Make Money: The Apprentice - Its All Sweet at the Zoo

The fifth victim from this weeks show is Sophie Kain, the scientist who grossly miscalculated the quantity of milk required in the first task.

The candidates’ task this week was to design, make and sell sweets to children visiting the London Zoo. The aim as always was to win the task by making the most money; the juggled teams, led by Adam and Ghazal.

It didn’t take long before the two teams decided on what sweet to make and sell, aided by going out to finding out what their customers wanted, and listening to the advice of the sweet manufacturers on profit margins and so on.

Ghazal’s team won the task by just ten pounds and were lucky considering they did not manufacture enough sweets to sell - Ghazal and her team where not prepared to work the extra hours required to produce the quantity required. Had Sophie motivated herself into selling instead of focusing on her moral values then she and her team would have been out of the board room.

Where did Adam’s team go wrong?

- using the wrong labels on their sweets
- not selling enough at the set full price
- failing to maximise profit potential
- chose the wrong location initially

The main purpose of business is to generate profit; however, you don’t have to be ruthless in your pursuit. Getting the balance of making money and the best way to do it right is always a difficult process, but one you must go through. It is also one that will determine what kind of business you choose to go into.

All you need to make money is change the way you think and know what you are doing.

You can get a copy of the Make Money by Thinking CD here.

Make Money: The Apprentice - Start a Business in a Day

The casualty of this week’s task is Gerri Blackwood, fired for picking the wrong location yet again.

Sir Alan Sugar handed the two teams £200 each and set them the task of starting any business of their choice in a day. The aim was to make as much money as possible, the team with the most money winning the task. The task appealed to the entrepreneurial spirits of the apprentices’ and was similar to how Sir Alan started 40 years ago.

The Boys team settled for a gardening business while the Girls went for face painting for kids. Business fizzles out for both teams by late afternoon, focusing the apprentices’ to come up with other ideas of making money in the evening. The Girls decided on a kiss-a-gram while the Boys resorted to a sing-a-gram.

Some of the things both teams did wrong:

• setting a low price (£25) for their gardening services

• ignoring the location and time of year for their chosen businesses

• failing to research the current needs of affluent residents of Richmond

• poor selling skills

• losing focus

Sir Alan shows us through the task that it doesn’t take a lot to start a business and make money. As he stated, “With a bit of money you can drum up a business”. If you have been reading my blogs and bought a copy of the Make Money by Thinking CD, then this shouldn’t be news to you. All you need to make money is change the way you think, know what you are doing and take action.

Get a copy of the Make Money by Thinking CD here.

Making Money: The Apprentice - A Dogs World

Another interesting episode, two people got the famous phrase “You’re fired!” from Sir Alan Sugar. Ifti got the sack for not contributing to the task as his mind was on his family, while Rory was shown the door for being an effective project manager.

The two teams were set the task of designing and pitching a dog accessory to three retailers. Team Stealth settled on a flat pack doggy wardrobe, while Team Eclipse went for a utility strap aimed at the dog-walker (Rambo’s outfit according to Sir Alan).

Although the Boys team, Eclipse had orders from two of the three retailers, it was not enough to beat the Girls who came in at the last hurdle with an order for 2000 units making a profit of over £5000.

Where did Team Eclipse go wrong?

· Picked the wrong product
· Ignored the focus group on product ideas
· Poor pitch

What can you draw from the task?

· Money is the end result of valuable ideas
· Design products for a niche market
· Product must justify retail price
· Research your product and potential customers

Getting the sack was a difficult blow for Rory, an entrepreneur who had gone bankrupt twice before. Let’s hope he is learning from his mistakes and recognising the patterns of failure.

Anyway, the moral of the story from Sir Alan Sugar, when pitching a product, put your effort into the person / company who has the potential to buy a big quantity.

Making Money: What is Money?

The last blog addressed what you require to make money - “cause and effect”, thinking and doing things in a certain way and not ignoring the consequences of your actions. Today’s blog is about understanding what money is.

The answer to the above question seems obvious; the average man/woman on the street would say money is a pound coin, or a five-pound banknote. To many, money is seen as a “thing” - something you can hold or collect something tangible. You probably think the same too, just as I did a while back.

One major problem with this line of thought is that the five pound note in your wallet is nothing but paper with ink on it. It represents money, but it is not money. While money is defined as anything that is used for making payments and accounting for debts and credits, it is actually an idea introduced to facilitate trade as a means of exchange.

Money is the effect (remember cause and effect) of an idea. A reward for the effort put into creating an idea valuable to society and for bringing it to life.

What does this mean?

It means money has nothing to do with the coin or paper stuff rather it has to do with what your thought processes, feelings and consciousness.

If money is an idea - a product of the mind, then the creation and accumulation of money is influenced by the way you think. This also means all you have to do to earn and make money is to using your ideas create a product or service that increases the quality of our lives.

Look around you and you find true wealth belongs (rightly) to people who do the creating and or the producing and to people who arrange or organise the creation, the production and the exchange of goods and services in the market place.

Making Money: Cause and Effect

Cause and effect, the single most important principle key to being, doing and having all you want in life, including making money.

To be honest, this is one principle I have ignored too many times in my own life and I would guess you at some point, have done the same: ignored the effects of your actions.

If you care to think about how you arrived where you are now, you will realise your past actions - the choices you made determined your present predicament, give or take the odd surprises. You will come to the same conclusion if you applied the same thought to your current financial situation: your past actions created your current financial health, good or bad.

What does this mean to you? Making money depends on doing certain things in a certain way. Those who do such things - and do them in a certain way - become wealthy, whether they achieve that end on purpose or by accident; comparatively, those who falter in this dual respect, no matter how hard they work or how able they are, invariably remain poor.

