Motivation Parlour

Category: Money and Wealth

The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals
I do not know much about you, but I can say without a doubt or fear of contradiction that you are always thinking about money.
Sometimes you want to run to your creditors, who are your only friends when you need them most but become bullies the moment you renege on your end of the bargain.
How about a marriage on the verge of a breakup because the man, the breadwinner, lost his job, and his spouse wants to hear none of it?
The world over, people are grappling with the issues of poverty and yearning for riches. Historians have always painted Africa as a dark continent with all the problems in the world. However, the same issues in Africa are the same in Asia, Europe, South America, and other continents. Every country has its own class of the rich and poor.
10 Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals
Therefore, it is good for once to deconstruct the subject of wealth and try to find out what are the daily success habits of wealthy individuals that the poor majority have no idea about or simply know but would like a wake-up call from their life slumber.
1. They are not expecting lottery money from somewhere whatsoever
While the betting and lottery companies are making quick money on betting diehards, wealthy individuals take pride in putting their money into profitable investment vehicles such as hedge funds, stocks, and bonds.
In this case, both the gambler and the wealthy individual are taking risks, but the difference is one is gambling while the other is investing.
Five years later, one is choking with debts while the other owns properties out of his home country. Guess whom between the two.
2. They Exercise
In an interview with FourHourBodyPress, Richard Branson, Virgin Atlantic Airways billionaire, said, “I definitely can achieve twice as much by keeping it fit,” This, according to him, keeps the brain functioning well.
Unfortunately, for the lazy majority, exercising to them is like another punishment from the pits of hell.
Many successful, wealthy individuals are known to maintain a consistent fitness routine that includes morning runs, gym visits, stretching, and swimming, among other exercises.
Despite their busy schedules that involve a flurry of meetings, reading emails, and inspecting projects, they will always create time to exercise.
On the contrary, most idlers hardly think about exercising but would rather sleep or daydream all day long.
3. They control their emotions
As the old adage goes, -Think before you leap; a key daily success habit of the wealthy individual is to listen before they speak. Furthermore, they do not speak everything they think about.
While the masses may complain about bad weather, poor roads, a bad economy, and almost everything, the wealthy know how to keep their mouths shut.
Megan Totka, the author at Small Business Trends, says, “Loose lips are a habit for 69% of those who struggle financially”. Conversely, 94% of the wealthy speak when they are rational, sober, and calm.
4. Wealthy individuals network
You have heard the saying, ‘Your network is your net worth” Well, it is the hard truth for you, unfortunately. The wealthy just know how to do that.
Rather than spend all of their time discussing the match between Chelsea and AC Roma or trending political topics, the wealthy will also talk about their business interests with acquaintances while seeking new opportunities that may come to the front.
This will likely end with them exchanging contacts and setting up appointments later. Use social events as an opportunity to network instead of wasting it on empty gossip about your neighbor next door filing for a divorce.
5. They wake up early
Waking up early is one of the daily success habits of wealthy individuals. They understand that to hit deadlines and outdo long-hour meetings; they have to put their lives in order with proper time management, which means waking up early.
Waking up early before the sun rises helps you to take control over your day and do one or two things before the daily normal routine sets in, and you have to join the rat race.
6. Wealthy individuals set aside self-limiting beliefs that hold them back
What are your self-limiting beliefs? Do you believe that your lack of education denies you riches, or is it your lack of motivation and enthusiasm?
Whatever your self-limiting beliefs, maybe the wealthy have learned to conquer theirs.
In one of his best sellers, Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill says that you do not attract positive things into your life by thinking about their opposites.
This is certainly true as negative thinking leads to negative feelings, attitudes, and negative behavior. Get out of your self-limiting beliefs by having daily positive affirmations about your life.
There is great power in listening to yourself uttering such positive words about your life.
7. They live within their means
The daily success habits of wealthy individuals involve living within their means. They have learned over time, with a lot of self-discipline, how to master their money.
By the wealthy mastering their money, it means that they pay themselves first and avoid overspending the remaining amount. For example, a wealthy individual will save 10 or 20% of his net income and live on 80% of their income.
Regrettably, many of us have failed to be disciplined enough to control our impulses. In a bid to compete with your high-flying neighbor, you cleared your bank account to buy the latest BMW to satisfy your ego or prove your worth.
Sadly, for you, this takes you several steps back from exercising power and authority over your money. In essence, your money is actually pulling the strings for you.
8. They spread their beds
Randall Bell, a socio-economist, studied and analyzed unique characteristics that define the daily success habits of wealthy individuals. Bell concluded that whatever you do on daily basis matters.
Simple routine tasks such as spreading your bed in the morning could make the difference between a highly successful individual and a loser. Bell says, “Those who do their chores and make their living space tidier tend to make more money.”
Bell argues that spreading your bed in the morning puts you into a high-performing mindset.
Another author by the name Charles Duhigg also backs up Bell’s findings. Duhigg in his bestseller “The Power of Habit,” says that making your bed every day in the morning correlates with better productivity and a greater sense of well-being and puts you in a better position to stick with a budget.
