Great men and women who were not afraid to fail
Posted by: Mayur Gudka on: December 10, 2011
Pick any field of life, name the most successful person from that field, and you will find a person who was not afraid to fail.
Politics: Doesn’t Abraham Lincoln come to your mind as being of the most respected presidents this country ever had? He failed in eight straight election before he finally won the big one.
Business: Did you know that two of the most respected names in business Walt Disney and Henry Ford, both had to declare personal bankruptcy before they could rise on to higher levels of success?
Sports: Babe Ruth may have held the record for home runs, but he held the record for most strikeouts as well.
Writing: The international best-seller John Livingston Seagull, by Richard Bach, was rejected by dozens of publishers before it finally found a home.
Acting: Search the life of any major star from Clint Eastwood to Lily Tomlin, and you’ll find that at some point they had to pump gas, drive a taxi or wait tables until their break came.
Public Speaking: Perhaps America’s greatest public speaker, Zig Ziglar gave three thousand free speeches before he ever got paid for one.
Music, Art, Education; pick any field. It doesn’t matter. The story is the same. The most successful ones endured countless failures and rejection on their way to the top. But they were dauntless (incapable of being intimidated or discouraged). Like them, if we refuse to be daunted (drained of courage, subdued, intimiated), we join the ranks of the great. Fight on. It’s worth it. You’re worth it.
26 Creative Wealth Principles
Posted by: Mayur Gudka on: December 9, 2011
- In: Personal Finances | Wealth
- 1 Comment
- Financial freedom is your choice.
- People aren’t judged by their abilities, but by the sum of their choices.
- Creating financial freedom is a matter of developing the right habits.
- It is better to tell your money where to go, then to ask where it went.
- Assets feed you, liabilities eat you.
- Invest with your head, not with your heart.
- Don’t put all your financial eggs into one basket.
- Financial success comes from managing risk, not avoiding it.
- Save early, save often.
- See it, say it, and write it down.
- It’s not how much you make thats important, it’s how much you keep.
- Your thoughts, beliefs and attitudes determine your wealth potential.
- You are the CEO of your own life. Financial freedom is your own responsibility.
- Being broke is a temporary financial condition, being poor is a state of mind.
- Life is an adventure, let passion be your guide.
- To be financially successful, learn the language of money.
- Money is a tool to reach your dreams.
- Money buys your stuff, not happiness.
- Make money grow by putting it to work for you.
- Pay yourself first.
- To create financial freedom, invest the energy of money wisely.
- If you can’t afford it in cash, you can’t afford it at all.
- Most people don’t plan to fail. They fail to plan.
- Interest is only interesting when you are receiving it.
- If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.
- Only borrow money, when it’s going to make you money.
Hope none of these are a revelation to you. Because if they are, well, you got some work to do. 
Let me know which is your favorite and why.
Wishing you success always,
Mayur Gudka
Long Term Happiness versus Short Term Pleasure
Posted by: Mayur Gudka on: December 8, 2011
Most people I know are too concerned about short-term pleasure versus long-term happiness. One of the reasons I believe they do this is because they don’t understand the difference.
Short-Term pleasure is doing what feels good at the moment regardless of worrying about the future consequences of it. If it feels good, do it. If it doesn’t don’t do it. It is heavily based on instant gratification. However, the future value of it is almost none. It does not do anything to make your future better. In most cases, it hurts you more than it helps you.
Long-Term happiness is doing something everyday for making our future better. It doesn’t have to be too easy or extremely enjoyable. But doing it consistently provides us a sense of gratification and accomplishment. It gives us the pleasure and knowledge that we are making the right choices for our future.
They are both ways of life. ”Short term pleasure” lifestyle eventually leads to a dis-satisfactory life whereas “long term happiness” lifestyle leads to a satisfactory life. So, what can you do to transform your lifestyle so it is geared more towards achieving long term happiness?
