Tough times don't last, tough people do.

Adversities and challenges in life will always be there regardless of who we are. We will be knock down at times but most importantly, we must want to get up, be willing to get up and find a way to get up.
If we don't compromise on our Integrity, the Universe will come and help us, with solutions to our problems, with friends that will support us and with ...strength that will pull us through. Through this process, we find new solutions to different problems and challenges, know who are our true friends and build new mental strength. What can't kill us, will strengthen us!
"Integrity is the essence of everthing"
When you lose money, you lose nothing.
When you lose your health, you lose something.
When you lose your integrity, you lose everything.
My life is blessed with solutions, true friends and new mental strength. Thanks to tough times and adversities!

Step 52; Perseverance, building wealth is a marathon

"Nothing in the world can take the place of perseverance. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent" 

Starting from bankruptcy in 1999. It took me 3 years to be financially free, 5 years to make my first million, 7 years to multi millions.

I still remember vividly when I was ask to fill up my financial statement in one of Robert Kiyosaki's seminar, I almost cried when I saw nothing on the assets column and plenty of figures on the liabilities column. At age 39 at that time, I feel so ashamed of myself. I have shared with you, for the past 52 weeks, what I have done to get to where I am today. I hope you have been inspired and will apply some of the things that I have shared and make it work for you.

Remember; Fear not and go for your dreams! Never give up! Never, Never, Never, Never give up!

If what I have written has added some value to you, I hope that you will share it with your friends too. I wish you all the best and hope that you will use what I have shared to make this world a better place.

Yours sincerely
Jerome Tan

Step 51; Resources versus Resourceful

Is there a lack of resources in this world? The answer is obviously no. The planet has enough resources to make every human being on this planet a millionaire. Why isn't everyone a millionaire?

If you want to be a millionaire, my question is; are you resourceful enough? One of the main reason why I am able to turn around from bankruptcy to multi millions is my being resourceful. I will find a solution for every challenge that I faced. I will seek the advice of mentors, read a book, attend a seminar or simply ask anyone who has got the experience. With the knowledge that I gained, I will apply it to tackle my challenges. If it doesn't work the first time round, I will go back to seek help from my mentor again or ask the expert and see how I can do it differently to make it work. I will not give up until I find a solution.

The amazing thing is that once you got it, you can do it again and again. Once you know how to make a million in a year, you can do it again and again, year after year. The challenge is to get out of your comfort zone and see if you can do it in 6 months, then 3 months, then a week or even a day. Seems far fetch?  Are there not plenty of companies making that kind of money?

End of the day, if you have resources but not resourceful enough to use it, your resources will be gone. Most million dollars lottery winners will lose it all within a few years if they are not resourceful enough to grow their money. Heard of people who inherited their wealth and lose it all?

Look at Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philipines and Singapore, Which country has got the most resources? Which country need to be more resourceful? Which country has got the strongest currency?

Most millionaires and billionaires started with nothing, just like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. Some how the are resourceful enough to find the resources to reach the top.

Stop giving yourself the excuse that you don't have the resources to be rich, just have to get out of your comfort zone and be resourceful enough to find a way. "When they is a will, there is a way, when there is a compelling reason, the is a will."

See you at the top!

Step 50; What can we learn from the Japanese?

I am now writing from Kobe, Japan. This is my first trip to Japan, my 2 other trips were on transit at Narita airport to the USA. I am very impressed with Japan, the Japanese culture and people.

Instead of doing sightseeing, I am doing sight-observing. I observed that most Japanese people are hard-working, friendly, helpful, honest, humble and polite. I observed that they are very meticulous and put in a lot of effort into giving you quality goods and services. The sales people in the shop are very helpful and will not try to push you into buying something. They even bow and thank you for coming even if you didn't buy anything.

While in Kyoto, I forgetfully left my handphone on one of the counters at Daimaru departmental store. I only realised that after my lunch, went back to the store and it was already at the lost and found department. On the way there, I actually did not have any doubt that I will have my phone back. The sales lady from the 6th floor actually accompanied me to the ground floor, to the lost and found department.

The services at the restaurant is also very good, they will even come out of the restaurant, bow down and thank you for coming. Honestly, I will not expect them to do that if the restaurant is too busy. The best part is that they have a no tipping culture, so you know that they are doing it out of passion and sincerity.

