TV SHOW - 'Body Language Secrets: Power' - Review

BODY LANGUAGE SECRETS: POWER (on SKY ONE)

This show was BRILLIANT I learnt so much, and it left me wanting to pursue time learning more about body language.

- 'From the Boardroom to the Bedroom POWER dictates everything we do'

It stars three psychologists, Expert in Neuroscience (Dr Jack Lewis), Social Science Expert (Anjula Mutanda) and Body language Expert (Dr Peter Collett)
They showed a lot of footage from politicians and how they communicate. And the techniques they use, which can be transferred to people like you and me.


From starts with meeting someone and starting with a simple handshake, a lot is said without words.
They showed a clip from top politicians: Barak Obama, Gordon Brown and a few others meeting in England.

Gordon Brown (Being the host) went round the room, meeting and greeting people and seemed friendly. HOWEVER they pointed out, look how Obama remains rooted in one position, (He lets people come to him NOT the other way round)
And with something as simple as a handshake, Obama went first offering his hand, however only putting out his forearm keeping his elbow locked to his side, meaning the other person had to REACH OUT to shake OBAMA'S hand, giving the signs of Obama is the top dog, you must go above and beyond to meet him.

So TOP TIPS I LEARNT FROM THIS CLIP:

- Handshakes: go first but keep ELBOW locked next to side, and let the other person OVER REACH

- Simply standing on one spot GIVES OFF A POWER VIBE people who aren't in charge run around etc Let people come to YOU.

- If someone offers their hand FIRST to claim the power back, during the shake using your other hand pat/hold their shaking hand near the elbow (Signalling I'm in control of you)

- THE POWER PAT, when walking or leaving a room, a simple friendly pat on the back/shoulder can easy come across as friendly, but signals 'YOU'RE THE TOP DOG' and effectively saying 'GOOD BOY' to the recipient.




The next clip, showed Bill Clinton and George Bush walking then posing for photos, and George Bush not wanting to be up staged as he seemed nervous, starting mimicking every move Bill Clinton did.
I.e If Bill waved to the cameras George would wave.
Also celebrities they said use similar tricks...

'The Power Walk' swinging the arms, taking up more space when you walk draws the eye in, and shows your importance.
If our brain believes our power status our body will naturally give off this impression.


Another clip then moved onto Gordon Brown giving a speech:

When talking using his hands, he shows his knuckles when gesturing, (the knuckles being hard, giving off a hard impression, no nonsense approach)

In 2007 Forward thinking 2007 during a speech he used forward thinking and positive words, yet in 2009 his speech was reflective and using negative words, (can't, try, not, stop and never).
In only two years, from 2007 a man who was powerful, and believed in himself, 2 years on shows a completely different outlook.
Even during the speech in 2009, taking a small step back from the podium mid speech, seems nothing (but is reflecting him, wanting to distance himself from his speech, and giving off signs of doubt, which the audience un-kowningly pick up on.)


Key points delivering a speech as a politician:

- Speak slowly and clearly
- Lower your voice to sound authoritative
- Conceal any suggestions of anxiety or self doubt




They showed a typical work environment and followed the owner for the day and sat in on a boardroom meeting:

During a boardroom meeting, the boss and his son sit at the ENDS of the table (which are the most powerful seats if you will) They also point out that the Boss is the last one to enter the room and to sit down. (Showing his time is more precious than anyone else's) Known as the 'Structure of Attention)
They go onto explain you can work out whose in charge 'Through patterns of gaze' Now sitting at the top ends of the table, people tend to hold their focus their at the Boss.
But when other people talk, people listening, their eyes tend to drift away.

3 reasons why people touch their face:
1- To draw attention to themselves.
2- To comfort themselves
3- To show they DON'T want to be the next speaker

Even to people nodding their heads, when the boss speaks, people tend to nod their heads to make it look like their listening and agreeing, and also to appease the Boss, however when others speak the Boss rarely nods his head.

(The Boss during an employee speaking then puts his hands behind his head)
Putting their hands behind their heads, can be a sign of comforting themselves but they also do this as a  dominance display, broadening their chests, positioning the hands in preparation for attack. (This is a real powerful display)

Also at the end of the meeting, the Boss leaves FIRST, again confirming his time is most precious and he is the most important person in the room.

Top Tip:
- Where you sit in a meeting can also be important, as predominately sitting to the RIGHT on someone gives you their RIGHT ear, and information is processed on the LEFT side of the brain which receives the information through the RIGHT EAR.


ALPHA FEMALES:

Opra Wimprey the most powerful woman in the world and a multi billionaire, many believe Barak Obama only won with the backing of Oprah.

- 21st centery celebrities hold the power over politictians at the moment.


POWER DRESSING:

WHAT WE WEAR GIVES OFF A VERY POWERFUL MESSAGE
(Where first impressions last)

Three interviews were conducted and analysed,

'If you look dated the message you give off is your thinking is out of date, your not up to speed with whats happening in the world today. You will judge somebody based on what you see, and we can't help that, its an innate response.'

Hence why celebrities employ stylists to make sure they get it RIGHT.

One of the most powerful outfits for a man, is a dark suit, white shirt and red tie,
- Dark Suit
- White shirt - reflecting light onto his face
- Red tie - drawing attention onto the lips meaning we listen to what they say

- A jacket is the most powerful piece in a woman's wardrobe in a professional situation, lose it and you can lose power, which was demonstrated on the third candidate.

"Black and white is a hard look to pull off as the impression is your interviewing for a waitress job.
If women OVER FEMINISE the way they look, they LOSE their credibility, because a man will then see you as a female person they might find attractive and not a credible employee who will do the job."

The most important thing in an interview, is what comes out of your mouth, you don't want the interviewer distracted by what you're wearing.



Some More Facts:

When you've got power someone is always trying to take it from you!

- The ring finger being longer than your fore finger. Tho this is an indication, hard work and ambition work best.
Height is also an indicator in america the average height being 5"9 nearly 60% fortune 500 companies are over 6 foot tall.

- Last 100 years all american presidents have been above average height and USUALLY the taller candidate wins.
If you're not tall and powerful you should work with people smaller than you.

- Power is sexy, women are drawn to this. Men tend to find powerful women intimidating, the reason why women find powerful men attractive is because he has influence, the influence to give a woman what she needs

- Men can find women attractive and it ends there.
Women however can find a man who is powerful MORE attractive than someone with looks, this isn't because she's a gold digger but because its the power to support and look after them while raising a family because were primates, and written into our D.N.A

- Powerful men are sexy, powerful women are scary

SUMMARY

- Powerful people can use the space around them to command attention. (the power walk)
- The powerful use body language to convey there status
- They command the space around them
- And use their self-belief to make others follow their lead
- Appropriate clothes are vital to making the right impression
- Appearance can convey so mcuh more about your abilities than your C.V
- Remember it's the quiet ones you need to watch
- The truly powerful ones make people come to them
- Say very little and often move even less
- Don't be afraid to stand out from the crowd, it's often the risk takers that aquire real power
- Even where you sit compared to your Boss can have a massive impact on your career
- Its all about self-belief and if its only an act it will convince those around you and eventually you too!

