Steps To A Wealthy Mindset

Victor E. Garcia

1. Redefine What Wealth Means for You.

Being "rich" simply is a term for many people. Technically, wealth or being wealthy is defined as having an abundance of resources or possessions. The high life does not equal wealth. Having a gigantic mortgage for a beautiful home or a huge car payment does not equal wealth.

Are status symbols your end goal? Does wealth for you mean that ability not to worry about bills or how much is left in your checking account at the end of the month? Does it mean providing comfortably for your family or being free from financial worry?

Does it mean the ability to afford luxury designer goods or getting a membership to the local country club? Being rich or being wealthy can also mean you enjoy a comfortable retirement. Maybe to you wealth means something totally different.

Your definition of wealth goes a long way towards setting your goals.

2. Learn To Hold Off Gratification

In today's culture everyone expects instant gratification, we all wants things NOW NOW NOW.

However, a wealthy person knows how to delay gratification and sacrifice the now for later. This often comes with a positive attitude towards work and wealth, such as: "If I invest now, I will make 30% more later."

The wealthy do not only think of now, they plan for the future. Long-term thinking over short-term. The present is merely an opportunity.

Change your mentality about spending. Do you really have to have that (place object here) now? The truly rich hold off gratification, knowing that what is trendy, popular or a must have today may not last until tomorrow.

3. Learn the difference between having a high income and being truly wealthy.

High incomes do not necessarily mean that you are rich, especially if this income comes from only one source.

The myth persists that you can only be truly wealthy if you come into family money or are born into a home of silver spoons, silk sheets and antique furniture. Continue to believe in this myth, and you still have the mindset of the broke.

Most people also believe that a high income job is the end-all of their problems and work their butts off to get to a position that pays in five or six digits but end up baffled at how little they have by the time retirement rolls around.

For example, the average high level manager earns $200,000 a year, with benefits but stands to lose that income in the event of layoffs or illness.

Although his income earning potential is high, it only comes from one source.

Contrast that with a middle level manager earning $50,000 a year. This middle manager, however, rents out properties in the city for another $500,000 and reaps dividends from stocks and bonds for another $100,000 a year. In the event of illness, death or mass layoffs, half of his earning potential is still secure.

The source of the latter's income is also easily passed on to future generations, securing wealth for the middle level manager's family.

4. If you're starting a business know when to hold off, reassess and quit.

Investors will say no to your idea, but not all of them.

Those with a poor mindset go to the bank for a loan, get rejected and never think about their idea or opportunity again. The wealthy mindset goes to the bank for a loan, gets rejected, redrafts the proposal and returns to get the approval.

The poor mindset goes into business not knowing the risks of the deal and is baffled when the fallout occurs. The wealthy mindset goes into a deal, knows the risk and gets out if things are going bad.

Always follow your gut and do your research. Know when to back off from risky or unethical deals will not only take your money but have effects of your freedom.

5. Use Your Subconscious to Manifest Your Financial Destiny

The wealthy know that before you can be physically wealthy, your mind must be thinking wealthy too.

Create dream posters by cutting out pictures of your dream status or quotes that inspire you.

Never underestimate the power of your will and mind.

Wealthy people never say they cannot do it, they think of ways so that they can. Instead of thinking "I can't afford that", think to yourself "HOW can I afford that?"

Write down 10 things you want when you're wealthy every morning right after you wake up. The key part is to write them in the present tense, "I have... ".

The act of physically writing this list and seeing your dreams in black and white will engrave your desires into your subconscious and motivate you to take action towards them every day.

The truly wealthy consider their mind as the foremost asset. They also tend to invest in their mind, especially when it comes to education. Visualize yourself to be the millionaire, entrepreneur and successful person you want to be.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Victor_E._Garcia

According To This World Bank's Report Gujarat And Andhra Pradesh Are India's Best Places For Business.

Gujarat, the state Prime Minister Narendra Modi ran for more than a decade, is India's best place for conducting business, the World Bank said on Monday, in a report that ranks the country's states in an effort to encourage them to cut red tape.

