wealth

Mar

2021

Money Lessons You Wish You Learned in School

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Did you know that the number one cause of stress is money? According to several studies, more people worry about money compared to health, family, work or relationships. This is true regardless of age, citizenship, gender, career, educational attainment and even amount of income. There is only one explanation to all this, most people do not have a deeper understanding on how to handle money. After all, not all parents teach their children how to handle money. In addition, money management is not part of the school curriculum. If only it was taught in school. We would not have to learn the hard way. For this reason, there are some money lessons you wish you learned in school.

The Rat Race

Have you heard of the rat race? In finance, a rat race is the endless pursuit of money. It is called a rat race because it is likened to a mouse who keeps on running around in circles chasing the cheese. People in the rat race will have financial difficulties if they stop working. Unfortunately, most people are in the rat race. Worldwide statistics show that out of 100 persons who will retire, only 3 persons will be comfortable and only one will retire wealthy. Life would have been financially better if only we learned about financial literacy long before we started earning. How about you, what will your retirement look like?

Money Lessons You Wish You Learned in School

1.Money is Just a Tool

Mindset is the single most important thing that makes a person rich or poor. Thus, personal finance lessons should always start with instilling the proper mindset. Our mindset is a product of our environment. It is our belief based on what our parents and teachers taught us. Do you have a millionaire mindset or a poverty mindset?

In order to be wealthy, you got to think like the rich. One of the ways in which rich people think differently is the way they view money. For the rich, money is just a tool.

Have you heard of the saying that “Money is the root of all evil”? Most people believe that money is something bad and that rich people are greedy. This belief came from misconceptions on some bible passages. It is not money per se which is bad; rather, it is the love for money. It is people’s attachment to the trappings of wealth that makes it bad. Money should be viewed as just a tool, not as something negative. If you have money, you will be able to buy things that you need and want. Money can also be used to help other people.

2. Money Buys Choices

Money does not buy happiness, what it does buy are choices. With money, you will have unlimited options. You can choose the job that you want, where you are going to live, what car you want to drive, where do you want to go and how you are going to spend your days without constraints and worries. In short, money gives you freedom to choose.

3. There are Other Streams of Income Aside from a 9-to-5 Job

Since young, we have been programmed to do the following:

Study Hard.
Get Good Grades
Earn a Degree from a Prestigious University
Get hired into one of the Top 500 Companies
Climb the Corporate Ladder
Save Money
Buy your Dream House and Car
Retire and Receive Retirement Money from Company

There is nothing wrong with this formula except that it is NOT the only roadmap to success. There are many other streams of income aside from being an employee. You can earn a living by starting your own business. You can earn from different kinds of investments like stocks or stock options. Nowadays, you can even earn money by becoming a professional blogger, YouTuber or online gamer. There are endless possibilities available out there.

4. You can Make Money Work for you

Schools teach students how to work for money. In school, students learn different knowledge and various skills. Most of them are catered towards the specific field of your choice. Engineering students learn technical and problem-solving skills. Medical students study about the human anatomy and physiology and illnesses. Law students specialize about the laws and legal issues. After school, students are well- equipped with all these technical skills, but how many are really ready for the real world? As a result, many people ended up working for money. Unfortunately, a diploma from a prestigious university is never a guarantee of wealth. But rather, it is all about understanding how you can make money work for you opposed to learning how to work for money.

Out of all the graduates, how many actually learned about money management? How about debit and credit? How about investing? These are crucial finance lessons that one needs to know to be successful in the real world.

Without any formal personal finance instruction in our high school or college curricula, many college seniors who graduate in the red continue to make common financial mistakes that only exacerbate their debt burdens.
– Alexa Von Tobel

5. Saving Money Alone is Never Enough

We were taught the importance of saving money even at a young age. However, did you know that saving money is never enough because of an economic phenomenon called inflation? Inflation is more than just a number. It affects all of us. That is why it is important that you understand what inflation is and how it affects your finances.

Inflation happens when there is a persistent increase of the prices of goods and services which will ultimately lead to the decline of the purchasing power of your money. This means that every year the value of your money is decreasing. That is why savings alone is not enough. You need to learn to invest your money too. As a rule of thumb, the interest rate of your investments should be greater than the inflation rate.

Click here to read more money lessons you wished you learned in school.

Edited Version. First published in Pinoy Smart Living on 09.17.2019

Photo by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels

Feb

2021

How to Attract Wealth Through the Law of Attraction

Reading Time: 4 minutes

In Physics we learned that everything around us is matter. Matter is anything that occupies space and has weight whether it be solid, liquid or gas. We also learned that matter is energy. Therefore, everything around us is energy. Energy vibrates at different frequencies. It can either be positive or negative. Have you noticed that sometimes, bad things happen in bundles? In fact, there is this saying that bad things come in threes. If that happens to you, it is a sign that you are in the negative frequency, that’s why you are attracting negative things to happen in your life. The good news is that you can actually use these vibrations to your advantage. You can attract success, health, happiness and even wealth through the Law of Attraction. So, how to attract wealth through the Law of Attraction?

