July 18, 2011

Effort and reward

    Have you ever stopped, looked back and gone "WOW!"?

   Well today was one of those days of realising just how far you can go when you're not looking back or even thinking about the end result. Just have the goal, the latest task in front of you and that's all there is in the moment. Then before you know it, the job is done and that's another box you can tick.

    Today was one such day, everything flowed and one thing lead into another, more boxes got the tick of completion and the day now ends with a deep sense of satisfaction.

     That self same experience is one that people following the plans that they have laid in for there future. Over the last twenty years I've heard many highly successful people say the end result started with the seed of an idea, or a nudge or even a long forgotten dream.

     The objective an be something quite simple and personal, these are the best ones. Ones that two people choose to put a goal in front of them, take a no quit attitude, roll the sleeves up and get stuck in.

       Like Economic Vision, the book, it took ten days of focussed attention to complete. The publish and printing took a little longer, but the point I want to make here is not that I am good. Rather that there was a purpose, followed by a vision and then the goal to complete it.

        From a short investment of time has come the deep sense of satisfaction of holding a creation that is now being seen by many professionals as something they have been wanting to have and to give their clients for a long time. 

        For me though it is knowing that many people will have the opportunity of greater financial security for them and future generations.

         Very shortly there'll be a very special offer to help enhance your future by having a vision and the tools to bring that vision into being.






June 18, 2011

Gestation period.

     Anything worthwhile having is well worthwhile waiting for. I wouldn't mind a dollar for every time my mother said that to me as I was growing up. Fifty years on she had changed it to 'good things come to those who wait.'

      Anything worthwhile is going to take time, to find the ideal partner, to get a degree (a doctorate takes a bit longer.), to have and raise children, to create financial freedom.

      That's what Economic Vision is all about. There is a very different view of what we do purely as a result of writing a book. You'll know when the time is right.  The first forty pages of the Economic Vision book was written over several years. Then one Christmas inspiration struck and in the next ten days the bulk of it was completed.

      That journey has been a steep learning curve, with insights and benefits that I could not have imagined three or four year ago.

      The process of writing, publishing and promoting something as personal as a book will test the author, while at the same time creating a path to personal inner freedom through self expression. 

      A fellow author commented that a book is like a child and without elaborating I have to agree.

         So why was Economic Vision written?

         Partly out of frustration over the constraints of the financial services industry and partly out of seeing what people really needed to know. There are many guru's who will promote the idea that they can teach you how to make a lot of money or cashflow. The sad truth is that we don't have the basic expertise to even know where to begin.

         It's a bit like having someone who has been preparing meals for their family for many years provide you with a recipe. Yet without the experience and finessing that they have gained chances are your results will be very different to theirs.

           However if you spent time with them, guiding you through the process and with more practise, soon the results would improve, dramatically.

           So to with the recipe or formula that creates financial freedom. 

           It's going to take time. Some things such as thinking will need to change. There will be times when you don't know the answers and that is where some simple guidance can redirect your thinking and actions onto the correct path.

      Of course the more something is practised, the more it becomes intuitive or second nature. That's where the real magic begins.

       Lesson one is always going to be a reality check of the present so that the future can be planned on a sound footing. Good planning means better informed decisions, which in turn means more appropriate actions and therefore a faster track to goal.

         This is what I set out to achieve in writing Economic Vision and creating the learning forum that can support those who want to pursue the goal of personal freedom.

June 3, 2011

Why: It's Important.

If you've ever wondered why companies and governments don't do things in a way that seems to make sense it's probably because they base their way of doing things on outmoded, cumbersome systems.

We're now eleven years into the 21st century and in the midst of what is undoubtedly one one the greatest changes in recorded history. With the advent of the Internet in 1989 the information age began. 

Whole new ways of doing things, faster, more efficiently and leading to huge sociological changes. The technology that allows instant communication with almost anyone, almost anywhere in the world was science fiction in the 1960's as the last of the baby boomers were born.

I don't need to elaborate further on the advances and advantages of being i/t literate. But as I stated in Economic Vision it can be a toy or a tool. At a recent seminar the smart phone was described as being a billion times more powerful than that of mainframes thirty five years ago. The analogy was the expanded only fifteen years from now when computing power a billion times more powerful than the smart phone will be contained in a drop of blood.

The significance of this is that 'old' systems cannot hope to compete with this sort of growth in capability.

In this age the 'job' as we know it will disappear. As society evolves as a result of this shift we can either embrace the trends and enjoy a quality of both life and lifestyle or be left wondering what it really is all about.

Change is the only constant in life, indeed in the universe. Therefore we need to 'get good' at adapting to and embracing change, without losing the values that allowed us to have relative peace and prosperity for the last almost seventy years.

Overcoming the need to exist in financial servitude creates as freedom to explore or individual potential and from that have a positive influence on family, community, country and eventually the whole world.

The mission of Economic Vision is to assist and encourage the pursuit of both personal excellence and compassionate outreach.




May 28, 2011

When all seems bleak

Since the term global economic crisis was first spoken of in the media there have been several major questions that have either been ignored or simply remain unanswered.

The first is if it is global why are many countries seemingly unaffected?

Secondly how is it that certain US based companies can record record growth in the midst of this 'crisis'.

The third point that needs to be considered is based on a quotation that has been spoken in business circles associated with those who ask the question.

