Rich Money Habits

Today I’d like to let you in on a secret.  Do you want to feel blessed? Beyond your expectations?  To your wildest dreams? Simple. You just need to learn to be ‘grateful’.

What? That’s it?! You say.  This is one of life’s biggest paradox.  That what you think about most, will come back to you a thousand-fold.  The more you think about your problems, the more they become bigger. The more you listen and entertain yourself with mindless gossip and tragic events of other people’s lives, the more you get depressed and think that life is miserable.

This is the reason why I think, listening to “news” on TV is the single biggest mistake you can ever make during your day. Why? Simple. You get all the negative things from all over the world, the strangest and the most tragic events throughout the day, seamlessly collected and served to you 100%, in its purest, unadulterated form.  If you let yourself watch this garbage with your 100% attention, it’s like having a bunch of worms forced down your throat while your hands are tied to a chair inside a torture chamber.

Gruesome isn’t it? It’s like a bad horror-movie.  Let’s stop the movie from playing.  Press the stop button on the remote now, and decide to be more conscious of the thoughts that you feed your mind.

Now that I’ve got that out of the way, let’s practice being “grateful” for a change. Let’s start with reminiscing the wonderful blessings of the past year.

Until now, I’m still asking myself what I must have done right to deserve so much blessings in this world.  Truly, living a blessed life is such a wonderful gift.

At the start of 2011, I mentioned 3 goals in my mind that I wanted to accomplish.  One is financial in nature, another is for my health, and last is for personal growth.  You can read more about them here.

The journey in achieving my financial goal has gone beyond my wildest imagination.  For one, I not only achieved my earnings goal handily but even multiplied it 5x, and achieved it faster than I can imagine possible.   This has allowed me to be able to quit my job as IT consultant for the last 9 years and focus on helping others achieve the same.

In the last quarter of the year, I shared with you my new goal that is to help 100 other people do what I did.  I wanted it to happen before 2011 ends, but I over-estimated the reality that before you can help other people, they first need to be willing to be helped.  It’s a two-way street, and unfortunately, I have to live with the fact that I can only control the one on my end.

Nevertheless, the results have been really inspiring because to date, there are already 35 others who are already earning $40 – $400 a month and on their way to their financial goals.  They are earning US dollars in the Philippines without having to go abroad and take the risk of being abused or maltreated away from home.  They are like you and me, ordinary people with different backgrounds, IT professionals, accountants, engineers, veterinarians, linguist specialists, and more. What they have though, is the deep thirst for learning to improve their lives, the relentless positive attitude and solid character, and the bias for action to match their desire.

These are people who have given me their trust and allowed me to mentor them on a personal basis, in the hope that I bring them closer to their financial goals.  These are people who have raised their hands, and are willing to do whatever it takes to realize their dreams.  In return, they get personal access to me, my time, resources and all the knowledge and experience I’ve been through all the years.  If you want to be blessed just like them, you can email me here.  Only 65 slots left.

On my fitness goal, I achieved my weight goal in the middle of the year but gone back astray, and gained back the pounds.  That’s what you get when you have too much time having fun. What excites me though is that I now have more time in my hands and the means to do it faster and healthier next year.  Watch out for that!

More importantly, for the first time in my life, I’ve had the healthiest year so far.  For the first time in years, I’ve not had the usual one or 2 weeks of colds and cough that I normally go through almost every other month.  Now, whenever I get sick, which I had only a couple of times the whole year, it only takes me a day or two of rest to bring back my old healthy self.

The side effect of being healthy though is that you tend to stretch your limits going for days with limited sleep.  Unfortunately, when that happens for far too long, your body can only go so far, it still needs to rest and recharge.

The last of my goals is to go out to places I’ve never been to before.  One thing I learned after travelling to the US, Malaysia and Singapore is you learn a lot about life when you travel and explore.  It’s in those moments that I realize there’s a greater world out there most people are not able to see and experience.  Yes, you get excited hearing stories and adventures of other people.  But that pales in comparison to the feeling you get when YOU experience it for yourself.  Those moments are priceless gifts you will treasure for a lifetime.

