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

Step 46; Givers Get

Charity-This is one of the most important aspect in creating wealth. I remember giving away $750 to a charitable organisation with money from my overdraft account when I was broke. I told a friend that I am expecting a miracle to turn around.

The miracle did happen but not in the form of winning the lottery or some unexpected windfall. It came in the form of a wrong phone call and I was "accidentally" invited to a free preview. At that preview, I met my mentor, Dr Richard Tan, who was speaking about the teachings of Robert Kiyosaki. That was the first time I heard about Robert Kiyosaki and his famous book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. It was with the help of Dr. Richard Tan that I got to attend the Money & You program on an installment plan. That program shifted my mindset and beliefs about business and money. I took action to apply what I have learned and the rest is history. 

Some people ask me if giving to a family member considered charity. I said, it depends on how you feel, there is no right or wrong, it's what serves you and what don't. To me, as long as you are not self-centred and always thinking of giving your time or money for a good cause, that's charity.

Happy giving!

Step 45; For things to change, first I must change.

There is a song by Michael Jackson, Man in the mirror. It talks about if you want to change the world, first change the man in the mirror. Isn't it true that whatever that happens in your life, there is only one common factor, and that is YOU! Unfortunately, most people cannot see that and will always be blaming someone else for any results that they don't like.

The key here is to manage your EGO, your ego can cost you a lot in life. It can cost you your business, money and relationships. A sudden burst in temper can result in something drastic or not admitting your mistakes and repent will attract a lot of critism and sticks from people. "Mistakes are sins when not admitted" To be honest, this is easier said than done. I have personally lost my temper many times, screw up many times and make many mistakes in life. I just have to look back, acknowledge those mistakes, take personal responsibility and move on.

I would also need release all the hurts, resentment and unforgiveness that is inside my being. Some of the programs that help me to do that are, Money & You, Enlightened Warrior and Date with Destiny. I also consult John Stamoulos for breathworks, Heiko and Selina for releasing work. It is important to have an outlet to release your anger, so that you don't create an eruption suddenly.

Step 44; Greed will lead to poverty

贪 vs 贫

The word Greed and Poverty in chinese are very similar. How many of you know of people who become poorer because of greed? Ever heard of "get rich quick" schemes? Have you ever fall for such scheme? To be honest, I have and over the years I learned that you will never get rich looking for such "investment" The only way to get rich is to do something that you love, which add a lot of value to a lot of people.
Some people resort to cheating as a means to get rich quick, using scare tactics and greed to entice you. Don't be fooled by them, neither do you want to use such method to get rich. You will be found out in time to come. What goes around, comes around. There is also the karma effect or what you sow, you will reap.
If you have been conned before, don't beat yourself up, learn from the lesson and move on.   

Step 43; Remember the people that help you on your way to success.

Personally, I don't think that there is such a thing call self-made millionaire or multi-millionaire. I believe all of them has got supporters that come in different forms. People like their spouse, children, employees, suppliers, mentors, spiritual masters, customers and friends, just to name a few.

I invited one of my ex-staff, who is now my friend, to my new house and we have a good chat about the past when we were starting out on our journey. We talked about the struggles and challenges that we have to overcome during those time and how it has been an amazing journey. I am always grateful to them for taking a pay cut to join my team during those early years. I am glad that we managed to succeed now and their early sacrifices did not go to waste.

I am looking at how to use my success to help them in anyway that I can. Because of their positive and exellent attitude, I will always reserve the best opportunity for them. I am very blessed to have good people that had helped me in my life.

Step 42; How to write your book with little effort of your own

One of the keys to writing your book is to find a subject that you are passionate about, very familiar with and very good at. Don't do it just for the money. Do it because you have something of value to give to the readers.

You will then have to find a good ghost writer. What my ghost writer did was to interview me for about 6 hours in total, on different days. Transcribed what was recorded and write into text in soft copy. After a few rounds of corrections and editing, we look for friends and mentors to write the foreword and testimonials. When all is done, look for a graphic designer to design the cover. Look for a distributor who is willing to distribute your book to the bookstores. Negotiate the terms and collect the orders. Find a reliable printer to print your book.

