Road to Financial Independence

World War III?

2011-11-10T17:59:00.011+08:00

With U.S and Europe deeply in debt crisis and helpful China coming along to save them, more and more assets that once belonged to the mighty West will be used as collateral to China as a promise to repay the borrowed relief funds.

A sensible 5 year old kid will understand that if you spend more than you what you earn, you will never have anything to save, in fact, you will need to borrow more to cover your future spending.

When the root cause of debt is not resolved, no matter how much money U.S and Europe borrow, they will never solve the problem. The promise to repay is as good as void.

So when the Western powers fails to repay the money, the collateral that was used to secure the loan will rightfully belongs to China.

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Imagine this:

Because you are such a big spender, you have to borrow money from your wealthy neighbour to satisfy your spending spree. At first, your neighbour accepted your IOUs and loaned you money at minimal interest. But as you need to constantly borrow to get ahead, your promise to repay the loan becomes less and less reliable.

Sensing the problem, your neighbour became reluctant to loan you money. Desperate to obtain the cash needed for your spending, you increased your interest rate and decided to use the sofa in your living room as collateral. Your neighbour reluctantly accepted and loaned you more money.

But the money you borrowed never seemed to be enough, so you decided to use your televsion, fridge, chairs, table and anything valuable you can use as collateral to obtain a loan.

Though your neighbour is generous, he is not a philanthropist. Soon, he became impatient and started to ask you for his money.

To pacify him, you decided to write more IOUs that promises a higher interest for the entire loan balance. Your neighbour rejected your offer and asked that you put your house, which is the only thing that is not used as collateral yet to extend the repayment period by a year. You heaved a sigh of relief and accepted the terms.

Finally realizing that your spending habits will not enable you to repay your loans, you decided to cut back on your spending. However, your income could not be increased significantly to allow you to cover the entire loan amount plus interest.

Time slipped by and 1 year has passed, you do not even have enough cash to cover the interest. Your neighbour has come to claim what is rightfully his: Your entire house.

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Now, imagine that you are actually U.S and Europe and your neighbour is China, when it comes to a point when China has literally owned everything that belonged to U.S and Europe, do you think the Western powers and their ego will bow down and hand everything over quietly?

Then, if the western powers refuses to surrendering whatever that was used as collateral to China and instead disowns the promise and retract all foreign ownership of their property, do you think China will just sit back and cry?

When diplomacy and trust failed, conflicts of interest will usually escalate to the use of force. That is what could potentially spark the next World War.

The war between the Debtor and Creditor is more likely than a war caused by religious differences.

China, with its vast resources in terms of raw material and manpower could easily flex their muscles and cause the world to shiver. The Western powers on the other hand, have difficulty feeding themselves without borrowing, let alone sustain a war.

If a war really breaks out because the debtor denied its creditor of what is rightfully his, the moral weight will lean towards the creditors which would amplify their already obvious advantage by many fold. Bear in mind that China is not the only country that the West owes money to. An enemy of an enemy is a friend. Alliances could be easily forged to reclaim what was denied.

Ultimately, countries would be forced to choose sides, and it is not hard to see which side would stand to gain more if they win the war. A debt ridden super power or an opportunity to reclaim what is owed.

Despite warning by so many gurus on the need to change their spending habits and living within their means, the people of the west continues to be ignorant and nonchalant. Why should they care? Nobody would willingly give up a life of luxury for a life of toil and labour.

For the rest of us who is wiser, let's grab a coupon to redeem the pie when its ready to be transferred from its original owner.

Better To Be Approximately Right Than Precisely Wrong

2011-11-02T16:39:00.020+08:00

To illustrate a concept of true investing:

Fast forward to the year 2050. Imagine there are 2 companies with equal book value of $1 billion. (book value refers to the amount of cash that the company can raise by selling everything in the business). Both have 100 million common shares held by shareholders.

SNS and FNF (acronym for slow and steady; fast and furious) are the names of these 2 businesses.

SNS is a simple business that does distribution of mineral drinking water obtained from mountain streams owned by SNS and purified at their facilities. Net worth derived mainly from the value of the mountain and SNS’s purification facilities.

FNF is a technological development and research facility that has successfully invented the very first Interstellar Spacepod. Its net worth is derived from its R&D facilities, factories, and inventories.

There is steady demand for purified mineral water as Earth is becoming more polluted by heavy industrialisation and healthy living increases in awareness for more people. Sales have been consistent and net profit from sale of mineral water amounted to $500 million. The fair value of SNS shares is $100 per share, but the market price is only $50 per share due to uninteresting prospect of the business and rumours that government is recalling land for building nature reserves.

On the other hand, due to FNF's previous success from the development of their Interstellar Spacepod, investors were hyped when FNF announced their Teleportation Device Development Project (TDDP). To fund the project, FNF decided to issue a $50 billion zero-coupon bond that promises return of 8% per year with a 10 year maturity date. (A zero-coupon bond is a bond bought at a price lower than its face value, with the face value repaid at the time of maturity) FNF will raise $23.2 billion through this issue and will redeem the bonds for $50 billion 10 years later. The bonds sold like hot pies.

Net profit from the sale of the Interstellar Spacepod in previous financial year amounted to only $50 million as it is only affordable by the minority rich and development cost was extremely high. However, due to the prospective potential of FNF, share price before the announcement of the TDDP was $1000 per share. After the announcement, in a single day, FNF shares closed at $10,000 per share.

Needless to say, many so called investors felt mighty rich after buying FNF shares, many became unsolicited promoters of FNF shares, recommending it to everyone they met on the streets.

If we make a comparison between SNS and FNF, we can conclude that SNS is under valued and FNF is highly speculative. The so called investors of FNF shares must be justly labeled as speculators and buyers of SNS shares can be referred to bargain hunters.

To present this in numbers, assume that both company are funded purely by equity (before FNF issued its zero-coupon bond) which they raised with an IPO of $10 per share, translated into the book value mention at the beginning. SNS's return on equity (ROE) is 50% and FNF's is 5%. While SNS earns 10 times more than FNF, its share price is only 5% of FNF's. It is either FNF being overvalued or SNS is undervalued, but in this instance, it is both.

Paying too much for a mediocre business because the share price is rising is a phenomenon known as the greater fool theory. It is like paying double the price for the last concert ticket, thinking that someone else will pay you a higher price for it.

Buying a business because it has high projected earnings is speculating because the projected earnings are not support by past records. The increased debt burden from the issue of zero-coupon not only virtually destroyed all profits of FNF, it puts the balance sheet in negative. For a company earning only $50 million a year to incur a debt of $26.8 billion($50 billion - $23.2 billion), it is suicide. Even if the project is a success and Teleportation devices are a hit, net profit needs to be at $5 billion a year in the first year and be consistent throughout for the next 10 years in order for FNF to cover the redemption of the bond. This is in a case where zero profit is retained or distributed to existing common shareholders.

To make matters worst, the soaring share price diminished the little value that was the worth of FNF share. In numbers, if FNF was to sell everything it owns at face value, even without depreciation charges, compensation will only amount to $241 per share. Compared to the purchase price of $10,000, speculators would make a minimum lost of $9759 for every share they own.

In contrast, while SNS does not seem to offer much explosive growth in net income, its steady profit and low costs offered dependable returns to shareholders. A demand for supply that is shrinking allows SNS to command higher price without fear of losing revenue. Net profit can be increased without increase in capital employed. Therefore, SNS is unlikely to become unprofitable suddenly.

As for concerns regarding rumours of government recalling land, in the event that SNS has to be put out of business, fair compensation can be expected to be made to SNS for the sale of its mountain by the Government. Every shareholder will then receive the proper compensation, perhaps with additional benefits like exemption from taxation of capital gains. In any case, the shareholder can stand to gain more than intrinsic value of the investment from the liquidation. The fear that drove the price down due to uninformed panic selling presents an opportunity for bargain hunter to capitalise on.

True investing is the allocation of capital in investments that offers safety of principle and expects reasonable rate of return. Though the above example is the extreme, its purpose is to serve as a guideline for investors to evaluate a company. Too many people fell to the allure of high returns over short period of time and end up with nothing.

As Warren Buffett says: It is better to be approximately right than precisely wrong.

What is Money?

2011-09-19T15:08:00.015+08:00

In my quest to find wealth, I came across a need to understand the main component that symbolizes wealth, and that is money.

To understand money in today’s context, let me try to illustrate in an easy to understand fashion using Singapore as the main reference.

There is an island on the planet of Gaia called Merlion City. This city is run by a central government under a democratic political system. It has a relatively short history of less than a century, compared to other nations on Gaia which were built on civilizations over millennia.

To run the city, the government needs revenue, which means income/money. This money is used for things that makes Merlion city a better place to live in, things like building of roads, feeding an army, maintaining of law and order, supplying of water, transport and everything nice.

The form that this money takes is called a currency. For ease of reference, let’s just use “$”. Different nation has different types of currency, after millennia of evolution, currency has evolved from sea shells, to ingots, to paper, to today’s synthetic polymer notes and alloy coins. To sum it short, a currency is a medium of exchange that is accepted by the general population. It is redeemable of something else that is of an equivalent value.

Merlion city has an approximately $20 billion worth of notes, coins and demand deposit circulating in the economy.

The nature of this currency is Fiat money, which means money that does not have any intrinsic value determined by a physical commodity, and derives its value by being declared by a government to be legal tender. In another word, the worth of the currency is determined by the government and all will accept it is as a mode of exchange by law.

This is opposed to the original form of money known as commodity money. Basically, money that derives it worth based on a physical commodity (e.g. gold).

My first encounter with this difference between the 2 types of money nature inspired me to further inquire about the differences and the consequences of each nature. 1 of the biggest difference between the 2 types of money is their Seigniorage Gap.

In essence, the nature of fiat money allows unlimited production of money so long as the general population still has faith in the value of the currency as a means for the government to settle its liabilities. This often causes greed for more from nothing, which results in hyperinflation (money becoming worthless, countless civilizations had fallen because of this).

On the contrary, commodity money runs the risk of being converted to their material use when the token is worth more as a commodity than as money (e.g. receipt that redeems 1gram of gold is only worth 0.9gram of gold; owner of 1gram of gold becomes unwilling to exchange it with the receipt and uses that gold as a material instead, resulting in insufficient tokens to represent measurement of exchange)

There are of course many more significant pros and cons for both nature of money, but to list them here would be too space consuming. For the sake of not making this too dry, let’s jump to the optimum nature that money theoretically should take: Fiat money that is strictly monitored and disciplinarily managed by wise government with sound fiscal policies of selfless interest.

Let’s assume that Merlion City has such wise government and the fiat money system is safe. This puts confidence into the people holding onto the currency, and thus encourages people to save. Knowing that the money they possess today can be exchanged for something of similar value in future allows people to confidently deposit the synthetic polymer notes and coins in banks instead of hoarding food, clothes, water, oil and anything tangible in their store.

However, money of today is never equal to the money of future. Value of money rarely remains stagnant. It is either eroded by Inflation; or growing by earning interest.

Inflation: A bowl of noodle that costs 25 cents 20 years ago, costs $2.50 today.

Interest: $100 in a bank account giving 0.1% interest per annum (p.a) will become $101 in 10 years.

Over the past 50 years, Merlion City has an average inflation rate of 2.7% and interest rate of 1.7% (note that the interest rate here refers to the rate of government bonds and not interests given by banks in saving accounts). To simplify, a $100 placed in a fifty years bond will have a future value of $378.90(2.7% growth compounded over 50 yrs) but monetary value equivalent to $60.50(1.7 - 2.7 = -1% growth compounded over 50yrs) of 50 years ago.

We can derive 3 meanings from this calculation:

#1) Future value of money increases as it earns interest in investments.

#2) Intrinsic value of money is eroded over time by inflation from $100 to $60.50.

#3) Purchasing power of money decreases by inflation, $378.90 = $60.50 fifty years ago

This is one concept of money today that we have to understand before we move on other concepts. You have to understand this basic concept which is known as Time Value of Money and realize that $1 today will not be equal to $1 tomorrow.

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/
http://www.singstat.gov.sg/stats/themes/economy/hist/histbop.html
http://www.guidemesingapore.com/relocation/introduction/singapores-economy
http://wfhummel.cnchost.com/unifiedview.html
Sources where data was collected for reference

Money Management

2011-08-16T22:18:00.013+08:00

THIS system was derived from T. Harv Eker's money management system that he shared during his seminar which I attended in June 2009 @KL MINES.

I modified it to suit my purposes.
Each month, the active income that I received will be divided as such:

15% into Financial Freedom Fund(FFF)
15% into Long Term Spending Fund
15% into Education Fund
30% into Necessities Fund
15% into Play Fund
10% into Give Fund

Money in the Financial Freedom Fund will never, Never, NEVER ever be spent. It will only be used to acquire assets that generates positive cashflow. The dividends or interests or returns from the investments will be reinvested into the fund until such a time when I have achieved financial independence. After which they may then be channeled else where.

Money in the Long Term Spending Fund is for me to buy or pay for costly things that are important but not urgent. Things like getting my braces, getting a tablet, etc etc.

Money in the Education Fund is for me if I wish to enroll for a course which I believe will aid me in making more money or for me to pursue my passion.

Money in Necessities Fund is for everyday expenses. The reason why I modified it to 30% instead of the 50 to 55% is because I am currently still residing with my parents and there aren't a lot of miscellaneous stuff that I have to pay for. In fact, 30% of my current income could have left overs which will be channeled into the FFF.

Money in the Play Fund is for luxuries that I lavish on me and my girlfriend. It can be a dinner at a classy restaurant or a trip to somewhere fun. Bottom line is, the money in this fund must be expended every month and no guilt must come from spending the money.

Money in the Give Fund is for me to give to my parents. I will give them 5% each.

I have more or less followed this money management plan since the day I learnt about it, just that there wasn't any official records which I should have kept. What I would be doing from now on is to actively record the amount of money in the separate funds and more actively manage my money.

You should do too. This is one big step towards growing your wealth.

Hedge Against The Coming Storm

2011-08-10T18:34:00.011+08:00

GOLD price at all time high! Protect your savings before the market crashes!

Close this mail/window if u have no interest in knowing how to preserve your hard earn savings.

As you should be aware, the United States(US) is in debt. And debt not in million or billions but in trillions! That's $1,000,000,000,000!

Ever since the US-Dollar un-pegged from gold in response to decrease the burden of debt in 1935, gold price and US$ value went opposite ways.

Why?

Because when US$ was un-pegged from gold, it meant that the piece of paper money is no longer equal to something tangible owned by those who issued the note but a promise that it can be exchanged for something of equal value in future.

The difference lies in that for the latter, they can keep printing money so long as those who receives the note believes in that promise.

That is the reason US is deeply in debt, because they keep promising and they keep printing.

So What?

The answer is simple, once people stops believing in the promise, the note is as good as toilet paper, and there goes your hard earned savings.

But that's USD, I own SGD

Well, imagine you own a business and you have a customer who appears to be very rich. So you extend credit to him whenever he buys stuff from u. You think he can pay you back since he is so rich, so you didn't not mind holding onto his IOUs. You are Singapore and US is the customer. And Singapore is holding onto a lot of US IOUs. If the customer is unable to pay, what do you think will happen to e business?

Let's not concern ourselves with the solution to US debt problems. What's more important is the things we can do to minimize the damage when the roof really comes crashing down.

So How?

For those who are already aware, I'm sure you would have identified the crisis and done something to hedge yourself against losses. But for those who are not aware, I offer some basic advice and some simple actions to take.

From a logical point of view, when the intangible is unstable, own the stable and tangible.

The answer is simply: buy & hold gold until this crisis is over.

To be honest, I have 2 agenda that motivated me to write this article.
1. Educate those who are still unaware and hope that they would save themselves.
2. Offer those who are willing to join me in making the best of the current crisis a chance to make some cash.

If you feel that what was said were all nonsense, I sincerely hope that you will at least realize some shit is going to happen and do something about it.

The reason why gold price is rising is because there are more people buying than selling.

Gold is the universal form of money. It has been so since ancient times.

There are a few ways you can own gold or profit from the benefits of it.

1) Buying n holding real gold
-gold bars
-gold bullion
-gold leaf etc

2) Own a gold savings account

3) Buy gold certs or gold shares

More on how to go about each option can be found with a few minutes of Googling.

What I'm more interested in sharing with you is the opportunity to not only own real gold but also profit whenever someone you know buys gold.

The best thing is, you don't need to have a large capital. Less than S$1,000.

For those who feel uneasy making money from others, no worries. By holding onto the gold itself is in a way protecting your money. Think of it like savings, just that this pool of saving is illiquid and no interest given. But at the rate gold is appreciating in value, your "money" is growing many times more than what a bank offers. And your money is more protected from inflation than the sturdiest vaults in any bank can offer.

1 ounce of limited edition, pure 999.9gold collection coin cost US$1,400 5years ago(intrinsic worth=US$750). Today, intrinsic value of 1oz 999.9 gold is US$1,750 . Meaning, discounting the collector's value of the coin, the coin is worth US$1,750 for the amount of gold it possess.

The additional incentive of buying the gold I'm sharing with you are:
-a platform to build your very own passive income stream
-a means to help friends in need of money
-actively take control of your money n increase your income.

For those who are interested to own gold but do not wish to take up my offer, you can find out more about owning gold from UOB. I myself purchased gold from there and that gold has appreciated 16% in merely 5 months.

As for those who are interested in what I offered, you can post in comments, write in the chat box or drop me an e-mail(wei_ge_1989@hotmail.com) and we can discuss in-depth the biz opportunity present.

1 thing I learn from my 1 year 10months of serving the army is: When in doubt, ask! Don't assume.

Its free to send email or post a comment by the way, so feel free to ask me as many questions as possible!

All the best and hope you are ready when crisis calls.

Mindset Can Be Influenced, Habits can be Inculcated

2010-07-19T10:57:00.002+08:00

DOES the way we think affect the way we behave?

Mindset 1: I believe that gambling can make me get rich quick
Habit 1: I buy 4D 3 times a week

Mindset 2: I believe that the only way to earn a living is to sweat it out. The harder I sweat, the more I deserve
Habit 2: I work till my bones break, give more than expected of me and pray that I get a promotion soon.

Mindset 3: I believe that as long as I contribute, I will be rewarded.
Habit 3: I keep doing the same thing that works, wondering why I never get more.

Mindset 4: I believe that the world owes me a living.
Habit 4: I will lie down here and wait for something to happen.

Mindset 5: I believe that dreams are only possible when I'm asleep.
Habit 5: I do what I know is safe because others have already done it before me.

Mindset 6: I believe that nothing in this world is absolute.
Habit 6: I keep trying new ideas.

Mindset 7: I believe that nobody can tell me who I will become.
Habit 7: I filter negative comments from others.

Mindset 8: I believe time is more valuable than money.
Habit 8: I keep trying to make more money with lesser time.

What you keep telling yourself is what you will keep doing. What you keep doing will become what you keep getting. So instead of changing what you want to get, change what you think in your head.

2010

2010-01-03T17:06:00.005+08:00

A NEW year, a new beginning.

That's what it is suppose to feel. However, somehow, the transition between last year to this year did not feel as significant as I thought it should have.

Partly because I'm still serving national service and the intense negativity associated with being trapped in a regimental institution killed the feeling. The lost of freedom felt like a heavy chain to the ankles that destroyed any wish to fly up into the clouds and accomplish dreams.

Back track a little to put my present situation into record.

I got enlisted for National Service (NS) on the 6th of October 2009 into Ninja Company at Basic Military Training School 2 (BMTC2) for my Basic Military Training (BMT). I stayed there for 9 weeks and passed out as a trained soldier on 8th of December 2009.

After which, I got posted to School of Infantry Specialists(SISPEC) for Basic Section Leader Course (BSLC). I've survived 2 weeks there and as this post is being written, I'm awaiting my booking in at 2100hrs for my 3rd week there. The course is 8 weeks long and after the course, I'll be posted for further training of another 13 weeks before I'll be promoted to a third sergeant rank.

From then on, my military life will be about leading men assigned under my lead into missions for the rest of the 1 year and 2 months.

My life will begin again on the 5th of August 2011 which is my Operationally Ready Date(ORD), when I'll return to my civilian life and release one of the 2 heavy chains secured to my ankle. Depending on how I perform during my service, I'll need to reserve periodically during a period of 10 to 15 years after my ORD before my Run-Out Date (ROD) which marks the end of my national service life. After which, I'll be truly free.

Most SIngaporeans do not like serving the nation in this forceful manner. But many propaganda has been put into place to appease the resentment. The wastage of almost 2 years for a man with big dreams is cruel. To add onto the lost of time, that man is put through a torture-some regime of mental and physical training.

The thought of being in NS is detrimental enough to kill any motivation to think about the future. With unpredictable regimental duties to perform and uncertainty that you'll be able to survive the trainings, it is demoralizing.

However, as I used to say, we determine how we will live our lives. If I decide that NS is going to destroy me, it definitely will. But if I decide that NS is an opportunity for me to exploit the government, for me to get something for free, it helps to alleviate the suffering I'll have to go through. It is time inevitably given to the country, why not make full use of it and get the most out of it.

The Pipe Story

2009-12-27T10:38:00.003+08:00

LONG, long time time ago, there was a mountain, not as tall as the Everest but definitely beats Bukit Timah. On top of the mountain, there was a village. And in the village, there were 2 strong young men. One named Clever and the other named Smart.

The mountain has everything the villagers need to survive, but its water supply is scarce. Rain only falls every Saturday and Sunday. Fortunately, at the bottom of the mountain, there lies a spring of Thousand Wonders. The water is so refreshing and tasty that the villagers would not mind traveling far to carry the water up the mountain. It is said to have many wondrous medicinal values.

So Clever and Smart came up with a business idea together. They told the villagers that they'll help the village to transport water from the spring all the way up to the mountain and only for a minimal fee of 5 silver coin per bucket.

The villagers welcomed this idea. This mean they can carry out their daily chores without worrying about carrying water.

So, Clever and Smart each invested 10 silver coins to get a wooden bucket from the provision stall and started their business.

The journey up and down the mountain is rough. Though a man-made path was created through frequent usage by the villagers, the road is still rocky and at times steep.

However, being strong and young, Clever and Smart both find the task of carrying water fairly easy and manageable. On the first day of their business, they managed to carry 10 buckets of water, earning 50 silver coins.

To celebrate their success, Clever and Smart went to the pub and treated everyone there to free flow of beer. Everybody was happy.

On the second day, both of the strong, young men bought another bucket and a wooden pole. They can now carry more water per trip.

So, they slogged through the day and sold 18 buckets of water each. Clever wanted to go to the pub and treat everybody beer again, but Smart rejected it. He said he wants to rest well for the next day.

This went on for 1 year. With Clever and Smart resting on Saturdays and Sundays, they both earn an average of 1800 silver coins a month.

After carrying water for 1 year, Smart started to ask himself a question. Is he really going to carry water until he can no longer carry any more water and live the rest of his life on his savings?

Even though he has a considerable amount of savings considering that he is very thrifty and spends his money wisely, the cost of having a family and support a family of 3 would deplete his savings and reduces the amount he can save in future. He wants his children to have a good education in a town nearby, but the cost of sending his children to study outside the village is very high. All these worries about money started to make him think about the future.

Clever on the other hand, has already asked his girlfriend to marry him and is already planning to build his house on a piece of land he bought on borrowed money. He is very assured that his income will be able to pay for his expenses, support his wife and return the borrowed money.

One fine day, Smart decided to take a break and travel to the nearby town. The journey takes half a day and by the time he reached the town, it was night fall. He decided to lodge in an inn.

Although this town is small, it is surprisingly modern. That night when Smart decides to take a bathe, he realise that he did not need to carry buckets of water out from a well at all, instead, water is flowing out from a pipe.

Amazed and intrigued, Smart spent the rest of the night studying the contraption.

The next day, Smart went to look for the mayor. After proposing his brilliant idea to the mayor, the mayor invited Smart to join him for lunch. He has agreed to Smart's request.

From that day onwards, Smart is no longer the water boy. He is now an entrepreneur. What he proposed to the mayor was that he requested to borrow a small sum of money to hire the town's engineer and some pipes and a pumping system. In return, he'll use the money to build a pipe system that connects the spring back to the village where there is already a demand for the water. After recouping the cost, he will return the borrowed money with interest, on top of that, he will bear the cost of constructing a pipe connecting the spring to the town where more people can enjoy the Thousand Wonder water.

Living on his savings alone, Smart spent 1 year to build his pipe, as he wants to cut cost, he only hired immigrants who seeks a better life but demands only food and lodging and a small sum of silver for compensation.

Soon, Smart's pipe was operational. He announced to the village that the water from his pipe only cost 3 silver coins per bucket. This immediately destroyed Clever's business. Clever's water needed a waiting time before it is delivered but Smart's water was instant and cheap.

With his business destroyed, Clever immigrated to the town where he continued his water carrying business, but this time, its is to the town's people.

In the beginning, people were sceptical about paying such a high price for the water, their water source is a nearby river and it served them well. But after much advertising campaign and testimonies that displayed the wonders of thousand wonder water, people started to buy Clever's water. Seeing the increasing response of the people, Clever decided to up the price of the water since the town's people were more wealthy.

Smart's pipe can now fill 40 buckets of water everyday. Earning him an income of 120 silver coins a day. After taking a break and finish repaying his loan to the mayor, he is now ready for the next phase of his project. He waited 1 year to save up a considerable sum of money. Now that he does not need to physically carry the water, Smart have more time to find his true love and search for good land to buy. Within 6 months, Smart upgraded the pumping system at the spring. The new pump can now fill 60 buckets a day. Smart bought a piece of fertile red soil land at the bottom of the mountain and started planting Thousand Wonder trees from a far away land.

As the tree is hard to grow, not many people are growing it, but the value of the tree under good hands can generate immense wealth.

After 5 years since he borrowed money from the mayor, Smart is ready to build the pipe to the town as he promised the mayor.

Hiring 10 workers and the best engineering team he gathered over the years, he managed to complete the pipe in less than a month.

As usual, Clever is forced to move his business. He resents Smart for once and again forcing him to relocate. He have yet to finish returning the borrowed money for his land and his 1 year old son needs to be fed. His world is falling apart as the only thing he is good at is carry water.

Getting older did not help Clever at all. His joints are sore and his health deteriorating. "Friends" started to leave him as he has ceased to become their free source of beer.

Both young men started out strong and young, both are intelligent in their own right, both are hard working and both strives for very good ideals. But yet, the 2 young men ended up at 2 ends of a crossroad. One can only look back and yearn for his lost glory, while the other can look ahead and plan for the future generation.

Everyone can appreciate the convenience pipes and tap water bring, but not every one is willing to bear the burden of building their own pipes.

It does not take much brain power to build pipes, just strong mental will to create a better future that no one but you yourself can see.