All you need is to learn how to approach the building of wealth, and you will not be denied the chance to become wealthy. Think of your dream of owning and driving a car, you have to take driving lessons, and read road safety books, the same process is required if you dream of making and having money.

By the way, making money has nothing to do with age, formal education, gender or geography. You look around you and you will see rich and poor living side by side, in the same environment. Some young, some old, some with a degree, some without.

In fact, wealthy people have no greater talents or abilities than you. They are wealthy not because they possess certain things that you lack, but as stated a moment ago because they happen to do certain things in a certain way, and because they do not ignore the consequences of their actions.

No more excuses, you now know what is required to make money - you need to think, act and do things in a certain way. First off, you need to understand money, and this you will find out in my next blog, “Making Money: What is Money?”

Make Money: The Apprentice - Andy, You’re Fire!

The first apprentice has been fired saying good-bye to the dream of a six-figure salary with Sir Alan Sugar. One down, fifteen to go.

Andy, a car salesman, made some fundamental errors as project manager on the task of making money by selling as much coffee as possible.

• picking the wrong location for their mobile coffee shop

• buying too much stock

• ignoring competitor’s prices

• not being proactive

Poor bugger.

Anyway, all this makes me think about reminding you of what he taught his apprentices on the last series, and which I am sure he will be teaching this new group. Find out about it here.

Looking forward to next weeks challenge.

Save Money: The Weekday Big Spender

I had posted a new thread on one of the forums I joined recently, and was looking through the sections for interesting threads to read when the question “What is your advice for saving money?” caught my eye.

The forum poster plans to pay off their debt this year and needed advice on saving as much money as possible. Of course, I posted a reply and asked that they checked out this blog for more ways to make and save money.

A number of people also posted a reply, most in line with what I would advice, and which I think should be shared with you. If you have read the blog ‘Make Money: One of Two Options’, you would know the two options for having more money are to increase your income or reduce your expenses by managing your current finances.

Its one of those things you do everyday without realising how much effect it has on your finances. The amount of money you spend on breakfast and lunch at work. I know a number of people at the offices I work spend at least £10 everyday on their food. That is about £200 every month just on sandwiches, drinks and snacks.

You would qualify as a weekday big spender if every working day of the week involves spending from £5 to £15 on breakfast and lunch. At the bottom end you will be spending £100 a month and at the top £300. That is a lot of money on food eat at work, if you ask me.

What is the excuse? According to some, it’s because they can’t have breakfast before leaving for work, something about not having enough time, having stomach aches and so on. Personally, I think they don’t want to, it’s not important enough otherwise they would or at least take a packed lunch to work.

It has always been puzzling to me. As a child you always took lunch to school but the moment you become an adult it all stops, it becomes something you shy away from at all cost. The irony is it really does cost a lot as the figures above show.

If you need advice on how to save money, then one way to start is by cutting down on the amount you spend on food at work. Go a step further by making your own breakfast and lunch - am sure you can make a better sandwich than Starbucks, Marks & Spencer et al, and it would be cheaper too.

Remember, you make and save money when you start thinking about your actions and choices.

Make Money: One of Two Options

If you are thinking of having more money than you do now, then the quickest way to go about it is not by getting another job but by managing your current finances better.

Anyone interested in making and having money needs to know the two options available. The first is to increase your income, while the second option is to cut down on your costs (living expenses). While both result in greater disposable income, one can be started immediately - the latter.

You might like to know if you are currently earning £25000 or more, in your lifetime over a million pounds will pass through your hands. A lot of money you would agree. The question is how much of that money will stay in your possession.

Take a good look at your bank statement the next time you receive it, notice how much money has gone through your bank account already. Take note also of the credit and debit column and the figure at the very top or bottom showing your account balance - the money left in your account.

Will your debit column consist of necessities or liabilities? What will the numbers reveal? That you have been spending just about everything you earn, leaving yourself with little or no money at the end of each month.

Or would you say you are amongst the small group of people who know how to keep some of the million pounds flowing through their hands. The group of people who apart from saving some of their money also make their money grow.

When money is limited, people always think of finding a high paying job, forgetting that a lot of money already flows through their hands. They also forget or more appropriate, fail to realise having more money is not the issue but rather the problem is keeping a lid on the ever-growing expenses and possessions.

By focusing on lifestyle, spending money on all the stuff our culture produces, you are knowingly working to keep yourself poor. The reality is that there will always be more stuff you can add to your possessions, and if all you do is buy every new gadget going, then having no money should be expected.

However, if you can learn to control your appetite, spend considerable less than you earn, you will have money left over. Get the saved money to work at a good rate and you can be sure of having more money than ever before. It really is that simple.

Making Money: P T Barnum’s Advice

P T Barnum was one of America's first millionaires, one of the most famous and recognizable men of his time.

He made himself famous globally through his business empire. He also helped his employees and partners become rich, and did it all during difficult times - war, slavery, famine, political upheaval, and economic panics.

His advice on money:

• If you desire to attain independence, you have to set your mind on it, adopt the proper means, as you would do in regard to any other object you wish to accomplish, and you will achieve your desire.

• True wealth consists in always making sure your income exceeds your outgoings (expenses and liabilities).

• You don’t have to be mean and thrifty to be wealthy, saving a half penny where you ought to spend a pound.

• More cases of failure arise from the mistake of spending more than you earn.

• There is more satisfaction in rational saving than in irrational spending; do away with the extravagant lifestyle.

• The real comforts of life cost but a small portion of what you can earn.

• It is the eyes of others and not your own eyes that ruin you. The desire to keep up "appearances" is what keeps your nose to the grindstone.

