Earl Flormata - To Serve

It's a funny thing how business works. The lessons that people need to learn were taught to many of us since preschool and kindergarten. Simple things that go such a long way in the business world such as don't steal, share with others, and don't lie should've been taught to most at an early age, but somewhere along the way people lose their integrity and end up on the wrong side.

For example - there's a business opportunity available in which someone has had the good fortune of finding a great group of people to work with yet their pride prevents them from being humble enough to accept a role in a group where the goal is to share and actually make the "pie" per se - bigger. This networking of the opportunity may diminish the personal ego of a particular person - but makes more money all around for every individual, and in general is for the greater good. Funny enough if done properly, the person who was unwilling to share properly in the first place would make more if they "played nice" with the group instead of holding their pride above all else.

In my short time in this business world - I've experienced this so many times where people come out with an attitude of scarcity rather than one of abundance. It reminds me greatly of a book that I had to read in my high school English Honors class - One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich. We had an exercise where if everyone worked together, the group gained more overall - whereas the other option would be to compete to the point where one person got everything and everyone else received nothing. To date, that same exercise has never received a full group's co-operation and someone has always attempted to take the chance to make it good as a lone wolf.

Instead of acting like uncivilized animals and quibbling over the little pieces here and there - I'd much prefer to collaborate, joint venture, or just simply profit together as per the iPoint Mantra. In doing so, you just make everyone more all around, and the positive energy will always come back in your direction as per "The Secret".

I leave this entry off with the classic story of the Golden Goose.

A man and his wife had the good fortune to possess a goose which laid a golden egg every day. Lucky though they were, they soon began to think they were not getting rich fast enough, and, imagining the bird must be made of gold inside, they decided to kill it. Then, they thought, they could obtain the whole store of precious metal at once.but when they cut the goose open, they found it was like any other goose.

Those who want too much lose everything

My hope is that we all get to positively network and do well. I'm unsure if human nature will ever allow that utopia to exist, but here's to hoping we can all just get along.

Thanks for Reading,

Earl Flormata

Earl Flormata - The 3 Profit Centers of the World

I joke a lot about Kiyosaki's Cash Flow Quadrants in stating that money can't come from any other place but the 4 quadrants save for inheritance, lottery or gambling winnings or any other chance sort of occurrence.


Technically speaking, even if you're a drug dealer - you still fit into the "S" quadrant. Even organized crime could be seen fitting the mold within the "B" or "I" quadrants. People always laugh at the joke (at least those who haven't heard it a million times in a row yet) but Kiyosaki did an excellent job of organizing the world, so I thought I'd take a crack at it myself.

Although a generalist way of surmising the world, there are only 3 true places where you can make the big money.



1) Real Estate
2) Business Ownership
3) Transactional Fees

Real Estate is the foundation upon which everything rests. Next comes Business Ownership where the profit centers of the world ply their trades and sell their goods. Lastly on top of it all the transactions that circulate between the customers, businesses, and governments that tax it all account for the final layer in where great incomes are made.

Perhaps I should clarify myself in saying that these are the major sources of passive income - which is something everyone should strive to achieve in the first place. The 4th method to receive passive income would be from licensing or royalties, which would come from a properly nurtured idea, new hit song, new bestselling book, etc, however I didn't go there because it's not necessarily an easily reproducible skill for the masses. To be honest it's also just that I don't feel as creative as of late, can't carry a tune, and am unsure as to how far my book idea will take me...

Funny enough though that I teach about the different opportunities in the 3 arenas at my seminars where we go through these exact three structures in order from Tues - Thurs every night at my offices from 7pm until people stop asking questions for the night. So consider this an open invite to those that are interested in learning about the 3 profit centers of the world.

So - there it is - the road to your first million dollars as I see it. Join me on the journey to take the first few steps.

Thanks for Reading,
Earl Flormata

Earl Flormata - What gets measured improves (Continual Updates)

What gets measured improves... I'm certain that everyone's heard of this quote already, and if not, well then you've heard it from me.

