Being Wealthy is an Option

I have been very busy over the past few days, hence the lack of posts. I have been running around and meeting up some very successful people over the last couple of days and each one I met gave me the same message. And that is “Being Wealthy is an Option”. Did you know that we all have this option but some of us do not want to exercise it. Of course there are others who may not even be aware that they have this option. These are the people who very often think that wealth can only be inherited. Hence, they have stopped looking for ways to better their lives and have settle with what they felt that life has handed down to them from the day they were born.

During one of my meetings with these successful people, I was told to go check out the bookstores for the autobiographies of successful people and learn from them.  It was not a surprise for me to find that many of these successful people were not born with a golden spoon, or even a silver one at that. I see that most of them started off life with average working class parents, some a little better off, whilst some were even below the average income background. However, what is the common denominator amongst these successful people were their strong beliefs and desires that life has better things to offer to them. They just cannot accept that they are stuck with what they were born with.

They started with a strong desire and they also carried on with persistence and hard work. It does not mean that it was smooth sailing all the way for most of them. They met with obstacles, failures, hardships but they never gave up. They did not let anything stop them from striving towards their dreams. Some of them never stop to consider if they had the right connections, they were born the right color. I know many of us can write a bookful of reasons why we will not be or cannot be wealthy in this lifetime. Some of us will think that we do not have the right education or enough education, no time, no sufficient start-up capital, don’t know enough people, no products or services to sell, and also no idea as to what to do. But if only we were to open our eyes, ears and minds to everything around us. The opportunities are always there, if we wanted them.

Go pick up some of these books and have a good read. Or go talk to people who are successful and you will soon realize that “Being Wealthy is really an Option”.

 

Wouldn’t You Like to Read the Other Person’s Thoughts

Are they times when you suspect that you are being lied to? I have been having this feeling a lot lately, especially since my friends know that I have just started my own little business. For whatever reasons, they probably think that the minute I appear in front of the faces, I am going to sell them my products.. Ha Ha. Some of them will suddenly remember urgent important meetings, or equally important errands. These are easy to spot. But I think what is harder to spot would be situations where you are either about to be taken advantaged off or fooled by more experienced liar. And off course, also in business negotiation deals, would it be great if we are able to read from the other party’s gestures and mannerisms to gauge their thoughts?

Have you heard of Allan Pease, the Mr. Body Language himself? I have read one of his many books “People Skills For Life – Easy Peasy” which he wrote together with his wife. Anyway, he has also written many books on techniques for reading body language signals to give us confidence and control in any face-to-face encounter. I have watched his full length video on this and it was very insightful. This is the excerpt of the interview :

SKYQUESTCOM: Today we’re privileged to have Allan Pease. Allan, you’re famous for your series on body language. How did you get started in this area and why?

ALLAN: Well it started for me back in the late 1960’s teaching salesmen how to work things out when you’re face to face with someone – whether they’re with you or against you. Whether they’re likely to say “yes” or “no”. And observing the gestures and movements they had made that were relative to a positive decision versus a negative one.

And back in the early 1970’s, this became a training course on a brand new cassette medium called “audio cassette” – a little cassette tape that nobody had. We used to buy a 6-pack of that, with a cassette player because nobody had a cassette player. And that became a 16-mm set of training films in 1972, which is one of the first on 16-mm. And in 1976, it became a book called Body Language, which then went #1 worldwide and continued to be a best-seller for 31 years.

SKYQUESTCOM: What is the appeal of Body Language?

ALLAN: The appeal of Body Language in the book on the series and everything connected with it is simply that everybody likes to be able to work out what the other person is thinking – “How am I coming across with others?”, “Do they like me?”, “Are they with me?”, “Are they against me?”, “Are they going to say ‘yes’?”, “Are they going to say ‘no’?”

Of course, in business, that is a critical skill to be able to have. If you can do this in business, you’ll do very well! Which is why women are so successful at it because they’re good at it. And the other aspect, of course, is your social life. If you can work out with someone who likes you in your social life, you’ll save a lot of time.

SKYQUESTCOM: What is something about yourself in your background that surprises people when they find out?