So, do you make your bed every morning? Sounds funny, right? However, it could just make the difference in helping you to get what you have been longing for in life.
9. Wealthy individuals rarely watch TV but study
According to a study by Thomas Corley, author of “Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals, many high net worth individuals hardly watch TV.
In fact, only 67% of them watch television utmost 1 hour a day.
Rather than spend a large share of their day glued to a screen, a wealthy individual will keep himself busy with books. According to Corley’s findings, 88% of wealthy individuals read self-improvement topics for at least 30 minutes daily.
According to Forbes Magazine, Bill Gates, the world’s richest man, loves to read books and is said to read at least 50 books in a year.
10. Wealthy individuals set goals and not wishes
I bet you have many wishes right now. One of them could be to travel overseas may be to the UK or the United States of America. How about goals? Do you have any?
One of the daily success habits of wealthy individuals is to set goals, unlike many who have mere wishful thinking. They set goals in their minds and put them down in writing. This is the first step of turning their thoughts into what is physical.
According to John Rampton, an entrepreneur and connector, “95% of the successful achievers I have interviewed practice writing down their goals, plans or visions for success on a regular basis.”
They do this most preferably at night before the next day.
Cultivate the habit of setting goals and following them through to completion.
Wrap Up
Adapt to the successful habits of the wealthy to change your mindset and routine and kick poverty out of your life. Habits form part of our second nature, and it is good to learn from those who have gone ahead of us and mastered the art of making money.
No pain, no gain. Carol Burnett talks about change and says, “Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me.” Strive to change your life by adapting to wealthy individuals’ above-given daily success habits for a better financial future.
Find me in the comments section below.
05/08/2022
Entrepreneurship: Side Hustle Vs. Day Job. Should you Quit One or What Way?
This post contains affiliate links, meaning I may receive some coffee if you make a purchase using them.
Is your life at a crossroads? Maybe you’re wondering whether you should be an entrepreneur or maintain your day job while indulging in entrepreneurship.
It could be in your career, relationship, business or goals at large. The psychological truth is that you can love two people simultaneously but not with the same intensity.
Given a choice, would you prefer that arrangement? We are accustomed to being binary and, therefore, must make decisions between A and B. It’s either this or that.
The Way it is
I advocate doingthings differently in the digital age, especially regarding our careers. I champion freelancing as opposed to the traditional office arrangement.
So what’s the deal? Do we jump into the 5-8 arrangement? Where you work less for more, perhaps.
Here it’s more about the output. It’s more about productivity than sitting in one place for hours on end with output that may not march the hours you spend.
Entrepreneurship Vs. Day Job
For a long time, I have been thinking about jumping ship and taking a side between the 5-8 (entrepreneurship) and the 8-5 (career). I shuffle on both currently. This can’t even be a conversation for those already into entrepreneurship full-time. Their question would be, “What are you waiting for?”
But the bottom line is not everybody wants the same things. However good of a salesperson I might be, I can’t sell my products to everybody because not everybody wants everything. People have different tastes and preferences and only go for what resonates well with them.
What’s your Goal or Motive?
Some people want to build a career and reach its peak. In contrast, some prefer to plunge into entrepreneurship.
Still, some handle both building a career and entrepreneurship together. Neither of these options is better than the other, but we must face some hard facts here.
If your goal is to be rich, you have three options. You either become one through inheritance, real estate or entrepreneurship. The latter is an option anybody could take, work hard and become massively successful.
You want to examine your motive to leave the 8-5 before joining the 5-8 full-time.
The 5-8 Vs the 8-5
However, before making that lifetime decision, you will need to weigh the pros and cons of taking either route and decide whether to do both for now or to pick aside.
Here is the good thing about keeping your day job.
1. Pays the Bills
Life is getting expensive by the day, and jobs that pay well aren’t easy to come by. Having an 8-5 hustle gives you the benefit of managing your daily and monthly needs well.
2. Your Paycheck is Guaranteed
Unlike business, where the input equals the output, a day job is based on a contract that assures you of a monthly payment unless otherwise determined by your employer.
3. You have an Opportunity to Learn
Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither will you. You won’t grow in one day because learning never stops. There are damn expensive courses that your organization or company can afford, which on your own you wouldn’t. Such an arrangement allows you to learn and build your skills professionally, which could go a long way in giving you the skills you need in your entrepreneurship pursuits.
4. Your Paycheck Allows you to Borrow a Loan for Business or Investment
If you are just out of college and starting, banking institutions wouldn’t be willing to give you a loan since you have no collateral or a good repayment plan. However, once you get that payslip, you can leverage it to access huge chunks of credit you could use to build and grow a business. Still, you could opt to invest it and reap the rewards later.
5. You Have the Opportunity to Network
Employees can leverage huge brands of their companies or organizations to network and build meaningful and long-term working relationships with other professionals across the divide. A budding entrepreneur may not have this privilege since they still make a name or portfolio for themselves.
