Secrets to wealth: Recommended reading

I am adding this to my list of recommended reads.  It has everything from Ray Dalio's asset allocation, to a breakdown of virtually every form of passive income venture one can invest in.  Some for as little as free / $1, and others as much as hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Great read.  Good parenting tips in there, too
This is Everything I know

The Concept of Value

So many of us want one thing, and focus on the wrong thing to get it.

I think the biggest example of this, is in the wealth world.  I know I'm guilty of it numerous times, especially when I was younger, but, even still today.

People who focus on "getting rich", in my experience, tend to compromise their own ethics in a big way.  Conversely, people who focus on adding value often get rich as a "side effect."

Whenever you are tempted to "do SEO" or "increase brand awareness" or anything else, I would suggest pausing and taking a second to think:  "How am I adding value?"

Is my Facebook fanpage different than my youtube channel?  Is there any bonus to being a fan, for the fan?  Do they get special videos, access to contests, insider pics, or a celebrity's more private thoughts?  (that last one is probably more the twitter angle, but you get my point)

Another way to think of adding value, especially in the realm of facebook fanpages, youtube videos, blog posts etc, is "Would someone pay a penny for this information/graphic etc?"

A penny isn't much, but, at the very least, someone should, after being given that which you have to give, think to themselves "well, that was worth at least a penny."

If they don't... if, in fact, they think that they want their fictitious penny back after they've finished, then, you haven't done your job.  You haven't added value.  You've "increased your SEO" or "increased your brand awareness" or other useless garbage that does nothing to actually increase your sales.

IS being the top ranked google page important?  Without a doubt, absolutely yes.  I'm not knocking SEO.  What I'm knocking is when people inundate the world with something they've already seen, don't benefit from, don't emotionally desire, and wonder why it doesn't make them rich.

Value is simply a change of emotional state.  Everything we do, should always, always strive to change an emotional state; preferably for the better:  However, in today's viral video world, any state change is likely to still make you money if marketed correctly.

"Friday, Fridaaay, hey la la la its friiiday..."  a kajillion dislikes on youtube... on a monetized video that pays $0.003 p/view.  Yeah.  we all showed her who was boss.

At the time of this writing, she's made $108,643.76 off of the video views alone.  Not to mention the percentage of 182,000 people who "liked" the video that purchased it on itunes for a buck, not to mention the CD sales etc.

Never underestimate the power of a negative state change on the internet...

---

To simplify it, imagine you were in a dress shop, and you were looking for the sales lady's input.
"Hi, do you have any thoughts on this dress?"
"Its green."
"...yes...  well.  Thank you."

Result in sale?  Unlikely.

"That dress is okay, but, I think the blue one would really bring out your eyes.  Have you tried it on?  No?  Let's do that, humor me!  Ooh!  Yes, your eyes sparkle in this one!  I think we need a necklace to hilight that a bit more... no, you don't have to buy the necklace, but, let's just see... oh my!  Yes!  I think a belt would really make your waist pa pow!  YES!  Oh wow!  Do you have the right shoes?"

Add value.  Her opinions are helpful.  Do they have to get the belt there?  No, they could probably get a cheaper belt somewhere else.  Are they likely to get the belt there?  Meh, about 20% chance.  Are they likely to buy the dress, and really appreciate all your suggestions, input, interest and passion?  Yes.  Are they likely to recommend you as a great information source for dress buying?  Yes.  Was the experience positive?

Well, yes.

Add value.  Change people's states.

The same analogy
"Hi, do you have any thoughts on this dress?"
"Listen fatty, you ain't gonna get no woman to love you if you don't lose some weight and ain't no dress gonna help with that!"
"I'm not a lesbian, and I highly resent your negative comments about my weight!"
"I just assumed with a haircut like that!  Damn, you ugly, you fat, you stupid, too!  Haircuts are voluntary, at least get that fixed!"

Would you probably tell people about that experience?  Sure.

Only, on the internet, that equates to views (whereas that dress shop probably wouldn't last too long) views are monetized.