ALLAN: Well, I think the most unusual thing about me and my background is – because I am one of the world’s biggest-selling authors on Psychology. They expect that I’m a Psychologist. In fact, I’m not. My training is in Finance and teaching negotiators how to sell Finance. Which is where the body language came from.

I’ve always had a dramatically keen interest in human behavior, why we do things we do. I am just fascinated with everything about human beings. I am fascinated by that. And that’s led me to nearly 40 years now to study everything about humans. I’m trying to work out where its history might be, where its origin is and importantly to develop strategies and techniques that you can use to win people over and do better with others in your personal and social life.

Basically, what the video covered were these areas:-

What you’ll discover in “How to Read Anyone”

• Techniques for reading body language signals such as how handshakes are used to gain control
• How to tell without a doubt that somebody is lying to you
• Common male and female courtship gestures and signals
• How to break the masks of “professional actors”
• How to use non-verbal cues and signals to communicate more effectively and get the success you want
• And much more!

 

Committed to Keeping Your Personal and Professional Life in Balance

“If you believe you can, you probably can. If you believe you won’t, you most assuredly won’t. Belief is the ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad.” Dennis Waitley

Denis Waitley is one of America’s most respected authors, keynote lecturers and productivity consultants on high performance human achievement. He has inspired, informed, challenged and entertained audiences for over 25 years from the board rooms of multi-national corporations to the locker rooms of world-class athletes and in the meeting rooms of thousands of conventioneers throughout the world. And I would like to share something that was written by him which could be something many of us may have forgotten in our daily pursuit of our material well-being.

It is so important to be living in prime time, rather than watching TV in prime time. On your way to success make certain you grow friendships, not just bank and mutual fund accounts.. Life is a collection of memories, not of material things. The Egyptian pharaohs were buried with all their treasures, and were mummified in hopes that they could enjoy their bounty in the next life. But we are only caretakers of possessions. There is a big difference between standard of living and quality of life. Standard of living is based on income earned. Quality of life is the enjoyment of the millions of minutes in between accomplishments.

Having money is only one aspect of wealth. To the sick person, wealth is health. To the lonely person, wealth is someone to talk to and share with. To the estranged person, wealth is hearing words of love and forgiveness.

Borrowing the free verse style from Brother Jeremiah’s classic poem, I’d Pick More Daisies, here are a few things I’d do, the second time around.

I’d laugh at my misfortunes more. Spend more time counting my blessings than my blemishes. Spend more time playing with my children and grandchildren and less time watching performers in the arena. More time enjoying what I have, less time thinking about the things I don’t have. If I could live my life again, I’d walk in the rain more without an umbrella and listen less to weather reports. I’d spend more time looking at trees and climbing them, less time flipping through magazines made from dead trees. I’d spend more time fully involved in the present moment, less time remembering and anticipating. I’d smile more, frown less.

And most of all I’d be more spontaneous and active, less hesitant and subdued. When some spur of the moment idea came up to go hiking, playing Frisbee, coloring Easter eggs, singing in a chorus, going kayaking, or watching an eclipse, I’d be less likely to sit in my chair objecting, “It’s not in our plan.’

I’d be inclined to jump up and run out the door next time and say, “Yes, we can!’ Although I can’t live my life again, I’m still going to live the new way every day any way. I’ll never have all the moments I’ve missed, but I do have all the time remaining.

Action Idea – Choose one activity this month that you really want to engage in, but that you have been putting off because it isn’t a priority. Schedule that activity in your planner, as if it were a “must do’ business or financial commitment. When you have done it, while you are still feeling good, schedule one for next month, and do it as long as you live.   

So, seek balance in life.. the middle path in your life’s journey.

 

Even Eagles Need A Push

Lunch time these days are spent in front of the PC, with my Bento lunch, watching and learning from successful people. Today, I was watching Major Jeffrey Goh’s seminar entitled “Even Eagles Need a Push”. His was really a very refreshing, down to earth presentation which was entertaining, funny and so much common sense in it that is rather uncommon these days. In his presentation, he mentioned Jack Weaver and that lead me to another set of presentations. I will have to leave Jack for tomorrow’s lunch but what Jack had to share was equally powerful. Jack Weaver is a multi-millionaire and an active investor using his strategies to build multi-million dollar companies starting with little money, employing over 100 staff and multiple chain stores.

