Stop Wasting Your Life

& Do Something

How To Live A Life Filled With Happiness, Health, Wealth, and Inner Peace
 First published in Great Britain in 2013 by OneHourTo.com

Copyright © 2013 by Simon Smith

The moral right of the author has been asserted

All Rights Reserved

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior permission in writing of
the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover, other
than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this
condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

www.OneHourTo.com
Contents
Introduction

You Can Change Your Life Whenever You Want To!

Paradigm Shifts
Mentors
Habits
Self Discipline
What Will You Accept For Your Life?

Section 1

Happiness

Relationships
Mental Strength
Decision Making
Knowledge & Choices
Curiosity
Self Growth – Development & Learning

Section 2

Health

Food Choices
Habits
Exercise
Healthy Thinking
Healthy Associations
Controlling Your Desires & Impulses
Saving & Investing
Section 3

Wealth

Money
Habits
Strategy
Building Your Cash Flow
Asset Allocation
Saving & Investing
Pensions
Insurance
Time
Wills
Multiple Sources Of Income
Reading – Find The Solutions

Section 4

Inner Peace

Inner Peace
Expectations
Do What You Love – Find A Passion
Search For The Answers – Books
Have Fun
Contribution
Master The Only Thing You Can – Yourself

Other Titles By Simon Smith

Send Us Your Thoughts

Introduction

When I was 23 years old, somebody recommended a book to me. That book was
“7 Strategies For Wealth & Happiness” By Jim Rohn.

Up until this point in my life, most people I knew (including myself) were
programmed to live life in the following way:

Go to school
Mess about at school
Leave school
Get a job that you don’t really like
Mess about at work
Earn a lot less money than you potentially could
Get drunk at the weekend
Repeat the above for 40-50 years
Retire broke
Die

Luckily for me, I listened to, and took action on that recommendation, and I
ordered the book on Amazon (I’d never heard of Amazon at the time either; the
person that recommended the book, recommended that I buy the book on
Amazon as well). That book changed my life.

I used to live in a garden shed, I used to drink alcohol all the time (almost every
night), and I used to be a very angry, frustrated, confused, and negative young
man.

Reading that book awakened in me an insatiable curiosity to discover what made

people tick, what made people successful, what made people happy, what made
people wealthy, and what made people enjoy their life. Until I’d read that book, I
didn’t actually realise that you could study these things, and by making different
choices, you could CREATE a different life.

Jim Rohn’s book showed me a new way to live.

“You mean that I don’t actually have to live like this? I can change myself, and
my circumstances will change?”

Looking back on those days, it is pretty amazing to me that I’d never thought
about these things myself. I knew people could be happy, but not me? I knew
people could become wealthy, but not me? I knew people could drive cars that
weren’t 15 years old, falling apart, and had no TAX because they couldn’t afford
it, but not me?

Since that first enlightening book, over the last fifteen years or so, I’ve probably
read over 300 books on self-development. These books have ranged from books
on building wealth, NLP, Taoism, communication skills, business skills, sales
skills, management, motivation, philosophy, spirituality and many others that
aren’t springing to mind right now.

The person I am today is a totally different character to the angry young lad of
15 years ago. I’m now happy, and have inner peace. My income is more than
comfortable, and I pretty much have zero worries. Whilst life will always throw
something at you that you neither expect, nor want, you can learn strategies to
deal with these curve balls, and continue moving ahead with joy in your step.

In essence, what I’m hoping for is that this book will do the same for somebody
else, and if more than one person is able to improve their life because of this
book, it would make me very happy indeed. I hope it will open the floodgates to
learning, self-discipline, curiosity, hope, determination, and peacefulness.

I will say however, that I’m fully aware that not everybody will agree with what
I’m writing. This is fine. If you enjoy some parts, and they make you think
differently, but discard other parts, that’s the beauty of people. We’re all
different. I might not even agree with some of the things in here in ten years time
myself!!

I hope you enjoy the book as much as I’m about to enjoy writing it!

Simon Smith

January 2013
Chapter 1

You Can Change Your Life Whenever You Want To!

Right then, first things first. I have something to tell you that is very important.
Here it is.

You can change your life whenever you want to!

Did you know that?

You can stop smoking whenever you want to

You can start exercising whenever you want to
You can stop eating fatty junk food whenever you want to
You can move to a different town whenever you want to
You can change jobs whenever you want to
You can quit taking abuse from people whenever you want to
You can start building your fortune whenever you want to
You can start your own business whenever you want to
You can start building your library and educating yourself whenever you want to
You can start building a better marriage whenever you want to
You can start having more fun with your kids whenever you want to
You can start making better decisions whenever you want to

You don’t have to live tomorrow like you lived yesterday. If you’re fed up, and
sick and tired, you can do something about it right now. Literally right now. You
don’t have to wait.

When you actually realise this, it will change your life. All you have to do is say
to yourself (and mean it) “I’m going to change my life!!” and then take some
action.

When you do this, and you mean it, your whole world can change. You don’t
have to be negative any more. You don’t have to face the future with dread any
more. You can take charge and take action, and your life will never be the same
again.
Let’s say you’ve gotten out of shape. You’ve been eating badly, you’ve not
exercised in years, and you smoke. Within the next 3 minutes, you can throw
your cigarettes in the bin, throw out your junk food and go for a brisk walk or a
jog. You CAN do this. The only question is WILL YOU?

Only you know.

Only you can decide.

All I’m doing is giving you a choice. You can choose to continue on the same
path as you always have, or you can do something different. It doesn’t have to be
drastic or painful. You can start off small. You can start off by walking 50 yards
and completing 5 push-ups. That’s enough.

If you’ve squandered your wages for the last ten years, you don’t have to do that
any more. You can do more sensible things with your money. What happens
when you do more sensible things with your money? Your financial situation
changes. How soon? Immediately.

You CAN do this. The only question is WILL YOU?

Only you know.

Only you can decide.

Why did you buy this book? I’m assuming it’s because you want to change or
improve something in your life. You CAN do this. The only question is WILL
YOU?

Only you know.

Only you can decide.

Einstein once said that the definition of insanity was “Doing the same thing over
and over again, and expecting different results”. He was pretty smart, so we
should probably listen to him!!

I think I’ve made my point here but I’m going to say it one more time.
You can change your life whenever you want to!
Chapter 2

Paradigm Shifts

Think of a paradigm shift as changing your thinking from one way to another.
This can happen in an instant.

Imagine you’re a waiter at an exclusive restaurant. A man walks in and he’s very
dirty and unshaven. He looks like a homeless person. As he walks in, he keeps
glancing behind his back as he enters. At this moment, you could be thinking
many different things.

“I’m not letting this guy sit down, he won’t be able to pay”
“Poor guy looks like he needs a good meal. I’ll get him some soup”
“He looks just like my old science teacher”

Then when you approach him, he tells you in a very posh accent that he’s just
escaped from kidnappers. He needs to use your phone immediately to call the
police. He then tells you his name, which you immediately recognise as a
recently abducted billionaire.

Now you see the situation very differently from what you did literally a few
seconds ago.

A paradigm shift is sometimes what we need in order to make improvements in

our lives. We are so accustomed to doing things the way we do them, that we
often never question whether or not we are doing the right thing. If somebody
told you that within one year you could turn your annual income into a monthly
income, would you believe them? Well people have done it.

If somebody told you that within one year you could regain your health, and be
fit and strong, would you believe it? Well people have done it.

More often than not, the way we see the world is what causes the world to be the
way it is (in our own minds). As pretty much all of our experience is subjective,
the way you see the world will be slightly different from the way everyone else
sees the world. If it wasn’t, people would all agree on everything.

As soon as you change your paradigm, your world will change. I know. I’ve
done it. I used to see the world as a horrible place where everybody was out to
get one over on everyone else, and there was no good and no altruism in the
world. I now know (through my specially created paradigm) that the world is
actually amazing and that people are amazing. My entire beliefs about the world
are now totally different. Our outer world is also a reflection of our paradigm.

Here’s a little story I once heard Wayne Dyer tell:

An old man is walking along a beach when he bumps into a middle-aged lady
walking her dog. He says hello, and then starts talking about the dog and during
the conversation, he finds out that the lady has just moved to the town from
Chicago. He asks her what the people were like in Chicago and she says they
were all mean and only out for themselves. After a few more minutes, they bid
farewell to each other and walk off. A few minutes later, he crosses the path of
another lady walking her dog. A similar conversation starts, and he discovers
that she too has recently moved to the town from Chicago. He asks her what the
people are like in Chicago, and she replies that they were lovely, warm, kind-
hearted people. Again, they part company a few minutes later.

Three months later, the man is walking along the beach again when he bumps
into the first lady walking her dog. “How’s it going since you moved here?” He
asks. “Terrible!” she says. “The people in this town are awful. They’re
unfriendly, and all out for themselves. I wish I’d never left Chicago”. The same
day, he bumps into the second lady walking her dog again. He asks the same
question: “How’s it going since you moved here?”
“Wonderful” replies the lady. “The people are so friendly, warm, and kind-
hearted. We’re so glad we moved here”.

Now these two ladies both lived in the same town and whilst they may have
indeed met different people, the way they looked at the world is what made them
see the world in this way. One saw the world as positive and friendly, the other
saw the world as negative and unfriendly. No matter where they lived, they
would probably see the world in this way.

What paradigms are you carrying around with you? How do you see the world?
What paradigms do you need to change? Which ones would you like to change?
Do you need a paradigm shift with how you see your relationships? Your
finances? Your job? Your children? Your boss?

Here’s a paradigm shifter!

Nothing in the world is negative. Everything just IS. What you see as positive,
another could see as negative. What you see as negative, another could see as
positive.

Here’s another story to illustrate the point (I like stories):

A farmer has a prize stallion. He’s a wonderful horse that all the other farmers in
the area admire. One day the horse escapes. A neighbour, when hearing of the
horses escape tells the farmer what bad luck it is. The farmer replies, “Maybe,
maybe not. Who can say?”

A couple of days later, the horse returns with 3 wild mares. The neighbour this
time exclaims what great luck this is. The farmer again replies “Maybe, maybe
not. Who can say?”

The farmer’s son, who is trying to break one of the mares, is thrown from the
horse, and breaks his leg. The neighbour mentions to him what rotten luck this
is, and the farmer once again says “Maybe, maybe not. Who can say?”

Then the army comes through town, taking all of the able bodied males to war.
The farmer’s son cannot go because of his injury.

You never know whether something is going to be positive or negative in the

long run. Although this won’t actually shift your paradigm, this story in itself is
a paradigm shift. If you’ve always thought in terms of incidents being positive or
negative, this new way of thinking could change your paradigm so that at least
you realise that there is no such thing as a negative situation.

How do you change your paradigms?

Go and find someone that has an opposing paradigm to you, and speak to him or
her. Ask them what their paradigm is. Ask them what evidence they have that it’s
true. You don’t necessarily have to physically speak to them to find out how they
think; you may be able to read a book that has an opposite viewpoint to yours.
You may be able to watch a program on DVD or the TV. You may be able to
read their book, or go to a seminar. If you really HAD to find the different
paradigm, you could. You just need to go out and find it!

Is it possible for two people to have the same experience and see it in a totally
different way?

Yes.

Is it possible for two people to have a tragedy happen to them, and one use it
(not deliberately) to shut off from the world and live a life of sadness and
depression, and another to use it as a reason to open up to life and enjoy every
minute?

Your paradigms literally control everything about your life. Your health, your
relationships, your income, how you spend your time. If you want to change
your life, you need to change your paradigms.

How do you describe yourself? If you were to close your eyes and imagine
yourself, how would you look? This will tell you your paradigm about yourself.

How do you describe your partner? What WORDS do you habitually use to
describe him or her? If you chose different words, would you see them
differently?

How do you describe your job? How do you describe your boss? Is it possible
for two people to have the same job and describe it in opposite ways? Yes
absolutely. Some people are “Laying these damn bricks”, and some are
“Building the greatest cathedral the world has ever seen!”
Chapter 3

Mentors

Mentors can come in all shapes and sizes (that was mentors, not minotaur’s).

A mentor can be described as someone that imparts knowledge or wisdom to,

and shares knowledge with a colleague or friend.

Basically, it’s someone that gives you advice and helps you to develop yourself.

I have had many mentors. I can strongly suggest you get some good ones as they
can totally change your life for the better. Now this doesn’t mean you actually
have to go out and meet them, although if you can, this is a good idea! A mentor
could be an author of a book, a movie character, a famous businessperson, a
character from a book. It could be an archetypal figure from history that you
admire.

It could be a work colleague or boss. A successful friend, or someone you want

to emulate.

Mentors can help you in lots of different ways. They can inspire you, they can
motivate you, they can show you an easier path to tread, they can give you
courage when you feel like giving up, they can let you know when you’re
making mistakes, they can give you a hard time when you’re slacking, they can
pat you on the back when you’ve done well, they can teach you, they can
educate you, they can make you a better person.

Who do you admire? How can you learn from them? Who is in the public eye
that you can learn from? Who has made a lot of mistakes that you can learn from
in order to know what NOT to do? Who do you know or admire that just seems
to get it right all the time? What do they do?

There are so many excellent people in the world that you can learn from and
sometimes we just need one little nudge to get us back on track.
If you could change one area of your life, what would it be? I bet you could find
a mentor for that one area. I bet someone has had a similar experience to you,
and written a book about how they overcame the challenge.

Could you learn something from that book?

One of my favourite mentors was the American business and personal

development philosopher Jim Rohn. The things he said touched me and changed
me forever. Fortunately for me, a lot of his seminars and programs were
recorded onto cassette (I know some younger readers won’t know what this old
word means), CD, and now sit on my IPod as MP3 files. This means that every
time I’m in my car, I can listen to his words of wisdom.

