5 Daily Habits To Become Successful

1.  Write a Plan for the Day 
One day, I asked a friend, “Do you spend at least 30 minutes to plan your day?” He said, “Oh, I don’t have time to do that. There’s so much stuff to do! The moment I arrive in the office, I just dive into my work…” 

I shook my head. “Big mistake. 

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From my experience, when I take 30 minutes to plan my day, I double my production. What I used to do in eight hours, I can now do in four hours because of my 30 minutes of planning.” 

When I wake up in the morning, the first thing I do is wear my rubber shoes and walk around our village. 

While walking, I plan my day. Note: My plan for the day is short enough to memorize in my head. No need for a paper and pen. Instead, I use some memory tools I learned from mind-mapping exercises. 

But that’s me. You can do your 30-minute planning for the day in front of your computer. Or scribble on a nifty notebook in your pocket. Or jot it down on a calendar hanging on your wall. 

It doesn’t matter how you do it. Just do it. I know of someone who does his 30-minute planning for the day the night before the day starts. I think it’s a great idea. 

By the way, I never overload my “Today’s Plan”. I just write enough “Things To Do” for the day. And if I don’t finish it, I postpone it for the next day. No hassle. 

The moment I sit in front of my computer, I use a little free software to write my plans for the day. It’s  ww.teuxdeux.com

2. Wake Up One Hour Earlier

I wake up at 5:30am. 

Note that I don’t “go” to an office. I work from home. So as an entrepreneur, I could wake up at 9am—and no one would know. 

No one, but me. 

But I love working in the morning. 

My mind is fresh, the house is quiet, and my soul is at peace. 

I feel that I produce in two hours in the morning what will take me four hours in the afternoon. By 9am when the rest of the world is reporting for work I’ve already done a huge amount of work. 

I have a headstart. And that is emotionally invigorating. 

Keep waking up at the same time for 21 days and you won’t need an alarm clock. Your body becomes your internal alarm clock. 

I have a circle of very wealthy friends. Get this: All of them wake up very early in the morning. The richest among them—a billionaire—wakes up at 3:30am. I know my example is anecdotal, because you probably know of a very wealthy guy who wakes up at 12noon.

But among the most successful entrepreneurs I know, almost all of them wake up early in the morning.

3. Set Deadlines and Be Accountable

Deadlines are powerful. 

A plan without a deadline is just a nice idea. If it’s a real plan, it’s got to have a deadline. 

Do you dream of creating a website? Or building a business? Or writing a book? Or learning Internet marketing? Or starting your investments? 

Sometimes, these dreams remain dreams for many years because you have no deadline. 

Set a date. Mark it on your calendar. And then tell people about it. Be accountable! 

I love announcing my plans to the world.  Because it forces me to do them. 

Are there times when I fail to do my plans despite announcing them to the world? Yes. It’s embarrassing. It’s painful! But the pain is fuel for me to rise up and do better. 

Once you have a deadline, work backwards and write stuff that you need to do every day to fulfill your dream.

4. Launch Imperfect Products

I’m not talking about being sloppy. Or defective. 

I’m talking about not being a perfectionist. 

Perfectionists never launch products. They just hold on to them, perfecting this and that detail, tweaking here and there, until the products die a natural death. 

If you want to be wealthy, you can’t just be an artist. 

You’ve got to be an artist that has the ability to launch products on deadline. 

Here’s the winning formula: 

Launch your product even if it’s imperfect. And improve it along the way. This has always been my formula.

5. Focus on What Only You Can Do

You have to focus on what only you can do. 

Delegate work that others can do. 

I met a woman who wanted to sell healthy hotdogs. But she said she hasn’t launched the business yet because she still has to look for the “right” hotdog-making machine. 

She said she has no time to look around for a good machine fabricator to make the machine according to her specifications. So the business remained a dream for the past two years. 

Casually, I told her, “Why not hire someone to do that for you… you know, go around, visit machine fabricators, and report his findings to you?” She stared at me for a few seconds. She blinked hard. Finally, she said, “why didn’t I think of that before?” 

Why? Because we have an employee mindset. We think we’ll do everything. 

But real entrepreneurs are paid for their ideas, not their labor. 

