THE SECRET......WHAT THE....!?!?

If you want $1 million write it down on a piece of paper and imagine you have it everyday and you’ll have it sooner than you think! If it is love you seek, do the same and in 30 or so days, its love you will meet! Gosh, I wonder how far the baloney will go. If merely attempting to hoodwink ones sub-conscious mind can bring the genie to Aladdin, there’s not going to be poor people in the world very soon. No suffering too.

If one can get wealthy or change one’s their life by merely imagining the things one desires, there’s no need for physical and other efforts. All we have to do is spend our days visualizing and dreaming.

Scientists may agree that the sub-conscious mind is more powerful than we can imagine, and the entire Universe is connected, that does not mean that we can influence Nature and the Universe in a manner than The Secret DVD claims. If it were that simple, our forefathers would have eradicated wars, diseases, poverty, disasters, sufferings and death a long time ago.

I’m sure all of us look forward to the day where all our good wishes come true - however, we know it won’t happen in the manner which the people who are promoting “The Secret” claims.

Notwithstanding, I guess the simplistic assertions in The Secret do have its value; it gives people hope and stay positive during those dark days of their life….........

ps. Let us challenge the promoters of The Secret to put an end to natural disasters and global warming! ;-)

LESSONS FROM THE MILLIONAIRE NEXT DOOR

If you want to retire comfortably, one of the must-read is the #1 best selling book “The Millionaire Next Door” by Thomas J Stanley and William D Danko. The book revealed that, contrary to popular notions, most of America’s millionaires are not the high-income people!

According to the authors, one of the key traits of America’s millionaires is that they are meticulous planners and they spend years carving their financial future. They allocate significantly more time planning, managing and studying their financial futures and investments than non-millionaires.

The other key trait of millionaires is that they understand the foundation of wealth-building is being frugal. And few live a high-consumption lifestyle and become a millionaire at the same time. Many maintain a family budget and have tight control over their expenditure.

If becoming a millionaire is that simple, why aren’t there more millionaires? Because despite the knowledge, most people don’t have the discipline to do what it takes to accumulate wealth. It’s similar to getting physically fit – most people know what is required but can’t lift the finger, so to speak!

“The Millionaire Next Door” is available in www.amazon.com. Check it out. Cheers.

SILENCE OF THE MANAGEMENT GURUS

You were told that your sub-conscious mind has unlimited power. And that you can re-program it and re-design your life if you follow these simple steps: Set your goals, visualize it 3 times a day, and affirm it by writing a letter to yourself or writing it over and over again. Walla! Your life will be change for the better if you believe it, expect it………it will come true!

……another year has gone by………you are far from achieving your desired goals eventhough you have worked hard at changing your life and have followed your guru(s) advice to tap into the powers of the sub-conscious mind [and the universe]………

What has gone wrong? Is that sub-conscious mind thing a baloney?

No its not! I assure you!

Your sub-conscious mind is powerful! Very powerful indeed. However, what you won’t told is that your “experts” have “re-packaged” the authentic practices – practices that are tightly intertwined with Eastern spiritual practices of Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and other faiths – to make it palatable to the Western mind.

One of the key ingredients which is conspicuously absent from the “re-packaged” sub-conscious mind enhancement techniques is bringing the mind to deep meditative state as this conflicts with some of dominant spiritual practices of the Western world. And those who do adopt some elements of meditation do so at a limited level. So, its like baking a cake without flour!

The same is seen in yoga. Commercialization of Yoga has been reduced it to mere stretching and body-contorting exercises. Little does the public realize that the authentic yoga is a prayer and self-realization science, and the physical movements are only one of the elements of a process to bring oneself in unity with some higher benevolent force.

HAVE YOU INSURED YOUR INCOME?

You insured your house, your car, your health, your belongings…….however, have you insured your income?

Many of us are heavily dependent on a single source of income – income from our profession [if you are lucky, perhaps, a second source too as your spouse is also working]. Man, that living on the edge!

Consider this: what will happen if you lose your primary source of income – either due to retrenchment, business failure, illness, personal injury [from an accident]. What is that going to do to your finances? How is that going to impact you and your family? What about your children’s’ college education, your retirement plans, your continuing ability to service your mortgage payments and insurance premiums? Scary isn’t it?