Everything is energy and that’s all there is to it. Match the frequency of the reality you want and you cannot help but get that reality. It can be no other way. This is not philosophy. This is Physics.
– Albert Einstein

The Law of Attraction

The Law of Attraction states that you attract what you focus o n. It is a belief that your experiences in life are a direct result of your thoughts. Positive thoughts attract positive experiences. On the other hand, negative thoughts attract negative experiences. In a way, our thoughts are like magnets. Every second of our existence, we are attracting things based on our thoughts, feelings and emotions.

Origin

This philosophy is not new. It has been practiced for hundreds of years. It was said that it was first introduced to mankind by Buddha. Buddhism teaches that human suffering can be overcome by making the right choices in life. People have the power within them to create their own realities. Just take a look at the following teachings from Buddha:

What you think, you become. What you feel you attract. And what you imagine you create.
Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.
We are shaped by our thoughts, we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like. a shadow that never leaves.
It is wrong to think that misfortunes comes from the east or from the west; they originate within one’s mind. Therefore, it is foolish to guard against misfortunes from the external world and leave the inner mind uncontrolled.
–

Famous People Who Used the Law of Attraction

And it is not just Buddha. Other famous successful also believed and applied the Law of Attraction in their lives.

Imagination is everything; it is the preview of life’s coming attractions.
– Albert Einstein

Thoughts become things. If you see it in your mind, you will hold it in your hand.
– Bob Procter

I believe you can speak things into existence.
– Jay Z

The law of attraction states that whatever you focus on, think about, read about, and talk about intensely, you’re going to attract more into your life.
– Jack Canfield

How to Attract Wealth Through The Law of Attraction

So, if your goal is financial abundance, you can easily turn yourself into a money magnet by changing your thoughts. However, this is easier said than done. Our belief system or our personal sense of reality is a product of our experiences. How we were brought up and the environment that we belong to play a crucial role in the development of our belief system. So, changing the way we look at things should only be possible with deliberate effort on our part.

The good thing about it is that there are positive money habits that we can develop slowly to make it possible to attract wealth.

1. Ensure that You Have the Correct Mindset

Your mindset will play a crucial role in manifesting money into your life. A poverty mindset can block all blessings from coming in. So first and foremost you need to figure out what kind of mindset you have. Do you have a poverty mindset or an abundance mindset? If you have a limiting belief about money, you need to change your mindset.

2. Practice Gratitude

People who practice gratitude experience more happiness and positive things into their lives. A grateful heart focuses on the blessings rather than the problems in life. By being grateful, you are shifting your focus from the negative to the positive. This in turn will allow you to attract more positive things including money.

3. Tithe

Tithing is giving a portion, normally ten percent (10%) of income to others. The ten percent serves as an offering and an acknowledgement to a divine being that you are grateful for all your talents and blessings and that you are sharing these blessings to others. Tithing brings about more blessings. The more you give, the more you will receive.

4. Use Money Affirmations

An affirmation is a positive statement that you say over and over again until you begin to believe it to be true. Affirmations are there to challenge your current reality. They also make you feel better about yourself.

Money affirmations are positive statements about money that prepares the mind to receive the money. Through the affirmations, you are starting to believe that you are capable of producing wealth and this will in turn bring you to the correct vibration in attracting money. Examples of money affirmations include:

I am a money magnet.
Money flows freely to me.
I attract good fortune.
I am open to all the wealth that life pours unto me.
Money comes to me easily and effortlessly.

5. Visualize

Visualization is a very powerful tool in achieving the life that you desire. Visualize the life that you want. How will you describe your ideal life? What is your spring day? How much money do you want in your bank account? The clearer your dreams are, the more chances that it will come true.

Every single second is an opportunity to change your life because at any moment, you can change the way you feel.
– Rhonda Byrne

Feature Image by kalhh from Pixabay

Dec

2020

Can Stock Options Trading Make You Rich?

Reading Time: 2 minutes

If you know what you are doing, yes, stock options trading can make you rich.

But if you are thinking that it is some form of a get rich quick scheme, then you are wrong. Sorry to disappoint you but there is no such thing.

Don’t fall for get rich quick schemes. It takes time and effort to build wealth properly.
– Dave Ramsey

Like any other investment vehicles, stock options trading carries its own degree of risk. When you invest in something, you are always exposing yourself to the uncertainty of the situation. There is always a chance that the result will not turn out to be the way you expect them to be. In fact, if you are not careful, you might end up losing a lot of money trading options.

The good news is that there is actually a way to minimize risk. But first, you must get rid of the get rich quick mindset. Success and wealth does not happen overnight. It takes a lot of time and effort. Once you realized this, then you are now ready to make your investment.

However, going into trading without knowledge is akin to gambling. It is no longer investing.

Without wisdom, gold is quickly lost by those who have it, but with wisdom, gold can be secured by those who have it not.
– George S. Clason

Financial literacy is always the first step in achieving your financial goals. Since stock options trading requires technical knowledge, it helps to have mentors that can teach you about stock options, especially for beginners.

