Rich Money Habits

T Harv Eker said, “your income will only grow to the extent that you do.”

This is one of the things that has really guided me over the years in my financial journey. Here’s a picture of my library at home where my boy Ethan is playing.  I must have around a hundred books at home.  I am very proud to say that 100% of which were purchased after I graduated from school. 🙂

Like most people, I didn’t like reading while growing up.  Until I realized, I actually enjoyed reading if only I read books that were interesting to me, not a boring text book that would bring me to sleep the moment I glanced through the first few pages. You see reading is fun when you are having fun.  I remember asking my mom growing up for a few coins so I can purchase my favorite comic book the ‘Funny Komiks’. I enjoyed it so much, I had collections of them at home bound by a paper fastener. The characters NikNok, the “Noon” at “Ngayon” features, and more were a delighful read for a young kid growing up.  But I grew up pretty fast, and Funny Komiks, however funny they are to a kid, just could not fascinate me the same way as before. I had moved on to other more exciting things.

Right after graduation, I remember wanting to work in the “industry” to get a first-hand knowledge of how the world worked.  The academe has this reputation in making you focus too much on theoretical stuffs. I wanted the real thing.  And the real thing hit me hard very fast. I thought graduating from UP with allow me to get a job quickly.  Much to my dismay, job interviews were not going the way I wanted.  There were days when I questioned my own capabilities.  Being out there looking for work and no one responding does that to you.  Your spirit can really be crushed to pieces if you let it.

Fortunately, after a few months, I got a call from my first employer who offered me a starting salary of P16,000. I was just happy I now had a job. I can finally start feeding myself and stop asking my parents for an allowance.

Working was a bliss. I remember being so excited to meet new people, taking this new adventure, that just about anything was exciting, even getting a cup of coffee in the pantry.  Me and my colleagues used to do it as a group.  We were a group of 10 or so and we would go to the pantry to get a cup of coffee together.  You can imagine how much noise we would generate just talking and walking down the hall onto the pantry and back. And sometimes, if the coffee machine is not working, we would go upstairs and invade the pantry on the next floor. It was fun.

Having fun is nice until you get carried away. After having too much fun, I eventually learned how to buy stuffs that I didn’t need, go out with friends and look “cool”, not really caring about tomorrow.  Once the new credit card hit the mailbox, my habit of indiscriminate spending just got a boost.  It’s true what they say that “money neither make you rich nor poor, it only magnifies what you truly are.” What I was at that time? Poor.  I had a cashflow pattern of a poor person. All income goes out to the expense column and nothing is left at the end of the month.  So when the credit card arrived, I thought I had “more” money so I just spent it down to the expense column again and voila I got buried in credit card debt!

This was the time when I got first awakened to the world of money.  I was so frustrated with myself because here I was working for a credit card company for years, I’m the one who supposedly knows how to compute the credit card’s interests and fees, the “expert”in credit cards in short, and I still got buried in credit card debts.  There’s no one to blame other than myself. It was embarassing to say the least.  But what really jolted me from my senses was when I had to pay for my rent using cash advance from my credit card.  Doing cash advance may be the most expensive transaction you will ever do on a credit card.  It carries a hefty fee as well as a very high interest rate.  It was not wise to do a cash advance.  But I had no choice.  Either that or I would sleep on the streets with my sibling.

When you encounter problems, especially financial problems, you tend to grow up pretty fast.  I had to find a way to make it work.  That’s where I started my financial journey. Eventually I learned enough to get out of debt and more from buying (and reading) 100+ titles of books on finance, money, business, investing, etc., attending lots and lots of seminars (invested more than P100K+ worth into seminars), and also investing a lot of time, effort and money in building my business, investing in stocks, real-estate and other assets.  The most expensive investment, unfortunately, is experience. But for some people like me, experience can be your best teacher.  The best investment, however, is still the money you pay to help you grow.  For once you grow, your money tends to take on an exponential rate of return.

Fortunately, you don’t have to pay what I paid to attend those seminars or read those many books, or go through those painful experiences and humiliating defeats just to get a chance to learn from my experience and story (but I also don’t discourage you from doing so).  One way you can get to learn from me is to read through my blog, but with the many articles here, who has time to go through all of that? The good news is there’s another way – attend my seminar.