Obviously, I prefer a positive state change.  The world becoming better because we were here, and all that.  Still, if something is "so bad its funny" or "unbelievably bad enough to share with your friends"... it still ultimately has a positive effect.  Raising awareness or spirits, depending.

Change people's state.  Add value.

Don't post a picture from your website on your fanpage and expect your fans to be grateful.  Post how you created that picture, your thoughts on the picture... something that adds value.  They took the time to be your fan.  They've already seen your webpage.  They want the insider scoop, the update, the future plans, the interviews...  and, they probably want to know when the webpage gets a new update, as well.

What Every Artist Should Read

Something that I think a lot of technician archetypes can get caught up in, is how little people offer them for their masterpieces of excellence.

What I would suggest, is that its all relative.

Let's say you created the Faberge egg, or, an amazing robot sculpture, and, you showed it to a farmer, a lawyer, and the King of England, and, they all had the same exact love for the art piece.

One would be in tears of joy over the beauty of your masterpiece, and offer you three out of 5 of his chickens for it.  The other, would offer upwards of $30,000 and the other, your weight in gold, some property, and employment to commission further pieces.

When people say that something is "too expensive", they are saying "for them."

This is not a reflection upon the quality of the work.  To use another analogy, it is as if someone were saying that speaking in front of people was "too hard" or "too scary".  Yes, for some.  For others, they look forward to such a thing.

Everything is relative.

Ergo, it is not the quality of the product that is as important as who sees it.  

Yes, if someone with the sufficient funds sees your product, it would indeed be best if the product was worthy of them purchasing it.  More importantly, an artist should always strive to improve their style, as how we do anything is how we do everything; and our art is ultimately a reflection of our values and sense of self.

But this self improvement is for personal growth & expression, NOT SALES.

Even the shoddiest pieces of art have sold to those with deep pockets.  (how many times have we all said "hell, I could paint THAT!" next to the red dot on the canvas which just sold for a hundred grand??)

Grow and improve your art because it is a piece of your soul and an expression of the gift God gave you.

Remember that marketing is the missing piece in EVERY unsold, or undersold piece of art.  Ever.

Remember the red dot on the white canvass.  The difference between that, and something immeasurably better (but unsold) is that the right person saw it, and was emotionally motivated to purchase it.

So, then, how to expose your art, with whom, and where?

That is a question for an agent.  It doesn't matter if they take 90% of your sale price.

One more time:  It doesn't matter if they take 90% of your sale price.  (which, they don't)


Why doesn't it matter?


Most artists want 100% of the profits they get from the farmer, instead of 1% of the profits they get from the King.

Or, they want 100% of the profits they get from the one lawyer they sold to last year, instead of 80% of the profits they sold to 300 lawyers instead.

Agents, like realtors, affiliates, or anyone else who works as a middleman who works on commission have one thing in mind:  Sell your work.

Their only focus is finding people to buy things.

Just as I answer yahoo answers with the focus of connecting questions to products, so too does an agent see people who would like his clients' work.

And, if they work on commission, they will always be trying to get as much as they can for your work.  If they undersell it, they still sold it.  If they oversell it, they, and you, make more money.

Get affiliates working for you, and get represented.  You don't even need a gallery.  Using a service like paydotcom to sell your art is perfectly acceptable.

Offer insane commissions, especially in the beginning.  Make it appealing.  Sell the first sculpture at a loss simply to get the affiliates interested.  If you have 5000 affiliates spamming the internet about how great you are, someone worthwhile will see the pieces you have.

To stress the point home:  Take the focus off your work for one month and apply yourself exclusively to the marketing of your work.  And, by applying yourself, what I mean is increasing the number of people who are exposing your work.  Facebook fan pages, Twitter accounts and the like are only as powerful as the amount of people who see them.  Getting affiliates to run countless blog posts in hopes of landing you a sale will still increase your awareness and yes, those facebook fan pages are important to have as landing pages for those interested in your products, just as a website is, but widening the field is immeasurably more important.

If I double my facebook fan page, I get an extra few thousand followers.  If I increase my exposure on the internet by 0.0001% that's still thousands and thousands and thousands and THOUSANDS more people who will see my work.

