The Power of Money - Adam Khoo
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 Orgn) 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 $5 m, travelled economy class and some even drove Toyotas and Nissans, not Audis, Mercs, 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, jewellery 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 gives 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. Save this message to read it from time to time. Be practical. Live with a purpose.
***
A cop stops an obvious drunk and asks "How high are you?"
The drunk replies. "That is wrong English. You should say 'Hi how are you?"
***
A woman called up hospital switchboard and asked. "I want to know if the patient Rita Mehta in Room No 1438 is getting better??"
The RMO replied, "She is doing very well. She had her first solid meal today, her blood pressure is fine and if she continues improving she might even be sent home in a couple of days!"
The woman said, "Thank God! That's wonderful news!"
RMO : "I take it you must be a family member or a close friend!"
Woman : "No...no... I am Rita Mehta. I phoned you to find out, because when I ask the nurse, no one tells me anything here !"
***
Three Toronto based Canadian surgeons were playing golf together and discussing difficult surgeries they had performed over the years.
First: I'm the best surgeon in Toronto. In my favourite case, a concert pianist lost seven fingers in an accident, I reattached them, and 8 months later he performed a private concert for the queen of England.
Second: That's nothing. A young man lost an arm and both legs in an accident. I reattached them, and 2 years later he won a gold medal in track and field events in the Olympics.
Third: You guys are amateurs. Several years ago a man was high on cocaine and marijuana and he rode a horse head-on into a train traveling at 100 miles an hour. All I had left to work with was the man's blonde hair and the horse's ass. I was able to put them together and now he's running for the post of the president of the USA.
***
Insightful Quotes :
Most people do not see their beliefs. Instead their beliefs tell them what to see. This is the simple difference between clarity and confusion.
Over thinking is the biggest source of unhappiness.
Living in the present is the only option: It is easy to spend time thinking about the future or dwelling on the past - but those that only leads to more anxiety.
Fear doesn't exist anywhere except in the mind!!
In life, it helps to have a 'Not to do list' just as you have 'To do list'. Make sure you know what NOT to do, especially in situations where you tend to repeat negative patterns and habits. Applies as much in life as in trading.
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 Orgn) 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 $5 m, travelled economy class and some even drove Toyotas and Nissans, not Audis, Mercs, 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, jewellery 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 gives 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. Save this message to read it from time to time. Be practical. Live with a purpose.
***
A cop stops an obvious drunk and asks "How high are you?"
The drunk replies. "That is wrong English. You should say 'Hi how are you?"
***
A woman called up hospital switchboard and asked. "I want to know if the patient Rita Mehta in Room No 1438 is getting better??"
The RMO replied, "She is doing very well. She had her first solid meal today, her blood pressure is fine and if she continues improving she might even be sent home in a couple of days!"
The woman said, "Thank God! That's wonderful news!"
RMO : "I take it you must be a family member or a close friend!"
Woman : "No...no... I am Rita Mehta. I phoned you to find out, because when I ask the nurse, no one tells me anything here !"
***
Three Toronto based Canadian surgeons were playing golf together and discussing difficult surgeries they had performed over the years.
First: I'm the best surgeon in Toronto. In my favourite case, a concert pianist lost seven fingers in an accident, I reattached them, and 8 months later he performed a private concert for the queen of England.
Second: That's nothing. A young man lost an arm and both legs in an accident. I reattached them, and 2 years later he won a gold medal in track and field events in the Olympics.
Third: You guys are amateurs. Several years ago a man was high on cocaine and marijuana and he rode a horse head-on into a train traveling at 100 miles an hour. All I had left to work with was the man's blonde hair and the horse's ass. I was able to put them together and now he's running for the post of the president of the USA.
***
Insightful Quotes :
Most people do not see their beliefs. Instead their beliefs tell them what to see. This is the simple difference between clarity and confusion.
Over thinking is the biggest source of unhappiness.
Living in the present is the only option: It is easy to spend time thinking about the future or dwelling on the past - but those that only leads to more anxiety.
Fear doesn't exist anywhere except in the mind!!
In life, it helps to have a 'Not to do list' just as you have 'To do list'. Make sure you know what NOT to do, especially in situations where you tend to repeat negative patterns and habits. Applies as much in life as in trading.