Let me give you an example. I’m a writer. That’s what I do best. But in order to focus on writing, I need to hire a great team around me: editors, proofreaders, graphic artists, administrators, Internet marketing specialists, IT programmers, accountants… (Obviously, at the start, I started with only one staff…) 

I repeat: Focus on the work that only you can do.

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How Smell a Scam Away

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1. Insane Interest Rates

Multitel (Multinational Telecom Investors Corp.), started by Rosario “Rose” Baladjay, was probably the biggest scam in Philippine history.

Some news reports say that two million people invested in this company—which probably reached P100 billion. Reason: This company accepted small investors—even as small as P10,000. This company was so believable, they got many military and police officers to invest.

Why? Multitel promised four percent to five percent interest a month. They also had another offer where you could double your money in 18 months. Did you notice? That’s 60 percent growth a year.

That’s what I call an insane interest rate.

Insanely high interest rates means a pyramid scam is going on: The company gets money from new clients to pay off the interest of old clients. (This is what you call a Ponzi scheme, named after one of the most celebrated scammers in the history of America, Charles Ponzi.) This charade continues until there isn’t enough new money to pay off the interest rates of older clients. Soon, everything implodes.

For example, Rose Baladjay started by promising 1.1 percent a month interest to her investors. But by its very structure, you’ll need more and more money to pay older clients, so Multitel had to keep raising the interest rates to attract more customers. Soon, it promised five percent returns a month.

But after Multitel was shut down by the government, people didn’t learn. Cyrus Yap Hao, who worked with Baladjay in Multitel, set up his own pyramid scheme. He founded Royal Manchester Five (RMF). His company promised insane high returns as well—and many more were duped and lost their money. Through Powerhomes, they dangled the promise of P3 million in earnings plus a house and lot. Around P2 billion of clients’ money was lost in RMF.

In 2008, FrancsSwiss did the same thing. It promised four percent a day for 60 days straight or 270 percent returns. But despite the insanity of those interest rates, many executives and celebrities were lured into its bottomless pit. (I know of one Vice President who sent them P10 million and lost it all.)

Remember, if the promised interest rates are too high, stop. There’s something fishy going on.

2. Guaranteed High Interest Rates Every Year

There have been many other scams in the country and all of them have been “successful”. 

Unfortunately. Companies such as Performance Investments Products Corp (PIPC), MMG Holding, Tibayan Group of Companies, Legacy Group, Maria Theresa Santos Trading, etc…

Biggest Reason: Filipinos are financially ignorant.

We think everything works like a bank. 

We reason, “If a bank can give me a guaranteed interest rate, these investment companies can also do so…”

No, they can’t.

A bank can give you a guaranteed interest rate because they give a measly one: Less than one percent a year for your savings account and around three percent to five percent a year for your time deposit. But for example, at its height of popularity, the Rural Bank of Paranaque (run by Legacy group) was promising 20 percent a year to its depositors, every year. 

That should have been a red flag. But people didn’t see it.

Three of my friends invested in Legacy Group. 

They reasoned, “It’s a bank. As long as my money is below P250,000, my money is insured. I’m covered by PDIC.”

Sounds terrific. But when the collapse came, one of my friends had to wait for more than a year to get her money back.

3. You Can’t Understand How They Earn Money

Not one of the companies I mentioned in my previous post could explain how they could earn such high returns. 

Some will try to explain their investment strategies in esoteric language specifically for the purpose of confusing you.

For example, Royal Manchester Five said that they grew their clients’ money by trading in European currencies. But that’s impossible. Anyone who has done foreign currency trading knows that it’s highly volatile.

(My mentor says that 97 percent of people who trade in foreign currencies lose their money.)

Most of these pyramid companies hire salespeople to invite people to invest their money. These sales people are usually investors themselves. And they earn one percent to 20 percent commissions from the money being invested. 

Most of these sales people are very sincere. They really believe in the company. They don’t know it’s a scam. 

So they believe they’re doing their friends a favor by asking them to invest in these companies.

So when you ask these sales people (usually called counselors), “How can the company earn such big amounts?” they’ll never be able to answer your question. Because they themselves don’t know. They’ll usually say, “I don’t really know how they do it. It’s too complicated. Something about European currency trading. 

