Category: Wealth Secrets

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A Farmer’s Approach to Wealth Making


farming

 

The universe is a perfect example of collaboration and interdependence. Nothing stands alone!

We are members of that system. Our lives exhibit different dimensions that must work together if we aim for harmony and prosperity.

Attaining financial wealth is the result of thoughtful and intuitive groundwork on our part. Just like love, self esteem, happiness. They are all fruits, of healthy roots!

To use farming as a metaphor, a wise farmer decides what he/she wants to grow, picks up good seeds, prepares the land (weeding, leveling, fertilizing, etc), waits for the right season (which takes knowledge), then plants the seeds carefully.

That is the bulk of the work. After that, he or she must keep tending to the land, making sure it’s well-watered, free from insects, and so forth.

The rest is not his/her job! The seeds, given the right environment, know what to do. A farmer can’t speed up or slow down their growth.

Aiming to create and grow wealth is quite similar. It starts with knowing what we want, in as much details as possible, while leaving ample room for creativity and spontaneity.

The next step is finding the right “land”, which is the right business or investment that would translate what we want into actual products and/or services, profitable investments, or both.

The “seeds” are plenty. The challenge is to choose the right ones for you and your dream. It is essential to give this enough thought and soul searching. Sit down, write down, reflect, talk to others, collect and analyze information, release negative emotions, then make your decision(s).

What we seek, seeks us! As strange as it may sound, I’m sure you could find examples from your own life to the truthfulness of this finding. Most of the time we meet halfway, but it won’t come knocking on our doors (it might for a few). We must “move” intelligently towards it, and while moving, we continue to be open to what the road might throw before us. That might be another opportunity we haven’t thought of.

Let’s summarize what we have explored so far:

  • Know what you want.
    • This can’t be emphasized enough. We either know what we want, or not. In the latter case, someone, or something, else would choose for us
    • The farmer, in the above metaphor, knows that he/she wants to grow, say, corn this season. What do you want to “grow”, and how would you know? Go back to the basics. Ask yourself fundamental questions about your life in general. Be as honest as you can when you answer. Let those responses come from “you”, regardless of others’ approval, regardless of your current circumstances, and regardless of past conditioning and limiting self-concepts (this is a tough one. Go through it gently and steadily)
    • The outcome is your vision/mission statement. The constitution of your life! Something that reflects who you truly are. Something that inspires you every time you read it!
    • Derive from that statement your wealth objectives. Write them down as intentions, in the present tense. Avoid woulds and shoulds. And stay away from “wanting”. Here’s an example: “I intend to reach $$ net-worth by end of 20xx
  • Find the seeds
    • Now that you know the destination, look for the vehicle(s) that would take you there. One source that is readily available for you is this blog. Read the articles from the beginning. You’ll find a multitude of concepts, strategies and techniques to help you decide what vehicle you’d like to ride
    • Once you find what seeds you like to grow, look for the right implementation. This is also covered in details throughout the blog. However, you can do your own research using whatever tools that are available to you. The point is to plant those seeds in a good, “fertile” environment
  • Take care of your new farm. Nonetheless, allow it to grow on its own. Give it time and be patient. A farmer wouldn’t wake up every morning, go to the cornfield, and yell at it: Grow, grow! Be watchful at this stage and well-informed, but not willful

Finally, what we set out to achieve in life follows timeless principles. The more we know and understand those changeless facts, the smoother the ride, and the better the outcome would be.

The Wealth Maker

© Image Credit: www.shermanfarmnh.com, From Google Images. © Google Inc.

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How to Weather Financial Storms


fin-storm

Wealth is a state of being. An orientation towards abundance that is unique. On one hand, you do not feel “entitled” to anything. You see what you have as a pure blessing. On the other, one believes he or she deserves prosperity as a birthright, and go out in the world to attain it, ethically and effectively.

Financial wealth is no exception. It comes as a result of who you are, and how you translate that into enlightened, guided and productive actions.

Like everything in this short passage called “life”, like the oceans that ebb and flow, the state of our physical wealth may go through ups and downs. The frequency of such changes could appear over the course of years, or months, depending on the structure of your financial foundation, and your short-, mid- and long-term decisions.

When everything is alright, everything is alright! Friends and family are close, all is well, and everyone is “seemingly” happy.

As things start faltering, guess who sticks around? Only those who love you, or like you, regardless of your financial status, or any status for that matter. This is important to know in good times, not only in bad times. It helps choose whom to trust.

On the practical level, it is advisable to always have, stowed away, a six-month reserve to cover basic, essential needs: Food, shelter, car, school tuition, etc.