Mentors are people who are experts in that particular field. Stock option trading mentors are seasoned traders. They have deep understanding, knowledge, skills and expertise on the trade. They don’t just make predictions. because they have used proven and tested strategies for years. Moreover, they read company profiles and financial statements, analyze data and study chart patterns. They use algorithmic trading programs and fundamental analysis. Then, they come up with sound and efficient strategies using the knowledge and information that they have.

Yes, you can read and study about stock options trading on your own. But having the guidance of mentors can make your journey towards wealth easier and faster.

Good luck!

Interested in knowing more about stock options trading? Register for a free webinar now.

Feature Image from Pixabay Images.

Oct

2020

Lessons from My Maid Invests in the Stock Market and Why You Should, Too!

Reading Time: 6 minutes

Have you ever thought of why you should invest in the stock market? Maybe you have heard of stories from people getting rich from investing in stocks. There are also horror stories of people going broke from risking too much in stock investments. We all have financial anxieties and investing in stocks is one way to ease our financial burdens. Most of us only lack the knowledge on how to do it.

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Common Financial Situation

The chart of expenses below compares the expenses of the regular employee to that of their house helpers. This may seem like a funny comparison but the situation also tugs at reality in a major way.

ITEMS	MS. OFFICE WORKER	MS. HOUSE MAID
Salary	12,000 / month	5,500 / month
Tax	1,000	None
Food	3,000 / month	FREE, from groceries bought by Ms. Employee
Transportation	100 / day or 3,000 / month	FREE ride w/ Ms. Employee
Mobile Phone	1,000 / month	500 / month
Freedom of Time	Need to complete 8 hours of work	Can relax when all household chores are done
Personal Care (e.g., shampoo, soap, toothpaste, etc.)	500 / month	FREE, bought by Ms. Employee
Bills	3,000 / month (Rent + Utilities)	FREE
TOTAL EXPENSES	11,500 / month	500 / month
SAVINGS	500 / month	5,000 / month
	Need to save up some more before she can send financial aid to her family in the province.	Has enough savings to send monthly financial aid to her family in the province.

Financial Situation of Ms. Employee vs. Ms. House Maid | Original Source: Flickr

“Ms. Employee” represents all of us who struggle to make ends meet with our monthly salaries. “Ms. House Maid” represents the household helper that we employ to help us manage our households. Not many of our household helpers may be able to save this much of their actual salaries. Most of us are also unable to maximize our savings because we have to take care of our expenses first. That’s why our first lesson is actually to prioritize our investment fund.

In his book My Maid Invests in the Stock Market and Why You Should, Too!, Bo Sanchez shows us that his household helpers do invest in the stock market and they can look forward to a brighter financial future by doing so. Here are some of the lessons Bo Sanchez teaches his maids which we can use so we can start investing too.

Take Charge of Your Finances

In the first part of his book, he encourages us to take charge of our financial future. Most regular employees including household helpers and OFWs do not have this initiative. We are all preoccupied with addressing our family’s present financial needs. We often forget that we should also prepare for our own future.

This is an all too common scenario outlined in his book that often happens to employees.

“They send most of their salaries back home. They send it to their parents, siblings, nephews, nieces, aunties, uncles, cousins, including their pet carabao. Sometimes, I feel my helpers are supporting entire civilizations. Without their monthly stipend back home, the economy of an entire barrio will cease to exist. People will loiter on the road aimlessly. Children will die of starvation. And the world will come to an end.”

We are all burdened by the financial needs of our families. This puts a lot of pressure on us to send them all that we can. We even end up giving them all that we have. Then, we shelve the thought of our own futures for pondering on another day.

Bo says that everyone ought to be rich but not everyone knows how to do it. This is why we should learn to invest in the stock market — to start building our wealth. In his book, he shows us the basic strategies he teaches his maids for planning their budget and what each fund is for.

Budget Your Income

If you have an income, you need to make a budget. Be sure to include investments in your budget. For his helpers, Bo suggests this simple budgeting system. The first fund for him is the tithe fund.

You’ll grow in abundance thinking, when you give beyond your family’s needs. This will make you think rich and feel rich. And when you change your thinking, you change your living. Soon, you’ll become very rich and you’ll have more to share.

Tithe Fund – Having this fund helps you grow in abundance thinking. He recommends allocating 10% of your budget for this fund.
Expenses Fund – This fund is where you will get all your spending for your daily needs.
Support Fund – What you regularly send for your family’s needs.
Emergency Fund – A savings fund that you use for when emergencies come up.
Retirement Fund – Your real savings.

Because you don’t have a business, the best way for you to grow your money is to invest in the stock market.”

This is a good budget plan to start you off on allocating your money. If you want a more sophisticated budget plan, you can also try out the money jars budgeting system. Of course, if you have loans and debts, such as credit card debts, then you need to pay off those first.

