We are already accustomed to financial media regularly releasing statistical reports and rankings of the people that lead and have accumulated an important allotment of the world’s money. For instance, Forbes magazine published its annual Japanese ranking a few months ago. For most of us, it’d be wonderful, impressive, and even magical, to someday read our names in such lists. A lot of people only dream of being there. But reality often reveals otherwise. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of luck, or inherited fortunes. But we’ll disregard such cases, as uninteresting for analysis. The norm is that becoming rich requires plenty of sacrifices, and above all, extraordinary efforts. It’s not easy. However, it’s not impossible to reach such goal. Powerful souls set exceptional goals.
On Good Sense
Even to cut a flower requires good sense. Good sense, prudence, sound practical judgment. There is nothing in the world which deprives us of enjoying this quality. Good sense allows us to be excellent managers, professionals, friends, husbands/wives, and especially, it opens the doorway to the most precious gift of human beings: self-confidence. Self-confidence is one of those virtues we frequently don’t know how to handle, or that simply we mistreat.
Good sense is the primary and the conditio sine qua non of a better and longer life. Thanks to it we are able to avoid wars, conflicts, hunger, and getting into troubles in general. It is only a matter of just applying it. The converse, i.e. a bad sense of life balance, turns us into fragile souls, easy preys for evil, envy, and lies. A lack of good sense provides a fake sensation of power… power which indeed is only a cheap mask for selfishness. A lack of good sense separates us from our family, our friends and from the entire world. Moreover, that fake power may lead to an hyperactivity which ultimately will burn us.
The Art of Saving
Saving refers to the preservation of money for future use. Such future use might include capital and goods purchase (house, transport, vacations, etc.), emergencies, and miscellaneous expenses. Strictly speaking, saving is the difference between our income and our consumption expenditure. Besides, saving is our main tool to cope with mortgages, credit card debt, extraordinary bills, and other loans. Without savings, such debt and expenditures may sharply erode our personal finances. Saving also allows for harnessing sudden investment opportunities and to gain access to quality services. All in all, saving is a fundamental aspect of personal finance.
Money has to be tightly controlled. We must know where money comes from, and where it goes to. We must strive to know the way our money flows, the paths it travels, and the drains taking most of our income. By closely watching our money’s nature, we’ll learn to control it. Control is a keyword of personal finance. Control refers to checking the errors we are incurring with our money’s management, and to take the corrective action to rectify any deviation from our desired goals. Setting goals is other important requirement for saving, and it answers the question what are we saving for ?
Stronger Memory, Bigger World
Memory is the ability to store, retain, and subsequently retrieve information. Clearly, this definition comprises 3 functions. First, input to the system is considered (storing), which involves perception and transduction of the perceived images into the “right format” for saving the perceived information in the brain. Second, the inputted information must be preserved for a specific time (retaining.) And finally, the stored information has to be recovered from the brain, following our commandment (retrieving.) In this post we’ll review the nature of memory and a few options to improve it. A healthy memory amounts to a bigger vision of our world.
10 Short Tips for Keeping Anxiety at Bay
Anxiety is a (sometimes annoying) emotional and cognitive state. Emotionally, we recognize it as sensations of fear, grief, worry or general apprehension. The cognitive component entails expectation of a diffuse and uncertain danger. The threat or perspective of danger triggers the body’s defenses: the flow of blood to the muscles is increased, which in turn implies rising blood pressure and heart rate. Needless to say, such alert activation involves a higher consumption of body’s energy, and also other parts, such as the immune system, are inhibited in order to increase energetic reserves and focus for fighting the hypothetical danger.
A Thing that Truly Hurts Self-confidence
A look behind the scenes of work’s misdirections
What do we achieve by thinking of ourselves as “supermen” or “wonder women”? Too little, indeed. Trying to act (and even feel) like fiction heroes, in a frantic rush to enjoy something that really is too tiresome to be enjoyed. There is little reward in demanding ourselves the compliment of being perfect, effective, productive, attractive and winsome people who have no real problems at work or at home, and who always ignite the life of the party. Needless to say, there is no reward in working frenetically until our minds and bodies cannot handle it anymore: we would weaken and become sick. But we already know that time is unstoppable: other people would carry on our duties, and someday, we would be simply forgotten. In other words, no matter how much effort and blood we devote to our jobs, we are always dispensable for the furious wheel of businesses.
