Michael's Friends

View All

Michael's Groups

Rule #1 Investing

14 members

View All

Michael's Page

Gifts Received

Michael has not received any gifts yet

Give Michael a Gift

Profile Information

What's Your Number?

1,000,001

What's Your Date?

January 1, 2014

What's Your Life's Purpose?

To become financially free - travel the world as an international citizen, help the disadvantaged around the world, and experience all the best (and worst) that life has to offer.

Michael's Photos

Wealth Bugs

It's not surprising that most people repel wealth.

It bugs me when people say they'd rather be happy than rich. I say I'd rather be rich and happy, than poor than happy. Everyone's got problems, even the rich. "Hmm, should I buy the red Ferrari or the black Ferrari - arghh, decisions, so frustrating...!" (Actually, when I'm rich, I'd probably stick with an Audi and keep a low key profile)

And it bugs me when people say love is all they need. Right. Most couples break up over money crisis. I say there's no romance without finance, literally.

What what bugs me most of all is when people say I'm selfish or greedy for desiring wealth. I say they're the ones who's selfish cause they couldn't be bothered to get wealthy to help others - all they're thinking of is themselves and their sorry ass excuses to not do anything. The wealthy creates jobs and contributes more to society than the general public give them credit for.

It's true that money can't buy everything, but it sure can buy a whole lot more that contributes to our happiness and well being.

I'm far from perfect, there's so much BS I still need to overcome, but hopefully having the desire to be wealthy for the right reasons is a good start!

Comment Wall (11 comments)

You need to be a member of Share Your Number to add comments!

Join Share Your Number

At 5:31pm on November 4, 2009, Tyler St. Dominic said…: Hey Michael,
where are you living now? In China? I want to import and sell things.. start small first of course. got any ideas?

At 7:53pm on August 27, 2009, Jeremy said…: Bangkok. Thailand is one of my favorite places in the world.

At 10:59pm on August 15, 2009, Michael said…: Yeah, I'm of both Chinese and Thai background, so I know about HK. I don't think I can ever get used to small confined spaces, after growing up in Australia. Ah, there's nothing wrong with Temple St, it's on the west side - It's the east side that contains certain questionable establishments. :) And Cantonese pronunciation isn't easy to pick up with its many different tones, but like any language its all about practice. And I don't get it with gambling and why so many people are into it. It seems to be such as waste of time, energy and money into something that is of high risk and very low low probability of getting a return on your investment. But I think it reflects how easily people can easily get trapped in the emotional aspects of greed and fear.

And cousins with celebrity sportsman! That should be handy in getting a few ftont seats at games. I'm not into cricket, but my mates are huge fans, they will go nuts if they get to meet these guys.

I've been doing a bit of reflecting on my skillset. I'm of marketing and analytical background and am fairly confident with that. What I really need to develop on is my business acumen, learning about the other business skills like finance, management and risk assessment. They would be vital in looking at opportunities and being able to raise capital with investors. So I've got a direction in areas I can improve myself upon if I want to be successful in business. I think that's what has been holding be back and it would give added confidence in taking action.

At 9:46am on August 10, 2009, John Doe Jr said…: lol, Michael - HK is not all excitement all the time (at least not for me, am I doing something wrong???). It's so hot here at the moment so we spend most days just lazing around inside reading and on the computers.

I suppose the stock market is pretty exciting (the Hang Seng I believe takes the most extreme swings of any stock market in the world - a combination of no taxes and minimal transaction fees mixed with an ingrained love of gambling amongst the general population - now that's scary!).

Are you from HK? You sound pretty clued into the local scene.

My Cantonese is really bad, but I worked out that people prefer it if I speak english - because they love practising their foreign language skills on me! Or maybe it's just because my Cantonese is so bad!!! Temple Street is not somewhere my wife allows me to go, so no fortune tellers etc. Yum Cha is always good when you know the right places, as I am sure you can appreciate. Never stayed in a guest house myself, but may have owned/flipped some similar properties in the past. It's just a matter of mental flexibility readjusting to the smaller spaces.