What if the downturn lasted more than six months? It is possible, and we’ve seen it, especially in a soft economy. Here comes the importance of long-term planning, and preparation. As a master of your ship, you can “see” those black clouds before they hit home, and get to work on your plan B, C or even D (of course, you do have at least B 🙂

How about the emotional side of things? This could be tougher!

How can you maintain your composure, your strength, and your trust in a higher Power that knows what you’re going through, and will never leave you alone, as it always has?

This is not theoretical, or abstract. It is as real as it can get. We need our emotional and spiritual energies at their best. Otherwise, the storm might wipe us out, no kidding about that …

What we do when “everything is alright” comes to the rescue when things are not alright. Serving others quietly and candidly, helping the needy, being active volunteers in our communities, nurturing the relationships we’ve built upon love and trust. But the most important is cultivating an unwavering faith, a special connection beyond space-time and cause-effect restrictions. All of that is a different kind of “deposit” in a mysterious, yet real, emotional/spiritual account. We deposit without keeping track, for it comes naturally out of who we truly are!

And finally, we need to remember that no storm lasts forever, and that every storm brings with it opportunities for growth, which would’ve never been possible otherwise.

The Wealth Maker

© Image Credit: http://www.comparethemarket.com.au/

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How Can an Investor Read The Future?


Investing is not only an intellectual enterprise. It challenges all dimensions of an investor’s personality and character. That’s why it is an inner job, before it manifests in the outer.

Nonetheless, an investor is not a fortuneteller, a speculator, or a gambler. He or she sees the activity as a business, which is prone to loss and profit, rise and demise.

Human beings are bound by the laws of cause and effect, and governed by the flow of time. Is that so? We tend to “like” to surrender to such determinism because our minds need to find closure on everything. Without such “unconscious” obedience to these laws, without time, the mind gets lost.

Within each and every one of us is a potential greater than the mind. Tapping into that potential requires awareness and inner work. You may start by paying attention to the mind’s ceaseless thinking, and train yourself to be an observer, not a participant in the thousands of thoughts the mind conjures up everyday! You can reach a stage where you “choose” what serves you and add value to your life, while releasing that which confuses or troubles you.

The mind can’t stop working. This is a blessing. Nevertheless, it could turn into a curse when the mind starts using us to “entertain” itself, especially as it finds itself “free”. Keep it busy with something suitable to its nature, and useful to you and to the world around you. Apart from that, practice the art of “un-participation”. You are not your mind!

Here you might say: I’m confused! Are you telling me to be mindless?

Not at all. I’m asking you to be “mindful”. To be the master of your mind not its slave. There is a huge difference between the two worlds.

How is all of that related to investing? Surprisingly a lot!

When you become in command of your mind, and hence your life, all your activities start flowing effortlessly. You bypass the mind’s resistance to the new in favor of the old and familiar.

That leads to a very important fact, which sets the stage for the rest of this discussion: History does not repeat itself! Each and every moment is independent and new, and it may surprise you.

Does that make me read the future? You might ask.

Not literally. However, it advances you light years ahead in your ability to engage the moments while they unfold, which is, in my humble opinion, better than reading the future.

As you rid yourself of a troubling past, and be fully present here and now, you become “aligned” with true universal principles. Time becomes your friend. Cause and effect your servants. You are no longer asleep, spiritually. You start to “see”. You begin to “know” without thinking. You step into a new realm that has already been within you, but now you’re “awake” to its existence and brilliance.

From this new foundation, your investment decisions (and all your decisions) will change, for the better. You have on your side the best advisor ever, you! The real you…

This can only be proven through direct experience. Do not believe any of the above, but try it and practice it, honestly.

After all, whose life and whose money are we talking about? Doesn’t that deserve exploring something new? Haven’t we had enough of resigning to the old, only because it is familiar? And we all know, too well, that “familiar” does not equate to “successful”. Most of the time, it leads to the opposite.

Any breakthrough, throughout human history, has come about by challenging habitual thinking and exploring the frontiers that laid dormant behind the mind.

Gravity isn’t only physical!

The Wealth Maker

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Beware of Binary Options (BO) Trading!


Despite its newness, BO trading has almost gone mainstream. The promise of fast and easy attainment of riches fuels its overwhelming proliferation.

People with no experience whatsoever embark on this adventure. After all, opening an account takes seconds. Placing a trade is swift and instant, and so is losing money!

The business model of the so-called binary options brokers (many of them are regulated by gambling authorities, if at all) is an old-fashion scheme, where the winners take part of the losers’ money, and the house keeps the rest. Does that remind you of any other business model?!

New brokers are popping up everywhere. The only region that doesn’t welcome them as much is North America. None of them is recognized or regulated by financial authorities in either Canada or The US.