- Though alpha male work places are very common, its actually fact that MOST people typically want to be LED.

- When delivering a speech, dark suits, white shirts and red ties are best.

How To Stay Motivated...

Let me tell a story...


Now your typical working day is  9am -6pm

Now if your extremely lucky! Chances are you don't live on the door step of your work! (this could also be unlucky too)
Maybe you work in an office, factory, school hospitals etc

You probably have to travel at least 30mins to get there and back!

9 hours + 30mins there and + 30mins back = 10 hours! Which leaves you 14 hours left of the day!

Now if you need or its recommended you get at least 8 hours sleep a night to help your body recover, repair itself and maintain its health that leaves 6 hours of the day left!

Now most people don't fall asleep straight away!! so you probably will actually goto bed for 9 hours but toss and turn for an hour till you fall asleep giving you 8 hours so that leaves 5 HOURS

Now when you come back from work 6.30ish on a good unless you get stuck in traffic, the last thing you want to do is work, and will probably spend 30 minutes or so preparing and cooking yourself something to eat (4.5 hours left)

See to your kids and catch up with your partner or friends perhaps for 30-60 minutes (3.5 hours left)

Then spend time watching or catching up with your favourite TV show or film (30-90 mins) leaving you with (2 hours) by this time its getting late and near 10pm at night your starting to get tired!

Is it any wonder why people get stuck in the rat race! its like quick sand!

When people say stuff like go to the gym 4-5 times a week for at least an hour at a time! or spend time in the evening working on your business!

Most of the time these people WORK in that industry, a fitness expert will say;
'Theres No excuses' But if they WORK in a gym its easier for THEM to workout etc

Yes excuses are easy to use and hide behind! BUT this story isn't fictional! You can probably think right now of many people and real life examples who could and DO act out this story day in day out!
They, like you!.... might want to escape! in fact you almost certainly, deep inside would want out! FREEDOM to do what you want when you want!

(Now this story doesn't include jobs with shift work! or many managers who rarely will say they stick to 9 hours a day! They will still be at work long after they should of gone home! Nurses and Doctors for example will typically work a 10-12 hour shift)

FOR ME THIS STORY....
Is what drives me on to educate myself, and become financially free!

And on a side note, browsing Facebook...
I saw a friend suffering with a bad back from work and has been off and going back to work later on today....
Made me think again how often do we sacrifice our health for dead end jobs we think will take care of us but are now showing that they won't.
Not often you hear millionaires and billionaires complaining about bad backs haha

The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People - Book Review

This book was mentioned in the 'video from vince del monte'

After reading Rich Dad's books i got reading this one! Now it took me a while and didn't click with it at first, but it was only when i EVENTUALLY finished i realised how good it was! Again i suppose thats why its 'sold over 15 million copies'. Tho according to wikipiedia it now stands at 25million.

Hell... 

'U.S. President Bill Clinton read the book and invited Covey to Camp David to counsel him on how to integrate the book into his presidency'

Stephen R. Covey www.stephencovey.com 

Though this book is NOT about business and becoming financially free, this book is about yourself and communicating with people which can only be a bonus in business.

Independence:

(Habits 1-3 are based from moving from dependence to independence

- Habit 1 : BE PROACTIVE

Two circles (Circle of Concern) and (Circle of Influence) if we only spend time in the circle of concern we increase all the negativity, worry and stress etc We have no control over this but most of us spend most our energies looking for results here. Whereas if we focus our energies in the Circle of Influence! We can be proactive.

(He tells a story about a business, and executives giving opinions and updates to the boss, but one man went further and when there was a problem he ALSO gave suggestions how to fix it, the boss then went one meeting to all the other executives do this, do that, BUT stopped and asked this pro-active man 'What's your opinion?' by this man being pro-active! when he didn't need to be, his Circle of Influence had grown.

- HABIT 2: BEGIN WITH THE END IN MIND

All Things Are Created Twice, Take the construction of a home, You create it in every detail before you ever hammer the first nail into place. You reduce it to blueprint and develop construction plans. All of this is done before the earth is touched. If not, then in the second creation, the physical creation, you will have to make expensive changes that may double the cost of your home. Begin with the end in mind.

- HABIT 3: PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST

If Habit 2 is about visualising and imagining the end and planning, then Habit 3 is the physical part.

INTERDEPENDENCE
The next three have to do with Interdependence (I.e working with others):


- HABIT 4: THINK WIN-WIN

Someone once said 'You can never Win an argument' as if you win it verbally there and then, you've lost some respect from the person you've been talking too. So you might of gained points from the argument but you've also lost points with them.
THINK WIN-WIN is basically listening with intent to the other person so you can understand their point you could argue their point to them just as well as they can. And like a triangle come to an outcome where both parties can achieve a higher result.


- HABIT 5: SEEK FIRST TO UNDERSTAND, THEN TO BE UNDERSTOOD

This is about listening and understanding someones point of view without interrupting as we tend to always think everyone thinks like us, but going back to the picture of the lady, if we assume the picture is of an old lady so must the person were speaking too. We must take a step back and fully listen and understand them and how they see something before we give information.


- HABIT 6: SYNERGIZE

Merging all the Habits together and like team work more can be achieved together than apart.

Continuous Improvement

The final Habit...

Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

Basically the story of the tree cutter working hard hours on end trying to cut down a tree within a time frame, whereas someone else spends most the time sharpening the saw and cuts the wood in a fraction of the time.





Some good stories and examples are littered throughout the book a few good ones for me were:
He showed a picture of a lady:

He explains that this was done i think it said in Harvard Business school. Half the class said they saw a young lady, and the other half said they saw an old lady!

BUT who was right!? clearly someone was wrong.

The lesson here is that BOTH ARE RIGHT! you can either see a young looking high class lady looking away from you, or you can see an old lady with a big nose and a big chin looking to the bottom left of the picture.

The lesson was designed to explain and show, how two people can look at the SAME situation, picture but see TOTALLY different things! 

Neither is wrong, and thats why you shouldn't always assume your partner or colleague etc has fully understood what you have asked of them or have shown them. Check with them first for feedback etc

Another he tells of a conversation between two people at sea, .... 

While at sea someone notices they are on course with another ship, and they communicate to say change your course by 20 degrees.

- They hear a reply saying NO you change your course

- The ship replies with an ego response, I'm a captain change your course!

- The reply back is 'I'm a sea-man change your course!'

- The ship replies back with 'I'M A BATTLESHIP! CHANGE YOUR COURSE!'

- The reply back is 'I'm a LIGHTHOUSE!'

- The ship changed it's course!

