Power of Money

By: Adam Khoo

(Singapore's youngest millionaire at 26 yrs.)

Some of you may already know that I travel around the region pretty frequently, having to visit and conduct seminars at my offices in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Suzhou (China). I am in the airport almost every other week so I get to bump into many people who have attended my seminars or have read my books.

Recently, someone came up to me on a plane to KL and looked rather shocked. He asked, 'How come a millionaire like you is traveling economy?' My reply was, 'That's why I am a millionaire. ' He still looked pretty confused.

This again confirms that greatest lie ever told about wealth (which I wrote about in my latest book 'Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires' ). Many people have been brainwashed to think that millionaires have to wear Gucci, Hugo Boss, Rolex, and sit on first class in air travel. This is why so many people never become rich because the moment they earn more money, they think that it is only natural that they spend more, putting them back to square one.

The truth is that most self-made millionaires are frugal and only spend on what is necessary and of value. That is why they are able to accumulate and multiply their wealth so much faster.

Over the last 7 years, I have saved about 80% of my income while today I save only about 60% (because I have my wife, mother in law, 2 maids, 2 kids, etc. to support). Still, it is way above most people who save 10% of their income (if they are lucky).

I refuse to buy a first class ticket or to buy a $300 shirt because I think that it is a complete waste of money. However, I happily pay $1,300 to send my 2-year old daughter to Julia Gabriel Speech and Drama without thinking twice.

When I joined the YEO (Young Entrepreneur' s Organization) a few years back (YEO) is an exclusive club open to those who are under 40 and make over $1m a year in their own business) I discovered that those who were self-made thought like me. Many of them with net worth well over $5m, travelled economy class and some even drove Toyota's and Nissans, not Audis, Mercedes, BMWs.

I noticed that it was only those who never had to work hard to build their own wealth (there were also a few ministers' and tycoons' sons in the club) who spent like there was no tomorrow. Somehow, when you did not have to build everything from scratch, you do not really value money. This is precisely the reason why a family's wealth (no matter how much) rarely lasts past the third generation.

Thank God my rich dad foresaw this terrible possibility and refused to give me a cent to start my business.

Then some people ask me, 'What is the point in making so much money if you don't enjoy it?' The thing is that I don't really find happiness in buying branded clothes, jewelry or sitting first class. Even if buying something makes me happy it is only for a while, it does not last.

Material happiness never lasts, it just give you a quick fix. After a while you feel lousy again and have to buy the next thing which you think will make you happy. I always think that if you need material things to make you happy, then you live a pretty sad and unfulfilled life.

Instead, what makes me happy is when I see my children laughing and playing and learning so fast. What makes me happy is when I see my companies and trainers reaching more and more people every year in so many more countries.

What makes me really happy is when I read all the emails about how my books and seminars have touched and inspired someone's life.

What makes me really happy is reading all your wonderful posts about how this blog is inspiring you. This happiness makes me feel really good for a long time, much much more than what a Rolex would do for me.

I think the point I want to put across is that happiness must come from doing your life's work (be it teaching, building homes, designing, trading, winning tournaments etc.) and the money that
comes is only a by-product.

If you hate what you are doing and rely on the money you earn to make you happy by buying stuff, then I think that you are living a meaningless life.

Leia Mais…

Mother

This is a truly BEAUTIFUL piece. Please read this at a slow pace, digesting every word and in leisure... do not hurry... this is a treasure...

For those lucky to still be blessed with your Mom, this is beautiful. For those of us who aren't, this is even more beautiful.For those who are moms, you'll love this.

The young mother set her foot on the path of life. "Is this the long way?" she asked.

And the guide said: "Yes and the way is hard. And you will be old before you reach the end of it. But the end will be better than the beginning."

But the young mother was happy, and she would not believe that anything could be better than these years. So she played with her children, and gathered flowers for them along the way, and bathed them in the clear streams; and the sun shone on them and the young Mother cried, “Nothing will ever be lovelier than this."

Then the night came, and the storm, and the path was dark, and the children shook with fear and cold, and the mother drew them close and covered them with her mantle, and the children said, "Mother, we are not afraid, for you are near, and no harm can come."

And the morning came, and there was a hill ahead, and the children climbed and grew weary, and the mother was weary. But at all times she said to the children, "A little patience and we are there." So the children climbed, and when they reached the top they said, "Mother, we would not have done it without you."

And the mother, when she lay down at night looked up at the stars and said, "This is a better day than the last, for my children have learned fortitude in the face of hardness. Yesterday I gave them courage. Today, I've given them strength."

And the next day came strange clouds which darkened the earth, clouds of war and hate and evil, and the children groped and stumbled, and the mother said: "Look up. Lift your eyes to the light." And the children looked and saw above the clouds an everlasting glory, and it guided them beyond the darkness. And that night the Mother said, "This is the best day of all, for I have shown my children God."

And the days went on, and the weeks and the months and the years, and the mother grew old and she was little and bent. But her children were tall and strong, and walked with courage. And when the way was rough, they lifted her, for she was as light as a feather; and at last they came to a hill, and beyond they could see a shining road and golden gates flung wide. And mother said, "I have reached the end of my journey. And now I know the end is better than the beginning, for my children can walk alone, and their children after them."

