Fisherman And Wealthy Factory Owner

A wealthy factory owner saw to his horror a fisherman lying around lazily next to his boat smoking a pipe. 

‘Why aren’t you fishing?’ asked the factory owner. ..
‘Because I have caught enough fish for today,’ said the fisherman. 

‘Why don’t you catch a few more?’
‘What would I do with them?’
‘You could earn money,’ was the answer. ‘With which you could have an engine fixed to your boat to go further at sea and catch more fish.’ ‘Then you would earn enough to buy nylon nets. These would bring in more fish and more money. Soon you would have enough money to have two boats….maybe even an entire fleet.
Then you would be a rich man like me.’
‘What would I do then?’
‘You could really enjoy life then.’
‘And what do you think I’m doing now?’, replied the fisherman. 


Lesson: You don't have to be rich to enjoy life. 

The Top 10 Distinctions Between Millionaires and Middle Class, Keith Cameron Smith

The Top 10 Distinctions Between Millionaires and Middle Class, Keith Cameron Smith

Set more long-term goals for your life. People overestimate what they can accomplish in one year and underestimate what they can accomplish in ten (p. 13).
Anyway, the ten distinctions are:

10. Millionaires think long-term. The middle class thinks short-term.
9. Millionaires talk about ideas. The middle class talks about things and people.
8. Millionaires embrace change. The middle class is threatened by change.
7. Millionaires talk calculated risks. The middle class is afraid to take risks.
6. Millionaires continually learn and grow. The middle class thinks learning ended with school.
5. Millionaires work for profits. The middle class works for wages.
4. Millionaires believe they must be generous. The middle class believes it can’t afford to give.
3. Millionaires have multiple sources of income. The middle class has only one or two.
2. Millionaires focus on increasing their net worth. The middle class focuses on increasing its paychecks.
1. Millionaires ask themselves empowering questions. Middle-class people ask themselves disempowering questions.

The one minute manager

The One Minute Manager, Kenneth Blanchard and Spencer Johnson


People who feel good about themselves produce good results.
One minute goal setting is simply:

1. Agree on your goals.
2. See what good behavior looks like.
3. Write out each of your goals on a single sheet of paper using less than 250 words.
4. Read and re-read each goal, which requires only a minute or so each time you do it.
5. Take a minute every once in a while out of your day to look at your performance, and
6. See whether or not your behavior matches your goal.

Help people reach their full potential. Catch them doing something right.

The one minute praising works well when you:
1. Tell people up front that you are going to let them know how they are doing.
2. Praise people immediately.
3. Tell people what they did right – be specific.
4. Tell people how good you feel about what they did right, and how it helps the organization and the other people who work there.
5. Stop for a moment of silence to let them feel how good you feel.
6. Encourage them to do more of the same.
7. Shake hands or touch people in a way that makes it clear that you support their success in the organization.

The one minute reprimand works well when you:
1. Tell people beforehand that you are going to let them know how they are doing and in no uncertain terms.
The first half of the reprimand:

2. Reprimand people immediately.
3. Tell people what they did wrong – be specific.
4. Tell people how you feel about what they did wrong – and in no uncertain terms.
5. Stop for a few seconds of uncomfortable silence to let them feel how you feel.

The second half of the reprimand:

6. Shake hands, or touch them in a way that lets them know you are honestly on their side.
7. Remind them how much you value them.
8. Reaffirm that you think well of them but not of their performance in this situation.
9. Realize that when the reprimand is over, it’s over.

The best minute I spend is the one I invest in people.
Everyone is a potential winner. Some are disguised as losers. Don’t let their appearances fool you.
Take a minute: Look at your goals. Look at your performance. See if your behavior matches your goals.
We are not just our behavior. We are the person managing our behavior.
Goals begin behaviors. Consequences maintain behaviors.

Can I Make a Living Through Online Trading

This is an often-asked question of me. It's really an impossible to answer question. When people ask me that question, I will always respond with "Sure it is, but how badly do you want it?"

There seems to be this (incorrect) assumption that trading is "easy" money. Simply punch in your orders in the morning before you head off to work, and by the time you come home, your portfolio will be swimming in new riches. People even take it a step further and figure that "online trading" would be a dream job that would allow them to make buckets of money without expending too much of their energy.

This couldn't be further from the truth. If you are seriously considering trading for a living, then you need to ask yourself these follow questions. Be honest with yourself. I know that the prospect of trading full-time sounds very exciting, but you need to make sure that everything is in place before you make that leap.

1. Am I prepared to work more than full-time hours to make it in the trading game? All of the successful traders that I know put in more hours than a full-time, 9-5 job. If you think that you can make a success of yourself working 30 minutes a day, then you are dreaming. Becoming a successful trader requires focus and hard work. Sure, when you have multi-millions, then you can afford to trade thirty minutes a day. But until then, you need to accept the fact that if you are to be a success, then you need to dedicate 10-12 hours per day to perfecting your craft.

2. Do you have the trading capital to make it? Some people think that they can start with $10,000 and make it as a "day-trader". Not if you are planning on this being your full-time income. If you are going to do this full-time, then you would need at least (at the very least), $50,000 to give yourself a chance. More would be preferable. If you have less but still want to trade, then why not trade before and after work until you can build up your bankroll.

3. Do you have six months worth of expenses set aside, outside of your trading capital, just in case? You can not include the six months in your trading capital. If you go bust, you need a cushion. If you don't have six months of expenses set aside, then make sure that your significant other has a steady job that could cover expenses, just in case.

4. Do you have the proper tools to make it as a trader? You wouldn't expect a plumber to arrive at a job site without his tools would you? Trading is no different. In order to compete, you need the proper set-up, which includes quotes, a proper monitor setup and access to real-time news (if you are a news trader). If you trade via technical analysis, then you will need the proper charting package. The point is - you need the proper tools to make it.

5. Do you have the support of your family? If you have a doubting spouse then your job will be ten times harder. Do you want to bust your ass all day and then have your spouse give you a hard time when they get home from work? Make sure that you convince your family that this is a viable living before you make the leap. It'll make it a lot easier on you. If you are single, then you obviously don't have any problems here.

6. Can you go back to your job if need be? Instead of quitting, why not take a year long sabbatical if you can? There is nothing wrong with a plan B.

To answer your question, can I make a living through online trading? The answer is an emphatic YES, but only if you are willing to treat the job seriously. If you expect to half-ass it and hang out with your buddies all day in the park playing football, then expect this to be a monumental failure. If you are serious about the venture and plan on treating it like a full-time job, then you definitely have a chance of making it.

Life is Like a Cup of Coffee

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups have been taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of life we live.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee. Savor the coffee, not the cups! The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

The travelling monks at the river

Two traveling monks reached a river where they met a young woman. Wary of the current, she asked if they could carry her across. One of the monks hesitated, but the other quickly picked her up onto his shoulders, transported her across the water, and put her down on the other bank. She thanked him and departed.

As the monks continued on their way, the one was brooding and preoccupied. Unable to hold his silence, he spoke out. "Brother, our spiritual training teaches us to avoid any contact with women, but you picked that one up on your shoulders and carried her!"

"Brother," the second monk replied, "I set her down on the other side, while you are still carrying her."

Lesson: The practice of one's belief is more important than rigid adherence to a belief in one's practice.

The obstacle on our path

   

In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. 

  

Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the big stone out of the way. 

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. On approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. 

After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. As the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. 

The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many others never understand.

Lesson : Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one's condition.