Have a Powerful Vision

Bo encouraged his helpers to follow the budget plan monthly by showing them the best and worst case scenarios that they could find themselves in if they don’t take care of their financial futures.

We should all have a clear vision of what we want to achieve when we have improved our financial situations. This will keep us motivated to stick to our monthly budget goals and help keep us disciplined to spend our money wisely.

Create a powerful vision for yourself in the future. This is where the discipline of delayed gratification can be used to your advantage. Disciplining yourself to live within the limits of your current budget will enable you to enjoy the comforts you want in life in the future, when you are not working anymore and you have all the time and the money to do what you want.

To help you stay motivated, you need to learn the basics about money and increase your financial literacy. You can also read up more on how the rich think about and manage their money.

Invest in the Stock Market

If you don’t own a business, then concentrate on doing great at your job. Then, use the money you earn to invest in the stock market. This is another reason why you should invest in the stock market.

Many people fear the stock market but Bo states that “trading” is the riskier side of the stock market and there is a difference between trading and investing.

Trading is speculation.

In trading or speculating, you don’t look at how strong the company is. Any company is a game–even what they call “penny” stocks. These are companies whose stocks are worth centavos. Because they’re considered very risky. So leave the trading to full-time traders–the people who do this full-time, studying about it 8 hours a day.

Truly Rich Club: Helping Good People Become Rich

Investing is where the investor “invests only on the great companies. Because we’re in for the long haul. Through your business or job, you create the money necessary to invest in the stock market.”

Money Cost Averaging

The best strategy to invest in the stock market is money cost averaging where you buy stocks of great companies, little by little each month. The important thing is to do it regularly. When you adapt this strategy, “you’ll be buying stocks without much thought to the bouncing of the market prices.”

He follows Warren Buffet’s strategy: “Be fearful when others are greedy, be greedy when others are fearful.” This is a simple strategy that anybody can use. This is also another reason why you should start investing in the stock market.

You Can Start Investing Online

Bo recommends that you invest online through Citiseconline, now COLFinancial using their Easy Investment Program (EIP). He states that he is not sponsored by the company but he recommends it because it allows people with smaller budgets to invest since only Php5,000 is required as the initial investment amount.

Each month, or every 3 months thereafter, you can deposit your investment fund to the different branches of these banks: BDO, BPI, Security Bank and HSBC.

These are just some of the lessons from the book My Maid Invests in the Stock Market and also the reasons on why you should invest in the stock market too! Remember though that before you start investing, you should try to eliminate all your current debts first. You should also start learning about the different investment types.

Bo Sanchez’s book definitely gave me a new perspective on how to manage my finances. The budget plan he recommends is a good plan to follow if you are just starting out earning your own money especially if you have no current loans to keep your budget tied up.

There are many resources that you can get your hands on online to help you get started on investing. In the meantime, start growing your investment fund so you can make your initial investment as soon as possible.

Here’s to a brighter financial future for all of us!

If you want to discover the Seven Success Principles from the Ancient Book of Proverbs for your money, work and life; click here to get a free copy of the Ebook from Bo Sanchez entitled Nothing Much Has Changed.

Updated. First published on Pinoy Smart Living on 04.16.2019.
Feature Image: Original Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash.

Aug

2020

Track Your Expenses

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Did you know that tracking your daily expenses will help you save a lot of money? Knowing where your money is going is the only way for you to take control of your finances. So to improve your financial life, you need to track your expenses.

You are not buying anything lavish. You don’t eat at upscale restaurants. You don’t have the latest gadgets. You don’t even drive a fancy car. But don’t you ever wonder why your money is still not enough?

Launch Challenge

Get a notebook and write down all the things that you will be spending for the next 30 days. You need to write down all your cash expenses, even small purchases like candies, tips and sticks of cigarettes. There are several apps available online that you can download for free to make your tracking easier.

At the end of 30 days, summarise your expenses under two major categories: Fixed and Discretionary Expenses.

Fixed Expenses – essentials or living expenses such as food, transportation, housing, education, bills and utilities and debt payments.
Discretionary Expenses – non-essentials that vary each month as entertainment, travel, restaurants, vices and other miscellaneous expenses.

Once you are finished categorizing them, you will then have an idea on your spending pattern. You will also have a brief overview on what percentage of your income goes to unnecessary expenses.

Then use this data, to create your monthly budget. If your spending is more than your earning, you need to experiment and see what items you can reduce or cut down totally from your budget. Remember, your monthly income minus expenses should always be greater than or equal to zero. The money jar budgeting system is a good budgeting guide to use.

So, what are you waiting for? Begin to track your expenses now!

Updated Version. First Published in Pinoy Smart Living on 08.21.2018

Feature Image by Michal Jarmoluk from Pixabay Images.

Jun

2020

Building Wealth and Success Through Leverage

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Many people dream of becoming wealthy. However, the road to wealth and success is long, hard and winding. This is the reason why only a few made it big. Most people gave up along the way. Unknown to many, there is a shorter way to success and that is through leverage. It is possible but very difficult to make it on your own. After all, we are all humans and we all have limitations. But building wealth and success through leverage will allow you to use resources that is beyond what you can offer making the journey a lot easier and faster.