The World Is Flat

2009-12-15T00:58:00.003+08:00

EARTH is round, but the world is flat.

You can virtually see one end from the other end. You can get from north to south, east to west in a day. You know what's happening miles away without moving from where you are with a click of a button. You can say something that can be heard by millions around the world. You can hear the voices of billions around the world.

This may sound cliche but truth is, the world is shrinking. Not in terms of traveling time, not in terms of communication speed. But something else that is closer to home. Your job prospects.

China has a population of 1.3 billion people.
India has 1.1 billion people.

How many universities does China has?

More than 2000!
http://colleges.indiaedu.com/asia/china/colleges-universities/index.html

How many graduates do you think the universities in these countries churn out each year?
http://www.uis.unesco.org/ev.php?ID=7122_201&ID2=DO_TOPIC
http://www.chinatoday.com/edu/a.htm

17 million people graduate from university in China every year.

How about India?
http://www.rediff.com/money/2005/dec/19guest1.htm

A whooping 48.7million.

Now, how many people do you think Singapore has as her citizens?

4.8million?

Let's not forget the other Asian countries which are populous.

Do the math.

Singapore Graduates VS Foreign Graduates

University graduates in a prestigious foreign university has: the same level of skill; equal or higher level of intelligence; much much much much much much higher drive to improve their lifestyle; less less less less less less less expectations for reward. Grabbing at anything thrown at them and a determination to strive to excellence.

University graduates in Singapore University has: complacency; super duper high expectations in terms of pay, welfare, leave, benefits; lazy or lack of drive to improve lifestyle (comfortable existing lifestyle); broken language (rojak:eng-chi-kien).

The Ugly Truth

It is common sense to know what determines a thriving business. To every company in the world, getting the best talents who are also hard working at the lowest cost possible is what they all want.

Even diploma holders who proves themselves more capable than degree holders are highly preferred due partly to the lower pay expectations. Education qualification no longer play a major role in securing job.

While it is comforting to indulge in the fantasy that as long as you keep getting higher qualifications, you will have a better chance to get a better job and a better life, reality is cruel.
Cruel in the sense that it smacks you in the face only when it is too late.

Life

You are only born once, you only have 1 twenty-first birthday, you only become 40 years old once, and death is a once in a life time opportunity, you won't miss it. It is in one direction and so far, no one has defied that pattern.

Getting a job and maintain your lifestyle is important. At least it keeps you alive. But staying alive is not enough. You need a life.

Getting a life is not only about going party and drinking beer, it is not only about watching soccer with a group of friends and have a great deal of fun.

It is not about tolerating having to wake up at a fixed time early in the morning everyday, squeezing the public transport or the road with tonnes of people like you, getting to work and get told when to have lunch, when to do what to do and when to go home.

It is not about getting a measly sum of money at the end of every month and sighing to yourself thinking: how is this going to be enough?

Don't just live; have a life.

Life is about fulfilling dreams and helping others, life is about leaving behind a legacy, something people of the future will remember you for.

Life is about doing whatever you want whenever you want.

It is about not having to worry about your loans and bills, not having to worry about the money needed to buy your house and having a family, having the best wedding, having the best honeymoon, having the best bedroom for your children, having the best birthday party every year for your children.

It is about having the chance to eat breakfast with your children, be with them when they need you most, guide them along the path in life, play along with them, read them bed time stories and watch your children go to sleep.

It is about accomplishments you can feel proud of at the end of the day when death calls and you have to go.

It is the confidence to say: My life is so wonderful, I have no regrets even if I die tomorrow.

Now What?

It is always repeated again and again, plan for your future. Don't blindly follow what works. What is working for others may never work out for you. You need to be the one to decide if it works for you. Facts are meaningless words until you decided to give meaning to it, to utilize it to shape your decisions.

A golden rule I learnt was that: You can never change a person, only that person can change himself.

The final question I post to you is: Is what you choose to do really going to get you what you really want in life?

MLM undercover

2009-10-02T00:41:00.002+08:00

Insurance companies are one of the largest undercover MLM company that has existed in the history of the financial world.

"Give me $100 every month and I'll make sure you have a happy retirement"

Structure of a typical MLM company:
1.A company that provides the product and back-end support for its promoters
2.Promoters who promotes the company's products and are rewarded through commission
3.Customers who are encouraged to constantly input money into the company in exchange for the benefits that the products purchased promised
4.Generates significant amount of income for its active promoters and rewards leaders who "groomed" successful new comers
5.Hierarchical in nature

_____________________________________________________________

Now look at insurance companies.

AIG, AIA, MANULIFE, PRUDENTIAL, GREAT EASTERN are names of insurance companies that we often hear.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_insurance_companies_in_Singapore
Go to the link to see more insurance companies.

So like the multitudinous MLM companies around the world, we have our first similarity.

Insurance companies provide insurance agents the different policies or products for clients to choose from.

Next is the insurance agent.

From what I understand, to become an insurance agent, you need a certification. Which means you need to sit for exams. And unless the company you work for sponsors your fees, you'll have to pay.

Disclaimers: I am not an insurance agent and I have not worked as an insurance agent before in my entire life.

Insurance agents in MLM context are people who independently represent the company. They are allowed to promote the company's insurance policy to earn a commission.

~Insurance agents recently changed their title to financial planner. Reason being, people started to evacuate a room faster when they realise you are an insurance agent compared to a real fire emergency.

Most financial planners are poor. This is the 80/20 principle. They are enticed into the insurance industry. By what?
The commissions and passive income. Does it sound like MLM?

Most of them have no clue what to do their own money. All they are trained to do: sell as many insurance policies as possible to as many people as possible so that a passive income could be earned to secure their own retirement.

Do they know where the money in the insurance go or come from? Mostly into their pockets and from future buyers of insurance. Check out the link below to see how much your agent earns from you.
http://personalinsure.about.com/od/life/f/lifefaq3.htm

So insurance agents do earn a chunk of their client's money.

Next is what MLM would call "repeated sales".

Insurance companies does it in a much subtle and much more efficient way.

Customers have to pay a fixed sum every month. In exchange for?

A piece of paper.

Or maybe a few page of documentation.

Depending on the type of insurance, customers may or may not get back their premium.

And for those that does, it is usually after 5 or 10 to 20 years later.

Even when customers got back their premium after the insurance matured, most customers would not know what to do with the large sum of money they suddenly received.

So what would the kind-hearted and caring agent do?
Introduce another insurance policy.

The money is reinvested and most of in goes into the agent's pockets.

Next is the training of new people so that what they earn is what you earn.

Common sense tells you that there are different positions one can aim for in an insurance company.

To attain the positions, one has to perform to meet the criteria.

To become manager, does it make sense to say that you need to have the people to manage?

So what is in it for you to manage them?

A part of what your people earn, goes to you. In return, you provide those people with training and advice.

Very identical to MLM. Gold direct, diamond ambassador... BLAHHH Blahhh blah...

Very clearly, insurance companie are multi-leveled marketing companies in nature.

But what's the conclusion? Read on to find out.

__________________________________________________________

Some behind the scene ugly truth about the insurance industry. Don't ask me how I got them, read them and see if they make sense.

Insurance is a very very big money game.

What is a money game?

A money game is when a group of people input money into a pool and gets a larger sum out of it after a certain period of time.

Some call it investment, but it is not an investment when the money comes from those who input money later.

Meaning, the money that the first batch of people are collecting comes from the second batch of people who will get their money from the third and fourth batch.

Incidentally, there would be disputes to the above claim.

Claims like: the money is from investment returns in government bonds or low risk share investments and so forth.

But logically speaking, if there are really such safe and low risk investments that can generate that kind of money consistently for your money every single year for over 20 years, the words poverty and crisis would be non-existent.

Then, the dissident voices would say: that's why the returns fluctuate.

But mistake not my point, I'm not referring to inconsistent low returns, I'm referring to the unforeseen Negative returns.

An insurance company cannot do what mutual funds and unit trust managers do. When insurance company make a lose in the investment, they cannot call their clients and say that they made a lost, sorry, but this is what's left.

Investment companies have to return at least the entire input-ed premium. If not, its reputation is ruined and its money game collapse.

Let's not forget the high amount of commission our dear agents receive from each policy. Check it out if you didn't.

So can the insurance company really afford to make low return investments?

And if the company ran out of luck and lost a portion of the investment?

What's the easiest solution?

I'm sure a 5th grader can tell you.

Most of the first generation insurance buyers had not seen their investment returns. They rolled(reinvested) it because they are still alive and kicking.

So the question asked here is this, when nobody ever takes out the money until they really need it, does it mean that the insurance company will be able to afford paying each and every customer when they all decided to withdraw their money?

No.

And when the company is not able to return every customer their matured premium, is it a money game where there really is a pool of congregated sum of money with overlapping ownership?

Let's just say that the circumstance of all insured customer withdrawing their premium will never happen.

But at one point or another, these people will still take out their money.

The number of first batch of customer is a smaller group compared to today's batch of customer.

When the numbers withdrawn are supported by a larger pool of customers waiting for their premiums to mature, there would not be any sign of rupture.

But imagine 20 years down the road when today's batch of customers started to take out their premium.

With shrinking population and ever increasing number of new insurance companies, will there be enough money to support the withdrawal?

Relate this to the collapse of AIG.

__________________________________________________________

What is being shared here is not only the similarities between insurance companies and MLM companies.

What is being shared here is the message that everything in the finance world works almost identically.

Look at banks. Replace insurance agents with bankers.

Look at collapse of Lehman Brothers.

What is safe?

MLM is a money game. Bank is a money game. Insurance is a money game. The currency IS a money game.

Under your mattress on a tree top house in the middle of Amazon forest is the safest.

The ugly truth is this, you are already a victim to the money game.

At least MLM is honest enough to tell you.

Age Is Not A Factor, Do Not Let Them Tell You Otherwise

2009-07-28T01:32:00.006+08:00

THERE was this interesting experiment conducted to test animal behaviors.

In a big fish tank filled with water, a large sized piranha was put into it.

A piece of glass was inserted to separate the tank into two equal halves.

The piranha was in the left half of the tank and a beautiful goldfish was put into the right side.

Common sense tells us that the piranha, upon seeing the goldfish, will attempt to eat it.

So it did a swirl and rammed into the piece of glass.

After it hit the glass, it swam in a circle and tried to go towards the goldfish.

This continued for half an hour.

After one hour, the piranha was seen still swimming towards the goldfish but it pulled back just before hitting the glass.

The piece of glass was removed.

The result was that the piranha was observed to pull back even though there was no glass.

The goldfish swam openly and freely in the presences of the carnivore.

The piranha did not attempt to go close to it.

Then, a smaller sized piranha was dropped into the tank.

In seconds, the goldfish was no more.

This experiment provided 2 learning points.

1.Age and experience does not necessarily mean you will get a good meal.

2.If we stop trying just because we failed several times, we will never get a good meal.

A Simple Solution For A Complex Problem

2009-07-11T10:35:00.004+08:00

WITH references to the wisdom in the book The Richest Man in Babylon, I ponder upon the solutions to the current economical crisis.

As the world can see, America is heavily in debt. The reason it is still standing as a nation is because of the faith countries all over the world are putting into it.

The US currency is no longer worth anything, it is merely a promise to worth that amount.

If we simplify the problem for illustration purpose, we can see America as a heavy debtor who has unlimited access to borrow as much money as he wants.

Who is lending America money?

The world.

Where did the money came from?

The faith the world has for US dollar.

America is printing money. A system that allows the government to print money at will is called fiat money system.

A money system that is sound is one that ensures true value of the currency. Each dollar should worth something tangible of that value.

However, the US dollar's value is the world's faith that it is worth that amount. There is no real value or insufficient value behind that promise.

US in the past was truly a wealthy nation.

Industrialization coupled with the start of world war II propelled US to become the strongest nation in the world.

Industrialization gave American goods the edge over traditionally produced products all over the world.

The invention of steam engine allowed faster trading world wide. The rising US suppressed the potential of other countries which was in constant chaos.

Using the chaos in Europe and Asia, America positioned itself as the savior of the world. A world power that can end the chaos. It provided loans to fund the war.

After the war, it provided more loans to help nations rebuild.

These loans are good debt that nations will repay in due time.

For a time, America received good return on their money from nations all over the world.

As the world stabilizes, peace promoted growth.

Japan started to overtake America in terms of technology and innovation.

China started to abandon communism and embrace free trade.

The world is starting to stand up on its feet.

They recognized a need for a standard currency to facilitate international trading. Thus, US currency was chosen.

The problem with fiat money system is this, when someone has the power to print money indefinitely, he often will.

Printing more money becomes the easiest solution to get out of deep shit.

But getting out of deep shit is only on the surface.

Its like the heavy debtor borrowing from someone to repay somebody else.

The debtor's income is insufficient to cover the debts he owe.

By constantly increasing the amount of money he has by printing money on faith, it is getting deeper into shit rather than getting out.

Instead of increasing its efficiency to earn, the US focuses on borrowing more to delay the inevitable fall of the faith in its nation.

The bankruptcy of General Motors and the wobbling banks in America showed the world crack signs in the once almighty nation they put so much faith into.

A change in leader is only a temporary hope that things will change for the better.

But actions taken by the new leader amplified the impractical solution past leaders has been trying to implement.

In desperation to maintain the faith, the US have to strengthen its ties with nations all over the world, even enemies that it once had.

A new leader provided the hope for reconciliation with old foes.

However, will it be sufficient? Or did its enemies pretend to extend the hands of friendship to position itself for the right time to strike hard?

Nothing lasts forever. Change is the only constant. The tides of change will erode those too stubborn to recognize it.

At this juncture, I believe there are 2 outcomes.

Either, the world will once again be thrown into turmoil, and another strong nation will rise up to replace the ailing US as the next world power, leading the world into the next era.

Or, US applies the wisdom of old to save itself from destruction.

Stop printing(borrowing) more money. Increase its earning capacities. Repay its debt slowly while putting a portion of all its earnings into investments that generates honest income.

To all of us that is not in the position of the US government, we have a choice.

We have the choice to choose where we will be when either of the outcome will occur.

This is the greatest tidal wave that this generation of savvy is waiting for.

It is the tides of real change.

Will you continue to put blind faith in the obviously ailing nation and ignore what is happening?

Or will you take actions to position yourself when the greatest transfer of wealth occurs?

Becoming Rich Is Not About The How

2009-06-19T21:33:00.006+08:00

ALL rich people will agree that there are a million ways to earn a million dollars.

The word is duplication.

Keep doing what makes you money earns you an active income.
Keep doing what makes you money without your continuous effort earns you passive income.
Keep doing what makes you passive earns you riches.

Keep doing what makes you money earns you an income

This is what everybody do best. How to go about it? Here's how it works.

Wake up everyday at a preset timing.
Get ready to go for work.
Get through the traffic.
Reach your work place .
Do what you are hired to do.
Go for lunch break
Get back to work.
Wait for time to go home.
Get through the traffic again.
Reach home and get ready for next day.

This cycle repeats. We do it because it works.

It puts bread onto the table.

It makes sure that we can get an income every month.

Not a bad system right?

Let me ask you some questions.

Do you think that you are paid what you deserve? If you are, you are a happy man and I congratulate you.

Is the value of your work equivalent to the amount of money you receive?

Who determines the amount of money you are paid?

Now, think about these 2 questions deeply.

If the pay you received from your job can make you financially free, do you think that you will still continue working?

If the pay you received is miserably just enough for you to get by, do you think you will continue working hard so that you can get money next month?

Notice the difference?

You are paid what you are worth and you stop working, who suffers? The boss.

You are paid just enough so that you will continue working, who wins? The boss.

There is a reason why your pay is never enough.

It is to keep you working!

The boss makes money because you are working.

Get the idea?

Who wants to be the boss?

That is why, if you want to get rich, stop working for paychecks and start giving paychecks.

Keep doing what makes you money without your continuous effort earns you passive income

The keyword to getting rich is passive income.

It is money coming in without you working.

Leaving the "How" aside, imagine a simple scenario.

If you can create a steady flow of passive income by following a step-by-step instruction. All you need to do is to follow exactly what it says.

Maybe you failed the first time.

Maybe you failed the second time.

But you keep trying.

You keep following the instructions and on the fourth time, you successfully created a passive income stream.

What is the beauty of passive income?

You are free to do whatever you want and the money still comes in.

What is left out of the equation?

What was the old equation?

You + Time + Effort = $

And the new equation?

You = $

What happens when you have time and the energy to do anything you want and not have to worry about money?

YOU BUILD MORE PASSIVE INCOME STREAMS!!!

Good or Good??!

How The Rich Make Money In The Stock Market

2009-06-09T16:23:00.013+08:00

HOW many of you have heard of the stock market?

You must be living in a cave if you haven't heard of it.

How many of you actually traded stocks in the market?

Did you made or lost money?

How many of you would like to find out how the rich makes money in the stock market?

Before I begin, let me briefly educate the cavemen.

The stock market is a place where you trade shares.

What are shares?

They are parts of a company that people can buy and own.

Where do they come from?

They come from companies that are listed in the stock exchange. Meaning, companies that can be publicly traded. Usually these companies bear the entity of a Corporation.

Why do companies have stocks?

There are various reasons, the most common one is so that they can raise the capital they need to expand.

Still confused?

Go and google the word shares and read more.

For those non-cavemen, sorry for the wait.

Let's simplify things for the sake of understanding.

Remember our friend Blue from this story?

Today, he is a multi-multi-millionaire.

Let's say he has $10 million cash and has no where to spend it.

These are the few things he can choose to do.

He can splurge in on luxury items like buying lots of clothing and expensive accessories and give himself a treat at the finest dinning restaurant.
He can donate all of it to all the orphanages he sponsors. But he has already set aside a fund to donate automatically every quarter.
He can put in a bank and let it grow at 3% a year.
He can play the stock market.

He chose the 4th option.

Now, before I reveal how he is going to grow his money, what do you think is the strategy he will use?

Or rather, if it was you who had $10million cash, how would you invest in the stock market?

Give this some thought. Some of us may have strategies as to how to make money in the stock market, but for those who do not, take this moment and imagine how would you have done it.

How sure are you that your strategy will make money? Is there a guarantee on your money? Or are you actually gambling?

Now, you may or may not know this method. But let me give you a warning, this method is truly mind blowing.

Let me introduce 2 more characters into the story. They are Maroon and Green.

Maroon is a stock broker. His job is to trade stocks in the stock market. He works for clients who wants and buy and sell shares through him. He is fast, tenacious and cunning. Best in his field.

Green is Blue's secretary. She is meticulous and follows orders very well. Her job is to carry out Blue's bidding and to ensure that Blue's needs are taken care of.

So one day, Blue told Green to come into his office.

"Find me a company that fulfills the criteria on this list over here" said Blue

has sound business fundamentals
has been around for at least 10 years
share priced at between 10 cents to 50 cents a share
conservative and traditional company that does not have any major upcoming plans
steady management

So Green spent 3 months to pour over all the company profiles to finally find the 1 company that fits all the criteria.

This company's name is called TradeMe. It is a small and medium sized company manufacturing cards. It has 50 million shares that are publicly traded. Price of stock had been stagnant at 10 cent a share due to dull management and low dividend payout. Management is a group of conservatives who had been with the company since the beginning.

So basically, this company is a steady company that is not very promising and not likely to collapse either.

Blue is very satisfied with Green's finding. He gave her the next instruction.

"Take $10000 to buy the shares of this company at 10 cents to 20 cents everyday. If prices spike, wait for the price to fall back before making purchase again. Do not buy the share at more than 50 cents a share. Take as long as you need to accumulated 5million shares of TradeMe."

So Green called up Maroon and relayed Blue's instruction. Maroon was puzzled at first but he trusted that Blue knows what he is doing. And Blue pays well. So he carried out the instruction faithfully.

After 365 trading days, Maroon managed to accumulate 5million shares of TradeMe. Current pricing of the stock is 40 cents. Total investment was $1.5million excluding the fee Maroon charged which amounted to $50,000.

That done, Green reported to Blue. Blue was very happy so he gave Green a bonus of $50,000 for that year.

Now comes the next phase of Blue's strategy.

As the company remains dormant, the price of the stock remained stagnant. If Blue left his money in the stocks, he will make a lost as the price will fall back to 10 cents in no time

So his strategy was definitely not Buy, Hold and Pray it will go up.

At this point, can anyone guessed already what Blue's next move will be?

Think about your own strategy. Would you have bought TradeMe shares in the first place? Did you imagine yourself pouring over all the top earning company's profile? Did you see yourself glued to a computer monitor comparing P/E ratios?

No matter what your strategy is, I'm sure you strongly believed that it will make you money. If not, why would you have done it?

Compare what Blue is doing and what you will do. Try and see the difference in terms of time, effort, risk and returns.

This is Blue's next set of instructions.

"Put 2 million each in four different company entities that I own and buy the shares of TradeMe aggressively from the market at 100 lots a day irregardless of price" (1 lot is 1000 shares)

The orders were carried out.

In 1 month's time, price of TradeMe stocks shot up to $1 a share.

At this point in time, each of Blue's company entity holds about 5million to 10 million share of TradeMe. In total, Blue now has 25million shares of TradeMe

Almost all of the $10million are in the shares of TradeMe.

Let's do a simple calculation here.

If let's say Blue decided to sell all the shares simultaneously at the price of $1 a share.

For 25million shares, he would get back $25million. With initial investment of $10million, his return on investment would be 150% in 2 years. Not too bad.

BUT

That return is still considered little for the amount of time needed to prepare.

In case you didn't get the picture, let me paint it for you.

How many of you didn't quite get why the price shot from 40 cents to $1 a share?

The way the price of a share works is like this. Part of the what determines a share price is the supply and demand theory. If there are more buyers than sellers, prices will go up. Vice versa.

Get the theory?

There are 50million shares of TradeMe trading in the market. The supply has always been 50million shares at 10 cents a share.

Blue choked up 5million shares in the first year, cutting supply to 45million shares at 10 cents each.

Next, he drove the demand of the shares by aggressively buying the stocks from other owners.

The owners of the 10 cent stocks sensed that there is demand for their stocks, started to sell at a higher price. At the same time, Blue is drying up the supply pool.

After choking up 50% of the total supply pool, Blue has already driven the market into a buying frenzy.

Imaging seeing the price of TradeMe in a chart. The line moves diagonally upwards.

Most people, cavemen included, would experience a syndrome called greed.

"The stock price is going up, this stock must be good. I must buy fast to make alot of money."

The public starts to buy shares of TradeMe. This act, when being carried out by large number of investors will rocket the share price.

Those who already possess the stocks will hold on to them as they think the price will rise even higher. Thus, shrinking the supply pool.

Now, the key to making the full profit from this feeding frenzy for Blue to be patient.

As long as the demand exceeds supply, the price will keep climbing.

Because it was Blue who instigated the rise, the true value of the stock which is determined by the company's way of being run and market perception of it will always be 10 cents a share.

So the price of the share will keep rising until it reaches a point where people perceive it to be overpriced. Once that point is reach, the market will correct itself and the price of the share will drop.

To prevent his efforts from going to waste, Blue has the power to determine the maximum price of the stock and get out of the market when that maximum price is reached.

If Blue says that the maximum price of the stock is $5 a share. What it means is that once the price of the stock rises to $5, Blue will order all his shares to be sold. What ever happens to the share price next is none of his concerns.

If he entered at 10 cents to 50 cents and exited at $5 a share. 25million shares at $5 each is $125million total. 1150% return in probably 3 years?

Who here would like to have that kind of return?

Who here still did not quite get the picture?

Simply speaking, what Blue has done is to create a pseudo demand for the stock of TradeMe. What most investors and traders see is that the price is rising and most of them will start entering the market hoping to catch the ride.

Even when the price has reached ridiculous heights, these people will still pay the amount for the price because they think that they can still make a profit when they sell.

These phenomenon is happening all the time all over the world.

Investors got their fingers burnt because of this. They play into the game of the rich and became a money making tool for them.

The rich got out of the game richer and seldom will anyone know what really happened behind the scene.

Did anyone just received a revelation?

Holy Shit? Oh My God? What The F***?

If we are to analyze Blue's method of making money. We can pick out several distinct difference between Blue's method and what common folks will do.

Risk is relatively small. Blue chose a company that is stable and non-explosive. For this factor served 2 purposes. It ensures that the price of this company will not rise on its own due to the company's performance. It is out of sight of common folks, nobody will be interested in a stock tat is stagnant. Because the company is conservative, risk of it folding is low. For common folks, most of their strategy is buy, hold and pray stocks that are dancing around.
Participation ratio. What common folks will do when they buy shares is this, they will buy alot of books and start reading on how the gurus buy shares. Sometimes, the books will tell its readers to look out for certain traits of the company and price movements. Common folk's buying decision is based on what can be seen by all. And when they buy a company share, either they bought it because they received a "hot tip" or they become the guru and get their friends to buy.

The significant difference between Blue and common folks is this, Blue uses what is invisible to others and common folk uses what is visible to everybody. You see I see, everybody see; you go I go, everybody go.
Time frame is short. Blue's strategy has a predictable time frame. His strategy has predictable stages that can be timed. Acquisition, price play, exit.
For common folks, they buy shares and glue themselves to the monitor screen. If the price go up, they celebrate and keep watching it rise. Until the price starts to drop a little, they sell. This is for those lucky cases. If the price did not go north, they'll hold on to the stock until it hits the bottom. These people do not have a strategy. All they do is pray. And because of this, their time frame is unpredictable. They are not in control.
Return on investment is high and guaranteed. Entry level is determined by Blue, he acquires the shares at a low price and stops buying when the price is too high. When the ball starts rolling, he sells his stocks at a price he determined. $5 is the price he wanted. Nobody else knows the actual value of the stock price except him. He knows the share value is 10 cents a share. But common folks do not know about the price. All they see is price constantly rising. Common folk do not keep track of their earning margin because they are not in control of the share price.

Have you identified the key ingredient of how Blue grew his money?

If you think it is because Blue has that $10 million and you do not, think again.

Is it really the $10 million that made Blue the $125million in the end?

What if Blue took the $10 million and played the stock market like common folks played?

Do you think he can get $125million in 3 years guaranteed?

It is not the amount of money you have; it is what you do with whatever little you got.

Here's a little story to enforce the statement.

Orange is a good friend of Blue, he is 10 years younger and just started out on his career. He met Blue on one of the money making workshops he attended. Blue happens to be the speaker.

Seeing Blue so successful, Orange decided to make Blue his mentor.

Blue gave Orange the advice a very rich man gave to him before he succeed many years ago.

"The simplest way to become rich, is to mix with rich people"

Mixing with rich people doesn't mean to be acquaintances. Mixing means you only go out with rich people, stay around rich, talk rich people's language.

Do a simple reality check.

List down 5 people who are the closest to you. People whom you will share your joy and woes with.

This exercise is fun. Give it a try.