Get the bloggers, affiliates, promoters, agencies all working for you.

The Next Big Thing

I was having this discussion with a martial arts student of mine, who is also a kindergarten teacher.  We were discussing how all these new technological marvels are coming out, and, how I was asking the young martial artists at Shinka what THEY would do with these pieces of technology.

Because, there's the thing:  As young and hip and innovative as we all think we are, we simply aren't in their heads.  Look at axe cop, or just get a 5 year old to make up a martial arts combo to see what is going through their creative little heads.

My point is, they are the ones who will come up with something that'll actually BE new, and not simply a re-hash of something old.

Sensei Ono, Shinka Martial Arts : Richmond's Best Martial Arts School
The Key to Awesome

Rich Dad Poor Dad Book Reviews Part 2

Rich Dad Poor Dad was my first "passive income" book, and, as a result, I've read most of his books to date in my quest for financial freedom.  This is part two of my Rich Dad Poor Dad Book Reviews.

Rich Dad's Success Stories

Surprisingly excellent.  I had fairly low expectations of this book, and, next to Cashflow Quadrant, I actually rate it as one of his top books.  It isn't as "fluffy" as I expected, and, it has lots of great seed ideas, techniques, concepts, step-by-steps as well as inspiring stories.  This one is a keeper, as it not only motivates but informs.  Great to go back to with questions.

Retire Young Retire Rich & Rich Dad's Before You Quit Your Job

Forgot to make a new point in these ones.  Don't bother.

Rich Dad's Guide to Investing

Good.  A little more in depth than some of his other books.  Very American-based information.  Considerably more useful to read later on in the series, as, you should have some assets to invest with.

Rich Dad's Who Took My Money?

If you have been to a Millionaire Mind Intensive workshop, you've got all the information you'll need.  If you haven't, I'd still read the Millionaire Mind before this book, as it is more engaging.  (the seminar is generally free, and is life-changing)

"Specifics"
This section is for specific information.  These books are less general "did you know you can leverage time?" and more specific "how to do X"

The Advanced Guide to Real Estate Investing

Is what it says.  References are fairly American.


Own Your Own Corporation 2nd ed.

Good info, good reference.


Guide to Investing in Gold & Silver
Like all commodities investing books, fairly useless and outdated by the time it was published.

How to Buy & Sell a Business
Excellent.

Rich Dad Book Reviews Part 1

Rich Dad Poor Dad is an interesting franchise of books regarding various aspects of financial prosperity, with a heavy focus upon American real estate, no money down, and easy-to-digest accounting.


I would say that Robert repeats himself a fair bit, which, is to be expected so as to make the books all self-sufficient, but, it can be a little annoying to read an entire book with 12% new content.


To avoid these pitfalls (as I have read all of his books) I thought a quick reference guide as to which books to read (and in which order) and which to avoid might be helpful.


These books are also graded with a "buy for future and ongoing reference" or "read once" as, unless you already have a hefty education Jar (see Millionaire Mind), you might not necessarily have the funding for each of his books.


Rich Dad, Poor Dad (The original)
This book has a special place in my heart, as, it was the very first book I read in regards to passive income, time leveraging, and other money making concepts.  As a result, it is difficult for me to be unbiased, but, I will say that it is an excellent beginners reference, and, fairly useless to a non-beginner.  Good for a single read, however, I have purchased many copies over the years to give to people interested in learning of passive income, so, if you are starting a multi-level marketing team, you might want to buy a few to have around the house to give to your downline.


Rich Dad's Increase Your Financial IQ
A dad more wordy than his other books, but a fair bit of useful information.  Tends to lean towards American-only information, but, even as a Canadian, I found this one eye opening.


Why We Want You To Be Rich
Borderline useless.  Could have been summarized in the jacket of another book, honestly.  But then again, I rarely need "convincing" from my authors.  If you are the type of reader who demands countless pages of credibility building, then this one might be good for you.


Rich Dad's Cashflow Quadrant
His best work, in my opinion.  Definitely a great read, full of information that you will repeatedly reference.  Buy this one.


