Alhamdulillah… My wife and I landed safely in Athens a few days ago.
I would like to thank my clients, family and friends for helping me achieve this company’s incentive trip as a reward for my hard work in 2017. 🙂
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Back to the topic…
The Malay proverb says, “Jauh perjalanan, luas pemandangan.”
It means when we travel more, we experience more on things that we’ve never experienced before.
While researching about Greece and their culture, assimilating with its people, I found some superb + AWESOME wealth habits that I feel, we should emulate them.
And I want to share them with you! 🙂
1. The Greeks Are Friendly And Approachable People
The Greeks are very friendly, cheerful and approachable people.
And then I found out… It is inherent in their culture dated many, many years back.
Xenia is the ancient Greek concept of hospitality.
It is the generosity and courtesy shown to those who are far from home honouring guest-friendship.
The rituals of hospitality created and expressed a reciprocal relationship between guest and host expressed in both material benefits (such as the giving of gifts to each party)
as well as non-material ones (such as protection, shelter, favors, or certain normative rights).
(Source:Wikipedia)
So that is why… when you see the Greeks, you can sense their warm, caring and sweet disposition.
To my mind, this kind of approachable disposition is important, especially when you run your own business.
When you run your own business, you have to work with people.
Your partners. Your staffs. Your customers! 🙂
Having such warm, caring and understanding disposition will make people LIKE you more.
They work hard because of you.
And in return, improve your company’s productivity and bottom line! 🙂
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And oh yes!!! 🙂
Some small tips from me…. The Greeks love it especially if you as a foreigner try to speak their language.
(Of course… Greek is the oldest written language in the world.
And Greek is one of the oldest language on Earth. Its spoken for over 3000 years!)
Say “Kalimera” instead of Good Morning.
Say “Efharisto” instead of Thank You.
Say “Efharisto poly” instead of Thank You Very Much.
You will see big proud smiles on their face.
To my mind, if you want to be good business people,
you have to be generous with your smile.
Try to smile now! 🙂
Smile is also a sunnah of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).
2. The Greeks have a healthy eating habits.
In sales, people with the highest energy wins.
And to have high energy, you must be healthy. You must be fit. You must be energetic.
My fitness coach always share with me that you are what you eat.
The Greeks have considerably one of the healthiest diet in the world.
This is because their diet is based largely around fruit and vegetables, wholegrains, fish, and a small amount of cheese and yoghurt.
Oh yes! They love olive oil.
(Fun Fact: They are over 120 million olive trees in Greece. Some being 7+ centuries.)
Honey.
Basically, all the healthy stuffs.
So, if you want to be a sales champion, a successful entrepreneur, you need to keep yourself fit!
You can adopt Greek diet lifestyle in your life too! 🙂
3. The Greeks are more frugal now.
Since their financial crisis, the Greeks are now more frugal with their spending.
Below are some findings according to a 2014-2015 study done by AUEB (Athens University of Economics and Business).
7 in 10 respondents said they have scaled down their expenses to mostly bare necessities.
96.4% of respondents will decide specifically on items to buy before heading to the shops. Of that, 60% would have already decided on the specific brand of products to buy (compared to just 49% in 2013).
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Personally, I think it’s a good idea to be very clear about the items we want to purchase before going to the malls.
Have a shopping list! 🙂
Once we have a clear and concise list at hand, there will be fewer chances of us spending on unnecessary items.
This brings to mind the constant battle of ‘Needs vs Wants’.
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I will give a personal example.
From November 2017 till January 2018, Singapore was struck by the rainy season.
My wife helps me with our laundry and she noticed that our clothes took many days to dry – during that time.
It was inconvenient for us as we have a 10-month-old baby. Our baby changes clothes several times a day and needs freshly-cleaned clothes, towels and bibs every single day for school.
My wife had to buy new clothes and towels for our daughter to pack to school because the ones she washed took too long to dry.
She suggested buying a dryer and I was contemplating whether it was a ‘need’ or a ‘want’.
In the end, after witnessing several days of damp laundry not drying on time and as the unwashed pile of clothes gets bigger, we had no choice.
The dryer – which was more of a ‘want’ before the rainy season struck – became a ‘need’.
Simply put, ‘needs’ refers to necessities whereas ‘wants’ are items we desire to have.
To see how I apply the ‘Needs vs Wants’ concept to a different scenario, you can watch the video below. 🙂
This video refers to the common ‘Needs vs Wants’ battle which potential brides and grooms face when planning for a wedding.
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4. The Greeks buy with cash.
When the Greeks go out for a meal, they will bring cash. That’s because credit cards and cheques are usually not accepted!
Interestingly, they will usually bring MORE CASH than necessary because it is considered embarrassing if they do not offer to pay for their friends’ meals as well. 🙂
Other than restaurants, many small shops only accept cash too.
This is good – as I’m a perpetual SUPPORTER of buying things with CASH!
Why?
This ensures that I will not accumulate debt – especially riba-based debts.
If you know me personally, you would know that I keep loans to a minimum.
At this moment, I only have 1 loan – my HDB housing loan, which I’m strategising to clear as fast as possible.
I equate ‘no loans’ with ‘freedom’. 🙂
And being free of riba-based loans (where possible) should also be the goal of most Muslims.
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5. The Greeks would find many excuses to unite and celebrate.
The Greeks, they have this special concept known as “Kefi”.
Kefi has been described by various Greeks as meaning the spirit of joy.
Passion.
Enthusiasm.
High spirits. Fun. In general, you love life. 🙂
Greeks do love festivities.
And they are always looking for an excuse to conglomorate, unite and celebrate.
These festivities bring families together.
Young and the elders meet. Share their story. Their life.
That is something to my mind, we should emulate on.
Whatever challenges we faced in life, persevere forward.
Always find time to strengthen the ukhwah, relationship with your family and friends.
After all, blood is thicker than water! 🙂
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I hope you learn something from my sharing.
My favourite past time is to learn about other peoples’ culture and embrace them if I find it compatible with our way of life.
If you will also like to discover aspects on how you can grow your wealth in Singapore,
combining the best in conventional finance, and the best in Islamic Finance.
You can always whatsapp/sms me at 96520134 to schedule a FREE consultation.
Or perhaps click here to schedule an appointment.
I make myself available for 5 consultations per week.
Click here to schedule your FREE consultation today!
Take Care! Insya’Allah!
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This post was written by:
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