History Repeats Itself?

Back in 1998, Robert Kiyosaki in The CASHFLOW Quadrant wrote, "Historically, if people lived to be 75 years of age, they live through two recessions and one depression. As baby boomers we have gone through two recessions, but we have not yet seen that depression. Maybe there will never be a depression again. But history does not say that."

He further said, " Just as there are waves on the ocean, there are great waves in markets. Instead of the wind and sun driving the waves of the ocean, the waves of the financial markets are driven by two human emotions: greed and fear.

I do not think that depressions are things of the past because we are all human beings and we all have emotions of greed and fear. And when greed and fear collide, and a person loses badly, the next emotion is depression. ... Economic depressions are emotional depressions."

Wow! What an explanation. Is he an economics history professor? Economics philosopher? Economics prophet, or what?

Forbes magazine wrote, "In the year 2010, the first baby boomers turn 65. In the year 2010, instead of adding money to the stock market, baby boomers will begin withdrawing money from the stock market ... if not earlier."

From the above, it appears that the present economic tsunami and financial meltdown is not something that is unexpected.

The U.S.A. is the world's number one international debtor. Numero Uno! Just servicing the debt amounts to some $250 billion! That is just the interest payment, baby! Not the principal.

The principal is some $40 trillion! People like Robert Kiyosaki have said, "The world will realise that the U.S. will not be able to borrow its way out of ... problems." It also means, without any new policy or financial invention, the U.S.A. may go bankrupt. Sooner or later. So, you better be careful where you put your money!

I attended a 4-week training program on 'Oil and Gas Accounting' in 1985. The American professor who conducted the training had a similar view.

Is 2008's global financial turmoil (starting with the U.S. sub-prime loan crisis), the manifestation of what some economists have been aware all along, all these years?

The manifestation of greed, with which the sub-prime loan crisis has been attributed to. And the manifestation of fear, which has led to the credit crunch when even banks have no trust (or confidence) in another bank's ability to pay. For fear that the other bank may collapse completely. And no wonder - 25 U.S. banks failed in 2008 compared to 3 in 2007. With even the likes of Lehmann Brothers going bankrupt, and global Citibank needing a U.S. government bail-out.

There appear to be many around the world who are still in denial about the present global economy going to be in a depression. Perhaps it is politically incorrect (or dangerous) to say that you will be facing a depression soon.

Perhaps afraid of a self-fullfilling prophesy? I guess it's a little bit too late now for such a thing.

The moral of the story? Understanding history is important because it indicates where you have been. And where you will likely be going.

All indications for the year 2009 (as prophesied by Robert Kiyosaki and similar like-thinking economists and businessmen) is that you are going to experience a global depression. Maybe worse than the 1930s!?!

If you follow the Boy Scouts' motto "Be Prepared", you have nothing to worry. If not, then may the Good Lord be with you.

There is a silver lining in the clouds, though. If you are a true investor, this is the opportunity in the crisis. Everyone will be selling (stocks, real estate, etc). In a fire-sale (arising from people being emotionally depressed), the calm investor will go for the bargain.

Are you a calm investor? Then, strike when you are ready!

I wish you Success in your undertakings and Good Health and Wealth to you and your family. Take care!

P.S. It now appears that for $3000 (or less), you can buy a house in some parts of the United States. The banks have to sell the houses (almost for free) so that they are not burdened with maintenance charges and local taxes. (The other big reason is that banks are not in the home realty business, but in the money-lending business, so they do not want to keep any foreclosed house on their accounts). Of course you may need another $15,000 - $20,000 for repairs. Or you can just demolish the house and build a brand new one. The land, for one property with 0.38 acres, is certainly worth more than the $3,000 plus the demolition costs.

P.P.S. On 29/Jan/2009 I read that the International Labour Organisation (ILO) forecasts that(for a worst case scenario) global unemployment could rise (by the end of 2009) by 51 million people, to 230 million (7.1% of the world's labour force). The worst recession since the Second World War.

Your Money or Your Life?

A robber, with a gun, confronts you in a dark alley in the early hours of the morning, with no other soul in sight. "Your money or your life?", he says in that criminal voice which scares you to almost death. Classic situational scenario you are familiar with.

What would you do? Run for your life with the $1,000,000 in your pocket? Or just handover the $1,000,000?

Unless you are Superman (whereby you can catch the bullets coming towards you), or one of those sort of heroes, you would be better off to just handover the money. You can then fight (or make money) another day. Agree?

But what about in normal, everyday life? When there is no robber?

