Money is a Drug?

(Source : http://www.richdad.com/Resources/Rich-Dad-Financial-Education-Blog/October-2013/Breaking-the-Money-Addiction.aspx)

"Money is a drug." - Rich dad

When we were kids, rich dad didn't pay his son Mike and me for the work we did for him. Some people were upset about this because they thought he was being exploitive. But rich dad was really doing Mike and me a favor.

The main reason that rich dad refused to pay us while we worked for him was because he never wanted us to become addicted to working for money. "If you become addicted to money," he said, 'it's hard to break that addiction."

Money is a drug?

Rich dad called money a drug because he observed people who were happy when they had money and upset or moody when they didn't. Just as heroin addicts get high when they inject the drug, they also get moody and upset when they don't have it.

Rich dad also noted that people got comfortable with their dealers when it came to money and found it hard to trust other ways to make money. "Be careful of money's addictive power," he often said. "Once you get used to receiving it, that addiction keeps you attached to the way you got it."

Put another way, if you receive money as an employee, then you get accustomed to that way of acquiring it. If you get used to generating money by being self-employed, it's often difficult to break the attachment to earning money that way. And if you get used to government handouts, that too, is a hard pattern to break.

Break the addiction

Rich dad believed it was hard for people to learn how to move from being an employee (E) or a self-employed (S) person (the left side of the CASHFLOW Quadrant) to a business owner (B) or investor (I) (the right side of the CASHFLOW Quadrant) because it was hard to break addictions to the way we're used to earning our money.

"The hardest part about moving from the left side of the CASHFLOW Quadrant to the right side is the attachment you have to the way you are used to earning money," he said. "It's more than breaking a habit. It's breaking an addiction." That is why he never stressed to Mike and me to work for money, but instead encouraged us to change the way we think and focus on growing as people rather than earning money.

Know your patterns

The first step in breaking the addiction of money and the way you make it is to identify the patterns that have conditioned you. The real issue is the change you must go through internally and who you become in the process. For some, the process is easy. For others, it may be impossible.

For Kim and me, the hardest part in trying to become people who generate income in the B and I quadrants was that all of our past conditioning was holding us back. When we were really down and facing over $1 million in debt while trying to build a new business, it was tough when friends said, "Why are you doing this? Why don't you get a job?" It was even more difficult because there was a part of us that also wanted to go back to the security of a paycheck.

For us it was helpful to remind ourselves that this desire for safety in a job was really a default to our conditioning. The world of money is one large system, and we all operate in certain patterns within that system.

An E works for the system

An S is the system

A B creates, owns, and/or controls the system

An I invests money into the system

"When a person feels the need for money," rich dad said, "an E will look for a job, and S will do something alone, a B will create or buy a system that produces money, and an I will look for an opportunity to invest in an asset that produces more money."

Breaking your addiction to money and how you make it requires understanding these patterns and knowing how you operate when faced with fear.

Focus on your passion

Once you know the patterns of money and how you respond when you need money, the key to moving past your addiction to money and the way you make it is to focus on your passion rather than on making money. You must be more worried about keeping your dreams alive than your financial survival.

Fear often can push our passion to the wayside. It takes intention and courage to focus on your passion when you are afraid, but it is the only way forward. The alternative is simply to give up and default to your natural patterns. And change never happens that way.

Today, take stock of how you're living. Are you defaulting to patterns caused by your addiction to money? Or are you breaking your addictions and following your passion?

Pentingnya "Matlamat" dalam Pelaburan Hartanah

Pada ketika ini, ramai di antara kita yang sudah mula menyedari keuntungan dalam bidang pelaburan hartanah. Banyak kelas2 pelaburan yang boleh kita sertai untuk mendapatkan ilmu dan teknik yang betul tentang pelaburan hartanah. 

Namun, hanya berbekalkan ilmu dan teknik, tidak semestinya kita akan berjaya dalam bidang pelaburan hartanah. Tanpa matlamat yang lengkap dan jelas, pasti kita akan "sesat" dan akhirnya kerugian. 

Bagaimana hendak tahu matlamat pelaburan kita itu lengkap dan ada kesan yang mendalam dalam minda kita? 

Matlamat yang berkesan ada 5 perkara berikut : 

Bandingkan dua jenis matlamat berikut

Individu 1 : " Saya ingin melabur dalam hartanah dan mendapat pulangan yang lumayan"

Individu 2 : " Pada akhir tahun ini, saya akan mendapatkan satu hartanah apartment dalam lingkungan harga rm200k di sekitar kawasan kota damansara yang akan menjana aliran tunai positif sebanyak rm200 sebulan "

Pada pendapat anda, siapa yang akan ada harapan yang lebih tinggi untuk mencapai matlamat beliau ? 