I’ve had little success in this goal of mine this year, not because I don’t want to travel.  I certainly do.  But a bigger blessing has come my way, that I feel it is more important to focus on at the moment.  I am not one to complain, because I am enjoying every moment of excitement and waiting.  Perhaps next year, the travels will even be more blessed.

Now for the other blessings that came my way that I sincerely prayed but didn’t expect to become reality so fast…here are just but a few of them.

…for the gift of time, and of not needing to rush off to work every morning

…for the gift of life, and to our greatest blessing this year, our first baby is on the way

…for the gift of home, a new place of love for the people closest to my heart

The past year has been very very good to me and my family.  I feel really blessed beyond my wildest imagination.  If you would have told me a year ago, that it would be THIS GREAT, I would have chuckled and told you you were joking.

Sometimes, in life you just need a little faith.  All I did was dream and trust God that what He has prepared for me is even better than what I was asking for.  I wish all that for you and much much more.  Be grateful to the blessings around you. Have faith and be prepared to receive the avalanche of blessings running through your door!  Cheers to a blessed 2011!

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At around the same time last year, I was an overworked, physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted employee…this time, I feel healthier, more blessed and truly happy.  Things change for the better, only if you want it to be and are willing to pay the price.

A year ago, I was trapped, and I didn’t know it at that time.  I thought, I only needed to ‘work hard’ and the money will take care of itself.  It could be the farthest thing from the truth.  Just think, if working hard is the way to riches, then many hardworking jeepney drivers, porters and farmers would have certainly gotten rich by now.

If you’ve been working hard for quite some time, you know how mentally and emotionally draining it is, waking up early in the morning even when you don’t feel like it, mindlessly attending endless meetings every day just because you are forced to.  I was in the same boat last year, and the sad part was, my body was literally telling me to stop.

Just when my vacation leave finally got approved and was ready to take a vacation, my body got sick…the ironic thing is, I was sick throughout my only long vacation of the year. Imagine going through a 3 days 2 nights stay in Bohol, island hopping, chocolate-hills trekking, and touring the island ala amazing race while nursing a nasty cold, cough and slight fever.  Believe me, it is NOT the best feeling in the world.

That’s when I finally decided that enough is enough.  There are more important things in this life other than earning a living.  There’s spending time with your family.  There’s being able to get back control of your own time.  There’s living a passionate and spirited life.

And so I decided that this year will be different.  And it WAS different, in more ways than one.  I didn’t have the slightest idea what great blessings were waiting for me.  All I knew then was that something’s got to change.

When I look back, I had the faintest idea that the CHANGE would be THIS GREAT!

The blessings have been pouring like heavy rain.  I’ve already shared that one of most cherished blessing from God in my last article and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

What I haven’t told you yet, is that I have also gotten back control of my own time…and it excites me more knowing that I now have the time freedom to spend it with people who matter most to me, that is, my wife and my baby.

I get nostalgic sometimes, and it’s been an emotional battle the past few months not being able to share this with you.  I feel now the time is right for you to get a glimpse of what it is like to take the journey.  I want to share with you the same letter I wrote months ago titled, “90 Days to Freedom.” —

“Today, is the start of the 90 days before I finally resign from employment.  It’s been 9 years since I started working in the IT industry.

I got lucky, I managed to land a job right after graduation.  Even luckier, I managed to get promoted almost every year for the first 4 years.

Before my 5th year, I resigned from my employer and sought opportunities outside the country by working as an IT consultant in Malaysia.  I only had one goal in my mind then – to earn enough money so my girlfriend (now my wife) and I can get married.  After a year, my wife and I tied the knot.

Another year and a half and we decided to come back home to the Philippines.

It’s been a whirlwind 9 years of my working life.

In 90 days I will be saying goodbye to the 8am – 5pm job.  Or should I say, 5am to 8pm?  Considering all the time commuting to the office and back home, and everything you have to do in between I feel it is the more accurate description.