A simple google search on this quote brought up the following top 3 hits:
Bud Bilanich

"One thing I learned early in my business career is that anything of significance that is measured and watched, improves."

My background in Business Intelligence at my previous life at Business Objects should've taught me the same lesson as Rockefeller in the following article.

And from business seeds:

BOTTOMLINE: "When you started tracking progress, you'll "get it." Truth is like that sometimes, easy to see when you are willing to *really* look. When the things you want improved exist “out there” in the daily hustle and bustle, it’s easy to let a day slip without doing something about them. Track your progress!!

Having said that - I'd like to announce my intentions of tracking my health and wealth as an action of leadership by example. I invite everyone else in the iPoint group to accomplish the same. We're taking on some new recruits shortly, and I'll be interested to see how things add up in the near future.

HEALTH


WEALTH





And lastly, now that I've basically got the ball rolling, I need to set some goals. Let's start with 100k in net worth gain between now and Dec 31st, $4000/month in increased passive cash flow, and a decrease in weight down to 230 lbs by the same date (inclusive of Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners!) A nice low attainable bar for both, but naturally I'll adjust things as stuff pans out.

Robert Madzej - 5 money savvy tips

Late last month I happened to stumble upon an article which I felt was worthy of emphasizing. The article "Grads can learn to save now" by Adrian Mastracci disscusses 5 steps to improving your financial wealth. These are very important and are also reflected in Robert T. kiyosaki, "Rich Dad Poor Dad", which are the basis for a financial plan that strives for success.

5 Steps:

1) Your Human Capital
Human Capital is essential as it is our very knowledge and continuous learning that can be as Mastracci says to convert it to "financial capital " on your balance sheet. However, the challenge is using our human capital efficiently so that as people don't waste their most precious asset through bad financial habits.
2) Pay Yourself First
I am in total agreement as budgeting is crucial to preparing for financial success. Through paying yourself before you expenses you are insuring a basic growth of your capital.
3) Avoid Debt Traps
As I learned from Kiyosaki, is that we all fall into a perpetuating rate race, which negatively impacts our well being. Understanding your balance sheet is essential in recognizing spending habits that are destructive, which comes down to gaining financial knowledge.
4) Learn to invest
Wayne Gretzky my all time favorite hockey player said it best "You'll always miss 100% of the shots you don't take. " If you do not try you do not learn and if you do not learn you do not grow.
I really liked Mastracci's idea of being involved in Financial investment clubs as they are a great way to learn from one another about investment topics and investments available. I feel strongly that knowledge comes from text books but true applicable knowledge comes from experience.
5) Stick with the basics
As Mastracci said which echos Kiyosaki's Rich Dad Poor Dad,"put the excitement in other parts of your life" not into your financial independence. Simplistic structured investing may be boring but boring is what will get you success in the long run.

I really enjoyed reading this article as it emphasizes the basic principles that people tend not know or ignore. These steps are the building blocks for success and everyone should practice these principles.

Thank you,

Robert Madzej

Robert Madzej- The Phone Call

Have you ever called some random phone number to ask an arbitrary question? Well, I did but I did not do it willingly, let a lone knowingly. I was at Earl’s offices and he was teaching me how to engage peoples’ interests and how to serve those needs. I was in the process of absorbing the information that he was teaching me until he asked me if I wanted to try something, I said sure. He then grabbed his phone and dialed a random number and told me to ask the person on the phone what movie they would recommend watching. I felt my heart beating twice a fast as I looked right at Earl thinking maybe he was kidding, but it only took a few seconds to realize he was not joking. So I waited as the phone rang praying that no one would pick up the phone and as time went by and the phone continued to ring I thought god had answered my prayers… or so I thought.