As well as Jim, I have probably 150 other audio books that I listen to and I get
more every month. I subscribe to an audio-book membership website, where
every month I receive a new book of my choice. You can spend hundreds of
hours a year in your car, so why not use that time for your self-education, rather
than listen to the radio?
Chapter 4

Habits

As well as your paradigms, your life is also controlled by your habits. In some
ways, your paradigms create your habits, and your habits create your paradigms.

You have habits for pretty much everything you do. From how you brush your
teeth, to how you put your trousers on. From how you drive to work, to how you
make a cup of tea or coffee.

The part of your brain that controls your behaviour kicks in as soon as it spots a
habit approaching, and puts you on autopilot. Ever cleaned your teeth and
afterwards had no recollection of it? Ever driven to work and when you arrived
you can’t remember any part of your journey? That’s your habits running the
show!

The good thing about habits is that they allow you to concentrate on other things
whilst they do their work. The problem with this is that sometimes we have a
negative or destructive habit and we’re not even aware that we have it. Habits
such as smoking and drinking too much alcohol are the obvious ones, but there
are many other subtle habits that lead us away from a life of happiness that we
don’t even spot.

How many negative habits do you think you have? Here are a few that you can
check against to see if you need to change some of your habitual routines:

Spending more than you earn each month because you just have to have a certain
thing

Reacting aggressively or defensively to criticism

Going to bed too late

Eating the wrong foods

Not drinking enough water

Drinking too many fizzy drinks or coffee

Speaking negatively about yourself/your partner/your kids/your job

Watching too much TV

Spending too much time surfing the web

Spending too much time playing video games

Not spending enough time with loved ones such as your partner or children, and
spending too much time on work

Slacking off at work because you can get away with it

Not saving or investing any of your money

Not exercising frequently

Making excuses for why you’re not doing as well as you’d like to be

Not taking care of your vehicles

You get the idea. There are a million bad habits we could pick up and not even
notice. The question is; are you going to transform your negative habits into
positive ones? If you do, your life will change dramatically. If you don’t, it will
stay the same.

As well as eliminating negative habits, you can also start to cultivate new,
positive habits. Once these positive behaviours actually become habits, your life
will move forward on autopilot. Think of your habits as a cup of water. The
negative habits would be brown, dirty water, and the positive habits would be
clean, clear water. If you keep pouring clean, clear water into a cup of dirty
brown water, what happens? The dirty brown water filters out, and you end up
with clean, clear water. The same can happen for your life. If you keep pouring
in positive, healthy habits, and erase your negative, unhealthy habits (and I mean
unhealthy in all ways, not just in the domain of health), then your life becomes
better, clearer, and cleaner!
Chapter 5

Self-Discipline

How do you set up new habits and erase the old? Self-discipline

How do you go out and change your paradigms? Self-discipline

Self-discipline (according to Jim Rohn) is the bridge between thought and

accomplishment, and I think that’s probably the best definition I’ve ever heard.
It’s great to have some new ideas, and get motivated, but then you have to have
the self-discipline to actually take action and do it. This is the part that often,
people don’t have. The reason most people’s new years resolutions don’t happen
is a lack of self-discipline.

If someone said to you that they would give you ten thousand pounds/dollars at
the end of the year, and all you had to do was two things. Eat an apple, and
complete 20 push-ups every single day for the whole year; do you think you
could do it? If you miss one single day you don’t get the money. Most people
would say that yes, they would do it, but the reality is that most people wouldn’t
be able to maintain the discipline. It’s easy to forget to do something small. You
can’t eat two apples on the following day and complete 40 push-ups. You’ve
missed it.

The other thing with habits and self-discipline is that you don’t have to start big
to make a big difference. You could start one very small discipline, which in turn
becomes a habit, and this could lead to much greater things.

If you started a new financial habit by just putting away £20/$20 per month, this
would inspire you to see if you could put away even more money. You’d watch
the numbers grow and get motivated. This could then lead to getting a better
paid job, or starting a small business to make more money.

If for your health, you started walking round the block three times a week, this
may motivate you to start jogging. This could then lead to a total change in your
fitness and health. You may stop eating fatty and sugary foods, and as your body
changes in line with your new disciplines, you get even more motivated and set
more fitness goals.

You never know where your positive changes will take you. Unfortunately,
neglecting to do your disciplines has the same compounding effect; only the
outcomes will be negative. If you DON’T implement the positive changes,
things can only get worse. Rarely do things stay static. One thing I always keep
in mind is something I heard many years ago, but can’t remember where I heard
it. Here it is:

You’re either climbing, or you’re sliding.

If you’re making the positive changes, and implementing the disciplines you will
find your life is climbing. It’s getting better.

If you neglect to do them, you will find yourself sliding and things will get
worse.

Rarely do people remain exactly the same weight for their whole life. Normally,
you’ll fluctuate between gaining weight and losing weight. You’re either
climbing or you’re sliding.

Rarely does a financial situation remain static. You’re either increasing your
wealth, or getting further behind. You’re either climbing, or you’re sliding.

Rarely do people’s relationships stay static. You’re either improving it, or it’s
deteriorating. You’re either climbing or you’re sliding.

Rarely does a person’s health stay the same forever, even if the changes are very
subtle. You’re either getting healthier, or you’re getting sicker. You’re either
climbing or you’re sliding.

The only difference between whether you’re climbing or sliding is what you DO.
This comes down to your habits, but in order to form the habit and hard wire it
into your brain, you need to have the self-discipline to start it and then carry it on
until it’s a habit.

If you could just start one very small habit this week, what would it be? What
one area would you like to improve just the smallest bit?
If you could just take one action, and do it often, and make it consistent, what
would you do?

Here’s another thing about discipline. Every positive discipline has an impact on
every other discipline. Think of discipline like a muscle. The more you use your
self-discipline, the stronger it gets in ALL areas.

To become stronger in your arms you must exercise your arms. To become
stronger in discipline, you must exercise your discipline. The only way to
BECOME disciplined is to actually do the things you know you should. You
cannot become disciplined by thinking about doing things. You can only do it by
actually taking actions, and taking them consistently.

You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do! – Henry Ford
Chapter 6

What Will You Accept For Your Life?

What do you want for your life? I mean what do you REALLY want?

What will you accept? Will you accept mediocrity? Will you only accept
excellence? Will you accept people pushing you around? Will you accept a life
of being less than what you want?

I have friends that are very intelligent. They are smart. Yet they have been stuck
in the same job for 30 years and they hate it. They are always telling me that
they want to change their job, and their life, but they won’t do it.

They tell me they are unhappy, but they don’t do anything about it.

This upsets me because what I want for myself, I want for everyone. I want
everyone to walk the path of self-actualisation and self growth. I want everyone
to be happy.

This doesn’t mean that I want them to be happy in the same way that I achieve
happiness as everyone is different, but I want them to be happy. It also frustrates
me when people won’t take the actions that THEY know will improve their
lives.

The problem is that there are MILLIONS of people like that in the world. They
WANT a better life, but not if it means they have to actually make it better
themselves. Some are scared of change. Some are too cynical to change. Some
believe they cannot change.

None of these things would hold you back if you had decided that you would no
longer accept a life that you do not enjoy. That is all you have to do. Decide. I
will no longer accept (fill in the blanks)…………. In my life.

When you get to the end of this book, I’d like you to come back to this chapter
and make a list of the things you will no longer accept in your life. These could
be small things such as never accepting an untidy car again, or they could be big
things such as never accepting alcohol in your body again.

When you actually decide, write them down and commit to them. Make them
public to give them strength, and see your life change.
Section 1

Happiness
Chapter 7

Relationships

If your relationships are good and they’re strong, then you are more likely to be
happy than if your relationships are strained and full of stress and tension.

This is obvious, but what a lot of people don’t realise is that they are 100%
responsible for their relationships.

Most people would assume that if they were relating to one other person, then
they would both be 50% responsible for the relationship. This is inaccurate, and
I’ll repeat it: You are both 100% responsible for your relationships.

How come you ask?

Let’s say that I am in a relationship with you. I am 100% responsible for how I
treat you. I am 100% responsible for how kind I am, how loving I am, how
present I am in your company. I am also 100% responsible for how I respond to
you.

Likewise, you are 100% responsible for how you treat me, how kind you are to
me, and how you communicate with me.

If you say something to me that I don’t like I have 100% responsibility for
whether I get mad, or respond in a healthy way. However, as you are 100%
responsible for how you treat me, you can have a positive or negative effect on
me by how you treat me and how you communicate with me.

The words we use.

When we relate to others, we need to choose our words very carefully. The
actual words we use have a massive impact on the response we are likely to
receive. For example:

If I say to you “What’s wrong with you?” that sounds very different to “What’s
troubling you?” or “What’s on your mind?”

Although I MEANT the same thing with each question, the interpretation of it
could be very different.

Think about the last time you had an argument with a significant person in your
life. Can you remember the words you used? Can you remember the words they
used?

Could you have used different words but got your point across nevertheless?

Sometimes we need to pause before we speak.

Don’t say things that are hurtful just to try and win an argument. It’s better to be
happy than to be right. If you use personal, critical, hurtful words when
communicating with important people in your life, don’t be surprised if those
relationships break down.

Time for another story.

A young man had a terrible argument with his wife and sorely regretted his
words. He said some terrible things, and brought up incidents that had long past
in order to win the argument. The next day, he went to a wise old man and
sought his advice.

The old man told him to go out, and get a sack full of feathers. The man did as
he was asked, and returned to the wise man the next day.

The sage told the man to go about town, and spread the feathers on the floor in
the streets and empty the sack of feathers. When this was done, he was to return
the next day.

The man returned the following day and sat opposite the wise man. The old
fellow told the man that he should now go out with his sack and collects all of
the feathers up. The young man said that this was impossible as they had blown
away all over the town and he would never be able to find them.

“Those feathers are just like your words. Once they have been scattered, they
can never be returned”. You need to be as careful with your words as you are
with your feathers.

Blame is another thing that can cause problems in relationships. If you’re always
blaming people for what they have done wrong then it makes them defensive,
and they will put barriers up. Likewise if someone you’re in a relationship with
is always blaming you, it will make you defensive. Instead, try to look at the
situation as it is, ask WHAT happened, not WHOSE fault is it. If someone is
always doing something that upsets you, you do need to tell him or her, but tell
them in a constructive way that won’t cause a problem between you both.

Here are my rules for a positive relationship:

One – Always listen to each other. I mean really listen. Not the “I’m just surfing
the web, so I’ll kind of grunt an answer” type listening.

Two – Try putting yourself in their shoes. What’s important to them? What are
they worried about or concerned about? What do they need help with?

Three – Make time for each other. You can’t have a relationship if you’re too
busy for each other.

Four – Set aside time with no distractions such as IPhones, laptops, and the TV.

Five – If you disagree, don’t let the disagreement turn into an argument. Try to
reach a compromise or agree to disagree without being disagreeable

Six – Have rules. If somebody breaks one of your rules, tell them in a
constructive way.

Seven – Make time for yourself. Don’t live in each other’s pockets 24/7 or you
may just drive each other mad.

Eight – Have fun. Doesn’t matter if your relationship is with your partner, your
kids, your friends, or your co-workers. Try to have fun and not take things too
seriously all of the time.

Nine – Avoid blame and don’t bring up the past. If you’re disagreeing, then just
disagree on the point in hand. Don’t bring up something that happened seven
months ago.
Ten – Think about the words you’re choosing. Pick your words carefully, and
pause before you speak if you have to.
Chapter 8

Mental Strength

"Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to
make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The
body will always give up. It is always tired in the morning, noon, and night. But
the body is never tired if the mind is not tired."
- George S. Patton, U.S. Army General, 1912 Olympian

A few days ago I was listening to the audio version of Thomas Stanley’s “Stop
Acting Rich”, and one of the things he mentions about how the wealthy became
wealthy was that nearly all of them had to overcome some form of adversity in
order to become successful.

Now I know we’re not talking about money yet, but this is very relevant to
happiness as well as finances so I’m going to discuss it now. Plus, it’s MY book
so I can talk about what I like!

In order to be happy or successful, you need to be able to overcome challenges.

If every little set back gets you down, then you will never get anywhere.

People that get handed everything on a plate don’t develop the mental strength,
tenacity, determination, persistence, or learn the skills and mindsets that are
required to overcome challenges.

Here’s a great saying that I think sums this up perfectly:

Good timber doesn’t come with ease. The stronger the wind, the stronger the
trees.

Some of you may have already learned this lesson in life. I learned it when I was
so broke I was eating stuffing mix, and gravy granules with hot water in a cup 5
nights a week. I was in a place where I had ZERO money. I had to learn pretty
quickly to go out and make it. I had to sell my stuff, I had to start a little
business, and I had to tighten my belt and stop spending money I didn’t have.
I had to work harder in my job to make more money, and learn some strategies to
handle the money I did actually make so that I didn’t lose it all again.

Whilst I was going through this stage (it lasted about 6 months) I hated every
minute of it, but now, looking back, I think it was probably the best thing that
could have happened to me (paradigm shifts sometimes take a while to gain
perspective).

If I hadn’t gone through that pain, I would have been happy to plod along
through life with no ambition and no desire to have a better life, but when you
get to the stage where you’re so fed up with how things are that you’ll do
ANYTHING you can to get past it, you learn some very valuable lessons.

Many people in the world have overcome massive challenges to succeed in their
personal lives, their health, their business, and their relationships. People such as
that will immediately know that this is true. When you’ve overcome a massive
obstacle in your life, you don’t see normal day-to-day challenges as being
difficult any more and you just get on with things.

