Earl Flormata - Corporate Taxes in Canada still top Global Average - The Purpose of Government

Today's article reminds me of a lesson taught to me by an investment banker in discussing their thoughts on government, and the duties of the people in the government.

He starts off with a question: What is the purpose of government? I look at him as though he's asking a loaded question and he smiles, "Ok, is it the purpose of a government to create jobs, yes or no?"

I answer back, "Yes to the jobs, however not the useless paper pushing red tape covered government kind."

"Close but not quite", was his reply.

The ideal purpose of a government is to make an ideal environment for businesses to thrive. In doing so, jobs are created elsewhere and at an exponentially faster rate, while spurring the economy by collecting more taxes due to the increase in workers and overall spending throughout the country. In lowering overall taxation and making things more efficient there is actually more money to go around.

The other example I can think of this is hitting the sweet spot on pricing for your products. 5 sales at 27.99 or 3 sales at 49.99 means requiring a lower conversion rate overall. It's not a matter of pleasing everyone, but more so a matter of being efficient for the greater good of the country.

What are your thoughts on the corporate side of the tax game?

Thanks for Reading,
Earl Flormata

Earl Flormata - Inspirational Quote - Be the Change

"Be the Change You Want to See in the World"
- Mahatma Gandhi

All too often we hear about things that we want to change, systems gone wrong, stuff that just doesn't sit right with us, however how many of us actually make a concentrated effort to get off the couch and make that change?

Although sometimes it feels as if we do our best - it's naught but a pebble in a stream, but it's the inspirational leaders that take the first step. Faced with adversity many people stare into the face of death only to turn pale and run. Sometimes the hurdles are just so tough that the thought of even beginning is frightening. It's always a bit of bravery mixed with passion, and perhaps just that little bit of "crazy" that gets the ball rolling.

So, what's the change in your life that needs to get made? What's the underlying reason for you to get up in the morning? What's your dream, what's your passion, but most importantly, what's your next step to achieve them? I challenge you to be the change, and take the necessary steps.

Thanks for reading,
Earl Flormata

Earl Flormata - Too Safe is a pain in the ass.

Sometimes I miss the traveling all over the world part of my business in the past prior to my son Erik being born. Sometimes I don't. Take a look at this link for the original article.

-=-

Photos taken in airplane leads to interrogation

By Catharine Hamm
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
September 09, 2008

Question: Last fall, three friends and I flew from Lisbon to Los Angeles by way of Philadelphia. On the flight from Philadelphia to Los Angeles, I was showing them my new camera and took a few pictures of our surroundings. A flight attendant came to me and told me to show her the pictures, which I did. On our arrival, armed officers escorted us off the plane, separated us and made us wait for the authorities. They asked ridiculous questions ("What's your eye color?"), and in the end they let us go with no apologies. Why would this happen? Did we do anything wrong?

-- Jose Silva, Lisbon

---

Discuss

Weigh in on the treatment Joe Silva received. Warranted or unnecessary?

---

Answer: In taking photos, Silva and his friends didn't violate any Federal Aviation Administration or Transportation Security Administration rules, their spokesmen told me.

If the use of electronic devices was permitted at that point in the flight, they were in the clear.

In fact, if you look at the photos you'll see that the only thing they apparently did wrong was to use a camera without studying the manual. Ansel Adams he's not.

In a later conversation, Silva said his group complied with flight attendants and wasn't causing a ruckus.

Because the airline would not go back and research the details, we don't have its side of the story.

But assuming that Silva is correct, what could prompt such a reaction?

He said the authorities later told him that these are "sensitive times."

Indeed. But those pictures are hardly a threat to national security and are no different from the images you can find all over the Internet.

Just to see the spectrum, Google "767 interior" and click "Images," and you'll find about six dozen photos.

Silva said the authorities also told him to be careful. One has to wonder how careful he would have needed to be if he didn't, in his words, look Moroccan or Egyptian.

Richard Derk, the photo editor for the Los Angeles Times Travel section, has shot many photos on airplanes, some of which have ended up in these pages.

I asked him whether he had experienced any problems on commercial flights.

"No, never," he said. "I shoot quickly and try not to get in anyone's way, but no one has ever stopped me."

