Tuesday, June 24, 2008

The Attractor Factor








The Attractor Factor_5 easy steps for creating wealth (or anything else) from the inside out

  1. Know what you don't want;
  2. Select what you do want;
  3. Clear all negative or limiting beliefs;
  4. Feel what it would be like to have, do, or be what you want;
  5. Let go as you act on your intuitive impulses, & allow the results to manifest
It is very simple, but you would amazed by the power of spiritual thinking...

Rich Dad's CASHFLOW Quadrant


SEVEN STEPS to finding financial fast track

1. Mind your own business: 5 year goals and with the goals to develop the IC/BS: what should they look like

2. Take control of your cash flow: 2 books of IC/BSà have other pay debt, pay yourself first (invest saving for asset); Cash Flow management plan

3. Know the difference b/w risk and risky: define Asset/Liability-> see the cash flow, only cash inflow should be seen as asset, anything out of you pocket is liability

  • financial intelligence: the ability to convert cash/labor into asset that provides cash flow
  • investing is not risky, being under educated and misinformed is risky
  • committed to your financial education: business news, wall street journal, educational CD magazine, play game, etc.

4. What kind of investor you want to be

  • investor types: looking for answers/looking for solving problem/know nothing
  • wealth is built at how better/faster you can solve the problems from B/I perspectives
  • leaning how to build business first, and the experience, personal skills, cash flow
  • being 3 types of investor at the same time
  • become an expert at solving a certain type of problems (opportunity) and continue seeking solving the bigger problem
  • just mind your own business, take control of your cash flow, and change yourself to take the advantage
  • educated in Investing: start baby steps
  • educated in Business: learn by asking questions; network mkting to learn system; franchise/ trade expo opportunity; business news and magazine

5. Seek mentor

  • person who can tells you what’s important
  • someone who have been there: business/investing model; revert model
  • focus on passive income and asset
  • caution the people around you every day: who you spend most of time with is your future (list those people, which quadrant they belongs to, which investor levels they are in)

6. Make disappointment your strength

  • expect to be disappointed: make mistake; put a little money down; take action
  • have mentor to stand by
  • be kind to yourself
  • tell the truth

7. The power of faith

  • very aware of your words!! What you response to yourself
  • you are the only person that determines the thoughts you choose to believe about yourself

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Part I - The CASHFLOW Quadrant. Maps out the E/S/B/I Quadrant to explain how Employees, Self-employed, Business Owners, and Investors think and behave differently.

  • BRAIN: you become what you see about how/what others are doing
  • Change: breaking an addiction/pattern; never work for money -> learn to create your own systems in a way of acquired money
  • ESBI: reflect how people response to the need of money differently, how they solve the problem differently
  • Security vs. Freedom: who you no longer are (stop doing); keep flame in your heart going; it’s passion that builds business not fears; change of mind-set


Part II - Bringing Out The Best In You. Talks about how "Money is a drug." And how "A diet will not help if your thoughts do not change."

  • Make serious effort to move to right quadrant (B/I)
  • Figure out who is taking away your money and how you can keep the money
  • What you do in your spare time set apart the rich people and poor people
  • Work hard to B/I, not E/S
  • E -> B ->I: being B to learn from experience, and understanding of cash flow to better know how to invest
  • Systems: get from 1) C corporate 2) Franchise 3) Network marketing
  • Find a mentor
  • When being E, get the fast rack to go up corporate ladder and learn the system
  • Franchise (system): have more time to develop people
  • Invested in the approved system with people who know how to run it
  • Network mkting (multi level mkting, direct distribution systems): buy in the existing system and build business
  • overcome the feat of being rejected; stop worrying what other people say about you; don’t be afraid to do something differently -> that’s what you think about yourself is more important 2) to learn to lead people; working with different people -> the ability to get along and inspire people
  • Network mkting: look at the system, learning program, mentor availability to train to become B if only look at project, you are just S
  • Master of WORDS (words is the reflection of people’s value, thoughts, soul)-> use their words to communicate effectively “hear their words, feels their souls”
  • Change the quadrant: change who you are; how you see the world
  • That’s what people FEAR makes people different
  • S owns a job; B owns the system and competent people 1) ownership/controls of systems 2) the ability to lead people
  • System (big picture) is more important product. e.g. McDonald
  • Don’t avoid risks; rather learn to manage risks
  • Financial freedom doesn’t require education money, but dreams, desire/determination, and overcome disappointment
  • Investor welcomes volatility, which make you rich
  • How much you keep matters
  • Build a system around your passion
  • “How you think” needs to change, it’s how you have to “be” in order to “do” what needs to be done
  • The logic of ["To do" -> "being"] is wrong-> think of “being” first, change your thoughts first
  • Mentality of changing the person is wrong you have to change your thoughts about the person
  • “Money” is emotional subject
  • Emotion vs. Ration: pay attention to the internal conversation; have rationality do the thinking, not emotion! Grow up financially! Don’t “feel like”… but what you “should” do to get there
  • The importance of understanding of economic history; read Capitalism; “economy changes, but history repeats”
  • Debt: if debt personally, make sure it’s small; if others, make sure other pays it
  • “comprehensively business sense”
  • Start small and take time to learn experience
  • Think and have the courage to do things differently
  • Understand market forces and laws. Wealth occurs when they change
  • Different ways to play the game; STOP being what you have been being
  • Seeking competent advice: be careful to distinguish it is for rich/poor/middle class