Can you still have your money ($1,000,000), and have a (happy) life? Or do you believe, that if you have money, money cannot bring you happiness?

Can you do something that you love, and at the same time make money? Or is doing something that you love, an entirely different proposition from making a living (making money)?

In this financial paradigm, if you love travelling, what you do is to work hard until you retire at 60 or 65. After you retire, you go travelling around the work (using the money you saved from working hard). That is why if you go on a tour (say, in Europe), you find that the majority who join the tour groups are in their sixties or seventies (from the U.S.A.). Some with canes to help them walk.

Isn't it possible to have lots of money (not $1,000,000 but perhaps $10,000 extra a year), to go and have an overseas holiday every year. When you are still in your twenties or thirties rather than in your late sixties or seventies?

Is it possible to never have to get a job, but still have as much money as those having a job? Without receiving government money? Such as unemployment benefit or disability payment. Or an insurance payout because you were involved in an accident? What do you think?

Well, a person like Dr Dolf de Roos is one such person. Just after completing his doctorate in electrical engineering, he was offered a job at $32,000 a year (this was a sizeable amount because it was in the last century, ok?). He rejected it.

Why? Because he had just (the week before) netted $35,000 from a real estate deal he had completed. He worked one week on the deal. He could then afford 51 weeks holiday if he wished to (compared to working for the $32,000 job offer). Does he have a job? No. Never. Does he work? Yes. Smart.

A former high school teacher gave up her teaching position. So that she could teach her passion for creativity. Of using magic to teach mathematics. She has shared the stage with professors (even of mathematics) at international fora.

Does she have a job? No. Does she work? Yes. But her work is her passion, so it is more enjoyable. It does not seem like work.

Oh yes, her income from conducting a one day training equals what she used to be paid for one month (as a teacher). Did she go into her passion because of the good money? Or did the good money follow her passion?

The moral of the story? You can have your cake and it it too! You can have both your money and your life!

You can be poor and miserable. You can also be rich and happy. The good news is: the choice is yours!

I wish you Success in your undertakings and Good Health and Wealth to you and your family. Take care!

P.S. Dr Dolf de Roos is the author of many books on real estate investment; amongst them is Real Estate Riches.

Money is Life?

It's sad when you read the headline, "NYPD: Madoff investor commits suicide in office". The founder of an investment fund apparently lost $1.4 billion to Bernard Madoff's alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme. He slashed his wrists.

You may have heard of similar stories. Like the taxi driver who played the stock market in Hong Kong in 1997/98, and got played out by the market instead. He jumped off an apartment.

Of course, the stories of gamblers who borrow from loan sharks (who charge 10% interest per month?), and are unable to pay back (because their 'winnings' on their horse racing bets are invariably 'loosings') is commonplace. These losers will try to disappear into thin air. To avoid a broken leg, or an even worse fate. Their families also suffer, oftentimes in silence.

Is money equal to life? No money, no life? Plenty money, plenty life?

Unless you are still living in a place where you exchange what you have, to get what you want (barter trading), money is thus very important. Although the ending of one's own life, or the ending of another person's life, are extreme scenarios, it does indicate the power of money.

Money is important in our present world economy because it has become the medium of exchange (in economics' lingo). The measurement standard of one's assets and liabilites ( in acccountancy's terms). The indicator of one's wealth or poverty.

The moral of the story? If money plays such an important role in your life, don't you think that it should be your number one priority?

It does not mean that you should be consumed, every waking hour of your life, with the thought of making tonnes of money. Of getting money at all costs.

But it does mean that you should at least learn about how to play the money game. How to manage your existing money. Whether as a student, when you get your $1 as pocket money. Whether as an employee, when you get $1,000 a month.

Some folks live a happy and fullfilling life with an income of $1,000 a month. Others struggle, 'eking out a living' with a salary of $2,000 (or $5,000 or $10,000) a month.

Some folks have a $1,000,000 and are neither happy nor fulfilled. Others have $1,000,000 and are happy and fulfilled.

Money is important. But it is not the be-all and end-all.

How you manage your money will determine whether you have misery, or happiness in your life. $1,000 with good management will become $2,000 in 3 years. $1,000,000 with poor management will become $0 in 3 years.

So, what should you do? T Harv Eker recommends that you go from being a 'know-it-all' to a 'learn-it-all'.

Set aside 10% of your income, and use it to get an education. To buy books, or DVDs, or attend training seminars, that will increase your knowledge. Knowledge to increase your power. The power to act correctly. To act to get the right results. The right results to make you happy.

I wish you Success in your undertaikings, and Good Health and Wealth to you and your family. Take care!