So with this in mind, what can you do to develop mental strength?

Set yourself a series of increasingly difficult challenges. Start small and

gradually build it up. This will not only allow you to grow as a human being in
terms of skills and abilities, but the very act of doing this will improve your self-
esteem and self worth.

People that have the fewest worries are the people that know that they can deal
with challenges that come their way. That’s why they’re not worried.

Ok, back to setting yourself challenges.

Let’s assume that you want to set yourself an extreme challenge such as running
a marathon, but you’re unfit, overweight, and currently do no exercise.

Would you set yourself the challenge to run a marathon in a month’s time? I
certainly wouldn’t recommend it.

However, could you set the challenge to run a marathon in a year’s time? Yes.
You would now need to break down this challenge into a series of mini
challenges.

Walk your first mile

Jog your first mile

Jog your first 2 miles

Jog your first 3 miles

Etc…

Each one of these milestones will feel good. Each one will make you realise that
you can accomplish more than you thought you could.

Each one will force you to become better than you were before, and each one
will show you that you are the kind of person that can overcome difficult
challenges.

Let’s say you have a goal of having £100,000/$100,000 dollars in the bank, and
at the moment you have zero money saved.

Likewise, you wouldn’t set this goal for a month’s time and you will need to
exercise discipline and patience in order to achieve it. You’ll also have some
milestones to achieve along the way.

Save your first £10/$10

Save your first £100/$100

Save your first £1,000/$1,000

Each of these milestones again, will make you feel good and will make you
realise that you can be more disciplined and overcome challenges.

Have a fear that you’d like to conquer? Well set yourself the challenge of
overcoming it. There are so many techniques for overcoming fears these days
from NLP, Hypnosis, EFT, Journaling, and Therapy…

Why not set yourself the challenge of getting rid of your biggest fear. That will
take some courage, some discipline, and some sweat!! You’ll have to grow, and
how much happier would you be without that fear?

My guess is that you’d be a lot happier!

Chapter 9

Decision Making

Indecision can cause you stress. Often, when people are finding it difficult to
decide between two courses of action, it can send them into a state of panic, or
worry. Making a decision (cutting off the alternative course of action)
immediately helps. Sometimes we make the wrong decision, but this happens to
all of us and there are no guarantees in life unfortunately.

There are a lot of different models for the decision making process, but as with
most things in life, I like to break things down to their simplest form.

All of our decisions will come in two categories. Conscious decision making,
and unconscious decision making.

Conscious Vs Unconscious Decision Making

Conscious decision making is where we really think about the available options
and then decide. A good example here is when you are in a restaurant. You look
through the menu, and make a decision on what you’ll choose to eat by looking
at the different meals.

Your decision may be made up by a variety of contributing factors:

How hungry you are

How much money you have
How many calories each meal contains
Whether you have any special dietary requirements (e.g. vegetarian)
Whether you’ll be eating again later that day or not
Whether you’re a “Savoury Person” or a “Sweet Person”
Whether you’re eating alone or with company

Your brain takes all of this information and then you decide on what you are
going to eat.
Another example could be when purchasing a new car. You look at the make, the
model, the mileage, the economy of the car, and the price. You may look at the
colour, the interior, the accessories etc. You then decide which car to buy.

These are the type of decisions I would call our conscious decisions.

However, even though we’re making these decisions consciously, and we think
we’re making them rationally, based on logic, many of our decisions are actually
unconscious and emotional and have nothing to do with logic.

Our unconscious mind is much more powerful than our conscious mind, and will
normally override our conscious. For example, when choosing your meal, your
conscious mind KNOWS that you should have something light and healthy.
However, your unconscious mind wants something high-calorie, tasty, and not
too good for your waistline. This is why many people’s diets don’t work. They
aren’t making CONSCIOUS decisions and their unconscious is overriding their
conscious mind.

Even though this can seem quite annoying, especially when you’re trying to
work towards a goal, it’s a good job we do have the unconscious mind to make
decisions for us. If we didn’t, we’d have to make hundreds more conscious little
decisions every day.

Driving to work, you’d have to consciously decide every turning to make, rather
than letting your unconscious decide for you. When eating your dinner, you’d
have to consciously decide which piece of pie to cut up and eat first rather than
just eat your dinner.

How can you move from unconscious decision making to conscious decision
making?

Here are a few tips:

One – Pre-decide and commit

Let’s say you’re going to a restaurant, and you know that once you’re in the
restaurant and you’re smelling the food, and enjoying the atmosphere, you will
crumble and order the big tasty steak, with cheesy fries, and the cheesecake for
dessert. To avoid this, phone the restaurant before you leave and pre order. If you
can’t do this, decide what you’re going to have before you leave, write it down
and take it with you. DON’T deviate from it.

If you’re going shopping and you know you have a tendency to stack your
trolley with stuff you don’t need, then write a shopping list out and again
DON’T deviate. Follow it.

If you’re giving something up and you know you’re going to be in an

environment where you’ll struggle with your self-discipline, then picture in your
mind before you leave, how you will attack the unconscious urge in the moment.

Two – Take immediate action

If you’re looking to buy a new car (because your unconscious mind can just
imagine you behind the wheel, driving around town) but you know you don’t
actually NEED a new car, you just feel like you want a change, then your
conscious mind could be saying to you “Don’t get this car. You will have to buy
it on credit, and it will cost you a lot of money”. Your unconscious mind still
wants it however, so you may be fluctuating between buy it, don’t buy it, buy it,
and don’t buy it.

If this is happening then you need to take action during the “Don’t buy it” phase.
If you’ve been test-driving cars, phone the dealer straight away and tell them
you’ve changed your mind and will not be purchasing the car.

Once you’ve done this, you’ll breathe a sigh of relief, as you’ll know you’ve
made the right decision and just saved yourself a fortune.

Three – Weigh up the pro’s and con’s

If you’re having a job deciding on something and you don’t just want to leave
yourself open to your unconscious mind choosing for you, then take a blank
sheet of paper and draw a vertical line down the centre of the page. One the left
hand side, make a list of the pro’s, and on the right hand side, make a list of the
con’s. When you’ve done this, your decision may be obvious. If not, you can
score each of the pro’s and con’s out of ten. Score the pro’s for how positive they
are, and the con’s how negative they are.

You will then have a pro/con score which will help your decision.
Four – Pause your thinking

If you just stop thinking for a moment by focussing on your breathing, you will
find that your unconscious mind shuts up. This is a good opportunity for you to
take stock and make a decision from a place of calmness, rather than a place of
excitement or apprehension.

Does it feel right?

When you’ve made your decision, you should ask yourself the above question.
Does it feel right? If it doesn’t, then there may be flaw in your decision. If you
know that logically it is right, then it could just be your emotions taking over, but
I always listen to my gut when making important decisions. Your intuition is
often a good judge.

Indecisiveness can cause you to waste a lot of time. It can cause you to toss and
turn at night. It can cause you stress and it can send your head in a spin. Making
a decision causes you to move forward.
Chapter 10

Knowledge & Choices

One of the presuppositions of NLP is that it is better to have choice than not to
have choice.

Let’s say that you lose your job. Would it better to have no other job vacancies in
your area, or to have a lot of vacancies for you to choose from? The answer is
obvious.

If you were to find yourself in a difficult situation at home, would it be better to

have more choices and strategies to overcome the problem or less? Again the
answer is obvious.

So how do you give yourself more choices in all areas of your life?

The answer is to educate yourself. Never rely on others to do it for you. It won’t
happen.

In many ways I owe everything I now have to books. Books taught me how to
manage my money. They taught me how to communicate with people more
effectively. Books taught me how to manage my mind. Books opened up the
pathways to knowledge and choices. They led me to seminars, business
meetings, and self-action. I would not be writing this book today if it weren’t for
books.

Here are just a few things you can learn from books:

How to be a better parent

How to be happy
How to become wealthy
How to have a great relationship with your partner
How to get a promotion
How to start a business
How to learn a foreign language
How to get fit
How to control a disease
How to network
How to take apart an engine
How to communicate more effectively

In fact, there isn’t much that you CAN’T learn from books. Yet people don’t read
them. I find that very strange. When someone I know and care about is
struggling with their life, I recommend a book to them. Do they normally read
it? No. Jim Rohn used to call the fact that people don’t read these books
“Mysteries of the mind” and I agree.

Some people don’t like to read (as you’re reading this, I’m assuming you’re not
one of them). No problem. Get an audio book. You can listen to it in the car.

If you’re just starting out on your ‘Library Building’, here are a few ideas that
may help you.

Decide what’s important to you and buy books in that genre. For example, let’s
say you sit down and make a list of the 6 key areas in your life that are the most
important to you, and you come up with the following list: parenting, career,
health, relationships, self development and increasing your net worth.

Get yourself a bookshelf, and put a sticker with each of these headings on the
edge of your shelves. Just buy (or borrow from the library as it’s free) one book
from each of these categories. Want to know what books to get? Have a look on
Amazon. What sort of reviews do the books have? Look online at book
recommendations and reviews. People all over the world write up on how good
these books are, so you shouldn’t have any trouble finding a good book for each
of your categories.

The next step is to actually read them. I would recommend reading for at least 30
minutes per day. Read in the bath, on your lunch break, on the train. If you
struggle for time, get the audio-book and listen to it when it’s convenient.

If you listen to or read for 30 minutes per day, this will equate to 182.5 hours of
reading a year. You can read a lot of books in 182.5 hours.

Doing this will give you two things. Knowledge and choices. Knowledge for the
sake of it isn’t necessarily beneficial, but knowledge in an area that’s important
to you is invaluable. The next time a problem comes up, you have a lot more
references to draw from and use to help you solve it.

The next time someone you know needs some help, you’re in a better position to
give it to them as you have more references. You cannot believe what this will
do for your life!
Chapter 11

Curiosity

Curiosity is a blessing. To be able to find all things interesting makes life a joy.
When you’re fascinated by everything that’s going on around you, there’s no
time to be bored, and there’s no time to feel down.

Have you ever wondered what makes a planet stay in space? What makes a
snowflake have six points? Why there are so many circles and spheres in nature?

Ever been curious as to how they get fresh lettuce into your sandwich when you
live in the middle of a big city? Ever wonder why some creatures can live in sub-
zero temperatures, and others can live in scorching deserts?

Have you ever asked yourself how you can think a thought, and think ABOUT
that thought at the same time?

Why is everyone so different? Why do some people like oranges and some
people hate them? Why do people like such different styles of music, and dress,
and food, and sex?

Why is two plus two always four? How come zero never existed before it was
invented, but every other number did?

There are so many interesting things out there in the world, and there are so
many questions, and so many mysteries. How could anybody ever be bored?
There will never be a time when you can’t find something else to be fascinated
by.

Become curious. Become inquisitive. Become interested. If you’re interested,

people find you interesting…

People sometimes tell me that I’m really interesting, but I’m actually not. I’m
just interested in everything. I want to find out all the stuff of the world. If
something comes up and I find it interesting, I want a book, or a course, or a
video, or a story about it. I want to know.

I’m lucky, because I have a natural curiosity, but anybody can cultivate his or her
curiosity. Make a list of ten things you’ve always wondered about and go and
find out some of the answers. If you don’t understand some of them, it doesn’t
matter, as you’ll understand some of the others.

Who do you know that does interesting things? Why not go over for a coffee and
find out about it. I bet they’d love to tell you about it.

I remember when I was young and I was really into heavy metal music. Nobody
ever asked me about it (my family all hated it), but one night my cousin came
over and was genuinely interested in why I liked it. She asked about the bands,
the lyrics, the music, and I had a great time sharing it with her. Her curiosity
made me enthusiastic. How could your curiosity bring out another’s enthusiasm?

Being curious is fun.

Try it!
Chapter 12

Self Growth – Development & Learning

When Abraham Maslow came up with his hierarchy of needs pyramid back in
the 1940’s, his top spot was “Self Actualisation”. This is where you reach a place
of harmony and understanding, and you are engaged in reaching your full
potential. Notice that this isn’t the same as reaching your full potential, as you
can always do a little bit more, but being engaged in reaching it will make you
feel great.

In order to continue to reach for your full potential though, you will need to
bring out the best of what you have. This can only be done by developing
yourself mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually (if you believe in
spirituality).

The thing with personal development is that it is personal. I have always taken
this to mean that it is up to me to develop myself. Nobody can do it for me, and
nobody can do it for you. It would be great if we could program our brains as
they do in the movie “The Matrix”. We’d plug ourselves into a computer, and
upload new software, and hey presto, we’re developed!

Unfortunately, there’s a bit more work involved, but this is one of those
“challenges” we spoke about earlier. To develop yourself takes work, takes time,
takes effort, and may take some money as well.

It’s worth it however. To get from where you are to where you want to be, you
will need to BECOME a new person. You will need to evolve, and become better
at what you do. You will need to become wiser, and have better answers and
better skills. You will need to become stronger, and able to cope with bigger
challenges.

In order to grow and develop consistently, you will need to be consistent. If you
only develop yourself every now and then, you can still grow, but it will be at a
much slower pace. This is fine if that’s what you want, but why grow slowly if
you can grow quickly?
Never underestimate the benefits of personal development, but don’t worry if
you’re not too sure about how to develop yourself at the start of the process.

It’s ok to just have a general idea of what you want, and where you want to be,
and then start moving towards it. When you’re climbing a mountain, and
standing at the bottom, you may not be able to see the peak. That doesn’t matter.
Take the first step, and then the second, and keep going. Pretty soon you’ll see
the top of the mountain.