And the children said, "You will always walk with us, Mother, even when you have gone through the gates." And they stood and watched her as she went on alone, and the gates closed after her. And they said: "We cannot see her but she is with us still. A Mother like ours is more than a memory. She is a living presence... "

Your Mother is always with you... She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street; she's the smell of bleach in your freshly laundered socks; she's the cool hand on your brow when you're not well. Your Mother lives inside your laughter. And she's crystallized in every tear drop. She's the place you came from, your first home and she's the map you follow with every step you take. She's your first love and your first heartbreak, and nothing on earth can separate you.



Not time, not space... not even death!

Leia Mais…

A different perspective

There was a millionaire who was bothered by severe eye pain. He consulted so
many physicians and was getting his treatment done. He did not stop
consulting galaxy of medical experts; he consumed heavy loads of drugs and
underwent hundreds of injections.

But the ache persisted with great vigour than before. At last a monk who has
supposed to be an expert in treating such patients was called for by
the millionaire. The monk understood his problem and said that for
sometime he should concentrate only on green colours and not to fall his
eyes on any other colours.

The millionaire got together a group of painters and purchased barrels of
green color and directed that every object his eye was likely to fall
to be painted in green colour just as the monk had directed.
When the monk came to visit him after few days, the
millionaire' s servants ran with buckets of green paints and poured on him
since he was in red dress, lest their master not see any other colour and
his eye ache would come back.

Hearing this monk laughed said "If only you had purchased a pair of green
spectacles, worth just a few rupees, you could have saved these walls
and trees and pots and all other articles and also could have saved a large
share of his fortune.

You cannot paint the world green." Let us change our vision and the world
will appear accordingly. It is foolish to shape the world, let us shape
ourselves first.

Leia Mais…

Hot Chocolate

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired. During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups - porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the hot chocolate.

When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said: "Notice that all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate.. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups. Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life.

The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate God has provided us. God makes the hot chocolate, man chooses the cups. The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they have.

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

Leia Mais…

nuggets

heated gold becomes ornament, beaten copper become wires, depleted stones become statue, So the more challenges you get in life, the more you become valuable.

Leia Mais…

THE PERFUME

As she stood in front of her 5th grade class
on the very first day of school, she told the
children an untruth. Like most teachers, she
looked at her students and said that she loved
them all the same. However, that was impossible,
because there in the front row, slumped in his
seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.

Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year
before and noticed that he did not play well with
the other children, that his clothes were messy
and that he constantly needed a bath. In
addition, Teddy could be unpleasant.

It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would
actually take delight in marking his papers with
a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting
a big "F" at the top of his papers. At the
school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was
required to review each child's past records and
she put Teddy's off until last. However, when
she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.


Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is
a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his
work neatly and has good manners. He is a joy
to be around."

His second grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an
excellent student, well liked by his classmates,
but he is troubled because his mother has
terminal illness and life at home must be a
struggle!"

His third grade teacher wrote, "His mother's
death has been hard on him. He tries to do his
best, but his father doesn't show much interest
and his home life will soon affect him if some
steps aren't taken."


Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is
withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in
school. He doesn't have many friends and he
sometimes sleeps in class."



By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem
and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even
worse when her students brought her Christmas
presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright
paper, except for Teddy's. His present was
clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that
he got from a grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took
pains to open it in the middle of the other
presents. Some of the children started to laugh
when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of
the stones missing, and a bottle that was
one-quarter full of perfume. But she stifled the
children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty
the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some
of the perfume on her wrist. Teddy Stoddard
stayed after school that day just long to say, "
Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom
used to." After the children left, she cried for
at least an hour.

On that very day, she quit teaching reading,
writing and arithmetic. Instead, she began to
teach children. Mrs. Thompson paid particular
attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his
mind seemed to come alive. The more she
encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the
end of the year, Teddy had become one of the
smartest children in the class and, despite her
lie that she would love all the children the
same, Teddy became one of her "teacher's pets."

A year later, she found a note under her
door, from Teddy, telling her that she was still
the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Six years went by before she got another note
from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished
high school, third in his class, and she was
still the best teacher he ever had in his whole
life.

Four years after that, she got another
letter, saying that while things had been tough
at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with
it, and would soon graduate from college with the
highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson that
she was still the best and favorite teacher he
had ever had in his whole life.

Then four more years passed and yet another
letter came. This time he explained that after
he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a
little further. The letter explained that she
was still the best and favorite teacher he ever
had. But now his name was a little longer,
the letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.

The story does not end there. You see, there
was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said
he had met this girl and was going to be married.
He explained that his father had died a couple
of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs.
Thompson might agree to sit at the wedding in the
place that was usually reserved for the mother of
the groom.

Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess
what? She wore that bracelet, the one with
several rhinestones missing. Moreover, she made
sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy
remembered! his mother wearing on their last
Christmas together.

They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard
whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, Thank you Mrs.
Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much
for making me feel important and showing me that
I could make a difference."

Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes,
whispered back. She said, "Teddy, you have it
all wrong. You were the one who taught me that
could make a difference. I didn't know how to
teach until I met you."

Warm someone's heart today. . . pass this
along. I love this story so very much, I cry
every time I read it. Just try to make
difference in someone's life today, tomorrow, just
"do it"

Random acts of kindness, I think they call it?

Leia Mais…

talk through your PC

open a notepad

type:


Dim msg, sapi
msg=InputBox("Enter your text","Talk it")
Set sapi=CreateObject("sapi.spvoice")
sapi.Speak msg



then save as vbs file.... *.vbs.

click the, icon a word. when you hit enter. your pc will talk

Leia Mais…