P.S. Read in the papers (7th January 2009) that a 74-year-old German billionaire (ranked the world's 94th richest man, whose assets were estimated by Forbes to be worth $9.2 billion last year (2008?)) also committed suicide (by throwing himself in front of a train) on 5th January. All because his investments were in trouble, caused by the global financial crisis. Don't you think that's similarly tragic?

P.P.S. Associated Press reported that on 27th January 2009, a man in Wilmington, California fatally shot his wife, his five young children (twin 2-year old boys, twin 5-year old girls, and an 8-year old girl) and himself, all because he and his wife had been fired from their hospital jobs. Very tragic, and very sad. Any lesson you can learn from all the cases above?

What Type of Investor Are You?

I was disappointed (and oftentimes wondering) why other people were not interested in investing in businesses or projects. Investments that I had made money from, and also investments that I had not made money from (yet). I understood if it was because of the latter reason, because ... who am I, after all? But the former?

I was enlightened after reading Robert Kiyosaki's Cashflow Quadrant. It appears that there are many kinds of investors in this world. Interesting. Can you identify which kind you are (see below)?

The first kind can be categorised as the "Nothing" investor. De nada. No money to invest. All your income is spent. For some, even the ones who 'look rich', they spend more than their income!

One of my friends told me that he had a neighbour (a senior government servant) who always borrowed $50 cash from him at the end of the month. He always ran out of cash to give his school going kids their school allowance, before the montly salary is received!

Another senior government officer bought a $60,000 car by taking a bank loan (with a higher interest rate of 6%) instead of the government loan (at 4% reducing balance rate) because the government loan was only $45,000 and he had no savings to pay the difference.

It seems that 50% of adults are in this "Nothing" category. It doesn't include you, of course.

The second category is the "Borrower". As the name indicates, you are in this category if you borrow your way through life. You borrow money from your credit card for your marriage expenses (yes, a true story!). Two babies later, your credit card loan still has not been paid.

Your favourite exercise? Shopping! Girls are usually in this category. They just can't help it when the shoes, handbags, watches etc are at 70% discount. Sometimes even without discounts (I mean, the shoes and the handbags need to be colour-coordinated, right?)

I remember a friend. He had just successfully obtained a $2 million loan from the bank for a new business. With the money from the bank, he immediately (but not wisely?) bought a Mercedes for himself, and a Honda for his wife. One year down the road, the business was not going on as planned (especially the financials). Now you understand how some 'rich' people lose their Mercs overnight? One day the Mercs is in the car porch, the next day it's missing.

Another friend bought a $360,000 condo one day. From a bank loan. Two years down the road, there was a 'professional accident'. His company closed down. He lost his job. Anyone would like a condo for sale?

The problem if you are a borrower, is not the amount of money that you have as an income. It's just that you have poor money habits. Poor habits lead to poor actions, which lead to poor results.

The third category is the "Saver". You are a saver if you save a little money every month, and keep it in a savings, or Fixed deposit (FD), or Certificate of Deposit(CD), account.

Many save not to invest. But to consume (a vacation, a TV, a $15,000 bicycle). They like cash, not credit or debt.

The only problem with saving money this way is that it gives only very low returns. Frequently, it is a negative return (after inflation and tax).

You should of course have savings like the above. Some financial experts recommend that you should have about two years of your salary as savings. So that you can maintain your present standard of living for two years, if you have no income (because of retrenchment). Or you can survive for four years at 50% of your normal standard of living.

But anything above the amount needed for an emergency situation, should be better invested at 10-15% in other safe investments. You need to study, and look out for, such investments.

The fourth category is the "Apathetic". I was in this category. I thought that "I was busy".

So I turned over my retirement fund money to a 'mutual fund' lady "to manage". For the first 3 years it was losing money (the selling price was lower than my buying price). After the fourth year, I sold out when the price was at the price that I bought. I lost the dividend amount (5% annually for 4 years), if I had just kept it in the retirement fund.

The fifth category is the "Cynic". Or the Smart Aleck. You are in this category if you know all the reasons why an investment will not succeed. It appears that cynicism is the result of fear combined with ignorance, which leads to arrogance. Wowww! What an enlightening revelation!

Cynics are therefore best avoided. They infect people with fear, disguised as intelligence. Robert Kiyosaki wrote, "The worlds of academia, government, religion and media are filled with these people".

No wonder almost all of my office colleagues are in this category. I guess if you are an employee, you will be in this category.

Unless you have the entrepreneurial streak. Such as being involved in the network marketing industry (recommended by Robert Kiyosaki, Donald Trump, and T Harv Eker).