Self development is like this. You take a step, and then the second. Then you see
a new path, and you move towards it. Then take another step, and then another,
and then another. All of a sudden, you’re looking back on your old self, and
wondering how you managed to survive as that old individual.

When I look back to what I was like when I was in my early twenties, I can’t
believe I got through. It’s like going for a long run, and looking back. You can’t
see where you started any more, but you know you did start somewhere back
there, and you know you’ve gone through a lot to get to where you are now. This
is a great feeling. A feeling of “I did it, and I’m still going strong!”

You can’t beat it for happiness!

Here are a few pointers for you to start your personal development journey:

Books – I’ve said a lot about books already, so I won’t go on here.

Audio books – learn as you drive, learn as you exercise, learn as you sit on the
train or bus.

Courses – These could be night courses, weekend courses, online courses,

correspondence courses, one off lectures at your local university, etc. Use them
all. A lot of them may be free as well.

Online – Look at forums, blogs, webinars etc. There are lots of ways of learning
today, so you should be able to find something that suits you.

Clubs – Books clubs, running clubs, sport clubs, singles clubs, debating clubs,
mentoring clubs; there are all sorts of clubs and associations out there that can
help you.

Gyms – There are lots of healthy people at gyms. There may be some people that
you’d want to associate with there.

Associate with people you want to be like. Pick their brains. Borrow their ideas
and philosophies.

Find a mentor – Who can you ask for some tips and some help? Who do you
know that’s doing what you want to do? How can you get in touch with them?
How can they help you or inspire you?
Section 2

Health
Chapter 13

Food Choices

100 years ago, people didn’t really have the knowledge of what was good food
and what was bad food. There were no programs on TV to educate you, and
there weren’t thousands of books written on healthy eating. There was no
internet, and there were no iPhone apps to track your eating, track your calories,
track your fat and exercise either.

Today, there is little excuse for not knowing what to eat. I don’t mean this in the
sense of knowing in minute detail of what every food does and doesn’t do, but in
the general sense of what is healthy and what is unhealthy.

Everyone knows that if you stuff your face with burgers, pizza, and junk food,
you will get fat. You will also be at risk of heart disease and other illnesses.
Everyone also knows that if you consume plenty of healthy fruit, vegetables,
nuts, seeds, water, and vitamin supplements, you will be slimmer and healthier.
This is common knowledge, and very obvious.

So why don’t people do what they know they should?

It comes down to habits, choices, programming, and convenience. Again, this is

all down to how we think.

Let’s look at each of these one at a time.

Our Food Habits

Shopping

When we go shopping, do we always put into our trolley what is good for our
bodies? I always look at people’s trolley’s when I’m in the supermarket, and
most of the time, just looking at the contents of someone’s trolley will tell you
what that person’s state of health is likely to be. If their trolley is filled with
bottles of Coke, crisps (chips), cakes, biscuits (cookies), chocolate, sweets,
pizza’s, and ready meals, what would you imagine this person to be like health
wise?

If someone’s trolley is filled up with vegetables, fruit, salad, nuts, and organic
juice, what would you imagine that person’s general state of health to be like?

When we shop, we mainly shop by habit. What we bought two hours ago, will
probably be very much like what we bought two weeks ago. Our shopping habits
don’t really change that much unless we make a conscious effort to change them.

How can you change your habits?

Decide what you are going to buy before you leave and write a list. Don’t
deviate from the list. If you walk down the cookie aisle, check your list. If
cookie’s aren’t on the list, don’t buy them!

Pre-prepare one simple question to ask yourself whenever you walk into a place
to either eat or buy food. Here is the question:

“What is the healthiest thing I can put into my body in this place?”

If you ask this question then your brain will automatically find the right answer
for you. If you walk into a restaurant and ask the question: “What is the
healthiest thing I can put into my body in this place?”, will the answer be steak,
cheesy fries, and beer? Nope!

You brain will give you the answers salad, vegetables, grains, water, juice etc.
The next thing you have to do is listen to the answer and take action on it.

This is the difficult part. Asking the question is easy. Listening to the answer is
easy. Taking action and actually doing it is far from easy and will take a lot of
discipline and determination. The question is, will you do it?

Convenience

Another thing that makes us eat all the wrong foods is convenience. If you have
a choice between a pizza in the freezer, and getting in your car, driving to the
shop, and buying a healthy meal, or healthy ingredients, which one would 95%
of people choose? Right, the pizza.
This is why it’s important to be prepared. If you don’t have pizza in the freezer,
you can’t choose it. If you have healthy food in the fridge or freezer, it makes it
MUCH easier to eat healthily.

Make it more convenient to eat healthily, than unhealthily and you will start to
get healthier.

One thing I learned from Perry Marshall (a marketing guru), is that if you want
something to succeed, CHANGE THE SYSTEM. The example he gave was that
if he wanted to exercise more, rather than try to force himself to go running, or
go to the gym, he’d change his system. He’d move his home office from the
ground floor into the attic so that he would have to walk up and down the stairs
20 times per day. This way, the exercise becomes automatic. You don’t have to
“Force” it.

You can do the same with your eating. Want to avoid the temptation of buying
cakes, cookies, pies, pizza? Shop only online so you’re not surrounded by the
smells and sights of all of those glorious foods that have been designed to tempt
you. Alternatively, get someone else to do your shopping for you.

Think about ways you can change your system to make your healthy eating more
automatic.

Programming

If you’ve been eating junk food, crisps, chips, fizzy drinks etc since you were a
kid, it’s going to be pretty tough to change it overnight. However, there are two
things you need to know.

One – You CAN change your conditioning

Two – You MUST change your conditioning to lead a healthier life

Your programming will fight your new healthy way of eating at the start. This is
normal. It’s to be expected. But don’t let your programming beat you! YOU’RE
in charge, not the program.

They say it takes between 20 and 30 days to change a habit or program, so give
yourself a month. I’d start it at the beginning of a new month, so it’s easier to
track and see your progress.

Create your new program. This means you’re going to have to set up new
routines, and new habits. These could include.

Shopping online

Throwing away all of your ‘junk’ food so there’s no temptation

Writing shopping lists and sticking to them

Asking yourself the “What’s the most healthy thing…” question when you are
out

Drinking water instead of soda or coffee

Keeping a food diary/journal so you can see exactly what you are eating and
drinking. This one thing could change your life. For it to work though, you
MUST complete it every time you eat or drink.

Avoiding your regular eating haunts

So to sum up this chapter then, if you want to change your eating habits, then
you need to actually do it. Your eating habits won’t change unless you do. Will
you do it? Are you committed?
Chapter 14

Exercise

Before I start this chapter, I strongly suggest that before you begin any training
or exercise regimen, you get your doctor to check you out and tell you that it’s
ok.

Ok, now I’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about exercise.

Exercise is one of those things that you either like or don’t like! I’m lucky, as I
love it. I love the buzz, I love the challenge, I love the feeling of being
physically fit and active. I also know however, that a lot of people DON’T like
to exercise. This makes it ten times harder to actually do it.

So if you’re not an exercise lover, how do you do it?

Well my first suggestion would be to try and do something you enjoy. If that
means dancing instead of lifting weights, then so be it. If it means skipping in
the garden instead of running, then do it!

If you have to force yourself to exercise, you should try and make it as much fun
as you can. Have a friend that wants to get fit as well? Can you train together?
Can you challenge each other?

This year, I decided that I was going to set myself some fitness and activity
targets. I told a couple of my friends, and they bet me that they would beat me in
how many miles I run this year, and how many push-ups and sit-ups I do this
year. I LOVED this as it made me so determined to beat them (I am way ahead
and it’s only the 1 week of Feb) and I’ve done double what I would have done
just to make sure I win the bet.

Can you compete with a friend or family member? Can you make it
competitive?

How else can you get some motivation?

Here are a few tips:

Get yourself a personal trainer. These cost a few pounds/dollars, but are well
worth the investment.

Join a fitness club where you can meet like-minded individuals.

Make a public declaration. Why not start a YouTube fitness/fat loss diary with
daily/weekly uploads of your progress. You can make it into a money-spinner as
well.

Make outrageous bets with your friends/colleagues. Have a forfeit if you don’t
do your exercises.

Keep a reminder in your smart phone to go off every day at a certain time to
remind you that you have to do it!

Get yourself a heart-rate monitor and keep a spreadsheet of all of your workouts,
runs, how many calories you’ve burned off etc. It’s very motivational to see the
numbers come up through the course of your workout plan.

Create a folder of photo’s of your weight loss progress. Take a daily photo and
compare them one week/month apart. You’ll see a big difference if you keep it
up.

No Excuses

There are no excuses to NOT exercise. It’s so easy to do. You could get on the
floor right now and have a go at some push-ups. How long does it take to get to
the floor (provided you’re a fit and healthy individual)? About 1 second. How
long does it take to do 20 push-ups? About 20 seconds. So if it takes you 21
seconds out of your 24 hour day, can anyone do this?

The problem with things that are easy to do, is that they are also easy NOT to do
(got that concept from Jim Rohn). It’s easy to do the push-ups, but it’s even
easier not to do them. Again, it comes down to choices, and self-discipline.

If you’ve told everyone that you’re going to get fit, you’ve started a photo
journal of your progress, and you’ve put a reminder in your phone/calendar to do
it every day, and you’re STILL not doing it, then what’s stopping you? It’s your
mind……..
Chapter 15

Healthy Thinking

Here’s a concept you may not be aware of….

You are not your mind.

Ever had a thought you didn’t want? If you’re like most people, this probably
happens all the time. So if you don’t want it, and didn’t request this thought, why
are you having them?

Because you’re not your mind! Thoughts pop in and out of your head all of the
time, whether you want them to or not. Don’t believe me? Then try and stop
thinking for one whole minute.

The thing about your thoughts is that you can look at them, realise what they are,
and then either be affected by them, or ignore them. If you WERE your thoughts,
then you wouldn’t be able to do this would you!

So now that you know this, how does this help you to enjoy healthy thinking?

This is one of those things that fall into the ‘Simple, but not necessarily easy’
category. By that I mean that the process is simple, but to actually follow it
strictly and consistently takes practice and discipline.

As James Allen says in ‘As A Man Thinketh’, your mind is like a garden. If you
allow it to do as it wishes, and run wild, it will become a mess of tangled weeds.
If you tend it, and look after it, it will become a beautiful garden.

Here’s an example:

You’re at home doing the washing up and a thought comes into your head.
You’re thinking about your day at work, and a difficult conversation you had
with your boss. You’re thinking about how you’d like to tell your boss where to
go, and stick his job up his ‘You know what’.
You feel yourself getting tense and wound up as you think about it.

Now if you were to stop time and realise what is actually going on here, you are
letting your mind control you. Just as the weeds will take your garden, your
mind has taken you over. Negativity is spreading through your body and making
you feel bad.

The reality of the situation is that you’re washing up, and probably in a nice,
warm homely environment, but your mind is twisting your body up and making
you feel awful.

This happens to us so naturally, that 99% of the time, you won’t even be aware
that it is happening. Because you are so used to being attached to the contents of
your mind, and being associated with your thoughts, you won’t normally realise
that this is happening. It’s automatic.

The first step is to be AWARE of your thoughts. A great way of doing this is to
practice mindful meditation.

Allow yourself ten minutes for this exercise.

Sit down at a table, and put your hands down flat in front of you. Now just relax
your body and try to clear your mind. Do this for a minimum of ten minutes.
Every single time a thought involuntarily comes into your head, observe it (but
don’t become attached to it) and then let it go.

What happened?

If you’re like most people, you probably started thinking after about 2 seconds.
You may have started thinking about what you’re doing, and thinking that you
shouldn’t be thinking. Then, after a while, other random thoughts popped into
your head. Some of them you could just observe, and some of them you became
attached to.

You then probably realised that you were becoming attached, and quickly got rid
of the thought.

How did it feel? Did you find that for the first time ever, you were aware of your
thoughts without BECOMING your thoughts?

This is something you can practice at any time. You don’t need to close your
eyes, you don’t need to be sat down, and you don’t need a table. You can just
pause your hectic mind, and become aware of what is happening in your mind.

When you practice this more and more frequently, you will find it becomes
second nature to be more in control of your mind. This frees your mind up from
negative thinking, and allows you to just BE.

You can then decide on your thoughts.

This is healthy thinking. You can choose the thoughts you have. You can choose
the thoughts you wish to get attached to. You can decide whether or not to allow
yourself to become attached to a thought you deem negative.

The trick here is to practice this every day. Sitting at your desk at work, become
aware of your thoughts. Driving down the street, become aware of your
thoughts. Standing in a queue at a shop, become aware of your thoughts.

Practice, practice, practice!!

How else can you have healthy thinking?

Well you need to think in a healthy way about yourself. If you struggle with this,
I recommend One Hour To Positive Self Esteem, as that book is purely dedicated
to this topic, and will help you massively.

Here are a few ideas though.

Your thoughts are made up of images, sounds, feelings, and inner dialogue. If
you can control, or at least start to control these, it will have a massive impact on
you. The images and movies you hold in your mind and your inner dialogue will
control your emotions. Your emotions will control how you feel, and this will
control how you act and behave! As it can be the most destructive way of
thinking, let’s look at internal dialogue!

Internal Dialogue
This is the voice in your head. Don’t pretend you don’t have one, as we’ve all
got one. It’s turned on pretty much all of the time, and is always there. The voice
you’re hearing in your mind as you read this page is your internal dialogue.

As described above, you also need to become aware of what you are hearing in
your head, as well as the images and scenes you play out in your mind.