An old lady had picked up the phone and in that moment I decided to push the fear aside and I began by introducing myself. The old lady replied and ask how I was doing and at that point I asked her what movie would she recommend. She told me she doesn’t watch movies so I asked if she watches TV and she said she does but she doesn’t watch movies on TV. So I asked her what show could she recommend and she told me she likes “Who wants to be a Millionaire” and “Jeopardy”. My task was completed, I received an answer to my question and I thanked the nice lady for her time and I hung up.

What did I learn:
1) Being put on the spot gives me a huge RUSH!
2) I can speak to anybody it is only fear that stops me.
- Fear plagues us all which has the ability to limit our potential and our success, but Fear can also be a positive because fear simply hightens our senses and is a protective mechanism that lets us know we are alive. However, one needs to condition themselves that the only fear there is, is the fear of not doing.
3) It is only through asking questions will you be able to find out peoples’ needs.
- Asking questions allows you to build a rapport with people by showing interest in them. The more you ask the more you will receive is truly based on the information they share with you. The more you know about people the more they are willing to tell you about their needs providing a window of opportunity.
4) When you find out the needs you can then provide a solution to those needs, which people are more willing to listen to.
- When you build rapport with people and you are able to identify required needs then when you provide a solution ,people listen. This creates opportunity by simply asking and then listening.

This lesson is one everyone can practice and learn from. If I can do it so can you, have fun Phone Calling!!!!



Thank you,



Robert Madzej

Earl Flormata - Evolution of an Asset

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. - 1st Corinthians 13:11

Unfortunately for many people, as children - their parents never learned the ways of money and instead were taught to be workers for those that knew the patterns of the rich.

This is one of the reasons why I run Cash Flow 101 game nights. Robert Kiyosaki has created a spectacular learning and teaching tool within the game that allows everyone from every level to learn and grow.

From T. Harv Eker’s book – Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, Harv mentions the three most dangerous words in the English Language – “I know already”. I know that I’m guilty of uttering that phrase myself, so from time to time I do check and challenge myself to live by the adage of C.A.N.E.I. – Constant and Never Ending Improvement.

In that vein – I present to you, my readers and peers – my new understanding of the word “asset”. In the beginning, I understood that an asset to be something that which you own.

Asset



The dictionary says: “property owned by a person or company” – which does back up my original understanding and thought process. The banks had also cemented this original thought process by asking me to list my assets prior to obtaining a loan. Their definition of an asset was also something that I owned of value.

Then I read the book Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki, and that changed my life. The word ASSET soon changed meaning for me into something that puts money in your pocket. It took awhile to break from the mindset of having a house as your single largest asset to one of our largest liabilities, but eventually the thought sank in and I was able to reach financial freedom.

Then things took a turn for the worse and a few of my investments collapsed and my income dropped drastically alongside of this. Luckily I was taken under the wing of an investment banking group that again changed my perception of the world at large.

My learning continued and soon I understood the requirements for a stock to graduate to a senior exchange. With this path of thought, the bankers taught me to really take a look at “collateral” and that if something wasn’t leveragable, then the amount of value that it brought to the table was limited to a single dimension and prone to failure.

So what’s my new definition of an asset?

It’s moved from that which you own to that which you can leverage, AND brings in multiple streams of income.

Earl Flormata - Book Review: Secrets of the Millionaire Mind

Another few weeks - another book read. This time, I finally got around to reading the Secrets of the Millionaire Mind - by T. Harv Eker.



I'll admit to thinking at first that this was just another one of those ra-ra think happy thoughts and good things will happen to you books, and to be honest for the most part it was, until the message started sinking through about the level of commitment that one must have to attaining any goal - be it financial freedom or otherwise.

3.5 Major things I've learned:

1) The whole mindset around money for individuals must be examined before attempting a run for their first million. Without the proper "blueprint" as the book puts it, the tools don't matter.

If you are resentful against rich people - you can never become rich yourself (because who would want to resent themselves?). So, your mission should you choose to accept it: go and meet and get to know real rich people. You'll find that many of them are the most welcoming and generous people out there.

