MargaretCollinsOnline – Thinking Out Loud…

… if you put in the work beforehand!

I was working with a client recently who is in the middle of a 90-day coaching programme.

Six weeks in, that’s half way through the challenge, this client, let’s call her Claire, had reached her goals, and some. These goals concerned making a defined monthly income from passive sources and working towards a defined annual income. The figures – I don’t want to disclose personal details here – but the figures were more than equivalent to the monthly and yearly salaries of a large number of the UK working population.

As we approached our call I imagined Claire being very pleased with herself – and yet, within minutes of our starting to chat it was evident that she was not a happy bunny.

The problem? Well if SHE could reach her goals so quickly they obviously weren’t very good goals, not high enough, not hard enough. After all, this had been so easy!

We discussed this idea… and apparently, in Claire’s world:
SUCCESS = HARD WORK and I fear, HARD WORK = SUCCESS….

We discussed a series of events where, by knowing the right information, being in the right place at the tight time, having the contacts and then the courage to follow up, Claire had pulled off a profitable property deal where all interested parties came out feeling happy and Claire made 20K towards her annual income targets. And in Claire’s world, this was just down to luck, not something she had planned for, not something she had worked at, it was just lucky so it didn’t really count.

We had a long conversation about the role of beliefs in our journey through life and these principles also apply to our wealth creation journey.

“If you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re probably right.” is the well known quotation but the wider application looks like: if you believe life is hard, it will be. If you believe that you can’t be successful without working a 60-hour week, then you won’t be – and you’ll get your 60-hour week and all that comes with that!

I introduced Claire to some new ideas on the Law of Attraction, setting an intention and taking the necessary actions to support it whilst letting go of needing the goal. This is far more than just wishful thinking. I call it committing to the process while letting go of the outcome.

In her work over the last weeks, months and even years, Claire has been putting in the work, learning about proprty, committing to the process. When the opportunity arose she was in a perfect place to respond.

And this is the key.

She needed to take action. In fact, she needed to make a quick decision and was very fearful at the time BUT, her previous work educating herself about property investment had convinced her that this was a sound deal, the sums added up, the risk was entirely appropriate.

She commited to the action and won her prize.

I recommended that for the next stage of her journey Claire might want to learn how to feel comfortable with working towards success without the hard work, without a 60-hour week…. sound good?

Now if Claire was a member of The Money Gym, she would certainly get a good education in this concept. We need to be both working towards our goal and letting it happen effortlessly. Many Money Gym clients can tell you how this has worked for them…

But for Claire, I also recommended some new reading – best authors I could think of were Michael Neill, Tim Ferris and Joe Vitale: what do you think?

News releases are interesting. Are we in for that W-shaped recession, is there worse to come, are we bottoming out and ready for a slow recovery?

Wouldn’t we all love to know the answers to these questions?

At one level I’m as keen as anyone to know. At another level, I’m going to carry on doing what I was going to do anyway.

One of the things I’ve learned about the journey of “wealth creation” is that it’s largely about an attitude.

Don’t get me wrong. It needs to be accompanied by actions, targeted, researched, consistent actions, but if you don’t have the right attitude, you’ll not get very far at all.

Deep down, many people have the feeling that they shouldn’t want to be wealthy. That being wealthy, righ is wicked, selfish, bad.

And if one person’s being wealthy caused another person’s poverty, I would have some sympathy with that. But it doesn’t need to be directly linked.

There is more than enough wealth in the world for everybody to have some. In fact, the most wealthy people in the world are often most actively engaged in spreading their wealth around, setting up charitable foundations so that more people can benefit from their money, power and wisdom in many different ways. If you become wealthy, you can choose to share it an any way you please – or not – and most people I know who have financial freedom are incredibly generous givers!

Wealth is like the sea… I’ve heard many people say, that when it comes to our personal wealth, it doesn’t matter whether we come to the sea with a teaspoon or with a bucket. The sea will still be plenty full enough for us all.

So what are your plans? I know that being a part of the Money Gym community has transformed the way I think about money and created or presented me with many different opportunites to learn, to invest and to practically do the business of wealth creation.

There’s a difference between thinking “That’s a good idea” and then waiting for your fairy godmother to appear with a magic wand to grant your wish… and actually doing something about wealth creation.