Does your internal dialogue ever put you down? Does it say things like; “You’re
such an idiot sometimes!”, “It’s not worth going for that promotion, you’ll never
get it!”, “Why would a person like that be interested in you?”

If it does, this is not healthy. You can train your internal dialogue to be more
positive by being aware of what it’s saying. If you can stop yourself becoming
attached to the content of what it’s saying, then this will stop it having a negative
effect on you.

As soon as you catch it saying something you don’t like, stop it, tell the voice in
your head to be quiet, and then replace the negative comment with something
positive. Over time, this will act like pouring clean water into a glass of dirty
water. The unclean water (thoughts) will eventually make way for clean water
(thoughts), and you will no longer have this problem.

Does your internal dialogue silently berate or criticise others? If it does, the
process is exactly the same. Stop the thought as soon as you become aware of it,
and replace it with another thought that is positive. You will be amazed at how
different you begin to feel about yourself and others when you stop listening to
everything your mind comes up with!
Chapter 16

Healthy Associations

By healthy associations, I am talking about people. The people you spend time
with to be more accurate.

This includes your friends, your family, your spouse, your children, and your
work colleagues.

We all have people we spend time with. The question you have to ask yourself
is: Are they a healthy person to be around?

If, whenever you see a certain individual, you end up getting drunk, do you think
that’s a healthy association?

If, whenever you see another individual, you have great discussions about
philosophy and business, do you think that’s a healthy association?

If, whenever you see another individual, you take drugs and go out to nightclubs,
would you describe that as healthy?

If, whenever you see a different individual, you go exercising and training,
would you say that one is better?

If you want to know if an association is healthy or not, just ask yourself these
questions:

One – What you do when you’re with that person?

Two – How do you feel when you leave that person?
Three – How does that person like to spend their time?
Four – How does that person treat other people?

If the answers to those questions are positive (and you’ve answered them
truthfully) then it may be a very positive relationship.
If the answers to those questions are negative (and you’ve answered them
truthfully), then it may be a destructive relationship.

If it’s a destructive relationship, you may want to limit your exposure to that
person. This doesn’t mean that you have to point out their impact on you and tell
them that you can never see them again. This simply means that you spend less
time with them. If they invite out to the bar, tell them you have something on and
can’t make it.

If the relationship is a positive one, how can you increase your exposure to this
person?

Ok, so that’s your current associations. What about associations you’d LIKE to
have?

Who would you like to get around that you don’t currently know? Is there a local
business club you could join for inspiration and friendship of the positive
variety? Is there a book club where you could find some friends of like minds?

Could you create associations with people at work that you admire?

Could you find a group online that holds webinars or teleconferences?

Could you find a mentor?

Anyway, you get the picture. Think about it, and make a list of your top ten
closest acquaintances. Write down how much time you spend with them, and
how they affect you. If it’s positive, then great. If it’s negative, then you know
what to do!!
Chapter 17

Controlling Your Desires & Impulses

So to finish off on Health, let’s look at our desires and impulses.

I don’t mean our natural desires, such as food, water, shelter, love etc.

I’m talking about our desires and impulses for things such as unhealthy food,
alcohol, spending too much money on things we don’t need in order to treat
ourselves etc…

I always think of our desires and impulses like the cartoon where there’s a devil
on one shoulder telling us to go ahead and do something we know we shouldn’t,
and an angel on the other shoulder, telling us to be good.

Which one do we listen to? How do we control these?

Well one technique I use is to ask myself who’s in control! I know that this is
basically talking to yourself, but because we KNOW we’re talking to ourselves,
it’s not a sign of madness!

When I feel the urge to stray from the path, and have a cheesecake, or miss my
exercises, or eat some meat instead of a nice healthy vegetarian meal, I ask
myself the question ‘Who’s in control here? Me, or my desires?’

And although my desires do win from time to time, normally I win. I can
override the desire to have/do what I know I shouldn’t (cheesecake is the hardest
battle).

This happened just this evening. It was nice and warm in my house, and it was
freezing cold outside. I have set myself some exercise goals this year, and one of
them is to run a certain number of miles. I needed to run tonight, but because it
was so cold, my mind (the devil side), was telling me not to go out. ‘It’s too
cold, you can go tomorrow’. As soon as I became aware that my mind was
trying to trick me out of my run, I got my trainers on, and went for it.
Again, you have to remember to use this trick which is the difficult part, but the
more you practice being aware of your thoughts, the easier it will get to become
more and more in control of your (negative) desires.

Another method of controlling your desires and impulses, is to become present.

When you feel yourself really wanting to do something that you know you either
shouldn’t, or is self destructive, you can try this.

Just stop where you are, stop what you’re doing, and concentrate on your
breathing. Just become aware of your ‘in’ breath, and then aware of your ‘out’
breath. Don’t think about your breathing, just become aware of it. This will
immediately interrupt the desire, and allow you the time to start thinking from a
place of no desire.

When you do this, you will stop the noise and internal chatter in your head, and
immediately gain control of yourself once more. This should give you a few
seconds to then make a choice from a place of calmness, instead of a place of
excited impulsiveness.
Section 3

Wealth
Chapter 18

Money

What is money?

Money is a means of exchange. It is a reward for service rendered. It is also very

important.

Have you ever had a time when you’ve had no money? It wasn’t much fun was
it? I know I’ve certainly experienced these times and I didn’t enjoy it very much.
I couldn’t go out, I couldn’t buy any food. I couldn’t put petrol (gas) in my car to
get to work so had to walk.

Whilst money isn’t as important as health or happiness, it’s certainly one of the
most important things in modern society. Without it, we cannot pay for hospitals.
We cannot go on luxury holidays. We cannot pave the streets. We cannot buy
cars to drive on the streets. We cannot buy food or water.

I think we’d all agree that it’s pretty important, but what is it?

Well in times of old, money was gold and silver. You would use real money to
buy goods and services. These days, money isn’t made of gold and silver; it’s
made of paper. If you went into a shop today and tried to pay for something with
gold coins, they’d probably think you were a bit mad. Money is basically a
common means of exchange that can be used by all people.

Because money is regulated and comes in standardised formats (you can’t spend
a £17/$17 note), it can be used by everyone and understood easily.

Money is neutral. It doesn’t care who you are or what you do. It will come to the
housekeeper just as easily as it will come to the CEO if you follow the simple
rules of making, and growing your money.

Money is worthless in and of itself. It is only the things you can DO with money
that make it valuable.
Money is a game. You either win, or you lose. If you can accumulate more
money, you are winning. If you are getting into debt, you are losing.

Money cannot be fooled, but you can fool yourself about how you are doing
with your money. It’s easy to kid yourself that you’re making progress when
you’re actually getting further into debt. So you can kid yourself, but you can’t
kid money.

Money is a choice giver. If you have money you have choices. Where can I go?
What can I buy? Who can I treat? What charities can I contribute to? What
experiences can I enjoy? If you have no money you can’t choose where to go out
to eat. You can’t choose where to shop, or what experiences you’d like to enjoy.

Money is nice to have. If you’ve got money in the bank, you have a feeling of
security. It gives you a sense of safety as you know that you could handle the
emergencies of life.

Money is easily lost. Protect it. Protect it from yourself and your own poor
habits. Protect it from those that would take it from you, either legally or
illegally.

Money is abundant. We won’t run out of money, and you can always make more.
Money can be created out of an idea, so in essence, money can come to you out
of thin air (kind of)!

Money is time. If you have ten years worth of income in a safe investment, this
means that you could lose your source of income and survive ten years.

Money is good. People that say that money is the root of all evil are very much
mistaken. You can only create money by offering a product or service to others.
99 times out of 100 this product or service is a positive one. I would say that
poverty is the root of all evil, which is a lack of money. People don’t tend to
burgle houses when they are wealthy. Poor people are far more likely to do this.
Chapter 19

Habits

Your money habits will either make or break you financially. Your financial
future is determined by how much you earn, and then what you do with that
money. People that earn millions every year can soon go bankrupt if they spend
millions every year. People that earn twenty thousand a year can become
wealthy if they spend less than they make and invest the difference.

People that have won tens of millions on the lottery that weren’t financially
literate have become broke within a few short years. This is because of their
habits.

What are your money habits? Do you save ten percent of what you earn every
month? Do you spend over your means every month because you have to have
the latest gadget? Do you invest in sound investments? Do you gamble all of
your money at the casino or bookmakers?

Here’s one habit you should start: Keep strict accounts every month so that you
know where all of your money is going.

Here’s one habit you should stop: Spending money on credit cards. I know this
one is difficult, especially if you’re used to treating yourself all of the time, but
you have to stop it.

Creating habits takes time, but if you sincerely want to change your financial
life, you must do it. What are the habits of people that are broke? Let’s have a
look (I used to be one of them so I know these pretty well).

Broke People’s Habits

Spending more than they earn. If you earn £20,000 a year, and spend £24,000 a
year, how much money can you accumulate? The answer is zero. Also, not only
can you accumulate zero, you will be in debt for the rest of your life if you don’t
change this habit.
Having unnecessary expenses. For example, cable or satellite TV, expensive gym
or club memberships, owning cars they can’t really afford with massive monthly
payments, going out for expensive meals. You get the picture.

Not keeping accounts. If you don’t know how much you’re spending on
rent/mortgage, gas/electric, utilities, food, petrol, taxes, paying off debt, etc, then
how will you know what to cut out or reduce?

Trying to look rich. This is a big one. Did you know that most of the expensive
watches are sold to people that aren’t wealthy? The most popular watch for
American millionaires is a Seiko. So who’s buying all of the Rolex’s? The
people that are trying to look rich that’s who. Don’t be one of them (unless you
are rich!)

Not planning. If you want something, then plan and save for it. Set yourself a
goal of when you want it, then work out how you can afford it and start planning
and saving.

Relying on their sole source of income for all of their income. If you only get
paid from your job, you’re risking all of your income from one place. Create
some more sources of income!

Wasting time. This is the biggest one. If you’re wasting your time, you can never
get it back. Are you going to the pub instead of working on a business idea? Are
you sat in front of the TV instead of learning new skills? Are you spending all of
your time socialising, instead of planning your future and being productive? If
you are, you will stay where you are. You’re either climbing or you’re sliding.
You can’t waste time AND move forward. You have to use your time
productively to move you towards your goals.

Wealthy People’s Habits

Planning where they are going to put their money, and what they are going to do
with their money. Allocating it towards things that will improve their life
situation, and making sure they know where their money is going.

Being productive with their time. You won’t find many wealthy people watching
soap operas four nights a week. They will be doing something to make their life
better. This could be creating or working on a business. It could be exercising. It
could be inventing a new way of doing business, or finding new customers. This
doesn’t mean that wealthy people never relax and never have fun; it just means
that they don’t spend major time on minor things.

Spending less than they earn. Most wealthy people will have a savings plan, and
save a minimum of 10% of their income on a monthly/weekly basis.

Not using credit unless it’s to buy assets. Most wealthy people like to spend cash
rather than credit. They know that if you use credit, everything you buy costs
more money as you’re paying interest on it. A TV that costs £500 costs £500 if
you pay cash. If you buy it on credit over 3 years at a 20% interest rate, it will
cost you £668. Same TV, different price.

They buy assets instead of liabilities. An asset is something that can provide an
income or provide capital growth or both. If you buy a car, that is a liability as it
costs you money. If you buy a taxi, that is an asset as it makes you money. If you
buy a holiday home, it is a liability as it costs you money. If you buy a buy-to-let
home, that is an asset as it makes you money.

They control their expenses. Even though they can afford the best, they don’t
feel as though they have to join the best clubs, or drive the most expensive cars,
or wear the most expensive clothes. They are more focussed on becoming, and
staying wealthy, than looking wealthy.

Paying themselves first. This means that a part of all they earn they keep. Keep
in savings, or investments. This should normally be 10% or more. This also
means that you do it EVERY time you get money, whether it’s earned, given,
inherited, won etc.

Keeping strict accounts. Wealthy people know what they are doing with their
money, and where it’s going. That’s why they’re wealthy.

Which of your habits do you need to change?

Let’s create a strategy!

Chapter 20

Wealth Strategy

Ok, so let’s start where you are right now. The most important thing for you to
do is to get out of debt. Debt is a siphon hose on your income. If you earn £2,000
a month, and have to pay £750 a month out to your creditors, your life will be
hard. If you earn £2,000 a month, and you have to pay zero money out to your
creditors, life will be so much easier.

Let’s look at your financial situation right now.

Take a sheet of paper, and draw a vertical line down the centre of the page. Now
cross it with a horizontal line across the centre of the page. You should now have
four squares or rectangles of approximately the same size.

In the top left hand square, at the top, and in the centre, write the word Income,
and underline it.

In the top right hand square, at the top, and in the centre, write the word
Expenses, and underline it.

In the bottom left hand square, at the top, and in the centre, write the word
Assets.

In the bottom right hand square, at the top, and in the centre, write the word
Liabilities.

In the Income grid, make a list of all of your monthly income that you are due
for the month following this one. This should include any income from your
main source (job), any part time work, any sales you make on eBay for example,
and any other money that you are due to receive. This includes things such as
benefits or child support for example.

In the Expenses column, write a list of everything you are due to pay out next
month. This should include everything. Mortgage, rent, taxes, credit card
payments, loan payments, insurances, satellite TV, gas and electric, utilities,
mobile phone.

Now total up the sums from these grids and you should have two totals. 1 –
Income total. 2 – Expenses total. Now work out the balance. Deduct your total
Expenses from your total Income. This should be a positive number (for
example £500). If it’s a negative number, you’re in real trouble.