Cynics often buy high and sell low. And then blame the market for 'swindling' them.

The sixth category is the "Gambler". The gambler thinks that life is all about 'luck'.

You know a gambler when he asks you, "Got any tips on which stock to buy?". Just as a horse racing gambler will ask you which horse to bet on.

The seventh category is the "Long-Term Investor". You are in this category if you learn, often through training seminars, before investing. You know about the power of compound interest.

You are actively pursuing your financial goals. With the appropriate planning. You know your expenses. Your debts and liabilities. How much to invest per month. You are not 'flashy'.

My friend's husband drives a 10 year-old Volvo. Stayed in the same double storey terrace house for the last 30 years. But all their four children were sent to overseas universities. $30,000-50,000 per year per kid. He is, of course, a millionaire (through property development).

The eight category is the "Sophisticated Investor". You are here, if you create your own deals. With at least 25% return-on-investment (ROI).

You are financially savvy. You know how to manage risk. You are focused. Once you have one investment 'running on automatic', then only you diversify.

Bad times do not deter you. You can see opportunities, whether in good markets or bad.

The property market in the United States is extremely bad. Prices are going down every month. House foreclosures are increasing monthly. You see the opportunity to invest. To make 19-26% returns. To be a 'banker'. You can consider yourself a sophisticated investor if you can arrange the deals, and organise the investments.

The ninth category is the "Capitalist". You organise other people's money, talents and time. You get paid for results. For creating a new company. A new organisation. Returns of at least 100% is expected.

A guy in his mid-thirties forms a new company. To market an existing product. From an existing multinational.

He will create millionaires in the process. He will also become a millionaire in the process. He used an idea to become a millionaire. The idea of how to create (and capture) a bigger market for an existing company.

A person bought a rubber plantation (not using his money, but the bank's) and turned it into an exclusive housing enclave. He now has his own plane. He is a capitalist.

Olden day capitalists include Henry Ford. Present day capitalists include Richard Branson.

The moral of the story? What type of investor you are, will determine where you will be. Decide what you want to be, and take the necessary action (or inaction).

It also means that, if you are looking for an investor for your project, do not be easily disappointed. Not many people out there are true investors (category 7, 8 and 9). Be thankful when you find them.

I wish you Success in your undertakings, and Good Health and Wealth to you and your family. Take care!

Size Matters?

Do you believe that size matters? The bigger the better? Or the smaller the better?

I guess you realise that it all depends. On what?

You heard the story about the lady on her wedding night who thought she was going to get a big one? And the gentleman thought he was going to get a small one? Both were disappointed ... hehehe! Next time, just remember the saying, "To avoid the pain of lost illusions, have none!" ... Comprende? ... hehehe!

I prefer a petite lady ... like Tweety! So a model like Twiggy (I know ... you got to go to Wikipedia to find out who this person is ... thank you for your patience ... anyway, she was famous in the last century), would turn my head.

A friend of mine prefers his lady to be big ... like in 'elephant'! In fact, before their marriage, his wife referred to herself as an elephant (size). But that is precisely what turns him on!

Well, some men prefer birds. Some prefer elephants. To each, his own.

But there is one arena in which SIZE REALLY MATTERS! It's critical that you know why bigger is better in this arena.

Do you agree that the simplest (or easiest) way to live is to not do anything? Not to take risks? Not to take challenges?

Whether in your personal life. Or your working life. Or your volunteer work life.

When you have a personal problem, isn't it that the the easiest way, is to avoid or run away from the problem?

At the office, isn't it best not to rock the boat? Just do the same old things, when there is a problem? Don't take any new actions or consider new proposals which you are not familiar with? Your company do not need to implement the Suggestion System, because many other companies have failed in implementing it? (Even though Japanese companies implement it successfully).

Do the same things and expect different results!?! That is one definition of insanity.

I was observing the happenings in a voluntary organisation. When you are in a voluntary organisation, isn't the inertia even greater? You don't get paid for your time (it's a voluntary organisation, for heaven's sake, that's why ... ), is the common excuse.

So when there is a challenge, such as organising an international training program, where the number of expected participants falls short of the minimum required, you take the easy step - you cancel it!

Your excuse/justification? "We don't want to lose money". Convenient rationale? You feel good that you are saving the organisation money?

Yuhoooo!!! No need to do further work. No need to think about how to get more participants. No need to think of other possibilities to make the program financially viable. No need to contact speakers. No need to follow-up on other matters.