If you really are at the start of your journey I can highly recommend the Money Gym Book.

A little further in and ready to get started – go for membership of the Money Gym Club – you’re so worth it! Invest in one of the coaching programmes and learn how to build a business or to set yourself up online.

And if you’re well on the way and want to create an internet empire making money online, I can recommend the great resources in MoreMoney365.com – well worth signing up for! There is a huge library of articles, videos, interviews to really learn from. There are PLR materials for members to download… A community to be part of if you choose.

So, are you still waiting???

There are four essential components to an internet business:
1)    Identify a hungry niche market that has a burning desire.
2)    Find a product that will satisfy the desire of your chosen niche.
3)    Create a way of getting your market and your product together – this is usually by building a website.
4)    Drive traffic to your website so that your market will find your product!

And that’s it, Internet Marketing in a nutshell! This can be your business.

When they first learn about internet marketing, many people get started by jumping straight in at step 2 by promoting one of the thousands of information products available at http://www.clickbank.com

Now this can work and certainly it is possible to make a lot of money promoting Clickbank products. I’ve been know to make some money myself but for many beginners, this isn’t a fast way to make money.

The reasons for this are very simply explained in this short report: Clickbank For Newbies
This is so simple, it’s scary!!

Making money on the internet is simple – but if you want it to be a significant part of your future income, you need to make it into a business, not just a passing fad.

When you take this Internet Business process two steps further,
5)    Create ways to capture client email addresses
6)    Automate systems to sell to clients again and again

then you have it, an Automated Business System that generates recurring passive income on the internet.

The thing is, there are so many “How to do it” guides out there like Clickbank For Newbies but we just don’t do as we’re told. We have a master plan, refined by experts, we read it – and then do it our own way instead!! But that’s not the best way to build a new business…

So what about you, are you ready to create a business??

Come on…. you can’t have missed the gloomy news about there being a recession and all that….. the question is just how much doom and gloom can you take?!

I can rarely bring myself to listen to an entire news programme nowadays because of the relentless despair that is broadcast – and, while I’m not doubting that some people are being hit hard and that things really have changed, I can’t believe it’s as bad as the media paint it.

And grudgingly, it would seem that even the BBC agree – or at least one of the economics editors does.

Stephanie Flanders has written in her blog that entrepreneurs in the developing countries, Brazil, Turkey and India included, are talking about the opportunities that the downturn presents them.

Funnily enough, internet marketing businesses seem to be doing particularly well.

The point is, you don’t need to be an entrepreneur in India to take advantage of the internet and it’s opportunities – they are right here on your very own laptop!

So what exactly are you waiting for – permission to start making money?

Actually, maybe what you’re looking for is an opportunity, for a guide, for someone to hold your hand… coming to a blog near you any time now!!

Until then, you could do worse than take a look at My Online Income System from Kimberly Hoffman… this is a simple introduction to the ideas and systems in internet marketing. It takes it slow and lets you learn one day at a time. You might even make money from using it if you follow her daily action plan!

If you’ve been following my blog you cannot fail to have noticed that The Money Gym has been organising a property extravanganza to a) share information abut different ways of investing in property and b) raising money for The Big Issue.

We planned to sell 200 tickets for the event last Saturday, raising £4,500.

So how did we do????

Well, all 200 tickets were sold. We knew that some people bought tickets as donations in the full knowledge that they wouldn’t be able to attend the event so when we had a queue of people who showed up on the day without tickets – we collected even more donations and put more bums on seats!!!

It was a full house, the speakers were fantastic, the audience was inspired, the Money Gym team were exhausted and exhilarated in equal measure.

And The Big Issue – well exact figures are still coming in but it looks like they will be over £6,000 pounds better off as a result of this day.

Can you think of a better example of socially aware capitalism in action?

Well, it’s the property extravaganza day tomorrow and we have a few spaces left.

I sooo want to be able to see The Big Issue benefit from this event that I’m sharing one more email from Judith Morgan with you…

If you can make the time or spare the donation – join us!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s a Big Issue to me as a Londoner. For the last twenty years of my life, I have been aware of the homeless sleeping rough in my great city. As I go about my business I see plenty of those less fortunate that me. And you don’t know what to do for the best, do you?

