? (Black did that, too.)
4. Publicly tell your embarrassing personal story in the hope of helping your daughters, as well as others? (Red did this.)
5. Not only understand personal finance, but make it simple and fun for others, including high school students, to understand? (Red & Black are doing this.)

OURS IS THE STORY OF TWO SISTERS –

One whose life reads like a Judith Krantz novel (Black) and the other who life was turned upside down one rainy Friday afternoon (Red). When Red’s husband got fired, she turned to Black looking for answers. How was Red to know that Black would turn her “crisis” into a new business venture? Or that Black would turn their emails, Instant Messages and phone conversations into a book that high school students describe as a “reality show in a book.” Or that we would ultimately become authors, publishers, newspaper columnists, public speakers, and, most importantly, teachers.

FROM NEW YORK …

Can you believe these outfits?

TO A NEIMAN MARCUS WINDOW

Photo Courtesy of Neiman Marcus, Priscilla Dickson Photography

CAN YOU CONNECT THESE DOTS?

• A stay-at-home mom (Red) and her retired executive sister (Black) write a book titled “What I Learned About Life When My Husband Got Fired!”
• The self-published book is launched by Neiman Marcus in August 2009.
• We are invited to develop and “teach” a financial literacy program to the Class of 2010 at KIPP Houston High School. (Most students are from low income families – the complete opposite of our Neiman Marcus audience.)
• Our book is approved as a textbook by the (Texas) State Board of Education.
• We developed and test-drove a companion guide, “The Book Club Approach To Personal Finance and Life 101”, with the KIPP Houston High School Class of 2011.

A STAY-AT-HOME MOM & A RACE-CAR DRIVING CORPORATE EXECUTIVE

Red’s prior “career” had been full time mom, but her husband getting fired was the catalyst which forced her to face reality and take control of her life. Red initially thought she was stupid because she was 40+ years old and had managed to avoid learning many important “life lessons,” but she soon realized she had merely been sheltered. (Read the book excerpt, titled “The Stupid Kid Sister”)

She went from living with her parents to living with her husband and always let other people take care of her. When she turned to Black looking for answers, she merely got questions as Black knows all your decisions need to be based on your personal values and priorities, so only you can decide what is truly important to you. However, Black had no problem teaching her how to Q-I-D: ask Questions ? gather Information – to make conscious Decisions. Black found it fascinating to watch how empowering knowledge can be, as it gave Red the strength to ultimately make some very difficult decisions. Plus, watching Red pull her ostrich head out of the sand and publicly share her experiences is not only extraordinary, but also extremely amusing.

Black, on the other hand, had retired from the oil & gas industry by the time she was 40 and when boredom sank in started racing cars – first Porsches, then Ferraris, and along the way raised over $1 million dollars for Make-A-Wish. Black’s life has always been “interesting” but if you ask her why she picked the male-dominated oil & gas industry back in the 1970’s she will tell you, “because I had two shots at everything – my brains or being a helpless female in the good ‘ole boy world. Was I falling prey to the stereotype of women? No! I was acknowledging it existed and using it to my benefit. I learned the rules of the game, and played it. But played it to win.” And what about racing cars? At race tracks when girls ask her for her autograph she usually signs it “Girls rule. Boys drool.” Which makes perfect sense when you seeing her standing next to her Ferrari. (For some great car photographs, go to Black in the Media and go to the first article, “Wishing Upon A Car.” )

GENDER BARRIERS ARE MINDSETS AND PERSPECTIVES.

You have to focus on the positive, as your brain does not acknowledge a negative. Both Red and Black have played golf, a traditionally male sport – Red before she had children and Black before she started racing cars. Black uses golfers as an example, when there is a water hazard within range they will think they do NOT want to hit the ball in the water, and then proceed to do exactly that. The mind processes the “ball in the water.” Or, Black’s personal favorite, the person who manages to lose control of a car, go off the road and hit the lone sign in the field, thinking “I do not want to hit the sign.” If you do not believe us when we say your brain does not acknowledge a positive – try telling yourself you will NOT eat a cookie. Instead, focus on what you want to do – knowing you can do it – and you are already on the road to success. We (girls of ALL ages) can do anything we put our mind to, and the quicker we stop attaching gender labels, the better off we will be. (Read the book excerpt, titled “Red’s Life Lessons”)

LONG-TERM PLANNING SHOULD BE BACKWARD THINKING.

Most people use “today” as the starting point and work forwards when it comes to planning. Black, however, starts with where she wants to be and then works backwards. When she described this to Red in the book, Black has her look at where she wants to be in 20 years, and work backwards. When Red and Black used this concept while teaching at KIPP Houston High School they took it to the extreme and asked the kids how many of them want to retire one day. They then asked them if they wanted to have kids? Did they want to help their kids go to college? Did they want a house? Did they want furniture in the house? They kept working backwards, and they then saw that college was not a goal … it was merely a step along the way. (They even received a round of applause from one of the classes!) This approach can apply to everyone, at every stage of their life. In fact, think about something you want to accomplish and work backwards. Identify the steps it will take to reach your goals. Then, when you make daily decisions, you can first ask yourself if this is a step to help you reach your goals. It makes decision-making much easier and helps you focus on what is truly important.

MONEY MATTERS.

Learning to balance a checkbook is math. Learning whether or not to make an expenditure is financial literacy. Unfortunately, these lessons are not taught in schools. And as we are finding out, many parents either do not or cannot teach these lessons to their children, as many adults, and especially women, are often intimidated by financial topics. And as Red experienced, ignorance is not bliss – ignorance is expensive. Not only in terms of money, but in terms of values and priorities that get misplaced or forgotten. Then, since Red was not comfortable with financial matters that meant she would not be able to educate her children, which was one of the driving forces behind her desire to take control of her finances. She wanted her daughters to be better prepared to face their financial future than she had been. Once forced to deal with finances she found that it was not as difficult as it seemed, and, in fact, once she got over the mental blocks she had imposed on herself about not being good at math, not being an M.B.A. like Black and all the other excuses (she did not yet understand the power of positive thinking) she realized taking control of her money vs. her money controlling her was not only do-able but was almost fun. Our book is a fast and fun read that will help you not only understand financial topics, but more importantly how your values and priorities should drive your financial decisions. If you buy our book, great. (Available online at www.redandblackbooks.com.) But if you do not, please find a way to get comfortable with personal finance. Learning from your mistakes (as both Black and Red did) can teach you valuable lessons, but it is not the recommended way.

REMEMBER:

GIRLS CAN’T …
CHANGE THE PAST.
BUT THE FUTURE
IS YOURS.

Find us at: http://www.redandblackbooks.com