Just relax until next year, when you can offer it again. Just talk at the monthly meetings. Soon, you become a member of NATO (No Action Talk Only). Will your non-profit organisation make progress? There will be progress, yes ... but only in finger-pointing, at the end of the year, or before the Annual General Meeting.

If you want success, you need to be bigger. Bigger than your problems!

How can you become bigger? You grow yourself.

Take problems as challenges. Do not blame anyone (your boss? ... your colleague?...your wife? ...your cat?) or anything (the fricking economy? ... the fricking political situation?) for your problem. You take action to improve the situation. Just like Japanese Kaizen - continuous improvement.

What if, after taking action, you fail? Take it as a learning experience. To make you grow bigger. To make you wiser. To make your organisation better. To be able to handle a similar situation in future, better.

The moral of the story? When you want to be a winner, you need to be bigger. Bigger than the losers.

When you want to be a leader, you need to be bigger. Bigger than your followers.

When you say,"I want to follow what you (the majority) decide upon", you are a follower, not a leader. A leader has to lead, not follow. That's why you have to be bigger than your followers. Otherwise, you become just like your followers - a sheep. You want to be the Lion King, if you want to be a leader.

T Harv Eker said, "If you have a big problem in your life, all that means is that you are a small person ... Your outer world is merely a reflection of your inner world. If you want to make a permanent change, stop focusing on the size of the problems and start focusing on the size of you".

So, you know what to do now? Go! Go make yourself bigger!

I wish you Success in your undertakings and Good Health and Wealth to you and your family. Take care!

Little Things Mean a Lot?

I was slightly off my normal "take-off" time to go to the office. As the thought floated in while I was driving, that I could be late (a minute or two) to punch-in at the office door, I realised that "little things mean a lot".

At a training seminar in June 2008, the trainer informed that the doors would close at 10.45 a.m. I was in the long queue to get a cup of coffee, and it was already 10.40 a.m. The long walk to the seminar room with the hot coffee cup ensured I missed the 10.45 a.m. window. Some ladies missed the 10.45 window because of the long queue in the toilet (any lady has had the experience?).

All had to wait for the next window of opportunity. There were murmurings of complaint of the lack of sufficient toilet facilities. These were ignored. I didn't dare murmur about the coffee queue. It was 15 minutes later, that the doors were opened.

Will you feel good to go in, with all eyes on you? Don't you regret missing some of the information that was imparted during the 15 minutes you were "locked out"? Especially if the speaker was a multi-millionaire?

This particular trainer was similarly raving and ranting at another seminar that I attended. Those who attended his seminar for the first time would be wondering, "Why does he rant and rave, as if possessed by naughty spirits, over a little one or two minutes or 5 minutes delay in entering the seminar room, by 5% of the participants?"

Why do you think that he insisted that you are on time? And everytime?

I attended a Quality Management training seminar organised by Japan's Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship (AOTS) in Yokohama, Japan in July 1992 (yes ... in the last century). We were given a revised travel itinerary sheet, one day after the original was given. I scrutinised the sheet to see what the revision was all about.

It was that the time for the arrival of the Shinkansen (bullet train) had been revised from 1042 to 1041. A difference of 1 fricking minute! Do you think it is that important to revise the sheet?

If you arrived at the station platform exactly at 1042, would it be important for you to have received the revised itinerary copy?

The Japanese are known for their attention to detail. Sticklers for punctuality. Worship the God of Quality.

Are you surprised that the Japanese economy developed super fast from the ashes of World War II? That Toyota has overtaken General Motors (GM)? That Toyota has big cash reserves, while GM will go bankrupt soon (if there is no government cash bail-out)?

Have you attended meetings where the Meeting Chairman is late? What do you think of the Chairman? Thank your lucky stars because you too were delayed (hehehe ... not you of course, but your friends)?

I once worked for one of the biggest (if it was not the biggest) multinational oil corporation in the world. Meetings were always on time. The Meeting Chairman always started the meeting on time, and it generally ended on time. Do you have respect for whoever chaired the meeting? Do you think the organisation is a fricking good one, or a mediocre one? Would you be a better employee, or manager, if you worked in this corporation?

You are aware that "Procrastination is a thief of time". Yet, how many people (no, ... not you, of course) procrastinate? You may miss the Shinkansen train. You may miss the golden business opportunity.

You may miss the marriage wagon ... so, go tell him (or her) that he (or she) is the answer to your lonely prayer ... an angel from above ... NOW! PRONTO!

The moral of the story? Little things mean a lot, because what you do for the little things, reflects what you do for the big things. If you do not know how to manage your present income of $10,000 a year, you will not know how to manage an income of $1,000,000.