But it must be fantastic. All I can tell you is that it works. I’ve been investing with them for three years now and I’ve been getting my interest checks every month like clockwork…”

4. It’s Just Too Good to be True

There are other kinds of scams.

One day, a man came up to me and said, “ I received an email telling me that I was chosen to be the recipient of a huge inheritance money from a British lady who had no heirs. It’s worth 1.2 million pounds.

When I receive it, I’ll donate half to a charity.”

Groan. Gently, I told him that it was a scam.

He said, “But what if it isn’t a scam? I’ll lose the 1.2 million!”

I told him to go ahead and find out for himself. I warned him, “If they ask for money, it’s a scam.”

The following week, he told me with a sad face, “You were right. It was a scam. I called up the number of the attorney. The guy asked me to send him $400 to expedite the transfer of the inheritance money to my account. And to think that I almost fell for it…”

In another scam directed to OFWs, a text message was sent to them, saying, “Congratulations! You’ve just won $40,000 in the lotto…” The lotto was reportedly sponsored by then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for OFWs. But to claim their prize, they needed to send some dollars to Western Union—so they could remit the prize money from the organizer, which was supposed to be the GMA Charity Foundation.

None of these were true. 

But some Filipinos fell for it.

If it’s too good to be true, stop!

5. Owners Seem to be Good and Credible People

The people talking to you about the scam could in fact be very nice, honest, and kind people who wouldn’t hurt a kitten.

But they could just be as ignorant as you are.

In the Royal Manchester Five scam, the top sales managers were Born-Again Christians. They believed in their company so much, they asked their religious friends and even churches to invest.

Some, however, may just be very good pretenders.

Example of someone who seemed to be very credible? Bernie Madoff. In the biggest and longest-running scam in America, Madoff wasn’t only seen as a good guy, he had all the credentials. He was former chairman of NASDAQ stock exchange.

He was so believable, his Ponzi scheme lasted for possibly 30 years. Because of his reputation, Madoff was particularly attractive to very wealthy investors. When his entire operations fell, reports say that his clients lost $65 billion.

6. Your Financial Advisor and Financial Manager Are the Same Person

If it’s a scam, your financial advisor is also your financial manager. 

He holds your money. He invests it. He has full control over it. 

Theoretically, he can run away with it.

Example of a very dangerous situation: I manage the money of my older aunts and uncles (age 80+). I do it because at their age, they have no choice. I love them. 

But what they’re doing is dangerous. If I was evil, I’d spend their money—and they won’t be able to do anything about it. 

Thank God their nephew’s a good person.

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How To Start A Business With No Capital

Question
Can you help me please? I’m out of job. I lost it last September. I don’t know what to do. At my age, 51, I’m no longer competitive. I want to venture into business but all I have is P30,000. HELP PLEASE....

Thanks, Sylvia

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Answer
Hi Sylvia, One option is to get a job first before venturing into your own business. Yes, there are jobs out there for people your age…

Option 1: You can sell something and earn via commission. Some companies will accept anyone of any age, as long as they know how to sell.

Option 2: Some Call Centers accept people of any age, as long as you speak good English. You just need to search for one!

Option 3: You can go to people you know—perhaps owners of small businesses—and you can approach them and offer your services to them.

You shouldn’t approach them by saying, “I need a job, I’m desperate...” but say, “You need me because I can make your life easier and more profitable...”

But you’re right: You can set up a business even without much capital. Or at least, be self-employed.

What kind of businesses? If you don’t have capital, you can sell your services directly to customers. I’m sure you have an expertise that you can sell to a customer... Accounting? Cooking? Organizing? Tutoring?

For example, my friend tutors kids and charges per hour.

My other friend teaches kids how to play the guitar.

My two boys are taught by an enterprising young man how to draw, doodle, paint, etc... He charges P500 for a 2-hour visit. Imagine if he has 20 students a week?

I know of someone who knows how to cook very well. He cooks for small groups, small parties, etc, for a prearranged fee.

He goes to their house, buys the ingredients, and cooks for them—using their own kitchen. The opportunities are endless!