The story shows how paradigms can change in an instant when you see the FULL PICTURE, you might think your right and therefore are correct! But as this story shows when you actually see the full picture suddenly what you thought can be completely wrong.

My Highlights from the book:

- "Your attitude determines your altitude," "Smiling wins more friends than frowning." and "whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe it can achieve."

- Look at the word responsibility - "response - ability" - the ability to choose your response. Highly proactive people recognise that responsibility. They do not blame circumstances, conditions, or conditioning for their behaviour.

- As Eleanor Roosevelt observed, "No one can hurt you without your consent." In the words of Gandhi, "They cannot take away our self respect if we do not give it to them."

- "I am what i am today because of the choices i made yesterday," that person cannot say, "I choose otherwise."

- "Management is doing things right, leadership is doing the right things." Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.

- Efficient management without effective leadership is, as one individual has phrased it, "like straightening deck chairs on the titanic." No management success can compensate for failure in leadership. But leadership is hard because we're often caught in a management paradigm.

- We are free to choose our actions, based on our knowledge of correct principles, but we are not free to choose the consequences of those actions. Remember, "If you pick up one end of the stick, you pick up the other."

- Remember that your paradigm is the source from which your attitudes and behaviours flow. A paradigm is like a pair of glasses; it affects the way you see everything in your life. If you look at things through the paradigm of correct principles, what you see in life is dramatically different from what you see through any other centred paradigm.

- Personal responsibility, or proactivity, is fundamental to the first creation. Returning to the computer metaphor, Habit 1 says "You are the programmer." Habit 2, then, says, "Write the program." Until you accept the idea that you are responsible, that you are the programmer, you won't really invest in writing the program.

- Abraham Maslow, "He that is good with a hammer tends to think everything is a nail."

- A good affirmation has five basic ingredients: it's personal, it's positive, it's present tense, it's visual, and it's emotional. So i might write something like this: "It is deeply satisfying (emotional) that i (personal) respond (present tense) with wisdom, love, firmness, and self-control (positive) when my children misbehave."

- Time and time again, I see the leadership of the organisation come into a group and say that IBM stands for three things: the dignity of the individual, excellence, and service. These things represent the belief system of IBM.

- The ability to manage well doesn't make much difference if you're not even in the "right jungle." But if you are in the right jungle, it makes all the difference. In fact, the ability to manage well determines the quality and even the existence of the second creation. Management is the breaking down, the analysis, the sequencing, the specific application, the time-bound left-brain aspect of effective self-government. My own maxim of personal effectiveness is this; Manage from the left; lead from the right.

- A paradigm is like a pair of glasses, 

- Integrity is, fundamentally, the value we place on ourselves. It's our ability to make and keep commitments to ourselves, to "walk our talk." It's honour with self, a fundamental part of the character ethic, the essence of proactive growth.

- Organise and execute around priorities.

- Pareto Principle - 80 percent of the results flow out of 20 percent of the activities.

- The key is not to prioritise what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.

- Returning once more to the computer metaphor, if Habit 1 says "You're the programmer" and Habit 2 says "Write the program," then Habit 3 says "Run the program," "Live the program."

- We accomplish all that we do through delegation - either to time or to other people. If we delegate to time, we think efficiency. If we delegate to other people, we think effectiveness. Many people refuse to delegate to other people because they feel it takes too much time and effort and they could do the job better themselves. But effectively delegating to others is perhaps the single most powerful high-leverage activity there is.

- You can't have the fruits without the roots. It's the principle of sequencing: Private Victory precedes Public Victory. Self-mastery and self-discipline are the foundation of good relationships with others.

Some people say that you have to like yourself before you can like others. I think that idea has merit, but if you don't know yourself, if you don't control yourself, if you don't have mastery over yourself, it's very hard to like yourself, except in some short-term, psych-up, superficial way.

- It's hard not to get impatient. It takes character to be proactive, to focus on your Circle of Influence, to nurture growing things and not to "pull up the flowers to see how the roots are coming." 

- So often the problem is in the system, not in the people. If you put good people in bad systems, you get bad results. You have to water the flowers you want to grow.

- You don't have much confidence in someone who doesn't diagnose before he or she prescribes. But how often do we diagnose before we prescribe in communication?

- Seek first to understand, then to be understood. This principle is the key to effective interpersonal communication.

- Communication experts estimate, in fact, that only 10 percent of our communication is represented by the words we say, Another 30 percent is represented by our sounds, and 60 percent by our body language. (Actions do speak louder than words it seems)

- Seeking first to understand, diagnosing before you prescribe, is hard. It's so much easier in the short run to hand someone a pair of glasses that have fit you so well these many years.

- If you don't have confidence in the diagnosis, you won't have confidence in the prescription.

This principle is also true in sales. An effective sales person first seeks to understand the needs, the concerns, the situation of the customer. The amateur salesman sells products; the professional sells solutions to needs and problems. It's a totally different approach. The professional learns how to diagnose, how to understand. He also learns how to relate people's needs to his products and services. And, he has to have the integrity to say, "My product or service will not meet that need" if it will not.

- Because we listen autobiographically, we tend to respond in one of four ways. We evaluate - we either agree or disagree; we probe - we ask questions from our own frame of reference; we advise - we give counsel based on our own experience; or we interpret - we try to figure people out, to explain their motives, their behaviour, based on our own motives and behaviour. 

- The early Greeks had a magnificent philosophy which is embodied in three sequentially arranged words: ethos, pathos, and logos. I suggest these words contain the essence of seeking first to understand and making effective presentations.

Ethos is your personal credibility, the faith people have in your integrity and competency. It's the trust that you inspire, your Emotional Bank Account. Pathos is the empathic side - it's the feeling. It means that you are in alignment with the emotional thrust of another person's communication. Logos is the logic, the reasoning part of the presentation.

- The combination of those ingredients - the high Emotional Bank Account, thinking Win/Win, and seeking first to understand - creates the ideal environment for synergy. 

Buddhism calls this "the middle way." Middle in this sense does not mean compromise; it means higher, like the apex of the triangle.

- When you exercise your patience beyond your past limits, the emotional fibre is broken, nature overcompensates, and next time the fibre is stronger.

- Religious leader David O. Mckay taught, "The greatest battles of life are fought out daily in the silent chambers of the soul."

- It is said that wars are won in the general's tent.

- Goethe taught, "Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and he will become as he can and should be."

- In the words of Madame de Stael, "The voice of conscience is so delicate that it is easy to stifle it: but it is also so clear that it is impossible to mistake it."

- The law of the harvest governs; we will always reap what we sow - no more, no less. The law of justice is immutable, and the closer we align ourselves with correct principles, the better our judgment will be about how the world operates and the more accurate our paradigms - our maps of the territory - will be.

- "There are only two lasting bequests we can give our children - one is roots, the other wings."

- Change - real change - comes from the inside out. It doesn't come from hacking at the leaves of attitude and behaviour with quick fix personality ethic techniques. It comes from striking at the root - the fabric of our thought, the fundamental, essential paradigms, which give definition to our character and create the lens through which we see the world.