If you mismanage your $10,000 income now, you will mismanage the future $1,000,000 dowry that you receive from your future beautiful wife. Even the future beautiful bungalow that is part of the marriage dowry you will receive. You got it? ... I mean ... not the money and the bungalow ... hehehe!

I wish you Success in your undertakings, and Good Health and Wealth to you and your family. Take care!

Who is Your Hero(ine)?

Who is your hero? Superman? Wonderwoman? Spiderman? Ultraman? Superinggo (a Phillipines TV character)? Ironman? Powerman? Policeman? Fireman? Conman (God forbid!)? Cicakman (a 'Malaysia-Truly Asia' character)?

Your kid whose hero is Ultraman will watch Ultraman videos umpteen times. He will kick you as you pass by, just like Ultraman does. If you happen to be sitting, and his hands go to your face (accidentally), your spectacles will fly to the ground (it happened to me ... attacked by someone else's kid!).

That is why the dumb box is bad for your kids. Your kids will pick up the aggressiveness shown in cartoons or children's shows. TV-viewing for your kids must therefore be controlled.

Heros act as role models for you. When you think of your uncle who was kind to you, you will want to be like him.

Seeing a trainer in Sweden treat the dinner-lady with the utmost respect, and thanking her with a bouquet of flowers, you want to be like that trainer when you become one.

When you see an elderly gentleman with a lovely young woman, how do you react? Say in your mind, "Dirty old man!"?
Or, "I wonder what he has that can attract a beautiful woman. Perhaps I can learn a thing or two from him on the art of being a charmer".

When you see a beautiful lady in a sports car, what goes in your mind? You think, "She must be somebody's mistress"?
Or, "Hhmmm ... nice car ... I wonder how I can learn from her on how to get that dream car"?

What goes in your mind when you see a well-dressed gentleman, getting out of a luxury car? "He must be a conman, to be able to get such an expensive car. Maybe, he's a drug king."
Or, "He must be a successful businessman. I wonder if I can get the opportunity to listen to him one of these days at a Business Forum or Conference."

In all the above instances, what you think does not have any impact on the person concerned. But it does have a huge and tremendous impact on you!

If you don't like successful people, you will not become successful. If you don't like rich people, you will not become rich. Because your sub-conscious mind cannot accept success or riches. It has been programmed to accept failure and poverty.

When you admire positive-minded people, you will become positive-minded. When you admire healthy people, you will become healthy.

The moral of the story? That which we admire, we attract. That which we bless, we attract. That which we love, we attract.

If you admire a millionaire property investor, won't you take steps to find out how he became successful? And you then follow in his foot-steps?

When you bless a person for her awesome achievement in being an expert (say, in her field of using magic to teach mathematics), won't you be blessed later on? ... when you are the expert in your own field?

When you show genuine love to a child, won't she feel your positive vibrations? What if the child is 18 years old? Now you know the secret? ... hehehe!

I wish you Success in your undertakings, and Good Health and Wealth to you and your family. Take care!

You Want Success, or You are Committed to Success?

You want success? You want wealth? You want good health?

Of course you want all the above. But not everyone attains them.

You want to have good health? I believe that 99%, of the folks out there, will put good health as their number one priority in life. Above success and wealth. Is it true for you, as well?

But what have you done today (or this week, or this month) to ensure you have good health?

Do you exercise? Everyday? Once a week? Once a month? Once a year - at the annual company open day (social day) where there is mass aerobics as one of the items on the agenda?

Have you stopped smoking the poison stick? Have you taken the proper food for your body? Have you taken supplements? To correct any nutritional deficiencies that your body may have (because of hereditary, or age, factors)?

You want wealth? But have you set how much wealth you actually want? $10,000 a year income? $30,000 a year? $500,00 a year? $1,000,000 a year?

Your mind is like a heat-seeking missile. Once you set the target, the missile will inexorably move towards it. Your mind will move towards thinking how to get $10,000 a year once you set it. It will move towards thinking how to get $1,000,000 a year, once you set it. You choose your target. Your mind will go towards it.

Once you set your financial target, have you calculated or determined what you must do to achieve it? On a daily basis? Weekly? Monthly? Annually? People do not plan to fail, they fail to plan (right?).

It's a good starting point when you want success. What's the difference between those who want success, and those who achieve success?

Those who do not achieve success merely want success, but do not know exactly what they want. They are also lazy to go all the way. They lack the determination to follow-up. And to follow-through.

Those who achieve success complete all three steps below.

