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7 Self-Improvement Tips To Get your life Back On Track

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Always remember that as long as you are alive, you can change your ways and succeed in life. You have the power and the opportunity to do what you want and be the person you want to become. If you want to improve yourself and achieve your goals, you should follow these self-improvement tips.

  • First and foremost, you need to take full responsibility for your self-improvement. You need to know your true self, the things you’re interested in, and how you’re going to actively pursue them. If you don’t have any idea where you should go, you’ll probably just end up where other people want you to go.
  • You need to set realistic goals and stick to these objectives as well as find ways to achieve them. Such a thing, however, is not enough.
  • Learning continuously is also important. There are skills and techniques that you can adapt to improve your life. Never stop learning. Many people know how important this tip is. You need to continue learning in order to succeed.
  • Look for effective ways to learn new things and improve your skills. Realizing the power of learning can encourage many people to become better in various ways and achieve what they really want. Remember that if you learn new things enthusiastically, you’ll achieve self-growth and succeed in living a more content life. You will become happier and live the kind of life you have always wanted.
  • You also need to change your bad habits. There are many times when a person’s life is dominated by bad practices. If you really want to become a better person, you need to change these habits and stick to the positive changes you’ve made.
  • Being persistent is also important. Some people give up too easily. Always remember that your perseverance will serve as the driving force that will encourage you to do things you think you cannot do.
  • When you focus on a goal, it is important to keep your mind on it. Don’t let yourself get distracted by other goals. Many people cannot focus on anything related to work for a long period of time. It is difficult to do especially since our culture is full of reasons and distractions that force us not to bother a lot with attaining real success.

There are a lot of excuses that we can say so that we don’t do anything productive. If you want to improve yourself and achieve your goals, you need to prioritize every action. Even when you’re not seeing any major progress, you should keep going towards the completion of your goal.

Keep at it and you’ll reap the rewards in the end. There are self-improvement books that provide life-changing ideas and advice that you can integrate into your life. Discover and learn things that can benefit your pursuit of self-improvement. Always remember that learning new things can do you a great favor. Continuous education will certainly help you succeed.

Photo by ThisIsEngineering from Pexels

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How To Style Your Property To Get The Best Property Sales Result

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The Sydney real estate market has really taken off and has become very competitive. To get buyers’ attention and secure sales, your property must stand out.

Property styling is essential in achieving this. Beyond being a visual selling tool, property styling allows prospective buyers to see the full potential of a space and envision their future home. It is about capturing their imagination with rooms styled to reflect their ideal lifestyle and trigger that urgent desire to purchase.

Deciding on how to style is a task which experienced property stylists are equipped to help you with. Armed with interior decorating and design expertise and a keen understanding of your target market, they know which look will suit your property and delight your potential buyers.

To ensure the best results, here are key points to remember

1. Style to complement your property and attract your target market

Before selecting a particular look, one must ask the following questions – Who is the target market, and what makes them tick? What look and kind of lifestyle appeal to them? What type of property is being presented? The answers to these questions will determine which look to choose.

As each project is different, we at Valiant Property Styling enjoy this initial stage. One day, we’re creating a coastal luxe look for an up-market coastal penthouse unit. On a different day, we’re doing a traditional look with modern touches for a heritage home.

With the growth of urban units, one of the styles we often use is ‘contemporary.’ This look does wonders for city apartments aimed at young middle-class families. It’s modern, practical, and effortlessly flatters a wide range of properties. Its versatility allows for a variation of looks – you can do luxe, chic, or even arty – and it appeals to a wide range of potential buyers.

2. Play up the property’s best features

Each property has features that make it special and give it character. It is one thing to recognise these; it is another to know how to highlight them. There are subtle yet effective touches to bringing out the potential of these amazing features and adding that extra dimension to a space.

The property boom has brought many brand new apartments and units into the market. Two amazing features these tend to have in common are great views and/or generous light beaming through the space. There are different ways to take advantage of these, but some our favourite tricks are:

– The use of low furniture pieces with slender legs
– Furniture with reflective surfaces such as marble tabletops, mirrors, or pieces with shiny finishes.
– Introduction of a mirror to amplify the natural light in the room
– The use of light colour

3. Picking the correct furniture sizes

It is vital to use appropriately sized furniture to showcase the optimal use of space and further play up its best features. A small room doesn’t necessarily mean you should use small furniture or a large room and big furniture. Using the wrong scaled furniture only highlights the room’s weaknesses and misses the opportunity to showcase its real potential.

For small spaces, many assume that small furniture and accessories are the way to go. On the contrary, a few strategic large pieces can do wonders in widening the feel of the space. For example, a rug that spreads all the way under the lounges creates an illusion of a larger lounge room. Additionally, using rounded edge pieces, like a round coffee table, help create flow. Edges can slice up a room and make it feel even smaller.

When it comes to larger spaces, it’s about furniture positioning. One trick is to float furniture off the wall and arrange pieces to form living spaces within large floor areas. This way, you don’t leave blank spots, and you create a sense of coziness and intimacy while allowing potential buyers to feel the largeness of the room still.

4. Create consistency throughout the home

Having one style applied throughout the property creates a strong sense of continuity and brings different parts of the home together. Doing otherwise disconnects one room from the other. It’s important to create that cohesive viewing experience and present the property as a whole, no matter the size of the property.

5. Leave ample space for people to walkthrough

Part of styling property is finding that balance of empty and filled space. The rule is to allow a little more than enough space for people to move open for inspections comfortably. The aim of property styling is to enhance to fill every space with furniture or accessories.

6. Enhancing with the right accessories

Accessories are always a lot of fun. Like icing on a cake, it’s amazing to see how the space comes together once the little details are added. To maximise the effect accessories can create, balance is always needed. One can easily over accessorise and distract viewers from seeing the features of the space, while with under accessorising, you miss the opportunity to bring a space to life.

Always remember, styling to sell a property isn’t just making a space look beautiful; it’s bringing the correct design elements together to appeal to your buyers. Make sure this is done well to enhance your selling prospects and get the best results.

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3 Simple Ways to Fatten Up Your Wallet

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By: Michelle Baltazar

Just like your body, there’s no point putting your purse under a crash diet. Slowly but surely, getting rid of high-sugar expenses is the way to go.

What happens if your bank account is fat-free? When you count the minutes to your next paycheque? Or maybe your credit card blues are starting to give you the twitch?

Don’t stress. Millions of Australians are in the same boat. According to research, many are weighed down by their mortgage payments, mounting credit card bills, and rising prices of just about everything (food, petrol, and alcohol included). No wonder there are plenty of Aussie battlers!

But with the new year comes a new chapter in your life – a good excuse to scratch your money problems in 2022. Here are three tips from the experts.

1. Don’t go ‘cold turkey’.

Find out what you can cut from your expenses and what you can’t – but go slow on changing your lifestyle or else you’ll revert back to old habits, says experts.

For example, if you buy coffee from your favorite deli every morning, cut it down to only twice a week (to coincide with the days you really need a pick-me-up).

New year’s resolution? Buy your own percolator and coffee beans. It’ll cost you a fraction of what you usually pay and you can avoid those long 9 am queues.

2. Visit the markets.

For sightseeing on a lazy Saturday morning, go to the Bondi Markets, the Glebe markets, or the one in Paddington. But for a serious “oh-my-god-I-can’t-believe-how-cheap-it-is” feeling, go to Paddy’s Markets or somewhere away from the city (like the suburban markets of Blacktown and Flemington).

In Paddy’s Markets Chinatown for example, a bag of snowpeas cost $2 (can cost double that at major groceries), or a punnet of strawberries for $1 ($2.99 in groceries), or a bag of mushrooms for $2 (can be $4 for the same bag in groceries).

Markets are also great for buying birthday and Christmas gifts. Pre-loved items that look good as new are a-plenty. In Blacktown markets, for example, one happy buyer snagged an uber-cool lamp for $5 while another bought a rare, retro doll for $2. Less practical but more memorable than the usual soap and shower gel set!

3. Get running

Research shows that all types of exercise can help keep your brain sharper than if you didn’t do any exercise at all. Aerobic activity (gets your heart pumping for more oxygen) also prevents you from getting mental-related illnesses in the future. It has something to do with the synapses in your brains remaining connected and fired up with regular exercise.

Why is running a money-saving strategy? You don’t need a gym membership for it and you can save on huge healthcare bills in the future. Oh, running to your favourite store during a sale doesn’t count as exercise. Sorry.

Source: The Australian Filipina

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Meet The Shepreneur Behind The Cover Of The December 2021 Issue Of Global Millionaire: Dr. Roya J. Hassad

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Dr. Roya J. Hassad is a premier, award-winning physician, educator, speaker, and the founder of Hope, Life, and Dream Centers, the most prominent Anti-Aging medical centers in New York.

The anti-aging market is a booming sector, valued at approximately USD 44,124 million in 2020, which is set to maintain an upward spiral. Dr. Hassad is spearheading this sector with her innovative first-class services in anti-aging medicine.

From a tender age, Dr. Hassad has always had a burning passion for everything health, beauty, and wellness. Everything she has done in life has been streamlined to achieve this purpose – a professional who transforms the lives of others. She originally hails from Iran, where she managed to earn a degree in medicine from the prestigious Iran University of Medical Science. After migrating to the U.S. in the early 1980s to pursue her dream, she continued her medical education at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and St. Joseph Medical Center of Family Medicine, both of which are based in New York.

With longevity comes experience; with experience comes greater expertise; Dr. Hassad has put in the work, and today, the results speak for themselves. Due to her influence, there’s a palpable difference in how people view age prevention practices such as hormone treatment or facelift surgery. The idea that anti-aging treatments should come at one’s nether years has been challenged by the good doctor, which, she believes, should be a holistic lifestyle – women should practice whenever they desire.

“I am passionate about all things anti-aging and regenerative medicine, which is something that I have held near-and-dear to my heart since I was very young,” said Dr. Hassad. “I don’t believe we should have to accept premature aging and visible signs of wear-and-tear on our skin and our faces. I knew there had to be alternative options, which is why I have dedicated my life from a medical perspective to championing the anti-aging movement.”

True to form, Dr. Hassad has treated thousands of patients with hormone deficiency disorders related to aging, such as menopause or diabetes mellitus. She has also developed innovative treatments such as Bioidentical Hormones, which incredibly mimic hormones found in the human body.

Dr. Hassad is definitely a force to be reckoned with in the medical field. She is the medical director of Advanced Medical Health Services. She is also affiliated with some of the top medical institutes, such as Mount Sinai Hospital and Beth Israel Medical Center in New York. She is a board-certified anti-aging specialist and has extensive experience in anti-aging and regenerative medicine. In fact, Dr. Hassad has been recognized as one of the top family practice physicians in the U.S.A. Her practice center, Advanced Medical Health Services, is the premier medical and health clinic on Long Island. She was also selected as a top family physician in 2016 and 2017.

To sum it up, there is no doubt that Dr. Roya J. Hassad has built a fantastic reputation in her field. Renowned for her medical practice, particularly regarding wellbeing and anti-aging – it’s no surprise that she has been a leader in the field of anti-aging for decades. With the way she’s going, there’s really nowhere else to go but up.

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Inside The Mind Of Mathew Knowles: The Founder Of Music World Entertainment

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By Allison Kugel

Music Executive, artist manager, entrepreneur, activist, lecturer, author, and cancer survivor, Mathew Knowles brought the world multiplatinum-selling girl group Destiny’s Child, singer-songwriter Solange, and multi-hyphenate megastar Beyonce. He’s worked with music legends, Chaka Kahn, the O’Jays, Earth, and Wind & Fire, and sold more than 450 million albums, worldwide.

A devoted academic who earned his MBA in Strategic Planning and Organizational Culture and his Ph.D. in Business Administration, Knowles currently mentors and teaches emerging entrepreneurs and artists with courses like his most recent, The Music Industry in the Digital Age, through Point Blank Music School where he holds a professorship; Knowles additionally holds professorships at the University of Houston, Prairie View A&M University, and The Art Institute.

Most urgently, Mathew Knowles is on a mission to help get more Americans in underserved communities vaccinated against Covid-19 alongside the National Minority Health Association’s Flex For Checks program, which can be learned about at thenmha.org and flexforchecks.com.

Allison Kugel: What is the National Minority Health Association, and how did you get involved with their Flex for Checks initiative?

Mathew Knowles: The National Minority Health Association is working with brown and Black communities on various health initiatives. For example, when we look at Black men and we look at the percentage of Black men in America, we lead in mortalities in every category, Allison, except for breast cancer and suicide. Black women lead in mortality rates for breast cancer. Why is that? Because of a lack of awareness in our communities. It’s about lack of early detection. The National Minority Health Association’s specific program, Flex For Checks, is about increasing awareness about getting vaccinated [against COVID-19]. You register, you get a shot, and once you’ve proven that you’ve gotten the vaccination, you then receive $50.

