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I'm not a successtory yet, I'm in the middle of becoming it...

Being a Money Conduit… - August 29, 2010
or holding on to your money loosely

In the course of the last year, my business has become more and more successful. New assignments kept coming in, and I needed more manpower to be able to keep up with the increasing amount of work . So I hired two employees. Since my home office was too small for three people, I had to rent an office. Obviously, my employees needed computers to work on, and on top of that I had to pay social insurances for my employees. Suddenly my money was flowing away from me like seawater during low tide. This frustrated me a lot. Finally money was coming to me in bigger quantities, but then it seemed I had to spend it in buckets! I was struck by fear and uncertainty.

Fear is not a desired and constructive emotion, so I had to change my mindset about the flow of money. From the moment I had left my daytime job, I had been focused on building up reserves and creating a buffer. Instead of being aimed at increasing the flow of money towards me, I had put my mind on earning as much as possible to make up my reserves.

After a lot of soul-searching, I decided that the reason I was saving money as a fall-back, was all based on fear and scarcity consciousness. Of course saving can be good, for example when it is meant to acquire goods that are too expensive to buy just like that. But I was only saving money out of fear. The more money I acquired, the more I became attached to it, and the harder it became to spend it. Of course I had to spend it on salaries and taxes and insurances, but it did not feel good. In the end I had used up all my reserves, and I became depressed.

Money gurus of all times state that the more you hold on to money, the more likely it becomes you are going to repel it. On the other hand: the more loosely you hold on to your money, the more you are going to attract it! When I began to understand this, I started seeing myself as a Money Conduit. Money flows to me, through me and from me. The only thing I have to do, is increase the size of the pipe. Giving and receiving will be more in balance and more in tune with the laws of the universe.

The result? I am spending money more easily now – not on all sorts of luxury, but to “improve my conduit”; to make it bigger and better. I'm not seeing spending money as a negative thing anymore, but as a positive act of giving that will enable other people to enjoy live more. It also brings me in a grateful positive vibration, which will attract more money.

At the moment I do not have much money in my savings account, but the money flow is still increasing. My conduit is becoming bigger and bigger. Money has to flow; that is its purpose. And as long as it is flowing, it can serve me best. When money stops flowing, it will lose its value.

So hold on to your money loosely!

99 Ways to Skin a Cat - January 11, 2010

It seems like everybody has their own theory on how to survive the recession. Just some of the kind of stuff you’ll see across the internet and blogosphere is advice like:

1. Protect your job
2. Move while others are distracted
3. Earn extra money
4. Evaluate your mortgage
5. Refinance high interest credit cards
6. Reduce spending
7. Haggle your way to savings
8. Conserve and reduce your energy bills
9. Avoid taking on any unnecessary debts

I really could go on to reach 99 just to represent the saying, “99 ways to skin a cat”. But I won’t waste your time. I know you can Google it for yourself and find hundreds more advice from every Tom, Dick and Harry out there.

So let me get straight to the point.

With so many ways and advice, how come not everyone gets rich? How come not everyone who reduces their spending get rich? How come not everyone who has an education get rich? How come not everyone who starts a business get rich?

Because it’s not about what you do, it’s about how you do it. Cause while there are 99 ways to skin a cat, if you don’t do it RIGHT — whichever method you have chosen — it won’t bring RESULTS.

So what is the ONE right thing that you need to do to get rich?

Bob Proctor knows. And he wants to tell you that there is a science — a formula — to get rich. It’s about doing certain things in a certain way. And this blueprint has been proven to make anyone get rich across centuries.

So before you waste your time trying out 99 ways blindly, get this one formula that will transform your financial future.

To learn more about the Science of Getting Rich – go to The Science of getting Rich

Tip: Visualize your Life the Way you want it to be – November 25, 2009

Since ‘thinking yourself rich’ is a universal principle for actually acquiring wealth, I am working on a description of how I would like my life to be in the foreseeable future. Actually I never used to think about this kind of stuff. Until recently, I was living from day to day, without having a well-defined goal in life – which has probably been the reason for the fact that my career has never seen any perceptible progress: there was no conscious or even subconscious goal to chase.

The human imagination can be used as a powerful tool for achieving goals. Just imagine – as clear and detailed as possible – how you want your life to be, and let your desire grow. The more you want something, the sooner you will get it.

So since a couple of months I am trying to visualize, as clearly as possible, the way my life will be in the foreseeable future. I have worked it out on paper, I frequently read it and sometimes I will add new details: the way my new house will look, the cars I will drive, the boat I will own and the businesses I will have set up to earn my money. As soon as you start working on it, you will see how much fun this is. But don’t get distracted by thoughts like, “That is way out of my league”, or, “This is never going to work”, or ‘How will I ever be able to acquire all that money?” Never think about how the money will get to you – visualize what you are going to do with it and live your life as if you are rich already!

Every day now, I am trying to visualize my new life as a rich man – even if it is just for a couple of minutes – and it is already helping me to stay focused on my goals. When I look back on my life until now, there have been moments where I was chasing a certain goal. And to be honest: I have achieved all of them. Perhaps they have been only small goals, for example owning a new stereo, or a faster computer, but in the end I always succeeded. So you see: your desire will pave the way for your wealth…

The Rich and Wealthy Mindset - 30 september 2009

This week I found the following list of profound statements. They describe the perfect mindset for achieving success in your business, or, for that matter, in any wealth producing activity.

