Archive for category Tips and Pointers
Make More Money; The 3 Essential Pitfalls to Avoid
Posted by Antonia Furlong in Action, Tips and Pointers on October 30th, 2009
No. One
Having more money can be and is a great incentive. However you know as well as I do that to get more money from a job means there has to be a payoff.
More often than not, more money = more responsibility and basically more of your time in the office.
So actually… More Money = Less Personal Time
No. Two
Buying a pre-exisiting business or franchise means yes, you are your own boss. I agree to a certain extent BUT buying a business can mean you end up spending even longer hours working. You effectively are just buying another job.
SO what could you do that would mean you replace the salary, or even better make more money AND work fewer hours?
Now that’s the million dollar question. The best answer is to get money working for you.
What could you do, what could you buy that will make you money?
Three answers:
1. Real estate
2. Stocks, shares etc
3. Business
But before you go rushing out and buying up cheap stocks and real estate or start your own business…
No. Three
“Never Invest In Something You Do Not Understand” ~ Warren Buffet.
“Invest” in this instance I believe is both time and money. Why invest 12, 14 hours a day in a business you don’t understand? We’ve all seen it, people’s money halved because they invested in superannuation and funds they don’t understand.
I wouldn’t go near a financial advisor if they didn’t invest in the things they want you to invest your money in. And anyway, no doubt the majority of ‘advisors’ are on a wage, earning no more than Joe Average. If they were so good at what they do, why aren’t they making their millions in funds?
I’ll get off my soap box now…
There is nothing more powerful or empowering than educating yourself. In every experinece there is a lesson we can learn; the mistakes, the successes are all lessons and an education. For some there is only one way to get that education, that is by taking ACTION.
Until next time; keep on keeping on.
Antonia
If You Could Do Anything What Would It Be?
Posted by Antonia Furlong in Action, Tips and Pointers, Unlock Your Mind on October 5th, 2009
Recently I was talking with a friend I catch up with on the phone every month or so.
Not so long ago she was talking to me about her job and that’s she’s been given more responsibility. My reaction to that was ‘great, they are finally recognising you for your good work’ knowing that she is someone who thrives once she has a goal, a mission, she just goes for it – she is incredibly talented and she very focussed.
The sting to the ‘more responsibility’ tale she told me is that her salary was cut to pull back on company expenses. So she is now doing more, working harder, achieving more… all for less money – how backwards is that?
During this most recent call there was a little less enthusiasm in her voice and she started describing a few tell tale signs that sounded all too familiar.
She’s sick of the commute – every 2nd days she’s in a bad mood when she wakes up and even before she gets into work
When she comes home, doesn’t say much and sits in front of the TV (not like the girl I used to know).
She even said she now snaps and gripes at her other half.
She was describing to me all the reasons I decided not be in the ‘corporate/ employee’ game anymore. It takes such a toll on us and on those around us.
Talking a bit more about it she eventually said, and this is the best bit…
“This isn’t right – there’s got to be more to life than this.”
Since that call I have been thinking of ways I can help her to which I ended up scribbling pages and page of notes because at the heart of it all lies the real reason why I started this whole site up in the first place.
I, like her, was in the 9-5 daily routine, the commute, the position of responsibility, however I knew deep down there was more to life than that.
You can go your whole life working hard and being the best, all for somebody else.
Or you can choose to do the same, work hard and be the best, but do it all for yourself.
Which would you rather?
In my wanting to help you, I ask;
If There Were No Limits And You Could Do Anything What Would It Be?
What Would Be The Thing You Would Need To Do To Get You There?
What Is Stopping You From Getting It?
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To avoid any BIG mistakes think about the following.
There are 2 phases to leaving your job and setting up on your own.
1. Replace your current income (which will enable you to leave/ quit/ resign)
2. Increase that income with more income streams and income producing activities (to give you your freedom)
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Food for thought? Love to know what you think – post a comment to tell me.
Until next time,
Antonia
7 Ways To Get Out From Jobs That Pay The Rent
Posted by Antonia Furlong in Action, Tips and Pointers on August 4th, 2009
Do you find you are always looking for work? For another job?
I don’t necessarily mean that you are always out of work looking for another job. What I mean is that you are in a job and yet disasstified with what you are doing for one reason or another, you begin to look elsewhere for a bigger challenge or just something that will take the current pain away and change the scenery?
I spent on average 18 months in each job I had – it certainly isn’t record breaking in terms of long service however moving from one place to another always seemed to be the easiest option when things got tough. I distinctly remember taking a job for the sake of it to pay the bills. In the meantime whilst I was doing that job I would look for something more permanent.
If this sounds like you then keep reading…
If there is anything that I learned from all the moving around, it is this.
I was never going to be happy at any job I did working for someone else.
It’s easy for me to say this now, however I was great at pointing the blame externally, at all and sundry that would wander into my line of fire. I wouldn’t necessarily say this was the best way to learn, but if I can just point it out to you now, before you do what I did and just leave, then please please just take this with you.
You are completely responsible for where you are, the place you find yourself in now and the way you react to any given situation.
Yep, you, no one else, is to blame.
1. No matter what may be said, written or inferred, you are 100% responsible for the reactions you have.
You can choose to react positively or negatively. You can choose to learn from the feedback or dismiss it entirely supposing they are wrong.