Don't just read it and not do anything.

I can assure you that you will see what I mean after the exercise is completed.

It's not really difficult.

Besides, it gives you an opportunity to see yourself clearly.

After you have written down the names, write down their monthly income. If you are not sure, estimate the amount base on their profession.

Done?

I implore you to do this exercise. I can't stress its enlightening power enough.

Now, add up the 5 numbers and divide it by 5.

The figure you get is roughly the amount of money you are currently earning.

There's a saying: Birds of a feather flock together

So, Orange decided to follow Blue's advice and reduced the amount of time spent with his low income friends and start to mingle with the successful folks.

The one change Orange saw in himself was this, he became more motivated to make lots of money. Not because so that he can keep up with his rich friend's spending. In fact, mixing with rich people gave Orange the energy to perform to his best potential.

Nobody told him he couldn't do it. Whenever he feels unworthy, all he needs to do is to listen to 1 or 2 success stories from his new friends and he is back on his feet.

Nobody laughed when he discussed about his money making ideas. No skepticism. No wet blankets.

Because of the support these new group of friends has given Orange, he became more receptive to money making ideas he normally would not dare to attempt.

He saw opportunities in every crisis. Turn lemons into lemonade.

He now has the ability to see "grapes" as "wine".

One day when he came to look for Blue, he overheard Blue giving instructions to Green about how he wants to acquire the shares of TradeMe.

He went home and did a little research on the company background. He saw what everybody will see. A dull company that is stagnant.

But he also saw something else. He saw why Blue is interested in this company.

So the next day, he went to look for Blue again to confirm what he thinks.

Blue was very proud of Orange's deductions and agreed to let Orange join him in this venture.

As Orange is still young, his savings did not amount to much.

But because he is hard working and did not have a lavish lifestyle, his savings over the past 5 years amounted to $10000.

How many of you thinks that $10000 is a lot of money?

How many of you have $10000?

How would you have used your $10000?

Orange wanted to put in the whole of his $10000 savings into TradeMe stocks.

But Blue stopped him.

"Never risk your necessities money no matter how low risk an investment is."

"If you put all your money and leave nothing for emergencies, you are no different from common folks. You will be living a hand to mouth life.

Common folks earn and spend whatever they have and sometimes more. They live a day by day existence. And that is something you should not subject yourself to in no matter what circumstances you face."

So, Orange used $6000 to buy TradeMe shares. $4000 is his projected expense for 6 months. He is living with his parents and thus, his living expenses are low.

When Blue sold his shares, Orange decided to take a risk. He sold 25% of his stocks at $5 each. Which is 15000 shares at $75000.

He held the rest of the shares and sold them at 5000 shares every time prices increase by a dollar.

When the price reached $10 3 months after Blue pulled out of the market, Orange sold the remainder of his 25000 shares and pocketed $250,000.

2 weeks after the price reached $12.30, there was a selling frenzy. People start to perceive the stock as overprice and started to sell. Nobody was buying. Everybody wanted to get back their money.

Now, there are more selling than buying. This caused the price to plunge.

In 1 day, TradeMe stocks saw a drop from $12.30 to $2. Thousands of investors were wiped out. Most of them got in when the price was at $5.

In less than 2 weeks, TradeMe stocks went back to its original value of $0.10.

Let's not worry about the losers. They should use this to learn a lesson.

Look at the winners instead. With $6000 initial investment, Orange's return is as followed.

Entry ==> 60 lots at $0.10/share

15,000 share @ $5/share ==> $75,000
5,000 share @ $6/share ==>$30,000
5,000 share @ $7/share ==>$35,000
5,000 share @ $8/share ==>$40,000
5,000 share @ $9/share ==>$45,000
25,000 share @ $10/share ==> $250,000
Total gain ==> $475,000

ROI = 7800% in 3 years

Some of you might think, what if after Blue pulled out and the price starts dropping?

Think again. Would Orange make a lost?

Let's say Orange already pocketed $75,000 and he still has 45 lots.

The next day the price plunged to $2 or lower, would Orange make any lost?

Now, let me reiterate. It is not about how much the returns.

It is not about what you do to make that returns.

It is not whether you are lucky to have bought TradeMe.

It is not how much money you have.

What is it about?

What is the f***ing ingredient that makes the money?

It is you.

If you are Orange, you do not want to be rich, will you attend money making workshops and met Blue?

If you did not meet Blue and decided that you want to learn from him, would you have heard of the golden advice?

If you did not really want to be rich, would you really follow the golden advice and spend less time with your current friends?

If you did not change the group of people you mix with, would you have changed your mindset about investing?

If you did not have the mindset to accept investing, would you have taken pride in the ability to see potential in any investment?

If you did not have the ability to see potential in any investment, would you even became interested in TradeMe stocks when you overheard Blue talk about it.

If you did not even have any interest in TradeMe stocks, would you have done the research and made the deductions of what Blue is going to do?

All in all, do you think that you would even took out your hard earn money and buy the shares of TradeMe.

Seeing Blue investing in TradeMe stocks is one thing, taking your money out and putting it into a stock without any understanding is another thing.

If you did not discover Blue's strategy, would you even have the balls to buy TradeMe stocks?

Who decides what to do with your money?

You.

Who decides how much money you deserve?

Your boss.

But who decides the boss to work for?

You.

Who decides how hard to work to earn money?

You.

Who decides the lifestyle you are living?

You.

Who decides the people you mix with?

You.

Who is the biggest loser?

I don't know?

Everything happens for a reason. And each reason has its root to you.

What you think will manifest itself into your actions.

Thoughts become emotions. Emotions become action. Actions become results.

What you reap is what you sow.

This is not about what you do. This is about who you are and why you will do it.

Opportunities are everywhere. EVERYWHERE.

Ask and you will get one.

Question is, will you see the opportunity spinning infront of you?

Why Are We Unhappy Even When We Have Everything?

2009-06-04T00:58:00.014+08:00

HOW many of you think that you don't have a clue of your passion in life?

How many decided to choose life science as a degree because you were good in chemistry in secondary school?

How many took up engineering because you heard that it is a safe and secure job?

How many became a teacher because you couldn't find a job?

How many of you have no idea where your interest lies?

Who here believes that it is the environment that created who we are?

Who believes that we are born to be good at something?

How many of you think that everyone is cut out to be doctor or lawyer?

Who determines that career that you want?

How is it determined?

Are you in a career because your relatives thinks that it is a good profession?

Did you enjoy the things that you have to do in your career everyday?

How many times do you have to lie to yourself that you are in the right job just because you don't want to admit you are wrong?

How often have you asked yourself this question: What have I been doing for the past few decades of my life?

Who here agrees that academic excellence will not determine your success in life?

Who here believes that people who pursue their passion will live a much more fulfilling life than those who took on jobs that is good in people's opinion?

How many of you think that you do certain things because of what you think others might think of you?

How many of you went through the education system, got your degree, and still not sure what you are doing?

Who here thinks that you've just wasted 24 years of your life studying and discovered that you are nowhere in society?

Who here believe that getting a degree is more important that pursuing what you really want to do?

Who here thinks that pursuing a degree is what you really want to do?

Who here just wants to get a degree because of the implications without?

What do you think a degree represent in today's society?

Is the degree you have really the ticket to a better life?

How many degree holders do you think are having that better life?

What is the reason for you to get that degree again?

Did you get it just for "must have because everyone has it" sake?

How different do you think you are compared to a sheep in a flock?

What if the reason you want to get a degree is because you have no other option?

What is the meaning of option to you?

Did you have an option in the first place?

A level cert is worth?

O level cert is worth?

PSLE cert is worth?

Do you think they are worthless unless you get a degree?

Did you get those cert because you want to get a degree?

Or did you get those cert because you didn't have any other options?

Did you find your passion while you slogged for those cert?

Do you feel that you have wasted 12 years of your life to discover the thing you were led to obtain is worthless?

Are you happy with your accomplishments today?

What is your purpose in life?

What have you done to achieve that purpose?

Are you satisfied with that purpose?

Are you lying to yourself now that it doesn't matter?

Are you living to your potential?

Do you know your potential?

If not, are you ready to find out?

Why have you not found your potential?

Is it the environment?

Do you think that the education system is not for everyone?

Do you think that there are people who are meant to excel in the system and there are people who are destined for other paths?

Do you think your path lies elsewhere?

Do you want to find the path?

If you had the chance to live your life again from 0, would you pursue that path?

Do you think that you will end up walking the same path and having the same regrets again?

Why do you think that will happen?

How many will say it is because of the environment? The government? Parents? Relatives? The system?

How many would like to have the power to break free?

How many would like to save the next generation from suffering your misery?

How many thinks that you have no power to do anything?

How many sees no point in making it happen?

How many would rather this cycle continue forever and only the selected few will be enlightened enough to choose their own path?

How many wished that they were the enlightened few?

How many wants to become the enlightened few?

How many thinks that the enlightened few were lucky?

How many thinks that the enlightened few are lucky but know that they worked hard for it?

How many would jump at the chance to be the enlightened few?

How many still don't know what is the enlightened few?

How many thinks that they are the enlightened few?

How many can't make any sense of these questions?

Our society evolved.

It is where it is today for a reason.

People who built the society today had a past.

They had a lack that they want the next generation to not experience.

They provided everything that they had wanted when they didn't have.

These people are the nation builders, they are but one category of society.

With that hindsight, they overlooked the very factors that made them who they are today.

Nation builders builds a nation to nurture nation builders.

People are born with different niche. Not everyone is cut out to be a nation builder.

No matter how many oranges you squeeze, you can never get apple juice.

These people built a nation they wanted to grow up in.

A nation of abundance so that the next generation will not experience their lack.

But they forget...

It is the lack, the emptiness that drove them towards achieving what it takes to fill that vacuum.

They wanted it so bad that they will do anything to get it.

It is their thirst for it that made them who they are.

Once, there was a caterpillar, it was time for it to become a cocoon.

It wove itself up and started to grow.

When it was time for the caterpillar to emerge as a butterfly, a little boy saw it struggling and helped cut open its cocoon.

The butterfly died a few days later.

A butterfly dies if it did not break out of the cocoon itself, because breaking out of the cocoon is nature's way of strengthening the butterfly's wings.

The nation builder builders built the society to be filled with the little boy.

Kind-hearted dream killers.

Everything that the nation builders did not have before, they provide it to the next generation.

The next generation did not have to go through the struggle.

What do you think the consequence will be?

We are the butterfly waiting to die.

The enlightened ones are the "underprivileged" caterpillar which did not have the "luck" of meeting the little boy.

They broke out of their own cocoon and soar to the sky as a beautiful and free creature.

You can make a difference, start by saying your opinion. Help me complete this survey

Law Of Attraction

2009-05-20T10:55:00.009+08:00

AFTER crewing for the Rich Heart Sale's(RHS) 2nd intake, I got intrigued by the law of attraction.

I was introduced The Secret
by Ella. The DVD is about 1 and a half hour. I just re-watched it yesterday. Since then, I've been pondering about its effects and the magic of it.

As I was thinking about the Law of attraction, I started to look at certain things that happened to me.

For those who don't know about the laws of attraction, let me briefly explain. It simply means, what you think, you will attract.

A few examples, if you have failed at something, and each time you fail, you kept thinking of how badly you fail, how lousy you are, that failure will expand.

The next time you attempt the same thing, you will fail, this time it will be worse than before.

If you think that you will get scolded for not doing a good job, chances are, you will get scolded.

If you think that you don't deserve to have a lot of money, 100% chance is that you won't have much.

Now, how many times do we ever think back and wonder why something happened to us over and over again?

Did everything that happened, happen because of fate? Or did it happen because you made it happen?

In the first example, when we fail at something, what is the natural emotion we will feel? Sadness? Depression? Insecurity? Unworthiness?

Notice that all these emotions are negative. When we feel negative emotions, do we feel good about ourselves?

So subconsciously, we associated the thing that we do to the emotions that we felt when we did it for the first time.

If we focused on the bad feelings, and kept on replaying the scene of how embarrassing it was when we couldn't do it right, how badly we felt when we just couldn't get it, do you think that we will ever find the courage to give it another try it without inhibitions?

Naturally, we will want to protect ourselves from pain. To do that, we will stop ourselves to try hard enough to learn the thing right. Because if we don't do something, we won't fail right?

So how did people manage to learn things?

Mentors, teacher, guru, predecessors, seniors, leaders, idols. These are the people we look up to. They are at where we want to be. They have been there, done that. We know they can do it, so can we.

Each time we fail, instead of focusing on the bad emotions, if we keep in our mind how good it will feel when we can do something as good as our mentor, how impressive it will be, how worthy we will feel. How happy we will become. Do you think you will learn something better?

Notice that the emotions associated to succeeding are all positive emotions? They empower us, they give us the strength to press on even when we fail. It is the cheese at the end of the station that kept us moving.

Isn't it true that what you focus on expands? You focus on your failures, you will fail. You focus on your future success, you will succeed.

This applies for the other 2 examples or even anything you can think of.

If you think that you don't deserve a lot of money, what happens if alot of money comes to you out of nowhere?

You'll feel fear right? You'll think of all the negative things that can happen to you when you keep the money. You'll imagine yourself being robbed, imagine how everyone will want to have a share of it. The money will be gone before you realise what has happened to it because you keep rejecting the ownership of it.

The laws of attraction is just so wonderful.

I began to ponder about the obscure art of fortune telling.

What are the cliche phrases that we hear fortune tellers in TV or movies will say?

You will encounter a disaster. You will get married by 40. You will meet a saviour. You will have a good life.

All these statements. Realise that they are not very specific?

They are statements of the future. The future does not exist. If I tell you to stand up tomorrow, you can't. Because we are forever living in today.

But what makes fortune telling so amazing is that it only comes true if you believe.

Notice how it works?

It only comes true if you believe.

Meaning, you will not have any disaster if you think that the fortune teller is bullshitting. Or you will advert the disaster by paying $5k for a pebble inscribed with a scratch. Your mind will think that now that you have bought a lucky charm, disaster will avoid you, and it will. Because why? Disaster will never happen until you start to believe it will.

Say if you consciously think that the fortune teller is a hoax. But you keep looking out for disaster. Guess what you will find?

Every single thing that happen to you will appear to be disastrous. Because it is a chain effect. Once something that's insignificant becomes recognized as a disaster, you will start to believe that disaster is really happening to you, and you will take measures to avoid it which will lead you into something worse.

What you focus on expands.

On the other hand, if the fortune teller says that you will find your soulmate and get married by 40 years old. What will happen if you believed her?

You will start to be more open to relationships and appreciates traits of your partner you would never have admired before. You become more receptive to meeting that someone special. If you are young, this will become a hinder, as you will think that you're unworthy to marry at a young age. But if you are in your 30s, this belief will help you see pass imperfection of others because you believe that you will get married.

It balls down to the word belief.

If you believe something will happen to you and keeps on focusing on it.

The thing will happen.

Things happen to us all the time.

The only difference it makes to focus your thinking is to accept the normal things that happen as miracles.

It feels so empowering just by trying to explain the power of this law of attraction.

Perhaps you would like to share your own experience of the law of attraction?

The act of sharing will empower you. You will feel really good after sharing.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

So, if the law of attraction exists. How can we use it to work for us?

One method is visualisation.

It is the process where you imagine yourself already having the things that you want.

When we are in the state of having, we create positive energy. We attract things that we want when we tell our mind that we already have it.

My interpretation of this is, opportunities are ever present. The only thing that is not always there is our readiness to receive it.

Probably like the old astronomical thinking that the Sun revolves around the Earth.

The Sun is the opportunity that is so bright and warm and Earth is the place close to us and comfortable, our comfort zone.

What we currently think is that Opportunity is revolving around everyone and only those lucky people can get it.

When we have the thinking that Opportunity is revolving around us, we become self centered. We began to think that we are in the middle of everything and opportunities should come to us.

And when we think that we are in the center, we believe that things will happen naturally without us having to move.

But the fact it, it is completely the other way round.

Opportunity, the Sun, is forever there. It is not moving, it is ever present.

We on the other hand, are the little planets that orbit around the Sun. To get closer to Opportunity, we have to alter our course. The only time when we can touch Opportunity is the time when our orbit intersects it.

We move to get to opportunity. Opportunity does not come to us.

When you go in a state of have. Your orbit will touch the Opportunity. It does not mean that you are touching it. It just mean that if you keep on moving, you will get to Opportunity sooner or later.

The moment you start thinking that you have and are grateful that you have, your orbit automatically shifts to intersect Opportunity.

Get the picture?

Well, one point you can take is to stop thinking that you are the most important thing in the universe and everything has to come to you. Stop thinking that each time you do not get what you want, you are not treated fairly. There is no such thing as fair.

This is a universe of causality. Cause and effect. You don't get what you want because you are not tuned to receive it. Change yourself.

It is interesting to note that even though this is common sense, we can often miss it.

We all like to justify. Like to believe that things did not happen because we weren't lucky enough or it was something else fault.

Think whatever you like, there's no rules to it. Only what's proven to work and not work.

I think this applies to everything. Including relationship.

The time when I finally understand how to apply this law into my relationship is the time I will find my soul mate. For the time being, I thank everyone who showed me their concerns. I love you all. =D

For those who like to get a copy of The Secret, you can get it at Amazon.com

Progress Check

2009-05-03T20:34:00.009+08:00

RECOUNTING what took place throughout the past 2 month ever since my graduation show on 7th March 09.

Attended a workshop teaching me how to sell from the heart. I feel an urge to add this to spite those who thinks that workshops are pointless. YOU'RE BROKE!

The workshop taught me how to sell from my heart instead of hard selling. Hard selling is the primary cause of hatred for salesmen. The key lesson I took away from the workshop was: you sell because you want to help people, not because you want their money. Anyway, the mindset one salesperson has will make a lot of difference in his performance. If you come from a stand point of really serving a need people have, people will be more willing to accept your offers.

Another thing I took away from that workshop was: MOVE!

In physics, if object is not moving, no work is done. Meaning, if I don't do anything to make something move, I'm not doing any work. I can think and think and think and still no work is done. So... 3 days later, which is a Monday, MONEYTHOLOGY LLP is born.

I'm the manager/partner and Leroy is my partner.

On Thursday or Friday, I can't really remember, one guy from OCBC called. That guy mentioned something about coming to my office to open a bank account. I realised that I immediately turned into defensive mode.

Woah woah woah, you call me straight away ask me if you can come my office open bank account. You didn't even inquire what business I do and whether I need a bank account. Or even better, you didn't even let me see how this bank account will benefit me. All I hear from this guy was: Hey, you sucker, you just started a business right, so you should open a bank account with me. I want to earn that commission so don't wait already. I go your place open your account for you and I can earn my commission liao...

F*** you man... This is what I would classify as hard sell. So my natural response is to throw up my rejections. I pretended to inquire for more information before finally saying that I do not intend to open a bank account yet.

That guy probably sensed something is not right, he said that he would send some information and get back to me a few days later.

I didn't pay attention to that matter for some time. The letter containing the information of opening a business account was sent to my place. I looked at it and gave some thought about it. There would be benefits. It would make the transactions much cleaner. And cheques are wonderful, I'll feel wonderful if I can sign cheques.

So I arranged with Leroy to go down to AMK Hub's OCBC branch and asked to speak with somebody who can give us more information. After waiting for some time, the manager in-charged of opening business accounts came and met with us. We posed our questions and he answered them appropriately. He didn't not press on making us open the account as soon as possible. Talking to that manager felt better than that guy on the phone.

Funny enough, 10 mins after we walked out of the branch, that same guy who called me last time called back to ask me if I want to open the bank account with him. I told him that I just went down to the branch and spoke with the manager. He panicked and asked me who I spoke to. Then, he told me the bull crap of him being the one in-charged of my business profile and if anything, I should look for him. Then, he continued to press on the benefits of opening the bank account. I was totally pissed. After the call, I told Leroy that I would rather travel all the way down to the branch than to ask that guy come to my office to open the bank account.

This is my personal experience of being hard-sell(ed).

After I registered my company, I spent 3 to 4 days blanking out. I was totally at the mode of "NOW WHAT?".

Until suddenly I realised. I should get some cash.

Before I registered my company, I arranged for some of my friends to sell me their talents. We arranged to talk more about it after I have registered my company name. Buying their talents need $$$. So, I need cash.

I signed up for 2 online job searching engines. I put my job scope interest as sales. Soon enough, I found a job of selling.

I'm now working as a salesmen, selling from my heart, serving customers and helping them lead a better life.

Ya right! How I wish that was the case.

It is only about 25% true. My job involves going door to door promoting services that customers might want to take up. The deal was good. I believed in the deal. But somehow, as I opened my heart to hear customer's needs, conflicts arise within me.

Though not all customers had issue with the product and the company, it doesn't mean there are none. Some customers poured their complaints to me and all I can say is: "I'll do what I can."

Which is nothing. I'm only a salesmen. Your complaints reach me and vapourise. Yes, I want to help you. But I'm only a salesmen. I can only offer you information I have and service I provide. That's all. Suggestions as to how to make the services better reach me and disappear.

It is not that I'm complaining about customers telling us all those things. I'm really glad I can hear feedback from customers about how to make the service better. What I feel bad about is that I'm powerless in making the change. It puts me in a dilemma. If I want to sell from the heart and help the customer as much as I can, I have to limit myself to the amount of things I can offer, which will make me conscientious about helping at all.

Well, I'm getting used to the pangs of guilt every time customer relayed their hopes of change to us. But it will serve as a burning coal under my butt to tell me that I have to start my own business and sell my own things. I want to be the boss and bring the change customers desire. My own product and my own service that I can be proud of.

OK, source of income secured. So, I slogged. But something behind keeps prodding me to do more. It keeps screaming: IT'S NOT ENOUGH!! YOU NEED TO MOVE MORE!!

This is ultimately still active income.

I was reading Warren Buffett's new biography: The Snowball. The book was inspiring, it made me realise that I have some things in common with the world's richest man. But he is many times more brilliant than I am. Reading his books gave me two inspirations: I need to find a girlfriend so that I have someone to work hard for; I need to find more sources of passive income.

April 3rd is my ex's birthday. On that midnight, I wished her happy birthday. For the first time in eons, she replied me a thank you. Even though it was a generic thanks, I felt really good. It showed that there is a possibility she might want to talk to me again.

So, I asked her out for dinner at a restaurant near her place. She didn't say whether she will go. We didn't have any arrangements agreed upon. But I turned up at that restaurant any way to have my dinner. Miraculously, I saw her there having a meal with her mom. The sight of her ignited a volcanic eruption never seen in 4 years. I was so happy that I didn't know what to do. So I sat at a table far away but near enough to peek at her. She didn't change much. Still beautiful and maintaining her figure. She still have long straight hair, though I remember that she mentioned she might perm her hair. The best thing about her is the glasses she wear. It gave her the mysterious look. She's feels so special to me.

So naturally, the heart that never really died starting pumping harder. For the next 5 days, I tried to get her to reply to messages. Eventually, I borrowed a book called Mars and Venus On a Date.

Reading the book gave me a lot of insights into her world. She is avoiding me because thinking about me hurts her. But the book also mention that if a relationship ended in hurt and guilt, the next one will not be happy. I felt guilty and she felt hurt.

I don't know what to make of this emotion.

I can't let go. Something is telling me not to let go. But I no longer know what to do about it. If by any chance you are friends of my ex, can you help me tell her how much I want to be part of her life again?

To drown the chaotic feelings about BGR, I devoted myself into making money. I'm now working on starting a manga drawing class. I'm not the one teaching it, but some of my very legendary classmates I met in NYP. They can earn more money, I can start my business, more people can learn how to draw, everybody wins. This is the best thing about doing business. Win-win situation.

What's Right? What's Wrong?

2009-03-13T09:44:00.006+08:00

BEFORE I go into relieving myself of all the thoughts that are welling up in my head, there's a free book that I want you to read. It is a new book that Robert Kiyosaki is currently working on and he wants feedback from readers. http://www.conspiracyoftherich.com/chapter
____________________________________________________________________

I recall my first encounter with Communism.

How I abhor the idea that everyone shares the same amount of wealth no matter how hard you work.

I recall being exhilarated when I read about Adam Smith's invisible hand.

How free market will thrive without having any form of governing.

One is absolute control; the other is freedom in risk of chaos.

It led me to think, who is to say what is right and what is wrong?

As history proved, it is just the matter of which one being more widely accepted and outlasting the other.

Could it be that the subject of money has no right or wrong?

Unlike physics, chemistry, mathematics or even literature, there is no absolution as to how one should view money.

Money is a man-made tool unlike gravity, it creates its own rules.

It does not extinguish with a "pop" like a glowing splint in hydrogen.

Its behavior can only be perceived and proven by time alone. Constant variables produces variable results.

Though mathematics is closest to the subject of money, money sometimes defies 1+1=2.

Input does not necessarily equals to output.

$100,000 X 10 years in a real estate does not equals to $100,000 X 10 years in another real estate.

There is no universal rule with regards to money. Everybody plays by the rule they are comfortable with.

The winners are those with everything thing they want in life.

The losers are whiners who complaint that they don't have enough.

If that is the rule of money, then, the objective of playing the money game is to have as much money as possible without sacrificing pleasure.

With this objective, one can devise the strategy to play the game.

Laws are man-made tools written to govern other man-made tools.

It can be bent, and sometimes broken. It can also be re-written to benefit those who wrote it.

Laws undergo revolution just like dynasties. Revolution do come, but it takes time. Why? Because the rule of money need time to be verified for its effectiveness.

To quote that book, we started off as "cave men" in the Hunter-Gatherer Age, to the Agrarian Age, to Industrial Age and to today's Information Age.

I observe that the time lapse between each revolution gets shorter and shorter.

The theoretical explanation could be, more people are educated, more brains to spot the errors in the rules.

Then it dawned on me that the next revolution could be coming up soon, and my generation could be the ones leading it.

The pattern observed in the revolutions was that, with each age, more and more percentile of the population are getting richer.

The number of rich people multiplied like rabbits over the past centuries.

So the bottom line?

Could it be that there's a way to get rich that still eluded those who aren't rich yet?

If getting rich becomes less and less of a privilege and more and more of a Right, what then?

Would it cause a disaster that is unforeseen?

Or would it finally create an Utopia that was so sorely sought after ever since the dawn of civilization?

What if the new rule now is that everyone can get rich?

What would you do if there is such a rule?

Would you find out more the game?

Or would you resist the change so much until you are eradicated by time?

If so many people are becoming rich, does it necessarily mean that the rules they play by are the blue prints of the next revolution?

It comes back to the question, what is right and what is wrong?

If there is no right and there is no wrong, only the best way to survive. What would you do?

Survival instincts are hardwired? Or is it nurtured by our own experiences?

If the ultimate objective in the game of life is to live the dreams, does your strategy of winning involve becoming rich?