2) Mantras or Declarations

Repetition of a set of key words, or phrases is key to embedding it into your belief system.
When I was training martial arts - one of the first things that we had to learn was the student creed. It was something that has stuck with me in memory and in spirit throughout my years.

I will develop myself in a positive manner, and avoid anything that would reduce my mental growth or my physical health.

I will develop self discipline in order to bring out the best in myself and others.

I will use what I learn in class constructively and defensively to help myself and my fellow man, and never to be to abusive or offensive.

Funny how that sounds a lot like the iPoint Mantra
To Educate, To Serve, To Profit Together.
Perhaps it's time that I went back to reciting a creed of some sort.

3) Use your God given talents!

The book quotes Acres of Diamonds:

...We preach against covetousness... in the pulpit... and use the terms... "filthy lucre" so extremely that Christians get the idea that... it is wicked for any man to have money.
Money is power, and you ought to be reasonably ambitious to have it! You ought because you can do more good with it than you can without it. Money printed your Bibles, money builds your churches, money sends your missionaries, and money pays your preachers.... I Say, then, you ought to have money. If you can honestly attain unto riches.... it is your ... godly duty to do so. It is an awful mistake of these pious people to think you must be awfully poor in order to be pious

I love this part of the quote. "Godly duty to do so". My only true ability seems to be simplifying the complicated, and presenting it in a manner that compels people to take action to learn more. If that's my gift - then I commit to serving others - and helping people find ways to reach their Infiniti Point.


3.5) Want, Choose, Commit - 3 levels of dedication

Stealing a counting system from Gitomer - there are truly 3 levels of dedication in this world.

I WANT
I CHOOSE
I COMMIT

I want is the rudimentary - it'd be nice to have, but I'm not willing to REALLY work for it.
I choose is the next step - electing to learn more and do better, however...
I commit - forfeiting every other possibility save for the goal in mind - is the only tried and true way of making what you want to happen, happen.

So hear this - should I take you on as an Infiniti Point member - I require that you raise to the same level of commitment to educating yourself, as I commit to giving you access to the resources I have at my command to bringing you towards Infinity.

Thanks for the book and the inspiration Harv.

Thanks for Reading,
Earl Flormata

Earl Flormata - When life gives you lemons...

Regardless of how tough my life is - or what trials that are placed in my path there is always a silver lining in every situation. I've gotta admit - it's been a rough year. First my investments go a little sideways in the forex arena (in more than one basket), I got stuck learning from people who were more theory than practical application (which expanded my horizons and contact base, but did nothing to help out my cashflow position), and as of today my house got broken into.

Nothing irreplaceable was completely lost. The person did take my laptop - and with that a few pictures that I'll never be able to find again. The TV and iPods are easily replaced, but the feelings of having my personal space violated, and my belief in humanity is something that will take time again to rebuild.

Funny though, how the emergency repairman for the front door was a meeting that would've never taken place had the break in never occurred. N.P. - the gentleman who helped re-secure our door with a solid looking steel plate and metal reinforcements around the doorknob and the deadbolt was a pleasure to speak with. The world is a strange place, and you'll never know who you'll run into that can lend a helping hand in terms of financial knowledge. He knew a lot about overseas structures, methods to control but not own assets, among many other subjects where he's just started learning about, but has a different point of view and new resources that I have yet to uncover.

Attitude truly is everything.

Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"

He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"

Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.

"Yes it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good or bad mood. The bottom line : It's your choice how you live life."

I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business.

We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination.

The robbers panicked and shot him.

Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center.

After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.

I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?"

I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place.

"The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.

Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man.' I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."

Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.

Attitude, after all, is everything.