Gujarat: best place for conducting business

"The growth of business in India requires concerted action on several fronts - infrastructure, capital markets, trade facilitation and skills," said Onno Ruhl, the World Bank's India director. "The stark reality is that India remains a difficult place to do business."

The effort is part of the government's initiatives to improve India's position on the World Bank's 'Ease of Doing Business' ranking. India is 142nd on he list of 189 countries. The government wants India to breaking into the top 50 at the earliest. It expects to make it to the top 100 in the next ranking.  States were given six months to improve business environment based on 98 parameters in December, after the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) got states on board for this initiative. DIPP then collected data on the steps implemented, asking 285 questions to all states and union territories in June this year. The information was reviewed by KPMG and World Bank for the final assessment of states.

Monday's report suggested that such steps as offering single-window clearances for administrative approvals, if followed by all states, could improve India's global ranking.

Reforms have changed how India does business 

It said that states -- including the top five, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh -- had implemented reforms in online tax payments, construction, permits, electricity connections and environmental clearances in a specified time.

Rajasthan – sixth among 29 states

However, the states should set up electronic courts, and reforms relating to labour laws, land allotment and property registrations, the report said. "This is a defining moment for Rajasthan because improving our ease of doing business directly accelerates job creation for our youth," said Vasundhara Raje, the chief minister of Rajasthan. The state was ranked sixth among 29 states. Modi's government has taken several pro-business steps, such as rolling back plans to tax foreign companies and allowing them to invest more in insurance, defence, banks and other sectors.

Gujarat topped the list with a score of 71.14 percent

How are India's 32 states and union territories ranked?

The key parameters include:

1. Setting up of business

2. allotment of land

3. labour reforms 

4. procedure for environmental clearance.

The North East is at the bottom

Arunachal Pradesh fares the worst, followed by Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Sikkim, Tripura and Assam. Then there's J&K, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh and Uttarakhand.

Punjab is best for setting up a business

Punjab leads all other business friendly states. "Remarkably, Punjab is the only State in which the single window system allows application for all of the licenses studied in this assessment, although some others come very close," the report says. 

Gujarat leads environmental procedure compliance

Gujarat scores a whopping 100% for environmental compliance, followed by Andhra Pradesh (85.19 percent score).

Jharkhand leads India's labour regulation compliance

"Jharkhand’s Labour Department is the only one in the country to score 100% on all four parameters studied in this assessment across all 7 processes. Andhra Pradesh also deserves a mention as the Labour Department provides clear information, timelines and online solutions, but lack downloadable and verifiable certificates," the report said

Maharashtra is best for securing infrastructure

infrastructure utilities are easiest sourced in Maharashtra (88.89%) followed by Gujarat (75%) 

Gujarat led business environmental inspections

Inspections under the Water Act and the Air Act saw Gujarat come out first. "The only other State that has implemented computerised risk assessment for environmental inspections is Maharashtra," the report said. 

Dispute resolution: Delhi and Maharashtra are doing something about it

"Only 2 States – Delhi and Maharashtra – have introduced specialized commercial courts, and only Gujarat has made available model contract templates and guidelines on the department website." The leader? Maharashtra  at 55.56%.

(Inputs from Reuters, The Economic Times and Kunal Anand)

Change in Season, Change in Routine

Adapting to change requires extra energy. With the carefree days of summer coming to an end and the fall season looming before us, children getting ready to return to school, people start to buckle down to prepare for winter - all this requires changes to our routine. Too much change can lead to negative stress and poor health. Think of yourself as a rechargeable battery with so much energy to spend at any given time. When the energy is used up, we have to recharge it by taking rest which restores our batteries. Regular routines require less energy and our batteries last longer. But when we have changes in our habits, we use extra energy called "adaptive" energy. Think about the time you moved into a new house. Things you used to take for granted, for example, the location of your vacuum cleaner or where to hang certain jackets or even where the light switches are, now require thought. We've all been there. What is easy in the old house requires thinking in the new.