Now in your assets grid, make a list of everything you have that is an asset. An
asset can only be something that you own that either makes you money, or can
be sold quickly for money. Your own home should not go into this grid, as you
cannot sell your home as you’d be homeless.

Now total them up.

Now do exactly the same thing with your liabilities. A liability is anything that
can be paid off. A mortgage can be paid off so should go in there. Rent cannot be
paid off, so shouldn’t go in there. Car loans, bank loans, credit cards, payday
loans. All of these should go into this grid.

Now total these up.

Now deduct your liabilities from your assets as you did earlier. This is your total
net worth (we’re only speaking economically here). Your worth as a human
being is unlimited, but you need to know where you’re at financially.

This is your starting point.

Now you need a strategy to turn these numbers into your favour. There are two
things to look at. Cash flow, and net worth.

Cash flow is how your money flows in and out each month. This needs to be
positive if you are to get ahead.

Net Worth is what you are actually worth from a financial point of view.

Get your cash flow up first, and then build your net worth. This is the game that
you need to play for the rest of your life.
Building Your Cash Flow

There are two ways to increase your cash flow (making your income higher than
your expenses).

One is to increase your income, and the other is to decrease your expenses. My
advice is to do both at the same time.

There are many ways to increase your income. Without going into too much
detail, as there are many books about starting a home-based business, I’m going
to give you some suggestions. The idea of this section is just to wake your mind
up to the possibilities

One – Go for a promotion in your job. If this means you need some more skills,
then go and get them. If it means you need to move out of your comfort zone,
then do it. If it means you need to build some new relationships, then go for it!

Two – Build an online business. This could be selling something. It could be

building an online blog. It could mean an eBay business. It could be creating a
website that pays you through advertising.

Three – Sell some of your unwanted stuff on eBay or Gumtree. Give yourself a
goal of selling £100 worth a month for example. I’m sure you’ve got stuff you
don’t need any more. Somebody out there will buy it from you. You could also
set yourself a goal of buying and selling from car boot sales on eBay, with a
profit of £100 per month just to get you started.

Four – Reduce your debts. If you can pay off some of your debts (or better still
all of them), then will have a massive impact on your expenses, and thus your
cash flow. If you’re currently paying £600 a month on loan/car/credit card
repayments, doing this will make you £600 a month better off. This is just
simple maths.

Five – Invent something and license it to a company. If you can create a solution
to an everyday problem, someone will pay you for that idea. If you license it to
them, they will pay you a royalty. This could be a monthly royalty, a quarterly
royalty, or an annual one. Either way, it will help your cash flow.

Sell information. What do you know a lot about? I bet you have some
knowledge or skills that other people would pay to get their hands on. Create an
ebook/CD/MP3/Podcast/DVD on it, and sell it. Advertise it in industry specific
magazines or websites. With the quality of free software available today, anyone
can create a product from scratch.

The only limit to the ideas is your imagination. I currently have several websites
that make me small sums of money each month. But the beauty of it is, I don’t
have to work to get that money. I’ve done the work, and now they pay me
whether I’m sat at my computer, sleeping, or out having fun. This can take a bit
of time to learn, but it has to be better than watching crappy TV right?

Decreasing Your Expenses

Again, this, if done correctly will pay big dividends. I see a lot of people that are
broke within a week of getting paid. When I ask what they’ve been up to, they
tell me about the wild weekend they had where they spent hundreds of pounds
on shopping, clothes, and going out. Do you do this? If so, you’re eroding your
future wealth. Every penny you spend on unimportant things doesn’t just cost
you what the item/experience cost. It also costs you the interest you could have
earned if you had invested that money.

Here are some things you can do to decrease your expenses.

Keep a strict budget. If you know where every pound or dollar you spend goes,
you are more likely to be frugal with your purchases. Try this: For one month,
take a little note book out with you everywhere you go. Every time you spend
any money at all (even 50p on a cup of tea), write it down. This will accomplish
two things. One, you will see exactly where all of your money is going. Two, it
will stop you spending on things you don’t need as you will have to take your
notebook out every time, and this will put you off.

The trick to this is to make sure you do it consistently. If you have a joint
account, then you need to both do it, otherwise one of you could end up
continuing to cause financial difficulties, and the other could be trying to make
things better. You can’t fix what you can’t see.

The next thing you need to do, is go through your bank account/accounts, and
see where you can cut back. Are you still paying for breakdown insurance on the
TV you bought eight years ago, and just haven’t gotten around to cancelling?
Are you paying £100/$100 for satellite TV when you could cut down on some of
your channel subscriptions and pay £40/$40 instead?

Do you shop around for things like insurance, or do you just renew with your
current company? If so, you could be paying a lot more than you need to. Are
you paying high interest rates on any cards/loans? Can you reduce them?

You can write to your creditors and request a reduced monthly payment. Quite
often, they will do this for you. I had to do this in my early twenties, and every
single one of the financial institutions I contacted agreed to reduce my payments.
Most of them also agreed to suspend the interest temporarily as well.

Write a list of all the things you HAVE to buy each month. This should include
mortgage/rent, gas/electric, phone, food, transport, clothing (the ones you need,
not £300 jeans), taxes, etc. Anything that isn’t on the list, create a small budget
for and try to stick to it. Make sure that paying yourself first to create future
wealth is on this list.

Stop “Treating” yourself. Just because you’ve had a bad day or a bad week,
doesn’t mean you need to go out and spend a load of money to make yourself
feel better. Make yourself feel better with a nice hot bath, and some relaxing
music. If you go and spend a load of money that you can’t afford to lose, (or
even worse, put it on the credit card), you will actually feel worse because you
KNOW you shouldn’t have done it! For men, this often means spending time at
the pub drowning your sorrows with your mates. All you’re really doing is
drowning your future wealth.

Ok, so now you’ve built up a bit of cash flow, what are you going to do with it?

You’re going to save it. Your goal should be to save no less than 10% of your net
income each month. If your monthly income is £1,500 after tax, you should aim
to save £150. If your income is £5,000, you should aim to save £500. Put this
money somewhere that you can’t just take it out as soon as you get the urge to go
on holiday or something. If you can find an account where you have to give 7
days notice, then perfect. You can’t just take it out because you fancy a night out
on the town.

I appreciate that not everybody will be able to do this straight away. If you can’t
then that’s fine. If you have to start with saving 1% and build it up, then at least
you have started. You’re on your way!

The aim of this exercise is to start increasing your net worth. Every time you put
a little bit of money aside; your net worth is going up. Every time you pay off a
portion of your debt, your net worth is going up.

If you have a computer, keep all of this information on a simple spreadsheet so

that you can track your progress. It gets very exciting when you start to see your
assets increase, your debts decrease, and your net worth going up. It motivates
you to keep going and keep building.
Chapter 21

Asset Allocation

Asset allocation is just a fancy way of saying “Where I’m keeping my money”.

If you imagine taking all of your savings and investment money, and dividing it
into two pots. Pot one is your safety pot. This is where your money grows
slowly, but is safe. A Cash ISA (UK) is an example of a safe investment. The
interest is low, but your money is protected.

The other pot is your growth pot. This is where your money can grow a lot
faster, but is higher risk. You can lose your money in this pot.

You need to decide on your attitude to risk, but my advice is to never keep less
than 40% of your money in the SAFE pot. If you have £1,000 to invest, keep
£400 minimum in a safe, low interest (high interest if you can find it) account.
The other £600 you can invest in investments that can pay you a much higher
return.

Before I discuss where to invest, I am NOT giving you investment advice. If you
go and put all your money into a poor investment and lose it all, don’t contact
me and ask me to cough up,as it’s not going to happen!

Here are some of the things I recommend you do when investing your money.

One – Only invest in things you understand. If you don’t understand something,
how can you know it will return your money? If you choose to invest in stocks,
find out everything you can about the company. Who runs it? What do they do?
What sort of business is it? How do they make their money? Who are their
customers? How do they invest their profits? Are they likely to be around in ten
years? If not, why not?

Two – Only invest what you can afford, or are comfortable losing. All growth
investments carry some risk. If the thought of losing your money makes you feel
sick, put it somewhere safer.
Three – Know the difference between investing and gambling. Putting all of
your money into a stock because your mate told you it was going to be good is
not investing. It’s gambling. I know all about this as I’ve done exactly that
myself. There was a great oil company that were about to make it big time. I put
several hundred pounds into it, only to watch that money slowly shrink by the
week. It still hasn’t recovered.

Four – Invest in things that you can exit quickly. If you invest in a buy-to-let
property, it can take you years to sell it. If you invest in a stock, it takes a couple
of days or so to get out of the deal.

Five – Invest for the long term. Another one of my (many) mistakes was getting
into day trading. Again, I lost my money. Put your money where it will grow
over time, rather than trying to make a killing in two hours.

Six – Compound your money. If you find something that is working, reinvest
your profits. If you’re always moving your money about, you won’t be able to
take advantage of the compound interest.

Seven – Watch your investments, but don’t stress about them. Keep an eye on
them and make sure they’re doing what they should be, but if the market dips
every now and then, this is normal and don’t panic.
Chapter 22

Savings & Investing

The root of your investments will be savings. I’ve said this already, but in order
for you to be able to invest, you need some money. In order for you to have
some money, you need to save some. In order for you to save some money, you
need to not spend it. This means that you need to spend LESS than you MAKE.

Once you’ve sorted out your expenses and are able to put some money aside,
you need to do this. You want to aim for ten percent, but if it’s less, at least
you’ve started.

So stage one is to actually start. If you don’t take this first step, your financial
future is unlikely to ever change.

I’d suggest you set up a standing order or a direct debit so that on payday, your
money goes straight out of your account. If you don’t see the money, you A)
Won’t miss it, and B) Won’t be tempted to spend it. If you just leave the money
in your account for a week or two, I can guarantee that something will come up
that needs that money. The washing machine will break down, or you’ll see
some gadget that you just have to have.

Save yourself £1,000/$1,000 and then start putting your money into your
allocated finance pots. Remember, keep a minimum of 40% in your safety pot.

Set up an online or telephone stock broker account and start investing. You’ll
soon learn the ropes of how to place trades, how to purchase funds, and how to
sell them.

Now watch them grow or shrink in value, and make your decisions based on
what you’re seeing, and how you’re feeling. Remember, just because your
share/fund is going down in value, it doesn’t mean the company/fund is
becoming less investable. You need to do your research before making buying
and selling decisions. There are other books a lot more specific than this one to
do this, so I won’t go into too much detail now, but I would just like to explain
the concept of dollar cost averaging, as it’s a useful one to understand.

Dollar Cost Averaging

Let’s say that you decide that you will invest £100/$100 every month into a fund
on the stock market.

Every month you take your £100/$100 and invest it in the same fund. Some
months, the stock market likes your fund so says that each share in your fund is
worth £1/$1. This means that on that particular month, you purchase 100 shares.

The following month, there is a national dip in stock prices, but your fund is still
just as valuable as it was last month. However, due to the dip in stock prices,
your fund is now valued at £0.50/$0.50. That means that this month you have
been able to purchase 200 shares in that fund. You now have 300 shares.

The following month there is a bull market, and the shares are up to £2/$2 each.
So unfortunately, your £100/$100 only buys you 50 shares this month.

This is the concept of dollar coast averaging. Your money will purchase different
quantities of shares each month, depending on the price of your shares. So if the
market is lower (providing your fund is still good) you will simply buy more
shares in that month. This is one of the ways your holdings will grow over time
as over the months and years, the stock should increase in value.
Chapter 23

Pensions

When I was young, I wasn’t really interested in setting up a pension. I thought I

was too young, and was never going to get to retirement age. However, that soon
changes. Now I wouldn’t be without a pension fund for my retirement.

If you work for a medium to large size company, there is a very good chance that
they will have a company pension scheme. Most companies will contribute to
your pension, whether or not you put anything in yourself.

What this means in layman’s terms is: THEY WILL GIVE YOU FREE MONEY
FOR YOUR RETIREMENT. What a bonus!! All you have to do is sign a few
pieces of paper, and they will put a percentage of everything you earn into a
pension fund for your future.

The way pensions work (at the time of writing and in the UK) is this:

Most pensions operate with funds similar to the pot theory I described earlier.
They will allocate your money into low risk/low return, medium risk/medium
return, and high risk/high return pots. You can also choose different types of
funds such as real estate, retail, or international funds that invest in companies
from other countries. You normally get a choice of funds/risk levels.

There is normally a management fee that the company that runs your pension
will charge, but it’s normally so small that it’s not worth worrying about.

When you reach retirement age, you can either take your pension fund as a full
pension that is paid monthly, or you can take a proportion of your fund as a tax-
free lump sum, and a smaller monthly pension. The choice is up to you.

I would strongly recommend that you also contribute to your pension fund if you
have the option. A lot of firms will match your contribution up to a certain
amount, so if for example, you put 7% of your wages into a pension, your firm
will match that 7%. This means that 14% of your wages goes into your pension
fund, and it only costs you 7%. Sounds like a good deal to me!

The other benefit of contributing is that your contributions are deducted

BEFORE tax. So you’re not paying tax on that portion of your income. Also,
they take the money out at source, so you won’t miss it, as it’s never hit your
bank account.

Obviously, this is an overly simplified description of how a pension works, but it

gives you the gist of it without having to read a lot of boring brochures or
workbooks.
Chapter 24

Insurance

Insurance is designed to protect you from the pitfalls that can naturally befall us
all. Home insurance protects your home, car insurance protects your car, and
financial insurance protects your finances.

You should always make sure you have enough insurance to put you back into
the same position you are in now.

If you own gold – insure it.