If the ultimate goal is to live the dreams, does what you do to get there matter so much even as it conflicts your right and wrong instincts?

If your right and wrong instincts are nurtured by your experiences, who is there to tell you when you are wrong about your experiences?

What if those who tell you that you are wrong, are wrong themselves?

Who is there to tell them they are wrong?

What determines the right to judge?

Is it safe to say: if you want to get to somewhere, ask direction from those who had been there?

If you want to be rich, ask a rich man how.

Would it come down to a point where there is no longer a need for a right or wrong?

It is just what needs to be done to get you where you want to go.

We play the game of life.

We win when we win.

We lose when we die.

If we don't die, we haven't lose.

If we don't win, we will eventually die and lose.

To win is to live the dreams.

No dream comes free. If its free, its not worthwhile.

Rules are written by someone to win his own game.

Choose to play by his rules or write your own rules.

You only get to play the game of life once.

Wealth Tip #2 Faith

2009-03-11T20:45:00.004+08:00

This information is taken from Think And Grow Rich written by Napoleon Hill
______________________________

FAITH

Visualization Of And Belief In Attainment Of Desire

Faith is the head chemist of the mind.

The emotions of faith, love, and sex are the most powerful of all the major positive emotions.

When the three are blended, they have the effect of "coloring" the vibration of thought in such a way that it instantly reaches the subconscious mind, where it is changed into its spiritual equivalent, the only form that induces a response from Infinite Intelligence.

The method by which one develops faith, where it does not already exist, is extremely difficult to describe, almost as difficult as it would be to describe the color of red to a blind man who has never seen color, and has nothing with which to compare what you describe to him.

Faith is a state of mind which you may develop at will... because it is a state of mind which develops voluntarily, through application and use...

Repetition of affirmation of orders to your subconscious mind is the only known method of voluntary development of the emotion of faith.

Perhaps the meaning may be made clearer through the following explanation as to the way men sometimes become criminals. Stated in the words of a famous criminologist,

"When men first came into contact with crime, they abhor it.

If they remain in contact with crime for a time, they become accustomed to it, and endure it.

If they remain in contact with it long enough, they finally embrace it, and become influenced by it."

This is the equivalent of saying that any impulse of thought which is repeatedly passed on to the subconscious mind is, finally, accepted and acted upon by the subconscious mind, which proceeds to translate that impulse into its physical equivalent, by the most practical procedure available.

____________________________________________________________________

Millions of people live in poverty not because of some strange force that they have no control over is wrecking them.

They are the creators of their own "misfortunes".

I'm sure many of you would have heard this story before:

When an elephant is still a baby, it is tethered by a very thick rope to a stake firmly hammered into the ground.

It tries several times to get free, but lacks the strength to do so.

After a year, the stake and the rope are still strong enough to keep the small elephant tethered, although it continues to try, unsuccessfully, to get free.

After some time, the animal realizes that the rope is too strong and so it gives up.

When it reaches adulthood, the elephant can still remember how, for a long time, it had failed at trying to escape captivity.

At this stage, the elephant can be tethered with a slender thread tied to a broom handle, and it will not attempt to escape to freedom.

Our mind is the only thing that stands between us and success. It can either aid you or stop you. Have faith in your own abilities.

You may have grown strong enough to break the ropes before you know it.

____________________________________________________________________

Discussion Pointers

Believing that you can do something is all you need to get started.
Do you believe in the laws of attraction which states that if you keep thinking about something, it will come to you?
Does having strong thoughts about becoming rich clash with any of your believes? If so, would you mind sharing your believes?

Wealth Tip #1 Desire

2009-03-09T16:51:00.007+08:00

This information is taken from Think And Grow Rich written by Napoleon Hill
________________________________________

Desire

The Starting Point Of All Achievement

A LONG while ago, a great warrior faced a situation which made it necessary for him to make a decision which insured his success on the battlefield.

He was about to send his armies against a powerful foe, whose men outnumbered his own.

He loaded his soldiers into boats, sailed to the enemy's country, unloaded soldiers and eqiupment, then gave the order to burn the ships that had carried them.

Addressing his men before the first battle, he said, "You see the boats going up in smoke. That means that we cannot leave these shores alive unless we win! We now have no choice - we win - or we perish!"

They won.
________________________________________

Everyone who wants to win in any undertaking must be wiling to burn his ships and cut all sources of retreat.

Only by so doing can one be sure of maintaining that state of mind known as a burning desire to win, essential to success.

Every human being who reaches the age of understanding of the purpose of money wishes for it

Wishing will not bring riches.

But desiring riches with a state of mind that becomes an obsession, then planning definite ways and means to acquire riches, and backing those plans with persistence which does not recognize failure, will bring riches.

Only those who become "money conscious" ever accumulate great riches.

________________________________________
Discussion pointers

Would you agree that if "becoming successful and rich is the only way you want your life to become", you will eventually become successful?
Would you give up on something more readily if you had better(easier) alternatives even if the results are not what you wanted?
It takes a single intense desire for something to start the process of getting it, do you find this absurd?

A New Category - Financial Advice (Disclaimers)

2009-03-08T13:08:00.005+08:00

SINCE this is a blog about money, it seems only appropriate to include financial advices to my readers.

So far I have only posted about my thoughts and concepts given to me by many successful people. The advices were vague and hidden inside the paragraphs.

It is time to give more tangible information to help others out there live a less worrying life.

I have to make a disclaimer here. Only a small portion of the information I post will be my own experience until I have made it into the millionaire club. Most of the information will be from books and audios that I listen to.

Use the information at your own discretion.

You can choose to follow them; understand and modify them; or totally ignore them. It is your freedom.

The information I put into this category will be purely informational facts and less of opinions.

They are proven and tested ideologies handed down from ancient civilization which are still practical today.

The source will be provide and you can easily find it for further reading on your own.

I hope to make this category as informational and helpful to you as possible.

The lessons will be condensed and straight forward for easy digesting.

I'm open to discussions, just post your queries or points into my channel box and I will get back to you.

This is just my way of sharing with you, I hope you will like it. =D

My Entrepreneur Style II

2009-02-26T10:39:00.000+08:00

As mentioned, majority of entrepreneurs in the world are Strategists, for they have nowhere to go with their many ideas for new and promising ventures.

We distinguish ourselves by living both our personal and professional lives in the belief that what conceptually can be created can at some point be implemented.

Once I understand how to achieve whatever I am setting out to do, I lose interest in the daily routine and execution of ideas.

I consider myself to be quite accommodating, understanding, and empathetic, but at times those with whom I interact experience me as hard, cold, and calculating. Sad to say, I'm not really bothered.

I'm habitually quite selective in what I choose to perceive, as I chiefly want to channel my energies in directions that first are fascinating and second, profitable. Its really the case for me, I noticed this behaviour getting more and more prominent.

I am relentless, around-the-clock workaholics, driven to direct all available energy and imagination toward achievement.

I tend to be more polyactive than single-minded, typically taking on many endeavors simultaneously. I can attest to this statement, but currently I'm trying to follow the motto of doing one thing at a time.

Frequently I am unaware of my tendency to be aloof, off somewhere in my intellectual space; for I arrive at the future first, and understand concepts and ideas long before you mortals. Foresight for me is vital; theory captivates my imagination. I'm at my best when I'm scheming, contemplating, and planning.

Role

I am open to change. I can easily be intellectual dilettantes and loses with day-to-day reality.

I am a lifelong learner who quickly loses interest and search for new adventures when there is no more new learning to be done.

Modus Operandi

My modus operandi is to preserve the freedom of increase options. FREEDOM OF CHOICES!!

I need freedom to intellectually soar, to view the world from conceptual perspectives, not from predetermined angles.

It is useful to recognize that I am so demanding of myself that I may extend the same expectations and pressure to others with quite different life agendas.

Values

I place more value on analysis, exploration, and the intellect than do the other 3 entrepreneur types.

I view my world of thinking and turning insights into new opportunities as synonymous with progress and achievement.

I value objectivity and gaining knowledge so much that I am at a loss when others rely more on their emotions than on logic.

I enjoy problem solving and mental gymnastics as much as or more than merely achieving predetermined goals. Like solving sudoku puzzles. I just solve them for the process.

People who do not understand my motivation and orientation may be upset by my flexibility. Possibly, not really sure what is going on in other people's head.

I enjoy being able to influence people. I usually enjoy being influenced by others.

I can discuss anything with anyone without taking myself too seriously. About cars? About horoscope? I'm not sure about this one.

I place high value on will, for I feel that I can will myself into whatever I want. I enjoy a kind of intellectual elasticity and therefore can waltz in and out of situations, even without a partner.

Expectations

My expectations are straightforward: Do as I say and not necessarily as I do. Hmm, not walking the talk?

I believe that I know what is best for everyone and that I can charm people into doing just anything.

I expect to be admired, loved, and worshiped by whomever I work with because my contribution is intellectually superior, unique, and more valuable than anyone else's. Over time, though, I am likely to realise that my charm has its limits. I get what this sentence means. I experience similar events before.

I expect people to work intelligently but not necessarily hard. Yes, Work Smart not Work Hard!

I don't necessarily believe that everyone should do their duty, because the term duty implies the inabiity to intellectualize and, the tendency to accept status quo. I abhor herd instincts.

Lifestyle

My lifestyle is most affected by my belief that there are never enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do.

I never cease to explore, study, read, and stay informed on whatever is important to me.

I prefer to be at work with an occasional passing thought for an outside event than to be at the event itself, thinking about work. Don't really get what this means though.

There may be times when I venture out to do something that is good for my health and well-being. These tend to be highly individualized activities; I enjoy competing against myself more than others, believing that "Anything I can do, I can do better." Explains why I prefer non-ball games that can be done on my own.

My Entrepreneur Style

2009-02-25T23:31:00.002+08:00

I FOUND this book called Joining the Entrepreneurial Elite by Olaf Isachsen. It's not beneficial to non entrepreneurs but it helps me identify my entrepreneur style.

The book says that there are 4 entrepreneur styles. I belong to one of them. Here will be the records of the descriptions which I think made sense.

The Strategist

Most entrepreneurs belong to this style for 2 reason.

Fiercely independent and have great faith, be it realistic or unrealistic, in the promise of the future. Tends to live life in the future and have neither interest nor the time to consider the everyday chores of a business. Spot on.
Unusually conceptual in approach and have an insatiable need to know why things are the way they are. Always challenges self intellectually to go one step further in exploring and understanding the realm of new possibilities. Right again.

It mentioned that I might come across to people as arrogant, but also says that I did not intent it.

I'm highly critical and are usually open to learning as much as I can about myself. Which is what I'm doing right now.

I do not suffer fools gladly. Yes, I don't like to work with slow people who makes mistake 9 out of 10 times.

Nothing is ever complete in my world of work. I'm constantly facing a moving target. My mind is seldom at rest and I tend to work hard at everything I do. I really prefer to know it as working smart though, but those are the words from the book.

I'm highly competitive, but I'm competing with myself most of the time. I'm self-sufficient but I tend to lie about me being a great team player. I play time to time with the team, but am far too independent to rely on it for my own success. There's some truth to this. Recent episodes reinforced my mental affirmation of this statement.

I have a great need for power - over nature. I always need to find answer where my knowledge is limited, and when I know, I get bored and turn to the next batch of uncertainty. True, I have 3min interest in every intricate things.

I think in categorical terms in order to simplify and classify issues so that I can be highly efficient; I spend a minimum of energy in understanding the broadest possible range of things. Hmmm, really sums up what I meant by working smart.

I'm strategic but not particularly tactical. It is fun and stimulating for me to figure out where I need to be in a long haul but it is frustrating and difficult for me to play my cards in the short haul. This is due to the fact that the skills required to do that are more situationally orientated than stringing together issues with a strategic impact. This can become my weakness, therefore it is also a reason why I need a partner to cover me in this area. I think its like an artillery that can shoot far and cause lots of damage but is useless in close combat.

I am a loner in that I have learned that I cannot expect an equal intellectual contribution from my co-workers. Yet without them, accomplishing the day-to-day tasks might not be possible. This sentence actually made me felt good. It says that I'm smart. Haha. Love it.

I'm serious and I believe that "heaven can wait". Whatever that means.

Characteristics of the Strategist

"Today" is obsolete, and only "Tomorrow and beyond" captures my attention, imagination, and energies.

I never take no for an answer and consistently advances the goal line, ensuring a dynamic environment with no real end in sight. Cool, this serves as a mental boost. My programming is like this, so I will behave like this.

I derive great satisfaction from dealing with concepts, ideas, and abstractions. I have no patience for specific and concrete routinized work. Need to look into that, am already experiencing waves of confirmation with recent events.

I'm more concerned with what I can eventually achieve by being insightful and brilliant than I am with taking advantage of a situation on the fly. Delayed gratification vs instant gratification?

Everything I do, I apply reasoning, logic and brainpower - but not much else. Who cares, these are enough to rule.

I search for ways to ultilise resources as efficiently and as comprehensively as possible.

I believe that the best person will win, so naturally do not spend much time establishing warm long- term human relationships, finding it time consuming and not particularly predictable. Which really explains why I feel lonely sometimes. But I guess it is part of my programming and that it is necessary for my success. I'll live with it.

Delivering Superior Performance

I'm at my best when allowed to deal with concepts, ideas, and the future. It means that I'm the best person to stake out the course for an organization.

My weakness is at day-to-day routine tasks which are necessary to make an organization function. Sigh... I'll have to live with it.

I can talk out of both sides of my mouth at the same time and enjoy an argument for the sake of gaining insights and learning. Lol. I can do that sometimes with the right people. Picking an argument for both agreeing and disagreeing sake while I really have a neutral standpoint.

I am usually aware of the need for the team to reach ambitious goals and objectives but are not really a team players. Happened exactly the case for my first assembled book production team. Bad experience. But good learning lesson no doubt.

I'm at my very best when I don't have to be bothered with today and can arrive at the future long before anyone else suspects it is here. This is really cool. I hope I can fully understand what this sentence mean.

The best contribution I can make is to be involved today with the critical issues required to secure a brilliant tomorrow. Need to make sense of this statement as well.

Taking Charge of My Destiny

I not only want to be in charge of my own destiny, I tend to take charge of everybody's as well. Haha. Lots of events to support this statement.

I don't save for rainy days, I search for shelter when it rains. I trust my own ability to create conditions that are so superior that I don't need to bother taking care of my personal finances. Hmm, not exactly convinced by this but not entirely false either.

I have a very real sense for priorities, directing my energies into areas where the results are likely to be the most beneficial. Returns over investment. Yes!

I'm enarmoured with the design and the opportunity to resolve complex issues in difficult situations better and faster than anyone. That's just too great. Love this sentence. I'll live by it.

I find ideas of how to be in control of my future more meaningful than either dealing with the actual implementation of plans or enjoying the fruits of my labour. Yea, sort of makes sense.

Working Under Uncertainty

I'm highly flexible. I thrive on operating with insufficient information, while remaining open for new data. Cool!

I'm masterful in directing people and resources. But I can get uptight if my organization is not performing as anticipated, and will become preoccupied with issues outside the central core of a problem. Yea true. Happened before.

If my path become overloaded with uncertainty, I tend to become temporarily immobilized, and I flounder. Explains my loser mode.

But mild degree of uncertainty can energise me into providing better solutions in changing circumstances. Thank goodness.

Arriving at the Future First

I never arrive. I'm obsessed with making sense of current events in light of the future. I'm at my best when challenged to anticipate the future and at my worst when dwelling with the past. Yea, I suppose that what everyone should be like. Look forward and stop thinking about the past.

I'm frequently probing and exploring concepts whose time has not yet come to pre-empt the obsolete organization created for the present.

I'm impatient with the operating side of my business, I want to become better but not necessarily bigger.

I'm prepared to relinquish control to others more capable than myself so that I may continue to pursue my journey into the challenges of the future. Well said.

Being a Member of a Community

It is not a high priority for me. But it doesn't mean I don't appreciate the communities in both my business and personal lives. It just means that communities are not built by my kind.

I'm too individualistic to find satisfaction in community membership. But I will still join, perhaps more out of obligation than the need or desire.

I function in whatever community that seems appropriate, more as a result of obligation and proper positioning than attempting to be a valuable contributor. Very true. Too true.

The internal communities within my respective organizations are there to serve my intellectual needs and not the other way round. Band can be a great example. I found my first lover there.

I only have use for an internal community if it serves the purpose of strenghtening the competitive position of my enterprise. Perhaps using band to get more CCA points to deduct that 2 extra L1R5 score is applicable here?

Determining Essentials and Priorities

I cannot function well without knowing the changing dynamics and essential characteristics of my business.

My priorities emanate from an insatiable need to create conditions that allow my respective organizations to sustain success over long periods of time.

I can be sticklers for details and for following up on goals. This is done more to keep people alert and focused than because of an interest in control and in reporting on routine matters.

It is the interpretation and meaningfulness of day-to-day activities that gives me the impetus to contemplate and anticipate how things change and how to set new priorities.

I'm vitally interested in the dynamics and inconsistencies in complex issues, and my whole sense of priority-setting is based upon the idea of outperforming my competitors.

What is important to me is to constantly define, redefine, and comprehend the changes in the competitive environment and to construct new parameters for sustained success.

Realizing Some Entrepreneurs Are Born, Other Made

My kind are both born and made. I'm not sure which one I belong to.

I'm difficult to work for, as my mind wander across the constraints, routine, and discipline of everyday work life.

I'm a natural leader as a result of my need for foresight and often take carefully selected people with me on my journey to the future.

Born-Strategist Entrepreneur effortlessly seek to differentiate themselves from the crowd. Wow, sometimes it happens. More in recent years.

My kind are highly independent and therefore do not naturally fit into environments calling for conformity. We honor diversity and individuality and remain entrepreneurs all our lives. YES!

That pretty much sums up what I am or will be. I like it very much and will live by it.

My Goals, Recap

2009-02-24T21:39:00.000+08:00

Things that I want to have

I commit to find that someone special who will brave through fire and water with me and love me till death do us part.
I commit to have a million dollars by the age of 26.
I commit to own 2 companies dealing with the creative industry and 1 company dealing with real estate development.
I commit to own a large plot of land to build house on.
I commit to design and build lots of houses for people to collect.
I commit to buy a lagoon to build my house.
I commit to own 2 dolphins in my lagoon.
I commit to retire at the age of 40.

My Child's Education

2009-02-21T18:34:00.000+08:00

IT SEEMS quite early to think about this but I have been giving thoughts about what I want my children to grow up to be like.

Since keeping these thoughts inside my head will only slow down my processor speed, I shall relieve myself of them here.

Like most traditional man, I would prefer to have a son, but I guess it doesn't really matter if it's a girl or a boy in this era.

I'll get married when I am successful, so, that would mean that I'll be financially independent. I'll have time and money to do anything I want without having to work regularly.

With so much time and money to spare, the only thing natural to do after getting married would be to reproduce.

Say, both my wife and I are perfectly normal in the sense that we are both fertile, and she is healthy to give birth and manages to give birth to a healthy baby. And we have a child, what next?

I suppose the up bringing of the child has to be agreed upon between myself and my wife before we even plan to make one.

But these are some of the things that I wish could happen to my child.

First off, I'll use myself as a role model to teach my child. The ways of how to be a winner.

Some of the sayings that I currently remember are:

Courage is not one without fear, but the ability to overcome fear.

There is no right or wrong in making a decision, only the willlingness to accept the consequences.

Be responsible for your own actions and never blaming others.

Always give yourself the chance to make a choice, and stick with the choice until you have bear the consequences.

Make mistakes, but learn from them; and always admit if it is your fault.

Etc...

List goes on but I suppose these are lessons that can only be taught by leading through examples.

That's for character building. Next for life skills.

Everyone has their own strength and weaknesses. Whether one's strength can be nurtured, it is still under debate. But no matter what the case is, I believe in letting my children make choices for themselves. I want to instill in them the responsibility of making choices and sticking with it.

I don't think that a child's fickle-mindedness is an issue here, the important thing I want to enforce in them is that, if they chose to do something, finish it. It is one important factor that I consider myself lacking. Thus, I want to make sure my children doesn't have the flaw of giving up half way through a task.

What interests a person is subjective, so the life skills that my child would be interested to learn would be up to them. Giving them the opportunity to try out each and every skill they can ever imagine is the best thing I can provide for them.

All they need to do is to choose those that really interests them and I'll make sure they see it through to completion.

Academic education

An article that I read in the newspaper today, which was the original source of my inspiration for this post, coincided with my resentment of sending my children to government schools.

When I look back, the only useful education I received stopped at primary 6. The rest was just crap stuff that aims to program you into hard working duplicating machines.

Reading and writing are definitely important. But the application of these skills are not really amplified in the system. I'm sure there are private schools out there which studied the best methods of teaching a child how to read and write and use them.

I want my child to be able to hold himself or herself infront of a crowd. Be confident and have a healthy level of self-esteem. To me, it is just a fear that one has overcome some point in life, so why not do it young?

Socialising skills seems to be naturally imbued in some of us, but there are cases of anti-socials in every hierarchy of society I advance into. Making friends wasn't really a problem for me, but I wouldn't say that I am the best person to teach my child about it.

For this area, I think the best solution is to allow my child to experience it personally and to develope his/her own brand of friend making skills. All I can do is to provide guidance from books written by Dale Carnegie.

Intelligence Quotient and Emotional Quotient

Both of them are covered in the academic and socialising education that I can provide for my child. It is my hope to nurture a child that scores high for both areas. Under generous praising and encouragement, I believe it wouldn't be a difficult goal to accomplish.

Financial Intelligence

It is my personal belief that the subject of money has no age limits. My first encounter with money was at 7, when I received my first pocket money for school.

My mother gave me a piggy bank, its a greenish-blue tin box with hello kitty pictures on it(wtf?), I later won a teddy bear piggy bank which I still have it now. I was encouraged not to spend all my money and put all the left over into the box.

But there's a place of evil in my school called the bookshop.

On display are all the colourful little playthings that are so tempting to splurge your money on.

I was a victim to those baits at times. My understanding of money at that time was that, it was a very powerful thing that can make me "happy".

I'm sure it still is for many people. But I don't see money that way now.

Yes it is neccessary to satisfy my needs and desires sometimes with money. And yes, I'm currently working for it (some people my age are still receiving it, you know who you are...), but I've learnt about the much greater power that money possess.

Money can grow if I put it at the right place.

The very knowledge that money can be grown, instead of having to slog for it motivated me to think twice whenever I'm about to satisfy my desires.

Instead of giving my money to others so that they can enjoy it, why not put it to grow so that I have more of it to enjoy later.

It is not being stingy or money faced.

It is being mindful of where you spend your money. It is the awareness that your money can do even greater things than to grant you your temporary pleasures. It can give you eternal pleasure.

And that, Financial Education is the most important lesson I wish to impart onto my children.

It is something that is lacking in schools, probably existent but inadequent. Unless one of my goals for my book company is accomplished, I'll home school my children on this subject.

That's what I have in mind for my children. I don't believe in punishments. I'm more of a reward and encouragement person. Instead of telling you what not to do, I'll rather tell you what you can do.

My relationship with my own father wasn't too close. That is probably due to his personality. But I still respect him for some of the things he did for me. He wasn't a punisher and the lessons that he teaches which makes sense are those that he actually do.

Well, I have a post about the type of girl I'm looking for, I have a post about the child I wish to raise, I guess the next posts I might touch on would be how I want to carry out my wedding and how I want to die. Haha.

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

If you plan too much, your plan will fail.

If you don't plan, you will fail.

A set back is not a failure.

You fail only when you give up.

School Work, Fitness, Business

2009-02-13T22:44:00.000+08:00

CURRENTLY I have 3 major things to take care of in my life. School work, my fitness and my book business.

All 3 of them are important, I'll explain why. And they all need my time and attention.

First thing is school work. I'm graduating within the next 2 months and I have a graduation show(Fusion) coming 3 weeks from now(6th & 7th March 2009) . My goal is to leave a good impression on the visitors who came to see my booth so that they can remember the name MoneyThology, yes I'll put it on my booth.

Works that are required regarding the Fusion preparation include mostly my sculpturing and printing of the portfolio stuff. I need to show good portfolio and my most prized sculpture of my beloved Dragon. It is currently in satisfactory state, but I'm going to make it near perfect.

I have exactly 3 weeks to prepare fusion. So its not near but near. Urgent but not so.

Damn it

Business dateline is determined by when I go National Service. And I dunno when I'll go in since i have not received the letter. And the worst news ever is, I have 95% chance of becoming a commando. I was summoned to Hendon Camp for vocational assessment. GG...

This makes it hard to plan for business and fitness.

Fitness has to be maintained regularly, due to the fact that I might really become a commando. I need to be able to survive 1 and a half years of hell.

So I think I'm setting 2 days a week for physical training as usual.

1 day swimming 2.5km

1 day running and statics training

Tuesday for swimming Thursday or Friday running

For school work, I still owed a minor project. Because it wasn't done as well as expected. So now I have to redo it.

I'm modeling one of e cities I have designed long ago and texturing and lighting and rendering it.

While modeling I have to look out for cleanliness of model. No boolean. Clean mesh so that when I unwrap the UV and paint the textures, it will be smoother.

After i finish modeling and texturing, I want to do 3 renders of 3 moods. One is dawn, one is noon and one is night.

I got 1 week to do that. So it's the most urgent task at hand.

For fusion i need to print portfolio. Which means I need to select e pieces, colour adjust and put in the formatting. Then once that's done, I need to design my name card which needs to be printed.

Then, last but not least is sculpturing. Currently working on the armour of the Dragon. Aiming to make very nice armour. Hopefully can paint it but seems unlikely to dob it professionally within the time frame. So I better not be too ambitious. After that, I need to bake, after baking need to find place to hide in school. So I'll probably be baking on Thursday, 1 day before Fusion.

Left with the business part. Shall talk about it once I cleared all these shit... OMG... Commando... GG...

Focus on what is to come and on things within my control

Marketing Leader

2009-02-07T17:20:00.002+08:00

Taken from E-Myth Mastery by Michael E. Gerber, for reference. Con'td from this article

MARKETING calls for an intense, focused, single-minded, tunnel-visioned discipline and desire. Desire to get result, regardless of the cost, Desire to build a world class brand. Desire to get the customer to come in the door, and to buy, not just once, but over and over again. Desire to figure it out. Desire to be more than just a contender. Desire to be more than just somebody. Desire to be the One.

The marketing leader is the one in the organization who is most passionately committed to growth, to building a brand, a franchise, no matter how small the business may be.

The very first question the marketing leader must ask about his business: What's our franchise?

What do we own , what do we do, how do we look, how do we act and feel and perform that differentiates our company from everybody else's? What's the defining sensory impact our company makes?

The key job of a marketing leader is to find the answer to that question until everyone knows it. The answer is concrete, it can be seen, touched, felt and quantified. Everybody that the company deals with has to know that answer. It is not an abstract answer.