When we have too much adapting to do at any one time, we can feel tired and get cranky. Perhaps you have just moved, changed jobs, and you have to get the children ready to return to school. We can feel uptight, stretched like a rubber band and lose our patience with others.

What can we do when we're too stretched? Here are three simple strategies for managing our way through a change in season requiring a change in routine.

Strategy #1: make a list of action items.

1. Brainstorm - a simple and easy strategy is to take out a piece of paper and write down everything you have to do in the upcoming week. I find doing this on a Sunday while looking at the week ahead works best for me.

2. Categories - next, list these action items into categories. That's all you have to do. You don't need to put a priority to your list or allocate time required to perform your actions. Just list them under your categories. For example:

Week of: September 12

Category #1: Meetings

1. Parent/Teacher

2. Doctor's appointment

3. Interview with George

Category #2: Personal

1. cardio class - 4 x

2. spa - fall tune up special

3. girl friends over

Category #3: Household

1. Clean out storage

2. Get bedroom painted

3. Prepare for BBQ

Category #4: Calls/Emails

1. Mom

2. Gail, Sue, Sarah

3. Business contacts

4. Workshop participants

3. Review - tape this list to the bulletin board, refrigerator, or place it in your day timer. Don't worry about when you're doing these things. The list will make you conscious of the actions required. At the end of the week, review how you did. You'll be amazed!

Strategy #2: Build in rest and repair. 

When we have too many demands on our time, we are in overdrive and the body is in the sympathetic state of alert. When we stay too long in the sympathetic alert state using too much energy, we burn out. Burning out leads to diminished health and wellbeing and we start a downward spiral leading to more stress.

The best way to prevent burnout is to do the opposite. Build in some gaps between activities and move in the direction of under-drive. How can you do this? Give yourself a break; go to the spa and have health and beauty treatments. Slow down. Close your eyes and relax. Have a reflexology treatment, for example. Reflexology is a natural healing art based on the principle that there are reflexes in the hands, feet, and ears that correspond to every part, gland and organ in the body. When having a reflexology treatment, the body naturally goes into the parasympathetic state of rest and repair where tension is relaxed, circulation is increased, and the body can normalize naturally. Be sure to get your nails done after the treatment - a great way to be forced into sitting and letting the circulation benefits get registered in the nervous system.

Too many demands and pressures, too often and too long, use us up until like the stretched out rubber band, we snap. Too little activity and too little stress with too few demands on us results in a dull system and like the unused rubber band that sits in our desk drawer for years, once taken out to use, it crumbles. We want Eustress which is a Greek word meaning good stress.

We all need some tension in our lives but we want healthy tension - just enough demands and pressures on our system followed by rest and repair is the way to stay healthy. Remember that stress is accumulative which means that the more stress we have, the more stress we tend to get. The same is true with rest and repair. We repair, recharge, and regenerate more quickly when our nervous systems are rested.

Strategy #3: Acknowledge yourself.

Most of us take our gifts and strengths for granted. Because of this, we often forget to acknowledge who we are and what we do to contribute to others. As we would acknowledge others, we should also see and acknowledge ourselves because we are important too. Take a moment and just acknowledge yourself and pat yourself on the back. You're OK, you know. In fact, you're great!

As we move from one season to another, demands and changes in our routines place constraints on our time and energy. Be sure to take care of yourself along the way. If you don't take care of yourself, there is only one end in sight. Poor health. Stay well. Be conscious of the demands on your time and energy. Build in rest and repair. And acknowledge yourself!

By Danielle Gault, Health & HR Development Specialist

RCRT, BA Psych. HRM Post-Grad.

Danielle Gault, writer, trainer, and natural healer, delivers workshops, coaching and healing services in Ontario, New York, and New Zealand. She has written articles published in the Ontario Association of Psychological Type, local newspapers, and for the Reflexology Association of Canada. Danielle believes in a holistic approach to living and uses personality theory, natural healing techniques such as yoga, reflexology and insightful workshops to assist people in addressing their issues in life and striving to live consciously. Her websites are: http://www.wellness-training-services.com or contact her at dgault@cwtservices.biz

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Danielle_R._Gault

The secret of Success!