Derk, we should note, does not look Middle Eastern.

Mickey H. Osterreicher, general counsel for the National Press Photographers Assn., also expressed surprise.

"It's hard to believe that somebody didn't call a timeout in the process and say, 'What exactly did this man do?' " Osterreicher said.

"At a certain point, somebody has to use some common sense."

Picture that.

Have a travel dilemma?

Write to travel@latimes.com

-=-


Honestly, at what point in time does it get a little too safe? Harmless pictures (even horrible pictures) that mean nothing on a plane. I'm glad the people didn't get arrested for having water bottles, or were even taken aback due to nail clippers. Seriously, if someone tried to threaten me with nail clippers, I'd be in more danger of laughing to death.

Sometimes people take it to an extreme level of safety when it comes to all things including investing. These are the same people that stand in line to buy the savings bonds and GIC's without prior thought to alternative solutions in which they could be more tax efficient, or perhaps say take into consideration the fact that it's not even keeping pace with inflation?

There's even an article out there that talks about how RRSP's could be detrimental to certain income levels of people - however people always want to do what is "comfortable" instead of what makes sense.

Be it a lack of education - or perhaps just plain ignorance, I hope to build Infiniti Point Strategies Inc. into the company that changes the education system for the better and start to show people about different options that exist as an alternative route. Join us on meetup.com to find out more about safety vs. comfort.

Thanks for reading,
Earl Flormata


P.S. Here's a great comedic skit on my take of the paranoia at the airports.
WARNING - gratuitous usage of course language in the video link.

Earl Flormata - No cash? No problem, if you barter

Simplicity is genius. Necessity is the mother of invention... and Barter is the answer to those in need without the cash backing to make ends meet.

An interesting turn of events with the current economic crisis is that with people not having any expendable funds left at the end of the month - they're turning to bartering as the solution to attain the goods or services that they need.

If you're wondering how the Infiniti Point group is using barter to our member's advantage - why not take a look at our Thursday night event? Join us on the meetup site to see when our next set of information nights are.

Average Canadians now have access to an interesting methodology on saving taxes with this 75 year old bartering system. Take a look and you might be surprised as to what you find out.

Thanks for Reading,
Earl Flormata

Earl Flormata - Cash Flow BC - Dan "The Man" Lok

Today at the Cash Flow BC event, the guest speaker was none other than Dan "the Man" Lok - internet marketing maven. From his title of best conversion expert to his newsletter to his ultimate lifestyle intensive site, he's got a plethora of information readily available for the average Joe to learn more about the secrets of internet marketing. Well as a courtesy for him being a guest speaker in my office space, here's a link to his blog. His mentorship program can be found at the following site. Another book that Dan had recommended was Scientific Advertising - a free e-book

His content was very dynamic and in-your-face with some very high level stats to prove his abilities. I'm looking forward to the release of his new book, and also our future joint venture projects.

Thanks for reading,
Earl Flormata

=======================================================
NOTES I TOOK DURING THE EVENT
=======================================================


- It's not just HOW MUCH money you make, it's HOW you make the money.
- Build your business around your own lifestyle preference
- What does your perfect lifestyle look like?
- What do you want?
- What do you REALLY want?

- Here's what I want
- few employees
- high net profit
- low overhead
- retain control of my personal time
- money coming in while I sleep (you'll never hit financial freedom unless you...)
- work on exciting projects
- an opportunity to learn and grow
- FUN!

Term: Compulsive Empire Builder.

Suggestion: Set Daily Income Goals

I want a highly profitable and predictable business that allows me the freedom to do what I want, when I want to do it and with whom I want to do it with.

Success on the net lets you do what you want with your life!

If you don't want to you don't have to

Get up every morning and go to work in traffic
Answer to a boss that is unappreciative
Beg for a raise that you deserve
put of family vacations
mercy of job or business
worry about family
wish had more time to spend

Every business is a reflection of its owner.

-=-

3 lessons

Million Dollar Lesson #1
I developed the skill of spending money I didn't have on inforamtion I knew I needed.

#2
Your income can only grow to the extent that you do! Your Wealth can only grow as fast as you do!

#3
You must Earn th Right to be Rich.