- Simplify your life – You don’t need all the things you think you need to live a pleasant lifestyle. If you take an inventory of everything you own, you will find out that you actually haven’t even used half the things you own in the last 6 months. Don’t believe me, try it. You won’t believe the results.
- Build security – Build financial security for your future. Get rid of all your debt, if you have any. Build a emergency fund. Put money away towards retirement.
- Develop discipline – This is a biggie when it comes to transforming your lifestyle. Doing little things on a daily basis develops disicipline. Identify the things you need to do in order to transform your life. Now, work on one or more of the things that you have identified.
- Invest into building positive relationships – Which relationships do you value the most in your life? Are they getting better as time passes by or are they getting worse? Take some time out to nurture them.
- Increase your frequency of making good choices – This actually should have been the first on this list. But, make conscious choices that will help you in the long-term. Every time you are about to buy something or spend large amount of time on some task, ask yourself, “Will I gain long-term value from this?”
Hope this helps you develop a new outlook on life.
Wishing you succes always,
Mayur Gudka
The Four Cardinal Rules of Negotiating
Posted by: Mayur Gudka on: November 16, 2011
- In: Investing | Negotiations
- 3 Comments
- Never make an offer until you understand the seller’s problem. The first stages of negotiation are for information gathering. Avoid the temptation to jump to solutions. Without proper diagnosis you might be like a doctor who prescribes medicine for the wrong disease.
- Always conduct your negotiation in the context of a win/win philosophy. “This is how you will win, Mr. Seller. This is how I will win. At that price, I can’t win. At those terms, you can’t win. I don’t want you to lose. But I don’t want to lose either, etc.” This lets the seller know that you are interested in being fair. Being a win/win negotiator may cost you dollars in the short run but will make you more money in the long run.
- In the more advanced stages of negotiation, where solutions to the seller’s problem are being discussed, never be the first person to mention a number. Always let the other party make the first move. By avoiding the temptation to mention numbers, you may get the seller to propose a price and terms that could be significantly better than what you had in mind. This one tip alone will save (make) you thousands of dollars over a lifetime of negotiation.
- When forced to mention a number, always start lower than you expect to end up. Why? Because you might just get it and save yourself thousands of dollars. Also, by mentioning the lower number, you leave room for give and take, i.e. the ‘let’s split the difference’ tactic. The other party will be more willing to be flexible if he can see that you are also willing to be flexible.
Hope these tips help you in negotiating your deals better.
Wishing you success always,
Mayur Gudka
The Results of Initiative
Posted by: Mayur Gudka on: November 15, 2011
Some years ago, three brothers left the farm to work in the city. They were all hired by the same company at the same pay. Three years later, Jim was being paid a $500 a month, Frank was receiving $1,000, but George was now making $1,500.
Their father decided to visit the employer to find out the basis for the unequal pay. The employer listened to the confused father and said, “I will let the boys explain for themselves.”
Jim was summoned to the supervisor’s office and told, “Jim, I understand that Far East Importers has just brought in a large transport plane loaded with Japanese import goods. Will you please go over to the airport and get a cargo inventory?”
Three minutes later, Jim returned to the office. “The cargo was one thousand bolts of Japanese silk,” Jim reported. “I got the information over the telephone from a member of the crew.”
When Jim left, Frank, the $1,000-a-month brother, was called. “Frank,” said the supervisor, “I wish you’d go to the airport and get an inventory of the cargo plane which has just brought in by Far East Importers.”
An hour later, Frank was back in the office with a list showing that the plane carried 1,000 bolts of Japanese silk, 500 transistor radios, and 1,000 hand-painted bamboo trays.
George, the $1,500-a-month brother was given identical instructions.
Working hours were over when he finally returned. “The transport plane carried one thousand bolts of Japanese silk,” he began. “It was on sale at sixty dollars a bolt, so I took a two-day option on the whole lot. I have wired a designer in New York offering the silk at seventy-five dollars a bolt. I expect to have the order tomorrow. I also found five hundred transistor radios, which I sold over the telephone at a profit of $2.30 each. There were a thousand bamboo trays, but they were of poor quality, so I didn’t try to do anything with them.”
