enjoy.the.journey

This summer, BusinessWeek set out on its fifth annual search to find the country’s most promising young entrepreneurs. As in previous years, we asked readers to nominate candidates ages 25 and under running their own companies. After the call for nominations ended in August, our staff whittled the batch down to 25 impressive businesses. To read profiles of the finalists and vote for the business you feel holds the most promise, click on. We’ll announce the top vote-getters on Nov. 9.

Hm, it motivates me to view this type of slide shows. To note, they are all aged 25 and under WOW
Okay, Seriously need to think about something, and start making it real. I really believe that hard work is going to be paid of, nothing comes as a free gift from the sky, and it’s all fruit of an effort, ideas conceived by labor of brain and brawn.  hmmm…. thinking… what are my talents, what do i like, what motivates me, what does this world needs, what is needed in this current society, hmm….
haha anyway, i forgot to attach the link, thanks to shinbi to remind me, so here u are, click here to view the slideshow

2009 Young Entrepreneurs

Have you read my post about young entrepreneurs last year? well, you could read this year Asia’s Best Young Entrepreneurs here. I haven’t look through it yet, but will update this post later after I learn from the slideshow. Cheers!

updated with a notes byAdam Khoo:

Some of you may already know that I travel around the region pretty frequently, having to visit and conduct seminars at my offices in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Suzhou (China). I am in the airport almost every other week so I get to bump into many people who have attended my seminars or have read my books.

Recently, someone came up to me on a plane to KL and looked rather shocked. He asked, ‘How come a millionaire like you is travelling economy?’ My reply was, ‘That’s why I am a millionaire. ‘ He still looked pretty confused. This again confirms that greatest lie ever told about wealth (which I wrote about in my latest book ‘Secrets of Self Made Millionaires’ ). Many people have been brainwashed to think that millionaires have to wear Gucci, Hugo Boss, Rolex, and sit on first class in air travel. This is why so many people never become rich because the moment that earn more money, they think that it is only natural that they spend more, putting them back to square one.

The truth is that most self-made millionaires are frugal and only spend on what is necessary and of value. That is why they are able to accumulate and multiply their wealth so much faster. Over the last 7 years, I have saved about 80% of my income while today I save only about 60% (because I have my wife, mother in law, 2 maids, 2 kids, etc. to support). Still, it is way above most people who save 10% of their income (if they are lucky). I refuse to buy a first class ticket or to buy a $300 shirt because I think that it is a complete waste of money. However, I happily pay $1,300 to send my 2-year old daughter to Julia Gabriel Speech and Drama without thinking twice.

When I joined the YEO (Young Entrepreneur’ s Organization) a few years back (YEO is an exclusive club open to those who are under 40 and make over $1m a year in their own business) I discovered that those who were self-made thought like me. Many of them with net worths well over $5m, travelled economy class and some even drove Toyota’s and Nissans (not Audis, Mercs, BMWs).

I noticed that it was only those who never had to work hard to build their own wealth (there were also a few ministers’ and tycoons’ sons in the club) who spent like there was no tomorrow. Somehow, when you did not have to build everything from scratch, you do not really value money. This is precisely the reason why a family’s wealth (no matter how much) rarely lasts past the third generation. Thank God my rich dad (oh no! I sound like Kiyosaki) foresaw this terrible possibility and refused to give me a cent to start my business.

Then some people ask me, ‘What is the point in making so much money if you don’t enjoy it?’ The thing is that I don’t really find happiness in buying branded clothes, jewellery or sitting first class. Even if buying something makes me happy it is only for a while, it does not last. Material happiness never lasts, it just give you a quick fix. After a while you feel lousy again and have to buy the next thing which you think will make you happy. I always think that if you need material things to make you happy, then you live a pretty sad and unfulfilled life.