Major Jeffrey Goh spoke of the 5 Qualities of very successful and empowered people. The analogies which he gave truly touched home. Let me see if I can do him justice here.

1) Self Appreciation – Who Am I?

Many of us appreciate the good things in life, the beauty of others, but we forget to appreciate ourselves. We forget that we are special, we are unique and special. We should never let events that happen in our lives bring down our self worth. When events which are not favorable happens to us, like when we get retrenched, it does not make us less worthy. Furthermore, how we choose to respond to the event will determine the outcome we get. Major Goh share this formula E + R = O, which is Events + Respond = Outcome. So, in the example given, in the event we get retrenched, and even at a ripe age of near retirement, let that not stop us from responding in a manner that will bring us favorable outcomes.

2) Vision – Where Am I Going?

Do you agree that many of us only have a very hazy vision of where we are going in our life? And even if we did have a vision, it will only be a very near sighted one. When we were in school, our vision was probably only to get into a good college. At University, our vision was only to land a good job. When we start working, we only vision ourselves happily married. None of us really think about where we want to be when we are in our middle age, when that should be what we ought to be thinking about. Why? When you are middle age, and you start thinking of having financial freedom and not having to slog as hard, day and night, don’t you think it could be a bit too late for some? I like the example which he gave about Alice in Wonderland. Alice arrived at a crossroad and she could not decide whether to go down the left road or the right road. The Alice asked the Cheshire Cat, “Which road should I take?”. The Cheshire Cat asked Alice “And where do you want to do?”. Alice answered “I don’t know?”. So the Cheshire Cat replied “Then it doesn’t matter which road you take Alice coz you don’t even know where you want to go!”.

3) Purpose in life – Why Am I Here?

Many of us have never thought of this and even for those of us who have, we probably would not have the answer to that question. Mother Teresa knew her purpose in life. I am sure Bill Gates does too. But do we? If we don’t have any clue, then think about these reasons – To Live; To Love; To Learn and lastly, To Leave a Lasting Legacy

4) Commitment

Major Goh talked about Interests vs Commitment. Now this is something which I never really thought about. Interest is when it is something you like to do but at the first sign of an inconvenience, you give up. Like going to the gym. When it rains, you don’t go. When the traffic is bad, you tell yourself there is tomorrow. A commitment is different. When you are committed to something, you will never let anything stop you from getting what you want. Was that how you felt when you were trying to woo that girl or guy that you like so much?

5) Contribution

I liked this last bit the best. Major Goh shared a conversation between a porker and a cow. The porker (pig) said to the cow one day “How come people like you more than they like me? Even when I give so much to them?”. The cow replied “What do you mean my friend?”. The porker continued “You give them milk and cheese but I give them my meat for ham, my hair for brushes, they even pickle my trotters but still they like you better. Can you explain that to me?” The cow thought for a while ” I give while I am still alive. You give only when you are dead”. It is better to give willingly and while one is still alive. When one is dead, it does not matter any more.

His presentation lasted more than 40 minutes and I just cannot put everything down to share. You’ve just got to watch it yourself. And he is just one of the many many successful speakers to learn from everyday. WOW!

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Bad Times – What Does This Mean To Us

I was blog surfing when I came across a blog named “Malay Women In Malaysia” who’s post today was entitled “American Economy Collapsing“.

There was a video which was rather disturbing about the state of America’s economy. I was also online with an old Uni friend in Birmingham late last evening and he was telling me that things are that great either there.

This was something which I extracted from Malay Women’s blog which I felt was really the truthful, blunt but painful reality which most of us are starting to feel, if not already feeling.

“Ignorant Malaysian suckers out there better watch out. You folks better curb your lavish spending and start saving money. The American economy is collapsing and it will send ripples to the global economy including our very own very soon. I’m not panicking but I want you folks to know that you can expect hellish time in the next few months!“

So, it is time to start doing something about it before the bad times really hit us? Bad times translated into pay-cut or worse, retrenchments, business failures. The weather is really looking rather gloomy. Take in the wash honey!