2. Wake up to yourself.
This is the exact kind of feedback you need to make a change. Stop pretending it is someone else’s fault. Take a good long look at what you are doing.
3. Change is scary.
Anything new or different is a change and it can be scary. You don’t know what to do or where to begin. Do some research to lessen the blow.
4. Nothing will change if it’s still bearable.
When it gets to a point where continuing what you are doing is more painful that any change you make then something will happen.
Your mind will be made up, your paradigm changed and there will be no looking back.
I am not for one moment suggesting you head out of the door having written the letter of resignation and put it on your boss’ desk. What I strongly suggest you do though is take a look at what you could be doing for yourself.
5. What is it you really want?
I knew I couldn’t work for anyone but myself and so I had to find a way to make an income doing exactly that. I have found through 2 years of research and experince that it is almost impossible to get rich working for someone else. I was going to have to go it alone.
Whilst this wasn’t a decision made lightly it was made with significant self edcuation and learning going on in the back ground. My husband and I chose to do this together (which makes it easier). We chose the path that we thought would get us to where we wanted to go – to our financial freedom.
Financial freedom means many different things to many different people. I am not suggesting anyone of the definitions are right or wrong, however what it meant to us was .
“To replace our exisiting income we were getting from paid employment, with an income from real estate assets and other business assets without trading our time for that money”.
In the film ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ our heroine takes the job she knows she will hate for the year BUT she knows it would open all sorts of opportunities and doors to magazines, editors, writers that will skyrocket her journalism career.
6. What is it that you want so much that you are willing to do anything to get it?
So if you are going to take yet another job that ‘Pays The Rent/ Bills/ Mortgage’ then seriously consider how long will it do just that for you?
7. Short term sacrifices almost always end up in long term gains.
What are your long term gains? What do you want to really be doing with your time?
If finding your way out of the desk job or corporate world is something you want to know more about then please grab your FREE copy of ‘How To Plan Your Escape From Your Desk Job’ from http://www.UnlockYourRiches.com. Simply enter in your name and email address in the top right corner and it’ll be in your inbox within moments.
I wish you all the best and to your continued success.
Antonia
Mayonnaise Jar & 2 Beers
Posted by Antonia Furlong in Tips and Pointers on July 24th, 2009
When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember ‘The Mayonnaise Jar And The 2 Beers’.
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was…
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous ‘yes.’
The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.
“Now,” said the professor as the laughter subsided, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things — your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions — and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.
The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car.
The sand is everything else—the small stuff”.
“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued, “there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.
The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.
Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness.
Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents.. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.
Take care of the golf ball first—the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented.
The professor smiled and said, “I’m glad you asked.
The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.”
“If You Want Something You Gotta Get It – Period”
Posted by Antonia Furlong in Tips and Pointers, Unlock Your Mind on July 20th, 2009
I hadn’t realised how much you can actually learn from some blockbuster movies – there are loads of them out there and not so long ago I posted about “Pay It Forward”.
Well last Sunday night on good old terrestrial TV they were showing “The Persuit Of Happyness”.
It’s a true story about a man’s journey through life to get the things he truly dreamed of and deeply believed in.
He defied all sorts. He lost his apartment, his wife, couldn’t sell a single thing that he had put all his savings into. It all looked pretty grim for him. He would stay overnight in shelters with his son to get him through an apprenticeship that wouldn’t pay a cent in salary and even then he wasn’t guarenteed a job in the end.
When the chips are that far down, the only thing he can do is start finding and thinking through ways for him to get back up. He works through a plan.
There is a great scene of him and his son on the basketball court. He realises what he has just said to his son and so corrects himself…
“Don’t ever let anyone tell you you can’t do something. If you’ve got a dream you have got to protect it.”
“People who can’t do something themselves will tell you you can’t do it”.
”If you want something you gotta get it – period”.
The huge number of sacrifices this guy makes to obtain his dream is extraordinary. It is selfishness to be perfectly honest. But it’s what has to be done to go and get what he wanted. These things do not and will not come easy.
Why? well if it did, what would you learn about it? What value would you put on the thing you got if it didn’t take much to get it?
If you have to make the sacrifices he did then you would truly value every single cent that came in through the door. It’s maybe not what you want to hear, but it’s true.
How many people or stories have you heard that have won the lottery and maintained their wealth? Do you think they learned how to keep hold of it? Do you think they understand the true value of the money?
2 valuable lessons I took away from this film
- Persistence pays off when it’s for the right reasons
- Happiness must be persued; it is not ours to have, no matter what.
I want to leave you with a little story his son tells in the movie…
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This man is drowning. A boat comes by and asks if he needs any help.
“No thanks, God will save me”. The boat disappears over the horizon leaving the man behind.
Another boat comes by a little later on and notices his struggle and also asks if he needed any help.
“No thanks, God will save me” and so the second boat goes on it’s way leaving the man struggling.
Sadly the man does eventually drown and goes to heaven. Once he got there he asks God
“Why didn’t you save me when I was drowning?” and God replies “I sent you 2 boats didn’t I?”
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Always look for the learning in everything you do; the good, the bad and the things that don’t work out as you had expected.
Ask yourself:
“What can I learn from this not working?”
“What else is there for me to learn?”
Until next time,
Antonia
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