Allison Kugel: That is once you’ve gotten your complete vaccination, meaning two shots, with the exception of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which is a single shot?

Mathew Knowles: Every time you get a shot, regardless of if it’s one, two, or the booster, you will receive $50.

Allison Kugel: At this point in time, you can pretty much walk into any CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, any clinic, or vaccination site, and get your COVID-19 vaccine. You don’t have to pay for the vaccine, it’s free for all Americans and readily available. So, when you say “lack of access” or “underserved communities,” is it more about getting people the correct information regarding the vaccine?

Mathew Knowles: It’s both. We are almost there with 70% of the U.S. [vaccinated], but there is still that 30% [that is not vaccinated]. So, what do we have to do to convince and incentivize that 30%, of which there is a high minority rate? We are giving a financial incentive. I know it sounds sort of absurd that I have to give you a financial incentive to save your life, but if that is what it takes, then that is what the National Minority Health Association is willing to do, with a grant they have received. It’s to incentivize people to go and get vaccinated.

Allison Kugel: Is there, in your opinion, a skepticism of government and a skepticism of the medical establishment, among many people of color?

Mathew Knowles: There is, and I happen to have this sheet that I pulled up which talks about the myths. One of the myths is, “the vaccine hasn’t been tested on people like me,” meaning people of color. The truth is the clinical trials for all three vaccines have taken all kinds of diversity into consideration. Pfizer: 30% people of color. Moderna: 37%. Johnson & Johnson: 35%.  So that myth is busted. And there is a myth about the side effects of getting the COVID-19 vaccine. The truth is, while there are some mild side effects, and I got the Moderna vaccine as well as the booster, and did have soreness in my arm for two days, but the risk/reward of me having a sore arm versus having a ventilator down my throat. Let me weigh that out.

Allison Kugel: I think some aspect of vaccine hesitancy is, simply, fear of the unknown. People might be thinking, “What kind of side effects will I get?” 

Mathew Knowles: I have a cup of tea in front of me right now. I’m going to drink it. I have no idea what all of the ingredients are in this tea. I have no idea if this cup will give me any side effects. That is true for so much of the food we eat, medications we take, and so forth. We have to put this into the proper perspective. We never really truly know every ingredient we put into our bodies. But we have to have trust in the science and in the research. I haven’t heard anybody say what I’m about to say, but I think a lot of people haven’t gotten the vaccine because of a fear of needles. There are a lot of people that are traumatized by a needle, and nobody is talking about that.

Allison Kugel: You might be right. It’s a common phobia. I actually made the woman who gave me the vaccine hold my hand, because I was such a baby (laugh).

Mathew Knowles: Well, I mean, it’s normal, but no one is really saying that. I really truly believe that a lot of this is just a phobia of getting a needle in the arm.

Allison Kugel: Which, by the way, you really don’t even feel. It’s just two seconds. You blink and it’s over.  

Mathew Knowles: I didn’t even know. The doctor was talking to me and the next thing I knew I’m asking, “When are you going to give me the shot?” He said, “I already did.” I said, “Wait, what (laugh)?!”

Allison Kugel: Sadly, we just recently lost Colin Powell to complications from COVID-19. Something came out in the news that was confusing to many people. His loved ones stated the following, “We want people to know that he was completely vaccinated.”  That statement then gave rise to more skepticism of, “See? He was vaccinated and he died from COVID complications.” But it is important to note that he had been battling cancer of the blood, which significantly compromised his immune system, and it also made the vaccine less effective.

Mathew Knowles: People will use that as a reason not to get [the vaccine]. However, this is based on the information in the last 24 hours that I have listened to and read: he had a compromised immune system, and [allegedly] he had not gotten the booster shot yet, is what I also read. Again, this is not necessarily all accurate, I’m just citing what I’ve read and heard. I have a compromised immune system, and I understand that getting a COVID shot doesn’t necessarily 100% mean that I’m not going to get COVID. What it’s supposed to do is not have me in the hospital with a ventilator down my throat, hopefully. For that reason, I was one of the first to get it, and I think it’s very unfortunate, but we have to understand there were other underlying conditions.

Allison Kugel: How do people get financial compensation after they have gotten vaccinated?  How does the process work?

Mathew Knowles: You can register for the program by calling 877-770-NMHA, or you can go to flexforchecks.com. Registering is the first step. Then you get the shot at one of the many locations in your community, and we identify those for you. You then upload proof of your vaccination to your Flex For Checks profile. Once you upload your proof of vaccination, we will automatically mail you a check. It’s that easy.

Allison Kugel: Perfect. I’d like to go into some of your personal history. You grew up in Alabama in the 1950s and 1960s. I would imagine you lived through your fair share of racial discrimination. What was your first-hand experience?  

Mathew Knowles: I’ve written five books, and one of those is Racism from the Eyes of a Child. My mother went to high school in a small town in Alabama, with Coretta Scott King. Also in that class was Andrew Young’s wife. My mother then moved to a larger town in Alabama, and she took up the torch of desegregation. Imagine, I was born in 1952, so from 1958 to 1972 I went to all-white schools. Think about that.

Allison Kugel: All white schools, meaning you were in the significant minority…

Mathew Knowles: In my junior high school, there were 6 Blacks and 1,000 Whites. In my high school, there were maybe 20 Blacks and 3,000 whites. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga had 14,000 whites and maybe 50 Blacks. Then I transferred to an HBCU, Fisk University in Nashville, which was my first experience in a Black educational environment. I was one of the first [students] with desegregation. I had been beaten, I’ve been electrically prodded, I’ve been spit on, I’ve been humiliated, all sorts of trauma. I had to go to years of therapy to overcome it, no different than for a woman who has been sexually assaulted. Racial trauma is the same. It just doesn’t get the attention that it should. It’s unfortunate that a woman can speak of being sexually traumatized 30 or 40 years ago, but you can’t be Black and say that. Nobody cares.

Allison Kugel: Any recent stories regarding racial discrimination?

Mathew Knowles: I always love what Michelle Obama once said about President Obama. They asked her, “Are you frightened that your husband is going to get assassinated?” She said, “You know, my fear is that my husband could get shot by the police, pumping some gas.” The point she was making is that when you are Black there is no determination that says, “Hey, I’m the president,” you know? For example, with me, if you are in your neighborhood and you’re dressed normal, when you’re Black everyone doesn’t know who your daughter is, nor do they care. Just recently, I’m on a plane putting my bag up in first class. The flight attendant comes over and says, “I’m sorry, sir. You need to put your bags in the back, in coach.”  I said, “Do you say that to all of your passengers?” She says, “Yes, I say that to all of my coach passengers.” I said, “So you just assume I’m flying coach, huh?” Those types of things still happen today.

Allison Kugel: How did you eventually make your way to Houston? And do you think the success that your daughters, Beyoncé and Solange, have had in the music industry, and the success you’ve had on the business side of the music industry, do you think that could have been possible had you stayed in Alabama? Or would there have been no ladder to climb up?

Mathew Knowles: It was more from my educational path, from getting a proper education. I was in Nashville, Tennessee and I chose Houston because of all the industry. At the time, you had affirmative action and you had quotas that these major oil companies and all the other companies that were successful because of the oil initiative in Houston, had to fulfill. So at that time in Houston, it was very easy being Black and getting a really good job. That is why I went to Houston, Texas from Nashville. I grew up in Gadsden, Alabama, where we had a Goodyear plant and we had a public steel plant, real blue-collar. Chances are I would have ended up working at one of those types of facilities had I stayed in Gadsden. My parents had encouraged me and my vision was much broader than that, so I wanted to go and get the academic knowledge, and then I got 20 years of corporate experience.

Allison Kugel: You’re working in Corporate America for Xerox. What gave you the power of belief to make the leap from a stable corporate job to pursue the music industry, with Destiny’s Child and Beyoncé, and then for Solange? Was it blind faith?

Mathew Knowles: I call that the “Jedi Mind Trick,” Allison. Unfortunately, that is the story that the media has painted and it’s not accurate. It’s not even close to being accurate. I worked at Xerox Corporation for ten years. For eight of those years I worked at Xerox Medical Systems. We sold diagnostic imaging for breast cancer detection. Because of my success, being the number one sales rep worldwide for three years in that division, I was able to then go with Phillips Medical Systems to sell CT and MRI scanners. After 6 years of having success, I had headhunters calling and I went to Johnson & Johnson as a neurosurgical specialist. Then because of managed care, I was told by a neurosurgeon that he couldn’t use my instruments because of the cost associated with them. It was a defining moment and I had to decide what career path I wanted. As a kid I did things like deejay for my parents, I was in a boy band, and I had this passionate love of music. There was this young man in Houston who had asked me a couple of times to manage him. The first artist that I got a major record deal for was not Beyoncé. It was not Solange. It was a rapper named Lil’ O. MCA records was the number one urban record label at the time with Puffy, Mary J. Blige, and Jodeci, so you see how inaccurate that story is?

Allison Kugel: You got your foot in the door with MCA Records, managing rapper Lil’ O, prior to launching Destiny’s Child. We’re busting apart the myth right now. 

Mathew Knowles: Yes (laughs). I also went back to school, because I believe knowledge is power. For 15 years I’ve been a college educator, and so I went back to college and took three courses. I went to every seminar I could. I began to build every relationship that I could. You have to understand, skills are transferable. I was able to transfer my skill of being the top salesman in corporate America to the music industry.

Allison Kugel: That’s important. People may not realize that whatever their skillset is, that experience is transferable and can be used to pursue additional opportunities or careers.  

Mathew Knowles: If you talk to anyone that worked at Xerox or Phillips and knew me, they would say, “I’m not surprised he was successful in the music industry.”  Then, of course, I had this amazing talent to work with.  Let’s not leave that out of the equation (laugh).

Allison Kugel: Yes, you did. I don’t know if anyone has ever asked you this before, but did Destiny’s Child, Beyoncé, Solange, or you for that matter, ever experience any racism within the music industry? 

Mathew Knowles: Yes, absolutely. In the ‘90s, record labels had their urban division, or sometimes it was called the Black music division. There was segregation inside of these major record labels. Because I also managed white artists, I got to see all of the budgets. There was a great difference in a Black artist’s or “urban division’s” marketing budget from that of a white artist’s budget and the regular pop music division’s budget.

Allison Kugel: What is the best advice you have ever received?

Mathew Knowles: When you live your passion, you never work a day in your life. Find that thing that motivates and inspires you. Find what adds fuel to your excitement. That is the thing we should be working towards. Not what our parents want us to be, or what society wants us to be, or what our husbands or wives want us to be. It should be that thing inside of us that we are passionate about. Normally, that gives us success, not an overnight success, but over time. If you follow your passion, every day you wake up you will be excited.

Allison Kugel: What do you think you came into this life to learn, and what do you think you came here to teach?

Mathew Knowles: It would be to educate and motivate people. I grew up poor, yet I never knew I was poor until I was in my mid-20s. My parents were such great parents that they never made me feel less fed than any other kid. I had wonderful parents that motivated me and supported me. I come from a family of entrepreneurs on both sides of my family, so I had that foundation. I have always wanted to educate and motivate people. That’s why I think I always did so well in sales and marketing because I understood how to motivate and educate with knowledge. I love coming from a place of knowledge. I don’t shoot from the hip. My dad made $30 a day driving a produce truck and convinced the company he worked for to let him keep the truck. He would then go tear down old houses and he would sell all the copper and metals. He would buy old cars that were abandoned and sell all the parts. My mother was a maid and she made $3 a day. She convinced the white woman she worked for and the woman’s white girlfriends to give her all their hand-me-downs, and on the weekends, she would make these beautiful quilts with two of her own girlfriends. My parents made six to ten times more on their second jobs than they did on their day jobs, and so I watched that. I watched them being entrepreneurs and thinking outside the box.

Allison Kugel: By the way, there is a strong connection between financial empowerment, a belief in one’s future, and the desire to look after one’s health, which I am sure you know.

Mathew Knowles: Health is number one. Without that, you actually become a liability to everyone. You can’t be the best family member, you can’t be the best friend, without having good health. I’m sitting here today speaking to you because I understood early diagnosis and early detection, and I was able to find my cancer early at stage 1A. Not everyone has that opportunity. This is about early detection, knowledge, and understanding of health. Believe in faith, but also believe in science. Put them together; not one by itself.

Allison Kugel: Aside from the Flex for Checks initiative, in what other ways is the National Minority Health Association reaching out to communities of color to help people look out for their own health?

Mathew Knowles: All of the things we are talking about today. They are less than a year old and they have just gotten their funding, which takes a while to get. They are now ready and geared towards early detection and health information, especially in the Black and brown community. A lot of our challenges are just because we simply don’t know, and also the mental health that people don’t want to talk about, especially in the Black and brown community, and the effects of mental health, or the lack thereof, on our overall health.