Part III - How To Be A Successful "B" and "I" Presents "THE 7 STEPS TO FINDING YOUR FINANCIAL FAST TRACK" which illustrates exactly how to take control of your mind and your financial freedom.

  • Baby steps
  • Mental/emotional/physical learning for financial/system/emotional intelligence
  • HOW 1) maintain long term vision and plan 2) believe in delayed gratification 3) use the power of compounding (learning): no quick answers to long-term wealth; dream big, think long-term, have underachieve on daily basis, take baby steps
  • It’s information generates money, not work hard; only work hard to and smart in B/I

Increase Your Financial IQ

One more book from Rich Dad and Poor Dad series. Since first time read RDPD years ago, I haven’t really followed it. Until these days, I started become more serious about personal financial stuff, and began to pick up what have been left. I think it is great to reinforce RDPD concepts before you start doing planning or investing. The most important value I see from RDPD is it does help me to think the changing meaning of money itself, and how the rules of the game have been changed over time, and how we should take advantage of it rather than being ripped off.

Even though I have only read three books of Rob Kiyosaki, the content is not much different. They are taking about the same concepts. Maybe that’s another reason I like them since these concepts are actually simple, that point is whether you really get it or not, and take action or not.

This book particularly focuses on the importance of increasing financial IQ, which is what I have been looking for to get some start-on. Again, RK’s book is not a how-to guidebook, but rather, it reinforces Rich Dad’s financial philosophy as to why your financial IQ determines your wealth and how it works in different aspects of the game of the money in a holistic way.

Personally, I don’t suggest you to buy this book, but highly recommend you to read it. It is easy to catch the take-away, but it is just a matter of how you do with the take-away.

Five aspects of financial IQ that RK stressed:

  1. Making more money
  2. Protecting your money
  3. Budgeting your money
  4. Leveraging your money
  5. Improving your financial information

KEY POINTS

  • Not tool but the information, the knowledge makes you rich
  • Getting smarter to get rich
  • Rule of money changes on 1) currency 2) retirement
  • Financial intelligence > professional and academic intelligence
  • Your ATTITUDE to money and financial problem matters! Being rich is not evil
  • Popular advice and social expectation is wrong! Get the good job…
  • Why you are solving other’s problem not yours? Why lazy about your problems?
  • Be good at the game that you can be at
  • Answer is about the past and ability is about the future
  • Profession: something that people pay you to solve
  • Entrepreneur: sales skill mattersà invest in what you need to become whom you want to be
  • If you cannot beat them, then join them
  • It’s the PROCESS makes you rich, not moneyà learning process
  • LEARN form the failure, get stick to/with the process until you win
  • You can quit when you are winning, but never quit because you are losing
  • Stick to something you know, ask yourself, and CHOOSE challenge CAREFULLYà image what would be like if you take on and succeed
  • Life is about learning, and learning is about adventure. That’s true intelligence
  • JOB is not ASSET, you should work for asset, set the goal for your asset
  • Earned income X but passive income O (cash inflow that doesn’t require you working )
  • You solve the problem to get rich
  • Excess income>reducing expense
  • Reprioritize your spending habits
  • Budgeting surplusà come up short earlyà force you solve the problemà earn more money à pay yourself first
  • Utilize the environment to force you to learn
  • Save: gold in certificate
  • Time and Money is most important asset
  • ONLY assent column is yours
  • Use assent to pay liability. Spend to get rich
  • Invest in cash flow (control, fact), not capital gain (without control, only opinion, paper asset)
  • Rule and Law matters!
  • Make the trend becomes your friend, intelligence is the ability to take the info and make it meaningful
  • Assessment: look at 1) niche (brand) 2) leverage 3) expandability 4) predictability
  • Don’t be average! Above average financially, not only academically and professionally
  • Subconscious, addiction
  • Neuron Mirror: importance of your environment and the perceptions of yourself à you change yourself by changing the environment around you, and by changing the perception about yourself!
  • Environment: where you genius can grow and develop, where challenges yourself to improve your standard of living and financial intelligence
  • Don’t play safe, don’t be an office prison, don’t get lazy, you have to learn from lesson but success
  • Dedication, Drive to win, Courage

