If you have any doubts as to the importance of mindset in the context of creating an abundant and balanced life, then maybe I can give you some food for thought by sharing my own experiences.
My property investment strategies have been well documented in API, YIP and here on the forum: (http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51677)
What is not so widely known is the story that precedes my slow and steady property investment journey over the last couple of years. It’s not a fun story, but if sharing it helps someone push through some obstacles or take a leap of faith then it’s worth the effort in sharing.
In 2006, I was officially broke. Worse than broke, in fact. Not only did I have a bank balance of $0.00, I’d been living on my credit card for many months just to get by from payday to payday and had accumulated a $5,000 debt. If that wasn’t enough, a nice chunk of interest being added each month, just to brighten my day each time I got the statement.
Each month, my legal bills, child support payments and living costs were exceeding my take home pay. Lucky I had a big credit limit to keep me afloat.
I tried hard to save money each month, but this seemed to do nothing but promote a cycle of saving and paying more bills. My bank balance never increased and my Visa debt hovered around the same amount.
If I saved $500 one month, I’d get a car insurance bill for $500 the next week. One month, I managed to save $1,000. Woo Hoo!! I was on my way, at last. Then the radiator blew on my car and the transmission overheated as a result. Total repair cost? You guessed it, $1,200. This cycle went on and on. Month after month. One step forward. One and a half back.
I’m not ashamed to admit I became terribly depressed. There was no light at the end of the tunnel. I just felt that there was no hope. I began to understand why people take their own lives. I had never understood that before. I began to realise that there does come a point at which the pain just becomes too much to bear.
At some point, I must have bottomed out and realised that nothing was going to change until something changed. I couldn’t change my financial situation until I changed myself. From within.
Coincidently (and I know longer believe in coincidences) a friend of mine shared an eBook “A Happy Pocket Full of Money” by David Cameron Gikandi with me. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.
This book was the first of many I read dealing with abundance mindset and was one of the first that changed my mindset with respect to finance, relationships and life in general.
Another book I read at around this time was Mind Over Money by Andreas Ohrt. This was a 30 day program. 30 days!! I’d never stuck at anything that long in my life. Who could do something every day for 30 days? Not me. Until then. I made a commitment to myself that I would follow, to the letter, each activity and instruction given in the book for each and every day in the 30 day program.
Maybe the book itself didn’t change my life (although I’m sure it did) but the process of following the program for the 30 days changed my mindset, my perception of myself and my self esteem.
Changes started to occur in my life as my actions stated to come from my revised “abundance” mindset, not the old “victim” or “scarcity” mindset. One of the things I learned was the concept of money being a form of energy that flows, sticking to some people more than others.
Previously, I would not open my mail if I knew it contained bills which I couldn’t pay. Wrong mindset! I then started opening my mail and looking forward to paying bills so I could keep money circulating to others, who would use that money to circulate to other creditors and employees. The idea being that as money flowed freely from me, I was also opening up the possibility of it flowing equally freely to me. In other words, moving from a scarcity to an abundance mindset.
At around this time, I started getting rid of baggage I had accumulated over the years. No more emotional attachment to physical objects that were reminders of a life I no longer lived a a person I no longer was.
First cab off the rank was my Omega Speedmaster watch. First and only watch certified for manned space missions (according to the engraving on the caseback). My plans for space travel were on hold for the time being, so no point keeping the watch. Sold on eBay for US$1,000 within minutes of listing.
Second item was a dusty old instrument panel from a Chrysler R/T Charger which I found in an old box of junk I hadn’t looked at in over a decade. A mate gave it to me for my birthday 20 years ago, as a joke as I had a VH Valiant sedan. It was worth $50 at the time. Within 3 minutes of listing, the bid was up to $460. It finally sold for $1,000. Who knew petrol heads were building replica R/T Chargers and willing to pay a premium for a genuine instrument panel?
Clearing out the junk got rid of items I no longer valued and circulated them to others out there who did value them. Money flowed into my bank account as part of that flow or cycle. Within a few months of selling junk on eBay my Visa balance was down to $0.00.
I was into goal setting at the time in a big way. I had a written goal to have no debt within a year. I achieved it within a few months. So I decided to dream big and set bigger goals. I went off the chart and actually wrote down that I would have a $10,000 bank balance within 12 months.