• It is true that we are born "free and equal", but we are not all born equally rich, and we never shall be.

• You will keep yourself poor by endeavouring to rise to a false standard of perfection set by a handful of people; you cannot get ahead in the world, if your vanity and envy takes the lead.

• It is wise to be a law unto yourself, to live within your means, and lay up something for a rainy day.

• You ought to be as sensible on the subject of making money as on any other subject.

• Like causes produces like effects. You cannot accumulate a fortune by taking the road that leads to poverty.

• The foundation of success in life is good health; that is the substratum fortune; it is also the basis of happiness. You cannot accumulate a fortune very well when you are sick.

• You ought to know that the "sin of ignorance" is never winked at concerning the violation of nature's laws; their breach always brings a penalty.

• To make money, requires a clear brain; it is impossible for you to carry on business successfully with a muddled brain.

That’s all for now from Make Money by Thinking, do call again soon.

Working For a Dead Horse

If you plan to have money, you will do well to avoid running into debt. Nothing drags a person down like debt.

I received some mail from the post today, most were unsolicited from credit card companies trying to lure me into debt. As I tore them up, I remembered a time when my credit card and student loan debts were a big burden.

Getting a credit card was easy as a student; I got mine during Fresher’s week - the first week for new university students - a time when all the banks target naïve students by offering free money and promising an easy life through their “best rate” loans and credit cards.

Fortunately, I did not go crazy with my credit cards, splashing out on things I didn’t need, although still a burden my debts were modest - compared to some who had debts over £10,000. I understand it is common now for students to graduate with debts over £20,000. Talk about an uphill struggle.

The first four years after graduation was devoted to nothing but clearing my debts. It was a time when nothing bothered me most than the debt hanging around my neck. I felt the task of clearing it was insurmountable. I have since vowed to be debt free, as I consider it a very good position to be in, especially debts spent on consumer goods (bad debt).

Is there good debt you ask? Yes, good debt is where you borrow money to buy something that can be sold later for profit or something that increases in value, the money borrowed in this context is seen as an investment. You can say the money spent is working for you.

Getting in debt for what you eat, drink and wear on the other hand is to be avoided. As P.T Barnum said, working for what you have eaten or worn out, but which you still have to pay for is "working for a dead horse”, as you have nothing to show for your money.

Debt you see robs you of self-respect and makes you almost despise yourself because you are nothing but a slave to your creditor. Your creditor goes to bed at night and wakes up in the morning better off, because his(her) interest has increased during the night, but you grow poorer while you are sleeping, for the interest is accumulating against you.

Having bad debt is giving money the permission to work against you, from my experience there is no chance of you being successful if you take this position. If you must get into debt, let it be for something that will make you money.

Make Money Online: As Baby Boomers Do

There is a lot to learn from those older than you are.

Baby boomers - people over 45 years - are turning to the internet to make ends meet, says a report by Birmingham Midshires.

The report states an estimated one million UK baby boomers are struggling to find work because of their age, and one in 10 over-45s are now self-employed and relying on the Internet to make money and grow their businesses.

Seven per cent said they are solely reliant on the Internet to make money and form business relationships and at least 40 percent said the net is important to their business. Almost two-thirds of those surveyed also said they have traded on eBay at least once to make extra cash.

It seems people have to put in a desperate situation before they would think of other ways of making money. I should know I did not realize there were other ways of making money until I left my job to find one closer to home. As luck would have it, I did not find a job, and I had to think of how to make money to survive. I have not looked back since.

The internet is a great place to make money, and it doesn’t take much to do so either. There are so many places online where you can start making money right away with little or now outlay from your pocket.

The problem is very few people think of the opportunities available to them, rather they are hell bent on getting a job, because for them getting a job is the only way to make money.

I am saying it again getting a job is not the only way to make money. If you are in any doubt as to my claim, then you need to get a copy of make money by thinking to find out why all you need to make money is your thinking.

How Not to Have More Money

Earning more money will not translate to having more if all you do is spend on your lifestyle.

Have you ever wondered why you had more money while you were a student than you do now you are working and earning more money than ever before?

I recall a gathering I accompanied a friend to over the weekend. It was a surprise birthday party organised by the celebrant’s partner. The number of people present was just right, not too many people, so it was easy to chat with everyone, after introducing oneself of course.

We talked about everything, growing old, getting married, rising level of crime and jobs to name few. What caught my attention during the many discussions we had was the comment made by the celebrant’s partner. She wanted to look for another job so she could have more money.

On hearing those words, I thought to myself, wondering if that wasn’t what she said before she got her current job. I know I have - am sure you have too - thought the same in the past, “Earning more money will mean having more”. You think this is logical, but the reality is the more you earn, the more you tend to spend, leading you back to your original position of not having enough.

Apart from my internal mumblings, I found myself noticing the various electronics and gadgets in her flat. She had a video iPod, plasma screen TV, satellite system, Bose sound system, she also had a flashy car outside. Not difficult to see she didn’t have any money right.

The sad fact is many people are in these situations, making a lot of money but also spending a lot on the latest gadget money can buy. It reminded me of a guy we used to make fun of while at university. This chap drove a nice car to university, but he never once had money to buy fuel in the car, the car was always running on empty.

It is a mistake to think the more you earn the more you can spend. Regardless of how high your salary is, if you keep spending on, then you will always be without money, needing to make more. A vicious cycle if you will.

Earning more money and having more money are two different things. It you wish to have more you have to learn to spend less than you make.

Make Money from What Seems a Crazy Idea

If you think making money involves hard work, think again, then read this article.

Every now and then, you hear or read about a concept that blows you away. That is how I felt when I read the article about virtual real estate in the Financial Times this Saturday.