A lot of people have been asking me when they can attend my next seminar (friends included), and much as I’d like to invite them, it’s just not possible in most cases.  For one, it’s because the seminar is normally organized for an exclusive group of students or an organization.  They are paying me to share my story to them, it would not be proper to invite other people to seat in if they are NOT part of the group.  Other times, I also conduct financial literacy seminars or talks exclusive to my teammates at XTRM 1-11,  a group of young and energetic individuals from all walks of life who are passionate about learning to live a life above mediocrity.  These seminars are NOT available to the public unfortunately. Until now.  Today, finally, there’s a seminar made available to the public.  Now, you can have the chance to meet me personally and hear my financial story on how I was able to get out of debt, save enough money to marry my wife, invest in stocks, real-estates and other assets and build a growing international business allowing me to quit my job of 9 years.

My good friend Sha Nacino of Seminar Philippines.com has organized a one-of-a-kind seminar on How You Can Achieve Financial Success on October 12, 2013 @ 8AM – 12NN.  I was invited as one of the Resource Speakers along with Jay Castillo of ForeclosurePhilippines.com and others.  CLICK HERE to check it out.

From my conversations earlier today with Sha, the initial seats made available is almost sold out.  The good news is that after checking with the venue organizers, Sha confirmed that there’s still a possibility to accomodate a few more seats, thats why she opened up additional slots for those who are really serious to attend this seminar and get a no-holds-barred, straight-from-the-gut true-to-life personal stories on how to turn your life to a financial success.  CLICK HERE to register now.

P.S. Avail the EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT if you register before Monday, September 30. If you register now, I will give you a FREE COPY of my ebook Rich Money Habits (just send me your email via the contact page afterwards.)  CLICK HERE to register now.  Just think, how much are youwilling to invest in yourself if you knew that what you will discover will allow you to earn the amount of money you want and become a financial success story yourself? Others have made it, why not you?

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These days I’m very busy with a lot of things. What I enjoy the most though is being able to play with my sons anytime I want. Time flies so fast.  It was only but a few years ago when me and my wife were trying hard to have a baby.  Now, all of a sudden, miracles are overflowing, make that double blessings in Ethan and Ervin, my two sons. 🙂 Now, I appreciate my parents more.  I sometimes wonder how much sacrifice they might have done to raise me up as a kid.

Being a father has taught me a lot of things. Some of them obvious and simple.  Some of them not so quite.  There are not many life-changing events in life that can ever be compared to becoming a father.  Fatherhood is life’s changing agent. For most people, boys become man when they start to care more for another human being who is their own life & blood. Here are a few of the things that fatherhood has taught me on how I can become better in building a successful business.

1) Be Patient

Raising a child requires a lot of patience.  That’s why I really admire my wife. She has done a fabulous job taking care of our 2 kids day in and day out without any holiday vacation at all. She’s one of the rare moms who take care their children 24/7. I love my wife for that.

In business, you need to have a lot of patience. Sometimes, there will be situations you cannot control, people who don’t agree with you or will be against you. That’s ok. Trust your instinct and go with your gut. More than that, however, you need to be very patient to yourself as well. No one is perfect and we all commit mistakes.

In building teams, sometimes it’s easy to compare what we already know and miss the point that your teammate is only starting out.  He is bound to make mistakes. It’s the only way to grow.  Realize that there’s a natural path to growing and being fast or slow is not the point.  It is in embracing the fact that we all are in our own little journey.  Surprises, challenges and triumphs are all part of the whole package.

2)  Be an Example

Lead by example.  Children learn fast by emulating what we adults do.  I think nature has invented it this way for faster way of learning.  In business, there are countless hours spent on reading, training and thinking and not much on doing. You can learn more from watching someone do their work for a day than reading up on it for a year.