- Principles are natural laws that are external to us and that ultimately control the consequences of our actions. Values are internal and subjective and represent that which we feel strongest about in guiding our behaviour.

- Any airplane is off track much of the time buy just keeps coming back to the flight plan. Eventually, it arrives at its destination. This is true with all of us as individuals, families, or organisations. The key is to have an "End in Mind" and a shared commitment to constant feedback and constant course correction.

- Being highly effective as individuals and organisations is no longer optional in today's world - it's the price of entry to the playing field. But surviving, thriving, innovating, excelling and leading in this new reality will require us to build on and reach beyond effectiveness.

- People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.

- Circle of influence 

The Naked Trader - Book Review

 

THE NAKED TRADER - REVIEW

http://www.nakedtrader.co.uk

In a nutshell:

'Robbie Burns tells how he trades from home, so effectively could trade naked if i wanted too, hence the title 'The Naked Trader'. 

He explains how to start off and shares his tip and tricks and what he does, and tells stories from himself and ones he's heard of other traders'

I thought this book was great, for someone reason either the way its written or Robbie himself i don't know but i couldn't put it down and nearly finished the book in a day!

you can get the book from his website 

http://www.nakedtrader.co.uk or from other popular web stores.

What i Learnt:

- The stock market is NOT out of reach, and like anything if you give time to learn it.

- Whether this would work, as i don't know if spending every day constantly checking would work for me.

- As little as a laptop with broadband and bank account and you could be away!

What i've taken from this book is:

- I need to research and understand business accounts! this is a MUST!

- This book was VERY USEFUL and i will be reading it again!

- I am now saving up £3,000 and looking to start myself, and in the mean time begin paper trading!

- Useful website to track markets:
 advfn.com
 iii.co.uk
 moneyam.com
 proquote.net
 hemscott.net
 digitallook.com

- Look at stocks that pay out dividends as this will give me money also

- Investors use ISA's to invest with and make gains from tax free LEGALLY (max deposited each year currently around £10,000)

- To invest in stock, using online brokers 'Barclays, Natwest etc' watch out for hidden charges and add in commission per trade.

- Medium Term investor gives roughly (8.5/10 success)
 Safe and steady Investor (6/10 success)
 'Utilities - Food 'Supermarkets' Energy 'British Gas' etc
 - Long Term Investor (8/10 success)

Overall this book was like it was written just for me in the way it was written i clicked with it very quickly! I would defiantly recommend this book for someone looking to get into stock markets and trading.

The 3+1 Plan - Book Review

Next i read a book called,

'The 3 + 1 PLAN'
By Brett Alegre-Wood

In a nutshell Brett talks about how 'Property is the new pension'.

And how to achieve financial freedom with just 4 properties!

The 3 + 1 plan is basically you live in the '1' and you own 3 other properties that you rent out and live off the income after tax and deductions etc.


He mentions near the start the five traditional ways of planning for the future:
1 - Pension plans
2 - Stock market portfolio
3 - Saving plans
4 - Investment in new businesses
5 - Property

Pension plans
He says the success of your pension fund depends on two things, the state of the stock market and the efficiency of the people who are investing your money. Both points i agree with here. Yes you get a little lump sum at the start BUT then you only get it in dribs and drabs and you might die before you get it all anyway! surely when you retire thats the time they use to say go and do what you wanted, travel to places etc But with dribs and drabs.... ain't gonna happen. so for me becoming financially free spending my money on a pension is A NO.

Saving Plans
He says, 'as i write this in the summer of 2009, it is difficult to find safe savings plans that pay a net 4%, while inflation on food alone is 6%. Saving money each year is, of course, good for all of us, if only because it puts our money out of temptation's way for a year or so, but it is not going to make you rich.'
I agree i used to think save, and put money in the bank, but apart from ISAS, inflation will always OUT do your savings account, so putting money or holding money in banks doesn't give you the best bang for your buck so to speak and for me isn't worth the time.

Stock Market, 
As he points out 'the stock market is a very sophisticated market which most of us do not understand, where insiders in the city are always ahead of you and you can buy at the wrong time and lose heavily.' Tho he makes a good point, whether this does happen i'd like to say it doesn't or couldn't as that would be seen as 'inside trading' but i wouldn't be surprised!

Investment in a Business,
Can be very profitable, but again you need to know about business to invest in businesses, something i'm lacking! So for me this isn't quite for me ..... yet!

Property, 
Here says property is the only answer, and the key word which Rich Dad - Robert Kiyosaki used 'LEVERAGE' property is the only avenue you can put up 10,20,30% and a bank or lender will put up the rest! In stocks if you want £10,000 worth of shares, then you have to put up £10,000 if you want to put £10,000 into a retirement plan you might be lucky and get your employer to match it BUT again you won't get it back in one go, or you might die before you even get it! For me property is the big stand out! again the word 'LEVERAGE' brings the point home to me, why make things harder!


He says to get into property you need roughly £20,000 and this book was written a few years ago so that figure would be more now! Which is completely out my price range!
Another point he makes is:

'Assume that you earn £40,000 per year income and have bought 3+1 properties at around £200,000 each. If you were working, you would be paying around 33% tax on the £40,000 - about £13,200'

This point is the basis for a chart of numbers he goes on to make, but i know for a fact that earning a salary of £40,000 the tax on that is 40% at least! so you wouldn't be getting tax £13,200 it would be higher. Now this is nit picking but it annoyed me some reason. Tho his point he's trying to make (Getting properties and the rent paying the mortgage and a bit left over for maintance and insurance and what it leaves you times 3 this figure if more than your job! is pardon the pun - JOB COMPLETE kinda thing.



My Highlights:

- This confirms the remark made by the famous Robert Kiyosaki, of 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' fame, that the rich may make their money from shares or businesses, but, whatever its source, they hold their wealth in property.

- In the UK, as in Australia, the average person spends one third of their income on taxes, another third on living and the final third on rent or mortgage payments.

- So what type of properties should you buy? You will generally buy a similar type of property that you would live in yourself.

- Focus on having a small portfolio, and you will very quickly realise how easy this plan is to achieve. Once you own three properties, owning seven, ten or even fifteen, is not that much more of a step!

- For me, The 3+1 Plan is not something that i would ever use to retire early; I simply use it as an emotional pillow. You see, now that I have achieved the plan, I can rest every night in the knowledge that if I weren't enjoying what I do, I would have the freedom to choose something else.

- I find that when most people start to build a portfolio, they uncover a massive control issue. This is something that you will have to overcome if you want to build a portfolio. In my experience, the biggest issue you will face in your portfolio is letting go of control.

- Just wait until your first remortgage: it might only be for £20,000, but when you add the actual hours you worked on that property, you will wonder why you didn't start years ago.

- Property is a slow-moving wealth vehicle. The important thing to remember is that everything happens slowly.