Allison Kugel: Do you think cultural competency among healthcare providers is an important ingredient when it comes to healthcare, whether it is mental health, early detection screenings, or getting the COVID-19 vaccine?

Mathew Knowles: I think that falls into the entire gamut of society. If we were able to see more doctors and more nurses that look like us, if we were able to see more police that look like us in our communities; I think we can even take that to corporations. Yes, absolutely. This is my second year going to Harvard for the summers. I took this summer [course], Cultural Intelligence. We just don’t want to talk about the differences in our cultures. Black people are culturally different than white people. That is not saying one is right or one is wrong. That simply says that the way I might approach a problem could be different than the way you approach a problem, based on my culture and my background. I just think we need to understand cultural intelligence, understand how we are different, and accept that rather than thinking that everybody has to be the same. Well, no, we don’t have to be the same.

Allison Kugel: Let’s talk race versus socio-economic status, and healthcare. As a person moves up the economic ladder, do you think race is still a major factor in the healthcare someone receives?  

Mathew Knowles: There is a bill that is about to come in the next six months in the House of Representatives from a California Congressman that is going to address just that, race in the medical system. Quantitative research with doctors and with hospitals makes it very clear that race does matter in terms of those going into emergency rooms, and who gets to get the diagnostics like the CT scans, the MRIs, and the extra care. Race does matter.

Allison Kugel: Even as you move up the economic ladder?

Mathew Knowles: I think it’s certainly reduced as you go up the economic ladder, because what happens is, as you go up the economic ladder, normally, your new knowledge base also goes up.  As your knowledge base goes up, you begin to understand that this doctor who I looked up to as God, instead it’s the knowledge that you are going to see a physician and as a patient you have the right to say, “I want this procedure done,” or “I have the right to do that, because I’ve researched and I want you to perform that test or that procedure.” I think as you move up economically your knowledge progresses.

Listen to the full, extended interview with Mathew Knowles on the Allison Interviews Podcast at Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Follow Allison Kugel on Instagram @theallisonkugel and at allisoninterviews.com.

Learn more about the National Minority Health Association’s Flex for Checks program at thenmha.org/flexforchecks. Join the fight for health equity at thenmha.org/donation. Follow Mathew Knowles.

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How To Attain Your Life Goals Through Self Improvement

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Always remember that as long as you are alive, you can change your ways and succeed in life. You have the power and the opportunity to do what you want and be the person you want to become. If you want to improve yourself and achieve your goals, you should follow these self-improvement tips.

  • First and foremost, you need to accept that you need to take full responsibility for your self-improvement. You need to know your true self, the things you’re interested in, and how you’re going to actively pursue them. If you don’t have any idea where you should go, you’ll definitely end up where other people want you to go.
  • You need to set realistic goals and stick to these objectives as well as find ways to achieve them. Such a thing, however, is not enough.
  • Learning continuously is also important. There are skills and techniques that you can adapt to improve your life. Never stop learning. Many people know how important this tip is. You need to continue learning in order to succeed.
  • Look for effective ways to learn new things and improve your skills. Realizing the power of learning can encourage many people to become better in various ways and achieve what they really want. Remember that if you learn new things enthusiastically, you’ll achieve self-growth and succeed in living a more content life. You will become happier and live the kind of life you have always wanted.
  • You also need to change your bad habits. There are many times when a person’s life is dominated by bad practices. If you really want to become a better person, you need to change these habits and stick to the positive changes you’ve made.
  • Being persistent is also important. Some people give up too easily. Always remember that your perseverance will serve as the driving force that will encourage you to do things you think you cannot do.
  • When you focus on a goal, it is important to keep your mind on it. Don’t let yourself get distracted by other goals. Many people cannot focus on anything related to work for a long period of time. It is difficult to do especially since our culture is full of reasons and distractions that force us not to bother a lot with attaining real success.

There are a lot of excuses that we can say so that we don’t do anything productive. If you want to improve yourself and achieve your goals, you need to prioritize every action. Even when you’re not seeing any major progress, you should keep going towards the completion of your goal.

Keep at it and you’ll reap the rewards in the end. There are self-improvement books that provide life-changing ideas and advice that you can integrate into your life. Discover and learn things that can benefit your pursuit of self-improvement. Always remember that learning new things can do you a great favor. Continuous education will certainly help you succeed.

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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos Donates A Whopping $100 million To US Charity

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Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has donated a whopping $100 million USD to the Obama Foundation as per ABC. Former US president Barack Obama’s foundation confirms that it has received $US100 million from Bezos which happens to be the largest individual contribution it has ever received from anyone.

According to The Obama Foundation, the gift from Mr. Bezos was intended “to help expand the scope of programming that reaches emerging leaders” in the United States as well as around the world.

According to the foundation, The donation is in honour of Congressman John Lewis, who happens to be a hero of the US civil rights movement of the 1960s who passed away last year.

“Freedom fighters deserve a special place in the pantheon of heroes, and I can’t think of a more fitting person to honour with this gift than John Lewis, a great American leader and a man of extraordinary decency and courage,” Jeff Bezos said in the statement released by the foundation.

“I’m thrilled to support President and Mrs. Obama and their Foundation in its mission to train and inspire tomorrow’s leaders.”

ABC confirms that the construction of Mr. Obama’s project is expected to cost about $US830 million and roughly be completed by around 2025.

Since quitting his role of CEO in Amazon this year, Mr Bezos has turned his sights to focusing more of his attention on philanthropy.

Last year he promised to spend $US10 billion by 2030 to enhance climate change efforts through his Bezos Earth Fund as per ABC. Similarly, a medical center affiliated with New York University called NYU Langone Health revealed it had received $US166 million from Mr Bezos and his family. NYU Langone Health revealed that the donation would be used to help “with the health and wellness of diverse populations” in Brooklyn.

Editorial credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.com

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Entrepreneur Spotlight: Meet Master P, The Founder Of One Of The Biggest Independent Record Labels Of All Time

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By Allison Kugel

Sitting among carved mahogany wood paneled accents and with displayed awards gathered from an unrivaled multi-hyphenate career, Master P began our conversation by allowing me to take the floor. Not surprisingly, he is a master delegator with a brilliant sense of when to shoot the ball and when to pass it. One of the greatest minds to emerge from the 1990s hip hop pantheon, Percy “Master P” Miller transcended a childhood of poverty in New Orleans’ Calliope Projects, to become a beacon of generational wealth, divested business interests, and ownership in an industry once notorious for exploiting its artists. From music, movies and real estate, to the food and automotive industries, his portfolio continues to grow.

A true gentleman who prefers to remain above the fray of controversy and relishes sharing the spotlight with those around him, Master P’s example and mentorship has guided artists from Snoop Dogg, Lil’ Wayne, and 2 Chainz, to his eldest son, rapper, actor and entrepreneur, Romeo Miller. Master P understood the power of ownership long before Instagram and the age of celebrity branding. Romeo Miller credits his father’s example as the driving force in his own life. He tells me, “Growing up watching one of the best and most powerful businessmen to ever do it guided me to be the man I am today. And according to Romeo, his father’s lessons went well beyond material success. “The biggest lesson I learned from him was to simply be a good person. Owning a business and brand doesn’t matter if you aren’t giving back.”

Master P’s latest project is the upcoming film, #Unknown, a creative collaboration with his son and co-executive producer, Romeo Miller; and the film’s producer, writer and director, LazRael Lison. Lison describes the film as, “a mystery thriller that gets pretty intense, and great for this Halloween season.”

Master P plays the mayor of a town in a string of alleged unsolved murders, as a local novelist abandons his second book to attempt to solve the mystery of these crimes; his own life unraveling in the process.

When it comes to directing the man who is used to calling the shots, LazRael Lison sings his praises, recalling, “Master P went over and beyond,” adding, “it’s always so cool when you can see the Executive Producer also be a student. As a businessman, P wears so many hats and that requires flexibility. As a director I’m always flexible in a sense that I can write it on paper, but when you give a soul to that character, it’s all you. Watching P bring [this role] to life, when people see him, they’ll think, ‘Wow, I really enjoyed that!’”

Allison Kugel: What are the top three things that have shaped the person you are today?

Master P: I would first say God, my kids, my family, and just being able to be blessed.

Allison Kugel: But is there anything in your life that was a turning point, that completely transformed you? 

Master P: I started realizing that we don’t have to dwell on our past, that it’s okay to move forward; it’s okay to better yourself.  It’s ok to have faith. Nobody is perfect. That’s what it was for me.  I feel like once I started having kids, I realized I have more to live for and I wanted to be around to watch them grow up, so I had to start making the right choices. And I want other people to say, “If P can do it, I can do it. It’s okay to better yourself.” One thing my grandfather always told me was, “If you want to better yourself and you want to live longer, mind your business and stay out of other people’s business.”

Allison Kugel: Growing up where you did, what gave you the power of belief that you could become everything you ultimately became? 

Master P: It was my grandfather, but it was also knowing if you don’t have anything, you can still make the best out of what you have. I think a lot of people don’t realize that just having life, even with what we are going through now, through this pandemic, you never know when somebody is going to walk out that door and you’re never going to see them again. When you live in poverty, you know the only way is up. That’s what pushed me and motivated me, and I think we shouldn’t want to be around people that hold us back. Even in poverty, I started realizing that if I’m going to be successful, I have to cut the negative people around me off. Everybody has 24 hours. A lot of people are mad at other people and judging what other people have. That hate ends up being more important than the positive. It becomes more important than you making it out or bettering yourself. So, I started celebrating people. When I was living in poverty, I started looking at other people who had a nice car or a nice house, and I started being happy for them. When you can be happy for somebody else’s success, blessings will start coming to you. Everybody wants to get to the bag, but you are never going to get to the bag being negative, envious, and jealous. Pride took the devil out of heaven, and he took three fourths of the angels with him. We have to stop that pride, put that to the side and say, “Let me invest my time into something positive, and into me being a better person.”

Allison Kugel: You started off as a basketball player. Was music your Plan B?  

Master P: I was good at music, but I didn’t know I was that good until I actually got into it when I got [injured]. You might think you’re going in one direction, but God will put you in another direction. When I got hurt playing basketball in college, I felt like I had failed everybody in my family. I was supposed to go to the pros, and I’m thinking I’m on my way and I’m about to take care of my family and get them out of the ghetto. But then I got hurt. I always tell people, let your failures take you to the next level and let your failures make you great. I remember my grandfather saying, “Look son, don’t sit around here and just keep worrying about what happened.  You gotta go make something else happen.” I had to find something else that I loved, and God opened up a bigger door. Most of my friends that played basketball at the time I played didn’t make that much money in the NBA, and what I was able to do [with music] was just unheard of.  And I could have easily just been in the music business, but I went to college and educated myself. Without the right education, I don’t think my mindset would have been the way it is today, and the way I was thinking about business.

Allison Kugel: Everybody I asked about you said the same thing, that you were never owned by a record label; you’ve always owned your own music.  Was that also part of the plan?

Master P: It happened with my grandfather. He was in the war, and when he came back home, they were supposed to give him ten thousand dollars to buy a house, and they never gave it to him. He always said, “Grandson, you need to start your own business. Start your own army.” That’s where No Limit (the name of Miller’s record label and production company) came from. My grandfather instilled that in me; “You’re not going to make it in their system. We have to create our own.” I always went against the grain. I knew I couldn’t just work for a paycheck, because I was living in the projects with sixteen people in a three-bedroom apartment. I had so many people and so many mouths to feed, and I couldn’t do that with a regular paycheck. I had to own it, and I’ve always kept that mentality, to where, when you look at African Americans and Latinos, we don’t own anything. My mindset was to change that narrative, to be able to own my own masters, to be able to build other executives. That’s where education and knowledge come in. We search and seek and pray for money, but we don’t search and seek and pray for knowledge and information. That’s what’s going to get us to our destiny.

Allison Kugel: Yes! I love that you said that. I pray every night with my son, and we never ask for things. We say, “Thank You,” and we pray for wisdom, knowledge clarity, health, and so on. Gratitude is what attracts things to you.

Master P: When you bless others, blessings will come. My most important job is to be a servant.  It’s not about being a boss. It’s about being a servant and being able to serve my community, to serve underprivileged kids, being able to serve the elderly, and being able to educate the next generation.

Allison Kugel: Early on in your music career, you were Tupac Shakur’s opening act. What was that like?

Master P: It was crazy, because everyone was there to see Tupac. They didn’t care about me  (laugh).  I was happy to have just one person [in the crowd] jump up. One guy was just going crazy for me in the audience. And being on the road with Tupac, I said, “I’m going to turn that one fan into millions.” To then be able to sell 100 million records is just incredible. Knowing that if you believe in something… and you don’t have to be the best, because I wasn’t the best at first. I had to get into the studio and work hard. I was living on the West Coast, and I had this Southern slur in how I talked, so I had to become better. They say the best way to do that is to stay in the gym, which was the studio. I wasn’t afraid to outwork everybody. I outworked those guys. While Tupac and all those guys were partying, playing, and just having fun on the road, I was in the studio working.  I said, “While they sleep, I’m going to be working.”