I don’t know if it’s a quarter life crisis (Yes, I want to live up to a hundred, healthy and living happily!).  May be it is.  May be it isn’t.  But one thing is for sure.  There’s no doubt in my mind.  My heart is now craving for my next journey.  I want to take back control of my own time.  I am counting down to freedom.  And I am excited for the next chapter of my life.”

On my last week as an employee, my bonus from one of my part-time income streams was more than I was being paid full-time in my job.  A good omen indeed.  And only the beginning of blessings that were about to come.

They say, luck favors the prepared mind.  It is true.  Everything in life is a preparation for you to be ready when the blessings come pouring through your door.  Your blessing are already there in front of you…you only need to open your heart and mind to recognize it for what it truly is and be ready to receive it with open arms without any hesitation.

I can honestly say, I am blessed for God has been good to me.  And because I am blessed, that’s why I also want to be a blessing to others.  I thank God for giving me the opportunity to be a part of your life, if only to inspire you in your own journey.

Keep believing in your dreams.  Act now.  Act fast.  For you will never know when your time is up.

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I feel blessed.  I’ve always felt very lucky, as if the great stars have all aligned when I was born.  Perhaps it’s really true.  God plays favorites. That’s why He made me. Don’t worry, you are his favorite too. 

Whether you agree to it or not, it really doesn’t matter. As one of the most profound thinkers of our time, the late Jim Rohn once said, "it’s not what happens that determines your future, it’s what you do with what happens." In short, what matters is how you look at life.  Do you feel blessed?  Or do you feel cursed? The choice is yours.

As for me, it’s easier to just show you proofs than to explain.

Proof #1. When I was about to enter high school, I remember guessing the last 50 questions of my entrance exam and ended up getting the highest score. I must have been really lucky that day…or perhaps, I was not the only one guessing?!

Proof #2. When I was attending christmas parties, I would almost always win raffle prizes.  Grocery items.  Chocolates. You name it.  Except the high-ticket items like LCD TV or trip for two to the US…I’m still waiting for the next christmas party for those.

Proof #3. When I was old enough to marry, God gave me a beautiful and loving wife to be with me until the day I die. I must be the luckiest guy in the world!

I have always felt blessed.  And this time I feel it even more…I feel God’s greatest blessings are always under way. 

I would sometimes say, "This is the best gift I’ve ever had! There’s no way God can top this! This is awesome"…and then with a smile, God simply answers back, "Watch me! You ain’t seen nothing yet!"….and gives a me a gift that would top everything I’ve received thus far.

Today, I’d like to share with you a really short story. 

One day, two people fell in love.  They got married and planned to bring a child into this world from the first day they became one.  Every month, they watched with excitement for any sign of good news.  But the angels up the heavens are saying…"no, it’s not time yet."  Months passed…and still no sign.  Months of waiting slowly turned to years.  The couple are praying for the good news…but the reality still looms in.  Depression begins.  Life stops and desperations set in..

Until finally…out of a seemingly ordinary series of events comes the beginning of the journey where an extraordinary gift awaits. The gift of life.  Literally. 

That’s me and my wife’s story…and the beginning of the story of God’s greatest gift to us.

With great joy and pride…I’m sharing with you, the first of many pictures to come of my 3 and a half month child happily giggling in my wife’s womb.

Just like all the best things in life…this one is priceless!

Cheers to God’s blessings!

P.S. If you’re curious what those series of events are…or know someone who has been in the same situation of waiting and would like to help, feel free to email me. 

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After my last financial goals update, so many great things have happened that I can’t even begin to imagine how and where to start sharing those blessing with you.  Today, however, I’d like to share with you a quick update on the status of my financial goal for this year. 

My original goal to create 3 income streams earning at least $100/month each has already been achieved from just one venture alone.  Yehey!

Now, I have a new goal in mind — help 100 other people achieve the same thing by end of this year. By doing so, I hope 100 other people will have a better Christmas this year than last year. 