- Raising The Capital:
1- Using your savings
2- Using existing equity by remortgaging
3- Borrowing from friends and family
4- Borrowing from other places

- The most important word in property 'LEVERAGE'

- OPT and OPM (Other People's Time and Other People's Money)

- Achieving the maximum leverage is very important if you want to buy more properties.

- One of the biggest lessons you can learn in property is that the real money in property is in the holding

- There are two primary reasons that we buy property, The first is for capital growth and this is essential, so that as inflation degrades the value of our investments, the capital growth will ensure that they remain equal of above the rate of inflation (traditionally property has done this). The second is to create a cash flow to fund our lifestyles.

- It only takes one missed mortgage payment to stuff up your credit rating and stop al chance of achieving the 3+1 Plan (Or at least delaying it).

- There are three factors to take into account when calculating your cash flow:
1- Your income
2- The property's income (After expenses)
3- The principle of trading capital for cash flow

- Remember: Building a portfolio should give you more enjoyment of life, not less.

- In the UK it it less and less likely that you will have a cash flow positive property unless you are buying a low-value property. The basic point is this: Your portfolio is unlikely to fund itself from the beginning. To do that, you would need to put a massive deposit on each property, which would burn up capital very quickly limiting the size and speed of growth of your portfolio.

- In some city centre locations you may have to provide furniture. As always, do your due diligence and be flexible to change: the object is to get the property let quickly. Consider that an average futniture pack costs you £2,500 for a two-bedroom apartment.

- Monthly mortgage payement - I only ever choose interest-only payments.

- Total monthly profit / shortfall - This is the amount of total profit / shortfall per month. As an average, in the UK it will range somewhere between £500 profit through to £500 shortfall per property.

- Most people are primarily motivated by two things: the desire to increase pleasure and, the desire to avoid pain.

- FOUR portfolio building strategies:
1. 7-10 Strategy (Buy 7-10 properties and hold them for 7-10 years)
2. 1-2 Stop strategy (Buy a couple of properties and stop investing)
3. 5 and HOLD strategy (Build your portfolio to FIVE and hold off investing further)
4. The question mark strategy (How many properties do you need to fund your lifestyle)

- A little saying i have always remembered on how to be successful:
step 1 - Learn how to do the right thing.
step 2 - Do the right thing
step 3 - Repeat step 2 until it isn't the right thing anymore, then return to step 1.

- Remember, it's all about Set and Forget. The better you Set your portfolio up, the more you can Forget the portfolio on an ongoing basis.

- Your 3+1 Plan will give you the pension you wanted, buy achieving 5+ properties tends to open your eyes to the lifestyle possibilities. It's also about the time when you stop talking in terms of how many properties you own and start talking about how much they are worth.

- Investment Properties, You should never pay your mortgage down on these, and you should always opt for interest only. That way your mortgage balance will stay the same throughout, but your value will double, effectively cutting your mortgage in half or more. (on 7-10 plan)

- The simple way of explaining a quite intricate set of dynamics is that is shoots up, stagnates and then shoots up again.

- There are four phases:
1. Steady / Watch Cash Flow
2. Stagnate / Buy
3. Galloping / Buy / Remortgage
4. Galloping / Restructuring

- I remember Peter saying that you can make the most money in property when prices are going down. He went on to say that this was not because the prices were actually going down, but because everyone was talking about them going down. My experience has been the same.

- Lack of cash flow will cause your property to be repossessed, but a lack of capital or negative equity will simply stop you from buying more.

- The goal of investing in property is to make money, lots of money, to ease the stress of day - to - day life. The essence of achieving this is actually very simple, and it just needs you to follow some or all of these straightforward strategies.
1. Buy property and flip it
2. Buy, complete and sell
3. Buy, complete, let and hold

- It is vital that you realise that you are an investor not a landlord.

- Strategies for second hang property:
1. Buy, hold and let
2. Buy, renovate and sell
3. Buy, renovate, let and hold

- The most important strategy to be aware of at all time is never to buy above or even at the true value of a property. Astute property investors understand that the best profit is made when you purchase. (though the story of his Newcastle flat making a loss every month contradicts this but thats just me being 'mean' and this point i think is absolutely spot on)

- Whatever you do, do not listen to estate agents who tell you to 'buy now and wait for it to go up,' that 'it's a hotspot,' or that it has 'huge potential'. Make sure you have an independent valuation performed by a reputable company and then negotiate a discount off this value. If you cannot get a discount, then do not buy. 

- One of the best financial traits of an investment company is their ability to negotiate discounts on bulk purchases. Much the as going to a supermarket, you get a special discount when you buy bulk. It's exactly the same principle in property.
If you walk in off the street, I always assume that you can negotiate at least 5% discount off any individual property, but a company can negotiate a 12% discount off the asking price of a property because they have reserved 10 units. In some cases discounts can be between 5% and 35%, depending on the market.

- Should you buy from a property investment company? Personally, i've only ever bought through this type of company.

- I no longer worry about running out of money or hanging around for my next pay check. Something changed in my life. I moved from living pay check to pay check to living a life by design. 'By Design' i mean 'My design'.

- If you are living pay check to pay check, then you need to do something different, change something. The definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

- The one thing I learned through running hundreds of seminars and consulting sessions is this:
The people who get what they want are the people that know what they want.

- You may not want to fly helicopters, but i challenge you to pick your ONE BIG THING this year and achieve it. It may even be buying your first property!
Think back to last year. What did you really achieve? Was it just another year in your calendar, or did it see you doing something amazing? Maybe you did. If so, that's fantastic!
But yesterday is the past and, as they say, 'When your past is more exciting than your future, you're a has-been!'

- How do you achieve this ONE BIG THING? Simply work backwards from the goal and focus on doing the little things.

- I have a saying that i use with all of my investors. 'If you don't have a purpose, someone will give you theirs!'




Things i'm taking from this book:

- This book makes property seem so simple, whereas i'd love it to be as simple as it sounds, i'm not that naive. However this has lit the fire inside me to pursue property! and the letting side of it, with the principle of rent covering mortgage and build up whats left after expenses to look into more properties.

- For me this book reads and should have a statement or a footnote at the start that says 'This book is only useful if
 1) You already have your own house with a mortgage that you can re-mortage and get some equity out
 2) You earn between £30-40,000 per year!
As throughout the book he talks about examples like 'i released £70,000 to invest into another....' But i was left thinking.....
If i were to use an analogy of a baby going through the generations....
- crawling - walking - runnning - sprinting
This book is designed and aimed at people who are walking - running
(So if like me your not IN THE PROPERTY GAME don't start here, we need to start off crawling)

- History shows house prices have double every 10-15 years! so if i could get the right property, and can rent it out covering the mortgage and leaving me positive cash flow! Not only would that be a winner, but then also having the capital appreciation on top would be a bonus!

- My property portfolio would be run by me and the budget controlled by me, and not handed over to a stranger to play with.

