Monthly Archives: October 2009

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Teaching Kids Money Matters

October 29 10:23 pm ,
Happy Thoughts

Happy Thoughts

I am not sure that I learned about money when I was young.  Actually, I am almost sure that I did not.

To be fair to my parents, I think there was no consciousness yet, at that time, on the importance of teaching kids about money.  What they knew was that they had to provide and that was the end of it.

But the power to dream of riches and making it come true lies at the core of one’s life – in one’s childhood.  His views about poverty, about money, his poverty mindset (money does not grow on trees) and his wealth mindset (money grows on trees) start at that time which is at the root of all his memories.

And so we as parents have a duty to make those memories good ones, and that the mindset we cultivate is one of wealth.

Are you willing to take the step?

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Posted in: Children's Stories, The Basics of Finance , Tagged: , , , , ,

Crossing the Chasm

October 28 12:35 am ,

Going Around in Concentric Circles

Going Around in Concentric Circles


E, S, B, I.

When I first saw “the grid”, I thought they were mystic markings.  I could not have been closer to the truth.

Robert Kiyosaki, in his book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, talked about the 4 quadrants: E for Employee.  S for the Self-employed.  B for the Business Owner and I for the Investor.

Only thin lines separate the 4.  But in reality, millions of dollars and a vast chasm divide them.

And boy, I am finding out what it takes of me to cross that chasm.

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Posted in: Life Stories , Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

King of the Road and the Human Spirit

October 25 9:58 pm ,
Waking the Dragon Within

Waking the Dragon Within

King of the Road: a marathon.

I stand stationary within the sea of runners, the camera of my eyes running through the length of everyone fighting the battle of man versus himself.  And I cannot help but be amazed – what is it that makes man want to go through this undertaking and fight this battle against gravity, against skyrocketing heart rates, against pain?  There must be pain: the initial brittleness of the bone, the resistance of the heart and then the pumping of the sweat through the glands until it breaks out and the player is bathed with the prize of having won against his will.  The most natural state, after all, is supine.  Yes, there must be pain.

Deliverance too.  Because otherwise, why would they do it?  I am almost sure that there is an insight here.

What is it?

I look about: they seem normal to me – some old, some new, maybe single, maybe fathers, maybe mothers.  Some children are on the grass, playing, cheering a parent or parents on.  I see celebrities: Rovilson Fernandez, a Kenyan runner, there were sightings too of Karylle.  But mostly there was humanity – converged in these acres of grass, in various poses as they flex their bones and mentally prepare for the run.

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Posted in: Life Stories , Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Money and the Games Children Play

October 23 1:27 am ,
In Red, In Blue

Fields, In Red, In Blue

I had the sudden urge to know if, at 8, she knows what money is all about.

So I called my daughter, who was busy playing, and asked her: C, what is money?  Eyebrows going up, eyes slightly questioning (as if saying, now where is mom going with this), she says, tongue in cheek, voice bored, “It has a lot of numbers and signs on it.”   Okay (sounds about right).  I made a follow up question: C, do you know how you can make lots of money? Grinning, she answered, her voice lilting and confident, “I can draw it.”

Obviously, I have to teach her about money.  And soon.

Interestingly, when Robert Kiyosaki was 9, he had the same idea.

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Posted in: Children's Stories, The Basics of Finance , Tagged: , , , , , , , , , ,

How Many Times Have You Said Someday? (Second of Two Parts)

October 18 8:43 am ,
Take Time to Stop and Smell the Flowers

Take Time to Stop and Smell the Flowers

You can read the first part here.

Maria of Coelho’s Eleven Minutes realized a great truth as she was looking at the floral clock:

She looked around her.  People were walking alone, heads down, hurrying off to work, to school, to the employment agency, to Rue de Berne, telling themselves: “I can wait a little longer.  I have a dream, but there’s no need to realize it today, besides, I need to earn some money.”  She understood that it was all a question of selling her time, like everyone else.  Doing things she didn’t want to do, like everyone else.  Putting up with horrible people, like everyone else.  Handing over her precious body and her precious soul in the name of a future that never arrived, like everyone else.  Saying that she still didn’t have enough, like everyone else.  Waiting just a little bit longer, like everyone else.  Waiting so that she could earn just a little bit more, postponing the realization of her dreams.

Letting life pass her by.

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Posted in: Life Stories , Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

How Many Times Have You Said Someday? (First of Two Parts)

October 17 1:25 am ,
To Fly Away

To Fly Away

“Someday.” It seems like a safe enough word, almost wistful, and if one listens closely, it has with it the tinkling of bells – of hope, of desire, of longing.  Only, it sneaks up and arrives before its time and comes to pass without coming true, for most.  Look and you can see in its wake many unrealized dreams.

I look around, look within, look at memories – to the eyes of my father, my grandfather, my grandmother – those who have left us behind.  Do they have regrets?

I know “someday”.  I could have sworn that I have seen it in my father’s eyes.

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Posted in: Life Stories , Tagged: , , ,

Your Future and Other People

October 14 1:29 am ,
Look Within, Dig Deep

Look Within, Dig Deep

My mother does not like fortune tellers.

She was young.  I do not know the exact circumstance or her exact age at the time of her “consultation”, or why she even went, or how she looked or seemed, or what was it that made her voice out, in a question, her one dream: “Will I be able to travel outside of the country?” or what prompted the fortune teller to tell my mother that no, she would not go places.  I only know that while my mother was telling me this story many, many years ago, there was still pain in her eyes, and anger, her chin jutting at that defiant angle.  The barb – even when it probably was not meant as a barb – had hit home and she could still feel the sting.  Even after all the time that had elapsed.

I was told I could not make it, too, but not by a fortune teller.

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Posted in: Life Stories, Wealth Attraction , Tagged: , , , , , , , ,

The Power of the Mind

October 10 1:31 am ,
A Higher Power

A Higher Power

Words from my past visited me.

If you think you are beaten, you are.
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you’d like to win but think you can’t
it’s almost a cinch you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost
For out in the world you’ll find
Success begins with a fellow’s will
it’s all in the state of mind.

Victory isn’t always won by the stronger or faster man
In the end you’ll see the one who wins
Is the one who thinks he can.

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Posted in: Financial Education, The Basics of Finance , Tagged: , , , , , , ,