For the unconverted, this article should prove to you, money is made by thinking, not by working hard, cooked up in an office for a big chunk of your life.

The gist of the article is how Second Life is offering people the opportunity to own property in the “virtual world”. You have the choice to buy a completed house or have one designed for you. Apart from the cost of buying the house, you also pay about $75 a month in maintenance fees. You can read the full article here.

A crazy idea right? Well guess what, according to the article, there are 3million people who own virtual property in Second Life. You will agree it’s a lot of money for selling virtual space.

It reminds me of Alex Tew, a 22-year-old student who made £500,000 in four months with his idea of a million dollar webpage.

Think and start making money effortlessly.

How Not to Join Life in the Bored Room

A lot more people are bored at work than never before and some of these people are doing jobs seen by many as interesting.

I was in the square mile today - traditional business centre of London - on my way to the station when I walked past a glass building housing employees of a big investment bank. As I walked past, I noticed a man at his desk playing the card game solitaire on his computer.

The day before I had gone for a meeting but I had turned up early at the office. While waiting for my meeting to start, I overheard a couple of people talking about their next shopping items, taking time off work and looking forward to the weekend. From there discussion you could say they would rather be anyway apart from at work.

It was not until I walked pass the man playing on his computer that I remembered an article I had read about a University of Central Lancashire study on people being bored at work. The article stated that boredom at work was now an epidemic; a third of British people are bored at work and in jobs such as teaching, marketing, and law.

A large number of people from the study lack job satisfaction. People it seems are tired of spending hours in meetings and dealing with paperwork. I know from experience that in any meeting you are bound to find two or three people busy drawing or scribbling on their note pads out of boredom.

The question is how do you find yourself in such a situation and how do you get out. Would you agree that most people (maybe yourself included) get a job because they feel having a job is the only way to make money?

Given a choice, people would rather be doing something else, what they consider interesting and fulfilling, which is great. However, the problem is that they think money cannot be made from what they enjoy doing. Therefore, they do what I consider difficult; try to make money in a boring job, forgetting that their state of mind affects their earning power.

There are also many ways of making money, many of which include doing what you enjoy. You do not have to join the bored room to make money you just need to think of ways you can provide a service doing what interest you.

Make Money: Investing and Your Emotions

A couple of things have to be in order before you start investing, top of the list are your thinking and emotions.

Get your thinking and emotions in order before you starting investing in the stock market or else you will lose money and may not recover from the experience.

I always listen to the radio on Saturday mornings when carrying out house chores. The show on this Saturday was about investing in the stock market. As is always the case the host had an expert on board to talk about investing, answer questions and advice people on what to do.

The show I thought was a good idea and was obviously something people were interested in judging from the number of listeners who called to ask questions. However, I was not impressed with the adviser, his language was technical and he didn’t really answer callers in a way they could understand. I would say he forgot to think of his audience, that they were not investors and would not know what “yield” or “dividend” means.

Anyway, what came out of the show was something I agreed with and had experienced first hand, and that was, how you thought and dealt with your emotions. As you probably know if you have been reading my articles, the way you think affects how you act. Your emotions also play a big role because if it is not set right and controlled you can find yourself making rash decisions.

I remember my early days investing in the stock market, I invested without thinking, I didn’t know what made the market move up and down. I also didn’t consider my emotions – greed, fear, excitement. All of which were more important that the actual price of the stock I bought or sold.

Take Apple Computers for example. When news came out that the Beatles were suing Apple Computers, people thought of the repercussions and fearful Apple Computers might loose the case, they decided to sell their shares in the company. When other people heard Apple shares are being sold, they too in fear decided to sell, which eventually pushed the price down. Forgetting that the facts did not change, Apple was still a good company and their products were loved and bought by millions everyday. What moved the price was fear, not a bad product. The same process moves a share price up.

You see human beings run the stock market, and they like you have emotions and it is your emotions and theirs that moves the market. The chances of making money investing in the stock market therefore hinges on you thinking and acting independently, having a plan and sticking to it, leaving no room for emotions only facts.

You will be burnt (lose money) if you ignore this fundamental point. My advice to you, sort out your thinking, understand and control your emotions - especially greed and fear - before you think of investing in the stock market. Remember you make money by thinking.

How Not to Make Money by Investing

Many people think buying a property and renting it out is a good investment even when they have to top up the mortgage with their money.

Amazed, that is how I feel every time I hear someone who has an investment property having to cough up money from his or her pocket to cover the cost of owning the property. It seems some people don’t understand what an investment means and what its purpose is.

Our conversation was about how fast the month of February was ending, but we somehow ended up talking about money and owning investment property. It was then that a friend’s acquaintance mentioned having problems with one of his properties.

Apart from his tenant not paying the rent for the past four months, since renting out the property he had been paying two hundred pounds every month to cover his mortgage. His tenants also happened to be family friends so he relied on them paying the money directly into his account, not bothering to check this was happening. To make matters worse, the bank was now repossessing the property.

It doesn’t take much to see that many bad choices had been made. First off was the casual relationship, then comes forgetting to monitor cash flow and finally, not treating the investment property as a business. The sad fact from my experience is that this scenario is common.

It reminds me of property programmes where people buy property to sell for profit after refurbishing it – also known as flipping. However, majority of the people featured forget to think like a developer and business person who’s aim is to make money, not become emotional about painting the walls their favourite colour or installing an expensive kitchen just because they like it.

You might like to know what an investment means and how to make money from it. By investing, you are hoping the product you have invested in will increase in value (capital growth) and or provides you money monthly (monthly income). Owning rental property that requires paying money into it monthly is not an investment, it’s a liability – draining you. The fact that your property “might” increase in value in the future is irrelevant, as worse you should aim to break even, that is have the investment cover itself.