Benefits of the 5-8 (Working Online)
We are in a digital age, and it’s not only about freelancing but also the aspect of e-commerce. If you are thinking about doing this full-time, here are the advantages.
1. You are in Control of your Time
Employees sell their time for a salary. Your employer wants you to see you in the office from 8-5 whether you could be doing something meaningful or not.
Let’s say your output is only 3-4 hours of your time. The rest gets wasted. A freelancer has the freedom of time and can use this to their advantage.
2. You can Handle Several Projects/Clients at the Same Time
You call the shots here. So you decide the breadth of your projects or how many clients you want to handle at one given time, depending on your time.
Of course, this won’t be a tall order for you since you could build a team.
3. You Have More Earning Power
An employee’s lucrative idea in a company could earn them a $200 bonus, as their employer would determine.
However, if you are an entrepreneur, a lucrative idea to your venture or business could pay you much more and open more room for growth.
4. A True Sense of Job Security
As long as the hiring and firing decision is in the hands of someone else, you can’t presume to have job security. Even a permanent and pensionable job could end up in headwinds.
However, working as a freelancer on anything online or brick and mortar cushions you against your employer’s decisions that they could make against you.
We can’t downplay the fact that clients could turn you down or forfeit your contracts. But you are in a better position to bounce back than one being fired from their job.
5. You Have Extra Time to make Other Things, you Love
You can work less for more if your 5-8 pick up well. This gives you the privilege of allocating your time to more important projects in your life.
You could be involved in voluntary activities like missions, charity work or spend more time with family.
Some Signs you are on the Right Path.
Do you feel confused lately over what direction you should take?
The good part is that even in that confusion, the universe has an amazing way of giving you pointers to the right path that will ultimately lead you to your destiny.
These signs don’t only apply to your job, career or business but other areas of your life as well. Take a look.
1. You encounter tale-tell signs along the Way. It could even be a pop-up on your computer, a road sign or a random notice board somewhere.
2. You have an overwhelming gut feeling.
3. You get reassurances from people along the Way
4. Things unfold with little effort
5. Your core values align with your choices
6. Fresh opportunities come to you when you least expect them
7. You fall in love with a place, a person or a thing
8. You don’t get bothered by people’s opinions or judgments over your life.
Wrap Up
I have chosen not to choose between the two divides until God, and the universe tell me otherwise. I hope you find the best path to your destiny. I will be expounding on the pointers mentioned above later. Whether you are into entrepreneurship, keep your day job or handle both, you are the only person who can best make that decision.
22/10/2021
4 Misunderstood Statements about Money
Hello good people,
It has been long since we got to interact with each other but I’m fit and sound like a giant fig tree. For a moment, I have been having these negative thoughts about money but on a closer introspection, I realized how wrong I was. To some of us, money has been over glorified at the expense of our families, relationships, friendships and personal development.
Well, who said money isn’t important anyway. Just as you do need it, I also need it to offset some of my bills and keep life moving forward. However, money is not all that matters in life but many other things as well.
If you agree with the aforementioned statement then we are definitely on the same page. Out there, many are the statements concerning money. Many mention it when looking for it or when trying to justify their unwanted conditions.
So today, in the spirit of self-growth and personal development, I would like us to demystify a number of myths about money that get as all on the wrong side of things.
# 1. Money is Everything
If money was everything, then your very breath of life would be dependable on it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about the patient who needs a life-supporting machine that obviously costs money to be used. The thing is, you have an obligation to pay your water bill, electricity bill and et. Cetera but no any single time did anybody from anywhere stood at your doorstep demanding a clearance of your life bill for the years you have so far lived on earth.
Besides, genuine friends and true lasting relationships can never be bought with money.
Let’s say your breath of life was worth $0.01/minute then you need to calculate your age and you will know exactly what amount you will have to part with to pay for your life.
Fortunately for us, all that is unnecessary because the breath of life has been given freely.
The Bible talks about the story of the rich fool in Luke 12:13-21, who after harvesting bountifully thought he still had a life to destroy his barns and build bigger ones for the bountiful harvest only for his life to be taken that very night.
# 2. Excess Money Makes You Immoral
On many occasions, this statement has hit my ears both from friends, foes and family members alike. Clearly, I didn’t get it right what could be the reason they spewed such ignorant statements but the fact remains that they are all wrong. One important question I keep asking myself is whether these individuals would one day in life wish to have a lot of money or not.
You need to know that the excess money being castigated as making one immoral has been used to contain aids and Malaria prevalence in Africa provided relief food in famine and hunger stricken parts of the world, built both churches and schools.
In all these instances, donor funding both from individual and institutional donors has been used immensely but I do not see where money made anyone immoral but to create solutions.
But one thing I do understand very well is money simply picks the character of the beholder. Money in the hands of a drunkard makes him or her more of a drunkard. Same is true for a gambler, child trafficker or drug dealer.
#3. I want to be a Millionaire
This statement is correct in every sense and there is no problem with anyone of us wanting to have millions in our bank accounts. But the question is, what do you want the millions for? Some of the world renown billionaires never had the dream of becoming what they are today but because they were focused on solving a problem or filling a gap by adding value to the way of things, that in itself minted them billions let alone millions. Have someone in mind? Point is, it is not about the millions it is about the purpose you got behind the millions.
