My money myth

I grew up poor, now its not like we were struggling to put food on the table every night, but there were days were my parents knew that not having dinner one night was a clear possibility. And unfortunately when you need or want something that you can not have, you sort of naturally develop a dislike for it if not a hatred after a while. For example that one crush that you had, you asked them out repeatedly and they would meet that with a simple no, and you continue to try to impress them and your continuously met with that soft yet harsh no. And eventually you just develop that dislike for them, that “i’ll show you” type mentality.

And that was exactly what it was like for my parents. They would put on these new characters over and over again in order to entice a yes from this significant other, in this case money; and they too would be met with a harsh no. And for that reason they also developed that “i’ll show you mentality” And they spent many years trying to convince themselves that they don’t need too much money to go on with their life (part of which is true). But what they didn’t understand was that although they may be able to change the character of themselves on the surface it will always be impossible to connect with this person if the core values and personality of that person remain the same. Thus that is why they would jump from job to job (their new characters) thinking that each new job would finally be the key to money.

And after many tries they just stopped trying and accepted that they will never have an abundant life style (at least when it came to money) This is where i come in. So as a child growing up, they had ingrained in my head that education and post secondary school was the end all be all to a successful life. According to them i would fail at life if i did not get into the best university and in the right faculty. They were convinced that if i wanted a chance with this significant other I would have to develop into the right character (i.e doctor, lawyer, engineer) Almost as if these universities were acting classes where i was taught to become the right character and more importantly i would learn how to play that character right!

They still hadn’t realized that playing characters in life was not going to give them any fulfillment in life and that there dreams where not going to be achieved by enticing some one to be with them. So through my parents misfortunes i have learned to kill that money myth that they had developed and one that i had for period of time as well. So today I know this much, that if you can give that significant other the right reasons to be with you and show them the values that they believe in, also reside in you as well, well then it wont matter what kind of character you are on the surface you will automatically become irresistible. And same with money, if you can position your self and your values in the right place and show that money belongs to you, well then it almost becomes magnetic.

Its amazing how little we discuss our thoughts on money. What is your money myth? Is money evil or the cause of evil? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.

Just Say Yes | Kute Blackson | Life Coach Transformational

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I Have a Dream

“I have a dream,” the words that shifted the course of an entire nation. When Martin Luther king Junior stepped to the podium to deliver his historic speech he expressed a theme that virtually captivated an entire nation and beyond. His heart wrenching speeches, powerful delivery, and relentless push for equality were all fortified by an uncanny ability to dream. It all began with a dream; A dream that had awaken the leader inside of him, A dream that would change the course of history, A dream that created a blue print for all suppressed and freedom seekers around the world, A dream that was forever etched into our hearts, and more importantly a dream that had served as the mission for his life and guided his actions to accomplish what most most of the world saw as impossible. But in the face of cynics and countless doubters , Martin Luther King refused to give into the fear that so many of his fellow citizens had given into, A fear of dreaming.

It has already been proven that to get sufficient sleep you have to dream at night, we all dream in our sleep, and as important as they are in your sleep they are just as important when your wide awake. The ones who better their lives are the one who dream and see a better life for themselves.

Dreams are essentially embedded in each and every one of us, they are nothing to fear. Today with all of the economic turmoil and uncertainty it is not surprising that so many have lost faith in the future; And with it lost the sight of their dreams. But for the few who continue to guard them, nurture them and strive to achieve them; Not only are they going to better their lives but in some cases uplift families and entire communities. Never underestimate the power of dreams, it is one true valuable asset that you possess and one that can never been taken away from you; No matter how tough it may get, the only one that can throw your dreams away is you. Look at it this way, your dreams are the shelter that will protect you through any storm as you continue on you journey through life to achieve your goals. You may not even notice, but your mind is always dreaming of a better tomorrow no matter how far fetched or impossible it may seem, almost subconsciously pushing you to strive for something greater and demand more from yourself. Dreams are blind to the hurdles and challenges that we all see, under what ever circumstances they will form the picture perfect destination for your life, the only question is are you going strive to get there. No matter how blurry the picture may get, or how steep the climb may become, remember that your dream life will always be there; waiting patiently for your arrival. So keep dreaming and dream bigger each time.

High School Dropout Zillionaire: VC2

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Want to know what quadrant your in? heres a hint your guaranteed to be in one the 4

Many of us have already heard of the cash flow quadrant by now. If you haven’t, here is a breif overview; You can decide which one your in and which one you want to be in.

This is a very simplified version but you will get the picture.  Now in the world of money there are essentially 4 types of people; which is explained by the cash flow quadrant.

There are 4 categories, the E which essentially stands for employee. The S, for specialist or self employed. The B for big business. And the I for investor.