I remember once calling Centre Point and asking how I could best help.

I was told not to give people on the streets money as it would simply go straight back into alcohol or drugs. I remember being surprised by how bald a statement that was.

http://www.themoneygym.com/events/property

You know me by now, I tend to think the best of people. I tend to be away with the fairies, living in a pink bubble of loveliness where we are all kind to each other and we have a warm comfy bed to sleep in at night.

And yet, of course, I know life’s not like that. That’s not reality for so many.

On Tuesday evening I met John Bird, the founder of The Big Issue. He pioneered his solution with Gordon and Anita Roddick in 1991 and it was tough love all the way. He said to the homeless “you are part of the problem, you must be part of the solution”.

They offered vendors a leg up and helped them to get started in changing their own lives through their own efforts. Selling the magazine can enable them to get back on their feet.

And if they go first, after three months the Big Issue can step in with all sorts of additional support. You haven’t begun to think what problems you can create for yourself if you don’t have a fixed abode.

Some of those were explained to us on Tuesday evening, along with the startling fact that if you have already enjoyed your 40th birthday, you have passed the average life expectancy of a homeless person.

http://www.themoneygym.com/events/property

Along with Carolyn & Neil, Karen & Rich, we went to see the Real Lives, Real Achievements awards at a laid back venue in Camden. The Big Issue has two of the most wonderful sponsors any little charity could hope for.

1. Cadbury, who not only showered us with free chocolate, but demonstrated how they give vendors two weeks’ work experience at their factories which often leads to full-time jobs. They have taken nearly 170 people off the streets in this experiment.

2. CNN who had helped The Big Issue craft five little films about real vendors and how the Big Issue has made all the difference. We will be showing a couple of those at our event on Saturday.

So what would I say to those who are critical of the way in which charities work? Yes, I know it isn’t always ideal. But TBI has only 14 staff supporting 2500 vendors across the UK. Their way of working is closely aligned with our own values at the Money Gym and I really hope that Saturday will be the first of a long and fruitful relationship us MG property folks have with helping the homeless to help themselves. Our target of £4,500 (when we reach it) is going to make a real impact, a real difference.

http://www.themoneygym.com/events/property

And it will make another dream come true too. Peter Stanley and Greg Southey and I had a number of meetings over the last couple of years trying to find a way to marry up property profits to help the homeless, it seems a natural marriage to us.

We met the awesome Sam Woodlock who is a volunteer worker with TBI, having been a homeless addict herself some time back. She is now married with a child, and happily doing great work co-ordinating Big Issue activities in Covent Garden. For me, she was perhaps the most moving story of the evening – a walking, talking success now helping others out of the place in which she had once found herself.

Not surprisingly I did shed a tear or two. Not as many as I thought because CNN did not fall into the trap of over-sentimentalising these five stories. But they are sad, and they are happy, and it is awesome to see people make a comeback from circumstances which I know I would find impossibly difficult.

There but for the grace of God.

One of the films is about a lad from Bath who wants to go on the Big Issue sponsored bike ride to Paris. He has raised part of the sponsorship money he needs to take part but at the time of making the film he had neither a bike or all the money for a Passport.

Just THINK what we take for granted!

If you can get free on Saturday and come along and support our fundraiser, that would be fab. Help yourself, help the homeless to help themselves and help us to achieve that lofty target of £4,500. Come and see the CNN films and be inspired to make a difference, if not to the homeless then to someone you can help, perhaps by becoming their landlord.

I don’t know where I would be without the sanctuary of my own home, a place where I can be safe and warm and nurtured by my peace and quiet, my garden, my pussycat, my broadband and by fulfilling relationships with family and friends and work I love.
I am so abundant and grateful and lucky.

Counting my blessings, counting my blessings, counting my blessings and hoping to pay it forward today, tomorrow, everyday and especially Saturday 21st March 2009. That day will be only the start of what we can do to help The Big Issue support the homeless in this very inspirational way.

Thanks for listening
Judith

PS If you can’t come on Saturday, you can still donate at our page: http://www.themoneygym.com/events/property

We go to school, even to University – and yet learn so little about managing our finances. We live in a place we call home all our lives and often don’t know how to use our home to provide security for our future.