- When a property sells all profits come directly to ME, after tax and not dribbled to me like a retirement plan!

- You can get FAR MORE out than you put out with LEVERAGE! 20-30% in and get a bank or lender to put up 70% (The problem is getting that 20-30%)

- A great insight sometimes not believable BUT the spine of the book does ring true for me anyway and if i were to rate this out of 5 stars it would get a solid 4.5!!


You can buy this book here: amazon.co.uk

Get the book free from here: http://www.3plus1planbook.com/free/

Check out brett here: youtube

Check out the website here: http://www.ypc-group.com

Portfolio Management System: www.ezytracproperty.com (for 3 or more properties)

Possible routes to look into for passive income...

I stumbled across a lady from america called Kate Northrup, who is someone i aspire to be like. She is financially free and here's a video of possible routes you can take



If you don't want to watch the video or it doesn't work i've summed up the points below...

1 - Intelectual Property 
A thing you can get from your head into something that people can buy, so you could spend hours, days and months making something ONCE and then selling it and people buying it over and over like..
(Books, Software Apps, Inventions, Products, PDF, Education Courses etc)

2 - Affiliate Marketing


3 - Franchies 
A ready made business model, that you simply add your own people so to speak
(McDonalds, Subway etc)

4 - Investing
(Real Estate, Stock Market and Businesses etc)

5 - Building a Business
The key to a business is to build a SYSTEM, that can run if your not there, you need to own the system not be the system.

6 - Network Marketing


Head over to Kate's website...

http://www.katenorthrup.com 

This is on my to do list, as at a glance there seems to be lots of useful information to learn!

Dale Carnegie - 'How To Win Friends and Influence People' - Book Review

This book has sold over 16 million copies, which what stood out for me when browsing amazon. I can see why, for me i struggled to get into it near the start it could just be me though.


Key points explained in the book...

(Techniques in handling people)

- Don't criticise, condemn or complain.

- Give honest and sincere appreciation.

- Arouse in the other person an eager want.

(Six ways to make people like you)

- Become genuinely interested in other people.

- Smile.

- Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.

- Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.

- Talk in terms of the other person's interests.

- Make the other feel important - and do it sincerely.

(How to win people to your way of thinking)

- The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it.

- Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never say, 'You're wrong.'

- If your wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.

- Begin in a friendly way.

- Get the other person saying 'yes, yes' immediately.

- Let the other person do a great deal of talking.

- Let the other person feel that the idea is his or hers.

- Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view.

- Be sympathetic with the other person's ideas and desires.

- Appeal to the nobler motives.

- Dramatise your ideas.

- Throw down a challenge.

(Be a leader: How to change people without giving offence or arousing resentment)

- Beging with praise and honest appreciation.

- Call attention to people's mistakes indirectly.

- Talk about your own mistakes before criticising the other person.

- Ask questions instead of giving direct orders.

- Let the other person save face.

- Praise the slightest improvement and praise every improvement. Be 'hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.'

- Give the other person a fine reputation to live up to.

- Use encouragement. Make the fault seem easy to correct.

- Make the other person happy about doing the thing you suggest.



Highlights i made from this book:

- 'If you teach a man anything, he will never learn.' - Bernard Shaw

- 'Flattery is telling the other person precisely what he thinks about himself.'

- When we are not engaged in thinking about some definite problem, we usually spend about 95 percent of our time thinking about ourselves. Now, if we stop thinking about ourselves for a while and begin to think of the other person's good points, we won't have to resort to flattery so cheap and false that it can be spotted almost before it is out of the mouth.

- One of the first lessons a politician learns is this: 'To recall a voter's name is statesmanship, To forget it is oblivion.' And the ability to remember names is almost as important in business and social contacts as it is in politics.

- So if you aspire to be a good conversationalist, be an attentive listener. To be interesting, be interested.

- Little phrases such as 'I'm sorry to trouble you,' 'Would you be so kind as to - ?' 'Won't you please?' 'Would you mind?' 'Thank you' - Little courtesies like these oil the cogs of the monotonous grind of everyday life - and incidentally, they are the hallmark of good breeding.

- 'Men must be taught as if you taught them not
 And things unknown proposed as things forgot.' - Alexander Pope.

- 'You cannot teach a man anything.
  You can only help him to find it within himself' - Galileo 'Over three hundred years ago.

- 'Be wiser than other people if you can,
  but do not tell them so.' - Lord Chesterfield

- 'One thing only i know, and that
  is that i know nothing.' - Socrates

- 'I would rather walk the sidewalk in front of a person's office for two hours before an interview,' said Dean Donham of the Harvard business school, 'than step into that office without a perfectly clear idea of what i was going to say and what that person - from my knowledge of his or her interests and motives - was likely to answer.'

- 'I don't blame you one iota for feeling as you do. If i were you i would undoubtedly feel just as you do.'

- In this case, Johnnie might feel encouraged until he heard the word 'but.' He might then question the sincerity of the original praise. To him, the praise seemed only to be a contrived lead-in to a critical inference of failure. Credibility would be strained, and we probably would not achieve our objectives of changing Johnnie's attitude toward his studies.
This could be easily overcome by changing the word 'but' to 'and.' 'We're really proud of you, Johnnie, for raising your grades this term, AND by continuing the same conscientious efforts next term, your algebra grade can be up with all the others.'




What I've Learnt From This Book:

- Many useful things, i'd recommend reading this book more than once.

- Simply referring to someone using their first name can break down barriers and massively change a conversation. This i've also heard once before in a TV programme 'Don't get done get Dom' when haggling for a price, a tip he gives is get the sellers name ASAP and then constantly refer to him and get the conversation and negotiation more on a friendly basis rather than professional one.

- I'm not proud of this myself, but one point that struck a nerve for me. When talking about about someone who isn't present in the conversation... stand up for them rather than slag them off. This shows the person your talking to you are trustworthy and by standing up and not talking about someone who isn't there shows them that you probably wouldn't slag or talk behind their backs either! This is a great point that i need to adapt too.

- Another good point i learnt, is you already know what you know! So when mixing with people listen and take in more knowldge from them, instead of telling them what you know. As this isn't doing any benefit from bigging up your ego unless of course they ask you or your opinion.
Someone said, you have two ears and one mouth! LISTEN MORE SPEAK LESS
You can never stop learning and you will never know everything! so i shall be taking on the mantra LISTEN MORE SPEAK LESS.

The advantages of being financially FREE!...

Many times now i've been asked, why are you doing this....
The common sentence or reply i hear when money is in a conversation.....

'Money is evil'

'Doesn't matter matter how much money you have you always want more!'

'Money is only for greedy people'



For me, i now firmly believe...

MONEY BRINGS..
YOU CHOICES! 

- You have the choice to leave your job!

- You can choose to spend MORE time with your nearest and dearest

- Chasing money, jobs, promotions, job security, paying bills go hand in hand with stress and bad      
health.