After reading the statements, I realized to my shame that for a long, long time I seem to have had a completely wrong mindset in many situations. I found the statements important enough to quote them on this website.

What are the main differences between the rich and the poor mindset?

1. Rich people believe "I create my life."
   Poor people believe "Life happens to me."



2. Rich people play the money game to win.
   Poor people play the money game to not lose.



3. Rich people are committed to being rich.
   Poor people want to be rich.



4. Rich people think big.
   Poor people think small.



5. Rich people focus on opportunities.
   Poor people focus on obstacles.



6. Rich people admire other rich and successful people.
   Poor people resent rich and successful people.



7. Rich people associate with positive, successful people.
   Poor people associate with negative, unsuccessful people.



8. Rich people are willing to promote themselves and their value.
   Poor people think negatively about selling and promotion.



9. Rich people are bigger than their problems.
   Poor people are smaller than their problems.



10. Rich people are excellent receivers.
    Poor people are poor receivers.



11. Rich people choose to get paid based on results.
    Poor people choose to get paid based on time.



12. Rich people think "both."
    Poor people think "either/or"



13. Rich people focus on their net worth.
    Poor people focus on their working income.



14. Rich people manage their money well.
    Poor people mismanage their money well.



15. Rich people have their money work hard for them.
    Poor people work hard for their money.



16. Rich people act in spite of fear.
    Poor people let fear stop them.



17. Rich people constantly learn and grow.
    Poor people think they already know.

More info and source: http://www.onlinenetworkmarketingtoday.com/successTips/WealthyMindset.cfm

Setting Goals and Making Plans - September 22, 2009

During the past few months I have been trying to find new ways to make my business more successful. One question in particular came up quite a few times: What are my goals?

Although I have always worked very hard, I have never really been successful – neither financially, nor professionally. Nevertheless I always felt I was clearly working in a certain direction. Reading a couple of books about the subject of being a successful businessman, gave me some interesting pointers. So I did some soul-searching. I was completely honest to myself. And my conclusion was unnerving: I had never set even one clear goal for my business! Apart from doing my best to meet the next deadline, I was basically just running around like a headless chicken, taking any job that was offered, trying to make ends meet. In the meantime I was hoping that one day something magical would happen; something that would miraculously open doors for me or make me successful overnight. I never purposefully worked towards a specific goal – because I didn’t have any! Suddenly I understood: trying to run a business without any clear objectives is like buying tickets in the lottery, over and over again – and we all know what the chances are to win that jackpot...

If you want to run a successful business, you need to specify your goals – just working hard is not going to be enough. After specifying your goals, the need for a plan that will include the necessary actions, will come up automatically.
Here’s a very useful tip: Write down your goals! This will increase your conscious as well as your unconscious focus on them, so you will recognize more opportunities, resources and people that can help you meet your goals. A goal that you have written down, is much more likely to succeed than a goal that is hovering around somewhere in the back of your mind.
Another useful tip: Write down your plan! Cut your plan in little bite-sized chunks and enter them in ‘todo’ lists. Successful people utilize those kinds of lists all the time. You can apply them for personal as well as business goals.

Write down your goals in the present tense – as if you've already achieved them. (Which is also the reason for the fact that this site is called ‘being very rich’.) It will help your brain visualize the goal and regard it as being realistic and already achieved. Instead of saying, ‘I am going to do this or that’, you will say, ‘I am doing this now.’ And instead of, ‘I will try to earn more’, you will say, ‘I am earning € 100,000 a month’. Remember what Yoda said in Star Wars, ‘Do or do not. There is no try.’ As mentioned above, observations like these automatically call for a plan. You will ask yourself, 'How will I achieve this or that?’ As soon as you are thinking this, your plan is in motion. Do not give up if you can’t envision a plan immediately. If you will stay focused on your goal, your plan will come.
We think in pictures, and our brain focuses on the things we are reflecting on. Visualizing your goals is a useful method to make them an integral part of your life. And while you are doing this: never think about things you don’t want, and do not waste any time on your fears. Only focus on what you want.

Specify your goals as clearly as possible! Ambiguously defined goals will result in a disappointing outcome. Be very precise in describing targets. Don’t say, ‘I want more money’ – if you will find ten dollars in the street, you will have more money and you will have achieved your goal, but this is not what you want. You have to specify the exact amount of money you want to own or earn.

Set deadlines – otherwise postponing tasks will become very easy. Determine an exact time frame in which you want to achieve your goal. Make sure, though, that it is a realistic deadline.

Keep your goals realistic – you must be able to believe in them – but do not make them too easy. The goals should help you in your growth and development. They are meant to get you out of your ‘comfort zone’.

Plan everything carefully. Every night before bedtime write down a list of things you want to do the next day. Evaluate your actions at the end of each day and ascertain whether they have been effective. Look ahead and anticipate your daily, monthly and yearly goals.

As said, my goals in life never were very clear, let alone that I had smartly detailed plans to achieve said goals – I was just doing stuff at random. Since a couple of weeks, though, my goals are very clearly defined, and I’m working with step by step plans to achieve these goals.
But what’s the best way to make a good plan, I hear you ask? Let’s get back to that later – first I need some practice :-)