Answer to who the customer is, where the trading zone is, what the deliverable are, what promises the company makes, how the people in the company behave, what you do, who you are and why that's important to everyone who comes into contact with your company.

The more concrete the answer, the better the franchise, the better the marketing leader has done her job.

The first discipline of the marketing leader is the ability to draw a picture of the finished company. To translate the idea and words that expressed that idea into a concrete product that looks, acts, and feels exactly as it must look, act, and feel to differentiate if from every other product competing for the heart and mind of the company's most likely customer.

The marketing leader drives the pursuit of these questions:

What we do here?
How we do it?
Why that way and not this way?
What impact is on our customer?
Why is it important?
How we replicate that impact every single time?

Everyone - in operations, finance, human resources, training, field management, etc. - is engaged in the process.

Everything in a business starts with the customer. The business has to be focused on providing products, services, and communications that draws customers to you, satisfy them, and bring them back to you again and again.

The survival of a business depends on its ability to attract and satisfy customers

The foundation of marketing strategy can be classified into 3 categories. Who are the customers? Where are they? How they think and behave?

Demographics, Trading area and Psychographics

Target Marketing and the Need For Focus

"Market" is a generic word used to describe those who might become your customers. But not everybody is a customer for your products. It is perfect for some people, complete inappropriate for other people, and so-so for others. In economics, I believe those things that everybody needs has to be monopolized and state controlled to prevent fluctuation of prices. They include services like transport, energy and items like water. So, if an item is needed by everybody, it is either free(air) or illegal to be sold for private gains. In short, it just means any commercial product will have people who doesn't need it.

The key here to to pin-point only those who are most likely to buy(most probable customers). This is so as to direct all marketing effort specifically to these people rather than a wide spectrum of people. Seems like common sense, but I suspect many people will overlook this or underestimate it.

So the first step is to identify the target market.
Look at the overall market and identify its various subgroups, or "market segments"
Evaluate them and select the segment which will produce the best results for your business(primary market segment) and any other market segments that will produce desirable results(flanker market segment).

Demographics are the objective, directly observed characteristics that describe people and organizations. From a business owner's viewpoint, demographics are the tangible facts that identify and describe your customers and prospective customers.

Demographics of people include:

Age
Employment status
Location
Gender
Education
Race
Occupation
Marital status
Ethnicity
Income
Family status
Physical characteristics

Demographics of organizations include:

Industry
Product line
Size of business (sales, number of employees, etc)
Types of business(manufacturer, distributor, retailer, etc)
Location (headquarters and branches/operating locations)
Geographic scope of the business(local, regional, national, international)
Financial status of business(revenue, profitability, leverage, etc

This section seems like a lot of work to me. It may also be expensive if I want to do it well. I'm wondering if the cost should be covered by me in order to produce a proposal to secure a funding or should I put into the proposal that I would like to gather the figures after the money comes in.
Consultation needed on this subject.

There's still so much more sub topics on this chapter of marketing. My customers are parents with young kids in general, and my trading zone is in schools(government, private, tuition) centers in general.

The E-Myth Mastery Program aims to make the business as a whole to become the "product" that attracts and retains customers.

"Your business, not your commodity, is your product."

Definition of your Product as your customers sees it

A doughnut is just a doughnut. But the ways to sell the doughnut is what really makes it the product in business. Walk-in customers, packaged doughnuts to grocery stores for selling,bulk order to restaurants for resale, coffee and doughnut setups for business meetings. Each method of sales has it own demand, and with it, its profitability margin. It is just a doughnut, but the way you sell it makes a lot of difference.

This is what I like about doing business, you get to do things in so many different ways and no one is there tell you what to do or to say you are wrong.

There are practical steps listed in the book that I shall not put up here. Since I'll need the entire chunk of information for reference, I might as well go back to the book. pg 132

FATAL ASSUMPTIONS TO AVOID

It struck me as common sense, but I was guilty in making the mistake as I read the paragraph on this note.

Marketing to yourself
Too product-orientated

Marketing to yourself

It means thinking your customers think and act as you think and act. I was guilty of this.
You know you are guilty when you start to think: "The way I would do it is...," or "What I would want is...," or "The way they should think is...,"

Too product-orientated

It means thinking more about your products and their specifications, and less about what your customers need and how to communicate with them. That is exactly what I'm doing now. ZZZ...
But I don't suppose my customers will even know if they need this product since it's not even in the market. And since so many of the self-help books that I have read caters to only adults. I believe I can get to children through their parents, so I can explore this field a little further blindfolded.

My reasoning: I need some sort of product to pitch to prospective customers before I can find out if they need it or what else they need from the product. It's trial and error. Not exactly my favorite method to solve maths problems in school but I'm decent in guess works.

But it is a risk I have to take. I'll still keep these pitfalls in mind.

For those who like to buy the book, you can get it online through Amazon.com

My Book - Progress Check

2009-02-04T23:22:00.000+08:00

MY TEAM and I produced sort of a business proposal for the book. I did most of the writing, they did the illustrations. I'll be going through my proposal with my mentor some time soon. Hopefully I can receive some pointers. Maybe I can get him to join my business. =D

Agenda

I need to find an art director
I need more business partners
I need sponsors and investors
I need time
I need motivation

The Art Director

Somebody who can help me with the artistic aspect of this business. I'm only a decent artist. I need exceptional artist who can lead. I have a few candidates in mind, but I need to work out the persuasion part. Money is most certainly the main attraction, which leads to the need for sponsors and investors. Prestige is another thing. Artist usually don't stay in one job for a long time. It is a good thing as they need exposure to become better. So to get them to join me, they need to believe that they will be more well known in future by working on my production. This is the part where I need more business partners.

The Business Partners

Currently, I have one full-time loyalist partner who is willing to brave through fire and water with me. Both of us still have much to learn but we'll get there. But the problem is, both of us have no business knowledge, no accounting knowledge, no (insert big word here) knowledge. I understand economics, but have no direct information that can be applied. All we know about business are from self-help books and network marketing background. Even though business knowledge is not the determining factor of success for businesses, it is still essential for proper running and managing of any business. I have a few friends who studies business. I can consider talking to them about joining me. But the most important thing is their interest in my business project.

The Sponsors and Investors

This is the sightly more headache part. I need the money to run the business, and I follow rich dad's lesson of using other people's money to get rich. To get the money, I need to convince my prospects that this business is lucrative and beneficial; and my team and I can bring it through to its success. To do that, I need more planning using the business plan that always works which requires me to get more partners and art director which needs me to go around pitching my business in hope to find talents who are interested in my project. I wonder if I'm moving in a straight line or the line actually connects into a circle.

Time

I'm entering NS soon. Time is against me. I can build my Education consultation business in NS and get my capital that is so sorely needed for my own business. But I'm torn between something I really want to do and something I need to do. I only have so much time until my 26th birthday. But still, one thing at a time. Now I need to clear my modules in school and qualify to graduate before worrying about my livelihood. Really? I was under the impression it was the other way round, worry about livelihood that's why the diploma. Anyway, entrepreneurs think differently. What has being an entrepreneur got to do with clearing modules. I'm good in my school work but I don't intend to get employed in the field I'm studying. What Logic is that? Don't know, I have not thought of a witty reply to that question yet. Why the hell am I debating about this... Anyway, time is crucial to me and I wish to ration it wisely. Hopefully I can squeeze in time to find a girlfriend but it won't be fair to her, whoever she will be. Tough luck, success will be worth this trouble.

Motivation

Instincts are calling out to me. I need morale support. I need pivotal points to proceed. Going it alone is possible, but it takes a lot more discipline. Business partners are business partners, investors are investors, ultimately I need someone to be there so that I can do something for that person. Strange. Why do things for somebody else? I build my success so that I can enjoy it with the person who endured it with me. Hopefully this person will be my life partner. Another dilemma, my impression is that most girls nowadays are too used to the idea that they'll find some successful guy and marry him and enjoy life. But I think that successful guy won't treasure the girl as much unless she had been through thick and thin with him in the first place. But a man who is striving for success on my magnitude will have to go through mud first, down to near beyond deep shit(which actually means deep shit). Which girl in the right sense of mind would follow me? Perhaps someone with the left sense would. Most would just follow some guy who steadily climbs the corporate leader and gets company benefits. Hard luck. But I feel that if a girl is willing to trust me and sacrifice a "safe" route to help me see success, she must be something. Man do things to impress woman. I got nobody to impress, so I need to find somebody to impress so that I can find the motivation to succeed. Instincts Instincts Instincts.

If instinct tells you to run, RUN!

Gambling

2009-02-03T23:29:00.001+08:00

THIS year's Chinese new year is so different to me. I saw gambling in a different light. Now I think gambling is the most powerful driving force that makes people want to visit each other. I have never seen this side of gambling before.

I know gambling has always been around during this festive season. It is the main activity that keep adults occupied and kills time for them. Second is the angbao(for receivers), third is the food, fourth is cultural instincts, last is to see each other and talk. The ranking is unbased.

Gambling is the simplest form of language.

Black Jack/Er-shi-yi-dian/Ban-luck
Big Two/Da Lao Er/Choh-dai-di
Mahjong
Bridge
and some other means of gambling that I have no idea what it is called.

Somehow, all of these gambling games are easily picked up by even the most illiterate adult. Observe while others play, ask a few questions(which is usually enthusiastically answered; probably to entice easy money for the pros), have money, and you are in the game.

I myself do not gamble. I detest the idea of gambling. It is just not productive. I'll elaborate my insights on this later.

Usually in a game of gambling, money is the main stake. One's goal is to win as much money as possible without losing too much. The judge to determine who wins and who loses is the deck of cards or tiles that players are required to either skillfully complete a certain criteria or simply have the best hand. The winning criteria are agreed upon before hand and once the winner is determined, money changes hands.

While I was watching my relatives gamble, I observed their expressions, gestures and words that they spoke, and I realise that they are obsessed by it.

Money can make them exhilarated and it can also make them sulk and bad tempered in a short span of 10 minutes.

One uncle of mine was observed to be in high spirits in the early game of cards where winning is determined purely by your luck in getting a good hand. He was smiling and teasing other aunts and played the game enthusiastically. Reason being, he had won quite a sum of money while he was the banker(banker was rotated every 3 rounds). But after a while, I saw him sitting there with stern eyes and down cast lips, shaking his legs impatiently while the cards are being given out. He must have lost big. He left the game soon after and announced that he has lost $170.

That was the story of a loser, now winners have ugly stories too. Some people are conscientious about winning other people's money. They are afraid that others will resent them for winning their money. In one case, the person kept winning, till a point where she felt that she should leave the table. But she couldn't bring herself to leave until she has lost some money back into the game. So she waited till it was her turn to play banker. The first 2 rounds, she lost, but it wasn't so bad. On her third round, she got a good hand and won back all the money she lost in the first 2 rounds. Now she is in a dilemma. To leave or to wait till her next turn of being banker?

As a child, I used to look up to adults. But I remember one time when I was young, it happened at my grandmother's house. There were lots of relatives. The television was showing a movie or something that I was quite engrossed in watching. Suddenly, one of the aunts took the remote control and switched to teletext. THEY DISRUPTED MY SHOW TO CHECK THE STUPID 4D!

I flared. I cursed them to lose all their money (which was impossible for everyone since the money is circulating) and ran out to the playground. It was this incident that started my resentment to gambling and a certain disrespect for adults, I also started to dislike watching TV when there are other people around, I rather catch interesting shows online, without inconsiderate channel hoppers and advertisement.

All my logic point to the fact that gambling is useless. You end up losing more than you will win. This year you might have won $300, but you forget that last year you lost $400. The banker always wins. It was just circulation of money and there was no creation involved. Somebody loses a lot of money and gets emotional, a small conflict becomes family feud. What is the point?

But this time, I saw the purpose of gambling. It is this simple act of rotating your money around one another that brings excitement to the dull and boring life of most people nowadays. It is the only thing that many people can do together and find joy in doing it. A game of cards will soon bore the hell out of you when there's no stakes involved. I realise the magic of money in this aspect. Even though I still resent gambling, I will respect it for being able to bring joy to many people whom I know.

Enterprising Leader - The Business Plan That Always Works

2009-01-25T18:57:00.002+08:00

THIS is for my own references only, but if you can understand it, feel free to use it. It is taken from E-myth Mastery by Michael E. Gerber

A business needs vision. Because vision gives a business direction and purpose and essential ideas from which commitment, growth, and the sense of personal achievement arise and flourish.

The vision reflects thinking and feeling. Mind and heart.

It requires smaller scale strategies and even smaller scale tactics to make it happen.

Tactics are there to accomplish strategies and produce results.

Vision needs form, direction, and clarity of a business plan to give it relevance to the day-to-day operation(work) of the business.

The plan is the link between the work of the business and the vision that work intended to produce

Work of business <====> Plan <====> Vision(strategies & tatics)

Do not only prepare the plan with what you think you should do.

Do not only write a business plan because "that's what successful businesses do"

Do not only write a business plan because we need it to borrow some money

Do not make it static

Avoid being only too thoughtful, analytical, complete and decisive in a business plan, they are why business plans will always fail.

Doing the above mentioned will only result in the business plan being chucked away to collect dust.

A plan that starts in the head, with logic and reason and thoughts, lack passion and excitement and purpose. It is obsolete the moment it starts with the assumption that it's been able to capture and account for all the relevant changes that will happen in future.

It is simply dead and not realistic.

No sense of commitment or pride or accountability will anyone sense for that plan.

The business plan that always work looks a lot like a plan that will not work. The difference lies in appearances. The plan will work because it starts from a completely different place, with a different set of operating assumptions.

It starts from the heart.

It begins with the experiencing of the feelings you'll have, and your people will have, and your customers will have, when your plan has been accomplished.

When you start by defining the true end result, how you'll feel, then all the logic and analysis and numbers will really mean something.

The plan that always work also assumes.

But because nobody can possibly predict all the changes that will occur, the plan is built to not only tolerate changes but relies upon it as a key factor that will keep you on the best course.

The plan that always work will and must change over time to suit the situation ahead.

With a clear vision, and a business plan that adjusts its strategies to account for the world as it really is, the work of your business can be best positioned to achieve great results.

In conclusion, business plan that always work requires both how you think and feel about the plan. Thinking is still required, but it is the feelings that will make the logic sensible. Your attitude and relationship to the plan will ultimately make the difference.

Plans do not insure that what is planned will actually come to pass; plans do not predict the future

Because the pace of change in the world today is so fast, what we accept as reality today, changes in the blink of an eye.

In this mass of uncertainty, one thing is - or should be - certain: Your Vision

So that's where you start.

Your business plan will be a statement of your vision and a current description of the main strategies and tactics you'll use to make your vision come true.

From the strategies and tactics discussed in the plan, each department and position will be able to develop the additional strategies, tactics, and systems to achieve their results and, ultimately the Strategic Objective and Strategic Purpose of the company.

Strategic Objective and Strategic Purpose creates pictures of what you want your company to become. They provide the head-centered and heart-centered foundations for the choices you'll make in your business plan.

Vision ==give form to==> Strategies & Action == assists every department and positions in the company==> Formulate additional strategies, tactics and system to achieve results == to ultimately accomplish==>Strategic Objective & Strategic Purpose ==gives clear picture of ideal company==> Logical & Sensible choices made in business

Start with what's important to you

A mediocre plan that you and others feel passionately about will serve you better than a technically superior plan that you don't feel strongly about

So my first step will be to feel the feelings my business plan will instill in myself and my team. What I want my team to feel when they are reading the plan and following it
Approach planning as more of an art than science

Use your best thinking when you plan, but don't forget that even the best thinking involves guesswork. Educated guesswork. Remember that even the best-looking business plan contains guesses based on assumptions. Use it to your advantage as you create and implement your plan. Be sure that you and anyone developing portions of business plan document all planning assumptions that underlie the actual content of the plan.

I need to think and guess. If the guess is too ambiguous, dig out facts to support my assumptions. But due the inexperience of my own, the whole business plan will be purely assumptions. For that, I believe I need a reference business plan that a veteran produced.

-Reminder
Create a planning framework that accommodates change

The plan is not a rigid "final product" with every details pinned down. Think of it as a series of guideposts of key topics to focus attention on the targets to aim for. Be free to add, revise and remove parts of the plan when he talent and judgment of those around you and your own inclination tell you it's the right thing to do. Develop a system for building change into your business plan (covered later).

Water has no form and yet it is the master of erosion. Be as formless as water and you can remove all obstacles or bypass them.
Treat the plan as a living, growing document

Make conscious decision to review your plan periodically, evaluate it, revise it. Keep questioning your assumptions. Stay flexible and open to change. Pride or inertia should not get in the way of reworking the plan and moving forward.

Be willing to accept the fact that all man makes mistake and only a true man acknowledges his own mistakes. Even when the progress is fast, if it is not in the right direction, stop and U-turn.

GETTING STARTED

If you think writing a business plan is a daunting, burdensome task, it certainly will be.

worksheet

The link contains the relevant material useful for this section.

Easy way to begin:

Be clear about what you want to achieve

This thought process has 2 steps.

1st: you need to be clear about your vision for the business - what you want your business to achieve as expressed in your Strategic Objective and your Strategic Purpose.

2nd: you need to be clear about how you'll use your business plan to achieve that vision.

Mental image of road map and clear idea of what mode of transport to use to get there
Choose a time horizon for your plan

Do what feels like the most sense for you and your business. Remember that you'll be building your business plan to embrace changing conditions, so the time horizon you choose shouldn't feel like a constraint, but more like a temporary frame of reference that will help you see the elements of your plan more clearly

Think of it as an ETA to a destination
Get organized

It is both a mental and physical phenomenon. Devote the time, attention, and resources to creating your plan. Make it your intention to produce a plan that will work based on this new way of thinking about a business plan. Then assemble all the physical elements that will allow it to happen.

I must produce a plan that will work with everything I've got because it is what I chose to do.
Think about how you'll get others involved

The more involvement, the better. Not only will there be the benefit of more knowledge and more help, you'll also create a sense of shared commitment and participation. The emotional impact that people feel when given the opportunity to engage at this level of business planning is more than worth the extra time and coordination it may take. Group involvement leads to group learning and a more "intelligent" company.

I must figure out a way to get my team involved in the planning process. I think I need to sort out the sections of the business that needs planning and list down the difficulties I'm facing in each section. Perhaps I should ask only questions and take down all the answer I get from my team. All in all, I need to make my team feel important and involved.

BENCHMARKS FOR PRODUCING YOUR BUSINESS PLAN

The steps reviewed in this section will lead you through the process of producing the physical document of your business plan. But they are not the steps of the business planning process.
Business planning is how you actually formulate the content of your plan - the reasoning and proposed activities that arise from it.

This is benchmark is to help you pull all the pieces of specific business development process that relate to the various systems in your business: marketing systems, financial systems, sales systems, management systems etc together into a document that combines heart centered and head-centered planning to become the living, breathing "game plan" for your organization.

I presume this is akin to the skin of the human body, an outline and container for every organ, muscle, bone, tissue, fluid in the body.3

Benchmarks for Producing Your Business Plan
\/
Create a Mental Picture of Your Business Plan's Impact

Imagine the emotions my team will have when they read the plan. Visualise the effect that I want.

\/
Outline Your Business Plan
Content page of the plan. Outline the items included in the plan
\/
Prepare Your Business Plan Binder
A ring folder to keep all the materials
\/
Gather Materials You Already Have
Items include Strategic Objective, Strategic Purpose, Organization chart, descriptions of your target markets, positioning statement, marketing plan, financial strategy, financial statements, and product/service strategy etc. Use the worksheet to indicate who should be accountable for the next step, and a due date.
\/
Identify What You Need to Produce
What pieces of plan don't you have?
What will be needed to produce them?
Who should do it?
Start thinking but don't come to any final conclusions
Bring others in to participate, and complete your business plan sooner rather than later.
\/
Conduct Planning Meeting
Gather the team. Enroll instead of dictating assignments. Paint the bigger picture. Get them excited. Ask for their suggestions, and really listen.
Objective of this meeting is to get people's commitment to the business plan and a clear understanding of who will do what by when.
\/
Prepare, Review, and Revise Materials
Involves all the accountable people thinking, analyzing, developing, writing, meeting, reviewing, rewriting until each section is done. Review every piece before it's finalized and make any additional changes. Make sure all the pieces are consistent and work together as an integrated whole.
\/
Produce "Final" Business Plan
It's not really final - as long as you are in the business, you'll need to revise and update it. Give the plan a polished, easy-to-read appearance. Do what you need in order for your business plan to have the impact you want it to have, but don't go overboard. Professional printing and bindery may be a good idea if the audience of the business plan is for outside parties(lenders, investors, shareholders)
\/
Create Change Mechanism
This step is absolutely vital. Think about how you'll accommodate change into your business plan and create the system for doing it. The best system is a two-pronged approach: First should be establishing a "formal" review period, either quarterly or semiannually, when you review the entire plan and update it, as needed. Second is to review part or all of your plan when something significant changes. Worksheet available.

For those who like to buy the book, you can get it online through Amazon.com

Entrepreneur; Manager; Technician

2009-01-24T20:35:00.001+08:00

I PICKED up my copy of E Myth mastery by Michael E. Gerber again after leaving it on my shelf for about half a year now. My aim was educate myself on the right way to prepare a business proposal of my new book.

Re-reading the book reaffirmed as well as gave me new insights of philosophies I have grown to believe. It reassured me that I can make it if I follow what is written in the book.

For the purpose of reminding myself what I was and what I'm avoiding, I shall quote a passage from the book.

"The Technician goes to work in his business, doing everything he can possibly do to survive. He invests everything he has, and everything he doesn't yet have - his future, his home, his time, his relationships, his life, his options, everything - to get something he never clearly identifies or defines. He has an approximate vision, a vision of being on his own, a vision of being his own boss, a vision of financial independence, a vision of an idealized lifestyle that he's heard about in a seminar, or tasted in an infomercial, or read about in a self-help book, or heard about from his uncle, of miracles that happen without risk, without work, not truly knowing what that is, other than a dream of being a hero to his family, to himself, a dream of making it, like all the stories he has read or imagined."

The "Technician" mentioned here is not your everyday technician. It refers to the characteristic of a person. This book defines a person by 3 characteristics in their character, Entrepreneur, Manager and Technician. We all have the 3 characteristics, just that the dominant one is different.

The Technician is one who will keep on doing a stuff because he needs to do it and because it is the only thing he knows how to do and is good at it. It is the description of most self-employed people. The quote is the reason why most self-employed people never get ahead.

The passage quote got to me so strongly that I read and read it 3 times. It described perfectly what my thought process was before.(moneythology.blogspot.com/2008/12/revelation.html) It was such a repulsive description that I detested myself for having such thoughts. It was this passage that gave me the confidence that if I follow what the author is trying to tell me, I can avoid being a "Technician". The notion that I was once thinking like a Technician threw me into reality. That quote provided me a much clearer description of my previous predicaments before my enlightenment.

It is hard to put into words what my full emotions were when I read that quote. It is as if the author understands me and is trying to tell me something. It has this comfortable feeling that I finally found a guide to guide me towards success. I feel safe. I feel that this is it, my answer.

One other quote that clearly described what I went through recently was:
"I tried to turn the ideal into the practical. I tried to use it to become something it was never meant to be. The journal (blogging) was the discovery of myself. I turned it into a tool to define myself."

I started blogging to discover myself, but I ended up trying to define myself. This resulted in me losing my passion to continue blogging. Blogging turned from a wonderful sharing experience into a hungry monster I have to feed everyday. Soon, the fun was lost.

Now that I know what was going on, I can be better able to apply it and overcome not only to the simple task like blogging but everyday stuff that requires passion to complete.

I wish I can put down all the new things I have learn here. But it was so overwhelming that I'll be too tired to do anything else after I'm done.

For those who like to buy the book, you can get it online through Amazon.com

Utopia

2009-01-17T23:40:00.008+08:00

Sources of statistics
www.indexmundi.com/singapore/net_migration_rate.html
www.singstat.gov.sg/stats/keyind.html#keyind
A few links were no longer available and were removed.

IN A place somewhere on Earth, there is a country.

It is an island called Utopia.

The island is 700 Sq km in area and houses 5 million people. The island is prospering and the population is growing at 5% a year. Only about 3.5 million people are natives, the rest came from neighboring countries as immigrants. 6.88% of the people leaves the country every year.

Utopia sees 40,000 newborns, 15,000 deaths every year. Of the those born, only 1 in 100 is a stillborn, the rest are expected to live up to about 100 years old.

The country is blessed with an even ratio between man and woman. 1 man: 1woman. All of them get married.

Because the government was so good, 100% of the people received at least 10 years of education. Of those, 80% received 15 years of higher education.

There are 2million jobs and 1.9million people in the labour force. But 3% of them was unemployed, which is 57,000 people.

There are 626,620(34.2%) Professional and Technical job holders (teachers, civil servants etc)

276450(14.7%) in Administrative and Managerial Jobs (office etc)

313310(17%) in Manufacturing

110580(6%) in Finance Services (money trader, banks, stock broker, insurance company, credit card company etc)

228532(12.4%) in Business Services (accountants, real estate, retailers, etc)

There are 20 doctors for every 10,000 people in Utopia.

There are 20 policeman for every 10,000 people in Utopia.

There are 20 fireman for every 10,000 people in Utopia.

There are 1 rubbish collector for every 10,000 people in Utopia.

There are 100 hawkers for every 10,000 people in Utopia.

There are 60 teachers for every 10,000 people in Utopia.

There are 200 soldiers for every 10,000 people in Utopia.

7 people out of every 1,000 decided to become criminals.

In the year 1001, 40,000 babies populated Utopia, 39,600 survived.

In the year 1006, all the babies starts schooling.

In the year 1016, 39,600 people will complete their compulsory education. Of which 7920 will enter the work force, and the rest of the 31680 will go on to further their studies.

4 of those who entered the work force becomes rubbish collectors.

277 became criminals.

80 of them became policeman, 79 became fireman. 792 served the nation in the army.

238 became teachers.

2724 people left the country

1188 people will be jobless(still job hunting; playing and living off parents)

34281 people remains.

13543 are in Professional and Technical jobs

5821 in Administrative and Managerial Jobs

6732 in Manufacturing

2376 in Finance Services

4910 in Business Services

914 remains.

Less than 1,000 people of the same age are free to do whatever they want to do without affecting the functioning of the nation. This is the number of people that can choose as they like how else they want to live their lives. Some of them are volunteers for charity. Some become artists. Most of them are entrepreneurs who retires at very young ages.

Are you the lucky 914?

New Year Resolution

2009-01-06T22:06:00.000+08:00

THIS came a little late but I wasn't sure I got it ready in my mind until now.

