5 THINGS YOU DON’T NEED TO LIVE AN AWESOME LIFE

by STEVEN BANCARZ

The pursuit of happiness is the greatest pursuit in life.  Everyone is searching for something to truly fulfill their soul and quench their thirst for meaning and purpose.  Everyone wants to wake up being in love with life and excited for what the day has in store.

But from the moment we are born, we are programmed into thinking that “happiness” comes in a variety of forms that prove time and time again to be hollow and empty.  We grow up wanting to live “the dream”, which usually consists of a bunch of dead end pursuits and egoic pleasures that end of numbing and burdening our spirit.

Here are is a list of 5 things society tells us we need to live an awesome life, when in reality some may actually prevent you from having an awesome life:

1) Fame/popularity

When we are in high school growing up, peer approval is so important to us.  We all want to be seen as “cool”, “wise” or “trendy” by the people around us.  We desire to be desired, and want to be seen as important in the eyes of our peers.  Sometimes, this deep-rooted need to impress others sticks with us into our early adulthood and persists throughout our entire life.

A huge weight gets lifted off your shoulders when you realize that you don’t need to be liked by everybody around you.  You don’t need to be popular and famous.  You just need to be you.  Don’t define yourself in relation to your position within your social network or even within society as a whole.  You came into this world as an individual, and you will leave this world as an individual.  Discover yourself and love yourself, and you will find that the pursuit of popularity and fame is just another burden preventing you from living a happy life.

2) Riches and wealth

We all want to be “rich”, but does wealth really equal freedom?  Does being buried head deep in bills, payments, and material items really satisfy the spirit?  Money can’t buy you happiness.  It can buy your ego contentment for a short while, but it will never be able to make you feel alive. It can only buy you things that give you the imitation of happiness.

If you are sad, depressed, lonely, or angry and think that winning 1 million dollars will make you  feel better, consider this:  It will only give you a more luxurious environment to feel sad, depressed, lonely, and angry in.  Whether you are unfulfilled in a 2 million dollar house or in a $200,000, it doesn’t really matter.  Happiness does not come from possessions.  It comes from your relationship to yourself.

Read More here 5 THINGS YOU DON’T NEED TO LIVE AN AWESOME LIFE

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From welfare to one of the world's wealthiest women — the incredible rags-to-riches story of J.K. Rowling - Business Insider

I like to read uplifting stories about people who have beaten all odds and come out a winner. This story is of the creator of everyone's favourite wizard.


From welfare to one of the world's wealthiest women — the incredible rags-to-riches story of J.K. Rowling - Business Insider 

On a delayed train journey from Manchester to King’s Cross station in London, the characters Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley, and Hermione Granger came “fully formed” to the mind of a young temp named Joanne Rowling.



In the six tumultuous years following, she would imagine an entire magical world of witches and wizards, assume the pen name J.K. Rowling, and publish “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,” the first novel in the now beloved “Harry Potter” series.



Rowling has since become the UK’s best-selling living author and one of the wealthiest women in the world, but not before overcoming the hardships of being a single mother living on welfare.



Born in the southwest of England, Rowling grew up along the border of England and Wales with her mother, father, and sister.



On her website she wrote that she had always known she would be a book author. “As soon as I knew what writers were, I wanted to be one. I’ve got the perfect temperament for a writer; perfectly happy alone in a room, making things up.”



She wrote her first book (about a rabbit named Rabbit) at age six, and when her mother praised her work, she says she “stood there and thought, ‘Well, get it published then.’”

Rowling’s childhood home in Church Cottage, Tutshill, England.



Rowling’s teenage years weren’t particularly happy, she told The New Yorker, claiming she came from a difficult family and saying her mother’s 10-year battle with multiple sclerosis took a toll on her and the family.



She describes the most traumatizing moment in her life as the day her mother died — it was New Year’s Day in 1991 when Rowling was 25. This was six months after she began writing “Harry Potter,” and she lamented that her mother never knew she was writing it. The loss of her own mother would eventually lead Rowling to make Harry Potter suffer the death of his parents.



Read more at From welfare to one of the world's wealthiest women — the incredible rags-to-riches story of J.K. Rowling - Business Insider

Personal Financing with Robert Kiyosaki

Cashflow Quadrant
This book is a continuation of the Rich Dad Poor Dad book. In this book Robert Kiyosaki explains that there are four quadrants. It shows which quadrant we are in and which one we ought to be in.

The four quadrants are

E QUADRANT is for employee
These are people who are mainly afraid to take risk. They look for job security and benefits. Thus looking for jobs that offer job security and benefit. They may be highly paid but their financial status is only defined by the employers.

S QUADRANT for self-employed
The people in the S quadrant are self employed. They are specialist in their area. They want to do their own thing. They believe that if they work hard, they will be paid better. They are normally perfectionist and is hesitant on hiring staff. So they will work very hard cause if they don't work , they won't get paid. They are also not able to take leave for long as they are not able to lose any customers.

This is followed by the two Quadrant that we are advised to be in, in order to be financially free. That is

B QUADRANT for business owner
A business owner owns a business that generates money.

I QUADRANT for investor
Investors earn money from their various investments-in other words, money generating more money.

The CASHFLOW QUADRANT is also not a get rich quick book, its only a guide to financial freedom.

Rich Dad's CASHFLOW Quadrant is perfect for employees or self-employed individuals interested in finding new ways to generate cash flow. One of thing that is good about this book is the author tells us to start slow and small, gaining experience first. If you're already a business owner or real estate investor, this book delivers tools for even greater success.