Not to worry – there’s always hope. You can always take up an insurance policy to cover the loss of income – that is, if such policies are offered in your country. Whether this option is available or not, you should consider diversifying your sources of income when you are still sailing in calm waters.

Consider learning a new skill or a new trade, or taking up a hobby with commercial potential. Better still, start creating new streams of income on part-time. The wonderful part of this is you are doing something useful during your leisure without pressure. Even if it doesn’t amount to much in monetary terms, you’re building up a position which you can leverage on if misfortune does occur [Needless to say, if you become wildly successful with your part-time endeavor, you have now added options!].

All of us wish all will be well and remain well; but we can never tell. So, why not utilize your leisure time for something productive or potentially useful?

A RISK-FREE LIFE

As a self-made millionaire and serial entrepreneur who have traveled widely, John [not his real name] has gathered rich life experiences, and met many wonderful people from varied walks of life. Whenever I meet him for coffee, he has lots & lots of life stories to share – always a fascination to have a conversation with him.

Amongst the things I learned from John is that life is about taking calculated risks. As a matter of fact, mankind’s progress throughout the ages is the cumulative outcome of decisions by visionary individuals who dare to dream and take action.

Would man have landed on the moon, if President Kennedy didn’t dare to dream, took calculated risks and pursue relentlessly to realize it? As I understand, when the dream was articulated, no one knows whether it is be achievable. If fact, many of the President’s men said it cannot be done.

I therefore find it equally fascinating when people tells me that they don’t want [or, rather] afraid to take risks [unless someone guarantees their success] even though adequate facts are laid before them.

Imagine what would have happened if we were afraid of going to college for fear of failure to complete the course, didn’t applying for a job or embarked on any venture fear of failure / rejection, fear of failing our examination therefore not sign-up for the next seating, not leaving the house for fear of being knock down by a car, not buying the dream home for fear of catastrophic consequences, etc. We wouldn’t have made any progress.

Life is about taking chances, making commitment and taking action. Go, live life, get out of your comfort zone and set an example for the next generation. There’s whole spectrum of rich sights and sounds and experience awaiting you. Best wishes and may you live a life of abundance like my friend, John.

10 TIPS ON HOW TO LIVE LONGER

August’s issue of Adsvantage lists 10 things you can do to live longer, summarized as follows:

TIP #1 DAILY WORKOUTS
Regular exercise can increase physical health. A recent study shows that daily exercise adds 3.7 years to our lives.

TIP#2 NOT SMOKING
It is common knowledge that smoking is bad for health. Findings have shown that the mortality rate of middle-aged heavy smokers were cut by half once they have decided to quit smoking.

TIP #3 OWNING PETS
Several studies have shown that owning a pet lowers a person’s blood pressure, increases self-esteem in children, decreases the mortality rates of heart attack victims, decreases cholesterol, decreases depression, relieves stress and increase family happiness. Research predicts that those owning pets may add 7 years to their lives.

TIP #4 EATING WISELY
A number of studies have already confirmed that certain foods have positive impact on our lifespan. With a little planning and discipline it is possible to incorporate a good range of healthy food into our diet, and minimize unhealthy food.

TIP#5 HAVING GOOD FRIENDS
An Australian study has shown that those who had the most close friends ended up living the longest. This is because friends can increase a person’s well-being through lower stress, less boredom and reduced sadness.

TIP#6 LAUGHING

Laughter is a natural medicine, with the ability to decrease stress-related hormones, boost immune system, regulate blood pressure, and increase the flow of blood and oxygen.

TIP#7 BEING NICE AND POSITIVE
Being positive and cheerful, and maintaining an optimistic outlook can add years to life, and life to years. Recent studies found that older men with angry and hostile personalities are more likely to die before those who engaged in smoking and drinking.

TIP#8 MEDITATING
Meditating can reduce stress and reduce pain, lower blood pressure and facilitate positive emotions to the brain. It also promotes mental clarity.

TIP#9 RELAXATION
Taking time to relax is great for both the body and mind. It has calming effect and is excellent for dealing with stress.