I am going to stop viewing money the way I view it last year. I saw accumulation of money as the focus and serving people as the means to obtain money. This year onwards, I'm going to serve others without expecting to be paid. Money will come as a bonus reward not as bounty.

I am going to smile more this year, laugh more heartily this year, and make more people happy this year. I'm going to restrain from building happiness from someone's misery unless that person is big hearted enough to bear the pain for the joy of the greater good.

I am going to strive for excellence in everything I do whether or not it leads directly towards accomplishing my goals. As long as I endeavor to start it, I will finish it with the best of my abilities. I will apply the success formula taught by Napolean Hill in his book commissioned by Andrew Carnegie: Think & Grow Rich.

I will strictly follow the rule of focusing on 1 important thing at 1 time instead of multi-tasking. Before I get up from bed everyday, I will mentally form the image of myself completing the one single important task from the many that I need to do. I will give my fullest attention for that 1 top priority task and fulfill striving for excellence towards its completion. I will quit trying to multi-task as it is not the fair to everyone for which the tasks that needs to be done will affect.

I will show respect for self and others in that I will put myself in their shoes before stating my point in an argument. My ultimate goal is to avoid any confrontations of any calibre. I will not argue for the sake of arguing unless it possess entertainment value and will not damage anybody's self-esteem. I will not do what all small men can do, which is to destroy others; I will build a bridge so that my enemies can become my friends. It takes a bigger heart to care even for your enemies.

I will assert my viewpoints in an non-aggressive and understanding manner such that the person receiving it will see direct benefits for them instead of for me. I will do this by first finding out what the other person is coming from and what the other person wants. I will not deliberately deny anyone of desires that I can easily satisfy within my own means, so long as it is ethical, legal and reasonable.

Last off, reasserting that I resolve to become a better person, remembered not for my money-mindedness but as someone who will serve others at no expected returns at all.

To become a better person remembered positively by others, friends and foes.

Revelation

2008-12-27T14:25:00.000+08:00

I AM enlightened upon the subject of accumulating wealth

I lack the necessary resolve needed to trigger the success mechanism in me.

I thought I knew a lot about money.

I thought doing business was easy

I thought managing people is simple

I thought I am smarter than many financial advisers

Deep down inside me, I hold the believe that all these thoughts are true.

I kept thinking that I know how to do something simply by reading a book and understanding its concepts.

It is naivety to a mockery level.

I'm sure that is what those books that I read wishes to make me feel about myself. The ability to do all those stuff needed to achieve success.

I've come to accept the fact about those stuff that I thought I could do are really who I want to become instead of who I am now.

I'm all talks. So far, I take small actions that led me to think that I'm moving closer to success.

But, I'm not taking the right actions. What I posted on this blog, those big words of wisdom, are self justifications that I wish others will view me as, the person I wish to be.

Everyone has 2 reason for doing anything. One is the real reason and the other reason is self justified.

The real reason for me to blog, is to impress you as a reader that I'm going to become very successful one day and I want you to believe it.

I posted the justified reason in my very first post.

The real reason is not glorifying. It is the dark nature in me. Who doesn't want recognition? Who doesn't like to think that they can be very successful?

Over the course of time in which I spent to blog and upgrade, it dawned on me that material wealth is as I justified, not real wealth.

Even though I have yet to taste being rich, I fear being rich with only material wealth already.

It really isn't about the correct steps one need to take to earn the millions of dollars.

There are many ways to do it and I'm sure anyone can get it done.

Being rich has become a totally new thing to me now.

Having lots of money and owning lots of stuff no longer remains as the top priority of my life.

It is not about seeking ways to attain wealth, it is about becoming the person who attracts wealth.

I realise that if I pursue the new definition of being rich, material wealth will come as a bonus reward and not the bounty.

I will attain true wealth and call myself truly rich.

It is all about me as a person.

Wife And Daughter-In-Law

2008-12-26T19:00:00.000+08:00

I HAD a chat with my mother some time ago regarding my future wife and her future daughter-in-law. She has this concern. She is afraid that her sons (I have a brother) will abandon her under the influence of our wifes. Probably the result of too much TV drama.

But her concerns are not unbased. Not only in TV drama series you can see wife spouting poisonous word to their husband, coerce him to disobey his parents or even disown them. In real life, especially in this era and generation, where almost everybody grew up with at least a silver-plated spoon if not pure silver, this sight is common.

We in Singapore are too comfortable, living life luxuriously. Our standards of living cannot be kept up constantly. The jobs that we possess now, even though they pay much better and have much more benefits than before, will never be enough for the spoilt breeds of this generation. Most wifes, though not as malicious as those portrayed in the TV series, is the invisible multiplier for the unrealistic living expectation of families nowadays.

Wanting more for oneself is from a perspective, not incorrect. But the magnitude of the want comes as a very important factor.

Looking at my sister and the way she lives her life. I'll label her as high upkeep. Yes, she spends money to make herself more "marketable", more attractive, but this level of spending at her age is appallingly horrendous.

I'll not deny the fact that I look at girls whenever I'm out traveling. Eye catching girls are everywhere. You can identify them by the flashy clothes they wear and the make up they apply. However subtly done, you can feel the amount of money each month their parents have to supply to barely maintain them, even if they do have a job.

Funny enough, my sister commented that I'll not find a girlfriend because I'm too stingy.

We are both judging each other from our mark of standard. To my sister, in order to be the perfect guy that can find a girlfriend, I need to lavish on fashion wear and spend my money on every latest gadgets in town. Be hip.

APPALING FACT

Unless something happens that changes the way my sister views money, she will end up like the mini versions of those poisonous wife that you see on drama everyday. In order to keep up with her spendings, she'll lead her husband into neglecting the support of his parents and ultimately ignore them. Unintentionally. It is a second nature. Because it is justified, it will not be guilt ridden.

But in my opinion, only guys who are rich and affluent will be attracted to girls like her. And guys from those family usually have parents that can support themselves or even their adult children's family.

The sad fact could also be that the husband she finds would not be very accomplishing. Living off inheritances that will be used up faster than anticipated. Birds of a feathers flock together.

WIVES OF OLD

In the past, wives play a very dormant role in the family, they are background characters who serves the husband and bears children. As society progress and women received more education, they start to manage man's wealth. Some do such a magnificent job at it that their husband's success is attributed to them.

Those were the good wives. They sincerely cared for their own family as well as her husband's family or even to extended families of their sister-in-laws. My mother is one such good example.

It not self-boasting. How many of you can claim that your aunts(husband's sisters, brother-in-laws' wife) and grand aunts(father-in-law's sisters) come to your mother to relieve their personal hardship and secrets that they do not want others in the family to know about?

I believe that it is something my mother is proud of. She is trusted by so many from not only her own side of the family but also on her husband's side.

It is my deepest believe that if my mother had decent education and that she is fluent in English, my father's business would still be around till today and my family would be very rich. Even though it is not the case, I still think that she is a good mother and wife.

There's a saying that a man will take upon a wife that resembles his mother.

Not only similar in looks but habits and character as well.

It is not hard once you have a template in mind.

MEETING THE IN-LAWS

During my first relationship, I did not meet my girlfriend's parents officially. Though I bump into them while we were dating. To say the truth, I dreaded the idea of meeting her family at that time.

Probably because we were sort of like underground-dating as we were still schooling. I did brought her home a few times and my mother saw her before. One minor complication occured. My mother was very particular about manners. When you visit someone's home, you need to address those that are there. When my girlfriend visited once, even though she did address her while she was in the kitchen, I suspect my mother didn't catch her soft tone of voice. She feed back to me after my girlfriend was gone about the manners issue, I clarified with her but she still seemed unpleased.

It is so even with my uncle's girlfriend. I had this uncle, his girlfriend belongs to the quiet category, so its normal that she doesn't address strangers from the family. I over heard my mother gossiping with another aunt about her, saying that it is inappropriate for such passive rudeness of not addressing elders.

That is probably because my mother is judging others using herself as the standard.

What worries me most is what my future would-be in-laws will think about me when my future girlfriend saw fit to bring me home to be introduced to her family. This insecurity could possibly arise from my unstable path of life that I want to walk. Though having an entrepreneur spirit is greatly praised upon by others, every body know the risk and therefore would be unwilling to hand their daughters to them.

Anyway, it is just my unbased worry. Until the day I become successful, I could be ranked as the no.1 most eligible bachelor of my age. =D

PROSPECTS

So far, I have no one whom I would consider wooing. Probably due to the unsevered affection for my first girlfriend.

Unless something big happens that removes all the memory of her from me, she will always become the milestone for any girl I would consider wooing. Though I have another set of standards now, it is still hard to not linger around the memories of an unforgetable first love.

Lol. I still have 6 years to find and woo the perfect girl.

Human

2008-12-14T18:22:00.000+08:00

HUMAN beings, also known as Homo sapiens are bipedal primates in the family Hominidae.

Humans have a highly developed brain, capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection and problem solving. This mental capability, combined with an erect body carriage that frees the forelimbs for manipulating objects, has allowed humans to make far greater use of tools than any other species.

Humans are distributed worldwide, large populations infesting every continent on Earth except Antarctica. The human population on Earth is greater than 6.7 billion, as of July, 2008. There is only one extant subspecies, Homo sapiens sapiens. As of 2008, humans are listed as a species of least concern for extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. LOL

Like most higher primates, humans are social by nature.

Humans are particularly adept at utilizing systems of communication for self-expression, exchanging of ideas, and organization.

Humans create complex social structures composed of many cooperating and competing groups, from families to nations. Social interactions between humans have established an extremely wide variety of traditions, rituals, ethics, values, social norms, and laws, which together form the basis of human society.

Humans have a marked appreciation for beauty and aesthetics, which, combined with the desire for self-expression, has led to cultural innovations such as art, writing, literature and music.

Humans are notable for their desire to understand and influence the world around them, seeking to explain and manipulate natural phenomena through philosophy, art, science, mythology and religion. This natural curiosity has led to the development of advanced tools and skills; humans are the only species known to build fires, cook their food, clothe themselves; they also manipulate and develop numerous other technologies.

Humans pass down their skills and knowledge to the next generations through education.

Taken from wikipedia

Humans have a highly developed brain, capable of abstract reasoning, language, introspection and problem solving. Know that as long as you call yourself human, you possess the right to claim the above description. Abstract reasoning, language, introspection and problem solving.

IMO, abstract reasoning really means self-justification. We as human naturally feel that we are always right unless facts that proves otherwise slams into our face. It is this reasoning ability that makes us not see truth sometimes. It is a double-edged sword. We have the ability to think out of the box and come up with a solution to our problems as easily as we can think that the problem isn't there at all.

So, the next time you encounter a problem, think of it this way, you are standing at a mid point between finding a solution; and walking away, thinking that there's no problem. Either way requires your abstract reasoning, though both ways differs in treatment and thus results, why not use your abilities to their maximum capabilities and save you time and effort on the long run. It is within you.

Language. The article speaks for itself.

Introspection: observation or examination of one's own mental and emotional state, mental processes, etc.; the act of looking within oneself.

Conscience? Self-esteem? Or enlightenment? Anyway, I think this attributes to the confidence level of a person. If someone has too much introspection, he will be too concern with how other look at him. He will not only worry about the proper actions need to be taken in front of others, he will also worry about their reactions to his actions. But having none of is also not a good thing, you won't be able to tell what is right or what is wrong; where you made mistakes and what you need to do to correct it. Having just the right amount of introspection is the task you need to see within yourself.

Problem solving is what we have been trained in school. Mary has 5 apple. Alex took 3 apples. How many apples are left? A scenario, the characters, the interaction and then the problem. All problems has its root. What if Mary does not have any apples, would Alex be able to take 3 apples from her? What if Alex takes 2 instead, how many apples will Mary have?

We all learnt to see things at a small level and forget that the same theory applies to bigger situations. Whenever we encounter a big problem, all we need to do is to identify who is Mary, how many apples she has, who is Alex, how many apple he took and find out what needs an answer, is it the colour of the apples Alex has or is it the place Alex kept the apples he took. Let our training kick in and all problems will not look as omnious as it seemed at first.

It's all about staying calm and identifying the cause of a situation. Once that is done, trust our minds to come up with the steps we need to take to solve the problem. Its just a more complex 5 mark math.

Humans are particularly adept at utilizing systems of communication for self-expression, exchanging of ideas, and organization.

Self expression, exchanging of ideas and organization. We all like to talk about ourselves. We are more interested in our self debate about what colour should we wear to school today than hear someone talk about their adventure in the Amazon forest.

Some people show genuine interest in others because they know that they will be appreciated and that is also another form of self-expression. To be accepted by expressing concern for others.

The worst kind of self-expression is blindly talking about yourself and expects others to share your concern without you receiving their concerns as well. That's not sharing, that's a one way bombardment. It is irritating and people just doesn't wish to listen to you.

We are higher beings that rule the world. We crush all that stands in our way. That's our bloody history and glorious heritage. Be proud of who we were and who we are now. Fear not about the small little problems you face in your everyday life. They are there to bring down the weak. If you call yourself human, live up to the wikipedia description and make all of us proud. =D

Reading Others Like A Book

2008-12-07T18:43:00.000+08:00

ISN'T it interesting if I can get to know all about a person's life and his personality just by looking at that person? How much information and experience I can absorb in a short span of time.

If I had that ability, it would be both a blessing and a curse.

Blessing because I can save a large protion of my life from making mistakes others had made by learning from their memories.

Blessing because I know what someone has been through and can alleviate his fear or insecurities.

Blessing because I'll be able to sway people towards my cause by appealing to their inner most desires.

Blessing because I can see anyone's inner most evil and prevent it from hurting others and myself.

It is a curse because I'll be subjected to the emotional burdens someone has went through.

A curse because I'll lose the fun of getting to know someone gradually.

A curse because others will be afraid of my powers and avoid me.

A curse because I'll not be normal.

Dale Carnegie said that to win friends, you need to be interested in others instead of wanting others be interested in you.

Bearing that lesson in mind, I began to observe others around me. Not so that I can fulfill the lesson's key points and win more friends, but to see if it is what popular people are doing and unpopular people are not doing.

So far,from what I observe, that statement have exceptions.

There's someone with a lot of confidence and he can speak really well. But somehow, everybody just hates him. They talk bad about him openly behind his back but pretends to be his friend whenever he's around. The hatred for him extends also to those who did not come into direct contact with him. He shows interest towards others by being helpful. To the extend that he offers his opinions to anyone whether or not it is asked for. The way he offered his thoughts were straight to the point and often prickly. Whether or not it ring sense, I'm sure it's shut off the moment it left the person's mouth. From my observation, it seemes that he holds high-self esteem of himself, so much so that he appears to be looking down to everyone around him. That I believe is the cause of his unpopularity.

However, one of his friends appears to be his direct opposite. He is popular and well-liked by others around him. People just gravitate towards him. One good habit I observed that he practiced was that whenever he is conversing with someone else, he will repeat whatever he heard to make sure that he has heard the person correctly. He did it so subtly that I'm sure the other person did not notice what he was doing. Though it might sound irritating to a third person who is finding fault with him, I thought that it could be the cause of his popularity. Reason being, by repeating what was said, you asserted that you have heard what the other person have said and is eager to reply to that statement. Even if you do not know how to give an appropriate reply, repeating the statement gives you more time to react and to come up with the most suitable remarks. Most of the time, the other person would just continue with what he or she was saying without being offended, in fact, I'm under the impression that they feel deeply appreciated even if there wasn't any significant remarks. He seldoms brag about his achievements even though they were magnificent, this is also what his friend lacked. His friend bragged even when he has no substance.

In another group of people, I observed someone who practiced the statement to its extreme. She would express interest even to strangers whom the only connection they have to her is because they study under one roof. She is popular and has aquintances almost everywhere she goes. People often viewed her as their pillar of hope. I'm quite sure that if there was a mass gathering where most people don't really know each other, she would be a beacon of light for people who did not have large groups to mix in. But somehow, I sense loneliness in her. She did nothing wrong in showing concern for others. In my opinion, it is everyone else who wronged her. I suppose her concerns were taken for granted and slighted when they are not needed. This is indeed a misfortune of this cold, hard world. But I'm sure she is happier than most people.

There's a classic example of the perfect friendly person that I chanced upon. I didn't notice her until I started to look carefully. I did several tests myself to prove that she is indeed most interested in others. Needless to say, she has many friends. They are not merely aquintances whom you "Hi" and "Bye" along corridors, they are real friends that share their woes with you whenever they need to. And from what I conclude, she seemed more concerned about other people's woes than her own problems. However, there's a flaw even in the finest cut diamond, because of her interest in others, she seemed to lack the healthy amount of self-esteem. Though its not as serious as the next example I'm going to cite, it is still frustrating to see such a good person not performing to her full potential. If everyone around her understands the lesson Dale Carnegie taught and praises her for every small action she takes, she can overcome this short-coming and be one step closer to perfection. But that aside, she is doing great and I'm sure she's happy too.

The next example is someone who has the most serious lack of self-esteem case I've ever encountered in my 19 years of life. It is so bad to the extend that her actions become jokes among those who know her behaviour. Low-self esteem is a serious issue. It is not only damaging to others but to yourself. It hinders also how close others can get to you. For example, close friends can make deflating jokes about one another to help each other identify their flaws in a subtle way, someone with low self esteem will deem such jokes as personal attacks and reacts aggresively. This in turn raises a barrier and an invisible wall that others are afraid to approach. And the result, the lost of possible friends who tried to be friendly. But knowing what I knew, I did not allow the situation to be as it was before. I implimented what Dale Carnegie taught and attempted to help her gain self-esteem. I started by praising every small actions she did right and talked to her about her image. When I noticed that she made attempts to change, I praised her efforts. Though its a small improvement, she is now a much approachable person and more receptive of jokes about her. Still a long way off, but I'm sure she'll get there.

Have you ever wondered why you just hate somebody when that person did not even talk to you for once at all? I'm pondering about that too. It could be something to do with our esteem not big enough and at no fault of that person at all. But usually, these kind of feelings are mutual, you like someone, they will naturally like you; you hate them, they'll hate you and wonder why they hate you. When you can meet anyone and like them in an instance, you would have entered nirvana.

Terrorism

2008-12-01T22:40:00.000+08:00

IN A recent terror attack in Mumbai, a fellow Singaporean was killed. It was the first casualty of terror Singapore suffered. I have to admit that no sentiments were aroused in me for the past 7 years, since the September 11 incident which was my first awareness of terrorism, for the victims of terrorism. But this time, its different.

It might have been a different case if the Yishun Mrt incident had a different outcome, but luckily it didn't and I was lulled into living my life as I was supposed to live, ignoring that threats are real and they could strike anytime.

The also recent escape of a terrorist, Mas Selamat, created an uproar on this small little island. With such a publicity, grander even than when the PM ran for election, no one in Singapore I'm sure will not know that name. However, that incident did not prompt me to create this post. Perhaps, I didn't have this blog then, but I have to reveal that I didn't give a damn about that incident as much as this Mumbai incident.

Maybe it was the pretty 28 year old lawyer, or maybe it was the thought of what her husband will be going through that made me feel like writing my thoughts down.

With countries around the world settling down and getting ready to embrace peace, there has to be a bunch of self-righteous people trying to save the world by killing more people. I'm sure they have reasons for doing things that they do. Everyone does. It is what compelled us to do anything in the first place. We justify ourselves that what we do is right and we do it knowing the consequences. They must have strongly believed that what they were doing were the absolutely necessary things that needs to be done in order to sleep well and save the world.

We could have gone into the psychology that drive teens into joining gangs to illustrate an example, but you know what I mean. Nobody can go around continuously doing things that the world hated if they do not think that they are absolutely right!

In a war, both sides are justified that they are right. Soldiers on both sides fought for their righteousness in most cases. In extreme cases where the ruler is ruling with an iron fist and whipped the soldiers to fight for him, the outcome is without doubt, the downfall of that tyrant.

To have people going on suicide missions now and then is no mean feat of fear alone. These people must have believed something that has eluded the rest of the world. Nothing could compel anyone to commit those atrocities unless they themselves believed strongly in it.

Let's just assume that killing people, destroying buildings, creating chaos and striking fear is the by-product of the greater good these people believed in. They are doing greatness for the world. The greater good in the name of their god. But the strange truth is, why has that greater good eluded the rest of the world? If they have such strong compilation to commit such atrocities, they must have a good cause and surely, some countries will justify and commit itself to that noble cause.

Maybe there are countries that are doing just that but are putting a false front as enemies of terrorism in fear of being condemned. We do not know and we could not point fingers.

But hey, everybody is entitled to their opinions and the right to believe in what is right.

If we feel that the way of thinking is wrong and harmful, we could take either of the 3 actions: Uproot that thinking(killing all who possess it); Convert the believers(letting them see the ugliness of their faith); Ignore them and hope that they do not implicate you.

Now back to the victims of terrorism. They are dead, so they are no longer concerned with what happens after. Crude, but its the truth. What matters are those that were left behind. They could either actively commit themselves to stamp out those who caused them misery, which could end up making them into terror themselves or they could get themselves killed. Or they could passively hope that someone else will rid the world of those bastards who killed their loved ones and let them savour the taste of revenge.

What would you do if it was your beautiful wife who was killed by men whose reasons you could never grasp? Would you wish that you could suddenly receive super powers so that you could strike hard at those who killed her in order to exact revenge yourself?

I've heard of this statement before, it didn't occur much to me then, but it struck a cord with me today. It was said by a very rich woman. It sounded something like this: "He(Osama) is rich because he wants to do evil; I am rich because I want to stop him."

Those were not the original words but the gist of the statement was what I could remember.

That statement emanated power. The power to choose what you can do. Of course having super powers are much easier, but that notion itself is absurd; you can sit all day long praying for it and it will never come.

The power to influence the world when you have money is immense. For me, I gained another reason to become rich. I do not intend to shape the world. I intend to protect those I want to protect the most. Being vulnerable and at the mercy of others is what I despise and dread the most. I want to be able to make a difference, to actually have the power to offer protection for my love ones.

Fighting terrorism is too great a cause to commit myself into. But protecting people I love from terror is something I bring it unto myself to fulfill. It gives me strength alone to have such empowering thoughts. I will and must become who I want to become in order to live in no regrets.

Dream Big, Start Small

2008-11-30T13:53:00.000+08:00

AFTER reading through my goals again, I realised that I've provided too vague a goal for me to put into action. The parts that the goals provided had only been the Dream big part, what it lacked was the Start small part.

I've listed all the big things that I want to be doing at significant points in time in my life. What I did not include or did not dare reveal was the small little steps that needs to be taken in order to reach the bigger dream.

Achieving a networth of $1million by having several investments in business, real estates or stocks doesn't not reveal the intricacies that these investments requires me to look after. It makes the goal too unrealistic and sounds like a real dream.

False Assurance

In my mind, I often reassured myself that I know what I need to do whenever I think about the goals I'm striving for. I'll tell myself something like: I need to read more books on people's skill so that I can better build rapport for me to better sell anything I want people to sell themselves; I need to write down more specific goals so that I will have a better understand of what I'm spearing for. All these thoughts served to only boost my morale temporarily by reassuring myself that I'm doing something related to my goals and I'm doing fine.

The problem is, I'm not doing things in the correct order. I'm searching for solutions for problems that I think I'll be facing instead of facing a problem before trying to find a solution.

The difference lies in that, with the latter, I'll be better able to apply the solution and knowledge I acquired and the digestion of the information will be more applicable for future similiar problems. What I'm doing now however, makes me fear making mistakes. The more I think I know, the less I'll dare to go forth in case I forgot what I thought I knew.

Knowledge is nothing unless it is applied. I can become an encyclopedia about human relationship management but I'll have no clue of how to strike a casual conversation with anybody unless I've actually talked to somebody.

Learning also entails making mistakes

The concept of failing in order to discover how to succeed is no stranger to me. That is what I've been telling myself. But to actually be faced with a choice of whether to take a plunge or walk a path that is trodden by many, causes me to waver sometimes. It is easy to say that I need to choose my own path to understand why I've taken it rather than follow everyone to find out why they have taken the path.

It easy to say anything. It is easy to say that I'll become a president before I die. It is easy to say that the world will end in A.D.2012. Saying anything is truly no mean feat. But I know that in order to make what I say counts, I need to take actions to prove that I mean what I say, even if I do not succeed.

This is where many people fail. They say big things but do not dare to proceed or proceed but gave up halfway. This is because they did not pave the small steps they need to take in order to reach that big thing. I've often found myself giving up on thing that I once had so much passion about.

That bad habit escaped my comprehension until I seriously thought about the occasions when I felt that giving up was the best choice I could make. I gave up because the Big Picture I was looking at, was so big that it disheartens me to be unable to see any results while I slogged towards achieving it. Truth is, I'm making significant progress from a miniscule levels. But because my head had been raised the whole time, I did not look down and acknowledge that fact that I'm actually closer to where I want to be.

The concept here is that, no matter how big something you want to achieve is, as long as there are small little steps that you know you can take to walk towards it, you will not be disheartened halfway through. The small steps that you need to take will permanently boost your morales when you got there. Even if you do not reach a certain small step, you not give up as easily because you would have told yourself that you made it this far, no point giving up.

What I lacked in my goals were the small little steps. The important steps that I need to put in so that I can truly work towards my goals. I need to get over the idea that reading more books will grant me my eventual success. I need to truly embrace the concept of getting down and under.

This applies to anything we do in life. It is not only for a better life. It is for everything. For love, for health, for prestige, for peace. Having a Big Dream is not enough. Neither is having small little steps. Everything needs to have the 2 aspect working hand in hand to endure Time.

My Life So Far

2008-11-23T14:39:00.000+08:00

THE year is going to end soon. The number of years left to achieve my goals will also be down by 1. So what have I done to move myself closer to that goal?

The first goal of having a networth of $1million by the age of 26 is still far from reach. My underlying plan is to have some investments, publish books and start 2 to 3 businesses.

So far, I've had one land banking investment that would double my money in 2 to 4 years. A book that I'm in the progress of writing and its still quite far from earning anything. I'm also an Education consultant for ERC institutes, my small time business.

My formal education stopped 3 years ago. Currently, I'm pursuing my interest in a diploma course of Digital Media Design. I'll soon hit a fork road where I'll have to choose boring employment or a life of excitement. My only relevant education comes from books that successful people wrote. They are my life mentors.

My relationship with my family has improved a little. I'm no longer The Tyrant. I could now be approached. My addiction for the computer is wearing off and now I have some other stuff which I found myself doing at home. But, I'm still far from being the perfect son and elder brother.

My inter-personal skills have declined. This is a sad fact and even though I'm conciously trying to halt the downward spiral, its eating me. It might have been because of my thoughts and my scrutiny of others and how they live their lives. This is one area that needs lots of work.

