Business and Money Tips

As you may know, I seldom see fortune tellers, but this guy was highly recommended by my friend, and I just saw him today.  After some soul searching questions, this expert revealed to me the answers that I have been looking for in the past whole year.  I asked this soothsayer what he prognosticate for me in the 5 key areas of my life and these are his answers: Money This year I have the chance to make more money than last year. However, I must be alert to take advantage of opportunities quickly or they will be gone. Furthermore, I must work hard, but not too hard or I will missed opportunities. As this year (2015) inflation will be another high, I must invest my hard earned savings into instruments that beat inflation, like REITs that offer quarterly dividends exceeding 4.5% per annum. Lastly, I must know how to donate money, for the more I donate, the more I have. Career and Business:  Things appear to be challenging in the short term, as the world economies are not looking

Once there were 5 children sitting in front of a deity; they took turns to say their new year wishes.  The first child wished to have an entire house of candies, and the deity readily granted him this wish.  The second child was cleverer, he wished to own the McDonald's company, so that he can have as many fast food as he wishes.  This wish too was granted. The third child was even smarter. He wished to have all of the wishes of the children in the room.  Surprisingly, this wish too was granted. Now the fourth child said the ultimate wish: he wished to have any wishes he can have in this world.  Isn't this the wish-all wish?  To his astonishment, the deity granted this child his wish. Now come to the fifth and last child, and he paused for a while and said, "I wish to have no more wishes, because if I had ever lasting happiness and contentment, there is no need to wish for anything because life is complete and perfect". My friends, isn't this the best new

Whether you are struggling in your life now or you simply want to fast track your success, follow our 3 ACT Steps (Ask Count Take action ) and your new year wishes will come true.  Guaranteed. Ask for What You Desire in Specific Terms.  Not just more money, but how much. Like I want to have 3 clients getting our  10 courses bundle at $1,499 each month, plus 5 clients for in-house training  each month;  Count Your Foes, that's right, enemies that can prevent you from achieving your desires .  Then remove the 5 most common fetters to wishes coming true: Weak desires Goals inconsistent with your beliefs Goals inconsistent with your values Lack of good backing No clear use of the extra money . Until you have clear use of the extra money, that extra money is of no meaning to you and thus it's difficult for you to achieve it      3.   Take Action NOW to achieve your goals. This could be going back to your past leads, send a new year greeting card to your contacts o

Shocking statistics: the world's top 3 instant messaging services with people efficiency as follows: Whatsapp: 450 million actives users, employs only 50 staff to handle 50 billion messages daily; WeChat: 600 million registered users, employs 20,000 staff; Line: 300 million registered users, employs 5,000 staff; Here's how Whatsapp managed to be so productive employing only 50 staff to serve 450 million customers daily: Very Simple Product with little or no variation (no premium version).  In fact Whatsapp simple product makes it the most used product (as compared to WeChat).  Many people including myself use Whatsapp for its no-brainer style that gives reliable results Systematize operations with each person well trained (employs no intern or inexperienced staff) Full computerized operations with all 50 people working round the clock in shifts.  In this way no problems can be left undetected and solved immediately and there's no need for meetings at all

This small artist monopolised the entire Chinatown.  Yes, micro players can always monopolize the market if they do things differently.  Yes, a micro like You can become the Microsoft of your industry today.  This is because the market is not absolutely homogeneous and is heterogeneous, that is, each segment of the market is actually different.  Many small players do not realize this and make the mistake of following the market leaders blindly.  They end up with no business because customers would rather play safe and go with the leader than an unknown brand. The following are the 7 ways that any small player can monopolize the market easily: Do Things That Nobody Does .  Like NEXT Computer (1986 to 1998), it focused on the education market and avoided the rest of the market dominated by IBM-clones PCs powered by Microsoft's operating system.  In fact NEXT was so successful that Apple had to use up all its available cash to buy it over in 1998 to give Apple a headstart in its

I am always amazed that even in 2014, there are some people who still manage people like in the past. The following are the Top 5 Most Common Myths and Truths of People Management: Myth 1: You need money to motivate people Truth: Accomplishment itself is a bigger motivator , and if you use money alone, you’ll get greedy people! Look at those people cheat at mega banks and you’ll know what I’m talking about. Myth 2: You must push people to achieve Your Company's Goals  Truth: People are pushed by their own commitment than your goals. If their commitment is aligned with your goals, your goal setting will work. Otherwise, it will simply not work. Myth 3: People need to be managed and controlled  Truth: You only can manage space, time and resources. You don’t manage people, you lead people. Myth 4: Increasing sales and profits are clear goals that everyone can relate to Truth: People relate more to something bigger that matters and make a difference , like being able to con