Allison Kugel: What did Tupac think of your music?

Master P: At first, he didn’t understand it. Then they started seeing as we are getting into some of the southern markets, how people were gravitating to my music. They started listening and saying, “This is alright.” In the end, Tupac really started liking my music, and that was a blessing, because he was the biggest star in the world of hip hop at the time. To have him jamming to my music, I knew I was on my way.

Allison Kugel: Considering history and what happened to him and Biggie, what are your thoughts on the feuds going on now, like with Kanye West and Drake. Kanye posted Drake’s home address on social media, and Drake’s fans vandalized Kanye’s childhood home. Things start becoming public and crossing the lines of safety.

Master P: I don’t think people realize they have all of these fans that might even be crazy and take things into their own hands. We have to watch what we do. There’s a lot of selfish people out in the world, and there are a lot of snakes in this world. I think when you are at this level and you are making this type of money, even with some of these young artists that were losing their lives in hip hop, which is sad, we have to be thankful and take this as a blessing and grow. I think it’s the people around them. You have to have people giving you better advice, and you have to hold yourself accountable. I’ve always had self-accountability. And start thinking about what you say or what you do, and how it effects and hurts other people, and how you wouldn’t want that to be happening to you and your family. A lot of this is self-hate. I would rather sit in the sewer and eat cheese with rats than sit at a nice restaurant and drink champagne and eat lobster and steak with a snake, and I think that’s what a lot of us are doing. When you get to that level of the game like some of these artists, why lose what you have?  Once you get killed or go to jail there’s no turning back.

Allison Kugel: If you could travel back in time and alter any famous historical event, where would you go and what would you attempt to change? 

Master P: The Martin Luther King shooting. I feel he left too soon. I feel like that guy was on to something incredible. I have so much respect for him, and sometimes I imagine what would have happened if somebody had told him not to go to that hotel. He didn’t have that much security with him, and it just didn’t seem right. I feel like we just had so much more to learn from him.   This guy was nonviolent, and he wanted to bring people together: blacks, whites, Asians, Latinos… I’ve never seen a person like that.  I’m not saying he was perfect, because nobody is perfect, but it’s what he stood for when he brought people together. It’s the reason why we are able to have our freedom today and be able to work with each other, and not be judged by color.   I think that is what I would want to be a part of.

Allison Kugel: Wow!

Master P: He was a dreamer, so being able to have somebody dream like that is incredible.

Allison Kugel: What do you think you came into this life as Percy Robert Miller to learn, and what do you think you came here to teach? 

Master P: I came into this world to be a student of the world. I’m constantly learning every day and getting better, and I also realize I came into this world to be a father to my kids. When I use the word “father,” it’s different from being a daddy. I have a lifetime commitment to my kids, and as a single dad you have to stay focused on your kids. My kids mean everything to me.

Allison Kugel: How many kids do you have?

Master P: Altogether, I have nine.

Allison Kugel: No way (laugh)! Damn, okay! 

Master P: I don’t drink or smoke so (laugh)…

Allison Kugel: (Laughs) That’s a much better hobby. That’s funny. What is your philosophy for raising happy, well-adjusted kids?

Master P: You have to deal with [each kid] as their own individual. Some kids you have to scream at, some kids you have to talk to softly, and some kids, you have to take them to the side and nourish them. I think basketball prepared me to be a father. When you are on the court with certain people, it’s all these different personalities and it’s the same way with raising kids. Some kids want a lot of your attention, and some kids want to go off and do their own thing, so you have to know that and be prepared to sacrifice. My life is not about me anymore. I’ll do anything for them, and I think a lot of parents are not prepared for that. They still want to go off and live their best life, but if you have kids, you don’t get a chance to do that anymore.

Allison Kugel: One hundred percent. What’s something you have yet to master?

Master P: I have yet to master technology. It just keeps changing. Every time you think, “I got this,” something else new is coming out, which is a good thing. We are growing and constantly getting better. In a couple of years, we are supposed to be flying in automobiles. It doesn’t even seem right, but you know it’s going to happen.

Allison Kugel: I read in Black Enterprise that you’re backing the launch of a new car called Trion SuperCars (trionsupercars.com).

Master P: I didn’t create the car. It is actually a guy that has been working on building this car for a while, and I was able to get behind the project. It’s great to have a guy who’s been working with so many other car companies (including Tesla) create this supercar, and me being a part of helping him market and promote that. That’s what it’s all about for me, to be able to help people like that and bring their dreams to life, so it’s a blessing.

Allison Kugel: What makes it a supercar?

Master P: What he is creating and the technology, and that he knows about building cars. What makes it a “supercar” is that it’s able to compete with all the other supercars out there and has just as much technology.

(In a recent statement, Miller dubs Trion SuperCar “the first black-owned supercar manufacturer in America.” He credits the soon-to-be-launched car company with “adding diversity to the automotive industry, which will offer a high-end line of models and a line of affordable luxury vehicles.” Miller calls the fledgling automotive company, “history in the making.”)

Allison Kugel: When will Trion SuperCars hit the market?

Master P:  I think in two years. I can’t wait until it’s done!

Allison Kugel: What is still on your bucket list?

Master P: Being able to put together a superhero movie that is owned by us, and not by Hollywood. When you look at Black Panther, that movie made more than a billion dollars, but it wasn’t owned by us. It looked like us. I want to change that narrative. That is a real bucket list item of mine.

Allison Kugel: You don’t think the success of Black Panther made big budget, studio backed movies with an all-black cast that much more marketable and in-demand? 

Master P: See, but think about this, right… after the movie was over, we went back home, and nobody really benefited. Chadwick Boseman, his salary was $500,000, and he ended up making maybe two or three million dollars from a billion-dollar movie. Robert Downey Jr. makes $70 million when he does Iron Man, and [Black Panther] was way bigger. I’m just saying, to be able to put money back into our culture and into our community off of our own work, I think that is a game changer.

Allison Kugel: Your hand is in so many different things these days, and your movie #Unknown will be released next month. What is it about acting that appeals to you? 

Master P: When you get to a certain level, you want to bring projects to life. For me, it is almost like being two different people. I can go be a businessman on this side and come back and utilize my acting skills and my fanbase, and just feeding them. It’s connecting to the audience and letting people see me in different ways.  In this movie I play the mayor, and it’s a suspense thriller. It’s about being able to let people see me in different ways. In my next movies, I want to go beyond what you think you would see me doing in a movie. I’m even thinking about, like how Arnold Schwarzenegger played his role in Kindergarten Cop. I want to do a movie like that, set in an elementary school, playing a teacher or a principal. It’s fun to be able to portray other people and to bring a character to life.

Allison Kugel: Tell me about the plot of this movie.

Master P: #Unknown is a suspense thriller, but it’s also about a relationship and about trust and faith in somebody. The main character, his girl doesn’t believe him about what is going on with all these murders that happened years ago in this town. The movie has a great plot to it, but at the same time, throughout the story your mind is constantly trying to figure out what’s true, and did this happen, and when did it happen? I think it’s also about a couple trying to figure out if they can trust each other. Is this guy who he says he is? This film asks the question: in life, do you really believe in the person you are with?

Allison Kugel: And do you ever really know somebody?

Master P: Exactly, that’s what it is. That’s the unknown.

Allison Kugel: You’re used to being the boss, and on a movie set, when you are playing a character and you are working with someone like filmmaker LazRael Lison, who produced, wrote, and directed this film, are you good at taking direction from someone else?

Master P: It’s all about being a team player. When you are making a film, you have to know that we are working together to bring something to life, so it is never about me. I learned that from playing sports, there is no “I” in team. We had a great group of people, and everybody was professional, and everybody did their job. When I get on a movie set it is not about me being a boss or an executive producer. If I’m an actor, I have to play my role and you have to let the director play his role, and everybody else in the cast has to play their role if we are going to win. To be a good teacher, you have to be a good student. I’m constantly learning how to get better. I know I’m on my way to doing some great things and bringing some great projects to life, because I want to keep getting better and you have to put in the work. Even when you look at somebody like a Samuel Jackson, he didn’t get stronger in his game until he was older. This is about growing for me. I don’t compare this to my music or my business or anything else I’ve done. I take acting seriously, because I want to constantly keep growing and getting better.

Allison Kugel: So many films are now being released, simultaneously, in theatres and on streaming services, because of this pandemic. It’s re-shaping the entire movie industry. What are your thoughts?

Master P: I think it’s great, because people are able to enjoy these movies and get a chance to see it when they want to see it. Streaming is so important, and we are focusing on that. You’ll be able to go to Amazon Prime to see this movie, #Unknown, and it’s incredible. It’s the new way, and a lot of people want to be safe during this pandemic, so this is a great way to put movies out now.

Allison Kugel: Do you think a movie release can be as exciting of an event, and be profitable, when the majority of people elect to watch it at home instead of in the theatre?

Master P: We’re going to have to adapt to the times. People have a choice. Some people still want to go to theatres and see films, but some people are more comfortable at home right now. This is about safety, right now. A lot of these movies are not going to make the money they normally would make, but when you look at the streaming right now, those numbers are about to start going up, so it’s just a new way.

#Unknown, starring Master P, Judd Nelson, Tom Sizemore, Denise Boutte, and Hal Ozsan; and produced, written, and directed by LazRael Lison, premieres October 1st, exclusively on Amazon Prime. Follow Master P on Instagram @masterp  and follow filmmaker LazRael Lison @lazrael_lison. Watch the trailer for #Unknown.

Listen to the full conversation with Master P and filmmaker, LazRael Lison, on the Allison Interviews Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Follow Allison Kugel on Instagram @theallisonkugel and at allisoninterviews.com.

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Meet The Entrepreneur Behind The Cover Of The November 2021 Issue Of Global Millionaire: Ganbold Tordai

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Ganbold Tordai is the inspirational serial entrepreneur behind “The Corporate Hotel” – one of the largest hotel chains in Mongolia. Tordai graduated from the Institute of Foreign Languages and the University of Finance and Economics and he initially kickstarted his entrepreneurial journey by selling wheat. Back in 2001, the agricultural sector in Mongolia was in full decline, and the main raw material to create flour which is wheat was supplied by Russia – he alone supplied up to 60% of wheat in the market. In 2006 he established a chain of The Corporate Hotel and he was also appointed as the CEO of the Darkhan Metallurgical Plant. From the time he was the CEO of the Darkhan Metallurgical Plant, the production capacity rose from 20 to 88 percent, dramatically increasing efficiency and enabling the company to be the main supplier in the domestic market all on its own.

In 2011, Tordai acquired a Russian-owned gold mining company called Altan Dornod Mongol LLC – it was Mongolia’s largest gold exploration and mining company at the time. In 2015 he built a Shambha-La Park Town housing project, and in 2020, he built the Alpha Theater where the famous enlightener Goethe’s Faust was staged.

Global Millionaire magazine recently caught up with Ganbold Tordai to discuss his journey as an entrepreneur and here’s what went down:

Greetings Ganbold and thank you for accepting our invitation to interview you.

Thank you for the opportunity.

It’s a highly known fact that Covid-19 is widespread in several countries all over the world which applies to your country as well. What do you think are some of the major problems that the pandemic is causing to people and various businesses?

The situation is quite challenging in our country. It has heavily impacted a country with a small economy, a small population, and poor medical care and facilities. Even though the pandemic has spread to many countries around the world, the first case of Covid-19 wasn’t registered in our country until 10 months later. However, this gap or timing was not taken advantage of by the decision-makers so our country couldn’t take the appropriate action and prepare for the impact.

This lack of action was directly related to the parliamentary elections. The situation is still difficult up to today due to wasteful spending on the economy in the name of development – ineffective spending and improper decisions have directly affected the lives of citizens as well as small to medium-sized businesses.

Many countries around the world have spent billions of dollars to reduce the effects of the Covid-19 outbreak and to improve public health. Unfortunately, as a citizen of our country, I am pretty critical about this issue and I have been expressing my position publicly because I believe that the budget and such aid funding have been spent chaotically and inefficiently.

The business sector has collapsed and jobs have fallen sharply in several countries all over the world due to the pandemic. What are some of the challenges your company as well as other Mongolian businesses are facing at the moment? Given that you have successfully established a chain of hotels in Mongolia that are known to thousands of visitors, how do you think we can overcome this adversity?

I think the business community has been impacted hard because we did not expect the Covid-19 pandemic to continue for such a long period of time. The situation is honestly not very good in every sector and we are still currently looking for optimal solutions.

One of the most revenue-generating fields, such as the tourism sector has dramatically collapsed. The hospitality industry has been completely affected as well because there are no guests or visitors at the moment. However, we have a strong policy of keeping our employees on the job which is quite risky because how can any business survive without any income in such conditions right? The government of other developed countries provides tax and financial support to small businesses and we are hoping to receive such stimulus as well.