- You can live a live without limits!

- You can control your own day, what time to get up, goto bed. Holidays when you want and not when your allowed time off work!



Now correct me if i'm wrong, but most of us don't chase the dollar as it were BECAUSE were bored and looking for something to do!?

We do it to PROVIDE for our family?

So is money evil? or are we kidding ourselves and burying our heads in the sands and using a socially acceptable excuse for why were being lazy and not educating ourselves and become financially free?


Pros of being financially free...

- Freedom to chase dreams
- Freedom to spend time doing what we love to do or enjoy doing 'hobbies, charities etc'
- Time to spend with our nearest and dearest
- Less stress and better health


Again any thoughts and comments about this below would be interesting to hear what you think...

Saving money makes you POORER!

Sounds totally stupid!?...

But googling 'how can you become financially free' and hearing people talk about money has convinced me that in fact saving money actually makes you poorer!!

Heres why!...

First websites and results from google, led me to many websites which gave advice or top tips similar to:

1 - Live below your means

2 - Count every penny!

3 - Switch phone companies or utility companies regularly

4 - Shop about for discounts

5 - Save up for stuff that you want

etc etc etc

Now at first i thought some of these points valid but for being financially free were just stupid BUT it was only getting to the bottom of the page there were in fact 100's of comments from viewers and readers posting comments such as:

- 'Excellent advice!!'

- 'Been following your website and advice now for years and i'm nearly debt free!!'

- 'more more more tips please! :D'


I was amazed at how much these people followed websites, or this type of advice.


So taking emotions out of the picture or statement if you will. I looked at this logically and went right if a coin has TWO SIDES to it, you can go on one side of the coin, you can SAVE money and on the other side of the coin you can MAKE money!

Now as these readers, viewers of those said comments on that website i mentioned earlier obviously are acting out the 'SAVING' side of the coin.
To me.... this is ludicrous as i thought hang on!... with saving there IS A LIMIT!

There is only so much money you can save a year! You earn 'x amount' you spend 'x amount' therefore your left with xxxx so if we follow the top tips 'change utility companies etc' we can REDUCE that expenditure down to the bare bones or as close as we can! BUT then we hit the limit!
You can only reduce it so much, as you can never get it so it's FREE therefore there will come a time when your budget and plan so to speak is as lean and mean as it can go! And thats IF you stay on top of counting the pennies, and spending hours and hours and days in a year comparing deals, shopping around after quotes and so on! Which is quite unlikely.

Now on the flip side of the coin!...
I've NEVER heard anyone say, 'I've made to much money, i've hit my limit!'

This sentence when it was in my head, was suddenly a 'urikea moment' yes its obvious you can only save so much money a year, and you have to repeat the formula year after year, spending hours and hours, days and days trimming the fat off your expenditure so its as lean as possible.

However if you were to spend THAT TIME! learning TO MAKE MONEY! there is no limit!

ONE SIDE OF THE COIN HAS A LIMIT! (SAVING MONEY)
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN IS LIMITLESS!!! (MAKING MONEY)

Now if we took two people acting out their lives living each side of the coin, the person learning year after year how to make more and more money, would be better off surely!

Where by the people spending time to save and save will never be able to out do inflation! and will get left behind and overall be poorer in the long run!

So for me, though YES I AGREE you can save money! and go look i've saved nearly £500 this year BUT if you have what precious time to learn something, spend it learning how to MAKE MONEY! and make £500 extra a year! as year after year £500 one year another £500 the year after = £1000 etc You will be better off!!

And in closing:

Surely life is about LIVING and ENJOYING it with the people you love stress free, not about surviving it and living below your means!
I believe we live once! and ONLY once! we are all unique and all incredible individuals! But somehow somethings happened, and we put ourselves down and tell ourselves or allow others to tell us we don't deserve the high life, success, holidays abroad and travel the world! We seem to ACCEPT that we should live below our means and count every penny. I for one want to go out on my death bed saying, i've lived a good life, travelled to many places, seen many events and experienced many things! and i have managed to do them all with my wife (currently not married at time of writing this) and my children (again not got any at time of writing). I can leave knowing that my family is taken care, they won't have to stress about money, and that they have the choice to pursue their dreams and passions and hobbies! and not be a slave to job industry.


Leave a comment below with your opinion on this, as i'd love to hear other peoples views...

Body Language

Whilst talking to a friend about body language i remembered a story i heard or dreamt :S

A suit is symbolic to a suit of armour back in the day!

'The more a suit is fitted to the person, the more protected they fill and therefore the more CONFIDENT they would feel'

This has lead me to also combine my thoughts of body language and business and leadership skills into merging with dress codes and what that can say about you or what you want it to say to people who see you or judge you!

Watch this space!....

Mine and Paul's Conversation

At work only the other day i was talking to a friend, who is also a manager and we got talking about business etc
He went on to share with me a book he was reading ....

Some tips he shared with me, apparently if you want or would like someone to do something and have a good feeling that they will say no. By asking them a question before and getting a yes answer THEN asking them what you think they will say no to statistically they will agree too.

For example,

'Did you have a good break?'

'yes thanks'

'Good!.... can you do me a favour and ?????'

i thought this can come off very fake and easy to pick up on BUT i thought it was quite interesting.
He then shared a story about how someone did a study about stopping people in the street and asking for money for a chairty or organisation or something i don't quite remember. Though the key point was before asking them they used hand gestures without touching the person to usher them to one side and then ask ...

For example,

walking down the street and the person approaches the stranger and goes...

'Excuse me sir, and places his hand and body in a direction to the side of the pavement'
(Now as the stranger is walking down the road, they more than likely WON'T turn 180 and walk back, which leaves 3 options left, right and straight forward, now with the person positioning his body and hand gesture, leaves the stranger with one place to go.)

This on the face of it can seem very intimidating BUT again i thought it was clever little things like that can influence people. And if done correctly can seem so innocent BUT highly influential.

Now after reading a book by Dale Carneige 'How to influence people' i had already woken the interest in this subject. But i thought i would love to learn MORE about this, as taking body language skills into business or leadership and relationships can be very good tool and skills to have or to know about.

I also thought these skills or information and knowledge if aquired could easily lead to increase confidence too. As the saying goes.... 'ACTION SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS'.

So i will try and get reviewing all the books i've read so far asap. But also find time and FOLLOW THIS UP.

Body Language Skills in Business and Leadership! - Looking forward to studying and researching this!

books i've read

Below is a list of books i've recently read and will post key points i liked want to take forward with me...