The Samurai Approach to Blogging
The Samurai approach to blogging is a way for the blogging master, a path to highlight your blog. Nowadays, the net is inhabited by myriad blogs. Therefore, to stand out has become more and more challenging. Some people write about excessively specialized or personal topics, which have a narrower audience. On the other hand, topics discussed in plenty of other blogs may appeal to a broader public. Moreover, themes in different blogs touch on similar concepts or ideas, or at least are loosely related. So, blogs have to compete for traffic. Positioning in search engines such as Google and Bing is a good example of what I’m speaking about. Thus, the question arises: how to highlight your blog in order to distinguish it from others?
It’s simple. Follow a “samurai” approach.
Samurai
Read moreThe Winners’ Mind
What is your relation with your money? Money is a necessary thing, and to have and to win money is not a sin (rhyme intended 🙂 ). On the other hand, to live for money is not only a sin but a stupidity. We, as integral human beings, are of much more value than any material concept. This is something I insist a lot in my business seminars: look for money, but never lend your heart to money. In other words, win money, but don’t let money to win you.
Who are the Winners?
Winners are fortunate people, indeed. But except for rare cases, most of their fortune stems from hard work, and more importantly, from a sound and clear mindset. Winners have no time (nor wish) to be moaning about the “harshness of life.” Winners don’t complain about such things, because they understand that life, like a river, exhibits turbulent episodes in some parts, but caress and nourish the surrounding nature, all the way.
Positive Attitude in The Winners’ Mind
Nevertheless, all these years I’ve known a lot of people who are frequently bitching about their lack of money or general misfortune, but what they are indeed lacking is a positive attitude toward their money. Now, what does this “positive attitude” notion mean? Let’s start by answering a few questions:
- What really are the kind of thoughts that flood our minds when we think of our money?
- Which are the words we utter when speaking about our money and related things (such as mortgage, bank, expenses, etc.)?
- In the past, how much success have we attained by spending and investing our money?
What can I say in a motivational speech for a small group of people?
Here are some ideas for a motivational speech for a small group of people:
Start with an inspirational story: Begin your speech with a personal or someone else’s story that inspires and motivates your audience. The story should be relevant to the topic you are addressing.
Be authentic: Speak from the heart and be authentic in your speech. Convey your enthusiasm and passion for your topic.
Set goals: Help your audience set achievable and realistic goals. Encourage them to take concrete steps to achieve their goals and not give up in the face of difficulties.
Encourage collaboration: Encourage your audience to work together and support each other. Emphasize the importance of collaboration and building positive relationships.
End on a positive note: End your speech on a positive note, focusing on the accomplishments they can achieve if they work together and stay motivated.
Remember that your speech should be personalized and tailored to the group you are addressing. Talk about your specific challenges and goals, and provide concrete examples to help your audience visualize your success.
You may also want to take a look at my post The 7 Attributes of Leadership, to delve into the characteristics of a true leader, and get a powerful insight about leadership and some cool ideas for a motivational speech.
More tips to cope with stress
More tips to cope with stress, a topic we previously addressed in this post.
Manage your time: Feeling overwhelmed by tasks and responsibilities can contribute to stress. Make a to-do list and prioritize tasks based on importance and urgency. Break large tasks into smaller, more manageable ones.
Avoid unhealthy coping mechanisms: While it may be tempting to turn to alcohol, drugs, or junk food to cope with stress, these habits can actually make the situation worse. Instead, try healthier coping mechanisms such as exercise or talking to a friend.
Practice mindfulness: Mindfulness is the practice of being present in the moment and focusing on your thoughts and feelings without judgment. This can help reduce stress and promote relaxation.
Take breaks: It’s important to take breaks throughout the day, even if it’s just for a few minutes. Take a walk, stretch, or do something enjoyable to help reduce stress.
Address underlying issues: Sometimes, stress can be a symptom of an underlying issue such as anxiety or depression. If you find that you are struggling to cope with stress, it may be helpful to seek professional help to address these underlying issues.
Remember that coping with stress is a process, and it may take time to find what works best for you. Be patient with yourself and don’t be afraid to seek help if you need it.