Pay yourself first

Save and invest 10% of your income throughout your working life. Take 10% of your income off the top of your paycheck each time you receive it and put it away into a special account for financial accumulation. If you just saved 100 dollars per month throughout your working lifetime and you invested that money in an average mutual fund that grew at 10% per annum, you would accumulate a fortune of more than one million dollars by the time you retire. What this means is that anyone, even a minimum wage earner, if they start early enough and save long enough, can become a millionaire in the course of time.

It was once said that if you cannot save money, then the seeds of greatness are not in you. Developing the lifelong habit of saving and investing your money is not easy. It requires tremendous determination and willpower. You have to set it as a goal. Write it down. Make a plan. Work on it all the time. But once it locks in and becomes automatic, your financial success is virtually guaranteed.

Practice frugality, frugality, frugality in all things. Be very careful with every penny. Question every expenditure. Delay or defer every important buying decision for at least a week, if not a month. The longer you put off making a buying decision, the better will be your decision, and the better a price you will get at that time.

The major reason that people retire poor is because of impluse purchases. They see something and they buy it, with very little thought. They become victims of what is called Parkinson's law. This law says that expenses rise to meet income. No matter how much you earn, you spend that much and a little bit more besides. You never get ahead and you never get out of debt if you fall prey to Parkinson's law.

But this is not for you. If you cannot save 10% of your income, start today by saving 1% of your income in the special savings and investment account. Put it away at the beginning of each month, even before you begin paying your debts. Learn to live on the other 99% of your income. As you become comfortable living on 99% of your income, raise your savings level to 2% of your income, then 3% and 4% and so on. Within one year, you'll find yourself saving 10% and maybe even 15% or 20% of your income and living comfortably on the balance. At the same time, your savings and investment account will start to grow. You'll start to become more careful about your expenditures and you'll start paying off your debts. Within a year or two, your entire financial life will be under your control and you'll be on your way to becoming a self-made millionaire. This process has worked for everyone who has ever tried it and it will work for you.

by Brian Tracy

I see you

"I see you." A greeting I heard from the movie Avatar. What a way to acknowledge the presence of a person! It's taking time to know and discover that in front of you is a human being with his own worries, struggles, and successes.

I have been attempting, to some degree, to have this kind of mind set when I meet an old friend. Of course, I will not say, I see you. This would be weird. But I simply ask how they are doing. Almost always they would narrate about where they work, their business, their kids, where they have been, where they are living right now, some gossips about our common friends, etc. And when the bubbling goes on for quite sometime, I gently interrupt and state it clearly again, "No, I want to find out about you. How are YOU doing? And when they realize that my sincerity in asking how they really are doing, the mood sort of changes, and the conversation shifts gear into a deeper, more meaningful one.

I was at a mall early today. I chanced upon an old friend and we chatted for about maybe five to ten minutes. After the initial pleasantries, I asked him again how he really was doing, I think he sensed that I was genuinely interested because, wow, in so short a time he talked about his struggles: client troubles; relationship problems with in laws and later, his wife; financial burdens with his failing business, etc.

I really had no more time to hear his woes because I was now late for an appointment, so I asked, "In all your problems was there anybody who wass always present at the scene of the crime? I suggested maybe that person needed to change first. This got him thinking. And I had to leave.

Later, I got a text message from him. His answer, "My wife." Hahaha.. But I know he got my point, loud and clear.

Clarity of Purpose

The Law of Clarity


Clarity accounts for probably 80% of success and happiness. Lack of clarity is probably more responsible for frustration and underachievement than any other single factor. That's why we say that "Success is goals, and all else is commentary." People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine. This is true everywhere and under all circumstances.

The Three Keys to High Achievement
You could even say that the three keys to high achievement are, "Clarity, Clarity, Clarity," with regard to your goals. Your success in life will be largely determined by how clear you are about what it is you really, really want.

Write and Rewrite Your Goals
The more you write and rewrite your goals and the more you think about them, the clearer you will become about them. The clearer you are about what you want, the more likely you are to do more and more of the things that are consistent with achieving them. Meanwhile, you will do fewer and fewer of the things that don't help to get the things you really want.

The Seven Step Process for Achieving Goals
Here, once more, is the simple, seven-step process that you can use to achieve your goals faster and easier than ever before.

First, decide exactly what you want in each area of your life. Be specific!

Second, write it down, clearly and in detail;

Third, set a specific deadline. If it is a large goal, break it down into sub-deadlines and write them down in order;

Fourth, make a list of everything you can think of that you are going to have to do to achieve your goal. As you think of new items, add them to your list;

Fifth, organize the items on your list into a plan by placing them in the proper sequence and priority;

Sixth, take action immediately on the most important thing you can do on your plan. This is very important!

Seventh, do something every day that moves you toward the attainment of one or more of your important goals. Maintain the momentum!

Join the Top 3%
Fewer than three percent of adults have written goals and plans that they work on every single day. When you sit down and write out your goals, you move yourself into the top 3% of people in our society. And you will soon start to get the same results that they do.

Review Your Goals Daily
Study and review your goals every day to be sure they are still your most important goals. You will find yourself adding goals to your list as time passes. You will also find yourself deleting goals that are no longer as important as you once thought. Whatever your goals are, plan them out thoroughly, on paper, and work on them every single day. This is the key to peak performance and maximum achievement.

Action Exercises
Here is how you can apply this law immediately:

First, make a list of ten goals that you would like to achieve in the coming year. Write them down in the present tense, as though a year has passed and you have already accomplished them.

Second, from your list of ten goals, ask yourself, "What one goal, if I were to accomplish it, would have the greatest positive impact on my life?" Whatever it is, put a circle around this goal and move it to a separate sheet of paper.

Third, practice the seven-step method described above on this goal. Set a deadline, make a plan, and put it into action and work on it every day. Make this goal your major definite purpose for the weeks and months ahead.

Get ready for some amazing changes in your life.

- Brian Tracy