TIP#10 DOING YOGA
Yoga has been shown to relax the mind as it trains the brain to focus on the present moment and promotes clarity of the mind. It improves blood flow and relaxes the body.

DID YOU HAVE FUN TODAY?

Rich Schefren posted an excellent article on 10 August 2007 in his blog on one of the secrets to boosting productivity and how inject a lot more fun into your life.

According to Rich, many people believe that they can get more done by putting in long hours; however, it has the opposite effect.

He suggests that if we want to get more out of our life, we should schedule one fun activity per day with the only condition being, it must be something we really look forward to doing.

The psychological reason being: we’ll be much more inclined to work productively and efficiently before we experience our fun activity – just try to recall how you worked and cleared all essential tasks every time you were preparing for a vacation.

Other than distressing, fun breaks are also great in many ways. Pulling ourselves away from our chores – even for a little while – clears the mind of some of the clutter. Often, unsolvable problems seem simpler when we look at it again after the break. Ideas and solutions dropped in out of nowhere while we shift our focus to something else.

So, if you want get more out of your life – be more productive and successful – commit to having fun each day!

I’LL LIVE A SIMPLE LIFE!

Are you sure? That’s my usual reply when people tell me that they don’t need a lot of money during their golden years as they intend to live a simple life.

Many people erroneously assume that they can practically curtail their current executive lifestyle & activities, and that the major costs during retirement are monies required for food and basic necessities. It is therefore not surprising that many people run out of savings within 3 – 10 years after retirement.

Underestimating one’s financial needs is not uncommon especially if no effort has been spend into defining what is a “simple life”; and identifying and computing the requirements spanning over 20 or more years. When they do, many people were literally dumbfounded actually when their financial consultant present the figures.

So, how much does one need for retirement? That will vary from individual to individual. However, the earlier one seized one’s funding requirements, the more time is available to plan and stock-up the nestegg.

RETIRE YOUNG RETIRE FINANCIALLY SECURED

Studies showed that those who worked to the age of 65 before retirement will probably die within 18 months of retirement. That means these people, will on average, collect 17 pension fund checks before they die. Is it worth slogging for over 40 years in high-pressure environments, and not being able to enjoy life? What’s the purpose of accumulating all those retirement funds if it stays as a number in some records?

Really, we should all plan our career path and financials early so that we can retire no later than 55 years old and enjoy a long and happy retirement.

Retirement expert Bob Carlson says that people will need more money than they think during their upcoming retirement, and that they should use innovative and carefully researched strategies to ensure financial security throughout their retirement years. Let's hope more people will take retirement planning seriously and start taking appropriate steps towards a happy and secured retirement early.

GET SMARTER IN 7 DAYS?

According to a BBC programme, there is growing evidence that simple changes in lifestyle can make us smarter by as much as 40%! All you have to do is to apply combination of techniques based on healthy eating, physical activity, sound sleep and stimulating your mind through solving puzzles and remembering lists makes people sharper, more confident and better at making decisions.

THE GET SMARTER GUIDE

Saturday
Brush your teeth with your 'wrong' hand and take a shower with your eyes closed.

Sunday
Do the crossword or Sudoku puzzle in your Sunday paper and take a brisk walk.

Monday
Have oily fish for dinner, and either cycle, walk or take the bus into work.

Tuesday
Select unfamiliar words from the dictionary and work them into conversations.

Wednesday
Go to yoga, Pilates or a meditation class, and talk to someone you don't know.

Thursday
Take a different route to work; watch Countdown or Brainteaser.

Friday
Avoid caffeine or alcohol; memorise your shopping list.


Give it a shot man!

ps. Want to develop a Photographic Memory? Get your FREE 4 Week Course!

HAVE YOU BEEN SLEEPING WELL LATELY?

It has been estimated that 1 in 8 people in the USA suffer from some degree of sleeping disorder, commonly known as insomnia. According to an article in Wikipedia, insomnia is characterized by an inability to sleep and/or inability to remain asleep for a reasonable period. Insomniacs typically complain of being unable to close their eyes or "rest their mind" for more than a few minutes at a time. It can be caused by fear, stress, anxiety, medications, caffeine, depression or bipolar disorder and sometimes occurs for no apparent reason. An overactive mind or physical pain may also be causes. In many cases, insomnia may be caused by another disease or psychological problem.