Although some of the prices are high in Japan compared to some countries, I feel that there is value for money, for the quality and sincerity in providing good service. They give you an unforgettable experience which make you feel good paying for it. And their packaging is first class. So if you want to make more money, you just have to add more value than is expected of you.

I was told that the number of tourists coming to Japan has dropped because of the recent Tsunami and radiation leak. I feel that this is the best time to visit Japan because you get better service and less queue. Someone told me that radiation don't cause cancer but kills cancer cells. (haha)
I walked pass a real estate company yesterday and I intend to visit them today, to find out more about the real estate prices in Kobe. I am in contact with one of my graduates from Japan, to see if we could do a Property Investment Program in Japan.

Step 49; Are you ready for 2012?

Will all the problems created by the politicians in the US and Europe be solved soon? Or will all these problems surface in 2012 and create the mother of all recessions? Every lie will have to be covered up with more lies,  there will come a time where all the lies will surface and let the world have a major reset to the economy. Look at the crisis in Greece, Ireland, Spain, Italy and Portugal. Look at all the protest going on in all the major stock exchanges. Look at all the violence in the Middle East. Are you prepared for something major happening next year?

Can you see that there are many corporations getting ready to retrench their staffs.
I want to tell you that you have 2 choices; 1 to look at it and see danger or 2 to see opportunities. Many people will want to bury their head, like an ostrich, hoping that nothing will happen to them. Like it or not, there will be a ripple effect. Everyone will be affected, some positively and some negatively. The best thing to do is to be prepared, be prepared mentally and psycologically. If you are holding a job, my advise is to go and educate yourself on how to start a business. With that skill, you will always have a choice.
Personally I can see the mother of all opportunities presenting itself next year. I look forward to add more value to more people by teaching them the skills of selecting the right business at the right time and doing it right. There will be plenty of opportunities in the stock market. I am glad I have also educated myself in this field.

My advice is, invest in yourself by educating yourself on wealth creation, which will give yourself lots of options to take advantage of a crisis. Next year will be a year where you will see the biggest transfer of wealth in history. I hope you will have the skills, knowledge and experience to make yourself one of the beneficiary.

Step 48; My 'O' level theory

I am writing my blog now in London, got very inspired after meeting a few of my mentors. While walking around the streets of London, I made some observations and came up with this 'O' level theory.

I realised that there are many universities in London and more universities are being created all over the world. I also observed that there are many more graduates all around the world compared to 30, 40 years ago. If I am not wrong, the universities were created to train managers and supervisors. These managers and supervisors are then hired by corporations and governments to train and supervise workers.

As countries become more developed, there comes a point where there are too many graduates and too many managers and supervisors but not enough workers to do all the dirty jobs. This is why there are many migrants in developed countries like England and Singapore. As I take the train in London, I realised that there are more coloured people than the whites, it's about 10 to 1. In Singapore, you will also be able to see a lot of migrants on the trains. Most government will want to hire their own nationals for political reasons and most corporations will want to hire foreigners because it is cheaper.

Here comes the problems, if the government were to let in the foreigners, the locals will not be happy. If they don't, the corporations will find it challenging to run their business. If the corporations cannot make any profits, they will have to close shop and more people will be jobless, including the locals. Worse still, the government cannot allow too many foreigners with lower education into the countries because they are afraid it may create some social problems. If they don't, they will have a challenge finding people to do the menial work. Looks like we are caught in a catch 22 situation.

Perhaps you could think of a solution for these problems. Whoever can come up with a solution for all these problems will have the opportunity to make a lot of money.

  

Step 47; The quality of your life depends on the quality of your questions

From my experience interacting with people, I realised that their results in life is co-related to the questions that they asked. Let me give you an example: if you ask, Why am I so poor? You will come up with a set of answers that will enforce the reasons why you should stay poor. Don't you think it will be better if you ask, How can I be rich? You will come up with a set answer that can help you to be rich. My answer to that question is simple, go learn from the rich, pay them if you must. There are many books and seminars where you can learn how to be rich.

Poor people usually ask, what can you do for me? Rich people usually ask, what can I do for you?

If you want something the best way to ask is; What must I do for you in order for you to do that for me? If the answer is nothing, go to the next person. If you have the skills, knowledge and experience, you can add a lot of value to a lot of people and they will be able to add more value to you.

I will talk about adding value next week