The problem with most employees is not that they are not doing well in their job, it is that they spent years working hard without realizing that what they do may not be what their employers want! Remember that your employer is also a human being. What would you like to see in another human being? Someone who is initiated, reliable and has the aptitude to learn is always an asset to an employer.  Based on years of experience in coaching, teaching and consulting thousands of employers and employees worldwide, below are the first 4 of the 10 bite-sized pointers to guide you towards becoming a great value worker for your boss. Top 10 Things that Every Employer Looks for in an Employee: 1. Be a low maintenance employee Before we can talk about a car being high performance, it must first be low maintenance and cannot break down frequently.  Same for an employee .  Being low maintenance means requiring minimal supervision and is very flexible Do

P eople often ask me as a trainer what new things I can impart to them.  When I reply that I cannot teach anybody anything new, they were disappointed.  Before they want to throttle me, I go on to explain that people do things for their own reason.  For learning to be effective, people must get to learn by themselves . There are 3 steps for people to learn anything: 1st Step: Awareness Most people are ignorant, deluded and unsure of what is right or wrong. That day in my training I asked my participants which apartment is near to town: Marine Parade Road or Ang Mo Kio Avenue 8.  Everyone said Marine Parade Road is nearer. But when I ask them why is the Marine Parade Road's apartment selling at 30% below the price of the Ang Mo Kio's one, they start to give me other reasons like the Ang Mo Kio apartment is a newer one.  I told them that this could be true, but we must aware of the fact that if 2 things differ in price, one is over-price while the other is under-price .

Throughout the world serving 69 million customers every day, the world's largest and most profitable restaurant group earns net profits as high as 20% of its sales.  From New Delhi to China, from Tanzania to Singapore, every time when you order something at McDonald's counter, their staff will inevitably ask you one question: Do You Want to Up size? In fact this single question made McDonald's rich.  Notice that McDonald's did not ask you other questions that most salespeople ask, including, "Can you give us some referrals?", "Do you want to become our member to enjoy discounts?" or "Can you please come back next week?" etc. If you answer no to the above 'Up size' question, McDonald's staff will next ask you, "Do you want an apple pie to go with your meal?"  If you still answer no to this question, the staff will ask you "Do you want to add $1 to get the limited edition Minion toy?" All the questions

Human beings like to fight even though they know very well from past history that fighting never work for any parties.  Just look at the devastation World Wars I and II and the on-going wars today and you'll realize how silly we are. Psychologists said that fighting is an animal instinct, for people have this scarcity mentality and they are too attached to the notion of having things and that's why we cannot let go. Yet wisdom from over 2,000 years of ancient civilisation including Sun Tzu Art of War, Zhuang Zi, Confucius, Lao Zi and Sidharta Gotama 'Pali Canon' told us that at the end of the day, the winner is the one that wins EVEN WHEN HE DOESN'T FIGHT .  In fact smart companies like Facebook, Twitter, Google and Apple know and practised these No-War Strategies.  In particular, Facebook is a latecomer in social media but they did not go out to fight head-on with pioneers like MySpace and Friendster.  Instead Facebook created a perfect photo-sharing and time-l

Every time I hear someone saying that so and so is stupid, I cannot help but wonder: if you give this person $100, will he be stupid enough to reject it?  If a person can survive until today, how can he be stupid?   As a educator, I believe that there are no stupid people in this world, there are only people that are ignorant, deluded and unsure.   Ignorant Most people are ignorant of the important facts of life (read 'The 7 Myths of Life' at here ) due to the being brainwashed by the mass media. For example, most people still expect things to remain the same when in life nothing stays constant and everything is in a state of flux at each passing moment.   Ignorance also means knowing but not knowing how to apply , and knowing how to apply but never apply due to delusion .   When people are ignorant, we an educate them, but we cannot force them to learn, for if they learn things unwillingly, they will not apply the new learning and will remain ignorant.   If people rem

A myth is something that we think is true because most people believe or wish that it is true. In reality a myth is just a lie .  There is a market for myths because people like to have a better world. The following are the 7 Most Common Myths in Life:  Newspaper is about history and not about news at all .  A news is something that is very new and has not been over yet. So all newspapers should be renamed Historypapers because they report what has happened in the past. In fact they are not history but distorted history, for they reflect the views of the people controlling the media.  In Singapore, there is this free newspaper called "TODAY", and this 'newspaper' is definitely not about today and should be renamed 'YESTERDAY'.  On the other hand, what you do now is news because you are in the creation process of creating something new.   Your Bank Savings Account is Actually a Depleting Savings Account .  This is because the very low interest that they pa

It pains me to see some people that are so talented and yet they did not achieve much.  In fact they have what we called 7 Fetters of Highly Effective People.  Face the fetters and take action today to remove them and you will be on a different path.  The 7 Fetters are: Having No Goals.  Alas, this is so old-fashioned but really if you have no goals, you will just be living your life on a roller coaster - many ups and downs but you end up where you begin - no improvement at all.   Having Too 'Ambitious' (Unrealistic) Goals.  This is the opposite of Having No Goals, but is more than that. These people are unrealistic, they are going for the moon when right now they can't even swim in the Pacific Ocean. Such people are not grounded, they live in dreams and often they are impractical. Having No Friends.  No man can succeed alone and friends can be a great leverage at the right time. Some people said that it is better to have a few enemies but many friends than to have