What is Leverage?

The Cambridge dictionary defines leverage as to use something that you already have in order to achieve something new or better.

In short, leverage is using something to achieve something with less effort. Think of it as a lever. A lever is a bar that you use to make your work easier. It allows you to use less force to lift or move objects. Items such as scissors, nail clippers, hammer, staplers, bottle openers, brooms and gym equipments are all examples of levers. They are machines or equipments that you use on a daily basis to make your life easier.

A Lever is used to make things easier.
Image Credit: OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay Images

Just as you use leverage to make your life easier on a daily basis, you can also use leverage on your journey towards building wealth and success. Using leverage is the same as working smarter rather than harder.

The hours that ordinary people waste, extraordinary people leverage.
– Robin Sharma

What are the different forms of leverage?

There are many forms of leverage that you can use on your journey to wealth and success. Here are some of them:

1. Financial Leverage (Other People’s Money)

In finance / economics, leverage is defined as to use money to get more money. In short, it is using other people’s money to start a business, buy an asset or finance an investment. Examples are borrowing money from a bank to purchase real estate or looking for an investor to your business.

2. Time Leverage (Other People’s Time)

Did you know that the wealthy thinks that time is more valuable than money? Why? It is is simple you can use time to buy more money but you cannot use money to buy more time. Even if you lose all you money, you can still get it back but with time, you cannot do that. Whether you are rich or poor, successful or struggling, we all have 24 hours in a day, no more no less.

So, stop doing everything on your own. Delegate some of the work to others so that you can focus on doing the important tasks.

3. Talent Leverage (Other People’s Knowledge)

No one is a master in everything. Let’s face it, there are other people who are more talented than you. They have more experienced and have greater skills than you in a particular field. Why not use them to have an organizational advantage? Make them a member of your team and a part of your support group.

4. Network Leverage (Other People’s Connections)

Networking is important in our lives especially if you have a business or you are into sales. However, humans have limitations as far as connections and social relationships are concern. That’s why you need to tap into other people’s network to expand your own.

5. Marketing Leverage (Other People’s Audiences)

If you are a business owner, a blogger or a social media influencer, you know that it is hard to establish a brand especially if you are a start-up. Through marketing leverage, you utilize other people’s audiences through their magazines, newsletters, etc. to communicate your message and build awareness of your product or service.

In short, what matter your goals in life are or what industry you are in, leverage can multiply your efficiency. You can use just one form or you can use all at the same time. The point is, you accelerate your growth through leverage.

Remember, work smarter not harder.

Feature Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay Images

Jun

2020

Basics of Financial Literacy: What You Need to Know

Reading Time: 2 minutes

The world is now officially on a recession. Businesses went bankrupt and millions of people have lost their jobs. Many people found themselves in deep financial troubles. Although It is impossible to undo the events of the past, it is still possible to improve your financial future through financial literacy. What you need to know for now is the basics of financial literacy.

Whether we like it or not, money is a part of our daily lives. A basic understanding on how money works can help you make wise financial decisions in the future. It will help save you financially when the next big crisis comes. Thus, knowing the basics of financial literacy is a must.

Start your financial literacy journey by reading some life-changing books on wealth and success. It will also help if you familiarize yourself with some basic terms on personal finance. Knowing some of the basic components on financial literacy is also is very important in your financial life.

Basics of Financial Literacy

1. Budgeting

Budgeting is a spending plan. It is allocating a certain amount of money for the things that you need and want. Though budgeting, you will be able to figure out if you have enough money to buy things that you want. It will also allow you to create a plan for your future spending. It is basically weighing in your income vis-a-vis your expenses and trying to create a balance between the two.

A good budgeting technique that you can follow is the money jar budgeting system. This approach allows you to be be able to meet both your needs and wants and at the same time, grow your wealth in the process.

2. Saving

Every financial guru stresses the importance of saving. Savings are the money that is set aside for future use especially during emergencies. It is common sense yet only a handful of people do it. That’s because saving money takes a lot of discipline.

If there is one thing that this crisis taught us, it is the importance of saving. Those who have enough savings will be able to rise above this crisis. Aside from serving as your emergency fund, your savings can also give you freedom. You can use it as downpayment for your dream house. Your savings can also use to buy a new car or to travel to your dream destination. The possibilities are endless.

3. Understanding Debt

Not all debts are created equal. There are good debts and there are bad debts. Understanding what they are and how they differ from one another will help you make good financial decisions when it comes to handling debts.

Almost all people in the world will have to handle debt at one point in their lives, whether it be a mortgage, a car loan, a credit card debt or any other kind of personal loans. Debts can have positive or negative effects on everyone’s lives. Knowing the basics will help people use debts for their own advantage.

There is still a lot to learn but it is definitely worth the time and effort. For now, understanding the basics of financial literacy is a good start towards your journey to improving your financial life for the better.