My faith. I have no god. I don't go to anyone seeking forgiveness. I hold responsibility over my own actions and will bear the consequence in this lifetime. What happens after this lifetime will be dealt with after I get there. Right now, I can't be bothered if someone is watching my moves. I write my own destiny and my conscience is my guide. Nothing to work on in this area. Spiritual life is none of my concern.

My entertainment has gone from weekly gatherings with old friends to sitting infront of the computer wondering what to do next. There's no line drawn for me. I'm studying my interest, doing what I enjoy doing every day of my life. I can't think of anything that would entertain me. I don't really get myself entertained by playing games. For one simple reason because I suck at it. It would struck at me as more of a waste of time than de-stressing. I'm not sure if anyone will classify getting a girlfriend as entertainment. That thought was in my head sometime ago, but it seemed to have lost its fun. Fighting invisible enemies sounds more and more stupid. It served less and less in removing excess fats compared to the work out routines I'm having. Any party loving person will view my life as a sad and uneventful one. But my excuse: Bitter first, sweet later. Enjoy when I have the capacity to.

My health is pink I suppose. No major illness. Probably some self-thought body defunctional syndromes. But I guess I'm doing fine. Current routine: Swimming 2.5km on every Tuesday and Napfa training on every Friday which consists of supervised training of the 6 sections in Napfa. My goal here is to get Gold for Napfa. Only obstacle is my 2.4km run, other stations are wavering around B~A range. Working steadily towards better stamina and speed. All's well.

Too early to make a new year's resolution. So I'll stop here. My idealogies are more or less established in my previous posts, so I guess I won't be as active in that area.

I realise that my mind was lighter than before I started blogging. Those exploding thoughts are better off written down and recorded rather than stored inside the brain.

Now my most important focus is to get my book out and in the mean time work on my business.

My New Book (Progress check)

2008-11-16T14:16:00.000+08:00

BOOK 1 of the Moneythology Series:

My First Big Book Of Money

Short Description:

This is a picture/story/informational/educational Book that is about A4 to A3 size. Colourful, interesting graphics that helps to bring out the message intended.
The purpose of this book is to:
· to provide a solution for parents to teach their children about the elusive subject of money
· to inform/educate the reader the origin of money and its purposes
· to stress the importance of saving to prepare for opportunities
· to educate reader about the different forms of money that existed in the past

Content:

The book has 4 sections

1. Introduction of Money Land-This is a 2 to 4 pages of graphics that brings the reader into a new world where the subject of money is made alive - It is a world that is from the imagination

2. The Origin of Money-This section is the story of how money first came into existence. -It is done so by stressing the trouble of barter trading without a medium of exchange -Lively characters and stunning environment will aim to capture the hearts of young readers

3. Other Forms of Money- This is the informative section where objects that people from the past had used as money before gold was used is displayed. Short text and graphics are present to explain and inform.

4. Case Study-

Importance of Saving- In this section, I aim to provide the true purpose of saving money.

It is often misunderstood that the purpose of saving is so that you can buy whatever you desire. This is the misconception that lead to many people not being able to move on ahead in life.

I intend to use this section to emphasize the significance of saving in order to grow your money. From bank accounts to high risk capital gain investments, the concept of delayed gratification and accumulation is the upmost focus.

This is done by demonstrating in a comparative case study between 3 person who have different money habits.(2 of them save, 1 do not; But the 2 who saves have different spending habits)The idea here is to compare who is the wealthiest of them all after a period of time.

Team Power:

I'm now working with 4 graphic designers. Gabriella, Shawn, Vanessa and Leroy. While I'm in-charge of the content, they are here to support me with the graphics. We are doing this in a two and a half month project. The draft should be out around 15th January 09.

The Next Step:

After the book is completed, we have to secure a sponsor to help us in getting the book printed. The quality of the book will be the focus of this project as the availability of sponsors depends alot upon our hardwork. We will get lots of feedback and implement them before the deadline of 30th January 09. I mentioned in the original post that the book will be published in June 09. We have 5 months to perk up the contents and add in certain stuff our sponsors might want to add in.

The Final Step:

Once the book is printed. We will be approaching book stores and schools to promote our book. The short-term goal is not to make lots of money. That goal is to make our book known and recognised so that the pathway for the entire series of 10 books will be paved.

Ultimate Goal:

Passive Income from book royalties.

Statistics And Facts Supporting My Hypothesis

2008-11-09T18:00:00.000+08:00

Here are the research and data collection for my article : Hypothesis Of Singapore's Financial Future

"In this new and changing environment, Singaporeans need to become more self-reliant in their financial affairs. They must acquire the knowledge and skills to manage their day-to-day finances, make prudent investments and plan for their longer-term needs."

- Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Mr. Lee Hsien Loong in a parliamentary address on 16 October 2003.

Business Related Trends

First I'll introduce a must know but not well known website where lots of information regarding Singapore can be found: http://www.sg/

Here is an pdf file of the Business Receipt Index for Service Industry 2nd Quarter 2008.
From this data, we can see that the service sector is doing fairly well, with an overall increase of 13.3%.

Areas mentioned include:

Communication and IT Services

Fianncial and Insurance Services

Real Estate and Leasing Services

Business Services

Education, Health and Recreational Services

Business Expectations Survey of the service sector shows the forecast of the 3rd quater. It demonstrated the optimism of Singapore Department of Statistics in areas like Hotel, Infomation & Communications, Transport & Storage, Real Estate, Business Services, Wholesale Trade by projecting a positive net balance percentage increments.

Singapore Manufactured Products & Domestic Supply Price Indices showed a decline in the manufacturing sector. It could be the result of the global financial slow down.

Business related information for aspiring entrepreneurs could be easily accessible at this website: http://www.business.gov.sg/

The site contained valuable information from start-up guide to funding options to business laws to exiting a business.

Below are some of the projects the government has engaged to maximise foreign land use

SuZhou Industrial Park

Indonesia and Singapore's Collaboration

Singapore And Indonesia Strengthen Commitment In Developing Sezs In Batam, Bintan And Karimun

Singapore and India's Collaboration

Attracting Foreign Visitors and Transforming into Consumer Paradise

Integrated Resort

http://app.mti.gov.sg/default.asp?id=585

http://www.integratedresorts.com.sg/gov/

A Hypothesis Of Singapore's Financial Future

2008-11-09T00:13:00.000+08:00

I'VE gotten interested in the future prospects of Singapore's developments and even came up with a theory of how things will change over the next 5 to 20 years. Currently, I have yet to research into the facts to support my theory. My assumptions are based on my existing knowledge as well as the insights and references I gained from reading several books.

After this, I wish to conduct my due diligence to prove the hypothesis. This will also help me in the book that I intend to write.

Here's my hypothesis:

In the near future, most Singaporeans will become extremely wealthy, owning 10% of the world's wealth. They will own stakes in major companies overseas or own big companies themselves which are based overseas.

The main island itself will become a nesting ground for entrepreneurs and business leaders. The shift will be away from having manufacturing factories based here. Instead, collaborations with countries that own large areas of land will serve as a bridge to share profits from manufacturing industries.

Singapore will focus on sectors like services and education, she will become a hub where workers all around the world can come and train to become better equipped with skills that companies are looking for. She will become the one-stop consumer paradise, with shopping areas covering almost 30% of the land space.

Singapore's revenues will come from many different sources.

By planting entrepreneurial seeds and instilling loyalty in her citizens, Singapore can count on oversea citizens to contribute to her wealth fund by sending their earnings back into developing the country.

Business professionals that were sent overseas will also contribute in similar ways. As they strive for excellence, they will hold respectable positions in foreign companies and earn high income.

The shopping centers, casinos, hotels, resorts etc here will form another source of foreign income. Visitors will visit Singapore for many reasons like leisure, business opportunities, networking, studying, enjoying a high class experience etc. Service industries will play a major role in making visitors come back.

An on the surface explanation for the above hypothesis is fairly simple.

Singapore has limited land. Limited natural resources(un-cut-able trees, reusable water). All she has is people. The best investment and bet that the government has made was on its people. Education is one of the most focused area here.

Being small, it is impossible to be self sufficient. The water, the food and even the air comes from countries all around the world. So, its only reasonable to make full use of that inevitable fact, let wealth come from outside too. See: Country Ranking Table

Singapore cannot setup big factories enough to produce products that can sustain her economy. So, the best option is to not do it in here. Let her citizens go overseas and setup factories and at the same time allow the host country to benefit from it (many projects of industrial parks in China. Will research and post supporting evidence).

Singapore has also earned its reputation of being a safe country. Taking advantage of its weakness, which is size, the level of security could be greatly increased without expending too much resources. In doing so, it makes visiting Singapore as a holiday location or setting up a business headquarters an extremely good choice. We have the infrastructure, the ready workforce, the business friendly tax laws and sound fiscal policies. Its almost irresistible.

Singapore also takes care of citizens who do not have entrepreneur flair or the expertise to work overseas. By increasing the service industry, the work force can shift to compliment the influx of visitors. The job opportunities are so inexhaustible that we still need to import foreign talents to fill the gaps. This move not only ensures that every citizens will have an income, it also provided the space for local workforce to grow. Its always better to have a lot of jobs before having too many workers. Foreign talents can be reduced without too much hard feelings on everyone's part, agree?

The future is so bright! I can almost not open my eyes.

I welcome you to post your comments on this topic. It's interesting and it concerns your future(if you are a Singaporean). I'll back my hypothesis with already happening trends and developments and gather the statistics necessary. So, tune in.

Statistics And Facts Supporting My Hypothesis

Is MBA The Future Passport For A Decent Job?

2008-11-03T21:43:00.000+08:00

HOLDING a master’s in business administration (MBA) could be a pre-requisite to any position you are eying in a big company sooner or later. As the world gets more complicated, not being financially prudent could spell disaster to anybody, but the greatest harm done is to yourself. Take this current crisis as a chance to sharpen your financial intelligence. Everyone's doing it, don't be left out.

Article below is taken from www.todayonline.com/articles/284969.asp

MBA: Back In Business

Matthew Lynn

THE credit crunch is already reshaping lives and forcing people to plan new careers.

In the United States and Britain, the two countries most affected by the financial-market turmoil, more and more people are signing up to do a master’s in business administration (MBA).

The days when arts graduates made good money doing public relations for hedge funds are over. There won’t be so many jobs for lightly-qualified bankers or private-equity executives as there have been in the past five years. The times are getting serious, and anyone who wants to prosper within a much tougher global economy will have to get serious as well.

A few years ago, it was possible to argue that the MBA, long regarded as the gold standard of business education, was in decline. GMAC, the Graduate Management Admission Council, tracks business schools around the world, from McLean, Virginia, monitoring the number of students applying for the course. By 2004, it was reporting a drop in applications to business schools.

Fast-forward to 2008, and that has turned around as bankers lose their jobs.

In August, the council reported that MBA applications were rising at the fastest pace in history. According to the Application Trends Survey of full-time programmes, 77 per cent of business schools had an increased number of applications this year, the highest rate in five years. That compared with64 per cent a year ago. Part-time and executive MBA programmes also had higher numbers. The survey covered 521 graduate management programmes in the US, Europe and elsewhere.

There are similar signs in Britain. “Demand from home and European Union students for business and management courses is up, particularly MBA courses,” says Ms Vicky Robinson, head of marketing communications at the Association of Business Schools in London.

So what’s going on? “Going to business school is one of the best ways to improve your marketability and expand your options anytime — but especially in this challenging economic climate,” Mr David Wilson, president of GMAC, said in a statement on the latest survey.

Business education is booming for several reasons. First, people are rightly nervous about the future. They are brushing up their qualifications in preparation for a far more competitive global labour market.

“Evidence from previous recessions shows us that business schools and universities tend to benefit as people undertake courses to ride out the recession and improve their own CVs,” Ms Robinson says.

Two, if you get fired, an MBA is going to help you find a new job. The GMAC survey found that three months before graduation, 57 per cent of MBA students already had employment, the highest rate since 2001. In a tougher job market, early offers will be even more of a bonus than in the past.

Three, studying is cheaper, not in real terms, but compared with what else you could do. In a bubble economy, it makes sense to be working because you can earn a lot of money. Students, meanwhile, make nothing and they have to pay for the course. In a recession, that equation is reversed. If you weren’t going to be earning much anyway, it’s better to study instead.

Four, the global economy is now experiencing an earthquake that needs to be analysed by business schools. It might be a decade or more before we fully comprehend the credit crunch, just as it took a long time to grasp the reasons for the Great Depression of the 1930s (and maybe we haven’t got there yet).

One thing is clear: The world is a lot more interconnected than it has ever been. A mortgage turns sour in Ohio, and six months later the Hungarian forint collapses. Anyone running a business in the next decade will need a deep understanding of how all the connections in the global economy hook up — the kind of thing they should be learning at business school. BLOOMBERG

The writer is a Bloombergcolumnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

What's more important than having no job?

2008-11-02T14:52:00.000+08:00

IMO, being picky in your choice of job is not only a right, but also your responsibility. Though articles have been criticizing Singaporeans for being too high and mighty for lowly jobs, it is not a sign for you to jump at any job opportunity. Choosing the way how we want to live is our absolute choice and no one can deny us of that.

Even in down times when you can't find the job of your dreams, constantly upgrading yourself is more important than being content at having a "just-enough-to-get-by" job. This ideal may be controversial. But to me, this mindset is the right mindset everyone should hold in order to constantly improve and live a better life.

Below is an article written by Eugene Wee, a writer of Singapore Press Holdings, Newpaper. The article appeared in THE NEWPAPER ON SUNDAY 2nd November 2008 pg 6

THE recession guessing game is here: Will our jobs be left standing, as the economy shrinks?

But fear not, Singaporeans have in our hands the power to turn unemployment to zero instantly.
How? Hold your horses while I paint the big picture.

Earlier this week, the Government released a report forecasting that unemployment is expected to rise over the next few quarters.

Some economists are even saying that the unemployment rate might almost double to 4 per cent (from the current 2.2 per cent) by the end of 2009 - a level not seen since the Sars period in 2003.

Employment figures released on Friday also showed the manufacturing, services and construction sectors added 20 per cent fewer jobs in the last quarter.

A quick poll among 10 of my friends on whether they feared for their jobs was predictable - they all said yes. Well, duh.

Half of them had mortgages and tuition fees to pay, and the rest were saddled with car loans.
So what will they do if they become the targets of 'right-sizing' (a fancy way of saying 'You're fired', Donald Trump style)?

Looking for another job was a given. But what if they couldn't find a job with equivalent pay?
Go for a lower paying job, they said.

But how low would they go?

Now, that's where the fun starts.

I asked one, who works as a manager in a local bank, if push came to shove, would he take up a job as a waiter or construction worker?

'No way. So malu (embarrassing in Malay),' he said, adding he would have to use up every last cent of his savings before he would even consider it.

The answer was the same for a female friend, when I suggested a job as a receptionist or spa assistant.

'If I have to serve one of my friends or family members, where to hide my face?' she shrieked.
Here's the rub.

There are more than enough jobs available in Singapore but Singaporeans are too choosy, it seems.

According to official figures, there are some 757,000 work permit holders and 143,000 on employment passes currently working here.

So, technically, if we really really really needed the jobs, we could presumably take over those currently handled by foreign workers.

The guys can take on work at our many construction sites. After all, we've done similar work during our stints in National Service - carrying heavy loads to and from trucks, digging trenches, shovelling sand.

The gals can parlay their charm into service sector positions. Beauty spa, retail store and healthcare jobs are all there for the taking.

But it seems that even in extreme times, 'face' trumps 'guts'.

Many people would rather sit around twiddling their thumbs, and live off their dwindling savings rather than take a job they deem to be 'beneath' them.

In a recent letter to a newspaper, a beauty spa owner lamented that no matter how many recruitment ads she placed, most of the replies she got were from recruitment agencies offering workers from China or the Philippines. Only 1 per cent of applications were from Singaporeans, she said.

There will soon be another 10,000 jobs up for grabs when the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort opens for business next year.

But despite the recession, the resort believes that it will still have trouble filling out all the positions, and may need to look for some foreign workers.

So with so many jobs presumably up for grabs, how can there be any unemployment at all?
Well, you might ask if I would take up a job that pays only a fraction of my current salary when the crunch time comes.

Of course. Because the last time I checked, 'face' wasn't listed as one of the payment methods on my credit card bill.

Various Investments You Might Want To Consider Buying

2008-11-02T14:48:00.000+08:00

DURING a financial crisis, when most people are panic selling, it is the best time to find investments. Below is an article I took from the NEWPAPER. It covers some of the small time investments you might consider using to hedge against your money against lost of value.

The article below written by ELYSA CHEN, a writer of Singapore Press Holdings, Newpaper. The article appeared in THE NEWPAPER ON SUNDAY 2nd November 2008 pg 12

Let finance crisis 'drive you to drink'

Whisky

Why you should invest: The value of whisky has not dropped in the last 720 years since they started making it in Ireland, said Mr Bill Hedman, managing director of venture capitalist firm Delemere Enterprises, which has its own distillery in Australia.

'At the very worst, if your investment crashes, you can go and get drunk on very good whisky, instead of holding on to a worthless piece of paper,' he added.

How to invest: You can buy whisky by the bottle or by the barrel.

What you should consider: The taste, rarity and reputation of the whisky, based on reviews by critics.

Investor tips: General manager of La Maison du Whisky Emmanuel Dron, who also invests in whisky, advises investors to buy only award-winning or limited-edition whiskies if they wish to get a good return on their investment.

Some bottles Mr Dron thinks are good buys - if you can still get your hands on one - are the limited-edition Laphroaig single-malt scotch whisky from 1974, which had only 910 bottles released worldwide.

The whisky won the award for the best whisky in the world in 2003.
A bottle cost $700 two years ago, but the price has shot up to $2,500 and will 'carry on increasing', Mr Dron said.

How much you need: If you are buying whisky by the bottle, the cheapest ones start at $80. If you are buying by the barrel, you need to set aside $30,000, which would include insurance, storage and bottling costs.

Wine

Why you should invest: Fine wine has been known to outperform stocks for the last three to five years, said Mr Andrew Bassett, trading director at the Australian Wine Index.

'The price of fine wines rarely goes backwards,' he said, adding that investors can look at returns of between 1 to 12 per cent per annum.

How to invest: You can buy wines by the bottle as an individual investor, or look for brokers like the Australian Wine Index to manage your portfolio.

What you should consider: Price of the wine, the vintage report containing details of how the grapes grew that year and whether it was a good crop, and critics' ratings.

You also need to be prepared to hold on to your wines for at least three years for more attractive returns.

Mr Bassett said: 'The worst market situation we have now is that people are selling their wines at 11 per cent profit instead of their expected 28to 32 per cent profit because it is a buyer's market now, and everyone is pushing prices lower.'

Still, Mr Bassett feels that wine is a 'good, solid investment' because while the prices of stocks and shares can drop by as much as 80 per cent, the worst that wine prices can do is to stagnate.

Investor tips: Mr Bassett feels that it is a 'great time' to buy Australian wines now, especially since the exchange rate has dropped by about 30per cent, so you can get good value for money.
Two years ago, one of Mr Bassett's clients bought a bottle of 2005 Mollydooker wine. It cost $125 a bottle then, but his client sold it this year for $350 a bottle.

Mr Bassett said that investors should maintain a portfolio of 70 per cent 'blue chip' wines and 30 per cent cult and emerging wines, which are more risky but have the potential for very high returns.

Art and antique furniture

Why you should invest: For a good collectible item, the price will never come down, said The Tomlinson Collection's regional manager Jack Thew.

How to invest: Buy art pieces and learn the tricks of the trade through personal experience, or find a respectable dealer.

What you should consider: Investing in art and antiques, unlike the stock market, is not purely about money.

Potential investors should understand trends in art and appreciate the beauty of the pieces in their own right, instead of buying them just as pure investments, said Mr Thew.

Investor tips: Chinese classical designs are an all-time favourite, said Mr Thew, with hard wood furniture made of Zitan wood and Huanghuali wood fetching the highest prices, sometimes more than $100,000 a piece.

Describing them as the blue chips of furniture investment, Mr Thew said: 'The prices of furniture made of those types of wood have increased like crazy.

'This is because they are imperial wood, which was used by the rich and famous. It is also a precious timber, because it takes more than 100 years just to grow six inches of the wood.'

However, not all pieces made of Zitan or Huanghuali wood may fetch the same value because of the different styles and designs of the subject, cautioned Mr Thew.

Investors can also look at buying thousand-year-old terracotta art pieces due to their rarity, said Mr Thew.

High-end watches

Why you should invest: People who put their money in watches are holding value that is better than what they have put into their stocks, said Mr Patrick Tan, executive vice-president of Sincere and head of the Sincere Watch Academy.

One such example is the Patek Phillippe Calatrava, which has doubled in price since it was produced 15 years ago, said Mr Tan.

Prices of watches increase because the cost of producing watches has gone up, explained Mr Tan.
However, it is difficult to determine how much watches appreciate by as consumer tastes are always changing, he added.

What you should consider: Look at the heritage of the brand, the craftsmanship and the engineering of the watch.

More established brands include Patek Phillippe and A. Lange & Sohne.
However, Mr Tan was quick to add that watches are not like durians, and there are no quick tips or 'bao jia' (sure win) guarantees for investors.

The key to investing is still having a good knowledge of watches and doing intensive research.
Investor tips: Buy innovative watches and special-edition watches, such as those released by watchmakers when they celebrate their anniversaries.

However, these are available only to a select few collectors who can 'justify that they are supporters of the brand', Mr Tan said.

One such watch, the Sincere Jubilee A. Lange & Sohne Double Split, released by Sincere during its 50th anniversary celebrations, fetched its owner a 40 to 50 per cent return when he auctioned it off six months later.

Only five of the limited-edition watches were made available to customers.
But Mr Tan's most important tip is for investors to buy what they enjoy.

'It would be a sad situation if people buy the watches purely for investment, but do not enjoy the watches,' he said.

The Right Career Choice?

2008-10-30T20:43:00.000+08:00

FINDING the right career can be a frustrating choice many people will go through in life.

What jobs to do to ensure a stable and comfortable lifestyle can be a very challenging task to an individual. Research revealed that more than 65% of the working adults do not enjoy what they are doing at work.

While we can intoxicate ourselves in endless education years to delay making the choice towards choosing our career, it is more often than not self-defeating and a waste of time.

Time is such a precious asset that I cannot stress enough its importance. It is given to us so that we can make the most out of our life. Spending time studying stuff you have wavering interests in, or does not have a promising future is a painful waste of your precious time.

So what can you do?

I agree that choosing a career path is an extremely delicate and important process for an individual. This is what determines how enjoyable your life will be.

Here's a good news: You are totally in control of that choice.

Only you will know what is best for yourself. What a third person like myself can do, is to lay out the big picture; find out your interest then offer advice; and determine your capabilities to provide you with options which you might consider taking up.

Finding your interest

Since everyone has the capabilities to do anything that he or she sets their mind to do, the decisive factor then lies in your interest.

Taking on a job that you are extremely handy at; but have totally no passion in doing it is not going to make your life enjoyable, agree? You'll eventually be bored.

One can babble on and on about the benefits of so and so industries and how it will become the new big thing. But if it is not your cup of tea, it is not your cup of tea. It still balls down to what interests you most.

However, finding your interests can also be not as simple as it sounds.

We humans have a range of things we enjoy doing, it is subjective.

One moment you can find yourself worked up about going on a bike hike and another moment you just want to stay home and indulge in the virtual world.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with being fickle. We all have the right to do what we want to do whenever we want to do it. The thing to ask yourself will be, what benefit will the things you are doing bring you? How efficient has your precious asset been utilized?

Don't worry if you have lots of stuff that you would enjoy doing. In fact, its a good thing that your interest lies in many areas. Because, it shows how flexible you are, and the more flexible you can be, the better you thrive.

Spending time thinking about your interest and how you can turn it into your career is time worth spending on. Instead of watching TV or going shopping, why not take some time out and contemplate what kind of life you want to lead? Isn't that more beneficial?

Do yourself the favour of thinking about your future. Your own future is more important to you than anybody else isn't it?

The Importance of Financial Literacy

2008-10-27T15:25:00.000+08:00

Check out The New Paper Article: Make Financial Literacy An A-Level Subject?

HEY! Smart people who are reading this post, can I ask you to ask yourself this question?
Its not an A level question, so it is not really hard to answer.

What are the chances of you not getting involved with money the moment you enter society?

I'm sure that the thing most of us will be focusing on, the moment we enter society, is to secure a job. Nothing wrong with that.

In fact, it is the right thing to do. Being a dependant is a no-no and I'm sure many of us would not want to stay that way for too long.

My stance has changed in comparison to several of my earlier posts. I do not attack job holders like I used to before.

In fact, I'm now encouraging people to hold a job that they truly enjoy doing. As society evolves, the correct education becomes crucial if you want to thrive.

Do you agree that no one can possess all the information that is circulating around the entire world in his life time?

The world we live in now is changing so fast that we are forced to move along with it to keep up.

Financial education is no longer a hobby subject.

With so many institutions stressing the importance of managing your own wealth, chances are, those who do not possess this knowledge will become obsolete.

This is a saddening fact. As the financial world gets more and more complicated, more and more sophisticated investment instruments will become more and more prominent.

In the near future, terms like mutual funds and bonds will become only a small fraction of what the whole financial world has to offer for investors. Ignorant people will practically be drowned in investment choices.

Like I have mentioned before, making money is simple to understand but its not easy to do.

I'm not sure about you, but I've asked myself this question: What if I'm left behind?

What is it that you have done to make sure you do not fall behind the investing herd?

Does knowing the chemical composition of hydrochloric acid or memorising the formula of differentiation going to help you solve your money problems?

I'll stress the points of the article above.

Thinking skills are important. But they can only get you so far.

The Analogy

Take running and driving a car.

Which activity requires more effort?
Which activity covers the most distance?
Which activity requires more effort to master?
Which activity is ultimately more efficient?

Running is like working in a job. You spent decades to learn how to run as well as train your body to run further and faster. But how far can you get?

Driving a car is like knowing how money works. Though it takes a longer time to learn and it costs more. But learning how to use a tool will allow you to reach your goals faster. It requires less effort on the long run and you cover more distance in a shorter time.

Before financial literacy becomes a compulsory subject taught in schools, why not give yourself a head start?

Believe it or not, the future generations will be equipped with far more effective society survival skills than what you have now.

If that pose a threat to your livelihood, isn't it time to take action?

There is a solution, but it is not something to be given freely to half-hearted, sceptical people shopping around for easy get-aways.

I'm sure you will choose for yourself whether you want that edge over others. I welcome you to post your concerns regarding your future.

Check out this quiz to test your financial knowledge
http://www.savingadvice.com/quiz.php?quiz=7&page=quiz

Make Financial Literacy An A-Level Subject

2008-10-26T15:06:00.000+08:00

Below is an article written by Eugene Wee, a writer of Singapore Press Holdings, Newpaper. The article appeared in THE NEWPAPER ON SUNDAY 26 October 2008 pg 2

I KNOW the A-level exams are just over a week away, so what I'm about to suggest may get some very heavy textbooks thrown at me.

