Lessons from Mark Homer’s “Low Cost High Life”

Low Cost High Life

Hiya,

For those of you that aren’t familiar with Mark Homer, he is a very successful property investor based in the UK. Over the past decade or so him and his partner, Rob Moore, have made their fortune buying, selling, refurbishing and renting property of all kinds.

Mark’s book “Low Cost High Life” details his childhood experiences that gave him the mindset for success, the lessons learned along the way and the advice for anyone else to replicate.

These are the lessons I gleaned from it, some I already learned from other authors but they bare repeating as that is how we learn best – repetition.

1. Always make sure you get more value than you pay for. IE: Don’t pay market price for investments if possible – reduce the risk

2. Learn to balance creating money and time equally in order to enjoy the independence true wealth brings.

3. Do not spend earned income on luxuries – it should only go in to either; living, saving or investing. Buy luxuries from passive income.

4. Understand the business you’re in as much as possible, it helps you remain passionate and spot opportunities. Temper your emotional urges with this knowledge to make rational decisions.

5. Get good at local property before considering overseas property. The laws and best practice may well be very different.

6. Networking events grow your network and that can be your best route to JVs, finance, expertise and latest investor trends.

7. Model those you admire that have been successful and made the mistakes. When walking through a mine field it’s best to follow someone else’s footsteps.

8. For maximum productivity stay fit and healthy. This will provide the energy and clarity of thought you need to focus and work effectively.

9. Put systems in place for everything, then manage the systems.

10. Keep 6-12 months operating cash at hand – ALL the time!

11. Invest for cashflow FIRST, and capital growth second.

12. Tap into the market’s perception of value in order to increase your price.

13. Get a PA asap.

Enjoy

Stu

🙂

Career Advice from an Inspirational Journalist

Great Career advice – for any career

Hiya,

My wife pointed me to this excellent article on becoming a freelance journalist by George Monbiot. The clue is in the word ‘free‘. But even if you’re not trying to be a writer the words here will inspire and provoke thought with regards to your own hopes and dreams.

If you’re still under 30 you may still have hopes and dreams, if you’re over 40 you may be wondering where they went. Read the article and it might just remind you…

Read the article by CLICKING HERE

Enjoy

Stu

🙂

Hiya,

When was the last time you stopped and really evaluated where you are headed and why?

It’s possible things have changed since you set yourself on your present course.

Maybe it’s time for a course correction, a deviation onto a slightly different path. Maybe an about turn altogether.

How will you know?

Enjoy

Stu

🙂

Happy New Year…Or is it?

Photo: http://lolimages.funvblog.com

Hiya,

For the last few days I’ve found myself short tempered. Hair-triggered, if you know what I mean. Flaring up into a near rage over the tiniest things.

I then went on to ask myself the exact wrong question: Why am I short tempered at the moment?

It’s the wrong question because I already know my mind is going to find valid answers for ‘why’ I should be ill tempered; the dogs made a mess of the house, I couldn’t find what I needed in the cupboard because we have too much stuff, etc.

You may be feeling angry, or disappointed, or depressed, or confused at the moment too but feel that you ‘should’ be happier – after all..it’s Happy New Year, right?

Then this morning, whilst walking one of our dogs in the January drizzle I remembered the lesson I learned from Paul & Layne Cutright – “You’re Never Upset for the Reason You Think You Are”.

Suddenly, it became obvious.

The very thing I like to help others find: clarity, was the one thing I was searching for myself. Ironic.

I am in the process of expanding a particular business interest at the moment but had not gotten clear about ‘how’ I was going to proceed. Because I was confused I distracted myself from the task of getting clear.

This realisation immediately filled me with a sense of calm, the tension in my muscles physically lessened and I set about putting the process into action.

The rest of today I’ll be getting clearer and clearer about what I am going to do moving forwards, and just as importantly, what I’m not going to do in this new year.

Tip: If you are feeling a bit low at the moment instead of asking yourself why you feel low, ask – what will make me feel brighter, happier, excited?

And finally: Dan Rockwell recently wrote a blog post titled: Getting the Most From Anger. He suggested: When you feel angry, stop and observe yourself. Ask, will I be proud of what happens next?

Enjoy, get clear

Stu

🙂

Do you see a storm approaching?

When a storm is approaching what do you do?

Look for shelter or prepare to get wet?

What do you do?

Strive to thrive

Stu

🙂

PS: This was today’s Ponder to my Ponders, Quotes and Questions group.

If you’d like to receive these Ponders daily direct to your email inbox at no cost, just email me at stuart@HowToChangeYourLifeOneDayAtATime.com

Are you a fish or a mudskipper?

Mudskippers – fish out of water!

Hiya,

You may have heard of the expression ‘a fish out of water’, it usually describes someone struggling with being outside of their comfort zone.

We’ve all been there, right?

The thing with most fish is that they are completely unaware of what water is – they are immersed in it, surrounded by it, yet cannot see it. If they are taken out of it they thrash and wriggle and jump around until they get back into it.

Mudskippers on the other hand have evolved the ability to survive (even thrive) outside of their natural habitat. They have developed the ability to breathe through their skin and can skip around on fins that have adapted over the millennia.

This could only have happened due to their ancestor’s circumstances and determination to survive outside of water. Outside of their natural habitat and environment. It has allowed them to inhabit two separate environments. They have a different perspective of both habitats – creatures that inhabit only one can’t possibly understand.