It is easier to make money from your investment when you treat it like a business, and by that, I mean monitoring your cash flow, knowing who your customers are, the services you provide and what the job of the business is about – making money.

As is always the case making money involves thinking and acting in a certain way; owning an investment property is a business and one that should be taken seriously if it is to make you make you money.

Money and Dog Pooh

It is easy to avoid stepping on dog pooh provided you are aware and thinking of what is in front of you, just as should do with your money.

What do you do when you step on dog pooh? Do you blame the dog’s owner, the dog or yourself? My guess is you like many others would blame the dog’s owner for leaving their dogs’ mess on footpaths. However, I do think you also played a part by not thinking and watching where you are going.

My journey to the train station this morning was no different; I had to weave through dog pooh dotted along the footpath. My experience had taught me to watch where I was going, to be mindful of the dangers on our footpaths. As expected, I got to my destination intact.

The chap in front of me wasn’t so lucky. He unfortunately was not paying attention to the dog mess on the footpaths and he paid for it by stepping one. Angry about what had happened, you could hear him muttering swear words at dog owners who fail to clean up after their dogs.

Not what he bargained for on his way to work and I could sympathise with him, after all having smelly shoes on a packed train isn’t something you want, especially when people realise the funny smell is coming from you and they resort to staring at you with disgust.

The incident got me thinking, first on how some people walk without watching their step and secondly, how people apply the same mentality to their money. While leaving dog mess on footpaths is an irresponsible thing to do, it is your responsibility to be careful of your steps making sure you don’t step on one, just as it is in your interest to watch your money steps.

It is easy to assign blame for your misfortune on others, but doing so doesn’t solve any problems. What is important is to take control of your situation by thinking ahead and taking the right steps that would ensure your financial health is intact.

Making Money - Do not get it Twisted

“If you think life is all about making money then you are wrong”

There is more to life than just making money. First off is who you are and what you stand for, after comes good health, family, friends, and your contribution to the world.

Money you can see comes miles behind because it is nothing but a tool, used in exchange for what you want. Making money matters as long as you understand its place and this is where most get it wrong.

Money for many people becomes troublesome because it is used as a commodity. They regard money as having a value of its own unrelated to its use as a means of exchange. Although money is the obvious desire, it is usually not the final goal.

In short, money is a catalyst. It is important because it serves to bring equilibrium into your live. Through the tools it buys and the freedoms that it offers, money offers you the profound opportunity to discover your hidden talents, to realise your inner potentials, and to achieve your personal goals.

Making money however, is not a matter of survival or life and death rather it is about increasing the quality of your live, relationships - the true purpose of money. It is your duty to understand money - how to ethically make it, keep it and share it. But what matters first off is how you feel about yourself, what you are doing, and your relationships with family, friends and community.

Consider for a minute that it will all end at some point. The money, car, house and fancy gadgets you have would be gone forever. What will matter when you depart this world will not be what you had, but what you were. You will be remembered for what you gave - your time, love; what values you taught those who were around you; who you encouraged; what you did for others with your money.

Understand that making money, on its own is nothing. Yes, money will buy you many things. But will it make your life meaningful? Being successful is not just about having money, but also about having a loving family, spending time with loved ones, helping others and getting more out of life.

Single Payment or A Multiple One?

Imagine the advantage that comes with repeated payments for your work. You carry out a task once but you are paid for it not once but three times and more. A good way to make money don’t you think.

Take a photojournalist as an example, he (she) takes a photo once but receives payment for the photo repeatedly by newspapers and magazines who want to use the photo in their publication. The rewards, you will agree exceed the work involved in getting the photo.

Consider how a teacher, nurse or salaried employees make their money. A typical nurse would work fifty hours a week and only be paid once for the hours worked. Not a good idea is it, any time not spent working means time not earning money.

Now think about the two scenarios. Who do you think has the potential to make more money? The photojournalist earns money repeatedly but also more important has time, time to take more photos, do more and earn more. Our nurse on the other hand is stuck on one pay cheque and no time.

If you are earning your money only once, you still have time to change, to start receiving multiple payments for a single effort. All you need to do is think about how to make money by making good use of your time.

You can learn from a friend who saved and borrowed money to buy two refrigerated vans, which he has now rented out to a company. He will be recouping his money in four months and from then on, it’s all profit minus the expense of servicing the vans. While he is going about daily life, his vans are busy working and earning him money. In addition, he still has time to investigate more ways of making money.

Making money, is about how you think, making good use of your time and the money already in your control. Get your thinking straight to join the small group of people who receive multiple payments for a single effort.

What is the likelihood of you having all you want?

The only way to make money - by thinking

The last time I checked, the odds of winning the UK National Lottery jackpot was 1 in 14 million, and for £100,000, the odds were about 1 in 2,330,630.

What if I told you the odds of you being successful – financial, emotional, spiritual – are in your favour would you believe me?

Well, they are, the odds are on your side and have always been. The question is, are you willing to think and act, commit yourself to doing what most people don’t and will never do.

Consider the construction of a house. Anyone planning to build a house follows a construction process and builds the house using an established system. They start with a plan of the house, then move on to the main construction phases, which include digging a foundation, constructing the floor, walls and finally the roof. They follow a method to achieve their dream

The same is true of your goals; you need to follow an established process. Take the making of money for example, how do you make money? How are people making money?

Start from the end - work back if you will. Trace your intended result back to find out what causes it. What you will learn is the process you will need to go through to achieve what you want. Copy the process and you will get the same result every time.