Thanks for Reading,
Earl Flormata

Robert Madzej - Importance of Education

When I was child my parents consistently ingrained in my mind the importance of an education. My parents would say " Rob look, do you see that man brooming the sidewalk", I would say yes, "Do you want to be sweeping sidewalks as a job for the rest of your life?". I would reply no, "then get an education, get good grades and you will get a good job". My parents grew up in the industrial age and to them a good job and good benefits equalled job security, but as for investing for their future, growing their wealth was never a priority let alone something they knew how to do.
My family values education, they feel that without an education there could be no level of success. They are right, but what they didn’t realize as so many other people today don't realize was that success in the long run could only truly be achieved through financial education. No matter what profession you are in, everyone needs to focus on building value through various financial vehicles in order to reach financial independence. However, our education system does not teach students the financial foundation required to be truly financially independent and in general, society has programmed the public not to properly invest for their future.
That is why 90% of the wealth is controlled only by 10% of the people, and 90% of the people struggle to earn 10% of the wealth. With such an extreme rule of thumb, there is no doubt that proper financial education is required, but also mental preparation is needed to break free from conforming to society’s way of thinking.
I graduated with a business degree and I focused on getting a good job, but I was never educated to focus on my own financial position. I learned through financial books such as Rich Dad Poor Dad and through networking with like minded people that I needed to build my foundation of financial knowledge. I also realized in order to be successful I also had to change my thinking pattern, by preparing mentally for success. Through, improving my thinking pattern and increasing my financial education, achieving the goal of being apart of the 10% can be possible. Educating the mind never stops and financial education needs to be a priority for all in order to achieve financial well being.

Thank you

Robert Madzej

Earl Flormata - Event: Vancouver Board of Trade - Investing With Heart

As a member of the Company of Young Professionals, I received a free ticket to a Vancouver Board of Trade event in regards to investing with heart.

It was a high spirited luncheon event where the speakers were full of hope and inspiration to tell their story of the goal to create a place and an atmosphere where families could attend sporting events together.

The Nat Bailey Stadium - home to the Vancouver Canadians has gone through some changes through the years, alongside providing quite the learning curve to their new found owners in the realm of making a business sustainable.

From my notes during the event: (interesting facts)

Vancouver Canadians – founded in 2000
Single “A” professional affiliated baseball team in Canada
60 Major League players began career with Canadians
76 games in a short season

Typical Game attendance 3200 and rising
Stadium holds 5000 fans
Ticket Pricing: $50 for family of four

Goal: Be the premier summer family entertainment experience in Vancouver

So all in all - what did I learn?

1 - With a baby on the way, ticket prices being $50 for a family of four sounds like a GREAT idea when it comes to providing entertainment for my family later on if the kids end up being baseball fans.

2 - Just because the new owners had previous business experience, it didn't assure guaranteed success. In fact, a friend of mine told me that the 3 most dangerous words in the English language pertaining to business are: "I Already Know". It's inspiring to see successful people acknowledge that it's not as easy as it looks and helps me to put things into perspective as I re-grow the Infiniti Point Group.

3 - If you invest, people will come. As for the Nat, the new owners have invested time, money, and effort into growing their new "baby" into a full fledged business. As for me, investing the time and energy back into learning and growing my own business will be something I look forward to. The new mantra rings true to my heart and my hopes - To Educate, To Serve, To Profit Together. When iPoint is back up to its usual standards and growth, I'd like to create a foundation in the future to invest with heart and give back to my community when given the opportunity as well.

I'm looking forward to getting a copy of that picture I took with the team mascot, and I'll be sure to post it here when the time comes.

Thanks for reading,

Earl Flormata

Earl Flormata - BBB Lunch and Learn - How to Run a Successful Tradeshow Booth

Today I attended a lunch and learn as I was invited by my friend Jimmy Gray, better known as Jimmy the Trade Show Guy in the networking circles of the lower mainland.

Before launching into the content, I wanted to mention that Jimmy is a very passionate fellow about his business and his art of networking. One of the networking royalty as alluded to in Darcy Rezac’s books. He has a very warm and gracious nature and is a person who is always welcoming to talk to. I first met Jimmy at a Vancouver Board of Trade roundtable event, and keep bumping into him everywhere as he is an avid networker.