Many insomniacs rely on drugs to sleep. However, these medication can either be addictive or may lose effectiveness over time. Some may cause the memory and cognitive disturbances.

Research have shown that natural remedies are safer and more effective in the long term. Click here to download your free report on natural remedies for sleeping disorders.

OBESITY - A MAJOR PROBLEM IN MANY COUNTRIES

Obesity has been on the rise over the last 2 decades both in developed and developing countries. Surveys show that over 30% of the population in some parts of US is overweight.

In the mid-90s, obesity prevalence was less than 20% in one half of US states. Now, only 4 states remained within the same percentage.

Obesity prevalence is also growing problem in Asian countries including Singapore and China.

Weight problems have significant adverse impact on national costs. It has been reported that medical expenses due to obesity and related issues account for about 10% of US medical expenditure. The figure may be grossly understated due to people seeking alternative treatments and solutions.

There should be more concerted efforts in controlling overweight and obesity issues due to risk of diseases and health conditions, including the following:
Hypertension & coronary heart disease;
Osteoarthritis;
Diabetes;
Gallbladder disease;
Sleep apnea and respiratory problems;
Cancers (eg. breast, colon, etc)

These health-related problems eventually cascade to national and individual productivity issues, and have dire consequences on the national Gross Domestic Product [GDP]. It has also brought suffering and grief to many families.

National health programs specifically targeted to overweight problems play a crucial role on educating and control the prevalence of obesity. Active involvement of parents, teachers, obesity-related organizations and consumer groups are equally important in addressing the problem. In this regard, nipping weight-related problems amongst youngsters is also crucial, and nothing beats early education.

Visit http://weightloss4kids.blogspot.com for more information.

CAN YOU AFFORD TO RETIRE?

The Star newspapers, a major daily in Malaysia published a series of articles on 27 May 2007 on the plight of a large number of Malaysians, viz,

“Most Malaysians do not have financial security”
“Counting the nest egg”
“How much retirement funds do you need?”

It was a revelation to many people: many do not realize how precarious their financial position is. And little do they realized that if they live till the age of 80 years old [hopefully not any longer], their accumulated nest egg have to be sufficient to take them through their retirement years of 20 – 25 years.

The average Malaysian may start work from the age of 20 and retire by 55 [standard retirement age in Malaysia]. Income earned over the period of 35 years has to be sufficient to cater for daily living expenses, pay mortgages, children education, and other personal & family expenses, leaving enough for building a comfortable nest egg for the golden years. That literally means that those 35 productive years have to cater for one’s requirement for a period of 60 years [assuming one lives till 80 years old].

What advice should we give young Malaysians?

(a) Work hard in building your career;
(b) Create multiple sources of income;
(c) Invest into appreciable assets [real estate, unit trusts, etc];
(d) Spend wisely [create a personal operating budget];
(e) Start planning your financials early.

Don’t take your retirement funding for granted. Start planning early! Best regards.

Your Home as a Workplace

What is your job like? Do you spend forty hours each week in a greasy restaurant? Is a good part of your life spent on a factory floor? Do you claim dominion over little more than a cramped cubicle? Are you behind the counter of a retail store selling things about which you could care less?

No matter what your job is like, it probably does not provide an optimal environment. Even if you do have a great office with a comfortable leather chair, some of those chrome balls to click back and forth when you are on the phone, and a framed motivational print featuring full-color photography of Mount Everest, there is probably somewhere else you would prefer to be.

No matter where you put in your hours, there are hassles getting there and back. Scraping ice and snow off a car windshield in February. Leaning on the horn in rush hour traffic every Friday afternoon. Maybe you get packed into a subway like a sardine in a can or have to share the bus with a collection of unsavory characters. It might only take you a few minutes to get to work, but you may also be one of the horde of commuters who spend hours of their lives each and every day just coming to and from the job.

There is an alternative to all of that ugliness. Wouldn’t it be nice to roll out of bed, click your fingers and be at work? When the day was done, you could be sitting on your couch or playing with your children in the blink of an eye. That would be great, wouldn’t it?

