Early

The early bird catches the worm!

We have always been told to be early for everything and anything. This cannot be far from the truth. When the opportunity is here, we best catch it and make the best of it before it leaves. Opportunities are everywhere. It is up to us to identify which one suits us best. When we are certain of it, go all out.

Many times, we see a problem as a mere problem. Our mind is somehow locked in the problem itself and we never see the opportunity every problem brings us. It is a test. A test to see how well we cope with situations. Time can tell. We may not be able to see it now but we actually learn best in difficult situations. When there is no turning back, when there is no room for error, that is when we perform best.

It does not matter if we fail, it only matters if we learn from our past mistakes and make more educated decisions along the way.

Usually we want to be early in meetings. It sets a great impression to the person we are meeting. We show that we are keen on the agenda. We show that we respect the entire session. However, being early is not the only thing we should focus on. Preparedness is also a matter of consideration. If we are merely early, we are only showing respect to a certain extent. If we are early and prepared, we are hitting the bullseye. That is the ultimate goal we want to achieve.

Though there may be unfair advantage in some situations, we should always do our best at tackling all prospects. We always look on the bright side but should also always prepared for the worst. What can happen if we are to fail? What can happen if we are mocked? What can happen if nobody cares?

We have to have a clear mindset that nothing ever matters more than life. If we are not appreciated at that moment, it only means that we have another chance ahead of us to do better, to be better. There is always something to learn everywhere we are, in all situations. We just have to stay focused and look beyond what is clouding us at that very moment. Sometimes, no matter how hard we look, we never find. Perhaps it is time to pause. Just pause, and get out to look at the world or get in to look within. The answer is always there awaiting for us. All we need is clarity.

Everyone has the same number of hours in a day. How can we make use of all the hours we have wisely?

The human mind works best when it is quiet. The sense of pleasantness is something money cannot buy. It can only be obtained when our surrounding is serene. Serenity can come from within, or harvested from nature itself.

What do we do when everyone else is asleep?

Be different. Be unique.

Most people will drag their day to the midnight hours and tell themselves that the night is still young. While stretching ourselves beyond limits, we should actually do it wisely. Discipline is very important to achieve whatever goals we set in life. Many of times, we think that going out having fun till late nights is the way to mingle and connect with friends and opportunities. However, by doing that, we are actually selling off our time and health for a small return. We are lack of sleep and we drag our tiredness to the next day and the day after. What is it doing to our life?

If we really want to be successful, model how the top one percent (1%) of the people in the world live their life. If we really dig deep, we will find that they are all early risers. They sleep when the world is busy partying. They work when the world is asleep.

Stillness is before dawn. The air is freshest. The sky is still dark. Just as the birds are waking up. Just as the nature is beginning a new day, so are we. That is the best time to tap into our true potential. That is the best time to bring the best out of ourselves. That is the time when our mind is clearest.

Good morning early riser! The day is great and I am prepared for it.

 

The time just before dawn contains the most energy of all hours of the day. This has helped me become an early riser and an early doer. When I wake to see that it’s light out already, I feel the world has started without me.

Terri Guillemets, American author

Commit

To start something is easy, to commit to something takes effort.

In life, we always encounter new things. Each time we do, we have the urge within us that says “… is a good idea. I should start doing ...” It is easy to say to start doing something or have the thought of starting something new. The urge seems strong at the very moment we encounter. It seems to be the most important thing that we must do at that time.

“Wow! This is a great workout plan. It is easy. It only takes five (5) minutes a day to have that shapely body that I am dreaming to have. I can do this. Let me sign up for this course to transform my body so I can feel confident.”

Has anyone ever experienced this? We sign up a coaching plan at a gym, it could be the pumps, pilates, yoga, or whatever that is hot at that moment. We tell ourselves that we are committed to make it happen. We will take it seriously. We will be there for every single coaching with the instructor. We go there relentlessly every single day for a week, perhaps a month. What happens after a month? Temptations happen. An outing with our friends, the very important project in office, family matters, etcetera. We end up finding every little reason to skip the gym and then, we are back to where we were before signing up, sometimes even worse. Then, we tell ourselves that gym does not work.

“Wow! This is interesting. It keeps me focused. At least I have something meaningful to do during my free time rather than watching movies online.”