"What recession?"

Just because certain governments and certain corporate sectors are feeling the pinch doesn't mean that everybody is. 

That quote says, "don't wait till you're thirsty to dig your well!"  

Sound advice.

Two points are worth considering here, the first is to have a plan, a goal and a vision of what you want your future to be.  Just a generation ago people had savings and investments that generated passive income. While it may not have been enough to sustain the full lifestyle it could at least buy time and allow the focus to be on recovery.

There are three case histories to consider here.

The first is someone who holds a trade qualification and chooses, through further studies, to remain with the industry and moves into an area where incomes are substantially higher than would have been had they remain 'in the trade'.

The second is developing advanced technology and has gone out on a limb financially to see it in the marketplace.  The best part of this exercise is that the process has lead to the capacity to own a multi million dollar business.

The third, and by no means as grandiose, is an 89 year old woman who makes produce at home and donates it to charitable causes. The very causes that are dependent on donated funds to provide a safety net for the those who have been the victims of circumstance.

Several years ago an accountant was heard to say that there are three kinds of people in the world. The incompetent, the unfortunate and crooks.  Not everybody who is down and out will stay there. It is a question of vision, passion and a desire to get things done.

The immediate challenge is to have enough, then to provide some backup and then help others to do the same. 

That is the charter of Economic Vision.

April 9, 2011

Winds of Change



Economic Vision

Since I began Economic Vision, I've been privileged to assist people find hope  in their future and more peace in their everyday lives. In working with them several things have become apparent

Firstly that there had never seemed to be any structure to the gaining of your own economic vision.
I remember being asked once if I had learned more about history  and geography than managing money in school.
Funny thing is there are only two things that come to mind.

The first was a bank book that we made a deposit into each week, the second was being taught what a cheque was and how to fill it out.
Are your memories of school similar?
Education does not ensure financial success
A school principal recently said to me, 

"I went to school, then college and back to school, I haven't had the time to learn about money."
"It's impossible to save!" 

The sad truth is that Economic Vision could almost almost be a contradiction.
Yet there are "Seven Keys of Financial Success".
Over the past twenty years I have been privileged to meet with some highly successful people, not all were well educated, yet each had a firm grasp on where they were going and how to best utilise the money they had.
It was in a conversation with the owner of a large Melbourne based logistics company that the term economic vision was first  used.
His philosophy is to do whatever you do well and associate with successful people.  Financial success is an attitude of setting goals, identifying how to get them and have a means of measuring your progress.
You can do that too..
            "I don't have the time money or knowledge to even start"
It all starts with the seed of an idea that things can be better, then being open minded to knowledge and opportunities.
What is financial success
Planning is the first step to success
There is an Australian short story called "You Can't Miss It"
In the story the author tells of a traveller going to visit friends in the country and being given directions with the reassurance "you can't miss it." They end up at a dead end which has a sign that says "you can't miss  it."
Too often the economic information we are given by the ill informed well intentioned can be just as confusing and lead into another dead end road.
Not a good way to be where you want to be in life.

Having a clear picture of what you want to achieve can save a lot of worry and frustration as in following your plan it is possible to see how changes can impact on your progress.
Setting written objectives.

More importantly that they know where they are going and unlike our luggage we will arrive at our planned destination.
If all that seems a little too simplistic ask yourself this...
Where do I want to be in five years time?

How much will I be earning?

Do I know if I will be better or worse off?
There are many unseen things that affect the answer, such as changing tax rates, cost of living, interest rates job security and goverment policy.
There are many ways we can cushion ourselves from these.
It is therefore important we look at our total situation when planning for the future.
Insanity, after all, has sometimes been defined as 

        "doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome"
Yet so many look at the future and think that doing what they are doing will provide for the future.

The good news is that even with all the change the old financial success principals still work.
The "Seven Keys Of Financial Success" seminar is designed to create a new perspective of the success principals.
What is financial success?
One morning during my military service I woke early and remember running through some investment returns in my mind.

It was based on setting aside ten per cent of my then income and receiving a modest interest on it.
The results of thsi excercise over a twenty year period was quite staggering.
In the early 1980s the average Australian family had savings of $3,000. at the turn of the century the average net position was $10,000 of debt. In an interval of only 20 short years.
Financial success has been defined in various ways. Probably one of the best is that you have a "passive" income that exceeds your expediture.
(A passive income is indepenant of your further involvement for example a royalty income)
In even simpler terms financial success is not having to worry about money. Interestingly enough financially successful people are not focussed on money.
Financial success will also mean different things depending one your age.

One thing is for certain though, failing to plan is as sure as planning to fail.


March 18, 2011

The 90 Day Challenge

In the lead up to the launch of Kathleen O'Dwyers "Did You Say Budgie." budgeting book and the "Economic Vision" book, we'll be introducing a 90 day challenge or check-up and tune up of personal and business knowledge.

As a financial planner it was often very apparent how little clients had learned of effective financial management. More often than not they could not even provide accurate spending figures.

The 90 Day Challenge is designed to create a very real understanding and the skills and knowledge necessary to create financial freedom.

If you're serious about making a difference and creating financial security stay posted.


The Sum of Things

The statement that we live in interesting times is actually an understatement when it comes to finances, income and standards of living.