“What the hell are you thinking? Your birthday is not about recieving, don’t be so self centered!” The single line that changed how I think about birthdays permanently.

A good friend said this to me on my on my 24th birthday, after I complained about the gift my girlfriend at the time had bought me. Being the superficial girlfriend that she was, she had bought me a shirt which I had explicitly told her that I did not like, but that she loved. I would later breakup with said girlfriend after she had to think about whether she wanted to attend my grandmother’s burial.

Ex-girlfriend story aside, my friend had a good point. Every year on our birthdays we celebrate “our day”. The day where everyone makes a fuss about us because we are yet another year older. Woohoo. What few people fail to consider is just how special that day is. A birthday, for most of us, is a sign that we have made it through yet another year unscathed. Most of us remain sheltered, continue to have the ability to put food on the table, and remain able bodied. My friend clued me into the fact that this celebration should come with the recognition that others may not have been so fortunate, which is why for the last three years I have given back on my birthday.

Until now I have given silently. Three years ago I made an anonymous donation to a good friends cancer treatment fund. Two years ago I sent a few dozen books overseas. Last year I took a truck full of clothing to the Mustard Seed.

This year however, I am going to give publicly. Today I will donate 10 meals worth of food to the Mustard Seed. Anthony Robbins has his Turkey Brigade, consider this my Birthday Brigade.

I am welcoming you to join me if you feel so inclined. You may either do so on your own by making an online donation to the Mustard Seed, or if you would like to use the Paypal Donate Button below, I will make the donation for you.

As an added bonus, if you use the Paypal button, you may designate in the add instructions to seller field whether you would like a copy of my books Golf Balls Don’t Float, Forget Your Mortgage, or both.

Please note that I will not keep a penny of the money to pay for the books, and you can donate any amount that you wish, these are my birthday gift to you.

Kind regards,

Nolan Matthias

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Thanks to Garth Turner’s reference to National Bestseller Golf Balls Don’t Float demand has skyrocketed! As a thank you to Garth and his readers, we are putting the book on sale for the price which Garth quoted, $10.

Don’t forget to buy a pre-sale copy of The Mortgaged Millionaire!

See what one of North America’s top teaching professionals has to say about Golf Balls Don’t Float. (more…)

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Who Won the Ipod? from Nolan Matthias on Vimeo.

Just so that there was no question about who won the ipod, I videotaped the entire process. Try not to get motion sickness, and view the video to see who won and how I did the random draw (neat little technique using a tool that we use to help people determine the actual dollars and cents of their mortgages).

Also, leave a comment to vote for what the next prize should be, a Nintendo WII or a Flip Mino HD. If I get more than 100 comments in November, I might just give both away!

Cheers,

Nolan

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