How about we add another compulsory subject to the A-levels - financial literacy.

With the recent incidents of investors losing huge chunks of their savings to the failure of DBS High Notes 5 and Lehman Minibonds investment products, there's no better time to relook whether we should make financial literacy a part of our school curriculum.

In a street poll poll of 100 people done by The New Paper earlier this year, nine out of 10 people believe that financial literacy should be taught in schools.

Last week, one reader wrote to The Straits Times Forum page advocating the same thing - that financial literacy be made a core subject in schools rather than being relegated to supplementary or enrichment lessons.

I think we should go even further - make it an examinable subject.

Even better, it should eventually become an A-level subject. I can almost hear the chorus of outraged parents now - why burden our children, who are stressed enough as it is, by making them study for yet another exam?

Why not just make it a non-examinable subject that they can just learn without having to worry about how to score another 'A'?

Here's why: If the subject isn't interesting, it's going to be a case of one ear in, one ear out.

For a teenager, financial literacy is about as juicy and interesting a subject as advanced thermodynamics.

However, learning how stock markets work, how unit trusts function, and how to diversify your investments at different points of your life are skills that everyone will need sooner or later.

Far more students will find themselves in need of this knowledge in their adult lives than, say, calculus and titration.

And by making financial literacy examinable, you force students to internalise the concepts that they will no doubt make use of later in their lives.

If we are made to learn about financial literacy, then maybe we won't be caught in the situation of the many retirees who plonked their nest eggs into a single risky structured fund without knowing that they could lose it all.

This would have been covered in Chapter 3: Diversifying your portfolio, and Chapter 13: Types of investment products and how they work.

Others who were close to retirement would also not have put all their retirement savings in unit trusts, which have shed by half due to the financial turmoil.

They would have known that the closer you are to retirement, the larger the proportion of your savings should be in safer investments like bonds.

That would have been covered in Chapter 7: Asset allocation for retirement.

Of course, even then, students won't likely be able to understand the inner workings of the Minibonds product. They won't have to, as long as they know it belongs to a category of products that can be considered risky so that they can make more informed financial decisions in the future.

Studying subjects like chemistry and advanced mathematics may be all well and good because they teach you thinking skills.

But financial literacy is a life skill, something that's not just nice for you to know, but something that you will need to know if you want to retire well.

Can't say the same for trigonometry now, can we?

When It's Good To Destroy

2008-10-26T15:00:00.000+08:00

Below is an article written by Zhen Ming, a Harvard-trained economist based in Singapore, a freelance contributor to Singapore Press Holdings, Newpaper. The article appeared in THE NEWPAPER ON SUNDAY 26 October 2008 pg 17

"NOT all of The Great Crash is bad.

If history is to repeat itself, what will follow has to be not only good for the world's economy, but would probably be better than its previous model.

On Friday, on the 79th anniversary of the stock market crash that began the Great Depression, Wall Street joined stock markets around the world in a huge sell-off.

This massive sell-off sent major market indexes to their lowest levels in more than five years, on the belief that a punishing economic recession is at hand.

This fear of economic history repeating itself is part of the dog-eat-dog world of big-time business.

Except, here, we business-types prefer to call it 'creative destruction'.

Creative destruction is good

This is a term first coined by economist Joseph Schumpeter in his work entitled Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy (1942) to denote a 'process of industrial mutation that incessantly revolutionises the economic structure from within, incessantly destroying the old one, incessantly creating a new one'.

In business, creative destruction - not unlike greed - is not only inevitable, it is good.

Creative destruction occurs when something new (usually better) 'kills' something older.

Out of this seemingly merciless destruction, a new spirit of creativity arises.

A great example of this would be the advent of personal computers.

The PC industry - led by Microsoft and Intel - destroyed many mainframe computer companies in the process.

A dozen years ago, James Grant - perhaps one of the wisest commentators on Wall Street - wrote a book called The Trouble with Prosperity.

Grant's survey of financial history basically captures his crusty theory of 'economic predestination'.

According to Grant, we all go through cycles of self-delusion, sometimes too giddy and sometimes too glum.

The consolation is that the genesis of the next business take-off usually lies in the ruins of the last economic slowdown.

Essentially, our economic triumphs and follies will always follow a predestined circular rhythm - one that can be influenced but never be circumvented.

Thus, if things seem dismal now, they will surely get better. Crisis, in fact, spawns opportunities and progress.

Heroic examples from history

And there are enough heroic examples from history that might encourage you.

Walt Disney, for instance, lost an acting job as a movie extra and started his famous cartoon company in a garage during the recession of 1923-1924.

Years later, in 1938, William Hewlett and David Packard teamed up in Silicon Valley during the Great Depression.

And then there's Bill Gates. He dropped out of Harvard College to launch Microsoft during a downturn in 1975.

The Great Depression debate

The recent bailout events - the stock market's wild swings - have thrust everyone from Seattle to Singapore into a debate about the risks of another Great Depression.

Has enough been done to protect the economy? Who or what caused this mess? Also, what does all this mean?

If you must know, it means that, in terms of the stock market, the Dow Jones industrial average will again find its way back down near 7,000 to see whether that is the new floor, or if it is somewhere even below that.

It means, buckle up, we're in for a lousy economy.

And it also means the financial sector is not out of the woods and more banks could get in trouble.

Rest assured, however, after a recessionary phase, the expansionary phase will start again.

After all, in the repetitive circle of business life, bad times can only breed good.

Something you can, most definitely, count on."

The reason this article caught my attention was because it has some similiarity to my post
http://moneythology.blogspot.com/2008/08/rise-and-fall-of-economy.html

In that post, I highlighted the rising and falling of economies as an inevitable phenomenon.

My First Asset Investment

2008-10-23T15:16:00.000+08:00

Information Regarding The Investment

Investment Type:
Land Banking

Investment Period:
2 to 4 years

Investment Nature:
Capital gain

Annualized Rate of Return:
15% to 23% compounded interest

Return on investment:
40% to 80%

Investment amount:
US$10,000 (1/2,769th registered undivided interest in the land)

Investment information:
Arcade Meadows Phase 1
Jackson County, Georgia
- Located approximately 97 km northeast of downtown Atlanta, Arcade Meadows Phase 1 features approximately 335.66 acres of land(1.358 km²) and is named after the neighboring city of Arcade. The Property is situated 18.6 km northwest of Athens and 38 km southeast of Gainesville, providing access to two major employment centers.

-Planning status: The property is currently zoned mixed use and is within the Planned Community Zoning designation of City of Arcade.

-Top 4 Features:

The Mega Region: The Piedmont Atlantic Mega region (PAM) is a defined growth corridor located in the southeastern United States. The PAM consists of a large economic network of metropolitan regions linked by environmental systems, geography, infrastructure and growth. The state of Georgia is one of six states located within this mega region.

The PAM is :
- The fastest growing mega region in the U.S.
- Inhabited by approximately 47 million people
- Expected to grow to 82 million people by 2050
- Representative of almost 7% of total U.S. land area
- 12.5% of U.S. Gross Domestic Product ($1.7 trillion USD in GDP)
  
  Sources: America 2050, Leaders Agree Megaregion Strategy is Key to Addressing 21st Century Challenges in the Piedmont Atlantic Region, August 13, 2008; Georgia Tech, Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development, last visited August 27, 2008.
The Fortune Top 12: Atlanta, Georgia is home to 12 of the most profitable companies in the world. A pro growth and business friendly mentality creates an environment attractive to many large global companies such as Coca-Cola, Newell Rubbermaid, Delta Airlines and UPS.

Atlanta, Georgia is :
- Headquarters to 12 Fortune 500 companies
- An attractive commerce center with low corporate taxes
- The least expensive city in the U.S. for business
- Ranked 6th in the U.S. for job creation (2007)
- Home to many large industrial and distribution centers
- A diverse economic center with not one industry accounting for more than 20% of the entire economy
  
  Sources: 2007 Metro Atlanta Rankings - Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, last visited August 18, 2008; April 2008 Fortune 500 Issue, www.metroatlantachamber.com/macoc/business/img/Fortune1000.pdf.
The Gateway of Growth: A complex network of infrastructure, including super highways, rail links, commuter trains and air transport, is guiding long term sustainable frowth in the Atlanta region.

The Gateway of Growth is:
- Home to the busiest airport in the world (over 85 million passengers per year)
- The access point to 80% of the U.S. Population (2 hours by plane /2 days by truck)
- The central hub where 3 major U.S. highways converge
- The rail center of the south
- Home to three world renowned universities
  
  Sources: Georgia Department of Transportation and GVA Advantis; www.georgiabraintrain.com/; Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Moody's Economy.com, Global Insight; America 2050, Leaders Agree Megaregion Strategy is Key to Addressing 21st Century Challenges in the Piedmont Atlantic Region, August 13, 2008; Georgia Tech, Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development, las visited August 27, 2008.
The Land Plan: Encroached by growth on all sides (Atlanta, Gainsville and Athens), Jackson County displays strong target market fundamentals conducive to Walton's business model.

The Land Plan is:
- Acquiring land with a future
- Managing pressures and barriers to growth
  (topography, demographics, costs)
- Partnering with pro growth cities and goevrnment bodies
- Implementing a buying strategy to ensure sub market dominance

-Quick Facts:

Formerly known as Terminus, Atlanta was the zero-mile marker for where the Western & Atlantic Railroads met the Georgia Railroad
St. Joseph's Hospital was foudned in 1880 and today, is the oldest Atlanta hospital still in operation
In 1929, Atlanta's downtown street level was moved one and a half stories above ground level to cover the numerous railway tracks throughout city
The city of Atlanta played host to the Olympic Games in 1996

Information Regarding The Company Invested In

Walton International Group

With 29 years of experience in the real estate market, Walton is one of the largest managers and operators of raw land in North America. Using our expertise, Walton focuses on the purchase of strategically located raw land in the path of development of key North American cities, a concept known as land banking. Traditionally reserved for large institutions or corporations, Walton makes land banking available to qualified investors.

Low correlation to equities, bonds and commodities
Consistent, proven performance
Long term positive, low volatility returns

-Investment Principles

Identification of solid land banking opportunities, structuring these for medium term investment, preparing the raw land for development, and successfully closing exist offers from third party purchasers.
Corporate goal of doubling the value of investors' funds i 4 to 6 years
Aiming for consistent simple positive returns of 20.0% p.a. while preserving a profile of low volatility performance

-Buying Low, Selling High (Capital Gain investment)

-Track Record

36 Full Cycle Investment Programs
15.88% p.a. (compound)
23.5% p.a. (simple)

-Distributions

CAD$573 Million Distributed in the Last 3 Years

-Experience

29 Years of Expertise
Never Lost Investor's Funds when Held to Maturity

-Scope

57,000 acres under Management or Contract

-Service

14 Offices in 7 Countries
45,000 Clients Globally

Investment Risks

Time
In cases where the land was not able to be developed within time frame due to unforeseen circumstances, there will be a delay in availability for exiting.
The availability of offers for exiting also determine the rate or return as well as the speed of return.
-Risk is not within my control
Exchange Rate
At the time of exit, the exchange rate might be higher or lower than when I entered the investment. If the rate is lower, I might lose out on a % of return if I chose to convert it to Singapore Dollar. But there will be a bonus if the rates are higher.
-Risk is not within my control
Scam
In the case where this investment is a scam, I will lose all my investment capital. This risk can be avoided on the due diligence on my part. So far, from several sources like online forums and magazine articles and offhand conversations, I've gathered that Walton International exists and has been reputed for delivering their claims.
-Risk is within my control
Cash In Need During Emergency
In cases where I need to get back my money before maturity of investment, the company can file my request to search for willing buyers of my share of investment. Depending on the buyer, I could lose some amount or make a smaller amount of profit due to immature exiting.
-Risk is within my control

Rationale For Purchasing This Investment

I couldn't allow spare cash that is being eroded by inflation idle in bank accounts
This investment offers low volatility and medium rate of returns enough to beat inflation.
I understand the value of land and that this investment has a very low chance of going stale
Land is limited, and it can be reshaped, restructured and reused for many purposes to increase in its value, therefore, it depends on the developer to boost the land's value
The investment amount is reasonable and within my reach
The agent appears to be trustworthy and helpful
The time frame of this investment is short and I could live without the money during this period of time.

Whether or not this investment will be profitable, it is a good learning experience. I've already identified several mistakes that I made when I bought this investment. But if all goes well, those mistakes might not lead to a disaster.

Change People Without Giving Offense Or Arousing Resentment

2008-10-20T16:49:00.001+08:00

Begin with praise and honest appreciation

IT IS always easier to listen to unpleasant things after we have heard some praise of our good points.

A barber lathers a man before he shaves him.

Beginning with praises is like the dentist who begins his work with Novocain. The patient still gets a drilling but the Novocain is pain killing.

Call attention to people's mistakes indirectly

Many people begin their criticism with sincere praise followed by the word "but" and ending with a critical statement.

The person receiving this might feel encouraged until he heard the word "but". He might then question the sincerity of the original praise. To him, the praise seemed only to be a contrived lead-in to a critical inference of failure. Credibility would be strained, and probability to achieve objective of changing the person's attitude would decrease.

This could be easily be overcome by changing the word "but" to "and."

The person would accept the praise because there was no follow-up of an inference of failure. We have called his attention to the behaviour we wished to change indirectly, and the chances are he will try to live up to our expectations.

Calling attention to one's mistakes indirectly works wonders with sensitive people who may resent bitterly any direct criticism.

Ask questions instead of giving direct orders

It isn't nearly so difficult to listen to a recital of your faults if the person criticizing begins by humbly admitting that he too, is far from impeccable.

Admitting one's own mistakes - even when one hasn't corrected them - can help convince somebody to change his behaviour.

Talk about your own mistakes before criticizing the other person

Resentment caused by a brash order may last a long time - even if the order was given to correct an obviously bad situation.

Asking questions not only makes an order more palatable; it often stimlates the creativity of the persons whom you ask. People are more likely to accept an order if they have had a part in the decision that caused the order to be issued.

Let the other person save face

Letting one save face is vitally important. Few of us ever stop to think of it. We ride roughshod over the feelings of others, getting our own way, finding fault, issuing threats, criticizing a child or an employee in front of others, without even considering the hurt to the other person's pride.

A few minutes' thought, a considerate word or two, a genuine understanding of the other person's attitude, would go so far towards alleviating the sting.

Even if we are right and the other person is definitely wrong, we only destroy ego by causing someone to lose face.

"I have no right to say or do anything that diminishes a man in his own eyes. What matters is not what I think of him, but what he thinks of himself. Hurting a man in his dignity is a crime."

Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be "hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise."

"Praise is like the sunlight to the warm human spirit; we cannot flower and grow without it. And yet, while most of us are only too ready to apply to others the cold wind of criticism, we are somehow reluctant to give our fellow the warm sunshine of praise"

We all crave appreciation and recognition, and will do almost anything to get it. But nobody wants insincerity. Nobody wants flattery.

Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to

If you want to improve a person in a certain respect, act as though that particular trait were already one of his or her outstanding characteristics.

Give them a fine reputation to live up to, and they will make prodigious efforts rather than see you disillusioned.

Use encouragement. Make he fault seem easy to correct

Tell someone that he or she is stupid or dumb at a certain thing, has no gift for it, and is doing it all wrong, and you have destroyed almost every incentive to try to improve.

But if you are liberal with your encouragement, make the thing seem easy to do, let the other person know that you have faith in his or her ability to do it, that he has an undeveloped flair for it - and he will practise until dawn comes in the window in order to excel.

Make the other person happy about doing the things you suggest.

To change attitude or behaviour

Be sincere. Do not promise anything that you cannot deliver. Forget about the benefits to yourself and concentrate on the benefits to the other person.
Know exactly what it is you want the other person to do.
Be empathetic. Ask yourself what is it the other person really wants.
Consider the benefits that person will receive from doing what you suggest.
Match those benefits to the other person's wants.
When you make your request, put it in a form that will convey to the other person the idea that he personally will benefit.

It is naive to believe you will always get a favourable reaction from other persons when you use these approaches, but you are more likely to change attitudes this way than by not using these principles.

You can own this book through Amazon.com

The Undo Button

2008-10-17T23:04:00.000+08:00

AFTER reading the book by Dale Carnegie, How to win friends and influence people, I unconsciously thought about the scene that had happened in the past between me and my first girlfriend.

We were standing on the stair ways outside her house like we always did before we bade each other good bye. This time round, we met up in the status of friends. It was after our broke up and we thought it would be best if we could maintain contact with each other.

The me at that time was fired up by the materials from the book written by Adam Khoo. I found the contents so important that I find anyone who doesn't have that knowledge as people who can't survive in this society.

How foolish is that?

It was indeed moronic. Moronic in a sense that I overlooked a very important thing that made us human beings.

Self-worth

By having that stupid mentality, I made 80% of the world my enemies. It wouldn't be that bad if I had first learnt how to deal with people.

But I hadn't, and that led me to fall off a cliff of no return.

Guess what was the very first thing I did?

I preached to the most important person during that part of my life.

Without the knowledge or equipment of handling human emotion, I rammed what I believed into the very person I cared about.

Make a guess again what happened.

Dark thunderclouds loomed and strong gale ravaged. It was a bloodbath.

In short, we quarreled.

Nobody likes to be pointed at and announced that their way of thinking is wrong.
Even if that person realizes his or her mistakes, nobody will admit it in the face of an aggressor.
Nobody likes to have another persons way of thinking rammed into them. People always tend to like the fact that they thought out that way of thinking themselves.
Nobody likes to be bossed around, no matter how important that person is to you.

GG.

The best part of all is, I didn't even know why I had received such a strong reaction.

A dumb ass would know better. But not me.

I persisted with my preaching. The war lasted for a certain time. Both of us got out of it heavily wounded. Eventually, I labeled her way of thinking different and allowed the matter to be fixed as it was.

Let's come back to now.

What if I knew? What if I was not that brash? What if I was a dumb ass?

"Please let me undo all the sins I've committed!"

"NOT"

...

why not?

here's why...

I wouldn't have understood the reason for being who I am now.

We need to constantly change, improve. We need to be able to put down the past and only pick it up to learn its lessons.

The undo button, the ctrl+z, I'm more relieved that it didnt exist in real life than I'd resent it. Undo buttons remove traces of unpleasant history. But it is from these unpleasant history that we can learn the most from.

Each time we fall, we stand up but we do not neccessarily become stronger. Only when we think back and understood why we fell, would we then become stronger.

The me with the undo button will not understand the importance of handling people. I'll end up undoing each time I hit a wall, and that will become a permanent thing since I'll never find out why I hit a wall. The wall will just be undone. I'll just repeat what I've done and hit another wall. And undoing and hitting and undoing...

That's a bigger GG than before.

So if you are somebody who can't let go of the past, pray for an undo button in your life.

If it doesn't comes true, good for you. If it does, good luck!

You will enter the parody of wishing that you hadn't made that wish but do not understood why you made it after you undid it, and you'll make the same wish again, only to find yourself disliking the undo button. You'll be making that wish, undoing the wish and end up making the wish for an undo button again... and again... and again...

So if the undo button isn't the way out? What then?

You figure it out yourself.

Win People To Your Way Of Thinking

2008-10-16T20:10:00.000+08:00

The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it

YOU can't win an argument. You can't because if you lose it, you lose it; and if you win it, you lose it. Why? Well, suppose you triumph over the other man and shoot his argument full of holes and proves that he is non compos mentis. Then what? you will feel fine. But what about him? You have made him feel inferior. You have hurt his pride. He will resent your triumph.

A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.

If you argue and rankle and contradict, you may achieve a victory sometimes; but it will be an empty victory because you will never get your opponent's good will.

"Hatred is never ended by hatred but by love"

A misunderstanding is never ended by an argument but by tact, diplomacy, conciliation and a sympathetic desire to see the other person's viewpoint.

No man who is resolved to make the most of himself can spare time for personal contention. Still less can he afford to take the consequences, including the vitiation of his temper and the loss of self-control.

Better give your path to a dog than be bitten by him in a contesting for the right. Even killing the dog would not cure the bite.

How to prevent disagreement from becoming an argument?

Welcome the disagreement:- "when two partners always agree, one of them is not necessary." Be thankful if there is some point you haven't thought about. It is your opportunity to be corrected before making mistake.

Distrust your first instinctive impression:- The natural reaction to a disagreement is usually to be defensive. Keep it in check for it may be you at your worst.

Control your temper:- The size of a person can be measured by what makes him or her angry.

Listen first:- Allow bridges of understanding to be built by letting your opponent finish his talk. Do not resist, defend or debate for it only raises a higher barrier of misunderstanding.

Look for areas of agreement:- After hearing what your opponent has said, dwell first on the points an areas on which you agree.

Be honest:- If you made a mistake, apologize and admit it. It will disarm your opponents and reduce defensiveness.

Promise to think over your opponent's ideas and study them carefully:- It is easier to agree to think about their points than to move rapidly ahead and find yourself in a position where your opponents can say: "We tried to tell you, but you wouldn't listen."

Thank your opponents sincerely for their interest:- Think of those who took time to disagree with you as people who are interested and wanted to help, you may turn your opponent into friends.

Postpone action to give both sides time to think through the problem:- Suggest to resolve the issue on another time when all facts have been gathered. Assess your situation and choose the best argument that can benefit both parties.

When one person yells, the other should listen: - because when two people yell, there is no communication, just noise and bad vibrations."

Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never say, "You're wrong."

Men must be taught as if you taught them not. And things unknown proposed as things forgot.

You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him to find it within himself.

"Be wiser than other people if you can; but do not tell them so."

"One thing only I know, and that is that I know nothing."

You will never get into trouble by admitting that you maybe wrong. That will stop all argument and inspire your opponent to be just as fair and open and broadminded as you are. It will make him want to admit that he, too, may be wrong.

Few people are logical. Most of us are prejudiced and biased. Most of us are blighted with preconceived notions, with jealousy, suspicion, fear, envy and pride.

When we are wrong, we may admit it to ourselves. And if we are handled gently and tactfully, we may admit to others and even take pride in our frankness and broad-mindedness. But not if someone else is trying to ram the unpalatable fact down our esophagus.

"Agree with thine adversary quickly."

"Be diplomatic, it will help you gain your point."

If you are wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically

Say about yourself all the derogatory things you know the other person is thinking or wants to say of intends to say them. Chances are that a generous forgive attitude will be taken and your mistakes will be minimized.

Any fool can try to defend his or her mistakes - and most fools do - but it raises one above the herd and gives one a feeling of nobility and exultation to admit one's mistakes.

"By fighting you never get enough, but by yielding you get more than you expect"

Begin in a friendly way

If a man's heart is rankling with discord and ill feeling towards you, you can't win him to your way of thinking with all the logic in Christendom. Scolding parents and domineering bosses and husbands and nagging wives ought to realize that people don't want to change their minds. They can't be forced or driven to agree with you or me. But they may possibly be led to, if we are gentle and friendly, ever so gentle and ever so friendly.

"A drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall."

The sun can make you take off your coat more quickly than the wind; and kindliness, the friendly approach and appreciation can make people change their minds more readily than all the bluster and storming in the world.

Get the other person saying "yes, yes" immediately

In talking with people, don't begin by discussing the things on which you differ. Begin by emphasizing - and keep on emphasizing - the things on which you agree. Keep emphasizing if possible, that you are both striving for the same end and that your only difference is the one of method and not of purpose.

When a person says "No" and really mean it, he or she is doing far more than saying a word of two letters. The entire organism - glandular, nervous, muscular - gathers itself together into a condition of rejection. The whole neuromuscular system set itself on guard against acceptance. On the contrary, when a person says "Yes" none of the withdrawal activities takes place. The organism is in a forward-moving, accepting, open attitude. Hence the more "Yeses" we can induce, the more likely we are to succeed on capturing the attention for our ultimate proposal.

"He who treads softly goes far."

Let the other person do a great deal of the talking

Most people trying to win others to their way of thinking do too much talking themselves. Let the other people talk themselves out. They know more about their problems than you do. SO ask them questions. Let them tell you a few things.

If you disagree with them you may be tempted to interrupt. But don't. It is dangerous. They won't pay attention to you while they still have a lot of ideas of their own crying for expression. So listen patiently and with an open mind. Be sincere about it. Encourage them to express their ideas fully.

Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers

Don't you have much more faith in ideas that you discover for yourself than in ideas that are handed to you on a silver platter? It is wiser to make suggestions - and let the other person think out conclusion.

"The reason why rivers and seas receive the homage of a hundred mountain streams is that they keep below them. Thus they are able to reign over all the mountain streams. So the sage, wishing to be above men, putteth himself below them; wishing to be before them, he putteth himself behind them. Thus though his place be above men, they do not be feel his weight; though his place be before them, they do not count it an injury."

Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view

There is a reason why the other man thinks and acts as he does. Ferret out that reason - and you have the key to his actions, perhaps to his personality.

"Stop a minute to contrast your keen interest in your own affairs with your mild concern about anything else. Realize then, that everybody else in the world feels exactly the same way."

Success in dealing with people depends on a sympathetic grasp of the other persons' viewpoint."

Seeing things through another person's eyes may ease tensions when personal problems become overwhelming.

"I would rather walk the sidewalk in front of a person's office for two hours before an interview than step into that office without a perfectly clear idea of what I was going to say and what that person - from my knowledge of his or her interests and motives - was likely to answer."

Be sympathetic with the other person's idea and desires

"Sympathy the human species universally craves. The child eagerly displays his injury; or even inflicts a cut of bruises in order to reap abundant sympathy. For the same purpose adults show their bruises, relate their accidents, illness, especially details of surgical operations. 'Self-pity' for misfortunes real or imaginary, is in some measure, practically a universal practice."

Appeal to the nobler motives

"A person usually has two reasons for doing a thing: one that sounds good and a real one."

The person himself will think of the real reason. Being idealist at heart, all of us like to think of motives that sounds good. So, in order to change people, appeal to nobler motives.

The only sound basis to assume about a person is that he or she is sincere, honest, truthful and willing and anxious to pay the charges, once convinced that they are correct.

People are honest and want to discharge their obligation. The exceptions are comparatively few, and the individuals who are inclined to chisel will in most cases react favorably if you make them feel that you consider them honest, upright and fair.

Dramatize your ideas

The movies do it. TV does it. Why don't you do it?

Throw down a challenge

The way to get things done is to stimulate competition. Not in sordid money-getting way, but in the desire to excel.

The one major factor that motivated people was the work itself. If the work was exciting and interesting, the worker looked forward to doing it and was motivated to do a good job.

That is what every successful person loves: the game. The chance for self-expression. The chance to prove his or her worth, to excel, to win.