Feature Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay Images

May

2020

Life-Changing Books on Wealth and Success

Reading Time: 7 minutes

Your first step towards wealth is not some rocket science. All you need is to develop some good habits. Habits are things that you continually do on a regular basis. Highly successful people have daily success habits. These habits are what made them successful. So, If your goal is to become rich, you must learn to adopt some rich habits. One of these habits is to read life-changing books on wealth and success.

Tom Corley, author of the bestselling book Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals stated that out of all the habits of the rich and highly successful people, the most significant difference between the habits of the rich and the poor is their reading habits. According to him, about 88% of the wealthy read at least 30 minutes a day while only 2% of the poor do.

The more you read, the more things you know. The more you learn, the more places you will go.
Dr. Seuss

Highly successful people read a lot. Warren Buffet reads 600-1000 pages a day. Bill Gates reads about 50 books a year. Mark Zuckerberg reads a book once every two weeks. These people do not just read anything. According to Tom Corley, successful people read to learn. They read books on self-improvement, success, business and their industries. They also read biographies and autobiographies of other successful people. The poor on the other hand, read to be entertained.

If you want to become rich and successful; begin by reading. Do not just read anything, read books that will help you grow as a person. Through reading financial books, you will be able to learn so many things about money and how money works. A better understanding of money will give you enough tools that can help you make good financial decisions in your daily lives.

Life Changing Books on Wealth and Success for Beginners

There are millions of success books out there. For beginners, I would like to recommend five life-changing books on financial literacy and success. Read them. Study them and apply them in your life. Hopefully by doing so, these books will serve as catapult and inspiration in your journey towards a wealthier, healthier and happier you.

8 Secrets of the Truly Rich by Bo Sanchez

If reading is not your cup of tea, there is no better better way to start developing your reading habits than through this book. Preacher and best-selling author Bo Sanchez has mastered the art of story telling. No long descriptions. No lengthy paragraphs. It is written humorously so there is never a dull moment. This is the best book to start not only your reading habit but also my journey towards financial freedom.

This book is very inspirational. Bo Sanchez challenged some people’s negative beliefs about money. A lot of Christians grew up with several crazy religious beliefs such as the rich cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven and the come what may attitude in the sense that some people rely on God too much and they fail to do their part. For the longest time, people were made to believe that wealth and spirituality don’t mix just like oil and water.

Bo Sanchez wants the people to stop blaming others and instead be totally responsible for your own success. He placed the context of money and success as part of God’s plan. God wants you to be wealthy because He wants you to have the ability to help others. It is difficult to help others if you are poor.

Money is not dirty. Instead, money with the right purpose will do wonders for the world. it also put emphasis on the importance of doing your part as opposed to waiting for God’s blessings to come your way. The road to financial freedom needs commitment. It also involves raising your financial IQ.

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

First published in 1938 during the Great Depression, this book is considered to be the most influential book of all time. Its author Napoleon Hill is said to have motivated millions of people into success than any other person in history.

As a journalist, Napoleon Hill was given an assignment to interview one of the richest man in history and said to be the most powerful man in the world during that time, industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. Andrew Carnegie refused to directly answer Napoleon Hill’s questions. Instead, he commissioned Napoleon Hill to interview over 500 millionaires to find the common success formula that will help the average person overcome the great economic depression of that time. Napoleon Hill spent 20 years researching and interviewing successful people such as Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, John Rockefeller and Theodore Roosevelt.

If Bo Sanchez was able to convince you to want to become rich, then Napoleon Hill will guide you and give you the initial steps you need to take on how to become successful. According to Hill, success is a product of your mind.

Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.
Napoleon Hill

You need to know what you want to achieve and be committed in achieving it. Life only gives you what you ask for – whether it be riches, happiness, love and success. The book is basically an account of how to develop the correct mindset to gain success and accumulate riches.

The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

The Secret is basically a reinforcement of Napoleon Hill’s teaching on the power of the mind. Rhonda Byrne elaborates on the power of positive thinking. Thoughts are powerful. Just like The Law of Attraction, we attract things that we focus on.We attract positive things when we focus on the positive and in the same way, we attract more negative things if what we only think about is how miserable our life is.

For example, you are going to take an exam. If you are going to focus on how hard the exam will be, you are not helping yourself a bit. Instead of focusing on how hard the exam will be; think of ways to prepare yourself for the exam. Study well so that when the day of the exam comes, you are prepared. By shifting your focus from the negative to the positive, instead of being helpless, you become in control.

Although bombarded by critics because of its metaphysical claims that anything you think about or focus on will come true; in a way, this book actually gives hope to people in hardships and in pain. Instead of dwelling on your pain, Rhonda Byrne encourages optimism and love. Our life is the product of our thoughts. Change your thoughts and you change your life.

All that we are is a result of what we have thought.
Buddha

If your mind is now filled with positive thoughts and you now have a burning desire to change your life as encouraged by Rhonda Byrne, you are now ready for Robert Kiyosaki’s financial management lessons.

