Author Archives: Issa

Have We Lost the Art of Stopping?

March 25 6:55 pm ,

 

In Constant Motion

I laugh at myself.

I have a half-open book on my left, my cellphone removed from its case at my right, my computer open and my internet divided into 6 windows – my gmail, my blog, my bank, the latest topic I am researching, paypal and a website that I liked.  Another open window is the company Lotus Notes, alerting me through a tiny beep from time to time that I have new mail and that I must open it asap.

My surrounding gives me the appearance of being busy, or always being in constant motion.  Productivity.  When I stopped just now, I find that my brain is betraying me because it is still thinking of other things to do.  It is still “doing” (or wants to).

Have we lost the art of not doing anything (in the literal sense of the word)?… Wait, does it even exist?

Because even if we are at rest, we are not.

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To Foreclose or Not to Foreclose: Let’s Talk Taxes (Part 2)

March 22 11:18 am ,

 

Where Angels Fear to Tread

It was one of the hardest decisions you had to make.

In your mind, okay, I will let go of the house.  I cannot pay it anymore.  It makes no sense to pay for a steep mortgage when the value of the house has gone down by half.  No sense.  Everybody is doing it anyway.  I should be fine.

You do it, sign the papers, let the bank foreclose and rest on your laurels.

Then while sitting on the living room of your new rented apartment, you get a bill, a huge tax bill because – guess what – you have made money on the foreclosure of your home.  Money?  But where is it?

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How to be Good in Sales

March 19 1:28 pm ,

 

Once Upon A Time

I’m easy.

I mean if you tell me you will not buy from me, I’m cool with it. I will not pester you or badger you.  You will hear the end of it right there and then.  Promise.

But (sigh), these are not the traits of a master sales (wo)man, traits that, Robert Kiyosaki assures me, will make me very rich.

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

To Foreclose or Not to Foreclose (Part 1)

March 16 4:19 pm ,

 

Another Day

Having a house is the ultimate dream.  I have dreamed about it but never thought I would have it so soon, thanks to parents who have generously thought of providing for their children while they and the children are still young and the parents can see and feel the gratitude of the children for that wonderful (and needed) gesture (okay, dole-out).

Indeed why wait for death, or why imagine that your children are waiting for your death, before giving your children what you are thinking of giving them anyway?  But this is for another story and for another time.

In the year 2009, the world was rocked by stories of foreclosures, foreclosures which have been instrumental in bringing down the single most powerful economy in the world – that of the United States.

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Posted in: Financial Education, Financial Planning, Life Stories, The Basics of Finance , Tagged: , , , , ,

Investing in Another Person’s Business

March 9 11:10 am ,

 

Flow

At one point in your life, you will be given what you think will be a golden opportunity – investing in someone else’s business.  Before you turn giddy and give your yesses and your checks, think.

My husband and I, we are very enthusiastic persons.  The idea of getting into a new business – except when it involves multi-level marketing, which does not float our boat – is enough to send us to euphoria.  But of late, we have been a little selective and a little wary of the businesses we get into.  We have been burned some of the time and if added up, those investments would run into the hundreds of thousands.  Okay, okay, some are not yet “dead” but we worry about them constantly and we do not think that worrying is very good use of our time and our money.

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How to Spark Inspiration

March 7 12:01 pm ,

 

Making the Wheels Turn

Let us face it.  It is not everyday that we see the world with rose-colored glasses.  It is monotony that that kisses our faces day in and day out, like waves that do not fail to come to the shore; it is the humdrum of everyday life that besets us and pummels us into submission; the unexciting coming more often rather than the exciting.  And yes, there is some comfort in that.  The heart can only take so much – of happiness, of excitement, of something happening all the time.

But when you need to, how do you inspire yourself?

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

Lessons from the Business of Show Business

March 2 9:41 pm ,

No Business Like Show Business

It was not my first time.

I remember.  It was more than 15 years ago when I produced my first show.  It was in a southern province, accessible by land (8 hours) and by air (45 minutes).  We partnered with someone who was introduced to us as the wife of a Brunei prince.  Such was the rage at that time and many young women – some described as desperate, others gold diggers, others still victims of their own beauty (and another’s greed) – fell for the charms of dark-skinned princes, giving birth to scions of royalty.

Indeed she was beautiful and was moneyed and was very much interested in bringing to her hometown some showbiz denizens.  “To make my mother happy,” she quipped.

The show was a moderate success and we learned a lot.  One partner made some unnecessary trips by plane which added to the expenses; the people that we tapped to get sponsors did not deliver (they got zero sponsors); the souvenir program was overpriced (we ended up hauling the whole lot back to headquarters); it was not easy.

I was reminded again of these lessons when we did “Love in the Key of R”.

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Writing Your Will and Making an Inventory

February 23 3:58 pm ,
Delve Deeper

Delve Deeper

I have a confession to make.  I have not written my will.

I do not know what is stopping me – not the thought of invincibility because slowly I am finding out the truth and fact of my humanity.  Not for lack of knowledge – I have drafted wills for others and other more complicated – and more sober (sobering?) – documents. Not for lack of having given it thought – because I have.

Then what?

Because writing a will is an emotional exercise and I am not sure if I can handle the enormity of it.  It is half love letter, half goodbye letter, transmitting all of your hopes and dreams to people you hope not to leave behind too soon.  It is a practical letter, an inventory of your life and what you have accumulated in terms of the material and the familial and the emotional.  It has a potential to be controversial, leaving in its wake disappointments and tensions and conflicts that you no longer can put under control.  It is a testament to what your life has been, to what you valued and continue to value.  It is a last heave before you and your life and your words says caput.

And how do you say goodbye?

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