All the qualities that are necessary for success and wealth are habits that must be developed and skills must be sharpened.


Rich people do what's hard - That's why their life is Easy. Poor people do what's easy, that's why their life is hard.

Jan 16th and 17th in Vancouver.
NOT in the seminar business (1 event per year)


Who was your mentor?
First mentor: Alan Jacks (marketing mentor)
Business mentor: Dan Pania (scotland - grew 0-400M in 8 years)

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END OF NOTES
=======================================================

Earl Flormata - My Master Book List

People have been asking me for awhile to post up which books to read, etc - so as I'm tired of having to do this same thing over and over again, today's post is simply going to be me going through my pile of books in no particular order and slowly but surely converting the lot of them into a list, and eventually links to amazon so you can all purchase the same crazy list and know what I know.

For those of you who know me, I read about a book a week (give or take when I feel lazy, or when I feel like reading). Funny how I never did this during school, but now that I'm on a quest for knowledge and how to make other people succeed around me, I've been rampaging through tons of books as of late. Viktor Lasmarias, wherever you are - thanks for that CD that was like coles notes on steroids... seriously - a life saver when you had as many crazy honours courses as we did back in the good ol' days of Alpha Secondary.

Also - for those that are too lazy for Earl's crazy reading pace - take a look at Rapid Reader (just google it for now - too lazy for hyperlinking). I can't remember exactly when my dad forced me to read my first speed reading book, butnow I'm eternally grateful since that seems to be where I spend a lot of my time these days.

P.S. No, I don't lend out books - just buy the damn things and start building your library. What I would love though would be a wonderful book scanning service if anyone knew of any. That way I can back up my collection against floods and damage, etc.

Anyhoo, here goes nothing...

Thanks for reading,
Earl Flormata
-=-

Breakthrough Rapid Reading
What got you here won't get you there
All the money in the world
Good to Great
Selling Blue Elephants
The Speed of Trust
Stock Investing for Dummies
Trading for Dummies
Hedge Funds for Dummies
Reading Financial Reports for Dummies
Investing for Canadians for Dummies
Stock investing for Canadians for Dummies
Personal Finance for Canadians
The 8th Habit
Execution (Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan)
The Taxman is watching
The ABC's of writing winning business plans
Own your own corporation
SalesDogs
How to Buy & Sell a Business
OPM - Other People's Money
Protecting Your #1 Asset
Cashflow Quadrant
The ABC's of Building a Business Team That Wins
Rich Kid Smart Kid
Rich Dad Poor Dad
Before you Quit Your Job
Rich Dad Poor Dad for Teens
Retire Young Retire Rich
Who Took My Money?
Profitable Growth is Everyone's Business
The Memory Book
Napoleon Hill's Keys to Success. The 17 Principles of Personal Achieveent
Smart Couples Finish Rich
Start Late, Finish Rich
Made to Stick
Automatic Millionaire Homeowner
Automatic Millionaire
Small Giants
What the CEO Wants you to Know
Social Intelligence
The Pursuit of Happyness
Banker to the Poor
Emotional Intelligence
The Back of the Napkin
Escaping the Middle Class
The Heart of Presenting
Putting out the Fire of Fear
Blue Ocean Strategy
Invincible Investor
Fit for Love
Arnis - Reflections on the History and Development of the Filipino Martial Arts
Why we want you to be Rich
The 48 Laws of Power
The Art of the Start
Making Millions in Direct Sales
Palm Reading for Beginners
The Art of Peace
How to Develop Self-Confidence and Influence People by Public Speaking
How to Stop Worrying and Start Living
The Quick & Easy way to Effective Speaking
How to Win Friends and Influence People
The Greatest Salesman in the World
The Greatest Salesman in the World Part II
the Da Vinci Code
The E Myth Revisited
The Book of Chuang Tzu
Lao Tzu - Tao Te Ching
The God Delusion
Customer Satisfaction is Worthless. Customer Loyalty is Priceless. How to make customers love you, keep them coming back and tell everyone they know.
The Patterson Principles of Selling
First Break all the Rules
Now Discover your Strengths
The Ten Faces of Innovation
The Business of Software
The Closers
The Closers Part 2
Work the Pond
Beat the Taxman - Easy Ways to Save Tax in your Small Business
101 Tax secrets for Canadians
97 Tips for Canadian Real Estate investors
The millionaire mind
Built to last
How to talk to anyone
How to do the impossible
Awaken the Giant Within
Unlimited Power
The Sales Bible
Smoke and Mirrors - Financial Myths that will Ruin your retirement dreams
The Fundamentals of Hedge Fund Management. How to successfully launch and operate a hedge fund
Hedgehogging
The Wolf of Wall Street
Tao of Jeet Kune Do
The Sword of No-Sword
The Innovator's Solution
Secrets of Power Persuasion fo Salespeople
Tricks of the Floor Trader
Building Wealth
Guerrilla Marketing in 30 days
The New Market Wizards
Throwing the Elephant
Making it Happen
Take Control of your Financial Destiny
Health Wealth and Happiness
The Wealthy Barber
The 10 Secrets Revenue Canada doesn't want you to know
Napoleon Hill - Think and Grow Rich
The Richest Man in Babylon
The Paradox of Choice - Why more is less
Doing What Matters
The Tipping Point
Blink
The Game
Rules of the Game
On Becoming Fearless
Sneaky Uses for Everyday things
Sneakier Uses for Everyday things
The Greatest Networker in the World
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Aging Smart
Catch me if you can
1001 Ways to Reward Employees
The Book on Business PLanning
The Frog and Prince
The Little Red book of Selling
The Little Red book of Sales Answers
Little Gold Book of Yes! Attitude
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Whale Done
Gung Ho!
Raving Fans
Who Moved My Cheese?
nightwork
The Business of Changing the World
On the Door
The World is flat
Stumbling on Happiness
Snakes in Suits
Letting Go of your Bananas
E Myth Mastery
Know-How
A Collection of the best business quotes
How to get to the top
Litle Green book of Getting your Way
Getting Things Done
Freakonomics
The worst case scenario survival handbook: Travel
Make your life a masterpiece: Peter Legge
The Black Swan

