Archive for January 19th, 2008

Think Rich And Grow Wealth

Saturday, January 19th, 2008

Think Rich And Grow Wealth

By: Robert Taylor

We are starkly set today to be in the glimpse of great wealth. Today, successful people are finding endless opportunities to advance their financial freedom while helping a lot of people. However, while these stories are inspiring, most see it as impossible or ?out of their realm.? This thinking is a reflection of the plight of people in the bins. Our effort in achieving wealth therefore starts with changing that mindset.

Napoleon Hill?s Think and Grow Rich is a good initial action to change that mindset. Although this book was written more than 70 years ago, it still communicates the same shout that by the most successful people today; that achieving financial freedom is an exercise of continuing shift in thinking.

This is a book of conceiving and achieving. It first argues that ?whatever your mind can conceive and believe it can achieve.? This argument is the essence of Napoleon Hill?s interview with the 500 richest men in America during his time. This is certainly the idea that has come across the likes of Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, Henry Ford, Elmer Gates, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson and many more. Hill?s book is therefore the summation of the thoughts of these great men.

Background of Think and Grow Rich

Think and Grow Rich was borne out of the efforts of the famous Andrew Carnegie. As a Swedish immigrant that grew from poverty, Andrew Carnegie saw the need for communicating the practicalities of money making. Carnegie tabbed Napoleon Hill for such ambitious project. Today, the book has sold over 7 million books and is the main source of inspiration for highly successful people 70 years after it was written.

This book outlines thirteen steps to achieve financial freedom. Napoleon Hill first talks about desire as the starting point of all achievement. In this book, desire is not a wish, a dream, or a leaning. Instead, desire talks about the emblem of passion, which allows one to focus on his goal at all cost. For Edison, the desire to invent allowed him to be what he is. In short, desire is burning, not just a silly figment of our actions.

Secondly, he talks about faith or the belief that desire can be attained. Faith allows us to be continually focused on our desire because we know that we can achieve in the future. Napoleon Hill implied that faith makes miracles. In a parallel view, in order for a desire to be all encompassing, it must border on miracles. Thus, faith and desire are strong suggestions in achieving financial freedom.

A Step by Step Approach to Changing Mindset

While there are thirteen very helpful steps to achieve wealth creation, Napoleon Hill also outlines action within our fundamental minds. Thus, in Think and Grow Rich, the art of decision making and the mastery of procrastination are discussed. Procrastination and decision go hand in hand. Most people tend to hold decisions because they lack a sense of judgment, or they do not like risk taking. However, every pause that we make is time lost in what could have been a productive action. Napoleon Hill states that most successful people do act quickly and decide often. Therefore procrastination is not a problem of laziness but a myopic view on the value of decision making. It should be our attitude to put action ahead of us.

This book is definitely a must read for people who have not grasped what thinking rich means. While most people will continue to believe their status quo which puts them at the bottom of the financial chain, Think and Grow Rich will help you change a lot of your values and help you see the world in a different light. Taking steps to financial freedom as set out by a timeless book starts from our heads. After that, you will be surprised what a change of perspective will do to you.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_8832.shtml

10 Commandments For Investing In Bullion

Saturday, January 19th, 2008

10 Commandments For Investing In Bullion

By: Mark Walters

There are some ways to protect a stock portfolio, and increase leverage, through investing in bullion, which cannot be found in any other investment. For one thing, bullion can be kept at home and traded at the local store. Many of the investors who survived the 1920 stock crash did so by using their gold. The more volatile the economy becomes, the higher the demand for bullion grows. The more risk banks? take one, the higher the price of bullion grows.

There are two main bullions traded in North America, gold and silver. Silver is starting to interest many investors because the stock piled supply is gone. Every year the demand outstrips the supply by a larger percentage.

However, investing in bullion is not risk free. An investor can lose if they do not manage their portfolio wisely.

#1 Volatility Increases the Value of Bullion

In most cases, when fears increase, inflation climbs, banks fail, stocks spiral in a bear market, and the gurus stop making predictions then bullions increase in value.

#2 Timing is Everything

Many investors like to follow the reports, however, most of the time the moment has passed by the time the report is released. To pick the right time to buy and sell bullion the investor needs to take a global look at the markets. The central banks are not the ones to follow ? in fact, they are the ones following the trends.

Bullion investors should be leading the markets, taking advantage of the economy dynamics, and paying attention to the non monetary considerations.

#3 Do Not Trust Strategies

Bullion does not follow the strategies and trends the way other markets do. Returns from a “buy and hold” strategy can overcome inherent volatility. Many investors try to outsmart the market by hyperactive trading. Success depends on the occurrence of “fat tail” events that lie outside the trading models.

#4 Beware Passive Investing

Many investors sit on bullion as if it was cash that can be sold at a profit when they want to sell, whenever that is. This is not true. It is impossible to decide one morning to sell some bullion and earn a bit of extra cash without understanding what is happening in the world.

#5 Invest in Mining

Equities of mining companies offer more leverage than ownership of a metal. Metal equities appear expensive in comparison to regular companies because they contain an imbedded option component for a possible increase in the metal?s price.

The share price sensitivity to a possible increase in metal price is related to the cash flow from current production.

#6 Gold Fever

Bullion is a solid investment, but being caught up in gold fever. Avoid offbeat “exploration” mines with little or no current production and large appetites for money. Speculate only with solid companies who have done their research.

#7 Bullion Coins

When buying bullion, do not accept certificates. If the gold is to be stored, then expect it to be stored in a segregated vault, subject to unscheduled audits. Better yet, if possible, store the gold yourself.

Do not value a coin on the ?mint? value it has. Dealers may try to increase a coin?s value based on the year it was minted, or a certain face value it may have. Bullion is invested based on its purity, not its face value.

#8 Bullion Purity

Not all bullion is the same quality. There are different purities. Buying bullion from a less than reputable dealer may have the investor with a greatly depreciated portfolio.

#9 Do Not Trust the Gurus

Gold is a controversial, anti establishment investment. Its value is not controlled by the banks, or by a single government. Conventional financial media and brokerage house commentaries will not help the gold investor.

#10 Observe the Intangibles

A natural disaster, a pandemic, an airline crash, can send the price of bullion far higher than its current price ? by several multiples. This is what gold investors wait for.

These 10 commandments of investing in bullion can help an investor build wealth and protect their portfolio through the next few decades.

Article Source:
http://www.articlecity.com/articles/business_and_finance/article_8947.shtml