I received this God whisper this morning and I can't help to be inspired by them. Can't help but post it :)

Dear JOANE,      You have the power to create gold.  But don’t be like King Midas who couldn’t turn off his powers to create gold.  He couldn’t eat because his food turned to gold.  He couldn’t enjoy his family because his daughter turned to a lifeless gold statue.  What a miserable life King Midas had. That’s what happens when money becomes your only preoccupation. JOANE, turn off your moneymaking powers many times during the day, especially when it comes to your relationships.  Life is not all about the money.  Life is all about love.                   Blessings, God PS. JOANE, don’t be greedy.  Whatever you need will come your way. Believe.

Poverty Mindset

What prevent you from getting rich?

Again, I will overly emphasized this phrase : YOU ALWAYS HAVE A CHOICE.

Being wealthy is a choice. Being healthy is a choice. Loving someone is a choice. Staying in a relationship is a choice. Having a good future is a choice.

So if we have a choice, how come people are still poor; why does people still in debts? Simple: You have a poverty mindset - which simply mean that you don't want to be rich. Consciously, you kept of thinking about being rich but subconsciously, you are afraid of getting rich. It means that you consciously want to be rich but you do not do it in action and in reality. Your psychological wallet is so small that even a coin won't fit in it. 

So how can avoid and change our poverty mindset?

The following are only tips I personally follow in order to shift my poverty-mindset into a wealthy and abundant mindset (It is up to you if you follow them or you find your own ways on how to do it).

1. Find the purpose why you want to be wealthy.

Mine is simple. 

1. To purchased a car (had a specific details on it: its color, brand, etc) so I can bring my brother (who has down syndrome with autism) in places where he can enjoy (like baguio, tagaytay, Rizal Park :) ).  

2. To retire at an early age so I can spend more time with the people I love and create memories with them;

3. To help more people especially the special children in special homes and the abandoned lolo and lola's in charity and nursing homes in the country. 

Finding your purpose is as easy as looking for what will make you REALLY HAPPY. For some people, they spend their entire lifetime contemplating on their purpose, looking for it, searching for it. I find it easy this way - I sit down, pray for clarity and ask my self : What is the only thing that would give me real happiness? The answer will then serve to be the purpose as to why I want to be wealthy.

     2. Increase your money comfort zone.

Do you imagine yourself to have 1 million? If you have 1 million, what will you do about it? 

Many people remain poor because they did not expand their psychological wallet. For example, an average, entry level nurse receives a salary of 12-14K a month and is comfortable with it. During holidays, we receive 13th month and other bonuses, so that 12-14K become 20-30 even 40K and it become floating money. Because people with the poverty mindset does have little psychological wallet, consciously they are happy with the extra 20K-plus but subconsciously, they are dreading. They are doomed. They are now panicking. So, instead of saving and investing it, they spend it. They spend until all the floating money was gone and there's no more money to save anymore. Since these people are comfortable with only 12-14K, they will do they very best to have that 40K down to 14K for them to be comfortable. 

Therefore, stretching your money comfort zone is important. You want to be wealthy then reset your beliefs. Tell yourself always (personally, I'm doing it) I will have my first 1 million today. It helps. :)

3.Change your view about money.

When I was young, adults always tell me that money is evil. Stay poor because the Lord delights in them. Being rich rob the soul of a person thus making him evil. So I grew up believing that it is evil. Until early this year that belief changed dramatically. If people come to me and tell me that money is evil, I backed up and tell them, how about this "The lack of money is the root of all evil", and they mumble "Oo nga no? ".

Personally, I believe that money is neutral. It can be good or bad depending on its purpose. Money can be evil is you use it to take advantage of other people but it can be a good thing if you use it to help many people. Like what Bo Sanchez always tell us, the true purpose of wealth is to love and to serve others. 

You choose. Choose to be wealthy and love and serve the world. Or choose to be rich to make the life of others miserable. 


Its up to you. Choose your options well.

4. Be Financially literate.

Invest in your most powerful asset - your mind. Attend seminars, read books, listen to audio and podcast. Indulge yourself in reading numbers and understanding them. 

I always believe that you become what you read and what you watch. You can spend your time watching MTV the whole day, go to the mall, bar hopping and other stuff and 5 to 10 years from now, you will realize you're broke. But I choose to invest in my greatest asset. When all my friends spend their hard earned money in bars and night out, I go to National Bookstore and Booksale to find a good book to read. When all my friends spend their day offs watching movies and partying, I'm at home researching on the latest trends in stocks and investment or attending seminars to improve my financial IQ and personality development. When all my friends buy starbucks coffee, I keep my money inside my pocket and instead buy kopiko (thank God, Im not a coffee lover :) ) so I can save and pay my debts and soon be debt-free.