• Seth Godin - Linchpin
• 7 Habits of highly effective people
• Retire young Retire Rich
• The 3+1 Plan
• Dale Carneige How to influence people
• Dale Carneige How to do Public speaking
• The Naked Trader
• The Naked Trader (Spread Betting)
• Rich Dad advisor (2x books of real estate)
• Financial Times ‘Investing’ good but i found it hard to keep up B2B
• Financial Times ‘Start up 2013’ 
• Get off your arse 
• Michael O’leary ‘after watching tv program about airlines
• Rent 2 Rent
• Think and Grow Rich ‘Napoleon Hill’
• 365 Social Media Tips
• Business SOS ‘Paul Avins’
• A guide to starting and developing a new business
• 50 ways to find funding for your business
• The secret to success ‘Eric Thomas’ 
• The mind management ‘in progress’
• Finance for small business ‘Emily Coltman’ (TBR)
• Small business Tax Planning (TBR)
• Bookkeeping and accounting (TBR)
• 49 quick ways to market business for free (TBR)
• Google Website marketing (TBR)
• The science of getting rich (TBR)
• 101 ways to pick stock market winners (TBR)
• Thinking fast and slow (TBR)
• Mindset how you can fulfill your potential (TBR)
• Amazon global selling with amazon (TBR)

(TBR) to be read

Rich Dad Poor Dad - Book Review

This is Robert Kiyosaki's first book. I read this last instead of first not by choice, but the other two seemed more appealing to me, but at the end of each book was a picture of this. So i thought i might as well complete the picture and understand how it all came about etc


Summary:

- For me though i read this 3rd and not first, though i thought it from the second book. To me 'Rich Dad' is a fictional character and is in fact Robert Kiyosaki in a 3rd person. I.e whatever 'Rich Dad' says is basically Roberts opinion or point of view.
Either way to me tho the character might be fictional i think most and i stress MOST points not ALL points made by rich dad 'Robert' are fictional and i think many are very relevant.
That being said, it still doesn't change my opinion of the guy, i think he's very influential and a clever man, people may say con man, but to me i think if you treat it like a sieve and take what information thats good out of the book or books and let your ego forget about the rest you can learn a lot and not get to carried away.

- I don't know if i wrote about this before, but Robert and 'Rich Dad' have also showed me that to help say or deliver a point or statement, that telling it through a story is a better way, like instead of shoving the point/ message down your throat a story if you will, kind of gift wraps the message and it seems for me anyway more easier to accept and listen too. Just my opinion however.

- Another point/statement i liked, i'm not sure if it was mentioned in this book or another Rich Dad Poor Dad book, the statement....
"Jobs are a short term solution to a long term Problem!"
I like this statement a lot, as recently a friend and co worker and my local supermarket asked me whether i'd be interested in going on the management course with him, and immediately this statement popped into my head! Yes more money would be better short term i thought! However i would be spending more hours of my day learning and devoting myself to fulfilling a job that i didn't want LONG TERM and therefore wasting my time, and i need to keep my time invested in things that will help me towards educating myself about money, business and becoming financially free.

Overall i've now read THREE books from the 'Rich Dad Poor Dad' collection, and my overall opinion is it was time WELL SPENT, it taught me many things, it opened my mind, it changed my mind shift, it changed my opinion about money and it gave me the drive to go forward and invest in myself and educate myself about money and business and escape the rat race and go on to become financially free and 'WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER'.


My highlights from the book:

- The word 'emotion' stands for 'energy in motion.'

- A job is really a short-term solution to a long-term problem,

- KISS principle -- Keep It Simple Stupid (or Keep It Super Simple)

- An asset puts money in my pocket. A liability takes money out of my pocket.

- Investing is the science of "money making money."

- Accounting is financial literacy or the ability to read numbers

- When someone sues a wealthy individual, they are often met with layers of legal protection and often find that the wealthy person actually owns nothing. They control everything, but own nothing.

- "Cynics criticise, and winners analyse"

- "You become what you study"

- 'It is true your world is only a mirror of you.'

- Job is an acronym for "Just Over Broke."

- "Earned income is money you work for, and passive and portfolio income is money working for you."

My Highlights From Retire Young Retire RICH

(A selection of highlights i made throughout reading the book)


- A question which acted upon can make people millionaires even billionaires, 'How can i do what i do for more people with less work and for a better price?'

- "No. Learning to build a business is like learning anything else. I think clinging to job security all your life is a lot risker than taking the risk to learn to build a business. One risk is short-term and one risk lasts a lifetime."

- "When you get a raise, so does the government." (About pay rises for a job)

- Employee                   Business Owners
  Earns                          Earns
  Taxed                         Spends
  Spends whats left       Pays taxes on whats left

- Earned Income         50  percent money
  Portfolio Income       25  percent money
  Passive Income         0   percent money

- SIGHT is what you see with your eyes.
  VISION is what you see with your mind.

- "Your profit is made when you buy, not when you sell.'

- Responsible Society or Victim Society.

- We all know that it is difficult to put more water into a glass that is already full of water; it is also difficult to teach something new to someone whose mind is closed or already filled with other content.

- "The moment you make passive income and portfolio income a part of your life, your life will change."

- "I have never seen a tomorrow. All i have are todays. Today is the word for winners and tomorrow is the word for losers."

- Leverage of assets rather than the leverage of my labor.

- "The trouble with selling your labor for money is that there is only so much you can do. If you learn to acquire or build assets to generate money, you can slowly but surely increase your income."

- It is only a loser who stays at the wrong table forever, losing everything, hoping to prove that they are not a loser.

- "You don't want to own anything. All you want to do is control it."

- "An entrepreneur sees an opportunity, puts together a team, builds a business that profits from the opportunity."

- "Leaders do the right things and managers do things right."

- "Bill Gates is Not the Highest Paid Man in the World." The article went on to day that there are many executives in the world of business who are paid much more than Bill Gates, yet Gates was the richest man in the world. The article stated that at that time, Gates was only paid about $500,000 a year but his asset base was in the billions and growing.

- 1 - Earned
2 - Portfolio
3 - Passive
4 - Residual Income (income from a business, such as a network marketing business or a franchise business you own but someone else runs.)
5 - Dividend Income (income from stocks)
6 - Intrest income (Income from saving or bonds)
7 - Royalty income (Income from songs or books you have written, and trademarks and inventions (whether or not patentable) that you have created.)
8 - Financial instrument income (Income from trust deeds from real estate)

- The path to financial freedom is simply to: BUY ASSETS
"Buy assets that generate cash flow- NOW, not sometime in the future!" Remember how rich dad defines assets: "Assets put money in your pocket, liabilities take money from your pocket." It is just that simple. The more assets you can buy, the more your money will be working for you. - Sharon Lechter

- The point is that your future is yet to be made. You may as well make it up today and make it up the way you want it to be, rather than what you're afraid it might not be.

- Always remember that words are free. If you want to get rich quickly, you need a rich vocabulary. Always remember that there are three basic classes of assets. They are businesses, paper assets, and real estate. Each of these assets uses different words. Each of these assets is like a foreign country with a foreign language. If you are interested in real estate, begin to learn the vocabulary or the jargon. Once you learn the words, you will be better able to communicate to yourself and others in that asset class.

- "The problem is most people live only one reality and tend to think that their reality is the only reality."