Also find people who are good with IT to come up with an ebook to sell it online. Find good internet marketers to help you to sell online. I give them 50% of the profits.

If you have been thinking of writing your book for a long time, my advice is; Just Do It!

"Don't wait for perfection then write, write first, then perfect it." If I can do it, so can you!

 

Step 41; Have a vision, think long term

"Begin with the end in mind" I believe I read this in Stephen Covey's book, 7 habits of highly successful people. He talks about writing your own eulogy.

One of my beliefs is "The only thing that you can take away from this world is what you give" What I meant is; all of us are going to die one day and the fact is that we can't take away a single cent with us. The reason why we want to make a lot of money is to use it wisely for the benefit of the planet and to contribute to mankind. At the same time, you can only make money when you are contributing good value to the planet or mankind.

I want you to think of what you want to achieve at the end of your life. Do you want to leave behind a legacy? My advice to you is think BIG and go for it without fear. Believe me, you will make mistake, you will fall at certain times, you will lose some battles but you must always remember to GET UP and KEEP GOING!

Step 40; Integrity, reputation and character

"Integrity is the Essence of Everthing" Buck Minister Fuller. If you want to be rich, you have to build a good reputation in business. Never collect money from people if you did not deliver the value. At the same time don't let people take advantage of you either.

I have a case where this guy attended one of our courses and later ask for his money back. Not only that, he try to instigate the class to get back their money as well. Fortunately, his course mates had benefitted from the program and had the integrity to reject him.

When I met up with him and told him that we do not have a money back policy. He claims that he took 6 companies public listed and what I taught was elementary. So I told him that since we don't have a money back policy and money should not be a problem to him (since he listed 6 companies) why not we donate the program fees to charity. He was taken aback and confessed to me that he actually needed the money for his son's medical fees. Out of compassion, we decided to refund him his money. I have seen many such characters in the market and I know they will never be rich. Remember this, the world is very small, what goes around, comes around. Your reputation will follow you wherever you go.

Step 39; Follow your heart

When you believe in something that you must do, deep down in your heart, then I say follow your heart without fear. Most importantly, it has got to be something that add value to others and not just for monetary gains. Don't worry, when you add value to others, the money will come, in the nick of time, always in the nick of time. I have experience this many times. When I need money, I just have to go out there and add value to others and the money will come in at the time when I need it the most. So, if you want to make a lot of money, you just have to add a lot of value to a lot of people.

Just look at all the masters in different fields, they have a passion and a heart for what they do. They love what they do and they do it really well. They do it again and again and see their money pouring in. Unfortunately, many of them go broke because of money mismanagement or could not manage their emotions. One example is Michael Jackson; he is a master of entertainment, make lots of money but could not manage his money and emotions. He died because he lost his spirit to do what he loves.

Majority of people work for money and not doing what they love. They are using their head and not their heart. I love what I do and I have no intention to retire at all. I want to do what I love, for as long as the higher power permits. What I do brings joy to my heart and I want to follow my heart. I hope you will be able to find something that you love to do, worth doing and add value to humanity.

Have an awesome day!

Step 38; Never take advantage of the rich

Net working with the rich is very important, but never take advantage of them or try to borrow money from them. When I was a bankrupt, I network with the rich and told them frankly that I am a bankrupt. I only ask them for project and to pay me a fair amount only when they are satisfied with the results that I delivered.

Unfortunately, I see a lot of people trying to borrow money from the rich and take advantage of them. Let me share with you a true story.