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

Rich Dad, Poor Dad has been dubbed numerous times as the number one finance book of all time with millions of copies sold. In the book Robert Kiyosaki talks about his two dads who are both successful in their careers. The main difference between his two fathers is that his real father put importance on academic intelligence while his rich father put importance on financial intelligence.

His biological father has a doctorate degree in two prestigious universities in Hawaii. He earned a considerable amount of income in his lifetime yet he was always struggling financially. He left debts to be paid upon his death.

His second father, the father of his bestfriend, never finished eighth grade. However, he was one of the richest man in Hawaii leaving millions of dollars to his family and to several charities upon his death.

The book attracted a lot of controversies because it critiques and enumerates the flaws of the current educational system. Robert Kiyosaki challenges the conventional teachings of middle class family of studying hard to get grades so that you can have a good job, climb your way up to the corporate ladder and save along the way.

Kiyosaki will open your eyes to a world from a different perspective. He stressed the importance of financial literacy by explaining key concepts in finance such as assets and liabilities and passive income versus earned income. For him, it is important that you do not become a slave of money but instead learn how to make money work for you.

The Secrets of a Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker

If your are ready for the next level which is to take action, then the Secrets of the Millionaire Mind by T. Harv Eker is the book for you. This book is meant to be applied in your life. T. Harv Eker provides a step-by-step guide in identifying your old thinking and changing it into a millionaire’s mind.

To master the inner game of wealth, T. Harv Eker, suggested several exercises or challenges for you to do in the wealth files. He also emphasized the importance of declarations in changing your mindset. One particular challenge is if you are a complainer, you are not supposed to utter a word of complaint in 7 days. By following the activities, you will slowly adopt the millionaire mind.

One of the most effective ways to change your financial life that the author recommends that you apply in your life is under the wealth file on how the rich handles their money. According to the author, poor people have a tendency to mismanage their money. He recommends using the money jar budgeting system as a a budgeting technique. A lot of testimonies were written on how their net worth improved drastically by simply following T. Harv Eker’s advices.

Other Books on Wealth and Success

Other titles that are worth reading include:

Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
Chicken Soup for the Soul Series by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
My Maid Invests in the Stock Market … and Why You Should, Too! by Bo Sanchez
Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals by Thomas Corley
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Automatic Millionaire: A Powerful One-Step Plan to Live and Finish Rich by David Bach
The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino
The Intelligent Investor: The Definitive Book on Value Investing by Benjamin Graham, Jayson Zweig and Warren Buffet
The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko
The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason
The Slight Edge: Turning Simple Disciplines into Massive Success and Happiness by Jeff Olson

Your learning journey will open up a whole new world of ideas for you. However, reading is not enough. Remember that you also need to be able to apply these new insights in your life.

Happy reading!

Updated version. First published in Pinoy Smart Living 08.15.2016

Feature Image: Free-Photos from Pixabay

May

2020

What Is Your Definition of Success?

Reading Time: 4 minutes

When you are asked what is success, what is your answer? Do you have a sure and ready answer or does the question compel you to pause and think? Most people have a ready, but not necessarily sure, answer to this question.

The most popular answer is either to be wealthy or to be happy. If this is also your answer, have you thought about how much wealth you need to have to be able to say you’re successful, or how do you know when you have succeeded in achieving happiness?

Wealth constitutes what you have when someone takes all your money away.
— Jordan Peterson

If you pause and think about this question, then you might be considering what exactly being successful means. As a way to answer the question, let’s first try to define what it is not.

What Success Isn’t

Most people would consider failure as the opposite of success. But if you review the lives of many individuals we consider “successful”, most of them had their turning point to success after a series of failures, or right after a major failure or a combination of these events. Take a look at these people:

Walt Disney – fired from the Kansas City Star because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” Formed his first animation company but had to dissolve it because he could not pay his rent. Went on to be nominated for 59 Academy Awards for his work.

Oprah Winfrey – born into poverty, was pregnant at 14, fired from her first TV job because she was “unfit for television.” Became the host to one of the longest-running talks shows on TV and now has her own media empire.

Bill Gates – his first company with two other partners failed but this didn’t stop him from trying again. He founded Microsoft, one of the worlds biggest companies and he is now one of the wealthiest men in the world.

JK Rowling – found herself divorced, on welfare and with a child to support by the time she finished her first book. Her book was rejected by all 12 major publishers until a year later when Bloomsbury accepted it and gave her a small advance fee. Her series of books is still enjoying huge success.

Failure is Part of Success

Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.
— Winton S. Churchill

From these few examples, there are some noticeable patterns for achieving success:

Failure is just a stepping stone to success.
Focusing on a major goal and not giving up is important.
Success is not concentrated in just one career path or industry.
Wealth is a consequence of achieving success.

An important thing to take note of is that each of them had different major goals in life based on their personal talents or interest or what we may call as their passion. They set out to do something which they already love to do. This fueled them to keep on working even when facing setbacks.

Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.
— Winston S. Churchill

Although their goals were personal to them, it also had a huge impact on a large number of people. Their actions in pursuit of their goals fulfilled a need, addressed a lack that people were trying to find a solution for. This attracted people to support them and their activities which boosted their momentum towards their goals.

Success isn’t just about what you accomplish in your life; it’s about what you inspire others to do.
— Unknown

They did not set out specifically to become wealthy but it was a by-product of achieving their goals and thus, being successful in their particular field.

Stop chasing the money and start chasing the passion.
— Tony Hsieh

What Success Is

Using the observations we have from the examples we reviewed previously, we can define success roughly as follows:

Success is the state of an individual who has achieved a major life goal that they pursued diligently by overcoming failures, which also benefits a large number of people.

Obviously, success is something that you define personally, so you can reword this definition the way you think is more appropriate to you. The more important thing is that you understand the whole concept.

Success seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.
— Conrad Hilton

Arriving at a state or position in life where you can call yourself successful means that you have achieved a “major life goal”. “Major” is emphasized here, because in order to reach this goal, you have to succeed in the smaller goals first.

Think of it as succeeding in your daily health habits, like eating the right food, which leads to your success in your major health goal of losing weight and achieving a slimmer body.

How To Be Successful

From these patterns, we can further say that the method for success is as follows:

You define your major goal in life.
Your goals should benefit other people.
You work diligently to pursue your goal.
You don’t give up when you fail.

Now that you have a blueprint for success; it’s time to take your first step to determining your own definition of success.

Start Your Journey to Success

One of the first things you can do to start your journey to success is to define what you mean by success. There are many ways to go about this so choose the one that works for you. Here are some guide questions you can ask yourself to get started:

Take some time to think about your answers to these questions and write them down. An important tip while doing these exercises, and even while you’re pursuing your goals, is to maintain a happy demeanor.

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.
— Albert Schweitzer

This means that you “choose to be happy” every day and not wait to succeed to become happy. By deciding to be happy every day, you will be able to bounce back from failures better and you will be more open to learning from new things from other people and experiences.

We hope this helps you gain clarity on what success means to you and also help you take your first steps to your journey. Cheers to your success!

Feature Image: Original Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash.

May

2020

How Financial Literacy Can Change Your Life

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Are you constantly worried about money? How is your financial situation during the lockdown? Are you struggling to make ends meet? Do you have enough savings to go through this pandemic? Are you struggling to meet debt obligations? Are you living from paycheck to paycheck? Do you feel that your salary is not enough to cover your monthly expenses? Are your financial worries so stressful that they are already gravely affecting all aspects of your life including your health and personal relationships? Well, there is a solution to your problem. That is, a basic understanding of finance. Financial literacy can change your life for the better.

What will you do when you have money problems? Most people will look for ways to earn more money by sacrificing their time and health. They will either get a second job or work overtime just to raise the needed money. Other people will resort to borrowing money. However, not all loans are created equal. There are good loans and bad loans. Some loans like credit cards charge high interests and can easily spiral out of control especially if you don’t know how to use them. There are some who will simply rely on government support. While these strategies may help ease your financial burdens in the short term, it is not going to permanently solve your money issues in the long run.

There is only one solution to money problems and that is financial literacy.

The single biggest difference between financial success and financial failure is how well you manage your money. It’s simple: to master money, you must manage money. –
T. Harv Eker

Financial literacy is essential in having a secure financial future. Unfortunately, financial literacy was never thought in school. For most people, the yearning to learn financial literacy only comes when they are already faced with financial crisis.

Academic qualifications are important and so is financial education. They’re both important and schools are forgetting one of them.
Robert Kiyosaki

So, what exactly is financial literacy? Wikipedia defines financial literacy as ” the possession of the set of skills and knowledge that allows an individual to make informed and effective decisions with all of their financial resources”.

In short, financial literacyis simply understanding money and how it works. It is knowing how to budget, how to pay your bills, how to borrow money responsibly, how to save, invest and prepare for retirement. Financial literacy will help you make good financial decisions in your everyday life that will ultimately affect your overall financial situation and change your life for the better.

Working hard is simply not enough. You can be a graduate of a four-year course, have a master’s degree or even a doctorate degree but know nothing about personal finance. Even if you are earning millions, you can still end up poor if you know nothing about how money works. It is not about how much money you make but it is all about what you do with the money that you earn that matters.

It is not about how much money you make. The question is are you educated enough to keep it.
Shaquille O’Neal

More so, have you ever wondered why the rich is becoming richer and the poor becoming poorer? Contrary to popular belief, it is not because the rich are all crooks. Neither it is the government’s fault. If you want to know the answer to this question, invest your time in financial education and soon you will find out that the only thing that is stopping you from being wealthy is you.

Make your first step and start your journey towards financial literacy now.

And remember, financial literacy is a lifelong journey. It will not end by simply reading just one book. It is something that you need to learn throughout your life if you want to achieve complete financial freedom.

Edited version. First published in Pinoy Smart Living 10.19.2018Feature Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay Images