You and I live in a world ruled by laws, of which one is the law of cause and effect, meaning everything happens for a reason. We sow what we reap and get set results by doing things in a certain way.

In short, everything depends on you taking the steps proven to lead you to your desired goal. The simple act of thinking, drawing up a plan of action and sticking to it is all it takes to make money. Those who do such things become wealthy, whether they achieve that end intentionally or by accident.

If you really want to make money, you have only to set your mind on it, and follow a proven method, as you would do when building a house and realising your aim will be definite. Much better than playing the lottery don’t you think?

What would you do with £100,000?

If I gave you hundred grand, what would you with it? Will you save it, use it to buy your dream car and home, or think of ways to grow it?

Have you ever thought of those who have money being astute about money? You would be wrong to think so; managing money is tricky for both the well to do and those who have none.

We were in a coffee shop catching up on life when my friend asked me what I would do if I had £100, 000. I asked him if he had the said amount and wanted advice on what to do with money, but he would not yield until I answered his question.

After telling him what I would do with the money, he then told me what he would and that a friend of his had such an amount sitting in the bank, doing nothing. He also told me the money had been in the bank for sometime and his friend did not have an idea what to do.

The rest of the afternoon was spent talking about different things one could do with a hundred grand. We also moaned at how absurd it was to have such a large sum of money and not use it wisely. One of the things we agreed was how uneconomical it was to have money sitting in the bank doing nothing - and especially in a basic saving account.

The twist of it all was that his friend was working for a bank. Not only do you think someone who worked in a bank to know how to manage money, you would also expect his employers to advice him on the best home for his money.

Our friend was busy working and making money for others, neglecting making money for himself. If only he knew all he had to do was, think of how to manage and grow his money, then he would not have to work long hours.

As we walked home, we concluded that making and managing money was something to be learnt, and the sheer having of money did not mean one was financially shrewd. We also agreed our money should be working as hard as we were. As we made our way, we shook hands to not wasting money.

C C coming to Greenwich

Congestion charging is on its way to Greenwich as shown by proposals drawn up by the Local Council and Transport for London.

The proposed scheme will see drivers charged £2 per trip through the Blackwall Tunnel, and £6 to drive into central Greenwich, an area covering the Cutty Sark and the Greenwich Observatory.

Should the scheme by approved - which is almost certain - drivers will end up paying a hefty £16 a day should their journey take them through central Greenwich and central London.

We were told a few years back when congestion charging first started that it was only going to be in central London. However, 5 years later, and already, the central London scheme is being extended and the charge increased, and in addition, now being implemented in a new area.

You should not be surprised if other local authorities start imposing a charge for driving through their own central zones. Imagine having to pay £60 a day to drive from one part of London to the other, a real threat if you ask me.

It is fair to say governments’- central and local - cannot help dipping their hands in your pocket, albeit secretly. And it seems you will have to think up more ways of making money as quickly as they think of ways of taking it from you.

Making Money – What Your Friends Have to do With It

Think your friends have nothing to do with making money. Think again…

The type of friends you keep and how they think could be restraining your potential. If making money is your thing, then you should be spending your time with friends who are doing so and amongst other things energetic about life.

Do you have friends who just seem to get you down talking about how life is difficult and unfair? Friends, who within five minutes of being in your company drain the life out of you with their way of thinking and attitude to life. Compare that to friends who have the opposite effect, who make you feel so good, you always want to be around them.

Am sure you have both type of friends, we all do. The problem is not in having these energy zapping friends, but rather in understanding them and knowing where they fit in your life. What I have found over the years is that they are this way because of their experiences and until their thinking is changed, their attitude will remain the same.

I was with one such friend the other day. Our time together filled with nothing but negativity. He was also a salaried employee, so unlike other friends who ran their own businesses and were excited about their business, making money, making a difference, he had nothing to talk about except not having enough money, wanting a better job and so on. I found I could not share ideas with him, while I was interested in talking about possibilities he was concerned with life’s difficulty.

You don’t recognise how much effect his or her attitude has until you find yourself within a short period of parting meeting another friend, one who is more encouraging, and on a mission to better his or her self. Their company makes you feel re-energised and determined to take on the world. And where you have the same aspirations you find that seeing what is possible becomes easier.

The point is you have some friends who are not on the same path as you, and in most cases impede and wear you down with their inability to deal with life. Their thinking is not as yours and for this reason, they cannot help you because they do not see what you see.

Do you stop being friends with these energy zapping and life is hard people? No, not at all, I am still friends with mine, and so should you. What you could do is limit your time with them, and if required only meet in a social setting. However, as you reduce your exposure to this group of friends, you should also be spending more time meeting with people who have the same goals as you, people who are busy doing something about their life.

Making Money and Your Emotions

Here is one reality show that has not made headline news but one I think we could learn from. Enjoy! …

Letting your emotions get in the way could affect your thinking and limit your ability to focus on making money.

I saw a programme “Did They Pay off Their Mortgage in 2 Years?” a few days ago. It was the follow up to a programme that two years ago challenged people to loose their debts by paying their mortgage off in just 2 years.

Presented by businessman René Carayol, participants had to make extreme changes to their lifestyles if they were to achieve the dream of owning their property debt free. The episode in question featured the Drakes, a young couple who had all the desire and focus needed to reach their mission.

Steph Drake, an animal lover started out by setting up a dog walking business, which with the help of a friend soon started making money. Thinking cap on, she also came up with a natural extension to her current business, to sell animal products through a website. Her husband, Neil on the other hand went for investing in a building site in Bulgaria.

The Drakes’, though progressing were soon faced with loss of focus, productivity, and the will power to carry on. They had found themselves getting emotional, and when emotions set in, what happens, you quickly lose sight of what needs doing.