Socrates

A young man asked Socrates, an ancient Greek philosopher, the secret of Success. Socrates told the man to meet him near the river the next morning. They met. Socrates asked the young man to walk with him toward the river.

When the water got up to their necks, Socrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the water. The man struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him underwater until he started turning blue The young man struggled hard and finally managed to get up. The first thing he did was to gasp and take a deep breath.

Socrates asked, ‘What did you want the most when you were under the water?”

The man replied: “Air”.

Socrates said: That’s the most secret to success. When you want success as badly as you want air, you will get it. There is no other secret’.

Reflection:

A burning desire is the starting point of all accomplishments. Just like a small fire cannot give much heat, a weak desire cannot produce great results...

More about Socrates:

Socrates is a famous ancient Greek philosopher. He was born in Athens in 469 BC and was killed (by poison) in 399 BC (about 71 years old) because the government didn’t agree with his teaching. Socrates is widely credited for laying the foundation for Western philosophy.

How to Be Yourself

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes.~Marcel Proust

Have you ever been in a social setting, suddenly realizing you are not being yourself? This article takes an in depth look at why we play various roles in our lives, and how to overcome these socially conditioned “masks” to be yourself.

Perhaps you’ve caught yourself saying, “I love catching up with my old school buddies, it’s so easy to be myself in their company”? Or, “Felt so miserable at that party, making polite conversation with bunch of superficial people.”

It transpires that we are often not our true selves in the company of others – subconsciously and repeatedly wearing masks that project a certain image of us to the world.

We seem to have a collection of these masks that habitually surface, intending to best serve our self-interest, based on the need of our immediate environment. These masks come in varied shapes and colors like, the aggressor, the conformist, the nice guy, the shy one, etc.

Only when we are able to bring these masks into our active awareness and deal with them, can we be ourselves and experience the freedom that brings.

Why Do We Pretend?

We acquire these masks from various experiences through life – those gained during our childhood being the most notable and lasting ones. It’s our primal instinct and desire to be loved. This is such a deep longing that right from our childhood, we are constantly adapting to our environment and building different strategies, so we can better fulfill this need.

Depending upon what seems to work, meaning specifically what helps gain our parents’ love during our early years, we subliminally begin to cement those strategies into our psyche.

Some of these become so deep rooted that as adults, we see them as an integral part of our personality – acknowledging it with comments like, “this is the way I am and it’s hard for me to be any other way”.

The Different Types of Masks

1. High Performer

As bestselling author, John Gray explains in “What you feel, you can heal”, this is how it works. If we were recognized for exceeding our parents’ expectations, say at school, we can grow up believing that being a high performer is the real ticket to be loved.

As a result, one may always aspire, and even go to great lengths, to exceed others’ expectations, be it one’s supervisor, peers, or spouse. Falling short of our own expectations in any way then is a source of disappointment and an opportunity to blaming ourselves. Also, with this approach, we have high expectations of others and can be very judgmental of them.

2. Conformist

If we were loved and encouraged every time we followed our parents’ directives, we can easily grow up being a conformist, believing that it would not be in our self-interest to go against the norm in any group – a family, social circle or an organization.

3. Diplomat

Similarly, we could play the diplomat, keeping our true feelings to ourselves but seeking to create a congenial atmosphere in a group; the reserved one, always hiding our true selves in the belief that we are not lovable anyways.

4. Poor Me

The poor me person believes in the notion that “only when I am in deep trouble and wronged can I attract others’ attention and love.”

5. Aggressor

The aggressor is the person for whom anger and show of superiority is the way to get noticed.

6. Critic

The person who is constantly finding faults with others in order to hide their own inadequacies.

7. Bragger

The bragger, where lack of self-esteem leads to eulogizing about oneself in the hope of being loved and admired.