How surprising then to get financial education when on a totally unrelated training course!

I was delivering a workshop with my Training For Universities business, all was well, a good group of staff, highly motivated and learning from me and from each other – and then we had the coffee break…

We got to talking about rugby – well we were in Wales – and I explained my challenge watching the last matches in the 6 Nations tournament… I will be in London at a Money Gym Property Extravaganza.

And suddenly the subject shifted “Is property still a good investment?”, “But you can’t get mortgages now can you?”, “And what about the money you lose when you don’t have tenants?” – the questions flooded out!

There was such a level of interest we had to negotiate an extension – and we extended the workshop while we talked about financial freedom and rent-to-own! I think they were blown away at the prospect of being able to make two families genuinely happy and make a profit.

What an unexpected way to end an exciting day!

And if you haven’t a clue what I’m talking about either leave a comment or come along to our Property Extravaganza on 21st March – and remember that all profits go to support The Big Issue – another example of a win-win!

Making money on the internet – an online income system – is often portrayed as “easy money”, by which I mean, it is assumed that once you’ve understood how to make money this way, unlimited passive income streams continue to flow your way for no additional effort.

Many Money Gym clients come saying that they want to make passive income on the internet and a smaller proportion actually achieve it.

Internet income is one of those things that is both as easy as it says AND as difficult as getting blood out of a stone.

It does take some research to uncover a profitable niche. It does take some strategies and tactics for selling your information or products. You then need some way to actually collect payments… and then there’s the technology…

Is it sounding difficult already?

Don’t worry and don’t despair! The internet can be a great drain on your time and resources but can equally be a source of inspiration and freedom. However, to be a successful income stream you do need to treat it like a business and not like a magic wand!

One of the best introductory guides I’ve come across is Kimberley Hoffman’s programme: My Online Income System.

This is a day by day, holding your hand guide to selling information products through Clickbank and article marketing… I’ve looked at the first 10 days of the programme so far, and to be honest, it does a better job than most in explaining the ideas behind selling information products. Like most Clickbank products it also comes with a money-back guarantee…

Right now, I’ve scanned through the first 10 days and sort of stalled at the bit where you’re supposed to write 5 articles a day to promote the product… will let you know what happens when I skip forward.

If I like what comes next then I’ll be very happy to recommend it to my clients – if I don’t… then I guess I’ll be claiming my refund!

Now it’s a year since Hamsita Reardon won an award for Property Woman of the year…

See a news snippet below:

Hasmita Reardon – from homeless immigrant to 75 properties – Profit £2.9 million
Owns 75 houses and flats in Sittingbourne, Kent. Over the last 10 years, Hasmita, aged 44, has housed the homeless and single mothers whom nobody else wants. Her husband wasn’t keen but her portfolio is now worth £8.4m at a cost of £5.5m – last week she bought 5 properties. Husband Steve has now given up his day job laying driveways.

In the meantime, in spite of the credit crunch, Hamsita is expanding her property portfolio. As women continue to seek shelter and safe accommodation and are finding it more difficult to find affordable housing, they are seeking her out! This is another fantastic example of how a buy to let landlord is supporting herself and her family by providing a highly valued service to her community, this time in Sittingbourne.

Now you might still be thinking “Yes, that’s OK for her. There’s no way I could do that.” (Limiting Belief Alert!!)

Well, at the Money Gym Property Extravaganza, Hamsita is coming to share just how she did it and how she continues to make a difference. And she’s just one of many magnificent presenters Judith has lined up for us.

If you were still wondering whether it was worth paying your £25 donation to the Big Issue to gain access to this day, Hamsita is just one more reason.

Just how much does it take to convince you to come on down on 21st March and have a look – you might just learn something you like!! Have a look at http://www.themoneygym.com/events/property/ and then book a ticket for the day!

Remember…

LandlordsUrgentlyRequired

If the credit crunch is so bad for BTL, can you explain this photo…

Surely we just need to learn how to get the mortgage!

If you want some ideas, visit the Money Gym Property Extravaganza day on March 21st!
http://www.themoneygym.com/events/property

Come and join the fun…