Selepas kita membuat matlamat mengikut konsep "SMART" di atas, kita perlu untuk bercerita kepada orang lain tentang matlamat kita. Jangan sorok dan malu untuk berkongsi. Ceritakan kepada kenalan kita, agent hartanah, lawyer, kontraktor, banker etc. Dengan matlamat yang jelas, lebih mudah untuk kenalan2 kita tersebut untuk membantu kita. Jika ada yang memperlekehkan matlamat kita, tidak mengapa. Mungkin mereka tidak faham atau tidak selesa jika anda "lebih" dari mereka. 

Jangan risau. Apa yang anda perlu lakukan adalah luangkan lebih banyak masa bersama orang2 yang sudi membantu anda dan kurangkan masa bersama orang2 yang sentiasa berusaha "menjatuhkan" moral anda. Kan lebih bagus begitu? 

Sedikit Motivasi Untuk Kita Semua

(Sumber : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2011%2F8%2F21%2Fnation%2F8834389&sec=nation)

MOST of his fans know him as a deejay with popular Chinese radio station 98.8 but Chan Fong is a man who wears many hats. He is also an artist, actor, songwriter, brand builder, event planner and a successful businessman.

Chan, 41, joined the entertainment world when he was in his 20s and used to work 18 hours a day doing numerous jobs, including hosting programmes and directing.

Despite the long hours, he recalls, he rarely earned RM10,000 a month.

Wanting a better life, the graphics design graduate decided to try his hand at business and ventured into advertising with a partner. Unfortunately, that was in 1997, the year of the Asian financial crisis.

Chan relates how he and his partner turned to the Yellow Pages and randomly mailed out letters to potential clients about their business.

“We offered proposals and told them they could pay us only if they liked our suggestions,” says the father of three.

They managed to get a few small clients before getting a big break with a leading water filter company. There was no turning back since, although Chan split from his partner in 2002 and set up his own company, 180 Degree Strategic Communications.

Today, Chan's company employs 42 people and is involved in branding for about 30 companies, most of which are household names.

For those who intend to go into business, Chan's advice is to be prepared as “doing business is very competitive these days and involves a lot of hard work as there are financial and human resource issues that need to be looked into, among others”.

He also believes one needs to have at least eight to 10 years of experience before setting up a business.

“People will only come to you if you have experience,” he says, adding that networking also requires time.

Chan, who still guest-deejays once a week for 98.8, believes that passion is important to succeed in business.

“Don't always think about making money first. Think about how you can solve problems before thinking about a better life,” he says.

Chan acknowledges that he is in a position to retire but wants to keep going, at least until the age of 50, before focusing on other interests such as acting.

“There is still a long way (to go) and I am not tired yet,” he quips.

Suthan Mookaiah is 25 and has already earned his first million after working seven years.

While many people take a lifetime to hit the million ringgit mark or don't even come anywhere close, the online entrepreneur and Internet marketing coach considers seven years “a very long time”. “I have seen people who made millions in one or two years,” he says, adding that business started picking up for him when PayPal was introduced in Malaysia.

He points out that there's a huge market for Internet-based businesses, with Malaysians spending about RM1.8bil shopping online annually. Apart from eBay, many online entrepreneurs are also relying on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter to push their products, which may range from e-books and videos to things like sarees, sunglasses and even diapers.

Some, he says, earn RM60,000 to RM70,000 a month.

Suthan explains that one only needs RM100 for a domain name and hosting to start an Internet business. For a conventional business, the start-off capital is a minimum RM20,000 to rent and renovate a place.

He notes that while youngsters are more IT savvy, senior citizens can also tap into the online market. One of his students is a 70-year-old man who is selling a guide on Islam online.

When the Asian financial crisis struck, many people who invested in stocks had their fingers burnt while others pulled the brakes on their investments.

But Anthony Poh (not his real name), a former remisier, saw the 1997 crisis as a “window of opportunity” to invest in other areas.

“I went into real estate and the birds nest trade,” he shares.

While some friends were sceptical over his swiftlet farming venture, it turned out to be a cash cow for Poh. Today, he exports premium birds nest to several countries.

Something of a forerunner to his younger contemporaries, Poh cemented his millionaire status in his early 20s by being at the right place at the right time and daring to take risks.