First, decide what you want. How much money do you exactly want? How many kilogrammes do you want to reduce (your weight, baby ... not the gold bars in your bank safety box ...hehehe ... just checking)? You then must follw-through with the next step.

Second, plan how to achieve it. How much properties do you need to buy? How much money must you save per day, or per month, or per year to enable you to buy the properties?

How many hours must you exercise in the gymnasium (per day, per week) to get to Angelina Jolie's or Jeniffer Aniston's beautiful body shapes? What type of diet (more vegetables and fruits!) to follow?

Third, you work your plan. You COMMIT TO SUCCESS. To do what needs to be done. To do whatever it takes. This is where most folks (not you, of course) fail. The lack of the final follow-through. For lack of Persistence. Edward Eggleton wrote, "Persistent people begin their success where others end in failure."

Do you wake up in the mornings, and think of reasons why you cannot achieve what you want to attain?

Or do you wake up, thinking of ways to achieve your dreams? To not spend that money on a home-video system with 42-inch flat screen TV, because you want to keep it as seed money for your investment? It's from an acorn that a giant oak grows.

To not stay late in bed, or watch the dumb box, so that you can go cycling 40 km (or 100 km, if that's what really turns you on, baby!) on Sundays? To spend your Saturday afternoons attending classes on nutrional therapy. So that you know what to put inside your mouth (no ... definitely not sausages ... naughty girl!) to keep you healthy?

I read in the newspapers about the winners of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 awards. The winner for the Technology Entrepreneur Award (Harvinder Singh) said, "... being an entrepreneur is ... very challenging..., what people see from the outside are the successes, big projects completed, the money made. What they do not see is the struggle and pain you go through .... The strength of an entrepreneur ... is more of the ability to keep getting up each time you fall and keep going when all odds are against you."

The niece of the winner of the Woman Entrepreneur of the Year award (who collected the award on behalf of her aunt Noraini Soltan), said this about the winner, "... I see my aunt as ... most hardworking person and she never gave up in whatever she does."

The moral of the story? There is no such thing as a free lunch. There is no such thing as instant success.

Instant coffee, yes. Instant noodles, yes. Instant gratification, yes. Instant loan approval, yes. Instant office, yes.

Instant success, NO! It needs long-term commitment.

You want your marriage to be a success? To last? It needs long-term commitment. Till death do us part?

Peter Drucker said, "Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans."

I wish you Success in your undertakings and Good Health and Wealth to you and your family. Take care!

You Want to Win, or to be Safe?

On 31st December 1980 (wow ... yes ... in the previous century! ...I am a Centurion ... almost ...hehehe!), I bought a book - "Business as a Game" - by Albert Z. Carr.

At the back of the book cover, it said: "How to succeed in business by really trying. Is life in the executive jungle really a game? Yes, ... and the difference between the men who make it to the top and the also-rans is in mastering the business game's unwritten rules and hidden calculations..."

I read in the newspapers last week-end that there are thousands of unemployed university graduates. A mismatch between what the market demands, and the supply by the universities. So it seems.

However, who are the graduates who managed to get job offers? Yes, those who are are able to adapt.

Yes, those who are versatile. Have multiple talents. Played team games. Got involved in extra-curricular activities like the Boy Scouts or Girl Guides or St John's Ambulance Brigade. Got involved as actors/actresses in the school dramas. Played leadership roles. So, yes ... life is also a game! In this case, your working life ... your "getting a job" life.

In life, do you play to win? Or to be safe?

As an undergraduate, to play to win, you must be the best. Either academically, or (even better) both academically and in extra-curricular activities. You represent 5% of the undergraduates, when you are in this category. 1% when you excel both in and out of the lecture room.

Similarly with life. To be safe is to be mediocre. To be average. Like 95% of the people.

To play to win, you need to be in tip-top condition. To take be an Olympic Champion, you need to train everyday. Four years before the actual day, your training has to start in ernest. Do you want to be an Olympic champion?

Two "investment experts" exchanged letters in The Star newspaper. One said that savings kept in the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) earned better returns, than if they were to be invested in the local stock market.

The other said that investing your savings in the stock market is better than keeping it in the EPF. This expert (surprise, surprise!) represents a mutual fund company which encourages the public to take out their savings in the EPF, and invest in mutual funds.

Both are right. Huh? How can both be right? Surely there is Truth and there is Falsehood? Day and Night? Black and White?

Yes, you are right! And you are wrong! Heard about half-truths? Dusk and dawn? The colour Grey? Well, the two experts used different methods of computing the returns.