If you own properties – insure them.
If you own jewellery or stamps – insure them.
If you own ideas – insure them. Get them protected.
If you own shares in companies – you’ll need to be your own insurance agent
and keep an eye on them. You can’t insure them unfortunately.

Life insurance is one of the most important things you can do for your family.
I’ve known of two men that were the parents of friends that died with zero life
insurance. Their families were already devastated that they had lost their
husband and father, so having no income, or way to pay the mortgage added to
the woe and heartache. Losing a loved one is the worst thing that can happen,
but being forced out of your home because there was no insurance in place just
compounds it.

Life insurance can be purchased fairly cheaply, and you should always have
enough to look after your family and pay off your mortgage if you have one. If
you don’t, you should make sure you have enough insurance to pay your
family’s bills for several years.

Whilst insurance can be seen as boring, you can’t underestimate how valuable it
is in the event of a loss. Unless you’re so wealthy you could just replace
anything you own out of your bank balance, you need to get some!
Chapter 25

Time

Time is something we all have in equal amounts. There are 24 hours in the day
for the wealthy, and there are 24 hours in the day for the poor. You cannot get
any more, and once you’ve spent it, it’s gone.

This is why it’s important to start the process of building your future security
TODAY! Don’t wait and put things off like I did at the start of my adulthood. If
you’re 16 years old and just started out making money, and if you follow the
simple steps in this book, you could be wealthy and debt free by 40. If you’re 40
and reading this book and you haven’t started yet, you need to get on with it.

Just as a couple of examples, let’s look at how money compounds over time.

If you’re 16 years old, and you start saving £150/$150 per month now, and
invest it at a return of 6%, by the time you’re 40 years old, you’d have £96,167.
You’d have only actually saved £43,200, so you’re getting £53,000 interest on
your money.

If you carried on investing that £150/$150 per month until age 65, you’d have
£533,333. Your actual savings were £88,200, so £445,000 was interest! How
good is that?

If you started investing at 16, and stopped investing at age 40, and left your
£96,167 in the bank and forgot about it until you retired at age 65, how much do
you think you would have? £429,382. Now can you see why you should start
immediately?

If you’re 40 years old and you start investing £150/$150 per month now until
retirement age of 65, you’d have £103,949. £45,000 was the value of the actual
money that you put aside yourself.

Can you see why it’s better to start young? For a 40 year old to accumulate
£533,333 by retirement age, they’d need to invest £770 per month at 6% interest
until they retire.

The other thing about time is how you spend it. I’ve already mentioned in this
section that wealthy people don’t waste time. They spend it wisely. What if,
instead of watching TV for six hours per week, you used that time to find some
good investments? If you could turn your 6% interest to 9%, your £150/$150
invested over 49 years would grow to £1,598,535. Would that extra million
pounds be worth spending a few hours a week on?

What if you spent those few hours per week making, and investing £100 extra
per month? Still investing at the lower 6%, your pot would now be £888,889.
It’d be worth an additional £350,000 to you.

So here are the key messages from this chapter on time:

Start NOW
Use your time wisely to maximise your returns.
Chapter 26

Wills

Here’s another boring but important subject.

Wills.

Approximately 55% of people in the US die without a will. I would imagine that
the numbers in the UK are fairly similar.

If you die without a will, the government will decide who gets your money. How
do you feel about that?

If your parents have died, and you’re not married, and have no children, your
siblings will get your money. If you have no siblings, and nobody legally has
claim to your estate, the government can take the lot.

Does this sound like an ideal situation to you?

If not, I recommend getting a will.

You can actually purchase legally binding wills in the newsagents for a few
pounds. Solicitors offer will-writing services for very low fees these days as
well.

If you go onto Google, and type in will-writing services in “your home town”,
you will find countless solutions. I’ve just found one for £36, which is less than
it costs for a decent meal out for two people. Again, this is a small fee, but could
save your loved ones a lot of hassle and pain later on down the road.
Chapter 27

Multiple Sources Of Income

One of the habits of the wealthy is to create, or have, multiple sources of income.

If you have one job, and that is where you earn all of your money, there are only
a few ways you can increase your earning capacity.

One – Work more hours. Do you REALLY want to do that?

Two – Get a promotion. This is a good idea, but the extra money could come
with more pressure and more time commitment.
Three – Earn bonuses or commissions.

All three of these require you to be at work in order for you to make more
money. If you’re not there, you won’t be making more commissions, you won’t
be getting paid for more hours, and you’re less likely to get that promotion.

What if you had a website that made you money whilst you slept? You wake up
every morning and discover that you’ve made more money. What if you had a
book out that was selling copies all over the world whilst you were out having
fun with your family? Would that be a good idea? What if you had invented
something that paid you a commission every time it was used or sold. Would that
be useful?

There are so many ways to make additional income these days that I’m not going
to list them here. Needless to say that once you decide to do it, you just need to
get on and find out how.

I’ve built several websites and I didn’t have a clue how to do it. So I learned.
I’ve written several books. Before I wrote my first book, guess what… I wasn’t
an author and had no idea what people would think of my writing. Now I sell
books every day whilst I’m asleep, and I don’t even think twice about it. What
was once the unknown soon becomes the common place.

If you’re scared of the unknown, you have to move past the fear and take action.
If you want to create things that make you money, then you have to START. If
you don’t start, then you’ll never do it.

Also, you have to accept the fact that a lot of what you’re going to do won’t
work. But that’s normal. That’s how it’s supposed to happen. If it can be fixed,
then fix it. If not, just say “Next”, and move on to the next idea. Get some help,
get some coaching, and keep working on it until you find something you can be
successful at. If you find a way to make £0.10 in passive income you’re on your
way to growing that number.

Most people will never do these things. Here’s a quote that I saw on twitter the
other day, and it sums up everything in the last two sections.

“Today I will do what others will not, so that tomorrow I can do what others
cannot”.

Memorise this and make it your mantra. Most people won’t take the action. They
won’t take the failures and learn from them. They won’t take the pain of
spending hours or days on a project to see it not work. They won’t spend the
hours building something worthwhile, instead of sitting in front of the TV. Are
you one of them? I didn’t think you were!

One word of warning. Be careful of scams that promise you’ll get rich quick. If
they offer a ready made website, guess how many other people have that exact
same website? If they say that their system involves no work, then it probably
involves no income either. Always check reviews of opportunities you find
online. My advice is to create your own opportunity by using your awesome
mind!
Chapter 28

Reading – Find The Solutions

The information I’ve provided here is just the tip of the iceberg. There are so
many different strategies to becoming wealthy, prosperous, or whatever term you
prefer to name your financial freedom.

And here’s what’s interesting; Hundreds of wealthy or financially successful

people have written their stories down in books. All you have to do is go and
read them. Would a book that cost £10/$10 be a good investment if reading it
helped you to make £10,000/$10,000?

I’d say that it would.

Here are a few books I’d start with:

7 Strategies For Wealth And Happiness – Jim Rohn

Rich Dad Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki
The Richest Man In Babylon – George Clason
The Millionaire Next Door – Thomas Stanley & William Danko
The Millionaire Mind – Thomas Stanley
How To Get Rich – Felix Dennis
One Hour To Managing Your Money – Simon Smith
Risky Is The New Safe – Randy Gage
The Snowball – Warren Buffett
The Real Deal – James Caan
Anyone Can Do It – Duncan Bannatyne
What You See Is What You Get – Alan Sugar
Anything You Want – Derek Sivers
One Simple Idea – Stephen Key

Above are 14 books. If you read one per month, do you think you may have a
few more ideas next year? I think you would have lots! Could you pick these
books up fairly cheaply? I’m going to go onto Amazon right now and find out!
Be back in a minute.
Whoops, shouldn’t have done that, I’ve just purchased another 8 books, for the
grand sum of £2.32 plus shipping for the lot.

So here is what you would pay today for the books I’ve just mentioned (today is
the 9 March 2013)

7 Strategies For Wealth And Happiness – Jim Rohn - £2.99

Rich Dad Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki - £0.01
The Richest Man In Babylon – George Clason £0.33
The Millionaire Next Door – Thomas Stanley & William Danko - £0.03
The Millionaire Mind – Thomas Stanley - £0.01
How To Get Rich – Felix Dennis £0.01
One Hour To Managing Your Money – Simon Smith £2.97
Risky Is The New Safe – Randy Gage - £8.20
The Snowball – Warren Buffett - £1.50
The Real Deal – James Caan - £0.01
Anyone Can Do It – Duncan Bannatyne £0.01
What You See Is What You Get – Alan Sugar - £0.01
Anything You Want – Derek Sivers - £4.32
One Simple Idea – Stephen Key - £7.45

So for the grand sum of £27.85 (plus shipping) you could have a years worth of
books that are written by people with a collective wealth of over 30 billion
dollars. In these books, they tell you exactly what they did, and do to make
money. Two of the books are written by a professor that spent 15 years surveying
millionaires to see exactly how they think, and what they do. Could that be a
good exchange? 30 Billion dollars worth of ideas for less than £30?

Start building your library!

 Section 4

Inner Peace
Chapter 29

Inner Peace

Inner peace comes to those that are happy with who they are, what they do, and
what they have.

This can be summed up in one word. Gratitude.

Now I’m not saying that you shouldn’t strive to have, become, and do more as
that is what the majority of this book is about, but what I AM saying is that
HOW you go about this is what’s important.

The Buddha said that inner peace would only come about when we could get rid
of desire, as desire leads to craving, and craving leads to dissatisfaction and
worry. If you’re grateful for what you have, whilst working positively towards
what you want, then you may also achieve inner peace. If you’re working to
achieve more but stressing out about it, hurting people in the process, and
worrying about not getting what you want to, you will never have inner peace.

If you worry about money, you will never have inner peace. Work to create your
streams of income, but don’t worry that they may not work. Concentrate on the
process of DOING and LEARNING, not of getting.

If you worry that you’re not losing weight quickly enough, you will never have
inner peace. Concentrate on the process of exercising (doing) and the process of
saying NO (being present enough to realise that you are making a choice) to the
things you know you should.

If you worry that your husband/wife/children aren’t exactly how you want them
to be, then you will never have inner peace. Concentrate on the things you love
about them. Think about how loving they are, how kind, how appreciative, how
fun.

If you focus on how you’re not perfect, you will never have inner peace. There is
no such thing as perfection in a person, so why should you be any different?
Everybody makes mistakes, and everybody has things about themselves that
they don’t particularly like. Just focus on your positives. Make a list of them, and
refer to them whenever you feel yourself feeling down about yourself. Read One
Hour To Positive Self Esteem for more ideas.

Here’s one way to gain inner peace. Always be present in the moment. This
takes massive practice, especially when you’re completing tasks on autopilot
such as driving, washing up, hanging out the washing.

If you focus 100% on the task you are completing, there is no room in your mind
to be worrying about things that might happen/might not happen/did
happen/didn’t happen/should have happened/shouldn’t have happened.

Did you notice the language in the last sentence?

Might happen/might not happen/did happen/didn’t happen/should have

happened/shouldn’t have happened.

What do you notice about this list?

Every one of them is happening in your mind. Even the ones that DID happen
are still happening again IN YOUR MIND. If you don’t think about them, they
aren’t happening any more. Your mind is very creative, and can conjure up all
sorts of disasters, but is this the best use of your time and mind? I think we’d
both agree that it’s not. How do you stop it from happening then?

There’s a simple (but not always easy) three-step process for doing this. Here it
is:

One – Become aware of your thoughts. The easiest way to do this is to be aware
of your feelings. If you’re feeling nervous, anxious, worried, angry, bitter, guilty,
or any of these negative feelings then you’re more than likely focussed on one of
these areas (might happen/might not happen/did happen/didn’t happen/should
have happened/shouldn’t have happened). As soon as you become aware of this,
move onto step two.

Two – As soon as you’re aware of what you’re doing, focus on your breathing.
Focus on your in breath, and then on your out breath, and focus on the few
seconds of space in between your in and out breaths. This will immediately stop
your awareness from being on your thoughts, and put your awareness into your
body. You will immediately feel better.

Three – Once you’ve stilled your mind and put your focus back into your body,
become fully aware of whatever task you are completing. Concentrate on each
action and nuance of it for as long as you can.

This is it. The more often you practice, the more rapid the results will be, and the
negative feelings/thoughts will become less frequent.
Chapter 30

Expectations

I remember reading a great book several years ago called “Expect Nothing: A
Zen Guide” by Clarice Bryan.

The basic premise of the book is that you can avoid disappointment in your life
by learning to remove your expectations.

Let’s have a real life example. Let’s say you invite a friend over for dinner.
You’ve spent hours making it and preparing it, and you’ve tasted it and it tastes
amazing. One thing that is concerning you however is that your friend is
ALWAYS late. You find it very frustrating. They are late when you pick them up
for an engagement, they are late when they are picking you up for an
engagement, and they are late when they arrange to meet you somewhere.

So you have this dilemma. You are looking forward to your friend coming over
and enjoying dinner with you, but if they are late it could put a dampener on the
evening as in your map of the world, being late demonstrates a lack of respect.

Now you have several things you can do here.

First, you could let your mind do its normal thing and worry about it. This is not
ideal and won’t help you achieve inner peace at this moment in time.

Second, you can use the technique learned in the previous chapter to control
your state.

Three, you can alter your expectations. If you decide in advance that your friend
will probably be late, you can decide right now how to feel about it when it
happens. You could say to yourself that it doesn’t matter. You can say to yourself
that the dinner will taste just as good no matter what time they arrive. You could
tell yourself that no matter what time your friend arrives, you will love her
anyway.
This removes your inner turmoil. This stops you having negative thoughts about
her. You can decide that you will start reading a book or doing something else
that you enjoy at the time they are supposed to arrive. This way, the later they
are, the more time you get to enjoy whatever it is you’re doing.