It was reported that the Government spent S$2.8 million to promote the S$4.3 billion MCE, Singapore's most expensive and newest expressway.  But it seems like most people are not convinced that the MCE is good for them, and many people are wondering if this is a design issue or a communication issue.  In other words, can the Government better persuade us that the MCE is good?  I think the government should SELL the MCE away; SELL is our newest method of persuasion: Suffering, Empathy, Lead and Let them enjoy the benefits. As a manager, executive or salesperson, you cannot don't persuade people.  For today no one wants to be forced into accepting another person's view, and everyone wants to have his say.   It doesn't matter who is right or wrong, what it matters is people want to be heard .  That is why social media like Facebook , Twitter and Youtube are so popular today, as they allow people to share their views freely and without censorship. From studying the

Today we look at a very useful concept that experts use to handle sales objections, it is called QUIET : Q: Begin with a Question U: Understand the objection (with more clarifying questions) I : Identify the reason behind the objection E: Empathize with the prospect's objection T: Test the objection. Q: Questions Our 1-day sales training SALES POWER , is taught 7 times a year. Often participants are given a test at the end of the course on how they can handle the top 10 most common objections. One of the most effective is to turn the prospect's statement into a question.  When the prospect says, "Your price is too high", you simply pause, lower your voice, and respond, "You mean the price (pause) is too high for you ?"  You are now asking further questions to clarify the prospect's objection so as to UNDERSTAND and IDENTIFY the reason behind the reason.  Usually the reason is not they cannot afford it, but they cannot see the value in what

Many working people tell me (in our training courses) that it's hard to keep the momentum going and they are feeling tired at work.   We know that if you are drained at work, your productivity will go down.  This will make you feel even more tired as you are not making headways at work.  If left unchecked, you will soon reach burnt-out stage.  Thus all employees, including bosses, must ensure that they don't checked out at work.  The following are the 7 proven ways that everyone can remain fresh and not get drained at work: Keep a Fresh Perspective every 90 days .  Every 3 months, take a fresh look at your job and its contributions to the society.  You'll realize that your work is not as stale as what it seems.  For we know that as long as you dig deep into your work, you will discover gems at your work. Take short breaks (5 to 10 minutes) every 2 to 3 hours  at work.  If this is too much for your boss, you don't have to take smoking breaks; all you need to do i

"You can make a great product, but you have to convince people that what you are selling is greater".   CEO John Sculley, in his famous speech to Apple Computer staff in 1983, said, "We are not selling computers, we are selling what people can do with computers.  A tool for the mind, and that, ladies and gentlemen, is limitless". Indeed, in sales, if you just sell a product or service, you are very much limited in how much you can sell.  But the moment you turn your selling into what your product or service can do for the customer, you can sell anything .  There is simply no limit in your selling.  Just look at the phenomenal sales of iPad and Samsung Galaxy phones and you will know what I'm talking about. The following are the 5 most common ways to be limitless in your selling: The Money that Can be Made with What You Are Selling.  As long as this money that people get is more than what they are paying, there is value in what you selling. The Money th

It's hard to imagine: South Korea was almost bankrupt 15 years ago in 1998.  Today it boosts the 12th highest per capita GDP ( Purchasing Power Parity ), way above rich countries like Canada, Australia, Belgium, Sweden and including, yes, Singapore.  South Korea also ranks 4th out of 183 countries on Goldman Sachs' Growth Environment Score, which means that they did not sacrifice the environment for growth. Bear in mind that this country of 60 million Oriental people is still at a state of war with its neighbour nuclear-arms infested North Korea.  Also note that South Korea was almost devastated from the 3-year Korean War in 1950-1953, plus the exploitation by Japan for 50 years up to World War II. How did the Koreans did it?  I was in Korea for a one-week holiday and from I gathered at the museums, streets and institutions, there are 5 factors that we all can learn from them: Self-Sacrifice - the Koreans sacrificed their personal belongings to rescue theie country from

As an employee, it is your wish to earn more but work less this year. Otherwise, how are you going to improve your quality of life and work life balance?  Unknown to many people, it is possible to work less (really work less hours) but earn more (from promotion, bonus and incentives).  The following are the 5 most common ways that we teach to our clients: Higher Skills - either move up to management level or become even more specialized and be an expert in your work.  Higher skills also mean skills that are of higher demand , like leadership, sales and communication skills.  Studies in Australia show that if you attend at least 2 courses in a month (totalling 8 hours), your chance of getting a promotion in this year increases by 43%.  One of the fastest and free ways to acquire skills is to sign up for corporate training.  Your company will be happy to pay for them because they can get $15,000 cash under the PIC Bonus scheme.  Be More Skilful , which means to be very mindful