You see emotion – the wrong type - is the number one saboteur of getting things done. When you get emotional, you become tired and fearful. All things negative start flowing into your head and before long, you give up on your mission. Emotion, when used incorrectly drains you of the energy required to do things.

Just as the Drakes’ whose problems started when their emotions got in the way, you will find the reason you are not doing what you need to do is because you are allowing your emotions to affect your thinking. I know from personal experience the plans that have crashed are those were I have let my emotions blur my thinking.

The next time you find yourself slowing down, losing the will to continue, check out your emotions. Making money - or whatever your ambition - is about being energetic, focused and thinking clearly. If emotions are involved, they should be those that spur you towards your goal, not drain you of vital energy.

Remember, you make money by thinking, and you can start here

Dedication – Lesson from the Football Field

Lets be honest making money by thinking involves dedication

Have you ever complained about people who have more money than you do? You might like to know that their dedication got them to where they are, and you too could be in the money, if you are devoted.

I had gone to visit my sister and her family over the weekend, spend some time with my nephews and catch up on life in general with the family. The boys were glad to see me as much as I was glad to see them, they spent the whole of Friday showing me what they had done in school and so on.

It was now Sunday, a cold and windy one too, and it was about 8:30 in the morning when my sister woke me up. She asked if I wanted to follow her to a football game one of my nephews had that morning. I said yes reluctantly, as I had planned to stay in bed longer and besides the weather was not that great.

Forty minutes later, we were on the sports ground, it was full of people old and young, players and spectators. The under seven’s of which my nephew was one were now warming up on their area of the field waiting for the referee to start the game.

The game started on the referee’s whistle and before long, you could see parents running along the sidelines, shouting and cheering their kids on. You would be alarmed at how serious some parents take their kids participation in football. A good number of them wanted their children to be the next Beckham or Henry, and you could see it from the pressure placed on the kids, coach and referee.

The only goal of the game was scored just before the half time by the opposing team, staying the same in the second half until the end. The boys’ maturity fascinated me because they handled the loss well. The only person with a tear was the keeper who had sprained an ankle.

As we drove home, I thought of the dedication involved in becoming successful in what you chose to be or do. I wondered how my nephew coped waking up early nearly every weekend training on Saturdays and playing matches on Sundays. Playing football was only meant to keep he active and fit, but then I thought if he is this dedicated, he could become a good footballer and probably play professionally for Arsenal (if only) if he so wished.

My thoughts also went to people who moan about others having more money than they do. Only two weeks ago, we were subjected to outbursts about David Beckham signing a £128m contract. However, no remark was made of his dedication, time spent training and playing football from a young age, while other kids of the same age were busy watching TV. You will find the same is true for all successful people; they are single minded and busy working on creating the life they want, not spending a single minute moaning.

Before you moan about another’s achievements, think of what they must have invested to get to where they are, and how you too could be successful by being committed to your goals and dreams.

Want to be Successful - Try, Fail, and Then Recognise the Pattern

Making money by “thinking” is easy making money on its own is not

Have you tried and failed at anything lately? You will need to, and identify why you failed if you want to be successful.

I met up with a friend a couple of days ago, we hadn’t seen each other for sometime and we were eager to catch up on how the other was doing. We talked about everything, family, making money, running a business and life in general.

One of the things that came up during our chat was what I term “Pattern Recognition” -- the act of taking in raw data and taking action based on the category of the data. For you a simple definition would be the ability to identify patterns from personal experience.

Why did this come up in our discussion? Well, Bob runs his business, and is now enjoying seeing it do well. But it hasn’t always been like that, he had tried various businesses, all of which failed and especially in the early stages.

However his perseverance kept him going, working on finding a process that worked. He had his mind set on taking control of his life and he wasn’t going to give up on accomplishing his dream. Bob now has a successful business and he plans to grow it using what he has learnt.

Ask yourself why he did not stop at the second or third attempt. My guess is most of us would probably have stopped trying after the first attempt. For many it doesn’t make sense to keep on failing, so we stop, not knowing victory is just around the corner.

Here lies the difference between successful people and those who never seem to achieve anything. They realise failing most often depends on the systems or processes that people employ, and not on the people themselves. In other words, people don’t fail, systems fail, and so in order to be successful, you must closely examine your approach to this goal.

Common among the most successful is this ability to recognise patterns of failure, while understanding that failure remains only a variation of success. This small group of individuals recognise the value of persistence in finding the right combination or formula in order to achieve what they want.

You could say that success - material, emotional, spiritual - in life depends on your ability:

• to welcome failure and learn from it

• to make good, effective decisions based on previous experiences

• to be persistent.

By consciously identifying your patterns of success and failure, you can become a master at building an effective system of personal growth. However, you will have to start by trying and if you fail, know why you failed, then try again.

Footballer and Business Man Signs Lucrative Deal

David Beckham, the former England Captain is leaving Real Madrid for Los Angeles Galaxy, after signing a five-year deal worth $250m (£128m). His annual salary is estimated at $55 (£28m) when you include his sponsorship contracts, merchandising sales and so on, not a bad sum for kicking a ball.

The news of the deal has lead to an outcry from all quarters, on how ridiculous the deal is and that David signed the deal for the money. I think it is unfortunate that he insists not signing the deal for the money, because it some how infers that he has done wrong. My concern is for the idea that earning a boatload of money is wrong, especially when someone was able, willing and happy to pay.

Which leads me to ask the question, what is wrong with negotiating the best deal possible in exchange for your services? I find it is interesting that people would not admit to wishing they could broker such a deal for themselves, rather they pick at others for making and having so much money. They also seem to forget that situations as these are nothing but business deals, where the parties involved look after each other’s interest.