If your desire to be a millionaire is driven by anger, need for approval or security think twice because even after you get your millions these issues will still be right there with you.
If your desire to be a millionaire is driven by anger, need for approval or security think twice because even after you get your millions these issues will still be right there with you.
#.4 The Rich Steal to Continue Being Rich
I’m not sure I want to write this statement because I seem to be in limbo myself. This is because; I come from a country where corruption is so rife that making money legally, ethically and morally now appears to be a thing of the past. I must say that this statement is partly true going by corruption dossiers and inquiries done in Kenya and are in public domain. However, I also must add that to anyone of us who has a desire to be counted among the rich, this statement is not the very right one for you. You can’t be what you negatively keep on talking about.
Firstly, this statement paints the rich, something you want to become like thieves and only thieves. What effect will it have on you? You will start resenting the rich, envy them and make them your enemies. You can as well forget about being rich.
I would rather suggest you focus on them that have made much money legally, morally and ethically right rather than sabotage your own billion dollar dream.
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29/06/2018
Why the Internet is the Current Townsquare for Your Business
Recently, while having a friendly conversation with a colleague, he shared with me about his shoe business in town. Like a salesman upbeat on meeting his sales targets, he implored upon me to stop by and leave with a pair or pairs of shoes. Not wanting to disappoint him, I made a promise to pass by.
It is said that charity begins at home; rather than start marketing your business from a market that is miles away from you, start with the market close to you. Unfortunately, I never kept my promise until later when I saw his Facebook business page.
The footwear display on his Facebook business page could not fail to catch the attention of any Facebook user. The shoes both for men and women were well arranged and displayed on the shelves and counters. From snickers, sports shoes, casual footwear; just make an order and get to have a taste of what satisfies your needs best. Check it below;
Dru Fashions
I want to assume that the owner of the business, who happens to be a person I know thought well and critically about the online space for business we have in the 21^st century that he was missing out on.
Currently, a majority of the population own smartphones. Every household could be having a minimum of two Smartphones (Not statistically proven). That means that every single minute, people are busy posting on Facebook, social media and checking on their status updates.
The youth and teenagers happen to take a large share of this as they are more tech-savvy and more internet users as compared to the old in the population. On the contrary, the old too, are not to be left behind as they are turning out to be digital also.
A presenter on a local radio station joked about the social media lifestyle we live in today. That while women in the 20^th century used to wake up early to prepare breakfast, the modern day woman wakes up to first turn on data on her phone and check status updates before proceeding to the kitchen. Hahaha. Hilarious.
From the aforementioned, it’s clear that there is a huge internet market that your offline business could be missing out on. A youth who happens to be skimming through Facebook will come across a product you sell. If he or she likes it, he will share it with another person who does not know about your product. In this manner, your business gets indirect referrals.
Facebook has made this easier with the introduction of Facebook ads. Many ads from local companies and businesses are displayed on Facebook daily. If you haven’t created a Facebook ad for your business yet, you need to create one sooner. You can comfortably shop from the comfort of your house on a wide range of goods ranging from clothes, shoes, utensils, health supplements, electronics, and many other items.
Also, thousands of Kenyans are doing business from the comfort of their homes. They need no money to rent a shop or pay for a business permit since internet already provides a huge open-air market for them.
To start out, work on setting a website that lists your products and services and possibly a payment button. You could seek the services of a website developer to help you out on this. Without the use of a payment button, you could still employ courier services to deliver your products or services in the event that your selling terms have been met. Jumia is very popular with this kind of arrangement.
Even without a website, Facebook and online directories like OLX will still do the trick for you.
Understand that for your business or SME (Small and Medium Sized Enterprises) to grow in this day and modern age, you need to embrace e-commerce.The internet is filled with billions of online consumers and it is high time you tapped into this vibrant market fast enough.
09/03/2018
Are You a Recent Graduate? Consider Self-Employment
If you are a recent Kenyan graduate or through with your coursework and waiting for graduation, I must congratulate you for coming this far. It not only a privilege but an honor that you can be counted among University graduates in Kenya.
It is undeniable though, that many graduates feel not so confident about their hard-earned degrees because of the skyrocketing levels of unemployment in Kenya today. Of more concern is the fact our Universities are less focused on a learning system that encourage students to be researchers and entrepreneurs. Most of their learning systems are based on theory and lecture jargons at the expense of research-based learning that encourages students to be researchers, innovative and think out of the box.
Four years down the line, one comes out with a paper giving them the power to read and write and do what appertains to that particular BSc. or B.A degree but not so much to fit in a job marketplace. Many employers will confess that a particular candidate, though well-learned as their papers show, lack self-confidence, communicates poorly, has no career goals and cannot transform class learned material into real-life situations.
