Every new year will bring us closer to the day we dream of. The day we can stop being in the rat race, the 9 to 5 routine or the weekly 3-shift work we are in. Whether we want it or not we will eventually retire one fine day.

The last day of the year; 31^st December, always give me that feeling of underachievement. Of not doing enough or not completing all that I intended to. It gives me the déjà vu feeling, that I have been on this road before. Why?

It is time for reflection….. had we done what we had set ourselves to do at the beginning of the year or had we done enough for ourselves and for others?

continue reading "New Year – Time for Reflection"

John Wesley who founded the Methodist Church in the 18^th century used this simple rule to teach God’s love. Universally, God’s love is doing good works.

Do all the good you can,

By all the means you can,

In all the ways you can,

In all the places you can,

At all the times you can,

To all the people you can,

As long as ever you can.

By John Wesley

continue reading "Giving Back to Society"

Most chaotic situation are caused by the reaction of human population. Sometimes a single action causes a chain of reactions which make situation get from bad to worst.

This is so true to life that I felt compel to share with all the visitors of this site. This 90/10 Principle is by Stephen Covey and is applicable to your business situation as well.

I once heard a simple story of a rich man who display a lot of expensive antiques in his home. One day his seven-year old son accidentally knocked down one of his favourite expensive vase and broke it to a thousand pieces. The normal reaction of a human being is to scold or even beat up the poor frightened boy but the reaction of this wise man was so touching. He not only did not get upset or angry, he was all concerned and fussed over the boy. “Did you hurt yourself” he asked, ” Did the sound of the breaking vase frightened you?” and he knelt down beside the boy hugging him tight, ignoring the broken vase entirely.

When asked by his visitor who happened to witness the incident, his explanation was simple. “I can replace any expensive items in this house but not my son; he is my only priceless possession.”

My outlook of children upbringing changed at that moment onwards.

continue reading "Discover the 90/10 Principle"

A man builds a fine house;

and now he has a master,and a task for life;

he is to furnish, watch, show it,

and keep it in repair;

the rest of his days.

Ralph Waldo Emerson 1870

Question: Think, is a house an asset or a liability?

Answer: Both. Liability because, as with the above quotation of Emerson, if you buy a house or build one, the house become your master as now you have just gained a “master” for yourself, you have created a task for life. You have to furnish, clean, repair, maintain and keep it in liveable condition for the rest of your life.

It will only become an asset if you purchase this house at a good price to sell it when the price appreciate and meanwhile it is rentable to earn you money, earn you more than what you can get if you put your cash in the bank.

Let us now try to understand the difference between an asset and a liability.

continue reading "Assets versus Liabilities"

Don’t give away or waste away your hard earned money so easily. Take time to find ways and means to avoid spending money unnecessarily. I know for sure some of us do not like this task and may even feel that life is too short to deprive oneself of some luxuries after a hard day’s work. Yes, this concept in life is fine. I am not suggesting you to be a miser but merely to be more conscious of where your money goes.

Here is a checklist of my own experience and how we can all save without feeling miserable.

continue reading "Save to Grow Your Money"

Today’s businesses have changed so much in recent years you are just not being able to catch your breath if you were not following them closely. At this time if you are still not computer savvy you definitely will be left out on a lot of new happenings. As things changed and the earth evolves, we need to change to fit in.

Paradigm shift is the term first used by Thomas Kuhn in his influential book “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions” to describe a change in basic assumptions within the ruling theory of science. It is in contrast to his idea of normal science.

Kuhn used the duck-rabbit optical illusion to demonstrate the way in which a paradigm shift could cause one to see the same information in an entirely different way.

You must be wondering why are we talking about science. What has science got to do with today’s business.

Of course, the term “paradigm shift” has found uses in other contexts, representing the notion of a major change in a certain thought-pattern — a radical change in personal beliefs, complex systems or organizations, replacing the former way of thinking or organizing with a radically different way of thinking or organizing.

continue reading "Business Intelligence"

Baby Boomer Generation versus Generation Y
(1946 to 1964 versus 1981 to present)

After listening to a friend lamenting about his grown up kid and how disappointed he was with his attitude towards life, I came to the conclusion that there are definitely a lot of difference between these 2 generations. When the parents (the silent generation) of baby boomers did not understand their children, they called it “the generation gap“. Similarly, there is definitely a big gap between the b-boomer parents and the Gen-Y kids. The sociological trends definitely differ. The thought and spending pattern and style are also different.

continue reading "Baby Boomer Generation versus Generation Y"

While you are getting out of debt, you should stay out of further debt. It is very important that you must exercise your self-discipline. If you were in debt before and if you are still in debt, it does show that you have very weak discipline……discipline in managing your money.

continue reading "Stay Out of Debt!!! — Assert Your Self-Discipline!"

Are your still struggling with that – getting out of debt?

If you are in your 20s and if you have been following this blog and reading about how to invest, put your money into earning more money and you will probably get very fired up. Yes, I can relate to that because I was just like you but unfortunately for me, when I was in my 20s, there is nowhere I could turn to, to learn about investing and getting rich. I have got to put a lot of trials and errors into play. However, I can tell you this – living a debt-free life is bliss, its richness in itself. Yes again, you don’t have to be filthily rich to retire rich. All you need to have is enough, depending on individual needs, to live a carefree lifestyle. That is richness in itself!!

continue reading "Get Out of Debt!"

Making a few mistakes in your life is nothing. Losing some money in the course of learning to invest is in fact the norm. You have to learn to earn through experience. But you have to go on to look for deals that make money and not lose money. Once you understand these financial lessons and start finding investment that make money, your life will never be the same again. Life will become full of possibilities. One golden rule to investing “Never get too greedy”. Set your investment goal and stick to it, learn from experience and readjust your estimation to higher level at the next deal. Work from there.

continue reading "Earn As You Learn"