Here’s another example. Let’s say that your idea of motherhood is to spend lots
of time with your children, visit them every week, offer to babysit whenever they
want to, and generally be around all the time for them. But YOUR mother wants
to go on holiday, wants to spend time with her friends, and doesn’t pop round
every week and offer to babysit. Where is the problem here?

It’s with your expectations. An expectation is simply another word for a desire.
And as we know, unsatisfied desire is the root of dissatisfaction, and
dissatisfaction will always lead you away from inner peace.

If you allowed your mother to be herself, it would be a lovely surprise when she
visits, rather than something you just expect of her all of the time. Rather than
hold bitterness towards her because she doesn’t act like you would as a mother,
you would just have love for her.

Which is better?

Now from this explanation, I’m not stating that you should go through life with
no standards, and no ambition, and no “Wants”, but what I am saying is that you
shouldn’t become emotionally attached to them. For example, if you want to get
a new job, you should do everything in your power to get it. Plan your
preparation, think about the questions you’ll be asked, get a friend or colleague
to put you through some mock interviews, and do your prep on the role and the
company. Go in fully prepared and ready to wow them, and leave no stone
unturned. What you SHOULDN’T do though, is base your entire future on the
interview. As soon as you put too much emotional energy into it, you are leaving
yourself open to getting hurt or becoming disappointed.

There is nothing wrong with being disappointed for half an hour or so, but it
shouldn’t ruin your day or your week.

So in short, you can still make goals, you can still plan your future, you can still
set out the things you want in life, but try to eliminate or at the very least reduce
the amount of emotional energy to put into your expectations and attachment to
them. This will help you remain peaceful inside.
Chapter 31

Do What You Love – Find A Passion

If you want to be happy, find something to be passionate about and do it as much

as you can.

I once read a newspaper article about what made people happy. They looked at a
variety of variables:

How much money people made

What sort of loving relationship they had
What type of work they were involved in
How they got on with their children
The relationship they had with their parents

Etc….

The ONE thing that made the biggest difference to how happy a person was, was
whether or not they had a hobby or a passion that they were actively involved in.
The study found that people with a hobby or obsession (we’re talking healthy
obsession here, not the “Stalker” type) were the happiest.

If they had a hobby, or interest that they regularly participated in, they were
more likely to score higher on the happiness test (that’s my scientific name for
it).

If you enjoy something so much that you lose all track of time when you’re
engaged in it, you are more likely to be happy. For me, the three things I enjoy
doing that make me lose track of time are playing the guitar, reading, and
writing.

If I pick my guitar up and set myself a proper practice schedule, I can literally
play for hours without stopping. Likewise with writing. If I sit down at my
computer and the words start to flow, I will look up at the clock and see that
three hours have gone by and I haven’t even noticed.
What could you start as a hobby that you would really enjoy? What did you do
as a kid that was fun, that you were passionate about, that you could reignite?
Did you collect things? Did you draw? Did you take part in a sport that you
loved? Did you read? Did you take photographs?

With all of the possible fun things that are available in today’s world, there will
probably be something you would love to do. There are courses both online and
offline on just about any subject you’d care to mention. Weird as it may sound, I
knew a girl that had always had an interest in embalming, but just thought it was
a silly idea. She then looked into it, and realised she could train in it locally. She
started the course, and absolutely loved it. When she qualified, she quit her job,
and now runs her own funeral directors.

No matter how silly or foolish you think you would feel by starting something
you’ve always wanted to, you will not be the first person to ever feel like that.
You won’t be the last. This should not stop you in any way, shape or form.

I remember when I was young and wanted to play the guitar. I was such a shy
kid, and I thought people would laugh at me if I got a guitar, and I nearly didn’t
do it for that reason. So I mentioned it just in passing in front of my family, and
because nobody laughed, I went ahead with the idea. I’m so glad I did as it’s
changed my life. That one decision to actually start led me to going on 11 UK
tours with my band, playing hundreds of gigs, meeting lots of cool people from
around the world, and releasing several albums and EP’s.

If I hadn’t taken that first step I would never have had those experiences, and I
wouldn’t have a lot of the friends I have today.

Write a list of the things you’d like to try. What step could you take TODAY to
find a new hobby or interest? Who do you know that could point you in the right
direction?

What new skill would you like to have? Learn a new language? Play the piano?
Learn computer programming or iPhone App development? Learn Japanese
cooking?

I’ll tell you this. In five years time you will be able to look back at this moment.
You will look back and say, “That was the day I decided on learning this new
skill/acquiring this new ability”, or you will look back and say “That was the day
that I was going to start learning that new skill/acquiring that new ability, but I
never got started”.

Which would you prefer? 5 years will definitely go by no matter what you
decide. Would you rather look back with happiness at the new
skills/experience/ability/friends, or look back with regret that you never started?

Starting a new hobby could change your life for the better. It can open up a
whole new world of people, experiences, and fun.

It might even make you just a little bit happier.

The other beauty of getting good at something is that you can then charge for
your services to teach others how to do it. So you can turn your new hobby into a
business, or money-making asset.

What do you want to do? Are you going to do it?

Chapter 32

Search For The Answers - Books

I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this, but books are a pretty good way of figuring
stuff out. This book may have helped you along that path? If it didn’t, then I’m
sure there are other books that can.

One of the things Jim Rohn used to say was that “It is rare that a good idea will
interrupt you. You must go and find good ideas. Read the books, go to the
seminars, listen to the MP3’s”.

This is so true. If there is any skill you wish to acquire, there will be a book on it.
If there is a book on it, there is probably an audio book on it. If there is an audio
book on it, you can listen to it whilst you’re doing other things and learn as you
go about your day. Learning can be so easy. You just need to find a learning style
that works for you.

If you spend 30 minutes in the car on the way to work each day, and 30 minutes
in the car on the way home, that is 5 hours per week that you can learn a new
skill or pick up some new ideas. That’s 20 hours per month, and 240 hours per
year. What could you learn in 240 hours per year?

All leaders are readers.

The world is changing. If you want to keep up with the moving times, you need
to CONSTANTLY re-educate yourself. Ten years ago, you couldn’t send an
email on your phone. Now, I never log into my email account on my computer
because everything is on my phone.

Five years ago, there was no Kindle. Now you’re reading this book on one. What
else is going to change in the next five years? If you’re not re-educating yourself
about what’s going on, you will be left behind.

Whilst there are principles in life that will never change, such as honesty,
integrity, hard work, and love, the one major constant in our day to day lives is
that everything’s changing. Business is changing. The way we shop is changing.
The way we read books is changing (after hundreds of years). The way we
entertain ourselves is changing.

Learning new things will keep you moving forward. If you stay the same you
will not stay where you are, you will actually move backwards, as everything
else is moving forwards.

Can you tell that I think reading and learning is a good idea?

I just re-read Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, and he talks in the book
about a course he attended on real estate. He said that going on that course cost
him $500, but the information he got on the course has made him in excess of
$2,000,000. Was that information valuable?

I have a goal to learn something new every day. Even if it’s something very
small, I try to do it so that I’m better today than I was yesterday. I’m wiser today
than I was yesterday. I have more solutions today than I did yesterday.

Ok, rant over…. Let’s talk about fun!!

Chapter 33

Have Fun
Fun is important. If you’re serious all the time, then life becomes a bit boring
and so do you.

I’m sure we all know people that just work all the time and never seem to let
their hair down. I wouldn’t suggest you become one of these people.

We are only here once, and when all is said and done we’re here for a very short
time. Make the most of it. When I meet up with friends that I haven’t seen for a
long time, we remember the good times. We don’t say things like “Remember
that time we beat that target at work”, or “Remember the day when we talked
about where to invest our money for the best return?”

We talk about stupid things we did, or fun times we had. We take the Mickey out
of ourselves for daft things that happened, or where we nearly got into trouble.
Life needs to be about experiences. The good and the bad. The serious and the
fun. The happy and the sad.

It does everybody a bit of good to sometimes just forget about the office, or the
business, forget about paying the mortgage, and just be you. But be the fun
version of you.

When was the last time you really laughed until your stomach hurt? When was
the last time you went and saw a live comedian, or went to a theme park?
When was the last time you spent some money on something you wanted just for
the hell of it (don’t use your credit card)?
When was the last time you looked in the mirror and pulled some stupid faces at
yourself?
When was the last time you called up an old friend and just talked about the
good times?
When was the last time you did something totally unpredictable just for hell of
it?

A few years ago, and a friend and I started a monthly routine called The Eigth
Regime. On the 8th of each month we had to do something totally random.
Whether that was getting a coach up to London for the day, and watching a
football match, or catching a show, it had to be something we wouldn’t normally
do, and it had to be fun. We had a great time for about six months, then due to
other commitments we had to put a stop to it. But we still talk about those days.

Could you do a similar thing with your friends? Spouse? Kids?

Make a plan to go and do some fun things as soon as you can, especially if
you’ve been getting a bit too serious lately. Get your family involved. Get your
friends involved. Be a kid again.
Chapter 34

Contribution

Here’s a quick way to feel good about yourself.

Go and help another person.

If you contribute, you will be happier. I know that when I’ve helped another
person I have felt great. Whether you’re helping somebody by coaching them,
lending them a hand, supporting them through a tough time, giving them advice,
or just lending an ear to listen to their problems, you will feel better.

Many Ultra-Rich business people reach a point in their lives where they feel as
though they need to give something back. They realise that contribution is one of
the most important things in life, and that giving back to others not only makes
them feel better, but it changes the world.

My partner used to be a Samaritan. She’d sit in the office, and take calls from
people just to be able to help. She said it was an amazing experience.

You can give your time, your money, or your expertise. If you’re short of time,
then you can donate to a charity or charities of your choice. If you’re short of
money, but have plenty of time, you can volunteer to help others. If you have a
skill, you can donate your talents, even if it’s not often, to help others.

Who do you know that could do with some help or support right now? Who do
you know that would like to learn from you? What good causes would you like
to support, but just haven’t had the time to, or just haven’t gotten around to
doing?

Could you start contributing in your own home? Does your partner struggle with
the housework whilst you watch TV? If so, get up and help them. Do your kids
find their homework difficult, but you’re too busy to help them? Change it.

Could you contribute in your road? Do you have an elderly neighbour that could
do with some help or assistance? Do you know somebody locally that could do
with a bit of financial support?

Remember, you can always do things anonymously if you don’t want people to
know about what you’re doing. You could buy someone a book and post it to
them with a note from an “Anonymous” friend. You could do an online shop for
them and put a note in from “Someone that cares”.

Have a think about what you could do. You’ll feel great if you actually do it.
Chapter 35

Master The Only Thing You Can – Yourself

We’ve talked about a lot of things in this book so far, but true happiness can be
achieved with this one simple principle.

Every day, try to become better at what you do, and learn to master yourself.

If you were the true master of yourself you could never be anything but happy,
unless you wanted to be.

You would be the master of your thoughts

You would be the master of your emotions
You would be the master of your body
You would be the master of your relationships
You would be the master of your finances
You would be the master of your time
You would be the master of your destiny
You would be the master of your health

99.999999999999999999% of people will never achieve this. In fact, maybe

nobody EVER will achieve this, but the closer you get to this, the happier you
will be.

Create the habits that will lead to your success. Set aside time for the important
things. Learn something new every day. Become an expert at something.

All this is just a choice. The only question is, what are you choosing?

Are you choosing the best path for YOU? If not, then you can always choose
again tomorrow. If you chose the wrong path today, don’t beat yourself up. Just
choose a different path tomorrow, or in the next minute. It’s up to you. You can
change in one second. It’s just a decision. The next time you go to put food in
your mouth, you can decide if it’s right. The next time you talk to your kids, you
can decide how you want that interaction to be.
Will you make mistakes? Absolutely. Does everybody make mistakes?
Absolutely. Can you correct them? Most of the time yes. Just be careful of where
you scatter your feathers.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your life.

Simon
Other Titles By Simon Smith

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One Hour To… Positive Self Esteem
One Hour To… Coaching For Performance
One Hour To… Simple Songwriting Skills
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 Table of Contents
Copyright
Introduction
Chapter 1 You Can Change Your Life Whenever You Want To!
Chapter 2 Paradigm Shifts
Chapter 3 Mentors
Chapter 4 Habits
Chapter 5 Self-Discipline
Chapter 6 What Will You Accept For Your Life?
Section 1 Happiness
Chapter 7 Relationships
Chapter 8 Mental Strength
Chapter 9 Decision Making
Chapter 10 Knowledge & Choices
Chapter 11 Curiosity
Chapter 12 Self Growth – Development & Learning
Section 2 Health
Chapter 13 Food Choices
Chapter 14 Exercise
Chapter 15 Healthy Thinking
Chapter 16 Healthy Associations
Chapter 17 Controlling Your Desires & Impulses
Section 3 Wealth
Chapter 18 Money
Chapter 19 Habits
Chapter 20 Wealth Strategy
Chapter 21 Asset Allocation
Chapter 22 Savings & Investing
Chapter 23 Pensions
Chapter 24 Insurance
Chapter 25 Time
Chapter 26 Wills
Chapter 27 Multiple Sources Of Income
Chapter 28 Reading – Find The Solutions
Section 4 Inner Peace
Chapter 29 Inner Peace
Chapter 30 Expectations
Chapter 31 Do What You Love – Find A Passion
Chapter 32 Search For The Answers - Books
Chapter 33 Have Fun
Chapter 34 Contribution
Chapter 35 Master The Only Thing You Can – Yourself
Other Titles By Simon Smith