The E

The E quadrant, which makes up for a large percentage of most societies, up wards of 80 percent represents the employee. The employee prepares the best resumes and arguably has some of the best skill sets and are highly competent and technical individuals. They work for their money and trade hours of their lives in exchange for their pay checks. Much of their lively hood is exclusively dependent on their ability to perform at a high level consistently. They hunt for high paying jobs packaged with a strong set of benefits to complement their career. Employees are integral part of any society and are essentially the corner stone of the economy.

The S quadrant

The S quadrant stands for specialist or self employed. In society these individuals are doctors or lawyers, or small business owners who work on their own terms. The S quadrant is slightly more independent and less dependent on governments and companies to take of them. They like to get things done on their own so they can do it exactly the way they want it done. Like the E quadrant they too are very smart individuals as well.  But essentially they also trade their time for money.

The B quadrant

The B quadrant stands for Big business. This quadrant essentially consists of  entrepreneurs. Individuals in the B quadrant are individuals who, unlike  the S quadrant who like to get things done them selves, work to hire smart people to guide business decisions. Now the main difference that the B quadrant has with the E and S quadrants is that people in the B quadrant do not work for their money, they can earn income without having to work on a consistent basis like the E and S quadrants.

The I Quadrant

The I stands for investor. The individuals in this quadrant are people who do not work for their money but have their money work for them, a good example would be Warren Buffet who has most definitely left his legacy as one of the greatest investors of our time.

Now it would be wise to mention that much of today’s wealth lies within the right side of the diagram shown above, but much of the population is on the left side of the diagram. This is a very brief over view of the cash flow quadrant, the book Cash flow quadrant goes into much further detail. I recommend you pick it up from your library and have a read. Now the question is what quadrant are you in? More importantly what quadrant would you like to be in?

Why the Conspiracy?

Everyone has been asking me why i promote Robert kiyosaki’s books, the conspiracy of the rich in particular. Well to put it simply, I believe his books are the most straight forward and simplest books to read pertaining to personal finance. And more importantly they really do empower the individual, how? By simplifying finances, most people just cannot understand a lot of the financial jargon that we hear on the daily business reports that we see, unless we have gone to school for it, the majority of the middle class rely on others to explain to them what they should do with there money.

And that is probably one of the biggest mistakes that most of us make, by asking other people what we should do with our money. For example for most of us we just run to a financial advisor to seek help on investments, which isn’t the worst idea in the world, but again if you educate your self, you will see why it isn’t the best option either. Kiyosaki’s book goes into much further detail. Now i don’t want to make this post sound like an ad for the rich dad company books, but quite honestly they really are the best books to dive into for a beginner.

Conspiracy of the rich goes into great detail of our financial system; Where it was, and more importantly where it is heading. I will add more posts on the 8 new rules of money that the book talks about in the near future, but for now if you get a chance pick it up from the library and start reading.

Did you miss out on the internet gold rush??

Did you miss out on dot com boom?

Fear not. The opportunities on the internet are absolutely endless in todays market. Keep in mind that e-commerce has become increasingly more and more competitive as major corporations are gradually seeing its power. But it still is the only place where you can start a business with a budget that is no more than your average trip to the grocery store and have the potential to make extraordinary amounts of money. But it still is astonishing how many people remain ignorant to its potential. These are the two main reasons why people still refuse to take the internet seriously as income provider.

Number one

To overwhelming; which highly understandable. The amount of information that is available today is mind boggling on its own. For the average person to sift through all this information and makes sense of it all is obviously a daunting and overwhelming task. So for the majority of us, we just don’t bother.

Reason number two

ITS A SCAM!! I bet you haven’t heard that one before. There still is a stigma attached to any money making opportunity on the internet. Most people just cannot take it seriously, and don’t want to be scammed of their money and more importantly their time. Again quite understandable, but there scam artists looming almost at every corner of society today, that doesn’t stop you from leaving your house every day, does it? Fact of the matter is some wear 3000 dollar suits, some dress like homeless people, and some like to sit in their basement in front of a computer screen. So are there scams out there? YES!! obviously, But with a fair amount of due diligence you can sift through them like no problem.

If your still wondering if the internet is still a practical option to be considered, the answer is YES! There are numerous opportunities out there for anyone to get started. We’ll look at some of the signs that you can look to see if your being scammed or not, but thats for next time.

TOP 3 Signs That the Economy is in trouble!

Well If you haven’t been living in a cave you know that the global economy is, for lack of a better term, in a crisis. But what some people are confused about is whether or not its turning around. Now although we’ve seen some gains in the stock markets and the media is reporting that things are going to get better, I still believe we’re long ways away before this storm is over; Look at it this way, This is the eye of the storm and we’re in the dead center. It wont be long before we enter the storm again and this time it just might be worse. But on the bright side, this is going to be the biggest wealth transfer of our time, the only question is are you positioning YOURSELF correctly?

So why the pessimistic view on the economy you ask. Well lets look at the top 3 reasons why we are still far from over.