When George left the office, the employer smiled. “You probably noticed,” he said, “that Jim doesn’t do what he’s told. Frank only does what he’s told, but George does without being told.”
The future is full of promise for one who shows initiative. – Anonymous.
Wishing you success always,
Mayur Gudka
Sometimes we forget we network with people
Posted by: Mayur Gudka on: September 19, 2011
Ever have a feeling that the salesman is more interested in selling you something and making his commission rather than helping you find what might be the best (car, jewelry, clothes, etc.) for you? We all do, don’t we? There are so many salespeople out there like that.
The question is are we like that? But, I’m not a sales person. I am a professional, you say. I don’t pull sleazy sales trick. I network with people. Ok, that’s great. Networking with others is fantastic and has many rewards but only if it is done properly.
When you are networking with somebody just so you can get their contact information without really caring about the other person, then you just pulled a sleazy networking trick. You see, we forget that we deal with people. And, the best way to deal with people is to put their interests first, now ours. This will do wonders with your contacts. Try it out, if you haven’t yet.
Mayur’s simple rule of networking is “Make the other person feel better about themselves.” The person you are networking with should feel better five minutes after they met you compared to how they were feeling before they met you. If you can accomplish that, you are a fantastic networker. If you haven’t accomplished that yet, we got work to do.
Wishing you success always,
Mayur Gudka
Four (4) Action Steps to Become Wealthy
Posted by: Mayur Gudka on: August 26, 2011
In order to become wealthy, there are four action steps that a person truly needs to master. They are:
- Save money on a consistent basis.
- Increase your earning power.
- Build assets.
- Protect your assets.
Now, let’s explore these steps briefly.
Save money on a consistent basis
For some, saving money comes naturally. “Save a part of all you earn” is their motto. However, there are some for whom it is very hard. Either because of their excessive spending habits or because of lack of income. If your problem is excessive spending, stop spending. However, if your problem is lack of income then let me assure you that you can still save.
Granted, you cannot save big chunks of money. But, can you save one hundred dollars a month? If that’s too much, how about ten dollars? or even one dollar? Can you save one dollar every month? YES! Great. That’s a start. Eventually when you see the savings pot increse, your one dollar contribution will automatically increase to two dollars a month and then five dollars and ten dollars a month and continue growing. You won’t even feel the pinch in your daily life.
Besides, once your saving pot becomes substantial, you can use some of it to get out of debt, invest, change homes, etc. etc. The options become limitless.
Increase your earning power
Doing this will help you fasten your rate of savings provided you don’t increase your spending power by too much. A good way to increase your earning power is to start a side business in addition to your full time job. However, one thing most new business owners forget is make sure your business is making money and not losing money. Getting a part-time job is another way, you but don’t have much control over it. I believe business ownership is the best way to go about doing this. These days with the advent of internet, being is business is very easy and doesn’t take that much money either.
Build Assets
This is non-compromisable for those who want to get wealthy. Your business is an asset. So, you are already building one. But, you want to take the earnings from that asset and build more assets. You might want to invest into stocks and mutual funds. You might want to invest into real estate and rent out your properties or flip them. You might want to invest into collectibles whose value rises over time. You could also invest into start-up ventures that interest you and have big money making potential. Once again, the options are limitless. Expand your imagination.
Protect your assets
You need to protect your assets from death, disability, divorce and the government.
Write-up a will. Make sure everything you own goes to your loved ones incase of death.
Get disability insurance. Most people never think about this unless their employer provides them. However, if you are working for yourself, you probably don’t have one. If an accident makes you disable and restricts your work capability, your income can drastically drop. To avoid this, make sure you get disability insurance.
Divorce is a messy process. However, a way to avoid this is to get a pre-nup. If you are already married, sit down with your partner and make sure your money values are aligned.
Get advice from a tax or estate consultant about how to reduce your taxes so that Government doesn’t eat a big share of your estate.