 

Learning from Successful People to Become Successful Yourself

Have many of you heard of this phrase “To be successful, you will have to learn from those who are already successful”. That is why people read books written by already successful people, or attend seminars given by successful people. Would it not be better if you could be in the physical presence of successful people, who are willing to share their success stories with you. And to offer words of advice and guidance on how to become as successful as they are? Well, I had that opportunity last night.

It was on Hari Raya eve when I received an SMS from my good friend in the business to come for a meeting with Richard Tan on Friday at 7:30pm in Citidel. My first thought was, the Richard Tan? Wow!!! The CEO of Success Resources Pte Ltd and the CEO of SkyQuestCom. How many times has your CEO asked for a meeting with you? But then if he did (in my case), my first thought would either be (1) to fire me (but then again, I am not so significant that he has to fire me personally) or (2) it was a mistake. Someone else probably has a same name with me or close enough.

Our meeting was at the coffeehouse in Citidel. We (there were 10 of us) were warmed up by the General Manager of SkyQuestCom (Terence) and by the time Richard came down from his room, we were all sitting there in anticipation of what it is like to meet up with a real life multi-millionaire. I for one, expected it to be no less than meeting the Queen of England (bowing and the kissing hand bit hahaha) but when Richard came to the table, the feeling he generated was exactly like we were meeting with an old friend. He shook all our hands and sat down. To break the ice, Terence asked a question which was what we all wanted to ask but were still a bit apprehensive. Terence asked “If there was one word of advice, just one, what would it be that will help us to become as rich and successful as you are?”. Richard answered “Terence, is this your question? Or is it their question?”. Ha Ha.. in my mind.. it was a question that all who want to be successful would ask.

Richard’s answer was this “If a person desires to be rich and successful, there is just one thing he has to remember. And that is …………………..”. And I got a few pages of notes on all the wisdom nuggets he threw out yesterday. I can’t wait to share these with people with the same mind set “to be rich and successful” and the first few that I will share this with will be my teammates and my PreEnrollers (you know who you are *wink*). For those who are really interested, do write to me and I will send the notes to you.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil Fitri!

Richard and Me

Richard and all of us

 

Why Do People Dislike Doing Sales?

The person who gets the farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore.”
–Dale Carnegie

Honestly, how many of us can really admit that we love to do Sales? In a crowded room, I would definitely say only a small handful of people will say that they like sales. Majority would admit that if given a choice, they would not want to do sales. Why don’t we like to do Sales?

Many of us may have had the misfortune of meeting a pushy Sales person at least once in our lifetime. Let me ask you in all honesty, do you find that it was the Sales person who you didn’t like and not the product? There are quite a lot of pushy Sales people out there. These people are either not properly trained or they are what we call “product pushers”. They just want to push products out to fulfill their sales quota. And the harder people push, you notice that you either push back or you just walk away. Either way, it is a bad experience for both parties.

However, that Sales person could also have been you. Why? Perhaps you were either ill-equiped or not sufficiently trained. Or you have not yet realize that selling is more than pushing and forcing something on to the other person.

Selling is about listening, not about talking. Do you realize that when a good Sales Person approaches you, you (and not the Sales person) are the one who is doing most of the talking and sharing your pains. At  the end of the conversation, you would highly likely have bought whatever it was that the Sales person was selling. Yes, the product is important (for it must be something that is useful to you). However, I can confidently say that most of the time, the sale was successful because the Sales person listened to you and you felt good. So, do you think that you need to be an excellent speaker to be successful in sales? No, you need to be a excellent LISTENER!

In this time and age, successful selling is not about peddling products or services. Successful Sales people are selling relationships. Soft selling is the key. It is also about selling solutions and sometimes, it is also about selling a want and a dream. If you were to pick up 2 flayers in the street, both selling Laptops. One flayer from Laptop Company A listed down all the Laptop configurations in detail, the processing speed, the memory capacity and so on. What if the flayer for Laptop Company B only listed the basic configurations down, but had pictures of a young, successful man and lady holding the colorful laptops, with the words “Get a Laptop to Suit Your Style” or “Laptops that helps you achieve high goals or Success at Work!”.  Which laptop Company do you think will get more business?