The key is to tell the world about your skills and services—and you can do that easily now through the Internet. (Think Facebook!) Give your services for free first.

If you’re any good, people will tell their friends about you. And don’t forget to study, study, study!

The important thing is to stick to your core gift, the area of your expertise. So that you don’t have a learning curve to go through.

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How To Earn Passive Income From Real Estate

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“It’s tangible, it’s solid, it’s beautiful. It’s artistic from my standpoint, and I just love real estate.” – Donald Trump 

Have you tried finding ways on how to generate extra income, but don’t know how? Do you know that you don’t need to look somewhere else to make this happen? 

Have you heard about leveraging? Leveraging, in its simplest term, means an activity that uses something for additional gains. 

What about passive income? It is earning money without requiring your full and active presence, which can be categorized as short-term and long-term. 

Leveraging is very effective, specifically in the financial aspect where strategies are being applied for an additional positive monetary advantage. 

One specific example is making money out of your own house, whether it’s owned or rented. Statistically speaking, majority of the population owns real estate properties such as house, lot, condominium, etc. These are acquired for one famous purpose—investment. 

Though a few are capable of owning extra units or apartment buildings for rent, there is still your primary house that can be a good source of passive income to begin with. 

Your existing house per se can be leveraged for an exemplary financial gain. My several tips include the following: 

1.Garage – If you have an extra garage space, you can have it rented. Most people are looking for a safe space to have their vehicles parked. Instead of having your extra parking space unused, take advantage of generating money from it because the garage is not intended to be used for something else anyway, but for parking purposes. Also, if you have a vacant lot that generates nothing but weeds and wild plants, you can either grow your own vegetables or have it for rent as a parking space to serve its purpose. 

2.Front Yard – Some advertisers are looking for a perfect ad space at a very affordable cost. It does not hurt to have their print ads or tarpaulin situated somewhere around your yard that can be visibly seen by their prospective clients. 

3.Bedroom – Extra bedrooms or bed spaces are also a great way to generate extra income. 

4.Basement – This can generate income in two ways: When it’s a finished (complete) basement, this can be rented out as a dwelling place (with bathroom, kitchen, proper ventilation system, etc.). The other way is when it’s unfinished (incomplete), it can be rented as a storage area. Many people are looking for a safe and a cheaper storage area to put their extra stuff in.

5.Kitchen – The kitchen is the heart of the house. This is also where you can generate an additional income from cooking dishes you are expert at that can be converted for domestic monetary profit. 

6.Backyard – This is most useful when some people look for an extra space for their farming, fishing, and other agricultural equipment kept. Others also look for this extra space for what they call “junks” to get stored. If you don’t mind having your backyard used as their junk shop for a bit, then have it rented as well only for the time you’ll not be needing this space. 

On the other hand, it would be a greater benefit to have another house or units rented out for a dependable monthly income, but it would require a huge amount of effort and money upfront. Taking baby steps at a time is a way to go. 

Have your way soon to getting there when you’re ready. Perhaps, every house is built differently. But for sure, there is a part of your house that can be used to monetize. 

All you have to do is look for that part and start earning by leveraging it to your advantage. It is in your creativity and resourcefulness that will make a huge difference to generate extra money passively without leaving your house. 

Your house alone is a big potential for additional bucks to your pockets. Why go somewhere else? 

Maximize that potential and start earning while you sleep!

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5 Summer Businesss Ideas for Kids

Most, if not all, entrepreneurs would probably tell you that it’s never too early to teach kids business skills. 

In fact, encouraging entrepreneurship in kids is something that is highly recommended.

The summer season is usually a good time to do so, since children usually have more free time. So, whether or not you’re a parent, below are some summer business ideas for the kids in your life.

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1. Wash cars. A car wash “business” is something that even younger kids can start, and they’ll probably enjoy their time working too!

Gather buckets, sponges, soap and a hose for their “car wash equipment.” 

Make sure to involve your kids in telling others about their cleaning services by getting them to help you make and distribute flyers around the neighborhood.

You might also want to consider making the car wash a group effort by inviting your kids’ cousins or friends to join them. 

2. Water plants. Encourage your child to help your neighbors out and earn some money by offering to water your neighbors’ plants.