Has anyone ever experienced this? We finally find something of interest to us. We find time for it because we know we needed a break from whatever we are in. We sign up for knitting, cooking, music, painting classes. We tell ourselves that we will be happy doing what we love. Life is not just about work. Life can be doing something we love. We attend classes and stay committed to the projects tasked to us for a month, perhaps a year. What happens after a year? Distractions happen. That other hobby seems more interesting. I am bored with this current one. We end up with all the tools and materials that collects dust in the store. Then, we tell ourselves that this is not the right hobby.

“Wow! That person is so rich he can pay for so many ads space. He is the right person I should be learning from on how to make money online. He has been here for so many years, so many testimonials, he must be good.”

Has anyone ever experienced this? In this world of information technology, there are various gurus out there teaching their lifelong knowledge to us. We sign up for several gurus thinking that learning from a variety of sources would make us see which the right path is for us. We perhaps need desperately the enlightenment that the gurus provide. We are all in for the challenges because we know success is awaiting for us. Now is the time to start. We commit hours a day to learn. We learn for a week, a month, or a year. We hope to see success but we never see it. What happens after that? Doubt happens. We give up learning. We give up all our past efforts. Then, we tell ourselves that this only works for the successful people, not for me.

Success does not come overnight. Success take a lot of effort and most importantly, commitment.

Have we ever ponder on the reason someone else is successful and we are not? Have we ever taken the time to really understand what that person did in order to stand where they are standing now? What is it that they are doing that I am not? This is the most important question that we must seek the answer to. The answer is just one simple word, COMMITMENT!

Everyone has gone through this stage of starting things but only a few actually stay committed till the end. We have to be clear of our vision, of what we really want to achieve in life. Everything is learnable. As long as we are committed to make that change to our life, we will succeed one day. We have to believe that we can do it. We have to start doing it. We have to stay in it irregardless of whether or not the people around us agree with us. We only have ourselves to answer to. As long as we do not do anything against the law or harming the world, what is stopping us?

Self-doubt is a success killer. Once we commit to something, stay till the end to see the outcome.

 

We should think about our strengths, priorities and goals, which will further help us manage our mind and commit ourselves to success.

Dr Prem Jagyasi, Strategic leader, author, publisher, and global speaker

Learn

Learning is a continuous process.

We live in a world of technology and information is vast. We can learn anything anywhere. There is so much to learn we hardly have time to think which information is the right information for us to grow. We tend to be broad and wide in our search to learn something, very often we deviate from the initial plan of our learning.

Deviation is normal and is okay. Perhaps we started off with just something as simple as decluttering our home. Everyone have their thoughts about this and everyone have different methods to doing this. Whichever method that suits us is the best for us. It does not really matter if it works for everyone, as long as it works for us, it is a good method for us. While learning about decluttering the home, we might get cluttered in our mind. What do we do about that?

It is okay to have a saturated mind. We know ourselves best. We learn, we saturate, then we learn to say enough. There will come a point where we feel it is enough of searching for more information because getting all the information in the world does not mean we are the best in the subject. So what if we know all the theories of how to declutter our home? If we never bring ourselves to taking action, to really doing it, we will never know which one really works for us.

Trial and error is also part of the learning process. Stop procrastinating! Start doing!

Perhaps we have bigger dreams than just merely decluttering our homes. We already have so much information at hand. We have tried it, failed it, done it, tormented about it, what else can we do? Decluttering our home is only a small part of the decluttering world. Look beyond that. Perhaps we can start earning with the knowledge we learnt.

Know what is needed. Just get back to the internet to search for a new thought, any thought. What problems do people face when starting to declutter? What problems do people face halfway to decluttering? What problems do people face when maintaining the home clutter free? Find out the problems of other people. Find ways to solve them. Bring in the pain point. Find the niche.

Anything can be monetized.

We have lived our lives learning about so many things. All these years, how have we failed, how have we managed it, how have we overcome it? Our life experiences may be something that does not seem important to us but as at to date there are 7.8 billion human population in the world. We already know that no two person is the same. This means, our life experience is unique, we are unique. There may be lookalikes somewhere else in the world but whatever we go through definitely differs.