Rich Dad's Guide to Becoming Rich Without Cutting up your credit cards
Useless and all repeat information.  Kind of like the first book and a few others in a different order.  

Rich Dad Poor Dad for Teens  &  Rich Dad's Rich Kid Smart Kid

Great if you have kids.  One is more for them, the other for the parents.  In both cases, if you plan on teaching kids (students etc) about how to be rich, these are great segues.  Also, I highly recommend the game cashflow for this as well.

ABC's of Property Management

Passable.  Property Management for Dummies is actually a much more comprehensive guide, if you are thinking of going into this sort of thing.  Even if you are planning on hiring someone else, it is a good read so you know what to look for.

Nano Generators: New Power Source is You!

Quick note:  As batteries become smaller and smaller (as much as 100 times smaller... think car battery to hearing aid size...) via carbon nanotubes, and now, on top of that, we've discovered nano generators, which basically are batteries which are recharged by your skin, or your heart beating...

what inventions will that create and make possible?

Robots yes.  Personal cyborg... things...

hmmmm...

The Rise and Fall of Information Empires

If you look at all of technological history, especially in regards to communication, there have been repeating themes.

The initial stage of creation and resistance, the acceptance and flood of availability as well as opportunity and profit, and, then, the consolidation of providers mirrored by the ability to either filter or control the flow of information.

Monopolies, as well as dictators generally start out great.  This is how they get their power in the first place.

Trains run on time, inconvenient rights are bypassed for efficiency, and the products are all decisively better, faster, clearer or whatever.

However, ultimately, as they no longer need to get to power, nor even maintain their power, they are then welcome to abuse their power.

Which... they do.

While some are thinking of how to postpone or even prevent this, a question one might consider asking oneself, is, what's next?  What will the new free/radical/out of the box method be of communicating, and how could you get the jump on the profitable section of that timeline...

Mysterious $100

I think the best part about passive income, is that it is always a pleasant surprise... often from an unknown source.

The other day my wife and I were trying to figure out where a $100 check came from and ultimately, we were never 100% sure.  Likely TK2A in some way... but from which vein, we are unsure.

I haven't written in this blog in some time now, as I've been very, very focused on some of the improvements happening at Shinka Martial Arts.

Thanks to all our regular readers continual support.  We'll write when we can!

Great Web Hosting

if you're looking for an inexpensive, affordable, reliable web hosting, startlogic is the way to go.

We're going on year 3 of having Shinka Martial Arts website up and running, and I just wanted to give a positive shout out to startlogic.

The fact that I have 100,000 TERRA BYTES of space is just astounding and amazing.  Their service has always been excellent - and their tech support (email) is top notch.  Not only do they find the cause of any glitches (which are few and far between) but they also provide details how-to-avoid-in-the-future advice.

Honestly, it is rare to find a web hosting company that, at the end of three years of hosting, doesn't have more bad than good press.  But, I'm here to tell you, its been a real treat.

I don't think people do that kind of thing enough, really.  Just praise good things.

All of our news is based off of bad things - even our TV shows seem centered around the negativity in the world.

The only good shows (ie Tony Robbins' and Oprah's shows) get cancelled to make way for more Jersey Shores.

Anyway, that's enough of a rant for today.  But yeah, if you're looking for an inexpensive, affordable, reliable web hosting, startlogic is the way to go.

Whoever is more committed

Let me tell you something:  Whoever is more committed to their ideal reality in this world, has it.

I heard an interesting story once, where a fellow was very sure that Tony Robbins didn't have any official credentials in the realm of NLP.  And, Tony knew that he did.

But the fellow on the other end was so sure that this was the case, that, when he said to call up Tony's professor - Tony got nervous, because of the passion this other fellow had for their argument.

Now, obviously, Tony knew he had graduated from this place and had his credentials, but THE PASSION OF THE OTHER PERSON STILL MADE HIM QUESTION THEM.

If you go into a negotiation and you are simply more committed to something and passionate about something than they are apathetic towards it, you win.  Plain and simple.