Get started on your journey to becoming wealthy today. Take action. Make your dreams a reality.
Wishing you success always,
Mayur
Five (5) Step Success Formula
Posted by: Mayur Gudka on: March 28, 2011
Everybody wants to achieve success. Well, here is the simple five (5) step success formula.
- Determine what you really want. – Most people want to be successful in life but they never really define success. It’s vague for most people. More money, big house, luxury cars and vacations worldwide is pretty much the standard definiton. But, how much more money? Will you be satisfied with another $100 or a $1,000? You think I am being ridiculous but, no! A clear definition of success if extremely important if you want to succeed in life.
- Set a specific goal to obtain it. To be effective, this goal must include a specific time frame and plan for its accomplishment. The goal should also be written down and studied regularly. – Breaking down your dreams into goals will help you achieve them faster. However, when you write a goal down set a specific date for its accomplishment otherwise that goal can continue infinitly without ever being realized. Setting a due date creates urgency for accomplishment. If the goal seems too large, break it down into smaller bite-sized goals so that every small goal becomes a milestone towards your larger goal. Also be sure to write out a detailed plan to achieve that goal. Follow that plan and modify it as necessary.
- Learn what resources you will need to accomplish your goal and then go get them - You cannot achieve all your goals by yourself alone. You need some kind of help from others. It could be people, books, cds, or seminars. Figure out what resources will you need to achieve your goal. Incorporate them into your plan and go get the resources.
- Associate with people who share your goals and attitudes while avoiding those who don’t. – I cannot stress enough on the importance of association. Associating with like-minded people will help you accomplish your goals faster. You will learn things from others that have helped them succeed and could help you succeed. But always beaware of your association. Make sure the people you associate with pull you up, not push you down. Read more about Importance of Association in this post I wrote last week.
- Don’t stop until you get it. – Do you know who makes things happen in life? People who don’t quit half way along the process. Persistence is a key ingredient in success. There will be hardships along your way to success. There will be others who dream similar dreams as you. But, the people who will realize their dreams at the end are the ones who did not give up. Those who persisted in the face of adversity. Remember, the opposite of success it not failing. Opposite of success if quitting. You can fail many times and still achieve success but if you quit, you gave up the hope and the opportunity of achieving success. Always persist, never quit.
Wishing you Success Always,
Mayur
Coach John Wooden’s Seven Point Creed
Posted by: Mayur Gudka on: March 26, 2011
Coach John Wooden was a basketball player and UCLA Head Basketball Coach. He won 10 NCAA chamionships in a 12-year period. Within this period his team won 88 consecutive games. He was named national coach of the year six times. He was one of the most revered coaches and was beloved by his players. Wooden was renowned for his short, simple inspirational messages to his players, including his “Pyramid of Success”.
John Wooden’s Seven Point Creed was given to him by his father upon his graduation from Grammer School. The seven point creed is:
- Be true to yourself
- Make each day your masterpiece
- Help others
- Drink deeply from the good books
- Make friendship a fine art
- Build a shelter against a rainy day
- Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.
Wishing you Success Always,
Mayur
10 Ways to Know If You are Go-Getter
Posted by: Mayur Gudka on: March 24, 2011
How do you know if you are a Go-Getter?
- You love a challenge.
- Adversity seems to make you stronger rather than weaker.
- When someone tells you no, you don’t take it personally. You try another way to get a yes.
- You are goal oriented – you know where you are going.
- You don’t look upon obstacles as permanent barriers but as temporary inconveniences.
- You don’t make excuses. When given a job, you don’t return until it is done.
- You are always thinking of new ways to do things better even if it means breaking with tradition.
- You are willing to put up with criticism since you realize that most criticism comes from negative thinkers.
- You are a positive thinker - You love to find the good in every bad situation.
- You know that it is much more rewarding to be a positive, optimistic go-getter than to be a negative, pessimistic loser.
Are you a Go-Getter?
Wishing you Success Always,
Mayur