Such scenarios are not uncommon. It’s pathetic that a person with a low-level education such as Diploma but vast experience tends to have an upper hand when it comes to employment, compared to a recent graduate. This is not to say that graduates come out of college half-baked. Most employers usually look for the experience which the graduate may be lacking at that particular point in time. Unfortunately enough, the graduate is not equipped and groomed to venture into entrepreneurship. What transpires is several cases of a graduate moving from one office to the other with no possibility of finding employment.
A study reveals that it takes an average of 5 years for a graduate to get employed in Kenya. Recently, a job posting was circulated through social media and thousands must have been on it sending applications and hoping to get considered. Interestingly, enough, the post had been send and resend all over till I also resend it to a friend who had sent it earlier to me. That clearly tells you the job desperation that recent graduates are going through right now.
Here is the job posting that was circulated via WhatsApp
Currently, many graduates have resorted to online writing jobs as a way to cushion themselves from the biting unemployment levels. One such graduate was surprised to learn that she was a long time neighbor to another coursemate of hers who was living in the same neighborhood doing online jobs. Indeed, online writing jobs have become the order of the day as more and more unemployed youth continue to make a living through this new found oasis of online work.
Many seem to be doing well with online jobs, however, this should only be a means to an end. There is much you could still do online such as drop shipping, opening your own commercial blog or website, starting a freelance writing business or a blog on a particular niche.
According to Business Fundamentals, a book compiled by Global Text Project, if you think that you were not cut out to be an entrepreneur, you are wrong. Many were shunned and told they would amount to nothing but they went on to become very great entrepreneurs. To cut the story short, entrepreneurs are not born but made. The book mentions particular marks of an entrepreneur which sum up the mindset of an entrepreneur. These include:
- Vision: Ability to create and communicate an easily understandable mission for what your new venture does in order to successfully launch a new business. This is accomplished while inspiring others to join you in your new enterprise.
- Creativity: Ability to inject imagination and uniqueness into a new business venture. It takes skill and ingenuity to create a new venture equipped with strategies to outsmart the competition.
- Focus: Able to maintain the vision of the company with unwavering diligence. It’s very easy to get sidetracked especially if you find it necessary to evolve the original vision. Ironically, we have encountered many successful entrepreneurs who get bored easily.
- Passion: Desiring to succeed under your own steam [initiative] on a business venture.
- Drive: Possessing intrinsic energy to accomplish the business goal even in the face of adversity.
- Perseverance: Able to keep going even when faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
- Opportunistic Nature sees the possibilities even before they exist. Can take advantage of an upcoming trend or unite unrelated processes to create a unique business venture.
- Problem Solving Ability: Thrives on coming up with solutions to complex challenges.
- Self-discipline: Able to be organized and regimented in pursuit of a successful business venture.
- Frugality: Knows how to stretch every cent so that expenditures are as low as possible.
- Empathy: Able to put yourself in another’s shoes and therefore able to show sensitivity and understanding of what others are communicating in the startup environment.
- Social Responsibility: Ethics, caring, and humanitarianism are characteristics that are commonly found in today’s entrepreneurs.
- Spirituality: We have found that successful entrepreneurs have often devoted time to spirituality development. Meditation and positive affirmations are two common examples of spirituality.
- Good Timing: Able to identify a market opportunity and know when it’s the optimum time to launch a new venture or expansion of an existing enterprise.
You are the only limit to what you can do. Sheryl Sandberg says it all in her quote that we hold ourselves back in ways both big and small, by lacking self-confidence, by not raising our hands, and by pulling back when we should be leaning in.
With the current employment status in Kenya, Kenya needs visionary entrepreneurs who will rise up to the occasion and begins startups and ventures that will transform Kenya’s economic landscape thereby creating more jobs and making life economically better for Kenyans.
03/03/2018
5 Steps To a Financially Secure 40
The subject of money is exciting at the same time strikes you with deep thoughts about your financial future.
In your 20’s life seems like a roller coaster where you want to live a carefree life, make merry and drink yourself silly. However, in your 30’s life ushers in a new set of responsibilities as you begin to settle into family life.
Some, realize late that at this stage the financial risks you take are more detrimental than when you could have taken them while in your 20’s and single.
Rather than wait for 40’s to catch up with you, there are simple measures that you can take that will guarantee you a financially secure 40. Read on to know them well.
#1. Save and Avoid Consumer Loans
Everyone wants to make their life better. However, this does not mean that you should borrow a loan to take your lifestyle to the next level. Unfortunately, many people get embroiled in consumer loans that make them poorer. Financial institutions are always willing and ready to give you their money anytime you qualify and need the money. Nevertheless, they are not going to be there for you when you are broke and cannot service your consumer debts.
To be on the safe side borrow money to invest. When your job still gives you the opportunity to borrow a loan, take advantage of the opportunity by putting your money into good investments that are worth your money and sacrifice. Again, ensure to save and invest first before putting all your money into your lifestyle expenses.
#2. Work Smarter
Working smarter is totally different from working harder. A person who works hard spends much more time to achieve the same results a smart worker achieves for a far less time.