I remember the frustration when it seemed like my reading of hundreds of personal development and business books did not bear any fruit, or attending seminars worth thousands of pesos but no result to show for it afterwards. I’ve also bought “coaching programs” that were a few tens of thousands of pesos along the way.  Until I came to the realization that unless I apply the things I learned, there’s really no result to be had. As Albert Einstein said, “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”

It dawned on me that up until that point, I haven’t really done anything different at all. Yes, I resigned from my job to pursue a work abroad, but I was still the doing same thing, working as an employee at a job.  Around this same time 2 years ago, I eventually took the leap of faith and jumped from an employee to a full-pledged entrepreneur. If you ask me, “was it easy?”My answer would be a simple “no.” But I can tell you after 2 years working as a businessman that nothing I’ve ever done was more worth it.

3) Enjoy Every Moment

Whenever I see my two sons, I get reminded how precious time really is. One moment they look so small in your arms; after a while, they’ve grown so much you can’t carry them for long. It wasn’t so long before they were cuddly and cute. Now they are booming with so much energy it takes a whole lot of effort just watching them running around playing at home.  Whenever my patience is slowly running out, I always try to tell myself that this moment is something to be treasured for a lifetime. They won’t be kids for very long.  Everything about them, even when they become annoying, is always and will always be a blessing to me.  No amount of money can replace that.

Whatever challenges you are facing at the moment, embrace it and enjoy every little thing. It won’t last for long. One day, you will look back and cherise all the memories you’ve had and thank yourself for not wasting it worrying about things that are out of your control.

The same is true for business. The world of business is always changing. If you are not changing, your business is dying. In this day and age of information, there’s a great opportunity for everyone to become financially well, as long as you’re open to change.  The good thing about business is that as long as you enjoy every moment, you get to appreciate all the changes that you have to go through to get better and grow.  For until you grow, your business will not grow to the level that you want.

I’m still growing as a businessman, and as a father as well.  That’s make it exciting.  No one knows exactly how the future will turn out.  But as long as you prepare yourself and be open to surprises along the way, everything will work out for good eventually.

P.S. This month, I am looking for 4 new business partners in Metro Manila to mentor and coach to earn $40 – $200/week within 90 days.  This is for serious people only and not for those looking for a get-rich-quick scheme. If you would like to check if this is something you can do, contact me so we can schedule some time to get to know each other and see if we can do business together. The last time I opened up the invitation in my blog, my mailbox got so many inquiries that it took me 3 days to go through all of them. So if you don’t receive a reply from me within 24 – 48 hours, please resend your message (PM) again as I might have missed it or it got buried along with the other messages. God bless you!

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Last week, I was invited by UP Junior Finance Association to share my personal journey on finance. It was raining heavily and the traffic jam along Katipunan avenue was really tight.  Fortunately, I managed to arrive safely and find the venue after a little bit of guiding from the organizers.

Having graduated from UP Diliman more than a decade ago, it feels surreal being back walking along the corridors of the classrooms and seeing the excitement of a school buzzling with intellectual activity.  It feels great to be back, if only for a moment.  It brings back a lot of happy memories from a long time ago.

The funny thing about these seminars is that I never imagined that this blog would pave the way for this amazing experiences. For some reason, different schools like to invite me to share about investments and finances with them for their school or organization projects, even though I don’t have a background in Finance. In fact, I graduated BS Computer Engineering in UP Diliman.

But I couldn’t let go of the chance to share my story to UP students.  I really enjoy speaking with students who are always excited and hungry for new learnings.  Besides, I always have great expectations from the intellectual capacity of students from my alma mater and I welcome the challenge of helping shape the financial minds of future leaders in the country. This year, I have been invited to talk in UP Los Banos, Polytechnic University of the Philippines (for the 2nd time), and just last week, in UP Diliman (for the 2nd time as well).

Here’s a copy of the teaser they sent out to announce the event. Needless to say, I was really impressed.

The event allowed me the opportunity to share a bit about my life during my college days in UP Diliman.  Here I am strumming my guitar, wearing shorts and sandals.  Who would ever thought that this young, simple and unassuming guy would someday wear a suit and elevate the financial lives of many through this blog, his speaking engagements and through the people he gets to work with in his businesses.

Today, I’d like share a few lessons I learned while reflecting back on what changed over the years on how I view money in my life and how it got me to where I am today.

To be able to change, first you must be willing to change.