I still have a screen shot of my Netbank summary. I achieved that goal within a few months. Changing my mindset allowed me to see opportunities I had never been aware of before. I also had the courage to take the opportunities and run with them.
Within a year, I had traded a share portfolio (specialising in oils stocks) and my $10,000 became $20,000 within 6 months.
The profit from share trading was “invested” in precious stones ie a diamond engagement ring for my fiancé. Then she decided to play “Diamond Mine”. Anyone know that game? She got the diamond. I got the shaft. Ouch!
Another lesson learned. Every lesson comes at a price. That’s the nature of education. Learn the lesson, pay the price, then apply it as you move forward.
Before I got heavily into property investment, I learned and applied 3 very important concepts. All are “F” words. Only one of them has 4 letters.
Focus. Focus on what you want more of, not what you don’t want. When you focus on your goal, you invariably filter out information that does not help you achieve that goal. You see opportunities that you would have missed with the wrong mindset and without focus.
Fear. Overcome fear. The things we fear are often the things least likely to actually happen. In part, my success in investment has been due to lack of fear. I no longer fear being broke, homeless or in debt. Having been there, I know what it’s like, so I no longer fear it. You make much better investment decisions when they are not fear driven (eg. fear of failure or fear of missing out)
Faith. Have faith that when you take a leap out of your comfort zone, the resources, contacts and information you need will come to you. As my journey gathered pace, more and more people came into my life, sharing experience and advice with me.
There are many books and seminars out there on wealth and abundance mindset. I used to think it was all a bunch of “hippy” stuff. It wasn’t until I hit rock bottom and had, literally, nowhere else to go that I decided I had nothing to lose by experimenting with the concept of embracing an abundance mindset.
I look at where I am now and reflect on where I was a few years ago and it’s hard to believe how much I have grown emotionally, spiritually and financially.
The rest, as they say, is history. If you made it through to the end, thanks for taking the time.
I’d also like to thank my great friend Karina for inspiring me to reflect on my journey and share my gratitude. Karina rocks!!!
Remember, if I can do it, anyone can!!
My property investment strategies have been well documented in API, YIP and here on the forum: (http://www.somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51677)
What is not so widely known is the story that precedes my slow and steady property investment journey over the last couple of years. It’s not a fun story, but if sharing it helps someone push through some obstacles or take a leap of faith then it’s worth the effort in sharing.
In 2006, I was officially broke. Worse than broke, in fact. Not only did I have a bank balance of $0.00, I’d been living on my credit card for many months just to get by from payday to payday and had accumulated a $5,000 debt. If that wasn’t enough, a nice chunk of interest being added each month, just to brighten my day each time I got the statement.
Each month, my legal bills, child support payments and living costs were exceeding my take home pay. Lucky I had a big credit limit to keep me afloat.
I tried hard to save money each month, but this seemed to do nothing but promote a cycle of saving and paying more bills. My bank balance never increased and my Visa debt hovered around the same amount.
If I saved $500 one month, I’d get a car insurance bill for $500 the next week. One month, I managed to save $1,000. Woo Hoo!! I was on my way, at last. Then the radiator blew on my car and the transmission overheated as a result. Total repair cost? You guessed it, $1,200. This cycle went on and on. Month after month. One step forward. One and a half back.
I’m not ashamed to admit I became terribly depressed. There was no light at the end of the tunnel. I just felt that there was no hope. I began to understand why people take their own lives. I had never understood that before. I began to realise that there does come a point at which the pain just becomes too much to bear.
At some point, I must have bottomed out and realised that nothing was going to change until something changed. I couldn’t change my financial situation until I changed myself. From within.
Coincidently (and I know longer believe in coincidences) a friend of mine shared an eBook “A Happy Pocket Full of Money” by David Cameron Gikandi with me. When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.
This book was the first of many I read dealing with abundance mindset and was one of the first that changed my mindset with respect to finance, relationships and life in general.
Another book I read at around this time was Mind Over Money by Andreas Ohrt. This was a 30 day program. 30 days!! I’d never stuck at anything that long in my life. Who could do something every day for 30 days? Not me. Until then. I made a commitment to myself that I would follow, to the letter, each activity and instruction given in the book for each and every day in the 30 day program.