Having made some decent coin with initial public offerings when he was still in university, Poh decided to be a remisier after graduating. His career choice was swiftly rewarded by daily five-figure earnings his best daily haul was RM37,000.

Although the rewards were great, Poh's wheeling and dealing convinced him that he was strolling down a sunset boulevard.

“Internet trading was on the horizon and more remisiers were entering the market,” he recalls.

“I still had my regular clientele but I figured there was better money to be made elsewhere.”

Successful real estate dealings have further bolstered his wealth and Poh's masterful streak shows no sign of stopping anytime soon.

Despite this, Poh keeps his feet on the ground, spending wisely and resisting urges to buy anything more expensive than a Toyota Camry.

Joel Neoh, the 28-year-old CEO of Groupon Malaysia, may have a degree in mechanical engineering but his forte is definitely in business. Modelling part-time during his college break, he realised there was a huge demand for such jobs and set up a company that recruited youth for events.

The company generated its first million within a year, and Neoh went on to set up NGO Youth Malaysia, which ran several big youth-based projects.

Nine months ago, Neoh started Groupsmore, a discount website that offered deals on food, products, services and lifestyle activities. In January this year, it was acquired by American giant Groupon, a company worth billions and is said to be one of the fastest growing Internet companies.

Neoh believes that many youngsters do not realise their dreams by taking the safe route of working for corporations. To succeed, he stresses, one needs to enjoy their work and be good at what they are doing.

Ammar Zahar, 24, started selling information products during his first year of university. He was pursuing a degree course in landscape architecture and needed money to buy colour prints and paper. Coming from a poor family, he had to support himself through university. He attended many web seminars and learned the tricks of the trade.

These days, he sells information products on various topics such as finance, investments, internet marketing, acne cure, weight loss and even Farmville (a popular Facebook game). He also gets expert writers to write on the products.

“A lot of people from all over the world are buying these things,” he says.

By his third year in university, he had set up his own firm and this year alone, the company achieved half million ringgit sales. Ammar is giving himself another year to reach millionaire status.

“Anyone can go into internet business,” he says, adding that he has no plans to use his degree for now.

Umur Baru 19 Tahun, tapi...

Pada 3 hari yang lepas, saya berpeluang untuk bertemu dengan salah seorang pengasas Majalah Niaga (MN) atas urusan kerja.

Anda kenal Majalah Niaga? Ianya merupakan satu portal / blog keusahawanan yang agak terkenal di kalangan usahawan di Malaysia. Antara kejayaan blog ini adalah sessi temuramah bersama tokoh-tokoh usahawan terkenal di Malaysia seperti Chef Li, Dr Shah Razali ( tokoh hartanah) dan Saiful Nang ( Tokoh Fotografi). Saya amat galakkan para pembaca untuk mengikuti blog ini.

Amat Terkejut!

Berbalik kepada perbincangan atas urusan kerja tadi, saya berkesempatan untuk mengenali pengasas MN dengan lebih mendalam. Apa yang mengejutkan saya, usia beliau baru menjejaki 19 tahun dan sudah memiliki perniagaan yang menjana pendapatan empat angka sebulan! Seingat saya, ketika berumur 19 tahun, saya masih lagi bergelumang dengan buku dan masih tidak jelas apa yang hendak saya lakukan ketika dewasa kelak.

Namun individu ini sudah pun mempunyai satu visi yang jelas apa yang ingin beliau capai. Bukan itu sahaja, beliau begitu berani untuk menongkah arus dan mengambil laluan yang bukan kebiasaan iaitu nekad untuk berhenti dari sambung belajar ( degree) dan fokus untuk membangunkan perniagaan sendiri.

Jangan salah faham ya! Beliau bukan sebarangan pelajar. Beliau merupakan bekas pelajar MRSM dan mendapat tempat sebagai pelajar MARA Express di mana beliau tidak perlu menduduki kelas matrikulasi dan terus layak untuk mengambil subjek-subjek degree.

Terus terang saya katakan saya amat kagum dengan beliau. Walaupun baru berusia 19 tahun, gaya perwatakan dan pertuturan tidak menggambarkan umur semasa. Seolah-olah beliau sudah berumur dalam lingkungan 30-an jika dinilai dari segi kematangan. Kalau banding budak remaja yang lain, rasa-rasanya pada umur 19 tahun, ramai yang masih hanyut dengan dunia game, melepak bersama rakan2 dan masih mengharapkan ihsan ibubapa untuk menyara hidup.