The platforms, the graphs, the glamour, and even the so-called “rules” play on the psychology of the users, who soon become losers of hard-earned funds.

What is the split? Probably one winner in every 100 or more members. So let’s run a quick calculation. The winner is so good, he/she nets $1000 a day. The losers, on the other hand, give up an average of 50/member. Total loss: 50 *100 = 5000. The winner gets a grand, and the house keeps four; not bad at all! Keep in mind that this example assumes a very low-end of the game. Usually, the split is one winner out of at least 500. And the losers let go of more than 50 a piece.

Is that business, investment, or even trading?

No. It is not, by any measure. It’s a new form of online gambling. People talk about using technical analysis to “predict” the closing price of an asset, when the trade expires. What’s that called? Betting, right. Fighting the odds, with eyes less than half-oppened.

Financial markets are unpredictable on the long-term, let alone for minutes and/or seconds. A price graph may decide to have a “hiccup” right before expiry, costing you all the money you’ve put on that price closing higher (or lower) than the entry point. The reason could be a piece of news, High Frequency Trading (HFT), or any other unpredictable event that may have taken place momentarily, causing a trend to change direction, wiping out your “investment.”

Is that fair? Well, first, no one forces you to do it. And second, which is more important, this is an emotional rollercoaster. Very few people can maintain their composure in the face of such rapid changes. Those are the few winners, exactly as in poker, or any other money game.

Money is a vehicle to exchange real value. Playing with it isn’t healthy, both for the individual and the economy.

Please notice that nothing is being exchanged, not even futures (for example, commodities or stocks). The whole deal is about prediction and speculation. The “trader” buys the “right” to put money on a probability, which is affected by factors that are entirely outside the reach and control of the trader. Can you buy and sell probabilities? You can utilize statistical data to make an informed investment decision. Here, that piece of information has become the asset!

We need to know the traps so we wouldn’t step on them.

Go back to the articles on this blog, or any other source you trust. Gain the knowledge of real investment, real work. Know your options, and never commit money to buying fish in the ocean!

The Wealth Maker

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What is Wealth to You?


Everything is created twice: First on the screen within that reflects heart wishes and mind logic, and second, in the physical world, as a manifestation of what is reflected on that screen.

Now, the actual realization of one’s wishes and desires may or not precisely reflect what was within. Individual beliefs, self concept, and guided action, all, among others, determine what actually takes place before our eyes.

Wealth is no exception. In order to attain it, you’ve got to know what it means to you! Can you hit a target you don’t see?

I was inspired to write this article by a book titled “The Rules of Wealth” by Richard Templar. The 2nd rule in that book is “Decide on your definition of wealth”.

Templar has a good point there. It is not enough to tell yourself: “I want to be wealthy”. What does that mean?

If you couldn’t “define it”, then how would you go get it?

Once you finish reading this article, grab a pen and paper, your smart phone, tablet, whatever, and write down at least five things that would give your dream a meaning; something you can visualize, internalize and start moving towards.

It could be a list of possessions. Or, a combination of things to have, activities to do, and character traits to develop and sustain. No matter what comes first to the mind, and seems flowing from the heart, write it down. That’s how a commitment is shaped.

Use present tense, and avoid hoping and wishing. Here’s an example:

I intend to get a graduate degree in (fill in the blanks) by end of 20xx

I intend to create a residual income of ($$$) by June 20xx

By the time you finish writing down your intentions, you’ll have a “contract” with yourself. If you enjoy a high, healthy self-respect (which I’m sure you do), chances are you will attain those intentions, because the first, and most important, creation has already been taken care of!

The Wealth Maker

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Can Wealth Be Attracted, Unconventionally?


 

The advocates of the law of attraction suggest that people “attract” into their lives what they think and feel repeatedly. That is a big statement, and an alarming one, for that matter.

I recently stumbled upon an audio product titled “Attract Wealth”, by barainsync.com ™. It is presented (and probably authored) by Kelly Howell, a well-known figure in that field.

The message is this: If you could bypass the traffic lights of your conscious mind (the gatekeeper of everything you know since you were in your mother’s womb), and delve into the subconscious, impressing upon it messages of wealth and prosperity, you would see different, positive results manifest in your financial life.

Coming from an engineering/science background, I can’t seem to find a method to “test” or measure such claim. The only way of validation is direct experience. And that differs from one person to another.

Regardless of whether the proposition is valid or not, my own view is that it should be treated as a supplementary resource, just like multivitamins.

What does that entail? We still have a need to work, to provide value and be rewarded for it. If something can make that meaningful effort easier and more enjoyable, then why not?

