Love, Hearts and Dreams

I was asked to write an article for the YES newsletter on networking, then Andrea suggested a Valentine's edition would be better suited to love. Oh yes, a topic I'm an expert on!?! So I thought I'd write about the kinds of people that we all know, who are close to us and you might even recognise a little bit of yourself.

Check out the current Yes Group Newsletters

I also had a film review for Slumdog Millionaire published in the Coaches Community Newsletter last month as well.

----------------------

Who are the kinds of people that we all like to know and meet, who are closest to us and single? Are they like you?

There are so many brilliant people in the personal development world and I'm sure it would be easy enough to just hook them all up. Networking and meeting other singles can't be an issue, as you're already out of your house and talking to people. Most of you don't even need an excuse to high five or hug someone!

Now I know most of you don't go to networking events to specifically meet your partner, more likely to get away from the one at home... just kidding. If you aren't getting out often enough, come on over to the next YES group or crash a birthday party, a hobby of mine now!


What are the date's that most singles dread, due to peer pressure and society of course. Would it be Christmas and New Year? Birthday's? Or Valentines Day!? Some of the ladies I know shudder at the thought of being single over that period. Will their coupled up friends ask what plans they have, with the reply being another 'too busy for a relationship' excuse!

Many people I know in the personal development world have moved on from their 'old' lives and friends and now prefer the company of a new peer group on their level of understanding. They've discovered themselves and are looking for someone to complement them. Yes it's good to be comfortable in your own skin and around yourself, so why not be yourself around other people as well and maybe that special somebody. Or are you waiting for that perfect person to walk into your life? They might already be there under your nose and you've not taken the time to get to know them. Saying you've altered your old paradigms is not the same as taking action and proving it.

Are you one of those people that can't move on from a relationship that is clearly over, where you feel the need to be in a relationship because you think you can't survive alone? Or someone who gets so close and then sabotages it on purpose because they're scared of commitment? Not wanting to get too involved, as you've only ever know how to live by yourself?
Have these attitudes been serving you or is it time for a change now.

It's easy to get into a comfort zone as we all know, life is on the edge and on the other side of that zone. Even if you stretch it just a little, you'll have more options open to you.


Do you hope the stars are going to offer you a break or are you going to have to make it happen? If you've been waiting a while for the universe to deliver, when are you going to accept the opportunities already present.

Have you heard the story of the person in a boat, lost in the ocean. They pray for God to rescue them. Soon a rescue plane comes but the person waves them off and says 'It's okay God will save me.' Then comes a boat and a helicopter but they all get the same response. When they die and get to heaven, the person cries out to God, 'Why didn't you save me?' God says, 'Didn't you see the plane, boat and helicopter I sent?'
What more do you want, it is up to you to say YES! God helps those that helps themselves.

Are you not 'seeing' the people that are already in your life. Are you waiting for them to be part of your past; or would you prefer them to be part of your future?

Maybe you are wondering what other people will say or think. You want to act cool in front of your friends and seek approval. Whilst you're over in their head space, who is in yours? Does it really matter what someone else's opinion of you might be, constantly trying to please others. Wouldn't it be better to live your life the best way that you want!

You'll know whether someone might be the right person by the way that you feel about them when you meet or talk. Instead of waiting till later or next time, seize the once in a lifetime opportunity to say hi and exchange numbers if you hit it off. There may be other people you could meet in the future, but you have to remember you live in the now. And this now is never to be repeated, do you really want to miss out? They could step out the door and meet someone else, where is your later then!

When someone meets another person in their life, they have a chance to say something and a choice to make, whether this is going to be a moment that you might learn from (and live happily ever after for those that like fairy tales) or potentially regret months or years from now. People will keep turning up in your life, you will get 'better' offers BUT you won't get that same offer again, it is up to you to decide what you do.

As time moves on, you see a potential partner happy with someone else now. They might be happily married, with kids and it is too late to turn back the clock. They may have grown to be the person that you could now possibly get along with, not having given them a chance before.

These are the choices you made and it could have been decisions in the past that are showing up again in the present. Maybe they're just showing up as a reminder to you, to change your ways.


Are you going to make the same choices again, to have the same results show up in your future or are you going to take a risk and give that someone, who's momentarily turned up in your life now, a chance... Instead of replaying your old programs and beliefs, how about playing 'what if' - “what if this could be a moment to move my life forward in the direction I want.” “What if this person is the right one for me.” Find out. Do you want to look back at your life with regrets and wonder about those decisions that could have been the 'what if' - I didn't think so.

Stop making excuses or looking for the worst case scenario (I'll just get my heart broken again crap) and step out and take control of your life. Organise to meet up for a coffee, agree to go on a date, do something crazy and fun, no matter where it might lead. You might just become good friends or end up going somewhere you've never even been before!
And you're not really giving that somebody a chance to be happy with you; the person that you're really giving a chance to be happy is yourself!