There is no rocket science to this but the difference is that the smart worker has realized there is a way he can achieve much more in a far less time.
For example, an employee who sits at his office from 9-5 pm may be busy yet not making any progress. On the hand, an entrepreneur running his business could be making more money in a day for a lesser time compared to the office worker.
You need to think forward. What better ways could you use to solve problems today that were never used in the years before? For instance, if you run a company that needs collecting data, what are you better at using? Is it electronic data collection tools such as ODK and commcare or use of manuals like pen and paper to collect data.
What do you think are the resources that you could leverage on to make your life better? It could be money, time, experience or networks. Find it out.
#3. Have an additional Source of Income
If you are like James Mworia, the CEO of Centum Investments who rakes in Ksh 16.9 Million as his monthly salary, or Bob Collymore, CEO Safaricom who takes home Ksh 10 Million per month you can as well focus on your job solely till retirement. If not, then consider having an additional source of income to supplement your main income. If you only depend on your main source of incoming for a living, then you could be brewing trouble in the future.
If you happen to lose your job, considering that you have a family to take care of, you might get stuck on how you will pay school fees for your kids besides servicing other loans. What is your passion? What skills do you have that you can put to good use for your business? It could be freelance writing, consultancy or blogging.
#4. Get Medical Cover
Well, just as it is said that Christ will come back as a thief so is sickness when it strikes. You are better off having a medical cover that can take care of you and your family in emergency situations.
Most people tend to rely on NHIF cards that are limited in terms of providing a comprehensive medical cover for their clients. Consider getting an additional medical cover that will cover you and your family sufficiently when dire situations come along.
Also, there are other insurance policies that you could look into such as life insurance, house insurance among others.
#5. Focus on Both Short-term and Long-term Investments
Some of the long term investments you could focus on include purchasing land or investing in government eleven-year bonds. However, as much as land increases in value over time, how are they going to help you acquire quick money when you need it most.
Rather than focus on accumulating properties all over, you could use your money to build systems and businesses that work for you even in your absence. As such, you can be sure of a constant stream of income even in your sleep.
26/02/2018
5 Things you Need to Kickstart your Freelancing Career
Image Courtesy of Google
Hello guys,
You must have been surprised after realizing I lost quite some money online. Well, the experience was the best teacher and that’s why I want to share with you the one and twos on what you need to kickstart your freelancing career.
If you have been working on your regular job from 8 a.m to 5 p.m, this might appear to be difficult for you and almost impossible. But wait, nothing could be further from the truth. You can still juggle between two jobs with proper planning, commitment, and timely communication.
I do freelancing as a part-time job while still maintaining my daytime job. It is only wise to quit your daytime job when your are sure your freelancing career is stable, and it is already paying you way more than what you make in your regular daytime job.
So, what do you think you need to kickstart your freelancing career?
The first on my list would be a desktop /laptop with a good internet connection.
When I began freelancing 5 months ago, I had no laptop of my own and was using my mother’s mini-laptop. I could as well locate places with public wi-fi and spend there the better part of my day working on freelancing projects if I am not in my regular job.
Do not be cheated you can freelance with your smartphone. It is close to impossible and even if you were to do it using a smartphone, your work is bound to be poorly done without proper proofreading.
However, you may be having a laptop but no access to an internet connection or a public wi-fi utility. One more comfortable way to work with your own internet connection is to subscribe to Safaricom or Airtel internet bundles and press the wi-fi hotspot button on your smartphone to make the internet accessible by your personal computer or laptop.
The upper side of using Safaricom internet bundles is that it is very efficient compared to Airtel. Conversely, the packages get easily depleted with annoying warnings of your bundles being below 2Mbs. I always shift between the two networks depending on the convenience and urgency of my work. Airtel bundles last for a longer time but are slow compared to Safaricom bundles.
A Proper Chair and Deskop Table
Really? Is this even a need in the first place? But when was the last time you sat straight in your chair while working on your computer? In most cases, you are always seated in a slanting posture or your seat leaning forward.
I need not remind you that for the safety and good health of your spinal cord, you better spend some bucks on a good table and seat for your freelancing career.
Have a Cash Back Up
Having some cash with you to keep you going when kickstarting your freelance career is of great importance. You will come to realize that freelancing is not like a regular job where you get paid every end of the month, however, this may be subject to your own arrangement with your client.
Despite these, you also need to realize there are dry spell seasons in freelancing. It gets to a point where you bid for a job endlessly with little or no forthcoming. It is at this point in time that your saved coins will keep you going and get you paying the bills.
Have an External Computer Storage
What happens when you wake up one day to find your computer crashed with all the important files and a client’s assignments?
As much as your internal memory may be large enough like let us say 1TB, you want to ensure that you have an external backup just in case your computer memory losses all the data stored.
Enroll in a Freelance Course and Learn one or two Technicalities about a Computer
I understand you may be a pro or skilled in a particular task or responsibility but no one is ever knowledgeable enough to stop learning. For you to be able to kickstart your freelancing career on a higher note, you are better off enrolling in a freelance course like article and SEO writing or transcription depending on your area of interest. Instead of starting off from square one like a novice, a freelance course will help you jumpstart your career as an intermediate or expert writer with well-paying writing and transcription gigs. We offer a freelance writing course for beginners an affordable fee, Click here for more information.