At the same time, they can learn important values like the importance of caring for God’s creation. 

3. Set up a refreshment stand. Summertime often finds us craving for cool, delicious drinks. If you have the space in your compound, set up your kids’ version of a “lemonade stand,” which is more common in countries like the U.S.

Help your kids to make some sago’t gulaman, or other popular Filipino coolers and sell these to neighbors and/or passersby. 

4. Sell some sandwiches. Even younger kids can put together a simple sandwich, so this is a relatively “easy” business to start.

Help your kids sell their homemade version of favorite sandwich variants like tuna, cheese pimiento, or peanut butter and jam.

You can also encourage them to come up with their own recipes and combinations. 

5. Have a garage sale. Encourage kids to round up toys, books and clothes that they no longer use but are still in good condition.

Hold a garage sale, and have your kids take the role of “sales attendants.”

If their addition and subtraction skills are already good, they can even become the “cashiers.” 

The aforementioned are just some of the many summer business ideas for kids. Of course, when it comes to kids and business, make sure to guide the children as needed, and supervise them especially if they are still very young. 

No matter what the child’s age is, though, try to make sure that he or she is involved somehow in the “transaction” part of the business, so that he or she can see the importance of money in daily life.

Also, make the most out of the opportunity for the kids in your life to start a business – by teaching them that money can and should be used for good. 

Let’s teach them that, remember “the ultimate purpose of wealth is to love others.” 

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What Educational System Didn't Taught Us

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March has arrived. 

March, the month where we have new additional talents that will empower our growing Philippine economy. Dreams fulfilled for parents who worked very hard for their children to receive the much coveted toga and diploma. 

March. I love the sights and sounds of commencement exercises. I remember that moment of awe and gratitude… seeing myself as a graduate more than a decade ago. 

However, behind the smiles and cheers, I have my frustrations and sentiments that I wish the educational system was able to imbue and these are the following: 

1. I wish we were taught that grades do not determine our future success. 

Magpakatotoo tayo! (Let us be honest). We dread seeing 4s or 5s on our collegiate card (unless you are studying at the Ateneo or Miriam College… this will mean the other way around). It may mean either repeating the subject, a loss of a scholarship grant or expulsion from the institution. We will work long and hard to achieve our mentor’s approval. 

There is nothing wrong with having goals. It is a must! Plus, the academe is a great avenue to learn the value of discipline, focus, priorities, and hard work. However, during the chase of getting our “aces,” we sometimes miss the values that are essential when we are outside the alma mater, like building your network through school organizations, volunteering for causes that enhance our talents, and building one’s practical knowledge and confidence like speaking in public, negotiating and budgeting. Bottom line… character matters more than your scholastic records. 

2. I wish we were taught how to “serve” more. 

As an entrepreneur, I believe profit comes when my partners truly experience my authentic love. I personally believe that the purpose of opening new businesses is to serve the needs of the people we genuinely care for. Service is the key to make lasting relationships that allow our businesses to go beyond space and time. 

3. I wish we were taught how to open a bank account and where to invest our money. 

Again, let us be authentic. During my generation, a huge number of Filipinos graduated college without learning how to open a Savings Account in a local bank. We were taught how to answer Algebraic equations (without understanding the practical reason for learning such mathematical headache… Ooopppsss, issues coming out), memorize the Periodic table (without answering the why’s of it… more issues coming out) and remember amazing names during World History (by just showing pictures) and yet the important ones like understanding how money works, investing money and even opening a bank account were not properly taught. 

We were taught to be employees, serving bosses, and believing that we can retire “rich” because of the package a company will offer us when we reach 60 years of age. (This is one possible reason why a lot of Filipinos experience scams because we were not taught how money works). 

I cannot blame our educators. 

Most of them are not even aware of these things as well. 

Sad. This being said, the challenge is now with us, parents and adults with young children, to educate our young ones on things that matter

… … Like honesty and communication, by bringing our young children to sit with us on our businesses meetings

. … Like investments, by bringing them to “field trips” to the bank and even the Philippine Stock Exchange.

 … and most especially, faith, by being examples that in times of triumph and challenges, we call and journey with our God today, every day, and every moment.

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