We lived in Melbourne for about 7 years - but actually I'm from Tassie! Very proud Ponting and Hilfenhaus (both my cousins, of course) beat the Poms this week : ) Looking forward to beating them again in the deciding match ...

Regarding getting started in building your wealth, Adrian is right. It's the opportunities that'll come your way. Keep learning (read lots of good books, the right mindset is critical) and when the time comes, ask her out - the toughest part is making the first move. There'll be false starts, and mistakes. But there will also be times when you get so focused, you won't realise what's happening, and then suddenly you'll be on your way.

At 7:14am on August 10, 2009, Michael said…: You can see where I'm at, can't you? I know I must keep moving forward, and learn to be smart in spotting opportunities & take action on that. Opportunities flying around everyday, and most are just too blind too scared or too comfortable to see all that.

Say, I was in Carlton Melbourne for a year before settling in Sydney. I like Melbourne CBD & surrounding, very cultural. And JDJr in HK? John, you speaking Cantonese yet? Tried out the Yum Cha chicken feet or Temple Street fortune tellers? It's just busy madness chaos non-stop excitement there isn't it, and the prison-cell sized guest house accommodations are something of a claustrophobic experience..

At 2:35am on August 10, 2009, Adrian said…: Well, not all Aussies ... just the three of us that I know of: you in Sydney, JDJr in HK, and me in Chicago and Melbourne.

I have always been a bit like you; don't sweat it, things will fall into place ... when you meet the right 'woman' your eyes will meet across the crowded room and it will be love at first sight ... or, in more practical terms: you are primed and when the right opportunity comes along you WILL know it!

At 2:06am on August 10, 2009, Michael said…: Yes Adrian, I'll have to get on with proactive goal planning and setup that interim goal, will have to take it step by step, otherwise I'll get overwhelmed. Must generate that $100k (or even $50k) first before reaching the $1 mil.

And John, I really haven't a clue about what business to do, to be honest! It's a bit like after high school, I have no idea what I want to do, and I still don't know. It frustrates me, when I see people with a clear passion and vision, mine is just so damn fuzzy. I do know business it the route I want to take, I just can't be satisfied being 'normal', u know, I strive to be very wealthy - it's do or die for me. Have been watching shows like BBC's "Dragons' Den" series, and learning from entrepreneurs like Adrian to get inspiration. There's so much IM junkies and so-called experts out there without any substance at all. What I'll need is a true mentor, someone who's done it and willing to give street smart guidance. I'm a bit of follower at moment, lack of confidence in myself, but I know I've got huge potential to exploit. Anyway, it's all baby step by step for me at moment.

And we all Aussies here? Awesome. I'm based in Sydney.

At 12:49am on August 10, 2009, John Doe Jr said…: Hi Michael, I really hope you can get your own business up and running soon. Do you have any ideas as to what you might try? Great to have another Aussie join the team!

At 5:06am on August 9, 2009, Adrian said…: Well that makes a lot of sense; you have a very large goal ... but, you have essentially set yourself an interim goal of creating 'space' for yourself - i.e the $1 mill. - so that you can then be free (and, perhaps have a little working capital) to get to to work on the bigger goal.

Good Luck ... and, thanks for sharing!

At 12:17am on August 9, 2009, Michael said…: Cheers for the greet, Adrian. No, you're right. $1 mil ain't enough in the long run, but I figured it'll be a great start to hopefully pull in at least $5k - $10k in passive income to buy myself time and freedom to pursue worthwhile investments and business opportunities. I would like to say at least $100 million, and that's my ambition, but it seems to be such a monumental and impossible task.

As for my current situation, I'm starting from basics. My net worth is around $100k at best (but paying off a mortgage of $220k, currently on low income casual job and struggling to find a decent income full time job to get home loan approved for further investment properties.

Only recently, I finally managed to consolidate and get other debts under control, have a positive savings happening and be humbled,after a few years of STUPIDITY and careless money management.

Well, this is where I'm at and I do agree that business is definitely the way to go. The biggest frustration is getting over the fear factor, and what where and how to get started.