Choose your media wisely. You become what you choose. 

5. Be Responsible.

A lot of people blame others for their poverty. They blame the government, their employers, their parents, their fate, God but never blame themselves. They believe that God holds the steering wheel of their life which I beg to disagree. I personally believe that God is in the back seat, telling us and directing our journey but He  never drives. He ask us to drive our own car thus we are responsible in our own life. He gives us direction, He serves to be a compass so we will not lose our way but He never drive, He give that responsibility to us. 

Kaya utang na loob, stop blaming others for your misfortunes and start being in control of your own life. He ask us to drive, so drive it well. Don't let anyone control you and don't let the world push you around. Buhay mo yan, in the end, you can't point your finger to anyone but yourself. You have options and you choose what kind of life you;ll lived, kaya be mature enough to take the blame and be responsible.

So, there's the list. I told you earlier, they are my personal lists. You can follow it or you can make your own. The important thing is, as you're reading this, you are choosing to live a life out of the RAT RACE. 

See you in the Financial free land, soon! :)

God bless our journey!

- Joane Nicole Hamili

Assets VS Liabilities and Cashflow Pattern

Basic knowledge in the difference of Assets VS Liabilities will lead you out the Rat Race.


Assets

• Dictionary: Any item of economic value owned by an individual or corporation, especially that which could be converted to cash. Examples are cash, securities, bonds, real estate, businesses.
• Robert Kiyosoki: Asset is anything that puts money in your pocket.
• Rich People: Investments like stocks, property estate, mutual funds, business.
• Poor People: Car, cellphone (iPhone, Blackberry), a house, a gadget (iPod, iPad, PSP).

Diagram 1:1 Graphically shows Asset's definition.

Liabilities:

• Dictionary:  An obligation of an entity arising from the past transactions or events, the settlement of which may result in the transfer or use of assets. 
• Robert Kiyosoki: Liability is anything that takes money out of your pocket.
• Rich People:  Car, cellphone (iPhone, Blackberry), a house, a gadget (iPod, iPad, PSP).
• Poor People: Investments like stocks, property estate, mutual funds, business.
• 
  

               Diagram 1:2 Graphically shows liability's definition.

Cash flow Pattern of the Rich, the Poor and the Middle Class ( Excerpt from Robert Kiyosoki's work)

Diagram 1: 3 Cashflow of Rich People

The cashflow pattern of the rich shows that their income is invested in an assets-producing income like stocks, bonds, business, real estate which in turn provide them with extra money going in their income column which is then again re-invested in the asset column. Notice that, the rich people doesn't use their earned income to spend on the liabilities which will served to be an expense taking away their money out of the system. They get the money, invest it then earned passive income and reinvest it again. The cycle continue and the rich people become richer and richer and richer again. A cycle never stops because they are financially literate.

Diagram 1:4 Cashflow of Poor People

The cashflow pattern of the poor shows that whenever they get their salary (from jobs), they use it immediately to pay off their expenses (debts, basic commodities like foods, bills etc). Notice that the poor doesn't give attention to their asset column thus no passive and extra money enter their income column. They work, receive their salary, pay their bills (expense) and work again. This is called The RAT RACE.

Diagram 1:5 Cashflow of the Middle Class

The cashflow pattern of the middle class (most of the pinoys can relate to this) shows that upon receiving their salary, they pay their expenses  (like bills, mortgage, debts) and the extra money will be invested it what they believe to be an asset (like cellphones, gadgets, cars, new house) turned out to be a liability later on, ending to be an expense, thus taking their money out in the system.   

Diagram 1:6 Cashflow of the Financially Free or Wealthy People

The cashflow pattern of the wealthy people or the financially independent, financially free individuals shows that their assets-producing income pays for their expense and their assets pays also for their liabilities. It means that their hard work in investing and re-investing in income-producing assets had mature enough that it can already pay for whatever liabilities they want (like travelling the world, buying their dream house, buying their porsche etc).

Like what I said in my earlier blog entitled "Be Financially Literate", we all have a choice. We can chose to remain poor and middle class and be in the rat race all our life leaving not legacy and riches but debts-to-pay in the generations to come, with regrets of not having able to lived our dream life; Or we can chose to be rich and wealthy, delaying instant gratifications in order to save and invests for our retirement and be able to live the life we want to lived. 

The choice is YOURS. 