What was the first business that kickstarted your career? Could you please share with us some of your success stories?

During the transition period from communism to market economy and democracy in the 1990s, a vast majority of our businessmen started trading.

Just like the others, I was also involved in trading and I reached a quite good result at that time. Some of the projects that I have successfully completed were:

From 2001 to 2007, the agricultural sector was in full decline, and the main raw material for flour, such as wheat was supplied by Russia – I alone supplied up to 60% of wheat in the market.

In 2006, 2009, and 2013, I built a state-of-the-art concert hall and a chain of The Corporate Hotel.

From 2006 to 2009, I was appointed as the CEO of the Darkhan Metallurgical Plant. During my time with them, the production capacity rose from 20 to 88 percent, dramatically increasing efficiency, and enabling the company to be the main supplier to the domestic market all on its own.

I also made sure that the Tumurtei iron ore deposit – the largest iron ore deposit in Mongolia was recognized as an important asset to Mongolians. I managed to win in a three-stage court which enabled us to acquire it from a Chinese company and made the Tumurtei iron ore deposit become 100 percent state-owned.

In 2011, I acquired a Russian-owned gold mining company called Altan Dornod Mongol LLC. At that time, it was Mongolia’s largest gold exploration and mining company and I had to pay off large amounts of outstanding debts as well as rehabilitate degraded landscapes that mining has caused to the environment.

In 2013, I initiated the Mongolian Gold Miners’ Association to unite local companies and negotiate with the Government, in order to create a favorable legal environment. This move has resulted in an increase in the gold supply to the Central bank from 3 tons per year to 20 tons.

In 2015-2019, I completed a Shambha-La Park Town housing project and in 2020, I built the Alpha Theater where the famous enlightener Goethe’s Faust was staged. The plot of this theatrical show revolves around the consequences of injustice and the value and nature of human life. The show has given many people insight into their lives and has been greatly appreciated by Mongolians.

We appreciate the fact that you are not only investing in commercial businesses but also investing in education. Are you able to share with us some of your future business plans and what areas you are looking at getting into next?

I think tourism is an important and strategic sector. And obviously, infrastructure is the most important development factor in this field. The government recognizes the necessity of this important mega project but has not been implemented for many years.

I am still striving to raise awareness on such important issues and contribute to the development of our country. I have also been investing in foreign markets to the best of my ability so I can expand my businesses.

Mongolia’s economy is worth $13 billion and it is almost the same scale as a company in one of the world’s largest economies.

Although Mongolian businesses are growing rapidly, they do not have the experience, capital, or economic capacity to penetrate the international market. There are many challenges for businesses in Mongolia to overcome due to political decisions, bureaucracy, and uncertainty. It is impossible for me to say if I would be able to invest or do business in such an environment.

What are some of the big projects you are planning at the moment? Will there be a new mining deposit, a processing plant, or a new hotel in your future?

Although 70% of our economy depends directly and indirectly on mining; processing plants are not well developed and I am not sure that most people would be able to understand these issues. Even though it is necessary for the hospitality industry to further develop by building new hotels, these new hotels need to meet the international quality standards.

I do have a plan and a goal to build a large and modern world-class Emergency Center and Cancer Hospital that will cover not only our country but also extend in the regions. But I think this is a really important mega project rather than a business.

You are currently the Honorary Consul of Uruguay. Do you have any business linkage with this country?

I do have many international friends. A friend proposed for me to become an Honorary Consul and I think the role of Honorary Consul of any country is to take full rights and responsibilities; to represent many citizens and legal entities, to protect their legitimate interests, and to take the necessary measures to restore the violated rights of citizens and various legal entities.

Mongolia talks about diversifying its economy yet it appears to still be somewhat dependent on the mining sector. As a businessman, what do you see as a way to expand and diversify your economy?

It is very risky and hopeless for a country to depend on just one sector. Mongolia has some similar aspects to your country within the mining industry. The difference is that Mongolia’s mining products are exported to the southern neighbor at very low prices and such a small amount of income is pretty much used to buy machinery, equipment, fuel, and lubricants to be used in the mining sector. Due to the lack of equipment and production of mining products in our country, we have to import them.

The small amount of money leftover from this sector is going into the housing sector, which is in high demand but not affordable. Although our country has a large territory, urbanization and population density are concentrated in the capital city. Housing quality standards are not so good. In the construction sector, for example, materials are too expensive because they are 100 percent dependent on imports.

Given this situation, I see that it’s a necessity to focus on economic expansion and diversification and to support tourism and agriculture sectors through appropriate and effective policy tools. We all know how successful your country’s agricultural sector is. And in our case, we see Agriculture as our traditional sector and it has been going on without effective policies and economic support.

I think, in order to increase the number of people living and working in rural areas, we need policy tools and stimulus incentives to provide jobs in rural areas and it is necessary to abolish taxes for a certain period of time and implement large-scale long-term development financing instead. Instead of going abroad and doing the hard labor, Mongolian youth can get the opportunity to work and earn enough at home.

As mentioned earlier, the primary and secondary processing of mining products is important for economic expansion.

Foreign direct investment is very important for the development of any nation. Some news outlets claim that investing in your country can potentially be risky. What is your position on this?

I understand very well that foreign investment is a vital element in an economy. When you look at the history of a country’s development, it has developed with the help of know-how, the best technology, and the support of foreign investment, and has put its wealth into economic circulation and benefited from it. More than a decade ago, investors flocked to Mongolia, and we were on the radar of the world’s largest stock exchange, Mongolia was quite popular among the investment community and we were so-called Mongolia, the Mining country.

But due to the illegal actions of some individuals and decision-makers, it created an atmosphere of unfavorable business and investment climate. Our country is still ranked 116th in the Corruption Perceptions Index and 109th in the Judicial Independence Index. It is unfortunate that some of the decisions from the authorities’ leaned in favour of certain investors, which resulted in the public viewing investors as liars, thieves, and fraudsters.

It is clear that any country, high-profile investors would prefer to enter into a legally stable, equitable, and mutually beneficial agreement. No investor will refuse to cooperate with an honest government.

Based on your answers, we can tell that you have gone through some unfavorable economic and political climate, How do you see the future of Mongolia?

Our country covers an area of 1.5 million square kilometers and has a population of 3.4 million. It has rich mineral resources, well-developed agriculture, and a traditional livestock sector. Given such conditions, I see the full potential and opportunity to grow in a very short period of time.

Throughout the history of any country’s development, there has been a great deal of corruption and populist decisions caused by wrong decisions. And such countries would correct their mistakes in a short period of time and usually, most of them would spend 20-25 years to reach the level of rapid development. In our country’s case, we are in transition mode for almost 30 years and I think we could have reached the level of other developed nations if we were able to establish a system of accountability during this period.

The legal and judicial system must apply equally to ordinary citizens and the authorities. It is not possible to talk about development in a situation where the accountability system for the highest officials is not strictly enforced and the legal climate is in different favor.

Civil society in developed countries is very active and accountable to those in power. The authorities have a high sense of ethics and responsibility because their ordinary citizen can strictly control, unite and dismiss the politicians they choose to represent them.

In a developed world, people march 3-4 times a year against the inappropriate and blind decisions of the government. Whereas in Mongolia, we protested 3-4 times in 30 years – unfortunately, there is such submission and inactivity.

The consequences of this situation might force Mongolia to slip into the examples set by North Korea, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, which are all subject to the decisions of one group or an individual and it could be the same case with countries such as Venezuela and some African countries that are under chaos and violence.

We chose a citizen-friendly democratic country, however, the reality today is not so good. The alignment of politics and economics are linked, and I think that development is not far off if we create a favorable legal environment and do not lose the basic principles of democracy and equality. Those are my cautions and criticisms.

Optimistically, we have a lot of opportunities. For the first time in 30 years, there is one party faction serving together as the President, the Speaker of the Parliament, and the Prime Minister.

In this case, I think there is optimism that it is possible to push forward with our mega projects and make important strategic decisions. I don’t want to lose the opportunity and waste our economic opportunities.

Mongolia is a lesser-known travel destination – In some countries it is well known because of Genghis Khan, while in other countries it’s referred to as “Chinese Mongolia.” How do you think your country measures up compared to the rest of the world?

Mongolians are in the top ten out of more than 200 countries in the world in terms of intellectual potential. Mongolians are people of intellectual ability, responsibility, adaptability, and high productivity. I want Mongolia to be well known in the world as this image. Nowadays, there are many young Mongolians successfully working and leading in the world’s largest companies and banks. So, therefore, I believe we have a great future.

Thank you for your time and we wish you more success in your business!

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Elon Musk Becomes A Record $25 Billion Richer In Just One Day As Tesla Shares Soar

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Tesla CEO Elon Musk just made another whopping $25 billion as Tesla joins the trillionaire club alongside other powerhouses such as Facebook, Google, Apple, and Microsoft.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO is not just the richest person in the world but is also now worth as much as billionaires Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg combined.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk’s net worth is sitting at $289 billion as of 26/10/2021, Gates sits in fourth place with $134 billion and Zuckerberg is No. 6 with $123 billion.

He was already the richest person alive, beating Amazon founder Jeff Bezos in September, but it looks like there are no signs of him slowing down anytime soon.

Last Monday, Hertz announced it was going to buy 100,000 Tesla Model 3 sedans to add to its rental car stockpile, causing Tesla’s share price to skyrocket.

According to the Herald Sun, Tesla stocks jumped by US$25.6 billion (A$34.1 billion), a rise of 13 percent, its biggest day ever.

The stocks were priced at $1,024.86 by market close and the company’s market capitalisation exceeded $1 trillion.

Hertz said in a statement that the first load of Tesla’s Model 3 sedans will be available to rent from Hertz in major US and European markets from early November.

“Electric vehicles are now mainstream, and we’ve only just begun to see rising global demand and interest,” according to Hertz CEO Mark Fields.

“The new Hertz is going to lead the way as a mobility company, starting with the largest EV rental fleet in North America and a commitment to grow our EV fleet and provide the best rental and recharging experience for leisure and business customers around the world.”

Editorial credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock.com

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5 Surefire Ways to Protect Your Mental Health During COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak

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While you’re in a global pandemic, it’s natural to feel that you’re letting your mental health slide during this stressful period. Not interacting fully with others face-to-face, having to conform to new guidelines that may seem foreign to you, and working at home may leave you feeling unsettled and that life has become beyond your control. This, although it may be common, can be dangerous if you don’t take the time out to give your mind a rest. Therefore, here are 5 ways you can be in control and protect your mental health in these uncertain times.

1. Take a stroll through the park

Going for a walk (unless you’re self-isolating) is a great way to cool your mind down after a struggle. Getting a breath of fresh air and exercising not only stretches out your muscles thus relaxing the body but going outside and looking at the green in one’s surroundings is scientifically proven to improve your mood, by the brain releasing endorphins, a chemical that reduces sensitivity to pain and makes one happy.

2. Try and laugh more

Listening to or reading a few jokes is an easy pass to become happier and more relaxed. Laughing reduces anxiety and burns a fair number of calories, for those who are wishing to slim down during the pandemic. Also, research suggests that laughter improves the activity of NK cells, a type of cell in the immune system that takes part in combatting tumours.

3. Express your feelings

Bottling up your emotions is never a good idea. Venting your frustrations and negative emotions to a friend or family member instantly lifts a weight off your shoulders. Even if you can’t find a person to talk to, you can write your emotions down on paper and tear them up. Sharing your thoughts and worries helps you reason with the problem and getting a second opinion may help solve it.

4. Eat a good meal

It’s no secret that ‘comfort eating’ works. This is because your brain tells itself that you wouldn’t be eating if you were in danger, which then lowers your anxiety. In addition to this, an empty stomach can make you feel much worse, and not eating enough lowers the immune system. Being vulnerable to disease is trouble, especially with Covid-19 about and you need to be ready to combat it so that it doesn’t make you feel worse. Therefore, eating a healthy and satisfying meal is fundamental in keeping your mental health stable.

5. Do something you enjoy

Although with new schedules constantly popping up, you must find the time to do something that makes you happy. While on a work or school break, find something to keep you occupied. It takes your mind away from what’s around you so that you can clear your mind effectively, along with causing your brain to produce happy hormones. Be it watching a cool video, doodling something funny, or even taking a nap, taking time out from your busy day does wonders for your wellbeing.

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5 Surefire Tips For Finding The Right Lender For You

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According to Smartline Personal Mortgage Advisers, while selecting a loan and lender can seem daunting, with a few ‘smart tips’ finding one to suit your individual needs can be easy.

“While it’s possible to generalise about borrowers’ requirements, ultimately no two people are exactly alike – and it’s a mistake to think that ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to finance,” said Chris Acret, Smartline’s managing director.

Smartline offers these top five tips for choosing a lender.