So, are you a fish that must remain in familiar surroundings and circumstances? Or are you a mudskipper – able to adapt and see conditions with a different perspective?

Enjoy

Stu

🙂

PS: James Arthur Ray has an analogy of a half full glass of grape juice. Learning and absorbing information and knowledge that can make you more aware is like pouring clear water into the glass. The more you pour, the clearer the liquid becomes until eventually it pours over the rim of the glass. As you continue to pour, eventually you will be left with a completely clear glass of water. If you want that kind of clarity take a look at this —> CLICK HERE

 

Searching for Simplicity

Find Simplicity

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stuart Young, London, UK

Hiya,

Why focus can bring great clarity…

I read an interesting article this morning about a study done by Tania Lombrozo of UC-Berkeley about our childhood preference for purposeful design.

The study seemed to show that when we are children we look for purpose in all things: the rain falls, so we have water to drink – for example. Wondering whether this was a state of mind that we grew out of in adulthood Tania tested a number of Alzheimer’s sufferers and found that the entrenched causal beliefs of adulthood (eg: rain is part of the natural water cycle with no obvious ‘purpose’) were weakened. So much so, that they gave similar answers as the children.

The conclusion seems to indicate a natural preference for the mind to conserve energy by seeking to simplify our reality. More energy is used by the brain when we are considering complex ideas. This natural preference is only suppressed in adulthood but lurks in the shadows ready to conserve energy at a moment’s notice.

So what?

This made me think of my own multi-tasking habit. Having 101 things on the go, switching between projects at lightning pace must have a detrimental effect on the amount of energy my brain is using. The average brain uses 20% of all the energy consumed – so imagine the mental exhaustion if you constantly give it a lot of complex work to do all at the same time.

I certainly feel like that often.

So, if you are one that is stuck in a job you don’t like at the moment concentrate on one solution at a time. For the next 7 days, 2 weeks, 1 month – whatever you need, just consider one solution at a time. Focus.

I honestly think that my new eBook will help you do this. Get your f.ree copy right now and spend the required time working through the processes and gain the clarity you need in order to understand what you should do next.

Grab a copy now at NO COST, if not for you then for someone you know that’s struggling to get out of bed every work day.

Click here to get your copy.

Enjoy

Stu

 PS: It’s a short book full of useful, practical content, easy to understand and apply.

It takes effort so clear your mind of distractions

Obstacles = Opportunities

Hiya,

Following on from my last post How To Change Jobs – I suggested you make a skills & opportunities list.

I want to help that process along a bit more because I know how important it is for gaining clarity to your next step.

When I quit my job 10 years ago I had considered what else I could do by creating one of these long opportunities lists. I even had ‘Litter Picker’ on my list – seriously! I had written everything I could think of that I could do. It didn’t matter how dumb it seemed or how menial – I wanted to exit my job so bad I considered anything!

I made this video a while back which will help you figure out what some of your opportunities might be (sorry about the bad lighting).

So continue for a couple more days adding to your list. As promised, in my next post I’ll explain what to do with it.

Enjoy

Stu

🙂

PS: Free online Video Training series here: CLICK HERE to sign up, and get my daily ‘Ponders Quotes and Questions‘ thought provoking emails automatically.

PPS: My ‘Change Your Mindset, Change Your Life‘ 90 Day Program is still available as a complimentary bonus when you buy a copy of my book see here for details – offer ends 31st May.

 

Want More Confidence?

Join my team over the next few months and learn how to grow your confidence and that of others.

Hiya,

As some of you may know I have just completed the 1st part (12 weeks) of the online ‘Confidence Reality Series‘ Program.

I was already pretty confident, but I wanted to find out ‘why’ – so I could ramp it up whenever I wanted or needed. What I actually discovered was a whole matrix of influences that effect our confidence levels, AND, we have multiple levels of confidence. We can be confident at work but not in relationships. We might be assertive with our kids but not with a car salesman etc.

I learned a lot about myself and others during this last 3 months and it’s been a real eye opener on many occasions.

SO…

I have been invited to co-create a Confidence Team with Soul the author of the book ‘Pay Me What I Am Worth‘, and host of the radio show. The Team will meet via Skype a set number of times per month to work through the various exercises in the book. I’ll also be applying my own teachings regarding mindset, gaining clarity, making decisions etc. into the mix.

There’s a limited number of places so please, if you wish to improve your own confidence or simply learn where it comes from and what can make it disappear, OR if you want to help others with these issues – let me know asap.

Up until this coming Friday there is a special offer available so let me know if you are interested and I’ll give you the full details.

For now, to learn more, visit my own Team page here

Enjoy

Stu

🙂

PS: To listen to the shows in the series go here and scroll down to the ‘On Demand Shows‘ panel.

Take the opportunity today to decide.

Hiya,

One way or another, decide. You can probably think of something right
now as you read this that you are procrastinating over. Take a moment
and consider whether you have all the information you need in order to
decide. If you do, what’s the hold up? Why are you not deciding?

If you’re afraid that you might make the wrong decision realise that
not making a decision is actually making a decision. What’s the worst
that can happen? Now, what’s the best that can happen? Does the best
outway the worst or vice versa?

In answering that question you should get some clarity around this point.

Enjoy

Stu

🙂