Number 3

The reason why much of this crisis began. We begin with the housing crisis. Contrary to popular belief; the housing market is not getting better according to deceitful networks like CNN and Fox. But you don’t have to take my word for it, lets do some numbers shall we?  Fact of the matter is that the biggest rate of “adjustable-rate mortgages” does not hit until 2011. The market will gradually stop its acceleration downwards sometime around 2011, at this point the US will have the biggest inventory of unsold houses ever! anywhere!! As is sits now there are approximately 20 million homes that sit empty in the US and much of them have been vandalized and damaged.  These so called assets all sit on the balance sheets of banks, at valuations far above anything they can actually get for. (smells like another bailout :s ) After the acceleration downwards, some times around 2011, the market will gradually start to actually see what the damage looks like let alone begin the steep climb back up. At his point the US economy is projected to lose over 30 trillion in paper wealth. YIKES!! So much for the market going back up.

Number 2

Its this simple, jobs jobs jobs. The unemployment rate continues to hover around the 10 percent range in the US. And the united states is not alone, its northern neighbor Canada, according to its statistics Canada report the country is sitting at an unemployment  rate of 8.5 percent. The UK is sitting at 7.8 percent and China sits just under 5 percent in its urban areas, reports have indicated that the situation in rural areas is even far greater. Another key point to keep in mind is that these numbers do not include individuals who have seen a significant decrease in hours at work. Many people who remain employed have also seen a sharp decline in their paychecks as companies tighten their wallets to cut costs. Put this together with more people losing homes in the coming year and the future does not look too bright for the next 3-5 years.

Number one

And the most important reason why the economy is still in major trouble is……

The US DOLLAR

They continue to print money! That is the absolute worst for the average Joe. The more the federal reserve and the government print money just to stay afloat the more value the dollar loses. So what does that mean? Well essentially in lamest terms, savers are losers. People today more than ever are trying to hold on to some sort of savings. The more they save the more they can potentially lose. Think about it, the more value the dollar loses that means the less your savings will be worth in the long run. Which translate into a decreased purchasing power for the american people, and considering that america is one the worlds biggest consumers, if it stops consuming because it no longer has the purchasing power to import goods from other economies, well it’s safe to say that the entire world will feel the pinch. So the next time you hear president Obama even entertain the idea of a stimulus or bail out, you should be cringing with uncomfort.

What is the media not telling me about the Economy?

If there is one certainty about the economy today that we can all be certain about is that it is very uncertain and unstable. Still with me? Good. Many of us are still wondering when it will  completely recover and when are things are going back to normal. Well theres some good news and bad news, which one do you want first? Well lets get to the bad news first so we can end on a good note  The bad news is that there is a real possibility that the economy as we knew it might never actually go back to the way it was.( we’ll elaborate on this in just a little bit) But first the good news.(o.k so i lied we might have to end on a sour note)

The good news is that current economic crisis has brought about opportunities that might just be a blessings in disguise.  If you haven’t noticed already, our world is changing very fast, and for those of us who do not change with the times, well you going suffer the consequences. Lets use an analogy to better paint the picture of the current economic crisis. The fact of the matter is that the economy is actually in very big trouble, the US dollar is loosing its value faster than the polar ice caps are losing ice. The news reports on T.V that contentiously try to remind us that the economy is going to get better and that the stock market will once again flourish are nothing more than packets of sugar that are fed to the public to avoid leaving a bitter taste in their mouths, but as we all know, too much sugar can’t be good for you. The governments reassurance that the economy will pick up again is nothing more than music to the publics ears, but ask your self this, When this game of musical chairs is over, will you have a seat? or are you going to be left standing? But it is not all doom and gloom, right now is the perfect time to garb your financial future by the horns and shape your future, the worst thing that any one can do right now is stand by and wait for things to happen and hope that the government will save them, if you haven’t figured it out yet, the government has quite a few bills to pay, it will take a while before it gets to your concerns.

Now I did say that I would elaborate on why I and many other economists and business minds think that the the current US economy is on the verge of collapsing. Much of it has to do with the US dollar. Now it is going to be very difficult to explain it all in short and concise manner due to the long history involved here, but just to give you a big picture lets take a brief history lesson, in 1971 the the us dollars relationship with gold was severed and on that day the US dollar became monopoly money. And history has proven that the monopoly money eventually always goes back to its true value, which is nothing, yes the money becomes virtually worthless. For example during world war two, Germany faced this problem, the reichsmark was pretty much worthless because it was not backed by anything, it was monopoly money and it eventually came to its true value; zero.

Now no one is saying that the us dollar is going to be as worthless as the reichsmark once was, but more importantly no one is saying that it is not, every time the government injects another stimulus plan that is in the billions, your savings loses its value. So now is the time to take action and begin to secure your seat after the music stops. So the question isn’t whether what the government is or is not going to do to help you during these hard times, the question is what are you going to do to better position yourself to have a secure financial future.