Thursday, June 12, 2008

The Top Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read

The Top Books Every Entrepreneur Should Read

By Mike Michalowicz
(retrieved from http://www.cnbc.com/id/22302724)

The Starfish and the Spider - By: Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom – This book clearly identifies the changing pattern in successful business launch and management strategies. They show how to build a dynamic powerful business, and it is easier and less conventional than you think.
Small Giants – By: Bo Burlingham – The title says it all, small business is the new big business.
The E-myth Revisited - By: Michael Gerber - The new entrepreneur's bible!
Mastering the Rockefeller Habits - By: Verne Harnish - Strategies for rapid growth.
Get The Edge - By: Anthony Robbins - You gotta have the right mindset to succeed. Read this!
The 4-Hour Workweek - By: Timothy Ferriss - Takes the E-Myth and applies tips & tricks.
Automatic Millionaire - By: David Bach - In short a "401K" for all parts of life.
Raising the Bar - By: Gary Erickson - A grassroots entrepreneur story through and through.
Purple Cow - By: Seth Godin - This book is remarkable! You'll get the joke when you read it.
Rich Dad, Poor Dad - By: Robert Kiyosaki - Make money, don't blow it.Motivational!
The Art of the Start - By: Guy Kawasaki - Key insights to starting a company.
Made to Stick - By Chip & Dan Heath - Marketing your company the right way.
Good to Great - By Jim Collins - The modern classic entrepreneurs book. A mandatory read.
How to Win Friends and Influence People - By: Dale Carnegie - Written years ago, but even more relevant today.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Automatic Wealth for Grads

** for "Employee" quadrant financial suggestions**

Automatic Wealth for Grads_by Michael Masterson

Content highlights
· Choose a great career, get your first job and rise to the top of your field
· Continuously increase your income on a fast-track basis, and get the biggest raises of your life
· Profit from the real estate market—even in today’s uncertain market
· Start or gain equity in a business that will provide an automatic future income stream
· Invest in the stock market, save money on taxes, make purchases that appreciate, reduce your credit costs, and achieve financial independence while you are still young enough to enjoy your money

Notes: Three questions to ask yourself: What shall I do with my life? Where? with Whom?

Points:
  • "Automatic" wealth: means without conscious effort
  • "Wealth": "Net Saving" for FUTURE use, not current use
  • SAVE money: be cautious of your spending change when your income increases
  • The power of compound interest: save early
  • Always pay yourself first: the “Tax” effect
  • Boost your income: don’t let your age stand in your way. Perform from ordinary to
    extraordinary
    and invaluable
  • Wealth: function of $ you make, $ your invest, and for how long

What surprised me in this book is that the author spends pretty much time on job/career part, for example, how to get the job you like, how to progress on your job, get the promotion, how to modify your job to be critical to create value, etc.

Well, that definitely makes sense, especially for Grads. But interesting thing is its implications: your basic income (salary) and the power of compound interest.

Having worked in compensation area and being a certified compensation pro, I understand how the compensation systems have been structured. The base pay is truly crucial if you really want to boost your overall income. Because for almost all the short term/long term incentive and bonus, your base pay is always in the function to determine what much is exactly coming your pocket. Beside that, other compensation and benefit adjustments are based on your base pay level, such as general pay adjustment, merit and equity pay, and even for your 401K plan you would get more employer contribution with the same % level in your plan.

Because most of compensation components are tied to your base pay, the effect of $ increase in you base pay is actually creating maybe 5-10 times of value. Plus, if you are taking into account the compound interest effect, the earlier you are able to increase your pay level, the much more income you are actually generating along the way.

Getting wealth by boosting your salary, you would be able to catch all the implied benefits associated with the base pay increases. Also, by saving early, you would be able to take the advantage of the compound effect to create the wealth automatically no matter you are putting them in your retirement plans or other investing vehicles.

Getting real, most of us still live on the paychecks, and we need a job and the paycheck to support our lives. Investing is the sure thing has to do, but going to the basics, get a well-paid job would make it much easier and faster.

The Big Idea

The Big Idea on CNBC
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15838512

It's one of my favorite shows. You can check out the "Your Playbook for Success" section.
In each show they invite entrepreneurs or subject matter of experts to talk about their experiences or researches on the topic. No matter what kinds of topics, you can always feel their strong passion which are so contagious that you do get empowered.

I really admire these people who have gut and courage to do what they truly believe and determined to win. And I also like to surround myself with these people who have passion with plan, and positive thought even failure.

Successful people don't "hope" or "wish"; they "believe" and take actions!