And the workplace itself? Imagine having a bed nearby for a mid-day nap if you needed one. A full refrigerator stocked with the kind of foods you enjoy would make for a better lunch than your usual brown bag feast, the company cafeteria or another fast food place. It would be awesome to replace that horrible, dull background music with the kind of tunes you really enjoy. Oh, and since we are thinking of a comfortable workplace, let us make sure we do away with dress codes, too.

Well, we have presented two options. The traditional work environment that has long, and always will, inspire a series of gripes, is the one we already know. Our fantastic alternative sounds a lot like paradise. Or home.

It is home. It is possible to work there, too. Thousands of people have given up messing around with traditional jobs and all of the associated discomfort and hassles and have found refuge in running their own at-home business. They get to enjoy their surroundings, avoid traffic, and make the most out of every day without expending time and effort just to clock in. Some are telecommuters. Others own their own businesses outright and operate them from a desk in the den or kitchen breakfast nook.

Those who work from home also gain some other significant advantages. They control their earnings and the money can be very good. They control the whole operation, giving them an unparalleled sense of job satisfaction. They make their own hours--the ultimate in flexibility. They do not commute; increasing their efficiency and the amount of time, they have available for recreation and family time. They do not have to kow-tow to anyone and get to establish and implement their own rules and policies instead of relying upon middle managers who do not seem to have an idea of how things really work.

Are you ready to get out of your current workplace and into something a bit more comfortable? Are you tired of wasting countless hours just getting to and from a job you do not really enjoy? If so, it may be time for you to investigate joining those who have found working at home to be the perfect solution. Take the time to find and read some valuable information about working from home and decide whether you are the kind of person who would benefit from having all of the comforts of home as your workplace.

Five Ways to Increase Your Savings

Almost everyone feels the need to save more money. The volatile economy and general uncertainty of today has given us all pause to consider whether or not we have enough money saved, and if not how to get to that point.Saving money can be difficult. After all, most of live on relatively tight budgets already. However, there are few things we can do that will help increase our savings balances quite a bit. Five of the best ways to help boost your savings are:

Differentiate Needs from Wants

Many of us have a tendency to lump our needs and our wants into one category. As a result, we spend more and save less. It is important to realize that we don’t have to get everything we want. We can occasionally put off an immediate want in order to help grow our savings. There are absolute essentials for which we must pay. There are luxury items and small “gifts to ourselves” that we can skip. It is important to remember the difference and to act accordingly. Cutting down on small discretionary expenses is like putting money in the bank!

Pay Bills on Time

Paying our bills on time is one of the great hidden ways to save money. When we pay late, we often end up paying penalties and fees we could have otherwise been using to build up our savings. It’s a good idea to get into the habit of paying every bill on time. Not only will this provide some more income to funnel toward savings, it will also help to improve our credit scores.

Save Gifts

From time to time, we may occasionally receive cash gifts or bonuses. Most of us tend to immediately find something upon which to spend them. Instead, we should be making sure we bank at least a significant percentage of these gifts immediately. We can use gifts to feed our savings instead of squandering them on “wants” when we should be focusing on needs, anyway.

Save Tax Refunds

When we are lucky enough to get by without owing Uncle Sam extra tax dollars, we should make an effort not to go right out spend our refund check. At least a significant portion of the return should be directed toward savings before any of the rest of it is used for another purchase. As the saying goes, one should always pay themselves first—and that means feeding one’s savings.

Use Direct Deposit

By having paychecks deposited directly into our account, we can establish an automatic deposit into savings on each and every payday. We simple designate how much of each directly deposited check should be routed to savings. The bank takes care of the rest and our savings balances grow without any additional effort on our parts.

By pursuing simple little hints like these, we can improve our savings balance considerably. These are the kinds of simple-to-implement yet easy-to-forget strategies that really can, when aggregated, have a big impact on our savings.

These tips should remind us that our financial lives are really not just all about the big happenings. Instead, our financial lives are comprised of thousands upon thousands of small transactions and expenses. By addressing some of these with a mindset of financial improvement we can find ways to make the seemingly mundane put a little more money in our pockets.