Some of the above-mentioned life changes might cost you money but you would rather have them and launch your freelancing career with a bang than start off behind the rest.
Let me know your thoughts and comments below.
Until next time esteemed reader.
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24/01/2018
7 Reasons Why Money Has Never Come And How to Fix It
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Hello people, first, I must say thank you for your continued love and support towards this blog. It is never easy remaining consistent by writing posts often. However, your likes, comments, and followership have kept me going. Cheers! To every single one of you for being a lovely online family.
Yesterday morning, I uploaded a video on my facebook page about a robot by the name Sofia. Sofia is a robot that can partially perform the functions of a human being. In the video, Sofia is seen smiling and answering questions from a top journalist albeit some awkward moments.
In case you missed the video here is the link https://www.inc.com/will-yakowicz/sofia-robot-hanson-robotics-web-summit.html
Two centuries ago, landlines were unheard of in our lives, let alone mobile phones. To add insult to injury, if you happened to insinuate on a machine that could fly, you could be met with the most bizarre astonishment.
Yet here today, we are talking about the world of artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence is simply intelligence derived from machines and things that have no life in them. In contrast, natural intelligence is the intelligence found in humans like you and me and some animals.
Such breath-taking inventions never fell down from heaven, they simply began as an idea by somebody who was passionate, determined and focused to make the world a better place.
Sitting in my study, I sought to demystify why one part of the world can have so great inventions with super-rich entrepreneurs while some parts of the world are the exact opposite. Despite there being a number of factors to consider, to me, it all boils down to you as an individual. Who are you and what do you stand for?
Greatness or Mediocrity
Therefore, in a bid to find out why to some people being rich is impossible, and will never happen, I came up with eight points why money has never come your way and how to fix it.
Reason #1: You Hate and Envy the Rich
You all know the statement,”Your network is your net worth”
Lewis Brown, a motivational speaker, said that we are a product of the people we keep close. This he said is possible by the fact that as you walk with them, you subconsciously pick their mannerisms, perceptions, and habits.
I understand Kenya is a country where the gap between the rich and the poor is very wide and continues to widen. In Kenya, corruption is still rife as witnessed in the previous and current regimes. The select few who manage to be part of the system always walke home as instant millionaires.
It is against this background that you may want to hate and envy your rich neighbor. Simply because the rich neighbor flaunts wealth you have no idea where it came from.
However, hating and envying the rich only serves to keep this high net worth individuals away from you. Down the streets or in the villages, the rich are talked of with envy and admiration in equal measure. Some look at them as thieves who stole billions of money from the companies they worked for before. Some are said to be in secret societies like the Illuminati and Freemasons. Whatever the opinion you may have about the rich keep it to yourself but the fact remains that they are rich and you do not attract money and wealth into your life by envying, hating, and talking ill of the rich.
Reason #2: To You, Money is the Root of all Evil
You recently won ksh160, 000 via a Sports betting site. Quite a lot of money with no sweat, right? Well, the truth is always plain and simple- easy come easy go. You will go celebrating and telling every Tom, Dick and Harry about your luck. Unfortunately for you, your eager friends will be more than ready to eat your newfound fortune with you.
Given that you went round showing off to your friends and acquaintances, many will come with a plethora of suggestions on how to do this and that. Ask Abisai about the many suggestions he got on Facebook. All of a sudden, everybody is your adviser. To take the shorter route, the money simply did not add up to give you something tangible. Subsequently, you rant and curse about money being evil. It never is because it simply picks the character of the beholder.
In 1 Timothy 4:16, the bible mentions the love of money as the root of all evil. I understand this to mean that your love for money is the root cause of your troubles and not money in itself. You therefore should desist from demonizing money and treasure it as a value worth having.
Reason #3: You Are a Jack-Of-All-Trades
One columnist, on money magazine, once shared tips on risk taking. He asserted that people do not just take risks but calculated risks. By this, he meant to say that great entrepreneurs assess the benefits and production costs or rather the advantages and the disadvantages of a particular project before putting their money or energy into it.
In their assessment, if the disadvantages far outweigh the advantages that is a no go zone. However, if the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages, then it becomes a project to consider. You do not make money by being a jack-of-all-trades and master of none. Simply identify your passion, a place you can add value and get the ball going. Where is your focus? Where do you direct your energy?
Bill Gates, the tech. mogul behind Microsoft Corporation, was one of its co-founders in the year 1975. Back then he, ate drank, sang and slept dreaming about Microsoft. He identified his passion and area of value addition and set the pace right away, revolutionizing the computer world. It is only in the recent past, after having made so much money that he chose to diversify his investments.