“Golden Balls” - as he the British tabloid call him – should be seen as a business man who understands the value placed on his talents, be it on the football field or on advertising boards. He is in effect doing what you should be doing, providing a valuable service and looking after your interests.

You, like David, are a business, the sooner you understand that the sooner you will start earning the type of money others dream of but cannot have. Businesses provide goods and or services; they also understand their value to the community, which is expressed in monetary terms.

A number of the people earning the type of money David earns got there by being good businessmen and women, and being the best person possible in their respective fields. I would suggest you do the same, if you would like to have the amount of money you wish for yourself. Instead of looking at these people enviously, look at them as a motivational tool.

How much money can you save?

Make money by thinking and accounting for your cash flow

How much money can you save? A good question, but one you can answer only after giving your finances an overhaul.

According to moneysupermarket.com, the average family could save £5,000 simply by shopping around for the best financial deals. In addition, you could save more by spending wisely on day-to-day items.

However, to realise this saving involves knowing where you are with your finances, being able to implement a budget and balance your account. You need to know how much money is coming in and what is going out on expenses and, liabilities (credit cards, store cards and so on).

Your first task as you go about saving yourself £5000 is to collect all most recent bills and statements. The next thing is to grab a pen and note pad, or open the spreadsheet programme on your pc, or even better, go online to sites like this one from the BBC.

A quick look at your income statement and cash flow should show you how your numbers stack up. These numbers reveal the facts behind the state of your financial well-being, while the facts tell a story on what you have been up to with your money.

Now that you have sorted out your budget, and are aware of your cash flow, you can go back online to compare the financial deals available so you can start saving. There are many websites dedicated to finding the best deals, whether they are for savings accounts, mortgages, credit cards, telephone bills or car insurance. You can start by checking out moneysupermarket.com.

Finally, pick up the phone to negotiate a better deal with your bank(s). Start by telling them you plan to leave because you can get a better deal elsewhere, you will be able to negotiate better that way. I remember lowering my mortgage using this strategy two years ago. Two good reasons for speaking to your bank(s) first is the time you save, and second, the paperwork avoided.

With all things in life, you have to start with where you are. You cannot increase the money in your life if you can’t account for where your money flows.

Credit Card Debt

The following video clips emphasise why it is critical you improve your financial literacy, if you don’t want to be vulnerable to financial losses from unscrupulous business practices.

Although the reports feature American banks, UK credit card companies are applying the same tactics.

Enjoy!

Ignore at your peril: Part 2

What is the current interest rate? A good question and one you should be able to answer. You see, there are certain things you should not ignore, regardless of how boring they are to you. One such thing is the state of economic affairs of the country where you live and work.

For your information, the Bank of England increased the interest rate to 5.25% today. My worry however is not for today’s interest rate, but for that of the future. Why worry about the future? Following Miyamoto Musashi’s advice, you need to see distant things as if they were close and take a distant view of close things.

I read the other day about the UK’s tax burden growing to about 42% of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) over the next 50 years. In other words, you and I will be paying a lot of tax, which in turn means goods, and services will continue to be expensive.

The findings of this report produced by the treasury should not be a shock. After all, the congestion charge was brought in a few years ago at £5 and we are already being asked to pay £8. My guess, the fee will be increased and extended again within the next 5 years.

The fact is we are in for a life of tax increases and you cannot and should not ignore it; rather you should be thinking and doing something. How old will you be in 30 years? I will be just over 60 years old and will hope to have made, saved and invested enough money to look after my family and me. The last thing you want at that age is to be broke and a burden to your family and society.

If taxes are going to increase at such an alarming rate, then you should be asking yourself, would my money grow at the same rate or more. It will have to, if you are to live comfortably in the future, but it can’t if you are doing nothing about it. There are a number of things you need to do, and I will mention three here.

1. Understand how the state of affairs of the economy affects every area of your life.

2. Have a good idea of the state of affairs of your money.

3. Find ways to increase your money.

Paying attention to all things money should be a priority, because like it or not, it affects every area of your life.

A Big Salary: Do you qualify for one?

If you think making more money is difficult, think again. Hint: Think!

Have you heard a friend grumble to you about their measly salary lately? Maybe its you doing the complaining. You will need to think and do something to qualify for a big salary, if that is what you want and provided you have the ambition.

A friend, lets call him Alex, had a job as a teacher in a good school. He enjoyed his job, and was a star with his students and other teachers in the school. Although the job gave him loads of satisfaction - seeing his student's flourish, learn, pass exams - he was not happy with his pay packet.

Not having enough money at the end of each month was a problem. It was nice having a good job and one he enjoyed but that wasn't going to pay the bills and put food on the table. He wanted a big salary, but he understood that his job did not carry a big salary. Unless he became a head teacher and that clearly would take time, besides his worry was for the present moment, not sometime in the future.

Realising his job did not carry a big salary, and in need of one, he made the decision to change jobs. The decision was a big one, but one he had to take although he knew he was going to miss being a teacher. The lack of money was making him unhappy and was soon going to affect his teaching.

To get a big salary, he had to think and lot into jobs with big salaries, and in an industry he would enjoy. Before long, he was reading, taking courses and exams so he could enter his chosen industry. Alex is now working in a job with a big salary, and he is enjoying it too. He also plans to return to teaching later on, when he won't have to worry about the money.

You have a choice and the ability to determine how you want your life to be. You can decide to make more money or settle for less. You can't get a big salary working in a job that does not pay a big salary. You can't settle for being the office clerk and expect to be paid the salary of an manager. You will have to think and act if you want to make more money.