Earl Flormata - Regulators Clamp down on Freedom

Although I'm not a member of the FIC - I still keep watch over them as Darren Weeks and Fast Track to Cash Flow have Michael Lathigee as a contributor to their newsletter of which I'm a member of.

It appears as though the regulators are keeping a sharp eye on the Freedom investment club as the links suggest. Their foreclosure system and their other investment opportunities seem to have caught the unwanted attention of the enforcers around these parts.

Although the game really isn't over until it's over - I'm keeping a close eye as I was actually looking into some similar deal flow scenarios to invest my own personal dollars into, so I'm curious to see how things add up in the end. I wish luck to all who have invested thus far, and naturally hope for the best as we prepare for the upcoming scrutiny. It goes to show that you never really can tell which investments will do well except for watching how the trends play themselves out backwards. Kinda makes you wish for one of these doesn't it? (see above picture)

Thanks for reading,
Earl Flormata

Earl Flormata - Feeling Lucky? Born to be a Millionaire

Once a mentor of mine asked me whether I would rather be lucky or smart. I answered him - why not have both? But if I had to choose one over the other, luck is something that cannot be bought, whereas the expertise of many smart people is on sale every day as job postings as job postings are numerous. I still believe in the idea that luck favours the brave.

I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.

- Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

This brought to my attention one of the tests that I ask people who seek to reach their financial freedom. I'm sure you've all heard of the home lottery programs that exist - where you can win a dream home (usually in the middle of nowhere), or you have the option of taking the cash. It's time to test that luck vs. smarts ratio in the manner of which path do you choose? Do you take the cash, or the house? With luck already on your side, the only choice left is the wise one. To have your cake and eat it too, one would find it wise to choose the asset - the house. From an investment side, people naturally want to take the money however choosing the house allows for both. Simply mortgage the house, rent it out and now you have both a cash flowing asset and sufficient capital to invest or spend as you choose - alongside a tax deduction on the interest spent on borrowing from the house. Now you have 3 "prizes" in lieu of one.