I’ve managed to help 20 people so far over the past few months…80 more to go!  It’s going to be hard.  It’s going to take a lot to make it happen.  I only have a little over 2 months from now.  But I am confident, because I am not alone.  I have a great team with me and I have you behind my back.  It’s going to be a very exciting months ahead! 

If you want to learn more on how you can take part and help me in my project, please CLICK HERE to contact me so we can arrange a schedule to discuss.

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One of my greatest fears is in speaking with other people.  Growing up, I was not fond of going to birthday parties.  I was the geek at home, studying for school. I believed that if you want to appear smart, you have to keep quiet.  Unconsciously or not, it became one of my debilitating habits that I formed over the years. 

Rather than try to relate with other people, I shied away and hid in my own cave. 

The more I think about it, the more I realize that it is one of the main reasons why I have not been making the progress that I want to happen in my life.  At work, I don’t socialize that much.  Not because I don’t care, I certainly do.  But sometimes, I am just plain lazy.  I don’t want to make the effort and get rejected in the end.  I feel comfortable just being with myself, because then I won’t have to worry about anything else.  My simple mantra was.."do you work, go home and mind your own business."  Big mistake.

How do you confront your fear and laziness? 

Simple.  Go to the cemetery.  Look for tomb stones.  Imagine looking at your own tombstone.  Ask yourself if this is your last day in this world, would you be hiding under the bed, cowardly waiting for something to make your fears go away?  Or would you make the most of the time you’ve got, not a care in the world whether people will think you are crazy or not?

When you realize that you only have a limited time to live, you have no choice but to give everything you’ve got in every moment of your life.  After all, we only have one life to live.  Live it to the fullest or never live it at all!

P.S.  I am working on a project helping people live their life’s dreams, if you want to learn more and be a part of it, CLICK HERE to contact me.

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Last month, I had the priviledge of being invited as one of the resource speakers in the University of the Philippines Diliman College of Business Administration’s (UP CBA) Alternative Class Learning Experience (ACLE).  The event titled “Stockticks: Learning the basics” was organized by Adelfe Enu Crea Sorority, UP CBA’s only business sorority, helping promote Philippine Stock Market Investing to students of UP Diliman.

The experience was a blast!  More than 60+ students were able to attend the event and learned the basics of investing in the Philippine Stock Market.  I was also fortunate to share the stage with one of the more experienced stock market investors in the Philippines, Mr Aaron Say of Rhyme and Reason Investing.

Good news for you, my wife (a.k.a my number one fan), was able to take a video of my talk.   In the video, I discussed the basics of stock market investing, what a stock is, how do you make money from stocks, its advantages/disadvantages over other investment vehicles and more.  The video is around 30 minutes long so I had to split it into two so it can be uploaded to You Tube.

CLICK HERE to watch part 1 of 2 of the video.

CLICK HERE to watch part 2 of 2 of the video.

Watch and enjoy!

P.S.  I understand that the information contained in the video is basic for some who are already investing in the stock market…but for those of you who are still clueless how to invest in the philippine stock market, I hope this will be a welcome mini-tutorial for you.  I am like you and I know how it feels to want to learn but don’t know where to start.  This video is a good starting point, if you’re really interested to pursue stock market investing in the Philippines.

DISCLAIMER:  I am NOT a licensed stock market analyst or stock broker, nor am I a seasoned investor.  I am just like you, an ordinary person wanting to learn how to grow the money I have.  Please note that everything I say in this blog and in the video are purely my own personal opinion and nothing else.  Take them at your own risk. If you seek professional advice, please consult licensed professionals engaged in that line of business.

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Recently, one avid reader of this blog emailed me to ask my thoughts regarding highly controversial topics such as Network Marketing or Multi-Level Marketing.

I have often hesitated sharing my thoughts on topics such as network marketing, because for one, I don’t have much to share to begin with.  I was not confident enough to share what limited knowledge I had about the industry.  I didn’t want to share with you mere hearsay or what someone else has experienced good or bad.