On to the content – the 3 most important things I’ve learned from Jimmy from his talk were as follows:

1) Tradeshow statistics and purpose
2) Never sell at a tradeshow
3) A rundown of the Pre / During / and Post show activities

Starting with the statistics on the attendees:

80% are decision makers or influencers
54% plan to purchase within the next 12 months
75% are looking for new suppliers
8.5 hours is avg. time spent on a show
87% of have not been called by and exhibiting company salesperson in the past 12 months

Wait... so people spend all of this money on tradeshows, attendees visit their booths, staff, resources and time are spent on getting exposure, and staggering 87% of people who have expressed interest are not getting sales calls from the exhibitors? What’s going on here? Are people just being dropped through the cracks in the systems? Perhaps the system itself is faulty, or maybe there isn’t even a system implemented in the first place.
The entire purpose of a tradeshow is getting market exposure and generating potential leads to book appointments with. All a lead is in the end is potential. If said potential is never released, then it is wasted.

So what can we do to implement a system so that people are never left falling through the cracks? First we need a timeframe of reference to find out when to call clients back. Jimmy has suggested that we call everyone back within 72 hours. A phone call is so much more personal than an email blast. Even just a quick hello, and asking permission to add them to your email list, send a catalogue, or booking an appointment differentiates you from your competitors, and that’s an important distinction to think about.

Speaking of distinctions, this brings me to the second topic of NEVER sell at a tradeshow. Remembering the purpose of the tradeshow is to create market exposure and generate leads. Granted the end result is increased sales, and you might be thinking that a bird in the hand... but while you’re busy selling, hundreds of leads bypass your booth because you’re too busy to engage with anyone else. Book an appointment with your oh-so-close sale and give them the ability to enjoy the rest o the trade show as well instead of spending their entire time at a single booth.

Lastly – Jimmy handed out some GREAT lists of pre/during/post show activities and checklists,

...but if you want those, you’re going to have to chat with him directly as it’s his content.

Drop me a line at the Infiniti Point Office - 604 638 1612 and I'd be happy to introduce you to him.

I’m looking forward to becoming a member of the BBB and attending more of these lunch and learns, and perhaps even one day being the presenter at one of these events.

Thanks for reading,
Earl Flormata

Robert Madzej- Greetings

Greetings to all,

This is my first posting and as such I would like to say hi to all those individuals who seek success in all facets of their life. The sharing of knowledge and experience can only make one stronger in the pursuit of happiness. Happiness can be defined in different ways to many people. To me happiness is a reflection of my mind , body and soul being as one, united in the continuous goal of growth. I look forward to discussing ideas, methodologies, personal view points on various topics. and I am excited to begin this journey with all of you.

Thank you

Robert Madzej

Alfred Allen - I can't wait to play Cashflow 101 again!

Hi everyone!

I played Cashflow 101 for the first time last Thursday, May 29th. I've heard that it was like Monopoly on steroids that adults could use to better understand how to get out of the rat race.

I was a little skeptical because I'm a "grown up". I haven't played board games since I was 12 years old!

Amazingly, I found it entertaining, educational and surprisingly fun. Who knew? I didn't. I'm glad my friend Earl convinced me to go.

I learned quite a few things: some opportunities are good, some not so good. Who knows what the market will do. And you just have to make the best of the situation you're dealt with if you want to win.

We only played it for a couple of hours and our board leader Maxine eased us into game. She helped all of us by explaining what to look for in certain investments and to keep a positive attitude. I didn't understand that last part until I played Cashflow 101 yesterday.

Suffice as to say, Maxine got out of the rat race first. I was close behind and almost landed on my big dream. I almost won, but it was getting late and we had to stop for the night.

I learned two big lessons that night. Finances could be fun and you just have to play the cards you're dealt with sometimes.

