Personal Coaching Blog

Whenever a poor person or to be politically correct a non-wealthy person starts to whinge about how rich people get rich, I often get my back up. That’s because being rich or wealthy is no different than being poor or destitute. You have to work at it. Poor doesn’t just happen, you have to DO certain things or NOT DO certain things to become and STAY poor.

Let me give you an example from an email I received – from an investment advisor (to the rich and wealthy)…

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Good morning,

When you are next at a dinner party and the conversation slows, ask your fellow diners what is the all-time closing high of the Dow Jones Industrial Average?

The answer is 14,164, hit on the 9th of October 2007.

To keep the conversation going, then ask them what percentage the Dow is current below that record closing high and then what percentage it is above its Global Financial Crisis (GFC) low.

The answer is -10.2% and +93%.

I believe most people who aren’t as close to equity markets as the readers of these notes would be stunned to know the Dow is only -10% below its all-time high and +93% above its GFC low.

I realise there is a big business in the scaring the hell out of uneducated investors, but I believe over the short, medium and long term all those who have capitulated from equities to less volatile, yet grossly overpriced “safe” asset classes, will regret it in an absolute and real return sense.

I have seen others describe the switch from equities to other “less volatile” asset classes as “asset allocation”. That’s a very convenient way of describing what is a classic capitulation, but particularly by those approaching retirement who believe they are protecting their lifestyle expectations.

However, at the end of the day all investors must do what they are comfortable with. I have no issue with that and perhaps my relative youth leads me to be far more risk tolerant and volatility tolerant than my investment strategy writing peers.

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Interesting perspective isn’t it?

I’ve been advocating alternative investments to create wealth and abundance for years – with a contrarian approach that is endorsed by none other than Warren Buffett.

Of course the poor person might shout as loud as he/she can that it’s the perspective of a BILLIONAIRE… But how does one BECOME a billionaire?

Hmmm… Something to think about.

I just wanted to share this with you because when it’s all said and done, if you do what everyone else does, you get the same results they do – AVERAGE RETURNS.

To get BETTER results, you have to think differently. It’s what I call antimimeticisomorphism.

If you want to determine your Next Best Step, click on the hyperlink… There are a handful of financial advice bonuses available for you.

Are you ready to take A Short Neurological Test? Angela Muzyczka supplied this one – it’s worth focusing for the next 60 seconds…

1- Find the C below.. Please do not use any cursor help.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOCOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

2- If you already found the C, now find the Read More »»

This is another example of what I love about the Internet – the creativity and innovation it has spawned and continues to inspire is truly enlightening to say the least.

When you click on the URL below, you will see two unique clocks, with men marching in perfect time.

Click anywhere in the clock and it becomes digital, another click and it returns to a normal clock with hours minutes and seconds.

CLICK ON THE IMAGE BELOW
to see this amazing clock!

Click On The Image To See The Clock

http://lovedbdb.com/nudemenClock/index2.html

Have you ever seen a ‘still’ photo move? Artists develop amazing cinemagraphs that take ‘stills’ to the next level. It is, in their own words, ‘something more than a photo but less than a video’. This submission is courtesy of Farhad Khurshed, a professional copywriter.

Two artists have created a new way to to record your special moments – pictures with movement. The ‘cinemagraphs’ look like still photos but actually feature a subtle area of movement designed to grab your eye and keep you looking. The effect is slightly eerie – but utterly captivating.

Hair-raising: Cinemagraphs may look like stills, but they feature a subtle area of movement designed to grab your eye.
These animated photos are the work of Jamie Beck (pictured) and her fellow artist Kevin Burg.

The picture of photographer Jamie Beck, one of the two behind the project, leaps off the screen when her hair starts to blow in a breeze. Miss Beck has worked with motion graphics artist Kevin Burg to make the cinemagraphs by using GIFs, a type of picture format similar to a JPEG which has been around since the invention of home computers.
Only now with broadband Internet are they bringing it to life with a startling effect. ‘Our cinemagraphs are a way of adding motion to a still image,’ Miss Beck said.

Turning a page: The cinemagraphs work by using GIFs, a type of picture format similar to a JPEG which has been around since the invention of home computers but has come into its own with broadband Internet.

In one shot of a crowded square, bodies are frozen in time, but one man quietly turns the pages of his newspaper.
Another photo of a restaurant terrace is brought to life by the reflection of a taxi going past in the window.

Not as simple as they look: The more complex animated photos take the artists an entire day to pull together. In most cases, she shoots the photos and Mr Burg adds on motion-graphics over several hours of painstaking editing. The more complex ones take an entire day to pull together.

New York-based Miss Beck told The Atlantic magazine: ‘There’s something magical about a still photograph – a captured moment in time – that can simultaneously exist outside the fraction of a second the shutter captures. ‘We feel there are many exciting applications for this type of moving image.

Cinemagraphs, Photos That Move, Stills That Move

‘There’s movement in everything and by capturing that plus the great things about a still photograph you get to experience what a video has to offer without the time commitment a video requires.’ She added that sharing websites such as Tumblr have been essential for helping them publish their work and getting them an audience.

Eerie effect: Cinemagraphs are calming to watch as only one area moves – and they are silent

Don’t read this blog post until you’ve read part one. This is the ANSWER to last week’s test. CLICK HERE to determine if you can think creatively, out of the box.

Read More »»

Think you can think out of the box, laterally, creatively? Hmm… Let’s test you!

Many hundreds of years ago in a small Italian town, a merchant had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to the moneylender. The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the merchant’s beautiful daughter so he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo the merchant’ debt if he could marry the merchant’s daughter. Both the merchant and his daughter were horrified by the proposal. The cunning money lender suggested that they let providence decide the matter.

The moneylender told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty bag. The girl would then have to pick one pebble from the bag. If she picked the black pebble, she would become the moneylender’s wife and her father’s debt would be forgiven. If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father’s debt would still be forgiven. But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the merchant’s garden. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick her pebble from the bag.

Now, imagine you were standing in the merchant’s garden. What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her? Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:

1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.
2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the moneylender as a cheat.
3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking. The girl’s dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking.

Think of the consequences if she chooses the logical answers.

What would you recommend the girl do?

Read More »»

Dai Haifei, a 24-year-old architect in Beijing, China, found an ingenious solution to live rent-free. He built himself a mobile egg-shaped house that is powered by the sun. The 6-foot-high structure, which is small enough to fit on a sidewalk, is made of bamboo strips, wood chippings, sack bags, and grass seed that’s expected to grow in the spring. The pod features a solar panel on the roof that powers a lamp in the cozy space. The house cost around $1,000 to build (6427 yen), according to China Daily. It seems Haifei has taken the trend of living in tiny spaces to a whole new level and is definitely another case study example of antimimeticisomorphism in action!

The intrigue with this video is the size, level of detail and authenticity the artist is able to capture – truly a trip back to yesteryear and proof positive that the human imagination is literally boundless in its creative possibilities and talents!

This is so out-there, you have to see it to believe it. Posing With Potholes. Who wooda thunk it?

You have to admit – it’s pretty darn original!

This is a great example of what out-of-the-box thinking can do… Enjoy!