The last piece I have on luck is a personal one. My son Erik was born on June 16th, 5:47PM in 2008 at a weight of 7lbs 14 ounces. Maybe the luck gene has been passed down, for if you check out the winning lotto numbers the draw after his birth, 6, 7, 14, 16, 17, 27... 6 and 16 for the date, 7 and 14 for his weight and 17, 47 for the time. He was one number away from being born a millionaire. A little more luck wouldn't hurt, but here's to hoping he gets the best of both worlds when his time comes.


Thanks for Reading,
Earl Flormata

Chris Kennedy - Book Report: Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

I Should Be Mad As Hell At You, Robert!

Over $10,000 and one entire year of my life later, I still haven’t bought a single property with “no money down.” By right I should be mad as hell at Robert Allen for selling me (and others) a pipe dream. But ultimately, whose responsibility is it that I didn't become a model success story. So, instead, I put my concentration towards the eerie, hollow sound the wind makes when it blows through my empty wallet. After all, I take responsibility for failing to make Robert’s no money down technique work for me.

For those who don’t know Robert Allen, he's Canadian born but a real estate guru in the states whose claim to fame came from a simple dare: "Send me to any city in the United States. Take away my wallet. Give me $100 for living expenses. And in 72 hours I will buy an excellent piece of real estate using none of my own money."

Robert got media clout when The LA Times took up his bold challenge and sent him to San Francisco, to prove himself with a reporter in tow to document his every deal. 57 hours later Robert had 7 properties in his portfolio worth $772,000. Can you say instant fame, instant publishing deals and a soap box from which to shout at people like me – “you too can do it, pay here, and here, and here!”

The only reason to mention Robert A really is that while attending one of his seminars in 2007, someone dropped the name Robert Kiyosaki on me. Had I been angry or feeling sorry for my situation at the time I wouldn’t have wanted to hear anything about real estate experts and I wouldn't have taken any action to buy another book.

So, still wide-eyed and eager to learn and obviously open to further humiliation, I picked up a copy of Rich Dad Poor Dad for $25 and started reading. Robert’s writing style struck me as exceptionally pedestrian, very atypical of a book on finance and business. Concepts are intertwined with real-life stories that made the message easy to digest and apply to my own experiences, or lack of same. Usually, I like being challenged by an author but not so much when it comes to learning a subject I know little about. In this case simple was better. The poignant messages really hit home in the simple, honest and non insulting storytelling style. I read the entire book with a highlighter in one hand and a notebook and a pen next to me for instantly notes. Those notes came from almost every page as I read.

I was hearing things I had never heard before. They challenged conventions I thought were unshakable and exposed my lack of knowledge or in layman terms, ignorance. This was an alien philosophy but I wasn’t afraid of approaching and learning. I wanted to learn how to reach my own place of personal wealth. Ironic that I picked up nothing about buying real estate - even thought Robert Kiyosaki is himself a guru on the subject. What I got was far more powerful, Robert Kiyosaki didn’t dangle fish in front of me with bravado publicity stunts; instead, he was showing me the art of being the fisherman through simple examples of how he learned to fish. I’ve adopted his philosophy and I keep his words close as reminders and as inspiration. Here are just a few Kiyosaki-isms from Rich Dad Poor Dad.

• Fear and Desire: the Rat Race trap!


• A job is really a short-term solution to a long-term problem


• Broke is temporary, poor is eternal


• Don’t work for money, make money work for you


• Human life is a struggle between ignorance and illumination – once we stop searching for information and knowledge about ourselves, ignorance sets in. The struggle is moment to moment


• Learn to use your emotions to think, not think with your emotions


• Know the difference between an asset and a liability and buy assets


• To become financially secure, a person needs to mind their own business


• In the real world it’s often not the smart that get ahead but the bold


• Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn


• People who avoid failure also avoid success


• You are only one skill away from great wealth


• When it comes to making money the only work skill most people know is hard work


• For winners, losing inspires them. For losers, losing defeats them


• Don’t listen to poor or frightened people


• Be generous with what you have and the powers that be wil be generous to you


• Don’t take yourself so seriously

What I have learned from all of this is that the wind won’t be making that eerie, hollow sound as it blows into my wallet much longer because my wallet will be full of cash. Rich Dad Poor Dad was only an introduction to my education and to what is possible. I continue to learn from Robert Kiyosaki’s writings and from like minded people who play his Cashflow game.


Chris Kennedy

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