1. Know your goals and develop a checklist so that you can assess lenders’ flexibility

“It’s a good idea to develop a checklist of things you’re looking for, but it’s equally as important that your checklist be flexible and that you’re open to potentially changing your priorities,” said Acret.

“For example, the lender you currently have your transaction accounts with may not have the best loan product to suit your needs or, simply, if one of your priorities is to have an offset account attached to your loan, you may not be able to access it via an ATM.

“Things that may seem unimportant now, could prove very inconvenient down the track.”

2. The interest rate is only one of many factors in your decision

Acret said that while interest rates are an important aspect of your evaluation, it should not be the sole reason for making your decision.

“Generally speaking, mortgages are held over a long period of time and this means that the cost of interacting with the bank, over what is usually many years, needs to be taken into account,” he said.

“A honeymoon rate might look attractive now, but it’s not likely to save you money when and if you decide to use the lender’s other services – such as repayment holidays, a redraw facility, a loan top-up or accessing your lender’s and other lenders’ ATM facilities.

“It’s important to consider the whole cost of the loan which means taking everything into consideration – from product features to product fees, which may incorporate application fees, annual fees and exit fees.

“At the start of the mortgage you may not think there is a possibility that you might repay or re-finance your loan within four years, but your situation may change meaning exit fees will become an issue.”

Exit fees are often referred to as ‘early termination fees’, which is the cost of closing the loan. Different banks use different terminology and early termination fees can also be known as deferred administration fees, deferred establishment fees, or early repayment fees.

3. Consider lenders’ overall services and offerings

Lenders present a range of services and offerings that might not seem appropriate now but could be in the near future.

“Typically, our lives are changed by events that can make a difference to the way we view our mortgage,” he said.

“These life events might include taking an extended holiday, getting married, having a family, being promoted, changing jobs, being made redundant or starting your own business, and each of these has an impact that may mean we need different things from our home loan to suit these new circumstances.

“So, when considering lenders investigate all loan offerings – like whether or not you have the ability to switch from a variable to a fixed rate, substitute security or access redraw – and their services, such as access to ATMs, and internet and phone banking.”

4. Ensure your lender can work with you to get your loan structure right

Acret said that loan structuring, which covers the type of loan you use, how you fund the required deposit, what securities are provided and what type of payments you make, is important for any property purchase, but even more so for an investment property because of the associated taxation issues.

“As such, it’s important to make sure the lender you choose can structure your loan – or loans – in a way that suits your individual needs.”

5. Shop around

Australian lenders operate under regulatory guidelines designed to encourage responsible lending. One of the most successful aspects of these guidelines has been the Ability to Repay Test, which is commonly referred to as serviceability or borrowing capacity.

“Lenders must demonstrate they’re satisfied that borrowers can afford to repay their debt, but each of them interpret the Ability to Repay Test in different ways, therefore the loan amounts lenders deem to be responsible also differ greatly,” he said.

“Also, some bank use different income sources in different ways, so a customer on a given income level may be able to borrow more or less with different banks.

“The borrowing capacity can vary so much from lender to lender that just going with the lender you currently bank with could limit your home purchase price – so it pays to shop around.”

Since the global financial crisis (GFC), lenders have developed a range of policy innovations and made significant changes to their lending criteria.

“Credit policies have always varied from lender to lender, but there is now much closer scrutiny being paid to loan applications and borrowers’ credit histories – including, for example, the number of credit applications you make,” said Acret.

This article was sourced from a media release sent by Smartline. For more info, go to www.smartline.com.au

Courtesy of: The Australian Filipina

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Meet The Entrepreneur Behind The Cover Of The October 2021 Issue Of Global Millionaire: Guruji Shrii Arnav

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Guruji Shrii Arnav, considered the Father of Astro Gemology and a mentor to Statesmen and Millionaires, is an internationally acclaimed spiritual Guru who uses techniques based on spirituality, Astro Gemology, and modern management methods.

The author of the Magnum Opus” Secrets of Jyotish Gems”( translated in 6 languages), he is the mentor of the world’s largest E-commerce portal to buy natural Gemstones online (Gemstoneuniverse.com) that has a mind-boggling reach of 4 million monthly users and has been around since the early days of the internet since 1996.

We are quite certain our readers would love a no holds barred conversation with a major thought leader so they can benefit from Guruji Shrii Arnav’s insights about entrepreneurship and business in general. Global Millionaire magazine recently had the good fortune of meeting and interviewing Revered Guruji Shrii Arnav during the Gemstoneuniverse Founder’s Day and here’s what went down:

What are your standards for success? Is it a certain dollar figure?

For me personally, I was never into numbers. My singular philosophy since I believe in the theory of Karma is that every single person engaging with me should benefit from me or by my enterprise.

And that happens when customers vouch for you by word of mouth, give you referrals, and sometimes raise concerns as if they were family and they own the enterprise as their own.

And at Gemstoneuniverse we see that happening all the time. Since 1996 we have had such a loyal base of patrons (I do not like to call them customers) that till today we have not had the need for any kind of advertising of any sort.

Also to have industry leaders from Google, HP speaking about you on video is a huge takeaway and speaks of standards. Those are feedback and testimonials that money cannot buy.

What do you think made you successful in business?

Even though I am a spiritual person I like the word business which means transacting and all of us are business people since the world moves by give and take and by a transaction.

I think having clear-cut goals, delighting our patrons, and being attached to the greater cause of serving people and solving their problems by spirituality, gem therapy helped me in achieving a reasonable degree of success and recognition.

My life philosophy revolves around the Gemstoneuniverse Motto of – Deo Amabiles Et Hominibus which means Pleasing to God and To Men- and it’s in that order that has helped me.

What inspired you to develop your idea?

More than inspiration it was a necessity. In 1996 we reached around 11,000 people in a year and by 1997 it was 40,000.

I will be upfront and honest with you – no single patron ever asked me the price of any Gem. They would say you know better- please do what is best for me.

So five things here: Firstly, I was not in a humanly position to speak with every single person. Secondly, when customers were buying Gemstones without taking a look at the product just based on trust – that was creating a huge pressure on me. Thirdly, I wanted the patron to choose a Gemstone in the privacy of their own environment without any kind of pressure. Fourthly, the intention was to serve the people with the powerful science of gem therapy that delivers phenomenal results and fifthly, bring some kind of organization in a vastly unregulated market.

Real Natural Gemstones form only 2% of all world stock so you can understand the rarity and importance.

With Gemstoneuniverse the patron is assured that the best in the Gem world work assiduously to make them win and that we are on their side.

What were the main challenges you faced at the early stages of your business? And do you still encounter them to this day?

People, Problems, Possibilities, Potential, Product, Price are all words that start with P ( Smiles). There are three more P words that will solve the entire jigsaw but I would not like to mention them here.

Since the start of mankind, these 9P’s are responsible for all complications and solutions. If whatever information listed on the search engine is true then there should be no problems on the planet (Hey, another P word!).

If whatever has been written in the religious scriptures is interpreted correctly then any problem will cease to exist.

So as we continue to grow and evolve, problems will remain due to lack of quality information, incapacity for correct decision making, and resistance to change.

You can motivate and change these 3 core issues within yourself but you cannot do that for the people who work for you neither can you do it for the people interested in you with 100% quantitative compliance.

That is why I love to be in the Japanese philosophy of Kaizen and also motivate my team to be in the state of Kaizen at all possible times.

My own interpretation of Kaizen is that that there is nothing at any point in time that cannot be improved. So we are always striving to improve and be in the perfect state.

What keeps you going even in hard times?

The opportunity given by the almighty to serve and the appreciation we get for it. You will be amazed that during this COVID era both I and the organization attained personal bests.

There is an interesting parable from the life of Lord Shri Krishna. Once the great warrior Arjun asked the Lord- Krishna, write something on the wall that after reading will make a happy person – sad and a sad person -happy at the same time.

Krishna took a piece of chalk and wrote – “This Too Shall Pass”. I believe in this philosophy. What is in my hand is the right action, why worry about things that you cannot control.

What are your thoughts on entrepreneurship for young people especially in an economy where jobs are harder to find?

COVID and the currently prevailing circumstances have proven that what was conventional is not essentially the right path and in fact, some people shone brightly by using innovative ideas and proved that humans have a wonderful ability to adapt and improvise – these are the two qualities in humans that have made us the alpha species.

I think it will be wonderful to have young energetic people join the entrepreneurship bandwagon and they in turn will create new and fresh jobs.

However, I can suggest some things – always put a priority on niche specializing, always keep learning, don’t put yourself under pressure to be the next Elon Musk, work harder than anybody else and as you grow stay humble and have fun. No work is good enough if it does not give you joy!

What strategies did you first use to market your business?

To be honest with you I do not believe much in traditional marketing or advertising.

Your biggest marketing assets are your people and your product and nothing beats word of mouth.

To cut a long story short, I wrote articles about spirituality, gem therapy, astrology, and gemstones because I was appalled at the pedestrian impotent fare that was pedalled in names of these subjects which was causing more harm to people than benefiting them.

I think what has benefited us since the inception is sharing of good quality cutting edge information in form of quality articles, media resources in form of high-quality gem pictures and videos. Over a period of 26 years, there are 3500 articles on Gemstoneuniverse which are highly informative and give something to a user or solve a pain point. I think you can call it our marketing strategy if you will. Creating and sharing good quality content has been our only strategy.

I did my first Facebook live on the Gemstoneuniverse Facebook Page on 29th August 2021 and now it’s nearing 300K views already.

How have your priorities changed from when you first started?

More success comes with more responsibilities and there are other ramifications and responsibilities when you are touching lives on an epic scale. You need to be future-ready and beware of copycats that may be out to dupe people riding on the coattails of a successful enterprise.

Another thing to mull upon and work on is supply change management. The demands and numbers at Gemstoneuniverse are huge but the earth’s natural resources and the human resources we have in for of trained consultants and practitioners is limited and we have to do all this while ensuring that the Gemstones we use and supply are ethically mined, responsibly sourced, conflict-free and traceable.

Knowing what you know now, is there anything you would have done differently when you were first starting out?

Not a thing and I am just starting!

What two pieces of advice can you give to someone who wants to become an expert in their chosen field?

Another of my favourite P Word – Practice and Fail early and Fail Fast.

Failing gets you a PhD. in experience in record time provided that you learn from failure. If you are afraid of failure, to be honest, the chances of doing something noteworthy are very minuscule and at best, life would be normal, predictable, boring, and ordinary. That does sound SCARY to me at least.

What is the last ‘one word’ advice you will give to our readers when it comes to succeeding as an entrepreneur?

Niche, Niche, Niche – Do what you love and be the best at it. I wish all the readers health, happiness, and abundance.

You can follow Guruji Shrii Arnav and Gemstoneuniverse via their official social media pages:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/gemstoneuniverse
Instagram: @gemstoneuniverse
Website: www.gemstoneuniverse.com

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3 Useful Tips For Paying Off Your Home Loan Sooner

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By Michelle Baltazar

You’ve seen all the SALE signs plastered on shop windows to herald the EOFY (end of financial year), but before you open your wallet to buy yet another sale item, you could be better off setting your money aside for your mortgage.

Sure it won’t give you the same high that you get from getting your retail fix but, according to mortgage broker Mortgage Choice, you can save as much as $10,000 in interest if you put a lump sum of $2,000 into a 7% 30-year $300,000 home loan.

So before you start planning how you’re going to blow your tax refund this year, think about how good it would feel to have thousands of dollars saved on your home loan (most of the SALE items you buy will go out of style but being a property owner won’t).

Tips to help reduce your mortgage debt:

1. Repay your mortgage more often. For example, making fortnightly repayments equal to half your minimum monthly repayment means you pay one extra monthly repayment each year.

2. Contribute lump sums when possible. This reduces interest owed and the loan term. If you put your tax return, say, $1,000 into a $300,000 loan (at 7% over 30 years) at year one in, it reduces the term by one month and the interest owed by just over $2,360. Think about doing so annually.

3. Build a financial buffer. Home loans with offset accounts enable you to link a savings account to your loan and ‘offset’ (use) that amount to reduce the interest owed. If you kept $5,000 in an offset account, then on the above-mentioned loan the term would be reduced by almost two years and you would save over $33,000. Note there could be an ongoing account keeping fee.

Tips to avoid piling up any debt:

1. Resist the temptation. Always set a budget and make a shopping list, whether you are shopping for groceries, furniture, travel, property, etc. Avoiding overpriced or impromptu purchases will keep your budget in line and help with credit card debt as often unplanned purchases end up there.

2. Don’t be late on repayments. Dodge accruing interest by scheduling automatic home loan and other debt repayments. Funds transfer on the date selected by you (ie. your payday or the day after). The only thing left to action is increasing your repayment if the interest rate increases.

3. Create emergency savings. Repay your loan as though its rate is at least 2% higher, putting this straight into your loan or its offset account. This buffer will help with emergencies, rate rises or unexpected bills, so these costs won’t end up on your credit card or gather late payment costs. If your loan doesn’t allow extra repayments, put the extra funds into a high-interest savings account. 