First by philanthropy through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Bill also has investments in Republic services, waste management company, Eco-lab (ECL) a company that produces cleaning supplies, 50% stake in Four Seasons Hotel and much more. He is simply finding a place to stash his cash and assets by diversifying his investments. This he has only done after building Microsoft Corporation to what it is today. Where is your focus? Where do you direct your energy?
Reason #4: You Love Alcohol
Kenyans love for strong drinks cannot be pushed under the carpet just yet. However, many fall short of controlling their thirst for strong drinks. Ultimately, one becomes a slave to binge drinking. End result is irresponsible drinking, family negligence and misuse of money in uncontrolled drinking. Money never comes in such like a lifestyle and might become elusive for eternity. Drinking should be done responsibly in the most courteous manner or to be abstained from altogether.
On the contrary, one might argue the rich also love alcohol. Conversely, the rich drink on their hard-earned cash. They drink in the company of other rich friends in V.I.P. lounges, expensive and exclusive joints. They buy alcohol brands that are out of your price range. It would therefore, be unfortunate or demeaning to compare yourself with them. Have discipline to overcome. Visit a rehab for further guidance and counseling. Avoid alcoholic drinking joints and persons.
Reason #5: Your Love Life is Chaotic
You are known for sending expensive gifts to a bevy of beauties who have no qualms about sharing you with the other women you have. Surprisingly, you also pay their food and rent. It is important to understand that millionaires never grew into who they are by dating many women. They directed all their energy towards looking for wealth with one supportive woman by their side. With regard to matters of the heart, it is important for you to be discipline by avoiding overspending in a chaotic love life with many women. What defines your core values when it comes to dating? The mpango wa kando phrase is now the household name in town with unfaithful spouses blindly sinking into it. It has been proven that money never comes with a string of women to maintain, since your hard-earned cash goes into paying their monthly bills and other utilities. A number of women are also on the spot for moving with different men commonly known as sponsors. Unfortunately, for them, most of these sponsors are married men with families to maintain. You do not succeed by wrecking up someone’s else marriage. Redefine your love and social values.
Reason #6: You think you are the manager of the Universe
There are limits to how far you can go and how much you can do. In Luke 6:38, it is written that, “give and it shall be given unto you..” The question to ask is, how far is far? Bill Gates, the world richest according to Forbes magazine has a net worth of US$90 million. Despite his vast wealth, he cannot buy the world even if he wanted to.
It is always good and generous to help someone out who might be financially stranded. However, when you are bent to help everybody who comes begging, you might find yourself with nothing left to meet your financial obligations. Millionaires are known to give for a certain course or charity. You will find them taking part in philanthropic activities such as building classrooms, drilling boreholes in water scarce areas or buying mosquito nets for the prevention of Malaria.
On the contrary, you will not find them dishing out money to every boy, girl or woman who comes knocking. In their quest to get wealth, they have been blackmailed, swindled, conned and gone broke severally and know better than to give their hard-earned cash to everybody. Christ’s mission on earth was to seek and save the lost. He offered his life as a ransom for all. You are a human with limits and therefore cannot offer yourself financially to all. Give sparingly, take sparingly.
Reason #7: You simply do not want to be rich
You shy away from conversations about money and wealth. You have a collection of fictional books and movie thrillers but can hardly read one page of a financial newspaper or Bible (Ask TD Jakes). You watch TV and movies 10 hours running. You are waiting for that big break to fall from the heavens yet you are doing nothing with your hands. You have no bank account and if you have one, you do not know the account number. You hardly collect assets but liabilities that drain you of your hard-earned cash.
More so, you talk about enjoying life here and now and wonder why people are trying hard to save and invest. You are in a cyclone of debts and find it normal, saying life is hard. You have a University degree, nice family and a lovely wife and say that is all that matters. You know the big guys in town who call the shots and think your proximity to them makes you rich, nothing could be further from the truth. You hardly give or donate but only take.
Furthermore, when you get good money after a long dry spell, all you think is upgrading your wardrobe with new clothing and shoes, partying with friends and buying the latest gadget in town. You let people play with your ego, telling you how rich you look so that they get something from you, yet in real sense you are struggling with debts. You sleep at 9 pm and wake up at 9 am.You have no a daily to-do list. You are ever on social media accounts including Whatsapp, Facebook messenger, Twitter, Instagram, snap chat as late as 2 am.
In addition, you are never grateful for the small favors, blessings, milestones you earn or get but rant and complain about everything. You fear success and do not want to appear to be doing better than your friends or common folk. You are waiting to be married by a rich man or marry a rich woman. You hang around broke people and call those who have made it proud yet, you have never approached them for financial advice or help in the first place.
Life is short and there is no point in making it any shorter by living it with full of financial challenges. Some mistakes are silly and painfully costly. Learn from the rich men and women who have made it and try as much as possible to implement every single idea they tell you. I am trying myself. Life is neither hard nor easy depending on what you choose to do and ascribe yourself too. Be open-minded and have access to the limitless possibilities life has to offer through great ideas and people. My desire is that the words written here will transform your life today and make you a better person tomorrow.
Have a great weekend.
Let me know your thoughts, through the comments section below.
22/09/2017