—

These masks get hard wired in our personality and show up in every aspect of our life, including at work and in our relationships.

A high performer belief system may result in a workaholic or a perfectionist; a poor me mentality may constantly attract trouble – physical or emotional; a critic is never happy with the way things are in any setting and so forth.

As these patterns are accompanied by suppressing our true feelings, they create ongoing emotional baggage in our lives. There’s always then an inner sense of incompleteness, and we are unable to fully experience an emotionally satisfying life.

How to Be Yourself

“There is but one cause of failure and that is

a man’s lack of faith in his true self.”

~ William James

Despite our subconscious behavior patterns, we can free ourselves from these limiting beliefs and tendencies. This requires making a conscious choice to be true to our feelings and being honest in all our interactions.

At a deeper level, this entails connecting with our pure inner self and realizing that we are truly worthy of being loved, and are capable of fully loving others. That then provides us the courage to express our true thoughts and feelings, without the fear of being judged.

Social interaction is such a key part of human experience that social neuroscientists now believe that as many as four out of every five thoughts we have are in the context of relating to others.

Further, research by Richard Boyatzis, an Emotional Intelligence expert, highlights how fear of social rejection is one of the three most common causes of human stress. A commitment to being authentic in all our interactions can liberate us – feeling confident of being lovable allows us to not suppress our emotions, making us emotionally healthy and resilient.

As Mark Twain said, “If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.” It also supports us in being more open to seeking others’ help and be willing to be vulnerable, which in turn, may make us even more endearing.

Let me share a couple of quick examples from my coaching experience here. A senior executive, who wanted to work on his relationships, was described by his colleagues as the critic - very controlling, had high expectations of them, and dealt with every shortfall with harsh words.

As he consistently received negative feedback about his relationships and felt highly stressed from his work life, he was committed to make some real changes. As he became more self-aware, he started to notice the underlying beliefs for his difficult behavior – felt it was his egoistic desire to be right, perfectionist nature, and a deep desire to succeed.

As we worked together, he started to shift his expectations from seeking perfection to more wholesome progress; started to better listen to others and put their agenda before his own; became more comfortable with his true self and less judgmental of others – accepting himself as he was and others as they were; overall, becoming more authentic in his listening, sharing, and conduct. Guess, authentic leaders realize that the power lies not in being right, but in being real.

Another client of mine was always striving to be the nice guy, trying to find a suitable compromise to resolving any friction between his parents and his wife. While this served him alright in the initial years, over time, he started to appreciate that this wasn’t really working – his parents expressed always feeling short changed; his wife felt her point of view was never fully respected; the client himself felt stifled constantly searching for convenient solutions that could somehow please everyone.

Paying attention to this, somewhere he recognized the need to begin expressing his honest thoughts and feelings to all parties – this meant bringing the problems of family disconnects in the open for all to see rather than hide them. As he gathered the courage to candidly confront the problems, the family collectively decided to take on some hard decisions – resulting in the client feeling relieved, and everyone feeling comfortable with the decisions.

As is evident in these examples, this process kind of involves two steps:

1. Knowing yourself, and then,
2. Choosing to be yourself.

Knowing yourself revolves around building a deeper understanding of our tendencies to hide behind various masks and being willing to examine them.

As long as there is friction in our relationships and a sense of incompleteness or dissatisfaction in our hearts, we need to remain open to examining our selves and our inner belief systems.

A willingness to dive deeply into our core leads to realizing who we are and how whole, complete and perfect we all are – and that raises our ability to love ourselves as well as to stop doubting our worthiness to receive others’ love.

Being yourself then is about taking responsibility towards overcoming our habitual traits and building the capacity to express ourselves fully and honestly. This means being mindful of our choices at all times and choosing to being totally authentic without being fearful of the outcomes of our words and actions.

Being yourself eventually shifts us away from the inner emotional turmoil and towards feeling lighter, liberated and happy.

* Which masks do you catch yourself wearing? Got tips for being yourself? Share your stories and thoughts with us in the comment section.

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