Use every objection as a reason to find out why they would be so foolish as to not see the awesome that is your idea, and then help them to understand.

Eventually, they will understand... if passion for the idea exceeds the person opposed to the idea's jaded apathy.

Your problems are all money making ideas.
Solutions are money.
Easy solutions are lots of money.

If you can take something that is "too hard" and do it FOR someone else...

Oprah, hi! Read my book :-)

Seriously, I think Oprah would like my book.

How the heck to GET the book to her...  well, I'll let you know.

But, Oprah, if you're reading this... well, I know you have a large amount of money, so offering to send you a free book might not exactly work as an incentive... so...  read my book and I'll donate $100 to Kiva.org.

(just let me know you read it :)

I know $100 isn't much in the Oprah scale of finances, but, that's still 4 new businesses we could help launch in an impoverished nation, and you get to read a neat book (which I honestly DO think you'd like) as a result :-)

Yay for win/win/win!

MLM reviews

Multi-level-marketing programs, or MLMs, are as diverse as businesses of any other type. There are scams, there are legitimate businesses and there are both ethical people running those examples, and unethical.

Like picking a martial arts school, you can't clump all "Karate people" into one lump, any more than you can clump all "MLM people" into one clump.

I will say this, I seem to attract MLM peoples like crazy. And, for good reason, as I am highly excitable and future oriented (their ideal)

So, I've tried Quixtar (now re-named back to Amway), Isagenix, and a few others, all with similar, lack-luster results in earnings, but, excellent results in mindset from some of the books they'd had me read (ie Rich Dad, Poor Dad)

I will say this: Everyone should try one MLM, for their excellent training, and ambitious atmosphere. Like going to the MMI, or a great martial arts school - simply being surrounded by positive people, in a positive environment with positive goals WILL affect you... positively.

The reason I suggest everyone should try at least one MLM, is because of two reasons.

1) To experience the thought of true freedom, and develop a passion for it.

Regardless if the MLM is right for you long term, it will still fuel future efforts towards that end. You have the potential for greatness, and an MLM is an excellent segue into said greatness. Understand, it could be the tool that establishes that freedom, or, it could simply be a stepping stone. Regardless, I'd say they're excellent teaching tools of leverage.

2) Their training systems. To experience the training methods of some of the better MLMs (The best I've seen is Market America's) is to experience (again) that taste of true freedom. What they teach is basically time leveraging and practicing what you preach.

Capitalizing off of pre-existing habitual activities, and monetizing what you already do. (this blog, for example, is an example of that - I give this advise for free, but, you reading it here makes me a nickel if you click on some of our lovely sponsors on your right)

What I would suggest, is not to go head-first into the first MLM you stumble across (or more likely, are invited into)

Why? Because they are basically all the same. They have different bells and whistles, and different products, and different people, but they basically start by drawing a circle, then two other circles.

SO: Find an MLM that works for YOU. What is YOUR passion? What do you love? I guarantee you there is an MLM out there waiting for you.

From water to protein powder to gas to pretty much any consumable product you could already know about, there are MLMs about them.

Heck, even Deepak Chopra has one, so why not you?

PS - There are also interesting resources, if you have an MLM that can help acellerate your progress.

Fear

Manifestation and fear are a dangerous combination.  The phrase "be careful what you wish for" is apt, though I think a more clear warning might be "be careful what you think emotionally about"

Coming to terms with this in my own life has been an interesting process.

"Keep movin' foward"
- Rocky.

TK2A Hardcover

Its interesting, how putting something into physical form increases the editing and focus behind it.

The eBook is good... but the print book is great.

Even aesthetically, a theme has been developed and its really turning out wonderful.  It should be ready this month!

Exciting to have it being put into libraries etc!!!

Shinka Mastermind Group

I'm pleased with the progress behind the Shinka Mastermind Group.

Its spawned several blogs, several great business ideas, and possibly most importantly, inspired the group to grow and learn in each other's chosen areas, and made the group itself stronger for it.

Look at the list of blogs alone!