Selling is definitely more than a product. Say for example in my case. I have subscribed to an eLearning Portal and in all honesty, that portal is fantastic. Actually, the product alone sells itself. It has got videos of successful speakers and mulit millionaires, it has got language courses, computer based training courses and a bit of everything for the entire family. Now, if I went around selling these benefits and wonderful products at the eLearning Portal, I am no better than Laptop Company A.  However, if I am going to sell this as a solution, as an opportunity to people who are either looking for a business with very little money down, low risk but high returns , or they could be looking to learn from already successful and wealthy people, or people who are wanting to learn and improve themselves with the latest computer softwares in town, this is just the place for them. It is about how one package the product as a solution to ease the other person’s pain or enhances his pleasure.

There are many other reasons why most people dislike doing sales. In a nutshell, it is about their perception of the Sales persons whom they have met in their lives. And more often then not, that has been what has stopped many people from being successful in their jobs as Sales people or in their business. In life and in all that we do, we have been unconsciously selling. Did we not have to sell ourselves to our boyfriends/girlfriends/spouses or they just decided to pick you up at random? Did we not have to sell ourselves to our potential bosses to get the job? But the minute you consciously think that you are selling, that is when you freeze up.

Finally, selling can also be looked as sharing. If you were to have enjoyed a wonderful meal at a restaurant or seen an exceptionally good movie, what is the first thing you will do the next morning at work? Or when you met a friend at lunch? You will share with him or her your wonderful experience. Similarly, if you were to have been given an opportunity which will likely springboard you to a means of owning your own business with very little money down, would you not want to share that with a friend. The best part of it, money to you aside, how would it feel if you had managed to help a friend find a means to earn a little bit of extra money at the start to afford to send his/her daughter to the ballet class she really wants, and perhaps to allow him to eventually achieve his financial freedom? Would that not make you feel like a FIRST CLASS Friend?

So, change your mindset. Help change your friends mindsets about Sales. Sales can be fun and exciting. Sales is crucial to success and make yourself like doing Sales. Why? When you enjoy or like doing something, you will end up doing it well!

 

Evergreen Businesses

Before one decides on what business to venture into, it is good to think about the type of business(es) that will lasts. There are also businesses which are very niched. The returns could be higher in niche market products but the risks could also be higher. Sometimes, these type of business lasts for a very short time but the business owners do get a chance to laugh all the way to the banks.

A safer business to venture into is perhaps those evergreen businesses. These are the sort of businesses that lasts through times, good as well as bad times. The world’s economic outlook does not appear encouraging. In my country, things are also not looking that great either. Impending recession has already been predicted. Now, during these jittery times, what are the businesses that are likely to still be able to weather these storms? Why, the evergreen businesses.

Evergreen businesses will normally include businesses that deals with one of the following :-

1. Food
2. Shelter
3. Health
4. Entertainment (to a certain degree)
5. Energy & Utilities
6. Education

Whether in good times or bad, humans will still need Food and Shelter. In good times, people will probably be more eat more and dine out. But during bad times, people will still have to eat, just to survive. However, you will then have to explore the type of food and the target market that you are aiming for.

It is the same for the rest of the Evergreen industries too. Personally, I feel that during bad times, people will turn to religion and superstitions, especially for the more desperate people. They are looking for a easy way out. Again, my 2 cents worth, never put yourself in that position in the first place. During good times, let your business make all the money in can. During the bad times, make sure the business you are in will still continue to thrive.

 

A Review Of The Traffic Tips Report

I recently picked up a copy of Justin Michie’s Traffic Tips Report (Free for a limited time from here). Let’s face it, getting traffic to your website or blog is a never ending challenge. But it’s a necessary challenge, because without traffic you can’t do much of anything. So you are probably – like me – always on the lookout for new traffic generation methods and as many good ways to do it as you possibly can.