Source: The Australian Filipina

Photo by Kindel Media from Pexels

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5 Surefire Ways To Keep Your Investment Property In Great Shape For Years To Come

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If you are the proud owner of an investment property, chances are you have worked hard for it.

As a landlord (or landlady), understanding how to protect yourself from common financial pitfalls is one of the key tools to invest with confidence, according to landlord insurance provider, Terri Scheer Insurance.

Terri Scheer Insurance executive manager CAROLYN PERELLA explains five common mistakes and how you can avoid them:

1. Setting the rent too low or too high

Before purchasing an investment property, carry out extensive research to help you determine an appropriate rental price.

Setting the rent too high may result in limited interest from prospective tenants, leaving you out of pocket if the property remains empty for an extended period of time.

However, setting the rent too low may place you under financial pressure, limit your rental income and has the potential to attract unsuitable tenants.

Look on real estate websites and through newspaper classifieds to find listings with similar features to your property, as this will give you a guide on the rental market in that area.

2. Failing to monitor arrears

If a tenant falls behind in their rent, it can be a very long and costly process to resolve and could leave you considerably out of pocket.

Diarise the dates that your tenant’s rental payments are due and check your bank account on those days.

If they fall into arrears a breach notice should be sent for non-payment of rent.

The number of days in rental arrears before a termination notice can be sent, and the time between presenting the notice and requesting vacation varies around Australia, so it is important to be familiar with your local tenancy laws.

3. Attempting to self-manage a property

Self-managing a rental property can create headaches for landlords, especially if they do not have enough time or resources to commit to such a task.

While it can be tempting to save a small percentage of rental income by self-managing your rental property, the benefits of appointing a property manager can far outweigh the costs.

Property managers are able to conduct regular property inspections to identify maintenance issues, have systems in place to find and screen prospective tenants, and have access to databases that list tenants with a history of defaulting on rental payments, damaging property and eviction.

If a dispute arises with a tenant, they are also familiar with the relevant legislation and can follow the correct procedures to help resolve the problem as quickly as possible.

4. Neglecting maintenance

As a landlord, once you have been alerted to maintenance issues, it is your responsibility to act on these or authorise your property manager to do so as soon as possible.

If a maintenance issue arises and you are slow to fix it, you may be legally liable if your tenant injures themselves. It is also important to ensure that all maintenance is completed properly and to appropriate standards.

5. Inadequate insurance

Specialised landlord insurance cover can protect investors from many of the risks associated with owning a rental property, provide peace of mind and ease a landlord’s concerns about receiving regular rental payments if your tenant damages the property or absconds.

Landlord insurance can cover property owners for malicious damage by tenants, accidental damage, legal liability for occurrences on the property that cause death or bodily injury, and loss of rental income as a result of property damage or a tenant absconding.

Source: The Australian Filipina

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Meet The Man Behind The Cover Of The September 2021 Issue Of Global Millionaire: Deepak Chopra

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By Allison Kugel
 
Deepak Chopra has been a mentor of mine from the day of my first interview with him more than a decade ago. I will never forget the day in 2008 when I asked him to explain such existential concepts as the distinction between the brain, mind, and soul; the concepts of space and time, and how meditation benefits our physical and mental health. His answers then were clear and precise and without hesitation; on my end, it felt like waking up from a dream and setting about on a continuous path of discovery.
 
He and I sat down once again, this time to unpack the pressing issues of isolation, anxiety, and depression and the growing epidemic of suicidal ideation and suicide, which has taken a sharp incline over the past eighteen years. Deepak Chopra is now part of a team spearheading the Never Alone movement, a grassroots movement that aims to create community-led organizations around the world to help people in emotional distress who need community support. Never Alone is being funded through a GoFundMe campaign that has already surpassed its original goal.
 
In tandem, Deepak Chopra has released his latest book, Metahuman (Harmony Books/Random House), which delves into the true essence of our nature when we break free of societal constructs and embrace a higher level of consciousness and greater zest for living on this planet.
 
Allison Kugel: The subject matter we are about to discuss is an uncomfortable one, but one that needs to be addressed because we are losing too many people. I looked at some World Health Organization statistics that report there has been a 60% increase in suicides over the past 45 years, with a 30% increase since 2001. My first question for you is simply… why?
 
Deepak Chopra: We are living in a culture that aggrandizes narcissism and the whole idea of a separate self. People are constantly engaged in social media, and in general media as well. All of this leads to performance anxiety in a sense. Am I relevant if I’m not being noticed? On the one hand, social networks are supposed to increase our connectivity. In one sense they do because we can communicate more effectively. But it also increases our isolation if we don’t get noticed. Young adults, in particular, are at a very delicate stage of their life where they’re beginning to wonder about their identity. As young children, we never wonder about identity. We are just happy, without wondering about self-esteem and all those things. As we enter adolescence, identity becomes an issue and we are still forging our identities. Today our identity is all about, “Am I important? Am I relevant?” It’s not even about knowing who we are at a fundamental level. 
 
Allison Kugel: I remember seeing my son, up until about the age of three, exhibit this pure unadulterated confidence and joy that emanated from his being. I have a video of him at the age of 15 or 16 months, where he’s running through a field and cracking himself up for no reason; just happy to be running in the grass. Why do we lose that joy and that feeling of wholeness, of being enough just as we are, as we get older? 
 
Deepak Chopra: You are very right in your observation. The poet Rabindranath Tagore is quoted as having said that “every child that’s born is proof that God has not given up on human beings (paraphrased).” Children are naturally joyful and loving and have empathy and compassion and playfulness as their innate traits. The rest is the hypnosis of social conditioning. Unfortunately, it gets recycled through every generation and now it’s getting worse because of our ability to communicate our self-importance. Self-esteem is natural, in our natural state. We are confusing [self-esteem] with self-image, which is the ego-bound identity. Self-image constantly needs validation or else it feels very fearful.
 
Allison Kugel: I’ve noticed a pattern in the 21st century where we are being pushed to the brink in so many ways. We have extreme weather patterns, mass shootings, more chronic illness, more narcissism, and certainly more anxiety and depression. And we have more people who are medicated than ever before. What is all this pushing us towards?  And what is the spiritual reason for it all?
 
Deepak Chopra: A lot of what you are seeing is the mental health of a collective mind, or a collective humanity, that has created a world with all the things you mentioned. We’ve seen extinction in every other life form, but now we’re ready for our own extinction. The last extinction was sixty-five million years ago as a result of a meteorite hitting the earth when dinosaurs were wiped out. We learned as a result of that extinction. But now if we have our next extinction, it will be as a result of human behavior. If this is not collective insanity… If we don’t acknowledge it then we are decreeing our own insanity. We need to understand our personal role in this collective insanity. Suicide and depression are symptoms of our collective conditioned mind. We treat hate to be normal. We treat the psychopathology of our everyday existence as normal. So numb have we become. And so immune have we become to the cruelty that happens every day in the world. 
Allison Kugel: What if you’re an empath, and internalize everything, and you’re in a constant state of feeling the pain of everybody and everything?
 
Deepak Chopra: We can resign ourselves and say the human experiment has failed; that the human species was an interesting idea on behalf of nature’s evolutionary impulse, but it didn’t work. We can resign ourselves and wait for our collective extinction where we just go to the bar and get a drink, which will numb us even more, and which people are doing with drugs and alcohol and other addictions. This is mostly linked to this massive epidemic of suicide and depression. Or, we can do something about it and hope for the best. What I have discovered through careful observation and as a physician, is that when people support each other in anything, and it doesn’t matter what it is, it is healing. When we support each other, the outcome of whatever that condition is that a person is struggling with, it does improve. This is what has led me to the opportunity to create, both, online and real-time communities where people can support each other for a more peaceful, just, sustainable, healthier, and joyful existence. Ultimately, this is the purpose of life, to experience our innate joy. That comes automatically through empathy, which leads to compassion, which then leads to the desire to relieve another person’s suffering.
 
Allison Kugel: For all the empaths out there, including myself, the answer is to not just feel the pain of the world, but to take loving action towards solutions where and when you can.
 
Deepak Chopra: Right, because compassion leads to love, and it leads to love-in-action. Love-in-action leads to healing. Love without action is irrelevant. And action without love is also meaningless. This is an opportunity for us to create a self-sustaining ecosystem where people support each other and help each other. Helping each other is the best way to help ourselves.
 
Allison Kugel: You’re a part of creating the Never Alone movement to provide support communities around the world, which we hope will prevent suicide and help people feel connected to real support systems. How will the Never Alone platform work, and will it be accessible to people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and geographic locations? 
 
Deepak Chopra: Right now, the Never Alone platform will be run by GoFundMe. We are helping create an advisory board for the GoFundMe campaign. Our goal is to create self-sustaining grassroots movements across the world because even in very impoverished parts of the world, people now have access to wireless technology. In wisdom traditions, a healthy community has three things: people dedicated to serving the community; spiritual practice of reflective self-inquiry, and getting together with other people in the community. Today we can do that online, but we can also do that by creating our own localized communities and centers. This is not a Deepak Chopra campaign or anyone’s campaign. It should be a totally grassroots, self-sustaining campaign where we create an ecosystem for helping each other in [times of] distress.

 
Allison Kugel: With the film The Offering that you’ve recently raised funding for, this is not a documentary, correct? This is a work of fiction that is based on real stories about suicide? 
 
Deepak Chopra: The actress Gabriella Wright, her sister was a very accomplished musical artist in Europe who committed suicide at the age of 28 or 29. This is a film for awareness, in which actress Gabriella Wright is playing the role of a mother whose son commits suicide. We hope to use the film as a tool for bringing awareness to this cause, and to the Never Alone movement. When you give facts alone, some people are moved by the facts, like you were moved by the statistics. But by themselves, facts can be very dry. When they are linked to an emotional response, people feel compelled to look at the facts in a different way. We are hoping that The Offering will be a film that will bring some insight to the epidemic of loneliness. The film is only one aspect of this movement. After that, the goal of the Never Alone movement is to encourage other people to produce videos and films, and to share stories to increase awareness and create their own communities both offline and online.
 
Allison Kugel: I have a question that could be construed as controversial, but it’s been on my mind. Over the last 15 to 20 years the veil, so to speak, has been thinning in terms of more people becoming aware that our souls are eternal and that there is a spiritual dimension to which we go on; the concept that we were alive before we got here and we will be alive in spirit when we leave. Do you think this information can be a double-edged sword in the wrong hands, and that people might then see suicide as a viable option because of this? For example, the thought could be, “I don’t want to cease to exist. I just don’t want to be here.” I would hate for that to be the case…
 
Deepak Chopra: I hesitate to answer that because I don’t really know that that’s one of the reasons for the increasing epidemic of suicides. Many people do not have insight into the true nature of their soul. In the past, if you spoke about the soul or the spirit, a lot of people considered themselves scientists and secular, and they would roll their eyes and look away because you’re not talking science. Right now, there’s a big discussion among scientists about what fundamental reality is. Is fundamental reality physical, or is fundamental reality non-perceptual and in the realm of what you and I would call the soul? Scientists are now struggling with a good physical explanation for what we call “consciousness.” There’s no biological explanation for consciousness. Right now, as I’m speaking to you, all that’s going to your brain is an electrical current. You are experiencing the sound of my voice, and not only that, you are interpreting that into meaning. Where is that happening? Science has no idea. So, there are some cutting-edge scientists now that are addressing this. What we call the physical world is an interpretation of perceptual connectivity in our own consciousness. The only thing that is eternal is what you just referred to as the soul, which is not in space or time. It will take a long time for science to catch up to this idea. In the meantime, we have to deal with everyday reality. And some everyday realities, at this moment, are very depressing and it’s our own collective projection. We need to change it. 
Allison Kugel: For somebody who is having suicidal thoughts or feelings, what does it take to bring them back from the brink and to move their energy back into a space of embracing life once again?
 
Deepak Chopra: It takes a loving, compassionate, caring being to be present for them. And that’s all it takes. I think there’s no situation that is so desperate that love and compassion and presence and caring can’t alleviate it, with any kind of desperate situation. But we now need to create the platform for that.
 
Allison Kugel: Have you, yourself, at any point in your life had a suicidal thought or feeling, and if so, how did you work your way out of it? Or has a loved one of yours ever experienced something like that?
 
Deepak Chopra: I have personally never experienced this kind of extreme ideation. But when I was in active practice as an internist and an endocrinologist and emergency room physician, I saw it all the time, several times a day. And then I looked at my own family; cousins, nephews, nieces, uncles, aunts. And I don’t find a single family, including my own, where this type of extreme desperation has not resulted in a suicidal act. From my medical school days to my internship and residency, I have witnessed these kinds of ideations and this kind of outcome of extreme desperation, which we call suicide. It’s never been out of my awareness, not even a single day since I became a medical student. And I do remember also in my early growing up years, becoming aware of relatives in my extended family who have done that, so it’s a daily reminder that we need to do more to alleviate everyone’s suffering. Our own personal happiness is dependent on the happiness of others. In fact, all the data shows that the most effective way to be happy is to make someone else happy. The easiest way to make someone happy is to give them attention, which means to listen to them, not advise them, but listen to them. You don’t try to change another person. It’s hard enough to change yourself when you want to. But if you listen to them and you are there to support them, then they change, especially if you care.