Instead, what make ME happy is when I see my children laughing and playing and learning so fast. What makes me happy is when I see by companies and trainers reaching more and more people every year in so many more countries. What makes me really happy is when I read all the emails about how my books and seminars have touched and inspired someone’s life. What makes me really happy is reading all your wonderful posts about how this BLOG is inspiring you. This happiness makes me feel really good for a long time, much much more than what a Rolex would do for me.

I think the point I want to put across is that happiness must come from doing your life’s work (be in teaching, building homes, designing, trading, winning tournaments etc.) and the money that comes is only a by-product. If you hate what you are doing and rely on the money you earn to make you happy by buying stuff, then I think that you are living a life of meaningles

stay focus!

this story is about a person sharing his experience on how he gain his first million, taken from forum at salary.sg, read the full story here.

- How did you make your first million?

Made my first million i think around 30 or 31 years old. Graduated from uni in 1999, started own business in 2000 and have been running it for 9 years now. Am 34 this year. My family saves a lot. We save about 80% of total annual income.

- How long did you take?

About 6 years to make the 1st. 2 years for 2 second and 1 year for third. Make about 1M per year now. Probably can increase it to 2M per year over the next 5 years. It is very true that the 1st is hardest to make and the subsequent easier.

- If you were to do it again in today’s context, how much time do you need? Would you do it differently and how?

Well, i make my money mostly from company profits and pay. My 1st company took 5 years to hit 1 M turnover, my 2nd company took 1 year. Experience, a good team and knowhow really helps. I will still spend time, money and effort in business with stock trading as a fun sideline.

Investments I enjoy trading stocks but i never trade with more than 200-300K cash.No margin also. Money is hard to earn. This downturn made about 120K buying at low from last Sep to this year Mar. Over the past 9 years probably made about $250K in stocks. My idea is to use stock gains to pay for lux items. Stuff like gifts for wife/kids and travel.

- If I want to be rich, what’s your advice for me?

Make sure you have the right drive and temprament for it. And you need to be in the right area. Traders, Lawyers, Med Specialists, Sales, Consultants, Investment Bankers are the right group that can make $1M by 35 to 40. If you want by 30 I think have to be businessman or sales/middleman work

- What is the most important lesson you picked up in the process of getting rich?

I do not see myself as rich yet. It is very interesting that as you accumulate wealth you get exposed to even wealthier people and know more. Eg. I used to think I can retire with 3M net worth. Now with that, I feel might as well aim higher and go for 10M and I can picture a lifestyle requiring that. I suspect when I hit 10M, it will become 20M. So there is this slippery slope of greed which I persoanlly want to be aware of. Money is for spendign and making people around me happy, it is a means to an end and I need to keep reminding myself of it.

- What do you think is the most important habit that helped you?

Persistance & a drive to make things work no matter what. It helps in business a lot.

- Any missed opportunities? Can I make use of these opportunities?

Erm…. there are always opportunities. If viewed that way, then i have “missed” many many.

- I want to add one more question: Do you think luck plays a part?

Yes, we can try all we want but we need a little right place right time. But u need to work hard and be prepared to take some risk and take the challenge when it presents itself.

Hope this helps our readers. I write because I benchmark myself a lot personally and it makes me very competitive as a person. So for those of u who like to benchmark, this story is for you!