Some time ago, there live a very rich businessman and he wanted to help the people around him to be rich. So one day he ask some of his associates to share with him to invest in some properties. All of them agreed and invested with this businessman. Unfortunately, after investing, there was an economic downturn and the property prices started to drop. Most of the investors panic and pressured the businessman to sell the properties. The businessman did his best to sell the properties for a price where they need not lose any money. Unfortunately the businessman could not find a buyer willing to pay for the asking price. After sometime, some of the investors gather together and demand that the businessman return their money and threaten to sue him if he does not do so. This is like buying a stock at $2 and when the stock comes down to $1, the investors insisted to be paid back the $2. Because the businessman do not want to go through the hassle of going to court, he relented and return their investment. However, there was one businessman who is also very rich, who puts in a lot more money than the other investor who did not ask for his money back but willing to go through the bad times with the businessman.

I will stop here and posts some questions to you. If you are the rich businessman, will you ever work with those associate who ask for their money back again? Do you think you will share with them any good opportunities in the future or with the rich businessman that did not ask for his money back unreasonably? Do you know why the rich gets richer?

I have seen many rich people do deals together and they usually have the integrity to be fair to each other and go through good times and bad times together. One of my mentor sold his investment properties to pay the ransom for his friend and business partner, who was kidnapped. They loss all their money and have to start all over again. Today, they are still partners and they now own 2 public listed companies together.

Like what they say; When you lose money, you lose nothing. When you lose your health, you lose something. When you lose your integrity, you lose everything.

Step 37; Smile at adversity until it surrenders

Hey, let's face it, everyone have their own sets of problems and challenges. The rich, the poor and the middle income. There's no way we can run from it. We have 2 choices, get upset and make the problem bigger or smile at it until the problem goes away.

Met one of my friend, Steve Wee, and he shared with me what he learned from me sometime ago. "If it doesn't kill you, it will only make you stronger." Do whatever you can to solve your problems but don't let it drains you emotionally.

Step 36; What you think of me is none of my business

Having this mindset is very important to be successful. Let's face it, no matter what you do, you will have critics. Most importantly is to do things with a clear conscience that you are adding value to people and do no harm to anyone.

Don't try to please everyone or you will end up in a mental hospital. Mother Theresa, Jesus, Mohamed, Buddha, Ghandi, they all have critics, even God has got critics. So why bother about what people say or think about you. Except the fact that you are not perfect, you never will be, but accept yourself and love yourself anyway. By now you also should know that I have critics too and I accept that because I am also not perfect.

You must not let critics pull you down and stop you from doing what you must do in your life. Just put this in your mind "What you think of me is none of my business"

Step 35; Trust the people that you work with and work with people that you trust.

This is an ancient chinese saying which is very important for business. The boss will have to trust his employees to do the job and the employee will have to trust the boss that they will get their salary at the end of the month.
If both sides were to worry about each other, then it is better not to work with each other in the first place. The boss should train the people to do the job and trust them to get the job done. The boss should spend more time thinking, strategising, innovating and solving problems, whenever there is one.
Whether you like it or not, we have to leverage on each other. Everybody have their own sets of strengths and weaknesses. We need other people's support and we also need to support others. It is never one way, or you will create resentment sooner or later.
If you want to be financially free, it is time you look for a team to work with. You need not be the boss to be financially free, work in a company doing what you are good at and love doing it. Put your money to work wisely and let your assets feed you. Put yourself in a position where you choose to work, not because you need to work. Talking about that, I can't wait for my business partner to semi-retire and I start doing the previews again.

Step 34; Control your emotions

When emotions are high, intelligent is low. Ever said something to someone and regret it later? I have, in fact, many times. Mind you, I am not a saint, I am as human as anyone else.

This is easier said than done, personally, I will always be aware of this and do my best to control my emotions. Emotions will be high, especially, when you have been accused of doing something that is not true, at least to you. Sometimes, love will also cause you to be emotional, watch that feeling and be aware too. Ever heard of crime of passion? This happens when emotion is very high and intelligent very low.

One of the keys that I learned from the book, "The four agreements" is "Don't take it personally" Everybody has their own sets of experience and beliefs. Learn to respect their beliefs. Religions and cultures causes many blood sheds because of intolerant and disrespect for other people's beliefs.

Control your emotions and live and let live.