 
Allison Kugel: Let’s touch on your new book, Metahuman. Does the book delve into teaching people to tap into the quantum field?
 
Deepak Chopra: The book is about what is fundamental as opposed to what is a social construct. War, terrorism, socio-economic circumstances, injustice, climate change are all because of false constructs. The falsest construct that human beings have created is that we are separate; the subject and object of experience are two different things. Right now, for example, I believe that I am the subject of this experience and you are the object of this experience. You think you are the subject of the experience and I am the object of the experience. This is an artificial divide. Unfortunately, our science is based on that, so we end up using science for diabolical purposes and ultimately risk our extinction. My book is saying that you should wake up from the dream which has now become a nightmare. And the dream is that we are separate beings. We are actually part of a holistic process and when we embrace that wholeness then we are holy, and we are healed. Wholeness, holy, health and healing go together. Everything you mentioned about mindfulness and meditation, these practices give us that experience of wholeness. When we go beyond our skin-encapsulated ego-identities, that is what the book is about.
  
Deepak Chopra’s book, Metahuman: Unleashing Your Infinite Potential (Harmony Books/Random House), is available wherever books are sold. Learn more about the Never Alone movement at GoFundMe.com/NeverAlone. Follow Deepak Chopra @DeepakChopra and tune in to his podcasts Infinite Potential and Daily Breath for your regular dose of Deepak, wherever podcasts stream.
 
Allison Kugel is a syndicated entertainment columnist, author of the memoir, Journaling Fame: A memoir of a life unhinged and on the record, and owner of communications firm, Full Scale Media. Follow her on Instagram @theallisonkugel and at AllisonKugel.com.
 
Photo Credits: Todd MacMillan, Jeremiah Sullivan, Harmony Books/Random Hous
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The Big Reason This Successful Crazy Rich Asians Star Still Lives With An “All I Need Is $500/Month” Mentality

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Last year, Awkwafina became the first Asian-American to win the Golden Globe for best actress for her lead role performance in the musical or comedy category in the 2019 drama “The Farewell” which solidified her status in Hollywood.

The talented rapper, comedian, and actress also appeared in two box office hits in 2018: “Ocean’s 8” and “Crazy Rich Asians.” Thanks to her big roles in these movies, she has an estimated net worth in the millions.

But even though she’s got money to burn these days, Awkwafina still plays it safe when it comes to handling her money. She told guest host Lisa Ling on an episode of “Death, Sex & Money” that she doesn’t “splurge on literally anything,” and that she’s quite frugal when it comes to buying clothes: “I’m literally wearing Target pants.”

She also still lives in the first apartment she moved into after college as per CNBC – which happens to be a railroad apartment in Brooklyn, New York, that she discovered through a friend.

CNBC further confirmed that her philosophy about money came from her grandmother, who helped raise her in Queens after her mother died when she was just four years old. Unfortunately, her grandmother’s restaurant went bankrupt, which forced her grandmother to work four jobs to generate income.

Awkwafina also told Ling that her grandmother used to constantly worry about money. She said, “she would lie awake sometimes, and we’d be next to each other, and I asked her, ‘What is your only wish, Grandma?’ And she was like, ‘Just being able to pay my bills this month.’ … It was something that ate at her and I remember as a kid thinking that we don’t have money.”

This is the big reason why Awkwafina still lives like she can go bankrupt anytime even though her career is now well and truly established. In fact, she told Wealthsimple that “if I get a big check, I try really hard to just put it in a savings account and not touch it.”

Editorial credit: Ovidiu Hrubaru / Shutterstock.com

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4 Millionaire Success Habits That Will Definitely Inspire Your Life

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The road to becoming a millionaire is not through those typical infomercials that will make you believe that you will be rich by buying a distressed property and then selling it for millions of bucks. The only thing that you will likely get with them would be eye bags due to lack of sleep. In case you are one of those people who was lured on their false advertisements, you probably have more debt now.

Realistically, the best possible way to become a millionaire one day besides winning the lotto is to work for yourself. This is why most businessmen are brave to face the possible risk of failure, the emotional roller coaster and the vulnerability of the economy because there could be a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

To help you get started on your journey towards becoming a millionaire, we have created a rundown of regular habits that successful people normally do.

Create Choices

The average people will usually choose on the existing choices. Successful people will try to examine the existing choices, and they will then create their own choices. In case you are in a particular situation, you will often choose the best case scenario and stick with it. However, if you want to know how rich people think, you may start the habit of analyzing the best possible option and then make this choice available. This is the reason why most millionaires are doing the impossible.

Believe in Yourself

If you want to be a millionaire, you will stumble upon numerous obstacles in your journey. There are people who will disapprove, and there are those people who will criticize you. The rich people look at their opinions as a mere data. They tend to filter the data and look at the things that they can use. The rest of them will be ignored. We do not necessarily mean that you should disrespect the idea of others. We simply say that you should believe in yourself, your ideas, dedication, perseverance and abilities.

Think About how You Play the Game

In case you want to know how to be a millionaire, the way you play the game is more vital than winning or losing. Everyone wants to win. In fact, you will not be reading this if you are not determined to win. However, you should not be playing the game that you are just forced to play. You will need to alter the existing rules, create the arena and win the game on your own terms.

Hate the Comfort

There are some people who once they acquired essential skills they just work hard and stay within their comfort zone. We’re not saying that it is a bad thing; the definition of success differs from person to person. However, if you really want to be a millionaire, you should hate the contentment that is brought in by acquiring new skills. Look at this as a step towards achieving a higher skill. Achievement is a foundation towards another achievement.

Dream big and try hard, there is really no impossible thing for you to achieve. If you are determined to be a millionaire, the right amount of perseverance, dedication, and these habits will guide you on the right path.

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The Big Reason Former NBA Star Shaquille O’Neal Rejected A $40 Million Sneaker Deal

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Former NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal has revealed how an old woman cursed him out which led to him walking away from a massive $40 million deal with Reebok.

According to the New York Post, Shaq recently appeared on the Full Send podcast, wherein he decided to share what he considers as his “best” business story.

The four-time NBA champion explained how he was approached and confronted by a foul-mouthed woman over his pending Reebok deal.

O’Neal said, “I’m leaving the arena one day, and this lady, she’s ripping me a new a – ‘You motherf***ers, charging these babies all this money for the shoes.'”

“So I had like, $2000 in my pocket, and I was like, ‘Ma’am, I don’t make the prices, here you go’ – and she smacked the money out of my hand.”

O’Neal then explained that the woman responded by angrily saying: “Why don’t you motherf***ers make a shoe that’s affordable?”

Somehow, this abrupt interaction with the woman made him question his decisions in life.

“I was like, ‘You know what, she’s right.’ So that day, I cut ties with Reebok and started my own brand,” he quipped. “I said, ‘Keep the money. This ain’t right. I’ll still wear the shoes I wear during the season, but I’ll be looking to do my own thing.’ So, I started the Shaq brand.”

O’Neal further said: “I went to my favourite store, Walmart, and we did a deal. I was in all stores and my price point for the shoes was $29-$19 and since then we sold over 400 million pairs… It’s not kids that don’t want to wear $20 shoes, they don’t want to wear shoes that look like they cost $20.”

Editorial credit: Ron Adar / Shutterstock.com

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Inside The Mind Of Brian Rehg: The CEO Of Blue Stingray

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Brian Rehg has learned that behind every successful software solution is a team of strong engineers. Since launching the company in 2009, Blue Stingray is dedicated to always employing best coding practices and providing solutions that follow the latest industry standards. Brian continues to bring his more than 25 years of enterprise cloud solutions experience to provide the vision and strategy for continuous growth. Under Brian’s direction, Blue Stingray has won countless awards, given back to the community, started a free tech school, developed an extensive client base, and surpassed $10M in revenue.

Global Millionaire Magazine recently caught up with Brian to discuss his journey as an entrepreneur and here’s what went down:

Could you please tell our readers a brief background about yourself and how you started your business?

I started my business the day after being laid off from a company that was struggling to stay above water. A large percentage of employees were laid off in an attempt to make the company financially secure.

I had worked for several companies in a row that had failed for various reasons — and really, that experience is equivalent to earning an MBA at an Ivy League University. I saw firsthand why businesses failed, and I knew how to avoid certain mistakes. Of course, owning a business is all about making mistakes, and I made plenty in my first few years, but I was able to hit the ground running.

When did your entrepreneurial flair first reveal itself?

Since I was 19, I’ve had side businesses. I’ve always felt the need to keep moving. Even when I worked 55-hour weeks and spent my free time taking classes and remodeling my home, I was doing odd jobs that were related to my field. I don’t like to waste time. To me, work is rewarding — I enjoy it in the way that other people enjoy leisurely activities.

In a sense, I didn’t see it as work, and I think that mindset was helpful when I made my business my primary source of income. There’s an old saying among business owners; we “work 80 hours a week to avoid working 40.” There’s truth in that, but if your business is one of your top priorities, the “work” becomes enriching.

How did your life look like before being an entrepreneur?

I was a family man, and I still am. I had many career successes throughout my life, so I was financially secure. That meant my risks were limited — nothing I did would have compromised my family’s comfort, as long as I analyzed those risks correctly.

As an entrepreneur, what is it that motivates and drives you?

As I mentioned earlier, hard work is rewarding for me, but that’s not the only reason I do this. I love watching my team members grow. We’ve had green, inexperienced people become members of our executive staff. I’ve seen people who were there from the beginning buy new homes, go on amazing vacations, and support their family members.

Money was never my motivation, except when that money allowed me to hire interesting people and help them succeed.

In one word, describe your life as an entrepreneur and explain why.

“Rewarding.” I have never felt more rewarded in my life. And again, it’s not the money — it’s about developing as a person. You feel it in your spirit.

What were your top three motivations for starting your business?

I like hard work. I love helping people grow, and I love being able to give back. At this stage, I’m able to devote time and resources to charitable causes and mentorships, which is exactly where I’ve always wanted to be.

What would you say are the key elements for starting and running a successful business?

First, you need to have the right mindset: Stay calm, cool, and confident, even when everyone else is panicking. Second, you need to be great with people. You need to be able to build a team, and the CEO needs to be able to sell by building relationships with other business people.

You also need a passion for what you are doing, and you need to be able to share that passion. You need to be proactive, honest, and loyal to your staff. You have to learn that you work for the employees — not the other way around.

What are two of the biggest challenges you have faced growing the business, and how did you overcome them?

We have consistently grown, and we’ve faced serious growing pains; we’ve frequently encountered situations where we didn’t have enough employees to keep up with cash flow. We’ve addressed that by developing training programs to grow and build a team of senior-level engineers, and we learned to spend little to no money on overhead.

Second, we’ve learned to be aware of client behaviors. Some larger clients take advantage of small vendors in an attempt to get high-quality work for little to no pay. That can be devastating and costly. We qualify potential clients now, which just means saying “no” to many companies or individuals within companies that display red flags. That doesn’t matter if they’re Fortune 100 companies or small businesses — if they’re not willing to pay for quality work, they’re not worth the effort.

What form of marketing has worked well for your business throughout the years?

We don’t have a sales team or a marketing staff. I was amazed by how quickly the company grew via word of mouth — we simply treat clients fairly, and we do great work at a fair price. When you fill a niche and you’re proud of your work, your business grows, period.

As you grew the business, what have been some of the most important leadership lessons you have learned?

Establishing a team of diverse, capable individuals takes a unique set of skills, and I’ve learned how to do that through trial and error. Leaders should know that every team member has specific goals and needs. You’ll need to meet those to help them to do their job efficiently. Learning about those needs and goals takes time, patience, and hard work.

What is the best advice you have ever been given?

It’s an old one, but it’s great advice: “Keep your eye on the ball.” That means staying hyper-focused on the task at hand, especially during difficult times. If you are in a burning building and you see the exit in front of you, stay focused on that door. No matter what happens around you, keep moving forward — even if you have to crawl.

What advice would you give to a newbie Entrepreneur setting up their first business?

Dip your toe in the water before you dive in.

I started my company with an old laptop from my kitchen table. I used contractors when I needed them. My website was bad, my marketing was bad, and I didn’t have a plan, but I made a good profit the first year — I knew I had something, so I dove in. I made sure to grow my business slowly, in a way that I could (mostly) control. Many companies in our industry failed by growing too quickly, without clear goals. We’re still going strong. We’ve had record sales every year, and that’s because we thought carefully about every step forward.

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