We have been stuck. We have been there, in that situation. We got out of it. We are a different person now. We managed it. It is time to tell the world what we have gone through. Perhaps for a start, nobody will know who we are. As time goes by, as we build ourselves for the better, someone, somewhere out there, will discover us. We may not be the big time idol or superstar but it brings much satisfaction knowing we are able to help someone see light in themselves.

As long as there are humans living in this world, opportunity is there. It is up to us to tap into the market and make the best of it. Learning is not about keeping the knowledge. There is no point learning something and just keeping it to ourselves. We do not live alone. Get out there. Help someone. Soon enough, we will find the satisfaction of sharing.

Sometimes it is not about making all the money in the world, it is more about sharing so to make peoples’ lives better. If this is such a noble action, why monetize? We have to understand that nothing comes free. Humans love to take for granted what is available for free. Nobody will take action on anything if the information is free. Worst off if it is free for life. How many have signed up for free for life courses and never got to do anything about it? If it costs something, if it is for a limited time only, we are more likely to take action and start doing it. The motivation is there.

Learn = Live + Earn
Learn to make life better for ourselves and for others as well.

 

Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.

Benjamin Franklin, American polymath, writer, scientist, and inventor, 1706-1790

Investment

Investment sounds like a huge word that has everything got to do with numbers.

We often associate investment with stock markets, foreign exchange, and crypto currency. These are things that only some can understand and a handful are good at. We have heard of horror stories where people sacrifice themselves when the market falls. It is probably due to bad investments. While this may be true, there are some that excel at the very same time. There is opportunity in every situation.

Who is to tell how the future looks like? Nobody will ever know unless we are willing to take the first step. Understanding something that is not in our area of expertise can be hefty. We could spend all the time we want on it and still find that it is not something we can digest. This is the time where people seek advice from the experts. Just be careful that there are many out there that portray themselves as the king of the industry but are merely just employees of the stocks company. If they are that great, they would be somewhere else already, not stuck where they were ten years ago.

There are safer options in for us to invest in. These are created specifically for those who want a taste of the market but are not up for the risks. Financial experts have created mutual funds, unit trusts, and even bonds to cover the rest of the people. Anyone can invest in this. There are even insurance policies that are tied to investment funds. They are all handled by the so called experts who uses our money to invest in the big market. If we choose a low risk type of investment, they will play it safe but returns are inherently lower. If we choose a high risk type of investment, they will choose the high earning stocks from the market to invest in. While these are high earning, they are also high risk.

There is not much difference in investing directly or indirectly. We are still controlled by the big market itself. We can only see reports on paper and online. There is nothing physical to hold on to.

Some people feel more secure with a product. The market is vast. If we do not understand the numbers, it is probably a better choice to invest in something we can see and touch and hold. Besides giving us a sense of security, it is also easier to understand.

People who invest in properties, buy when the market is low and sell when the market booms. Or, we can choose to keep the properties for rent collection. Either way, this type of investment seem to bring us stable returns. Whether or not earnings exceeds invested amount is another matter. Some property owners have the mindset that if the property is not making money through rentals, it could be temporary. When it is the right time, the property can be sold for a bulk of money. Real estates do not crash as easily as the stocks, though related but there is still difference. Whatever happens, people still need roof over their heads.

Never to put all eggs in one basket. While we may have the perception that properties are more secure, it is always wise to spread out our investments. Even if we choose to invest in properties alone, we can always invest in different areas, states, or even countries. If one country is to fall, we still have another to hold on to.

We tend to invest in everything that earns us money in return. But is everything valued in monetary terms?

Perhaps we have overlooked on the one thing that is the best investment in our lifetime. OURSELVES. We are willing to invest in gadgets to hopefully ease our life. How much are we willing to pay to invest in ourselves? We are versatile. We can invest our money in books and courses to learn about the new ways of life. We can invest our time in taking action of what we have learnt, of seeing that we commit ourselves through to success. We can invest our knowledge in helping those in need, to educate and nurture them to become their better selves.

What are we willing to invest on? What are we hoping to get in return?
Investment with passion and action brings return.

 

The most important investment you can make is in yourself.

Warren Edward Buffett (Warren Buffett), one of the most successful investors in the world, 1930-present