Now, I know a little bit more and have gained first-hand experience to at least share with you simple tips to help you avoid falling into scams that has given this industry a lot of bad reputation.

First of all, let’s define what network marketing is so we all start off from the same page.

“Network Marketing is a system of moving products from the factory to the consumer, through an organization of users, retailers and network builders.” 

Secondly, I highly encourage you to CLICK HERE to watch a video explaining how network marketing model really works and how is it different from other distribution models.  The video features an interview with a university professor who holds a PhD in Business Administration from Harvard University who is involved on researching, teaching and consulting about network marketing.

Lastly, I want to help you avoid falling into ponzi schemes or pyramid scams.  After learning more about the industry, it has become one of my advocacies to help educate people on legitimate and professional ways to build a network marketing business…and more importantly, if you decide to become part of this industry, to help you build your business with the right foundation of integrity, honesty and sincere desire to help other people get what they want in life.

Here are 5 questions you need to ask before joining a network marketing company.

1) Who are the owners of the company? 

What are their backgrounds in terms of starting and running a business, especially a network marketing business?  Every industry is different.  Some people may be good with traditional businesses, or have succeeded in franchising, but it doesn’t necessarily mean they will succeed using a network marketing business model.  How many years have they been in business? What is their mission and vision?  What are their core values? Is it aligned with what you believe in?

You need to understand that a huge part of business success is about the people who own or are running the company.  The owners, as well as the CEO, and the other employees who will be there face to face with your customers will make or break your business.  You need to think like an investor who is looking for a CEO to run your own company.  If you have doubts about their background, or worse, you don’t even know who the owners of your company are, better STOP and do more due diligence than regret losing your hard earned money in the end.

2) What is the track record of the company?

How stable is the company?  A lot of the bad reputation the industry has been getting is based on some companies’ poor track record.  Not a few companies have started so fast but folded up in a few years. As a consequence, many distributors were left hanging in the end.

The thing to understand about a network marketing business, is that IT IS still a business. The success ratio still applies: 9 out of 10 businesses fail in the first 5 years; and for those who survive, 1 out of 10 of them will fail in the next 5 years.  The simple reason? Any start up business will go through growing pains.   The systems are still being built and not yet in place.  If the systems break down, the business collapses. That’s why, you need a great visionary team running the company, who will make good decisions and never compromise money over the long term health of the business.  You need people who are going to be there for the long term.

How long is considered stable?  A good benchmark is at least 10 years.  By then, the systems are already in place and has proven to work through business cycles like economic recessions and depressions.

3) How is the product different from those in the market?

After watching the video earlier, I hope you at least have an idea how different the distribution model of network marketing companies are compared to traditional ones.  Different they may be, both, however, have the same goal in mind — move the product from the factory to the consumer.

There are three things to consider when looking at the companies’ products: 1) it must have unique selling proposition, it must be of high quality and 3) it must be consumable.

First, the product should have a unique selling proposition.  You cannot sell a product, distribute it via network marketing and have that same product also distributed in traditional retail stores.  Just think, if the same product is available in your neighborhood grocery store, why go through all the trouble and buy it from somewhere else?

Second, the product must be of high quality. The good thing about network marketing is that because it minimizes the distribution cost, the products tend to be of higher quality.  This ensures that it gets the better end of the network being a two-edged sword.  People talk about great products.  But they talk MORE about bad products.  So if you are in a network marketing business, your products must be top-notch, otherwise, your network’s multiplying advantage may even be your worst enemy.

Third, you want your products to be consumable.  You want your customers to keep coming back to use your products.  That’s the only way to build loyal customers.  That applies to a traditional business, but even more so for a network marketing business.  And you can only do that if your product is of high quality.

4) Where are the sales coming from?

There are two-sides to a legitimate network marketing business.  One, is direct sales, where you buy a product at a lower price and sell it higher for a profit.  The other side is in sponsoring other people to help you sell more products to more users, retailers and network builders.  Normally, the company will give you a start up kit or enrollment pack which contains your initial inventory of products.

