Posts from — November 2009

I have just been listening to an audio file of The Science of Getting Rich. It talks about getting rich as a science. It also presents the theory of how doing things in a certain way will make you rich.

I am a very proactive guy and have tried out Steve Pavlina’s intention manifestation approach to goal achievement and I believe me, it works. I have also tried other approaches like causality wherein you create a cause and you receive an effect. But after listening to this audio file, it made me think about how doing things in a certain way will make you not only rich but also successful.

I have come up with a list of things that I have gathered from listening to great leaders and friends who have been successful in life.

Successful people have successful friends. It’s not uncommon to see people you associate with become friends. It is said that you are who your friends are. I have found out that successful people have friends who are also successful. Most of the times, alike people attract each other. Deciding who to be friends or who to spend more time with will greatly affect your perspective on things.

Have you ever changed jobs? Have you ever changed classes at school? Have you ever been transferred to another department? Have you ever moved to a different neighborhood? These situations subconsciously required you to change in a certain way. It’s an adaptation of yourself to its environment. I can guarantee you that the people who are and were present in your environment greatly affected who you are now.

Successful people are confident. Confidence is a characteristic of a positive attitude. A lot people without much confidence live life not knowing what they can do because they do not believe that they can. When most people would have negative attitude in difficult situations, confident people will persevere because they believe in themselves that they can do it do it. They are confident regardless of circumstances. Confidence empowers.

Successful people have self-discipline. Wikipedia defines Self-discipline as training that one gives one’s self to accomplish a certain task or to adopt a particular pattern of behaviour, even though one would really rather be doing something else.

Most of us just stop doing things just because we don’t feel like it. Successful people do things even if they aren’t in the mood for it. Successful people do things even if they don’t like what they are doing. They do it to achieve a goal. In the end, they achieve what they have wanted in the beginning.

Successful people are open-minded. We see a lot of people who do not adapt to change. The world is being filled up with more information and better technology is introduced everyday. But a lot of people do not want to adapt to change insisting that their beliefs and knowledge is much better than anything out there even before they see or try things out.

Remember that you see what you want to see and successful people grab and absorb any information they can learn and use. They are open to thoughts and suggestions. They do not think that they know everything.

Successful people try and try again.Most people are planners. They plan for the future. They plan for everything. But a lot of people also plan too much. They will be afraid of mistakes. They have fear that they will make mistakes. They never make the necessary action which is normally composed of just getting started. Not getting started is what keeps some people from achieving their goals.

A successful person would not fear mistakes. They will try doing something until they succeed. As Dale Carnegie said:

The successful man will profit from his mistakes and try again in a different way

Remember that as long as you keep trying, you should realized everything that doesn’t work is just making you better, smarter and stronger.

Successful people prioritize. Prioritization is the key to most time management system. I have read several books and they all focus on prioritizing the most important and possible thing to do for the moment.

Successful people do not get caught up doing the least important things first but instead do the most important ones first. They know how to balance urgency and importance. Without prioritization, I believe it would cause very poor production on anyone’s part.

What are your keys to success? Write your own list and leave a comment below telling us about it.

Photo by kevinthoule

Last month, we had an emergency.

Financial emergencies happen. It doesn’t matter who you are, how old you are or where you are. They happen when we least expect them. And, they usually cost money.

In this post, we will outline why and how to start an emergency fund.

What is an emergency fund?

An emergency fund is an accessible amount stashed away for emergency use. It will only be used in case of emergencies like job loss, medical emergencies, etc.

Why build an emergency fund?

There are just too many unexpected emergencies that can and will happen in everyone’s life. You do not want to be caught in the middle of it without cash. Here are a few real-life emergencies that have occurred to me and people I know:

• A few weeks ago, Typhoon Ondoy flooded our house and lost almost everything. We had to scurry around looking for food, safe drinking water, and supplies.
• My friend’s grandmother was hospitalized and confined for a few days due to kidney complications
• Another friend had go to surgery for meningitis, quickly followed by surgery for hydrocephalus

These are all emergencies. Unfortunately, many have made the conscious decision not to have rainy day savings. People think they’re pretty safe until they are laid off. Bottomline is, we all need emergency funds.

How much is enough?

One cannot say how much a person would need. Depending on the situation, you may never have enough. However, a good rule of thumb is to have 3-6 months worth of income in the fund. If that is not very realistic in your situation, you may apply these rules:

• If you are an employee with a regular income, you should have 10% of your annual income in savings.
• If you are self-employed or your income fluctuates (through commissions, for example), you should have 20% of your annual income in savings.
• If you are retired, you should have 30% of your annual income in savings. (I’m assuming this means retirement income since if you’re retired you don’t have employment income.)
• If you’re in danger of losing your job, you should have 40% of your annual income in savings.

– How Much Should You Have in Savings?

How to Get Started?

For most people, building an emergency fund is very hard. Simply saving money is hard. Now, we need to save 3-6 months of worth of income? Actually, it is easier than it seems.

• Sell something. Check everything at home. Do you really need all those stuff? If not, sell them!
• Offer services. What are you good at? Do you love cooking? Offer to cook lunch for office mates. Are you good a web design? Check out Sulit and offer your services.
• Lower your expenses. Think of it as a spending transfer. Limit buying and deposit all the savings in an emergency fund.

A few recommendations

• Use it for real emergencies. Christmas and birthdays don’t count as emergencies.
• Don’t touch it. It’s better to put your emergency fund where you cannot easily access it.
• Don’t put it in any investments. You probably know this. Investments can lose money. It’s better to keep it safe in a savings account.

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