Ambil Teladan

Saya tidak terkejut jika pada umur 25 tahun, beliau akan mencapai apa yang beliau inginkan seperti empayar perniagaan yang kukuh dan mencapai status kebebasan kewangan.

Jika seorang pelajar yang baru berusia 19 tahun sudah mempunyai wawasan sebegini, agaknya kita ni macam mana ye? Adakah kita menjalani kehidupan yang kita impikan atau kita sibuk menjayakan impian orang lain? Sesuatu yang boleh kita sama-sama renungkan di petang sabtu ini....

Oh ya! Anda boleh mengenali individu ini dengan lebih lanjut di sini

Tips Menjadi Individu Berjaya

Anda ingin menjadi orang yang berjaya? Anda ada matlamat atau impian yang ingin dicapai?

Saya ingin berkongsi satu teknik menarik yang saya jumpa semasa membaca satu mailing list yang saya langgan ( mailing list tentang hartanah). Teknik ini saya percaya boleh membantu kita dalam proses mencapai apa yang inginkan.

Merujuk kepada penulis buku " The Compound Effect" iaitu Darren Hardy, pengasas Success Magazine, untuk mencapai matlamat yang tinggi, kita harus bermula dengan perubahan-perubahan tindakan yang kecil tetapi konsisten. Perkataan konsisten merupakan kunci utama dalam proses ini.

Berikut adalah formula dari buku tersebut yang boleh kita gunapakai dalam kehidupan kita seharian :

" pilihan2 yang kecil dan bijak + konsisten + masa = Perubahan KETARA yang kita inginkan! "

Idea dari buku ini adalah kita boleh menikmati kehidupan yang hebat dengan membuat perubahan-perubahan kecil dalam aktiviti harian kita. Namun, kita perlu merancang dengan teliti apa yang ingin kita jadikan aktiviti harian agar ia menjurus kepada matlamat yang kita ingin capai. Walaupun pada awalnya mungkin ia tidak kelihatan bermakna, ia boleh menghasilkan impak yang besar jika diamalkan secara berterusan.

Untuk membantu kita membuat merancang aktiviti harian kita, beliau telah menyediakan satu worksheet yang kita boleh gunakan yang dipanggil "The Weekly Rhythm Register" . Untuk memuat turun borang ini, layari website www.thecompoundeffect.com dan pergi ke tab "Free Resources". Cari worksheet "The Weekly Rhythm Register" dan muat turun borang tersebut. Ianya PERCUMA!

Ini adalah contoh bagaimana untuk menggunakan borang tersebut :

Saya sendiri sudah mula untuk mengaplikasikan worksheet ini dalam perancangan aktiviti harian saya. Setakat ini, boleh dikatakan agak membantu. Di harap anda juga dapat menfaat dari perkongsian ini.

(kredit gambar dari http://scienceofblogging.com/what-factors-make-a-blog-successful/)

How bad do you want it?

" If u want to succeed as bad as u want to breath, then u'll be successful"

Tip Meningkatkan Produktiviti Diri

(Sumber : http://www.renegademillionaireblog.com/what-you-measure-improves-including-examples.html)

In his most recent book, I read that he doesn’t watch TV and I believe this is one of the reasons why he is so productive AND wealthy. He uses the time saved very productively and has outlined his daily schedule in his new book. After reading his new book, I’ve made a few minor adjustments in my schedule to mirror his schedule.

When you drill down into the things we have in our lives, it’s easy to see that time is our most valuable asset because it cannot be replaced. This is significantly different from almost everything else in life. Almost everything in life can be replaced including…

Houses
Cars
Money
Investments
Friends
Businesses
Clients
Spouses
Partners
Employees

On the flip side, the things that cannot be replaced are…

Time
Health
Parents
Grandparents
Brothers/Sisters
Our Children

Sure you can argue with a few items on my list, but you must agree that time is NOT replaceable and IS critically important.

As a little experiment, I’ve decided to eliminate TV for next two weeks. When I decided to take this little test, I didn’t think I watched much TV. However, within the first day of my experiment, I realized I watched more TV than I thought.

I’ve used the time saved to get caught up on a few nagging “To Dos”, read and I’ve spent a little extra time writing. Right from the beginning of this little experiment, I can tell that eliminating TV is going to be a very productive decision.

Want to become instantly more productive? Try this little experiment yourself and see what happens! You might find that you have time to pursue new hobbies, start new businesses, exercise more, or read an extra book or two.