Rich Dad's Guide to Investing.
This is the third book in the Rich Dad Poor Dad Series. One of the things that I have found useful in this book is that in come in short chapters of 3-4 pages each, so I usually read a chapter a night before I sleep to digest and ponder each chapter. In this book, Robert shows how to get started and how it does not take money to make money. As with the first two books, this is not a book for those who want hot tips and quick fixes.

What I like about this book, is that Kiyosaki says that if we look properly we can create our wealth out of nothing. Before finding out about Internet Marketing, I thought that this was a lot of bull. I always thought you need money to make money. But with the internet, it has never been easier to create wealth out of nothing. Take Squidoo for instance, you can write about your favourite topic and make money from it. He also says you should make a plan to be financially secure, a plan to be financially comfortable, and a plan to be rich.
As in all his other books, Kiyosaki's book is worth reading again and again.
This book is a must for those who want to be Financially Independent
One final recommendation I have is to buy his Cashflow Games. Cashflow 101 is a board game that will teach you how to get out of the rat race whatever your status is.
I have a computer version of the game and found it really interesting. It really depicts real life, once you start playing.

What Lies in your Debt? It pays to know

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Inspirational Stories For Everyone

by Amy Twain

Inspirational stories have always been one way of spreading values around since it allows us to learn and be aware of various values while at the same time having fun and enjoying listening and reading. Stories had played a great part in our lives because we learn from them especially if they are inspirational stories.

For example, during our childhood years, we are told that witches are evil and thus we learned to keep away from them. These days, the witches symbolizes the strangers and so, allowing the parents to teach and remind their kids to turn down any gift from them so that they can protect their kids.

Then, as we moved forward the lane of life, we eventually create our own stories. They may be inspirational stories, sad, happy, depressing, uplifting, motivating, and many others. And it is from these stories that we obtain or acquire our varied experiences hence, growing and evolving into the individuals we are today or the person in the future.

But then again, we are seldom to relate our experiences to other people, in sharing our own tales to inspire other individuals. Are we simply too happy in keeping our success to ourselves or are we even too timid or reluctant in letting other persons know regarding our moments of depression? Yet as we grow older, we rarely read stories anymore and there are less and less persons telling us new and diverse ones.

And this may be due to the lack of time since most of us are working very hard to feed ourselves and our families. Whilst we are simply too busy pursuing our own respective careers, there are times when we may lose focus in fulfilling our own spiritual needs. Perhaps that is the reason why we felt something might be missing in our lives although we already have all the money we can possess.

Often, it may just slipped in our thoughts how much we can create an impact on the persons around us or the other way around. We might need to spare some time and try talking or conversing with other people or even read certain biographies. We never know that we may be inspired or motivated by others� life stories, experiences, struggles and triumphs.

Then perhaps we will be able to change or modify our approach to life or solve our problems. Because each and every one of us has their own different and unique experiences and this made us filled with our own tales and stories to tell and relate. There is a site (www.storys4u.com) jam-packed with several short pieces giving you a chance to take a break in your hectic and stressful schedules just to relax and find time to read.

The pieces written there are in the hope to motivate and inspire the readers, not to mention to bring back the values we learn in our life so that you may also be able to inspire other people. So go ahead and enjoy the tales and stories at that site.

About the Author The author of this article, Amy Twain, is a Self Improvement Coach who has been successfully coaching and guiding clients for many years. Amy recently published a new home study course on how to boost your Self Esteem. Click here to get more info about her Quick-Action Plan for A More Confident You

People That will Inspire You- Against all Odds

We all need heroes, someone to look up to. The people who you choose as heroes,mentors or idol(whatever you may call them) are a reflection of who you are or who you want to be. So choose people who add true value to your life. When I was young my heroes were the firemen, nowadays they are people who have succeeded inspite of difficulties. Someone who have become successful like Bill Gates, Walt Disney, Donald Trump and many more. I don`t admire movie stars, sports stars or celebrities. Reason being these people will normally disappoint or distress us when they fall from grace. People like Tyson, Tiger Woods and even Lohan are bad influence to youngsters today.
Even Robert Kiyosaki said in his Cashflow Quadrant book that you need heroes to succeed. Someone to look up to, to learn from. Apart from reading inspirational books, I also like to read about the lives of successful people. I like to read about how they succeeded through difficulties, their rags to richest stories and how they live. To my surprise most of them are very frugal. I like to catchup on the news of how they are doing now. Even closer to home, there are people who has succeded against all odds and they are my inspiration. To name a few there is Lim Goh Tong of Genting Highlands, Dr. Mahathir our former Prime Minister, Tony Fernandez of Air Asia and more.

Lim Goh Tong

Lim Goh Tong is the guy who took an unexplored hilltop to make it one of the famous holiday destination in Malaysia, the Genting Highlands. I came across his bio in the Genting Highlands website. He is a fine example of the results of what a `Can Do` and `Never Give Up` attitude can do. Lim Goh Tong was an immigrant from a little mountainous county in Fujian, China. He came to Malaysia to work as a carpenter and rised up to be a building sub-contractor. The idea for Genting Highlands came when he was having dinner in Cameron Highlands. He thought it would nice to have a cool place where people can escape from the heat in the lowlands. As Cameron Highlands was too far from Kuala Lumpur, he had to search for another location. He did some research and that's where he found an unexplored hilltop called Genting Highlands. He started building a casino up there. And he continued adding building after building until it is what it is now. As he was building at a new unexplored location, there were many difficulties he had to face. But all the difficulties didn`t stop him. You can click on the link below to read about him. He has since passed away in 2007, now the Genting Empire he created is being run by his son