To know if the company is legitimate or not, you need to watch out whether the direct-sale activities balance with the sponsoring side of the business.  If the sales are coming mainly from direct sales with minimal sponsoring activities, then it is operating mostly as a direct sales business.  On the other hand, if the sales of the company are coming mostly from selling of start-up kits or enrollment packs, and not much is coming from direct sales, then the company is bordering on becoming a pyramid scam or ponzi scheme.  The company may be legitimate, but if the only thing they are selling is the startup kit, and there are no repeat purchases from satisfied customers, then sooner than later, the company will also fold up.

Obviously, the commissions should be based on how many products were sold and how many repeat purchases there are, and NOT based on the number of people who signed-up.  In the end, the heart of a business is still and will always be satisified customers.

5) How fair is the compensation plan?

Is the compensation plan built upon rewarding only those people at the top? Is it possible for someone new to surpass the earnings of those who have joined the company earlier?  How will you be rewarded?

How healthy is the financial condition of the company? Has the company put in place control mechanisms to ensure the long term health of the company?  Obviously, the company has to make profits as well as give a fair share to the distributors.  If all profits are given to distributors, it is just a matter of time before the company folds up and the owner runs away with your money in his pocket.

You also need to ask yourself how many people have already succeeded in the company, and what are your chances as a new distributor to succeed as well?  What available training and support will you get in order to achieve the same or greater level of success in the business?  What challenges will you expect if you decided to pursue this business to get the results you want? These are simple questions you need to ask to really understand what you are getting into.  Network marketing business can give you potential residual or even passive income, but it doesn’t happen overnight.  It is certainly not easy, but it can be done.

The above 5 tips is just a simple list you can refer to before joining a network marketing company.  My hope is that you keep this handy list with you when you start exploring getting into a network marketing business.   The world has changed…and one of those changes is the coming of age of the network marketing industry.  It has even been tagged as the “business of the 21st century” by Robert Kiyosaki, the famous author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad.  The only question is whether you will become part of it or not.

Starting a network marketing business can be your gateway to success if you do it right.  It will most likely change your life for the better if you work on it and do your own due diligence.  In the end, it is all up to you.  Be driven.  Be careful.  Be wise.

Cheers to your success!

P.S.  If you want to discover the 7 Great Lies About Network Marketing, CLICK HERE to mail me so I can send you the FREE ebook give-away.
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It’s now August and more than half of the year has already passed.  It’s time to get back to my financial goals this year and share with you my insights into what what I’ve been up to the past months.

At the start of the year, I shared with you 3 personal goals I had in mind.  One is financial in nature, the other two is for my health and personal development.

Goal #1: 3 income streams earning $100 each per month

The journey in achieving this goal has surprised me more than anything else.  Last March, I was on my way to earning at least $100 income from affiliate income from this blog as well as ebook sales.  I had to turn off Google adsense because while I already earned my first $100, I didn’t feel it was aligned with my long term goals for this site.

For the past few months my affiliate earnings from Bo Sanchez’ Truly Rich Club has been pretty consistent.  It actually reached around $65 for the month of May.  My affiliate earnings to Jomar Hilario’s Workshops and Seminar climbed up to $157 on the same month.  The thing was, while my site got hacked, went down and its traffic plummetted to zero overnight last month, my affiliate earnings were hardly impacted at all. As for the ebook, that’s another story.  It has not been doing very well the past few months.

But the most surprising thing I’ve experienced for the first half of the year is the result from one of my new ventures which was 5x all my affiliate earnings combined for the month.  That’s why, like an aspiring entrepreneur would do, I’ve had to re-align my resources to focus on this new venture of mine.   I’ve also had to reassess my goals for the year, given that I may not need 3 income streams to hit $100 each anymore.  Focusing on one can practically earn more than the three combined.  My financial goal has changed, and that’s one of the topics I will be sharing with you the rest of the year.