Baru je terbaca artikel ni. Menarik gak idea yang cuba disampaikan. Harap kita sume dapat manfaat.

Selain dari tu, dengan implement benda ni, bukan setakat masa sahaja dapat dijimatkan, malah wang ringgit juga. Kita dapat berjimat dari beli tv yang canggih2, dapat jimatkan bil astro, dapat jimatkan elektrik etc. Wau terbaik!

Teknik menangani risau yang tak bertempat...

Korang sure pernah rasa risau kan...cuak, panik, gelabah etc...tak kisah la dalam senario macam mana pun...bila konflik datang, pasti perasaan2 tersebut timbul...kalau risau tu skit , tade isu la...tapi kalau risau tu melampau, silap2 boleh paralyse...apa pon takleh nak buat...

Sebenarnya perasaan risau ni tak mendatangkan apa2 hasil...hanya merugikan je...bila timbul satu2 masalah atau isu, kita kena cuba sedaya upaya untuk elak dari melayan perasaan risau dan cuak. Sebaliknya kita perlu terus tune otak kita untuk brainstorm langkah2 penyelesaian yang boleh dilakukan. Immediately! Implementation tu belakang citer lagi..start latih minda untuk bz mencari solution. Kalau minda dah bz, dia tade masa nak pk pasal risau2 lagi dah...Aku belajar teknik ni masa pergi kursus improve EQ (emotional quotient) dulu...

Selain dari tu, aku juga apply teknik ni. Katakan la ada satu masalah datang. Kita tengok masalah tersebut dan analisa worst case senario yang boleh berlaku. Then kita apply langkah2 ini :

1. Listkan worst case scenario yang boleh berlaku

2. Bersedia untuk menerima scenario tersebut jika terpaksa

3. Kemudian dengan tenang, usaha untuk mencari langkah2 penyelesaian bagi mengelakkan terjadinya worst case scenario tersebut.

Mari kita citer pasal pengalaman aku dulu..Time2 awal nak amik keputusan untuk berhenti dari kerja makan gaji dan bekerja sendiri. Masa tu mmg cuak ooo! tade nye aku nak cakap aku cool je masa aku tender resignation letter kat HR. Menggelabah beb! Aku siap buat list pros n cons tindakan aku tu kat atas kertas.

Time tu otak berserabut pk macam2 :

1. Mana aku nak carik duit untuk sara keluarga

2. Kalau fail, cemana? aku nak mintak tolong dari sapa?

3. kalau aku fail, sure ramai orang gelakkan aku . Sure diorang kata " haa tu la aku dah cakap, ko maintain keje makan gaji je, selamat...haa sekarang ni ko dah susah, padan muka"

4. Kalau fail, kena jual sumer harta...

and macam2 lagi la benda2 negatif yang terlintas di fikiran time tu..

So macam mana aku overcome masalah ni? well aku praktiskan la tips kat atas tu. Aku fikirkan worst case scenario. Katakan la aku gagal, so aku kene terima hakikat tersebut (walaupun pahit) dan ambil tindakan yang sewajarnya. Dah sampai tahap nak mintak parent in law jaga famili aku n aku bawak diri berkelana untuk cuba bangun balik haha... tapi aku cuba la elak dari jadi sampai macam tu.

Selain dari tu, aku dah siapkan saving emergency awal2 yang membolehkan aku survive beberapa bulan tanpa income. Susun atur financial aku supaya lebih kukuh. Kurangkan hutang2 lapuk atau bad debt ( yang ada time tu cuma hutang kereta je yang manageable). Hutang rumah tade, cc tade. So hati lebih tenang. Aku kawal expenses bulanan dan latih diri untuk hidup sekadar yang ada.

Tu sume langkah2 penyelesaian yang aku ambil untuk mengurangkan impak worst case scenario yang boleh timbul. Sekarang ni ok skit la. Risau tetap risau. Cuma tahap kerisauan aku tu dah mula berkurangan berbanding masa awal2 berhenti keje dulu. Harap2 lepas ni aku boleh eliminate terus risau2 tu dan fokus pada usaha memajukan diri lagi.

Pada rakan2 ku yang ada cita2 nak bekerja sendiri / mulakan bisnes sendiri .. ada sorang kawan aku guna term " bakar jambatan" haha...maybe tips di atas boleh membantu korang dapatkan keberanian untuk take the plunge. Jangan sampai bila2 hanya buat perancangan demi perancangan. Overcome your fear and the success will follow...