However, what may interest you is the conclusion by one of the experts. He wrote, "... based on the Sharpe Ratio, EPF is any time far better than KLCI (local stock market index in "Malaysia - Truly Asia").

"... we are 95% confident that the EPF returns will range from 3.7% to 9.7%. ...KLCI returns will range between - 51.6% and 72%. The lowest return from EPF is positive +3.7% versus negative -51.6% for KLCI".

The moral of the story? If you want to play safe (and average), play the investment (money) game using the defensive strategy. Get a maximum (potential returns) of 9.7%.

If you want to win (be rich!), play the game using the assertive (not aggressive) strategy. Get a maximum (potential returns) of 72%.

In short, life's a game. To play to win, be the best in your field. To play the money game, aim to be a millionaire if you want to win. Winners get a better deal!

I wish you Success in your undertakings and Good Health and Wealth to you and your family. Take care!

P.S. "But, wait!" ... (you scream), ... "I may lose 51.6% of my savings if I follow the so-called assertive strategy". Well, Robert Kiyosaki does not recommend you invest in mutual funds. Or play the stock market, as most of us play it (i.e. lose money ... no, not you, of course ... the other 95% of the players), precisely because of this concern of yours.

P.P.S. "So how?", you may ask. The answer? There is no instant path to wealth. No short investment advice. Read all the articles in this blog (hehehe!).

P.P.P.S. In short, life's a game. Making money is a game. To win the money game, you need to start by targeting an income of at least a million dollars. Passive income!

How Important Are Your Friends?

Read in today's newspaper about how a guy died from holding a karaoke mike. No, no - there was no electrical fault (that electrocuted him while he was in the karaoke room). No, no - mike is not a guy. Mike = microphone.

It seems that the guy just loved singing. Whilst a few others just loved a bit of peace and quiet.

He hogged the mike. It led to an argument with a few others who had asked him to let go of the mike. And the final result was that he was stabbed to death. A sad and tragic story, but unfortunately true.

Less than two weeks ago, a few of my friends also were holding a mike and merrily croaking (ooops ... I mean, singing - "karaokeing") until 3 a.m. in the morning at a golf and country resort. None of us had any urge to kill any of our friends who were holding the mike. Even if their wives were croaking (there I go again ... I mean "karaokeing"). I mean, we had no urge to kill either them or their wives!

A study reported in the British Medical Journal said that happiness is infectious, and can "ripple" through social groups such as family and friends.

The study's authors (Professor Nicholas Christakis of Harvard Medical School and Professor James Fowler of the University of California) said, "Changes in individual happiness can ripple through social networks and generate large scale structure in the network, giving rise to clusters of happy and unhappy individuals."

"Most important from our perspective is the recognition that people are embedded in social networks and that the health and well-being of one person affects the health and well-being of others."

To you and me, what the above study means (in not so erudite language) is that if you mix with good people, you become a good person. You mix with criminals, you will become a criminal.

The moral of the story? Who your friends are, will determine who you will be. Mix with positive-minded-friends, you become positive-minded. Mix with loving and caring people, you become a more loving and caring person.

Mix with rich friends, you become rich. O.k., I don't mean that you ask your millionaire friends for a donation of $1,000,000, made out in your name. But you will be able to gain their advice on important investments. And your thinking will be like them. Remember Napoleon Hill's book, "Think and Grow Rich"? You see the connexion now?

See how important your friends are? WHAT? You have not a single soul in this world who is your friend? You are presently a hermit living in a cave in the deep jungles of "Malaysia - Truly Asia", and will only be returning to civilisation in 3 years' time?

What advice can I give you? I understand that you are very shy, and will run away from your own shadow. Well, get all the classic motivation books. They can be your first friends. You will follow my advice? Thank you. I love you!

I wish you Success in your undertakings, and Good Health and Wealth to you and your family. Take care!

P.S. A few days after the croaking session above, one of my friends (a homeopathic practitioner) emailed/forwarded a message about how to immediately help a stroke victim, using an alternative/traditional approach (i.e. non-conventional medical practice). Another friend who is a neurosurgeon (he operates on your brain if a blood vessel bursts there) said that the traditional advice was "rubbish". Do you think they will start attacking each other? Whether with words ... or knives (or surgeon's scalpels ... or operating saws)?

P.P.S. An opportunity to spend five days having discussions with a multi-millionaire is offered to you. At his exclusive, beautiful home on top of a hill in Hawaii, with a breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean and the islands. Limited to 20 persons only. Would you grap the opportunity? For a $20,000 fee. What's your comment?