Make your dreams and the dreams of others happen by choosing the right one.

God Bless us all! Good night :)

-Joane Nicole Hamili

             

Disturb Us Lord - A Prayer of Sir Francis Drake

Disturb us, Lord, when

We are too pleased with ourselves,

When our dreams have come true

Because we dreamed too little,

When we arrived safely

Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when

With the abundance of things we possess

We have lost our thirst

For the waters of life;

Having fallen in love with life,

We have ceased to dream of eternity

And in our efforts to build a new earth,

We have allowed our vision

Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,

To venture on wilder seas

Where storms will show Your mastery;

Where losing sight of land,

We shall find the stars.

We ask you to push back

The horizons of our hopes;

And to push back the future

In strength, courage, hope, and love.

This we ask in the name of our Captain,

Who is Jesus Christ.

Bless Mom and Dad

Today, one of my workmate mother died.

And then, it hits me like a rock.

I realized how lucky I am for my parents. For their presence in my life. My parents aren't perfect. Of course, they have their flaws and they made mistakes. At times, they hurt me with words unintentionally uttered, nevertheless, Im thankful because I still have them.

Lord,

Thank you for my parents. For mom and Dad who works long hours a day just to provide our needs. For being my best and worst critics. For being my best friend and my worst enemy at times. For taking care of me and still loving me at my most unlovable. For accepting me, for being patient with me, for understanding me and for unconditionally loving me.

I know Lord, that despite of them being not so expressive with their affection with me, I know that they loved me. I ask you Lord to bless my parents with good more years ahead of them wiith lots of love and friendship. Bless them with abundance in all the aspect of their life. Bless them Lord because they had been a good steward for being my mother and my father through all these years. 

I ask you Lord, to bless me with abundance too, so I can use the wealth to serve them more and to love them more. Bless me so that I may continue to be a good daughter to them. 

You have blessed me so much Lord. and I love my parents for all their sacrifices for me. Bless them Lord.

In Jesus name,

Amen

Be Financially Literate

How important it is to be Financially Literate?


Facts:

1. Finance 101 is not taught in school.
2. School taught us to WORK FOR MONEY and did not teach us how MONEY CAN WORK for us.
3. The entire universe will do its best to take from you your hard earned money (e.g. tax deduction) without you knowing it.
4. Being in debt is a nightmare. 
5. 70 - 80% of the population hates the word investing, stocks, mutual funds, compounding interest and insurance.

Fiction:

1.  Money is the root of all evil. - (Baka naman, the lack of money is the root of all evil.)
2. " I'm born poor, so I will never be rich" - (Utang na loob naman.Hindi mo kasalanan kung pinanganak kang mahirap, pero pag namatay kang mahirap kasalanan mo na.)
3. "Wala akong malaking pera na pwedeng iinvest." ( Some mutual funds requires an initial investment of only P 5,000.)

" Hindi mo kasalanan kapag pinanganak kang mahirap,

              Pero pag namatay kang  mahirap, kasalanan mo na" 

I overly emphasized that statement because its true.  The Lord promises us an abundant life and He wanted us live our life to the fullest, enjoy His creation and be His steward of the wealth He will be giving us. The sad part is we make a choice and it is to be poor and to remain poor. 

The truth is that the people around us will do everything to get our money. The bank, for example, will offer us credit cards saying it is for our convenience. I'm not against it since I have one but your inability to know how to responsibly use it will later on be a disadvantage on your part. My point is, if you will not harness the financial genius in you, the world will push you around       because you are allowing them to do it to you. Soon you will realize that the world is eating you alive and there's no way to escape it - this is what you called THE RAT RACE, as Robert Kiyosoki describe in his book Rich Dad, Poor Dad. 

You want to be rich? 


You want to be financially secure in the future? Depending not on your SSS allowances and pension when you retire? Not depending on your Son/daughter's allowances in your retirement years?


You want to be free from debts and not fall into the pitfalls of spend-using your credit card- then be in debt- cycle?
You want to be financially free and live your dream life because you're now living-on-interest?

You want to stop working at an early age so that you can spend more time with the people you love and create memories with them?


Then start investing in the most powerful asset you have, YOUR MIND, and awaken the financial genius in you. 


*** Just a side note I want to share: I get it from Bo Sanchez, my spiritual mentor who open my mind in endless possibilities and awaken the financial genius in me :). You want to be wealthy? Then choose to be wealthy. Always remembering that the TRUE PURPOSE OF WEALTH IS TO LOVE AND SERVE OTHERS.


God Bless us all.


-Joane