Goal #2:  Weigh no more than 176 pounds by December 31, 2011

One of the main challenges I’ve encoutered over the past few months is in looking for healthier food to eat.  Given the proximity of our condo to the mall and the convenience of a 24-hour store nearby, sometimes, it’s hard to convince myself to make the extra effort of looking for healthier food options.  Compound that with the seemingly hectic (but actually just mismanaged) time that I have, that’s a constant battle I have to face everyday. 

From my last quarter’s update, I was able to lose 13 pounds to bring down my weight from 200 pounds to around 187 pounds.  I’ve had to change my habits to a healthier lifestyle over the past couple of months as part of my regimen to make that happen.  And even though I still haven’t reached my goal, I still think I am on the right track to hit it by the end of this year. My goal is only a few pounds away as I am sitting comfortably at 181 pounds at the moment. 

One of the great blessings I got in losing those extra pounds has to do with being able to stay healthy and not get sick as often as before.  While I got sick because of stress and exhaustion due to my hectic schedule last month, I was able to get back to the office with only a day of rest.  Compare that to the whole 2 weeks of vacation ruined last Christmas when I had to battle through with colds and fever while going on a 3-day vacation with my wife in Bohol. 

I’ve never felt healthier in my life.  It really surprises me that when I go up the stairs in the MRT station, I no longer need to catch my breath.  In fact, I even take 2 steps at a time when I am in a hurry.  Life is good, indeed!

Goal #3: Go somewhere I’ve never been to once every quarter.

This is a goal I’ve struggled to accomplish over the past 6 months and continue to struggle with as I look for travel opportunities for the next half of the year.

The last vacation I had was with my wife and her friends in Fontana Resort.  I had lots of fun.  The only problem? I’ve been to Fontana before a few years back.  So I’m stil zero out of 2 for this year.  I really need to catch up fast.  Summer is gone and rainy season is here.

Looking back, I can give you a lot of reasons why I couldn’t take a vacation or go out of town.  I have no time.  I have a hectic schedule.  My boss won’t allow me.  In the end, though, they are all excuses.  Instead of dwelling on those excuses, I think a more positive thing for me to do right now is to "just do it."

What amazes me is that while I’ve not had some vacation time the past months, I’ve had a lot of opportunities to catch up with old friends lately over dinner or a cup of coffee.  It’s really amazing how time seem to stand still when you and your friends share old memories together and laugh at ridiculous things you did in the past.  It’s really a great blessing to have such great friends.  That alone makes me believe that God has really blessed me tremendously all these years.

Looking ahead to the rest of the year

I realized that in almost anything worth doing, you have to put in the time and effort to really see significant results.  To tell you honestly, I’ve had days when I didn’t do anything at all on this site.  If you noticed, I only had one article written for the whole month of June and July.  There were times when I had to re-assess what I really wanted to do with this site…and that also means I had to rediscover what I really wanted in life.  Is it money?  Is it freedom? Is it being able to help others in however way I can?

While I have been blessed financially at my daytime job, I still wonder whether there’s more to life than just financial blessings. The more I think about it, the more I realize that one thing I don’t have is TIME.  I am still a slave of the 9-to-5 job and all the things that come with it. My dream is to be able to have control of my own time.  I want to be able to work on things that I really enjoy, and in the process, contribute however I can to also help inspire other people discover what it is they truly want in life.

How about you? How’s your first half of the year been so far?

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Hey there!

Thanks for visiting Rich Money Habits by akosiallan.com.  My blog www.akosiallan.com got hacked a few days ago and my old hosting account was cancelled as a result…I thought this will also be a good time to overhaul the whole Rich Money Habits blog so please be patient if the rebuilding takes quite a bit of time.

Anyway, I hope to have the site up and running as soon as possible so you can enjoy the helpful money tips and articles once again.  While waiting, I encourage you to consider signing-up to my newsletter by filling-up the form below and receive the 8 ways to shift your money habits and be rich email series.  It’s totally FREE!

God bless you!

Sincerely,

Allan Inocente

A humble low-income earning janitor became better off financially than a highly successful doctor. It happened…only in the Cashflow 101 game.