Maybe the book itself didn’t change my life (although I’m sure it did) but the process of following the program for the 30 days changed my mindset, my perception of myself and my self esteem.
Changes started to occur in my life as my actions stated to come from my revised “abundance” mindset, not the old “victim” or “scarcity” mindset. One of the things I learned was the concept of money being a form of energy that flows, sticking to some people more than others.
Previously, I would not open my mail if I knew it contained bills which I couldn’t pay. Wrong mindset! I then started opening my mail and looking forward to paying bills so I could keep money circulating to others, who would use that money to circulate to other creditors and employees. The idea being that as money flowed freely from me, I was also opening up the possibility of it flowing equally freely to me. In other words, moving from a scarcity to an abundance mindset.
At around this time, I started getting rid of baggage I had accumulated over the years. No more emotional attachment to physical objects that were reminders of a life I no longer lived a a person I no longer was.
First cab off the rank was my Omega Speedmaster watch. First and only watch certified for manned space missions (according to the engraving on the caseback). My plans for space travel were on hold for the time being, so no point keeping the watch. Sold on eBay for US$1,000 within minutes of listing.
Second item was a dusty old instrument panel from a Chrysler R/T Charger which I found in an old box of junk I hadn’t looked at in over a decade. A mate gave it to me for my birthday 20 years ago, as a joke as I had a VH Valiant sedan. It was worth $50 at the time. Within 3 minutes of listing, the bid was up to $460. It finally sold for $1,000. Who knew petrol heads were building replica R/T Chargers and willing to pay a premium for a genuine instrument panel?
Clearing out the junk got rid of items I no longer valued and circulated them to others out there who did value them. Money flowed into my bank account as part of that flow or cycle. Within a few months of selling junk on eBay my Visa balance was down to $0.00.
I was into goal setting at the time in a big way. I had a written goal to have no debt within a year. I achieved it within a few months. So I decided to dream big and set bigger goals. I went off the chart and actually wrote down that I would have a $10,000 bank balance within 12 months.
I still have a screen shot of my Netbank summary. I achieved that goal within a few months. Changing my mindset allowed me to see opportunities I had never been aware of before. I also had the courage to take the opportunities and run with them.
Within a year, I had traded a share portfolio (specialising in oils stocks) and my $10,000 became $20,000 within 6 months.
The profit from share trading was “invested” in precious stones ie a diamond engagement ring for my fiancé. Then she decided to play “Diamond Mine”. Anyone know that game? She got the diamond. I got the shaft. Ouch!
Another lesson learned. Every lesson comes at a price. That’s the nature of education. Learn the lesson, pay the price, then apply it as you move forward.
Before I got heavily into property investment, I learned and applied 3 very important concepts. All are “F” words. Only one of them has 4 letters.
Focus. Focus on what you want more of, not what you don’t want. When you focus on your goal, you invariably filter out information that does not help you achieve that goal. You see opportunities that you would have missed with the wrong mindset and without focus.
Fear. Overcome fear. The things we fear are often the things least likely to actually happen. In part, my success in investment has been due to lack of fear. I no longer fear being broke, homeless or in debt. Having been there, I know what it’s like, so I no longer fear it. You make much better investment decisions when they are not fear driven (eg. fear of failure or fear of missing out)
Faith. Have faith that when you take a leap out of your comfort zone, the resources, contacts and information you need will come to you. As my journey gathered pace, more and more people came into my life, sharing experience and advice with me.
There are many books and seminars out there on wealth and abundance mindset. I used to think it was all a bunch of “hippy” stuff. It wasn’t until I hit rock bottom and had, literally, nowhere else to go that I decided I had nothing to lose by experimenting with the concept of embracing an abundance mindset.
I look at where I am now and reflect on where I was a few years ago and it’s hard to believe how much I have grown emotionally, spiritually and financially.
The rest, as they say, is history. If you made it through to the end, thanks for taking the time.
I’d also like to thank my great friend Karina for inspiring me to reflect on my journey and share my gratitude. Karina rocks!!!
Remember, if I can do it, anyone can!!
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