by Helmi Hakim | Mar 28, 2009 | Motivation
I always asked my financially successful friends, on what drives them to work hard to make a lot of money.Many concur that, if one works hard, only being motivated by money, it is RARELY sustainable.
Especially in our job scope, when this month we have high commission, next month, we tend to slack or tend to rest, because we are so contented with our prior month’s paycheck. very bad
Sometimes, I’m just curious in seeing how,some people just get SUPER motivated and SUPER charged up to continue their high energy level and building momentum to work hard.
It gets me very curious…….and I started asking questions….. 🙂
What is the “driver” to make these people work hard?
What is the “motivational element” that makes these already financially successful people work hard?
Are they all in only for the MONEY?
I happened to ask 3 top financial consultants in my company, on the very reasons why they work hard. I will not name them for privacy.
The first one, tell me…”Helmi…I work hard because I NEED to support my family…I NEED to ensure that my wife, my children have enough food to eat. I will do whatever I can, to support them. I love them so much and they are EVERYTHING TO ME!!!”
So….I know, the first top financial consultant, works hard BECAUSE he needs to support his family.
The second top financial consultant, I asked the same question and he replied, “I work hard because feel syiokla see my face in newspaper. Shaking the CEO hand, collecting awards. I feel high, you know when seeing our colleagues whispering amongst each other saying top agent is coming….hahahhhaha”
So I know, the second top financial consultant, work hard BECAUSE of recognition.
The third , replied me with tears rolling down the cheek, “Recognition, all these, I dont need. In fact, I dont even attend all these ceremonies. I work hard promoting life insurance, because I have seen so many of my distant family members suffer because they do not have insurance when they need it. I feel SAD for them. I feel like that I am their only hope. I want to spread the message of the importance of insurance to everyone. If they do not want to listen to me, it is okay…at least I know, I have done my part…I need to help them…..”
I wrote this post, because I know, that there are many financial consultants out there reading my blog, and I will like to offer this strategy of encouragement for you to continue to work hard.
Find your energy “driver”, your purpose, on why you CHOOSE to be in this industry, and then insyallah…you will find that magnetic energy that will force you to surge forward to meet the demands of your job.
Are you in because you want to help people? Are you in because you want to support your family? …Or are you in because of recognition?
You know what? It doesnt matter!!! 🙂
Understand your values, your drivers….Remember, money is just a piece of paper. You can earn it and you can lose it in a split of a second.
When you clearly understand your values, you will move forward, taking consistent actions towards your goals without flinching in doubt of your daily life.
Yes…Identify your drivers NOW and live a purposeful life! 🙂
by Helmi Hakim | Mar 23, 2009 | Insurance, Investment
Many of us, today, are holding tight, holding dearly to our CASH, because of the economic uncertainty that is looming wide on us. 🙁
If YOU read yesterday’s straits times’ newspaper, under the finance section, they recommend YOU to keep at least 12 months of YOUR monthly expenses as YOUR emergency funds instead of the usual, recommended 6 months monthly expenses in YOUR bank account.
I think that is a prudent measure & I will like to add on to it 🙂
You see….I believe, overall, in life, many of us have GREAT AMBITIONS to fulfil.
Some of us are entrepreneurial, will love to start our dream business. Some are career minded, looking forward to climb the corporate ladder. Whatever route or path, you CHOOSE, there is 1 BIG PURCHASE that you will do in your life.
I will usually recommend all my clients to settle this 1 BIG PAYMENT as soon as possible before spending on other stuffs. That is….
1) Paying For Your House
Try to pay your house in full as soon as possible.
Yeah…I know, for some adventurous people, they will say, “Helmi….mortgage rate is so low. May as well, I invest the money, and get higher returns”.
The one philosophy that, I shared with all my clients, is anything you want to do, PROTECT YOUR FAMILY FIRST.
This includes buying life insurance, buying hospitalisation insurance plan, and the most important, pay off your house loan as soon as possible.
This is because, in life, many unwanted things can happen. Today, you may be making lots of money, running your own business, or perhaps earning BIG MONEY, holding an enviable corporate position in your company, BUT no one can guarantee you such blissful fate in the upcoming years.
At least, should anything unwanted happen, you know, you got life insurance, you got hospitalization plan and you got YOUR HOUSE all secured.
You then only, depends on your 12 months contingency savings in your bank to pay for your basic necessities.
You know, I always hear people say, those who indulge in business, are taking BIG RISK. In fact, I will say, most of them take “calculated risk”.
Many of those businesspeople, I met are super risk averse. They do anything ONLY with a clear goal and a well developed strategy.
In fact, if you follow what I share with you, in this article, you are taking calculated risk because all your fundamental needs are well taken care of, should your business or career failed. YOUR BOTTOM LINE IS TAKEN OF. You can explore, can indulge in any field of endeavour FREE FROM WORRY & ANXIETY, because why?
Because your main structural support is already in place. You have done your homework. You have a plan for your worst case scenario.
Only then, you can start planning your financial life in a more adventurous way! 🙂
by Helmi Hakim | Mar 5, 2009 | Investment, Miscellaneous
As you know, in my profession as a financial associate, I get to do financial planning for a lot of people. 🙂
It is a special privilege for me, as directly or indirectly, I get to see EXPLICITLY on how the rich and the poor managed their finance.
I realised, its not really how much you earned, that matters. Rather, it is how much you SAVED. One of the tools that enables me to see vividly, interpret the current financial standing of my clients, is the usage of cashflow statement.
I feel sad that a lot of people out there, GROSSLY mismanaged their finance….especially the young ones…. (my age group)
They got the concept, “Why need to save? Got money…ENJOY first….Savings? Do it later!”
They dine REGULARLY at places like Swensen, like Eatzy where it is “normal” to pay $30 for a single meal and drink coffee at places like Starbucks, like Coffee Bean where average cup of coffee cost $7. (You can go on weekly basis with your friends and families, but certainly NOT AND NEVER everydayla)
It is OKAY for them to pay to club, enjoying the occasional “booze”, yet “savings” seems like a jargon to the ear.
These detrimental pitfalls are really doing BAD for many. If you are in your 20s, let me elucidate to you, what will soon be your IMMEDIATE financial commitments in the NEAR future. You got to start planning! 🙂
1) Marriage
You need to set aside (depending on your race), at least $30,000 for marriage.
2) House
You need to set aside 20% downpayment for your house. For a 4 room HDB flat which cost $300,000, you need $60,000. You gotta asked yourself, how long will you want to stay with your parents? Come on….
3) Honeymoon
Depending on where’s your honeymoon destination, you gotta plan for it financially. If you dont have money, how to enjoy? You need at least $10,000.
I have not add in other additional commitments, that will just crop out, (married people got more expenses) but just by these “confirm to come” expenses, it already totalled up to about $100,000.
It is EASY to say, save later….enjoy first….be smoothened by instant gratification….So….EASY!!! Let us do simple maths calculation on this amount.
Example you are 23 years old. Want to get married in 5 years. You need to save at least $20,000/year, which is close to $2000/mth. BUT WHAT IF YOU PROCRASTINATE?
You DELAY….and you continue to delay…..The amount that you need per month,simply just gets HIGHER and HIGHER. That is very, very BAD!!!
Come on guyz…..You gotta plan for it! 🙂