Last weekend, I had the great fortune to host another round of Rich Money Habits Cashflow Workshop.  And I couldn’t have prepared myself for the suprise that I was about to witness — a janitor beating a doctor in the cashflow game.  It happened.  It really happened.

How did it happen?  Simple.  The janitor took advantage of the opportunities that came his way, even though he had little money to begin with.  In the end, he got out of the rat race and achieved his dream.  The doctor, on the other hand, was a little bit more careful and took his time investing in opportunities.  While he was able to generate a lot of passive income, in the end, he wasn’t able to get out of the rat race.

Of course, it helped that the janitor only had minimal expenses, so he only needed a few extra passive income to get out of the rat race.  But then again, he also did not let his meager paycheck affect his willingness to invest in income-producing assets.  Even when the deal was “too big” for a janitor’s income, he still managed to face his fears and take advantage of the opportunity.  In short, he invested in income-producing assets and when the market turned up, he sold those assets and got a hefty sum that allowed him to invest some more.

The doctor, on the other hand, wasn’t doing bad financially at all.  In fact, he actually acquired more properties, earning him more passive income than the janitor.  How many? A lot more, I would say.

Why then was he not able to get out of the rat race?  Reason? He had a high expense.  That high expense spelled the difference.  Because of the high expense, he needed to do a lot more than the janitor.  Whereas the janitor needed only 2 properties to get out of the rat race, the doctor was only half way to getting out after acquiring about 10 properties.

It appears a story like this happens only on fairy tales.  A happy ending.  A triumph of David vs Goliath.  But the message is clear.  It isn’t so much about how much money you make.  It is also about how much you spend, and how you invest the difference so you can get out of the rat race faster.

Taking this important lesson to real-life, here are things you can do to help you get out of the rat race.

1) Take charge of your cashflow

As my good friend Jay Castillo mentioned in one of his popular articles, you should become the CFO (Chief Financial Officer) of your own financial life.  You have to treat yourself as a business enterprise.  You have to look at your finances from an eye of a business tycoon.  How much money is coming in (salary, side businesses, investment income, etc), how much money is going out (rent, food, car, starbucks, etc), and how you are going to invest the difference.

2) Take the right mindset

Having the right mindset will help you build the right money habits which will lay out a good foundation to your financial journey.  It is not about getting rich quick by taking advantage of other people.  Nor is it getting rich winning the lottery. It is not about getting rich being a crook, or a dishonest politician, or an evil-villain in movies or soap operas.  It is about being rich with integrity and honesty by providing value to a lot of people.  It is about being rich so you can bless more people.

3) Take baby steps

One of the most dangerous things you want to get your mind off is the idea of winning a one-time BIG-time fortune.  It just doesn’t happen that way.  Take baby steps.  You start small.  You learn.  You grow.  Once you learn the lesson, you’ll be able to handle the responsibility when the BIG fortunes come your way.  Having the BIG fortune when your not ready can even be detrimental to your growth.  Ask any of those who won the lottery and ended up poorer a few years after winning.

4) Take your time

Be patient.  It will not happen overnight.  It takes time to learn the right mindset, to develop yourself to be able to do the things that you need to do to provide value to other people.  You will go through a lot of discouragements.  But all people who have accomplished great things have gone through trials.  It just makes the victory even sweeter.  Just like wine, the longer the wait, the tastier it becomes.

5) Take responsibility

One thing all great people have in common is that they take responsibility of their results.  If you fail, it’s your fault.  If you succeed, it’s also your fault.  There are no excuses.  We are dealt with the same lemons every now and then.  It is up to you to take those lemons and turn them into a lemonade.  It’s never a question of being lucky or being dealt with a fair amount of challenges.  Time and time again, the thing that makes people great is never in the amount of challenges they have to face.  It is in the realization that they have a tremendous power to take on those challenges, if only they believe in themselves enough and the God who made them.

Go out there and be rich with honesty, integrity and humility.

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