The change did not happen overnight. When I was in College, I was content with what I had.  Who wouldn’t be? I was on a DOST scholarship, my tuition was practically free and I was receiving monthly stipend as well.  On top of that, I was working as student assistant for a project of the university and was doing what I loved and getting paid for it. It was a bliss.

The change started when I realized that College days can sometimes prevent you from seeing the realities of the world that is around us.  After graduation, I suddenly realized that getting a job even when you’re a UP graduate is not as easy as it seems.  There were a few anxious moments when I applied for a job and was waiting for a call from the company to hire me.  I did not want to receive allowance from my parents anymore.  Why should they give me allowance? I already graduated.  I had to learn to feed myself and take care of my own financial needs.  I had better learn it fast because I only had myself and a small savings to rely on.  I took on part-time gigs which provided a little bit of extra money for my needs. Then after a few months of waiting, I got the call I wanted. I was offered an entry-level position for a multinational company for a salary of P16,000. I was ecstatic. It helped bring back the confidence in me that was slowly fading while questioning myself whether I really had what it takes to succeed in the real world.

After graduation, I planned to take up a master’s degree and work on a research project at the same time.  Working in the private sector was not my first priority.  I liked wearing jeans or shorts and sandals.  It felt really cool. I imagined myself like someone who worked in Silicon Valley.  I dreamed of being one of those techie geniuses who hardly had any time to worry about their grooming.

But an opportunity to work in the private sector opened up for me and was too much to pass up, so I grabbed it right away. Besides, P16,000 per month salary was quite a big money for someone like me who was fresh out of College back then.  Or so I thought.

The first thing I had to change was how I dressed up.  I had to learn how to tie a neck tie.  I had to get comfortable wearing long sleeves all day long.  I had to look like a corporate slave guy who was neat and tidy.  I had to let go of my old self who was more comfortable wearing shorts and sandals.  If you ask me, was it easy? At first, of course it felt really awkward. But soon I got the hang of it.  Besides, I was willing to change anyway.  Change is only hard if you are not willing to go through all the awkwardness, to get out of your comfort zone and cherish the surprises of a new experience will bring. Change makes life more fun and exciting.

Learning The Technical Details of an Investment is Easy, It’s the Emotional Roller Coaster that is Hard

I grew up believing that anything in life can be learned.  As long as you put in the effort, be willing to go through the hardships, anything is possible. I first learned that lesson while trying to ride a bike.  My father taught me by holding on to my seat while I was trying to pedal my way in balancing the bike. Soon I was pedaling smoothly and didn’t notice that my father had already let go of me.  I learned then that it’s the emotional fear that’s causing much of my hesitation of learning how to ride a bike. It’s the fear of the unknown, of what might happen if I stumbled or crashed.  What will happen if I got hurt? All the fears went away when I just did it.  There’y no trying in life.  You either do it, or you don’t.

I’ve had my fair share of investment opportunities, from real-estate to stocks and bonds, and to businesses but all the details on how to do it came easily compared to the emotional torture that went along with it.  I just had to go through it once, be willing to ask from the right people, learn and apply it fast by putting in the effort and action immediately.

Through all those opportunities, I realized that what held me up the most, what caused the procrastination and the delay was not the technical know how, it’s the fear running through my head whether I was conscious of it or not.  Over the years, the only way I know how to combat fear is to just do it.  Sometimes, the thing you fear the most will give you the most fulfillment.  Most of us lead a boring and uneventful lives.  For almost a decade my life was a constant dread of waking up in the morning, going to work, letting the time pass by without any significant thing done, going back home, watch TV or entertain myself and go to sleep.  The next day, I had to do the same thing again.  It is not the inspired life that I wish to lead.  That’s why I changed course.  That’s why I was willing to let go of my fear of the unknown to release the small voice inside of me screaming to explore, learn and embark on an adventure. It’s been almost 2 years since I last held a job and the journey has never been better.

Challenges are Blessing in Disguise

I won’t be a hypocrite and say it was easy because it was not.  It was not an easy decision to make, especially that a month before my last day of work, I learned my wife and I were expecting our first baby.  Even when our business is doing well and we are enjoying the flexibility of time spending it with our 2 kids, going to the malls on a weekday when most people are at work, the challenges are still out there.  The more I grow in my business career, the more I appreciate the challenges that life has to offer and the opportunity to overcome them.  I learned that anything in life worth pursuing is paved with challenges.  The greater the challenge, the sweeter the success. That’s why it is all going to be worth it.