Examiner
The Key to Awesome
Passionate Passive Income
Life, Love, And Martial Arts
Top 100 Authors
The Daily Failure
Cool Random Facts
Smell of n00bs
Epic Adventure Blog
Submit a Chapter
Super Awesome Robot
Epic Baby Names
Daily Healthy Recipes
I Eat Vegan Kittens
Weird Daily News
Dance As Though No One Was Watching You
The Girl Who Was Given Wings



Sensei Ono, Shinka Martial Arts

Outsourcing

I have been learning a tremendous amount about outsourcing, licencing and fabrication.

I'll share my findings with you soon - I'm in the process of marketing my new book AND patenting an invention!

My new Ebook is published!

Sorry I haven't posted this last little while. I've really been working on finishing up my ebook, the Key to Awesome



I'll have to figure out a way to put this up on the blog as a perminant link - but, in the meantime, check 'er out!

A list of multi-tier affiliates

Affiliate Income is fantastic.

The best affiliate income is multi-tier affiliate income.  What that means, is that when you sign up for these services due to the below links, they pay me.  When people sign up because of YOUR links... I MAKE MONEY (and so do you) and so on.

Usually there's a three tier limit, so, the person you told, if they told a person, I wouldn't make any money, but you still would.

The best part is, YOU DO NOT LOSE ANYTHING... WHEN I MAKE MONEY.

So, you basically get to reciprocate to the people who tell you how to make money, at no cost to you.

Win/Win/Win...Win!

So, you want a list of these amazing affiliates do you?

Very well, in nor particular order, they are:

Maximum Survey *****
Awesome.  They give you nearly $25 p/referral... and $1 p/referral for every referral they refer.  They compensate you okay for the surveys themselves, too.

Survey Savvy   ***
This site is "okay" - it depends on who you are.

Personally, I've only made about $20 in about two months.  Though that was on a single survey, as that's the only survey they've sent me in that time (except for one other one, which I didn't qualify for)

This is just my experience, though.  I don't think I'm a much sought after demographic for surveys.  You might get one every day for all I know.

Also, there's a somewhat long process of filling out free survey-like questionnaires, so that they have a personality profile with which to match you against potential surveys.

Still, its worth signing up, just to be on their list.  The paid surveys are quick and painless, and the potential to make a quick $20 is always a nice thing to find in one's inbox.

Blogvertise
I've made a whopping $7.50 on this site.  Again, though, that's off of a single blog.  That one took a whole 2 minutes to do, so I'm a huge fan of this.  It does require having a blog, and writing an article in which you mention some related products.  (I wrote about purchasing Diablo III characters)

You don't have to endorse their products, though.  You can be as harsh/negative as you want towards the product.  All they care about is the fact that you link to them to increase their SEO (so your artistic integrity isn't biased, simply your choice of subject matter)

Millionaire Mind Intensive Seminar *****
This is a life changing, awesome event, filled with multi-tier affiliate income opportunities.  Their products are fantastic, and their sales presentations very compelling.  I take Shinka Students every year, as I find it an excellent way to upgrade a student's mindset, and improve their lives!

___________________

I've also included a few others.
While these are not multi-tier, they do offer multiple levels of income.

Lulu
This site provides a fairly good commission on sales, and, also is an excellent site for you to upload any content you think would make a decent ebook.  Again, residual income.  The biggest check (at this writing) that I've gotten from my published books is $88, though, on average, its closer to about $8 p/month.  Not bad though, considering the books were already written and just sitting in my hard drive collecting bytes.

Threadless
Not a writer?  How about a funny artist?  This site is similar to Lulu, except they deal in tshirts.  Again, you can get modest commissions (I think I've gotten a few payments of $5 here 'n there, very sporadic) but if you get a shirt "published" you can make quite a bit of money.  (As yet, my ideas have been rejected, but perhaps you'll have better luck)

What people will need in 3-5 years

Innovative child-learning interfaces & games based off of this technology mixed with the 3dh (3d TV without glasses via spherically polarized screens)

Start thinking now, kids. There has to be the first "Super Mario" made by somebody.