The Traffic Tips Report claims to do just that. This is a recently released report from expert internet marketer Justin Michie. Being an internet marketer himself, Justin should have a good hold on traffic generation. But as with anything online I thought it was worth taking a closer look. And the results were actually quite impressive.

For starters, the report doesn’t just show you a few ways to generate website traffic, it delivers 247 unique ways to get traffic to your site. Right from the start that’s something that any website or blog owner can use. On top of that, the report is actually free! Justin is currently giving it away to anyone who wants it.

And even though it’s free, the methods outlined in this report should be able to increase your traffic significantly in just a matter of days. The great thing about this report is that it includes both free and paid traffic generation methods. So whether you are just starting out and you have time to invest but little money, or you’ve been making money online for awhile and have the money but not the time – there are plenty of ideas in here to up your traffic stats.

Just don’t let the amount of ideas in here overwhelm you – don’t try to do it all at once, pace yourself! Some of the methods will result in short term traffic and others will result in long term traffic. If you start with a few of short term and a few long term methods from this report you can give your site a quick burst of traffic right away while building long term traffic. This will help your traffic grow quickly and still sustain itself so you’ll be getting plenty of visitors month after month.

The report has been reviewed by some of the most successful and well known internet marketers. Joel Comm and Willie Crawford both highly recommended it, when Justin was charging money for it. (It had been selling at the discounted rate of $7 at http://www.TrafficTipsReport.com.) Joel calls it a “really valuable resource” that all internet marketers should have. And Willie “recommends it to all of his clients and subscribers.” When you have endorsements like these you really can’t go wrong!

Another great thing about this report is that it will work for any type of niche. It doesn’t matter if you have a website on puppies or a blog about day trading. There are traffic generation methods in it that will work for everyone and every niche.

As we all know the internet is constantly evolving. To be successful, you have got to stay ahead of your competition. You can easily do this by using some of these unique marketing methods Justin has outlined. If you use just one of these methods, you could easily double the amount of traffic you are receiving. Just imagine what could happen if you use ten, fifty or all 247? You would have a traffic explosion! All from one little report.

So if you are looking for unique ways to drive more traffic to your site, you really need to look no further than the Traffic Tips Report. If you want a copy (while it’s still free) you can download it from here. It’s a no brainer decision!

 

Why More Than 90% of New Businesses Fails

Many businesses have been started up by business-entrepreneur wannabes who have not fully equiped themselves with the necessary skills. People who want to drive on the roads need to go for driving lessons and these days classes on road signs and traffic laws too. And even then, there are still road accidents and mishap. Imagine the number of disasters on the roads if people were not equiped with the basic driving skills.

However, when starting a business, there is no prerequisite courses or tests one has to take. It is mainly based on a personal belief that the business will succeed and also a lot of luck. However, that is NOT sufficient to ensure business success and continuity. There are some very basic fundamental skills that one must have.

1. Selling Skills
2. Marketing Skills
3. Leadership Skills
4. Team Building Skills
5. System Building Skills

Most of these skills are learnable. People are not born to be great salesmen or marketeers or leaders. They learn from successful people and most of the time, if we parrot these skills long enough, it becomes ingrained in us. Actions which are done repetitively are called habits.

There are many ways one can go about picking up such skills. One can attend seminars or trainings to fast track themselves and one very successful company that has been churning out successful entrepreneurs. They have a Yahoo Group of Graduates who many have started tripling the income even before even completing the course. This is none other than the Entrepreneurs Action Program Sdn Bhd.

One could invest in books on how to succeed in business and read biographies about people who are already successful. Many of these successful people have shared their knowledge and experiences on how they became successful.

Another way is to attend seminars conducted by successful people and motivational speakers. The only issue is that some of these speakers do not speak as often as we would like to listen to them and only at selected venues. However, there is an adult learning portal that makes these seminars easily accessible to us. There are at least 200 seminars stored as videos and are accessible to us any time we wish to view them.

Whichever way we choose to learn, there is no doubt that in order to succeed in business and to ensure business continuity, one has to be armed with the necessary skills.