Marshall and Maureen Cogan achieved great financial and professional success. He was a partner at a big New York investment-banking firm. She was a rising star in the publishing business, who would become editor-in-chief of Art & Auction magazine. Their three children were all in private school and doing well. The Cogans had a beautiful co-op apartment in the city, and they had just built a summer home in East Hampton. It was a big, modern place near the ocean, and people came literally from around the world to see this unusual home. It was featured in more than one national magazine. And the Cogan children seemed to love that house as much as their parent did.
Then trouble arrived. Marshall, who had been growing bored at the investment firm, decided to strike out on his own. Despite his high expectations and the encouragement of his colleagues and friends, Marshall’s new business never really got off the ground. His timing turned out to have been miserable — right at the start of a recession. Almost overnight, the business Marshall had sunk all his savings in was worthless, and the income he was expecting had disappeared. All this bad luck was topped off by one final blow: just at the most crucial point of his struggles to keep the business afloat, Marshall came down with hepatitis, which confined him home to bed for more than a month.
Marshall’s bankers were full of personal empathy, but they wouldn’t budge an inch in their demand: “You’ll have to sell the new house.” He couldn’t stand the idea. It was hard to break the news to his wife. He had no idea how she – or the children – would react.
He needn’t have worried. “Then we’ll sell the house, that’s it,” said Maureen.
So the Cogans sold their house, along with every last piece furniture in it. All they would have to do was pack their clothes, collect the children’s toys, turn out the lights, and lock the door.
“Look, we should take the kids out to the house,” Maureen told Marshall the day before the new owners were set to arrive. “We can give each one of them a big trash bag to put all their toys in, and we can bring all that stuff back to the city.”
Marshall wasn’t so sure. “I don’t want the children to see it,” he said. “I don’t want them to be a part of this. You and I will do it.” <– this statement seems familiar to me :p
“No way,” Maureen told him. “They’re going to come. They’re going to see what it is to be down. They’re going to understand, because they’re going to watch you come back, and they’re going to understand that if that happens to them one day, they can come back too.”
So the parents agreed. Everyone piled into the car, and they rode out to East Hampton. The children cleaned out their rooms, while the parents collected the clothes and a few other personal effects. When it came time to leave, they all stood together for a moment on the front steps of the house, and then Marshall locked the door.
Then the five of them climbed back in the car for the drive to the city. That’s when Maureen spoke quietly to Marshall. “We’ll put this in perspective,” she said. “So, we’re not going off to our house in East Hampton. Life will go on.”
And then she talked to the kids as well. “No, we don’t have our house,” she said. “But we have a nice apartment. We’re together. Daddy’s healthy, and he’s going to start a new business. Everything’s going to be fine.”
It was. The children didn’t have to change schools. They even made it to summer camp that year. Soon enough, Marshall was back in business and doing well. More important than all of that, a lesson had been learned, a lesson that showed up again almost twenty years later.
Explain Maureen, “My oldest son had a failure. He started a business that we had to close down so it would not go into bankruptcy. It was tough, public failure to him, and he was very young, just twenty-five. I remember saying to him, ‘How are you doing?” And he said, “It’s awful. I’ve got a few more months before I’m closed.’ He didn’t want to go bankrupt; he wanted to pay off his debts, close the business, and leave.
“But then he said, ‘I remember the time it happened to Daddy, and I’ll be fine. I will get through this. I know I can do this because I watched, and I remember.’ ”

above story is taken from “The Leader In You” book by Dale Carnegie.

hmm, a very powerful story. Reminds me to enjoy the journey more. Every step of the way, whether it’s walking, climbing or falling down the road, every moments has it’s own uniqueness, I need to learn from it and savour every seconds in it. some of the lesson that i draw from this story:

• Keeps bouncing back. Failure may come, but life goes on. I may fall but l’ll bounce back, get up and start walking down the road again.
• The importance of having a partner that understands and supports me.
• The importance to understand and support my partner.
• Many important lesson that can only be drawn in failure. So I don’t need to cover my failure, rather I need to admit it, and let other’s also draw a lesson from it.
• Success is not a one straight road, it comes with obstacles, bends, and failures along the way.
• What does this means? I don’t quite get the meaning: “We’ll put this in perspective“, anyone can help to explain is very much appreciated. ^^
• Need to keep being positive!  Learn to be positive throughout all circumstances, results, or stumbling block. I need to realize that how I react/ my attitude is not controlled by things/circumstances around me, rather more on my decision to be positive!
• When something doesn’t come out as expected, learn to bounce, start with small things, build the confidence, and then leap back. One thing that is important is to have friends/partner who cares and support us to build our confidence and gain our momentum back.

enjoy your journey, every step of the way!