Remember, only through pain will you appreciate success.  Only through sacrifice can you taste victory.  Only through challenges will your true greatness be revealed.

Accept the challenge and create massive successs!

P.S. If you feel you deserve more than what you are currently getting and looking for a change in your life, let’s connect in Facebook and see if we can work something together.  Add me up as friend, PM me and we’ll take it from there.

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Today, I heared one of my mentors said, "I want good Filipinos to be wealthy." Then she added, the reason God entrusted you those blessings is because He knows you will take care of them.

While thinking about my mentor’s dream, I realized it is my dream too.  The reason I started this blog, Rich Money Habits by akosiallan.com is because I want to share the lessons I learned in my financial journey with you.  I want you to be inspired by the stories from this blog so that you can take action in pursuing your own financial goals as well, knowing that if I and many others were able to make it so can you.

My mentor’s statement made me reflect on my experiences over the past few years ever since I embarked on this journey of financial literacy.  I remember how in 2003 I read the book Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. That book changed the way I see how money works.  Interestingly, whenever I meet people who are also very successful in business, they somehow came across the same book and that has also started them to the path of financial freedom.

From the get go, I knew pursuing this path is not going to be easy.  But  anything worth pursuing in life needs commitment, hardwork and persistence to achieve.  All I knew was that God wanted me to be in this situation for a purpose.  Just like Steve Jobs, I too simply hoped that somehow in the future, the dots will finally connect to make sense of all the experiences I’ve had to go through.

I ventured into a lot of things ever since my mind was opened to the idea of business and investing.  In the pursuit of financial freedom, I devoured hundreds of books in the same topics, invested tens of thousands in attending various seminars, met friends and mentors in real-estate investing, internet marketing, network marketing, stocks investing and business.  Some of my ventures failed while some earned me decent income.  Until finally, I came across something that has allowed me to quit my job of almost a decade as IT consultant for a multinational company.

More than a year ago, I embarked on a journey I call "Project 100".  My simple goal at that time was to help 100 people earn at least $100 a month.  One thing I realized is that it is easier said than done.  It is easier to do it for yourself than teach it to others so they can do the same.  I learned that it takes a team to make it work.  I realized the value of the saying, "when the student is ready, the teacher will appear." Most of the time, I was the student.  I needed to learn how to lead people and build a great team to make my dream work.

Fast forward today, more than 104 people from all over the world have earned $40 – $600 a month as part of the project. One of them even reached $1,000 a month.  It feels great to have been part of the journey of these amazing people.  What I am most proud of is that they have earned those blessings with integrity, legally and ethically without the need to compromise their principles on what is right and wrong. God knows they deserve these blessings and more.  It’s about time good people become rich as well so that God’s blessings can reach out to more people who need it. 

Inspired by the success of the original project, I decided to launch a new and enhanced Project 100.  During the past weeks, it was in soft-launch mode to a few of my inner circle friends.  Now, it is finally being launched and opened to you.  The goal of the new and enchanced Project 100 is to help 100 people earn at least $1,000 a month.  One person I have helped coach has already made it.  There are 99 slots left.  If you think you have what it takes to be part of the 99 people who can earn $1,000 with the right opportunity and right mentoring, you can click here to find out how to be part of the project.

P.S. One of the great things about what I do now is it allows me to travel whenever I want, wherever I want, with the people I want to be with.  I don’t have a boss so I don’t need to wait for approval or file a leave.  I can take off for a week and leave on a Wednesday morning when most people are still busy working.  Of course, I also get a chance to meet you if you happen to be in the same place where I am going.  I will be in Hong Kong this coming March 20 – 25 to attend a business conference.  If you are curious on what I do and you are in HK, let’s have coffee and chat.  Add me as friend in Facebook and PM me for my itinerary.  I may have limited time to check my email and Facebook during my stay in Hong Kong so please be kind if I am not able to respond to you immediately. God bless you.

P.P.S. Still thinking whether Project 100 is for you or not? Click here to read more about Project 100.

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