On the other hand, it is true, in my opinion, that the universe is much more than what the five senses convey to our minds. If we can’t see, smell, hear, taste or touch something, it doesn’t necessarily mean that “something” does not exist. Existence is not as simple as we might think. It’s real, complex, and mysterious at the same time.

A word of caution before you try to “experience” the above-mentioned product (or something similar). The soundtracks have embedded brainwaves and subliminal messages. If you don’t know what those are, Google™ them. You’ll find thousands of pages. Here’s the one I’d suggest: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brainwave_entrainment

If you decide to give it a shot, why not share with us your findings by commenting on this post?

 

The Wealth Maker

 

 

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Are you ready to start?


Why do most dreamers end up at the nearside of their dreamland?

Why do only three percent of the population, or less, make it, financially?

Is it lack of knowledge or lack of courage?

Or is it a main effect (not a side-effect) of a widespread disease called: Perfectionism?

How much preparation does one need in order to start? And what kind of preparation is that?

We tend to fall prey to our own predictions! Our own procrastination, which is, oftentimes, an implicit result of our fears…

So, when do we start? At the onset of the dream, or when the dream starts vanishing!

When the dream is ripe; clear in your mind and soul, and you take one action, just one simple action, something remarkable happens!

Trouble? Challenges? You bet! Yet, you got a huge advantage there; the image is still vivid behind your eyes and between your ears. Sometimes it’s even pounding in your chest.

While challenges mount up the moment you start, your momentum has been set in motion. Just before that one action, you had been in total inertia. Your own dream had been weighing you down.

Never wait till your plans are perfect. They will never be.

Dream vividly, intend purposefully, plan carefully, yet, start taking actions now!

The process is not linear. Always balance out your preparation and your action energy, even if you have to juggle between the two. Actions give you valuable feedback on your plans, so you would revise and improve them. Plans, on the other hand, guide your actions, so you wouldn’t shoot in the dark!

The Wealth Maker

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2013 in review


The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 74,000 times in 2013. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 3 days for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

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The Trader: Financial Awareness


 

“When a proactive, constructive idea hits you, all of a sudden, never dismiss it, act on it instantly”

That exactly what happened one afternoon, two months ago. I felt so driven to create a LinkedIn group, and name it The Trader. No analysis or deliberate planning, just a strong gut feeling.

Are gut feelings, intuitions, inspirations enough to embark on a new business idea, take an investment decision, or get married!

Honestly, I am not sure. It depends on the person, the topic, and the circumstances. In this case, it was clearly a good idea. The only resistance came from this part that always says no!

I’m so glad now I listened to that hunch. The Trader has become an exemplary group, in less than two months. Not because I created it, but because of the fine people, who accepted my invitation to join, then shared their wisdom, expertise, and hearts. I owe this success to them.

So what is this group all about? Most LinkedIn groups are networking boards. It is different with The Trader. The vision, in three words, is to learn, share and grow.

The world today is filled with financial advisors, professional traders, investors of all types, wealth management experts, financial authors, or just novice beginners, who are eager to find their way through all the clutter, online and off-line.

The Trader aims to start a movement of “financial awareness”. When the right people get their heads, and their hearts, together, have a clear vision, and robust intentions, they can create miracles. You don’t need thousands of members, just a selected few.

The discussions are still spontaneous, which is perfectly normal and healthy. Down the road, and guided by the group’s vision, The Trader will step on its path.

I believe The Trader can present a robust and sane investing model to the industry. That could be the nucleus for a revolutionary trend, one that is rooted in the principles of value investing, yet flexible enough to utilize the best of evolving schools of thought.

It is still young. It has a bright future, and a rich potential.

The Wealth Maker

 

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Intelligent Wealth Making


With the advent of the Internet, creating and maintaining wealth has become accessible to more people all over the globe. Throughout the posts of this blog, I have covered several methods, techniques, and concepts that, if followed properly, would lead to making, growing, and maintaining wealth.

Nevertheless, the explosive proliferation of “money making” tools, especially online, has not replaced the need for intelligence! On the contrary, it has made losing money much easier and faster than ever before…

What does it entail to be an intelligent wealth maker? Knowledge? Hard work? Yes, but on top of that, one should realize that this business starts within. It has so much to do with knowing who you are and what you want, with ultimate clarity.

Coming from a solid foundation like that would make you use your awareness to identify the right opportunity, and avoid everything else.

Does that require a 160+ IQ? Not at all. A decent IQ, supported by a good EQ would suffice.

Start by spending time and energy exploring your innermost orientations, motives, tendencies. Discover your values. Revisit your roles and mend your essential relationships. Know where you are going, and then set intelligent objectives and action plans on how to get there. Be flexible enough to learn and adjust as you go.

However, be aware that some things are changeable, while others are changeless!

The Wealth Maker