Don't be just a footnote in someone's story, be a whole chapter; even better still, write your own!
The future is still unwritten, get writing your story now, the way that you want it to be...

Remember "Life's for sharing" - who is that special someone you are going to share it with? :-)


----------------------

This Valentines Day I was at another Personal development seminar with great people at Play To Win . So come along to the next one, improve yourself and maybe meet a great single too.

Guide to trading monkeys, goats, the stock market and property!?

Lessons in trading monkeys, goats, stocks and property. Bear with me on this one and I'll help you figure out where you should be putting your money if any where at all. In just a couple of simple lessons, you could be out of the jungle and have escaped being put in the zoo. I wonder how many animals it took to put this post together?

Bobby

------------------

Lesson 1: A guide to trading monkeys

"Once upon a time a man appeared in a village and announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10 each.

The villagers, seeing that there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest and started catching them.

The man bought thousands at $10 and, as supply started to diminish, thevillagers stopped their effort. He next announced that he would now buy monkeys at $20 each. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again.

Soon the supply diminished even further and people started going back to their farms. The offer increased to $25 each and the supply of monkeys became so scarce it was an effort to even find a monkey, let alone catch it!


The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at $50 each! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would buy on his behalf. In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers: "Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has already collected. I will sell them to you at $35 and when the man returns from the city, you can sell them to him for $50 each."

The villagers rounded up all their savings and bought all the monkeys for 700 billion dollars.

They never saw the man or his assistant again, only lots and lots of monkeys!

Now you have a better understanding of how the stock market and the BAILOUT PLAN WILL WORK !!!!"

It doesn't get much clearer than this................ Banana anyone?


Moral: Don't buy monkeys or be one!
--------------------------------------------


OK... Rewind and lets go again from another perspective:

Lesson 2: A guide to trading animals (monkeys -v- goats)

"Here's a story that will help you figure out the difference: One day a man appeared in a village and said that he would pay a thousand rupees for each monkey that the villagers could supply. The villagers caught all the monkeys in the neighbourhood and sold them to him. Soon a second man appeared and offered two thousand for each monkey. Since all monkeys were with the first man, the villagers had no choice but to try and return his money and take the monkeys back from him. However, the man refused. The villagers hiked up the price to Rs 1500 and then to Rs 1900 but he still refused. The villagers were at first puzzled by this refusal of the first man to make profits but they figured that there must be more buyers who were on the way to the village to offer higher and higher prices. So they hiked up the offer and bought back the monkeys for Rs 3,000. The two men then went away and the villagers then started waiting for more buyers. They waited and they waited but no one ever came.

Nearby, there was another village where exactly the same story happened, in the same way, except that the animals in question were goats.

Here too, the villagers waited and waited but no one ever came to buy their goats at a higher price. However, there was a big difference. In the first village, everyone soon realised that the monkeys were a nuisance. They shouted and shrieked, stole food and bit people and were worse than useless.

In the second village, the goat-owners were better off. The goats could be milked every day and the milk was good and healthy. When the goats eventually grew too old to be milked, the villagers could kill them for mutton.

Even though goats and monkeys had both been extremely overpriced, the goats turned out to be not such a bad deal. However, the monkeys were a complete disaster. The monkey-owners had to eventually abandon the animals in the jungle and try and forget about their losses.

And that's the difference between having bought overpriced goats and overpriced monkeys. Just like the stock markets. If you are going to be a fool and pay absurd prices because you think that a greater fool will appear in the future, make sure you buy a goat and not a monkey.

adapted from: http://www.valueresearchonline.com/story/h2_storyview.asp?str=11664 "

Image source: bradfitzpatrick.com
(I thought it looked cool on google and deserved some fair usage policy)

Moral: If you're buying animals it may as well be a goat instead of a monkey.
--------------------------------------------


Lesson 3: If you must buy and hold, buy dividend paying stocks in companies that are likely to be around for the long term. Do your own research and don't just listen to what the papers says or chimps recommend.

Or how about property that pays a rental income and grows in value over the long term!? Do your due diligence and pick up an asset that is below market value and produces a yield. You can collect money every month and let your property portfolio fund itself.

The value of land going bankrupt is virtually zero compared to over valued companies and the poor/emotional business judgement of people working in and trading them.

There is no bull or bear side of a market to gamble on, just the right side - make sure you're on it and have a good team and access to the information necessary to succeed.

Feeling too chicken to take the first steps? Don't listen to the naysayers, in a matter of fact, tell them to go take a diving duck! Join a great peer group and get yourself a coach, to help you get over your own barriers and enjoy property investing - because everything you do should be fun. Opportunity is out there waiting for you if you look and ask for it.