One of our players that night, "C", played Cashflow for the first time that night as well. She landed on the charity square. She didn't give to charity. In her following turns, she acquired quite a few "do-dads", had a baby, was down-sized and the few times she got opportunity cards, they weren't very profitable. Her experience with the game wasn't the same as mine.

I was fortunate to land on opportunity a few times. I bought a 3/2 house and made some good money right away. I parlayed this opportunity into several big deals that got me out of the rat race fairly quickly. I really enjoyed this game! This isn't so hard. I could probably apply some of this experience in real life.

Well, I couldn't wait to play this game again. My friend Jason invited me to another game yesterday. I was feeling good. I couldn't wait to be making big deals and learning more about this game. I was going to tear this game apart and win this time!

I'm not sure if I was a little too cocky and fate put me in my place, but the dice were just not going my way. I landed on "do-dads", missed the opportunity squares and had a baby! Well, that was an eye-opener. That's something I just wasn't expecting. ;) I thought I could get back into the game, but I landed on the dreaded "downsizing" square. I lost a little hope.

The game soon ended. I felt a little empty and disappointed that I didn't shine like the first time I played Cashflow. I imagined that this was how "C" might have felt last Thursday. Maybe it was just beginner's luck.

I reflected on the situation and decided that it was still a valuable experience to have. We didn't play very long, maybe only an hour. I concluded that whatever life throws at me, I have to look on the bright side of things and just deal with it.

Well, I promised myself to keep playing this game until I get better. I'm not going to let being a single parent with a newborn, who just got downsized from my job with a bunch of "do-dads" get in the way of my dream! I got plans ...I'm going sailing on my yacht in Australia! ;)

Cheers,

Alfred Allen

"There is only one success - to be able to spend your life in your own way."

Christopher Morley (1890 - 1957) www.quotationspage.com

Earl - From First to Worst

Competition is a necessity in today's business environment. Without the proverbial wolves nipping at your heels "encouraging" you to move faster people tend to rest on their laurels as they admire their accomplishments and sit back to enjoy the fruits of their previous labors. I am no different - for those of you who know - I thought I had it made with a potential million a year on trailer fees from a particular company that I'm still a little too angry to say out loud at at the moment. Imagine my chagrin at being unceremoniously dropped back to the ground once this source disappeared!

They always say that the first million is the hardest - and I somewhat agree and disagree with that comment. On one hand, I agree because it's the hardest only because it requires the most energy to convert potential energy into kinetic.

Taking a stationary object and making it move is much harder than giving something that's already rolling a good push. With the connections I've made in the past, and the business knowledge I've gained on what to do, and more importantly, what NOT to do, I'm a little wiser (at least I'd like to think so) and a little more cautious in my TRY before TRUST phase.

On the other hand, I disagree because once you understand the patterns of cashflow, it's not difficult to setup an automatic million. It doesn't take as much capital as you'd think.

Back to the topic at hand because it's definitely not all about me ;). Canada needs to think about opening their doors to more businesses. Look at the state of the US cell phone market vs. Canada's. Granted I did write about more choices making things more difficult, but too few choices also means that companies have to try a whole lot less to get your business when you just don't have anywhere else to turn to. If your internet provider sucks, how many places and options do you truly have at the end of the day? This article from BC Business delves into how Canada became the worst from their lofty position of first in terms of internet access, speed, service, communications, etc. I'd like to hear your opinions on what you think should be done. How do we go back to our position at the top, or at least give those other guys a damn good run for their money?

Thanks for reading.
-Earl Flormata

Al - My first blog...

Hi Everyone!



This is my first blog. My name is Alfred Allen. My good friend Earl is encouraging me to learn more about real estate and business. He says I should write a blog about it. I'm not really technically or business savy, so this is all new to me. So I thought I'd begin this with one of my favorite quotes...



"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Lao-tzu, The Way of Lao-tzu



cheers,
Al