It all started with a seminar Millionaire Mind Intensive (MMI) back in 2008 which triggered me to review my attitude and beliefs about money.
I discovered my subconcious beliefs about money was that money is the root of unhappiness and creates discord among family. To me I never really thought of becoming wealthy because I felt that being rich would create more problems then happiness.
What changed was when I realised these beliefs were not helping me and that being wealthy not only allows me and my loved ones to enjoy a better lifestyle, it also enables me to do more and contribute to others.
Once I changed my attitude towards money and found my purpose for wealth, I started to work on myself, to acquire the financial knowledge, skills to grow my money and develop good money habits to manage my money. And I have never looked back since..
Looking back these were the key factors that contributed to the change in my financial life:
1. Mindset Shift
Many of us live on autopilot and majority of our day to day decisions are made based on our subconcious beliefs and habits.
Have you ever wondered why you chose the weekend activities you did, why do some people choose to spend their weekends doing adventurous sports while others choose to relax and chill out at home, many times it’s just a habit that formed over time.
Similarly when it comes to the financial aspect, all of us have certain beliefs about money and rich people, some are empowering, some are not, some even cripple us and stop us from taking steps to make a difference in our lives.
For example, during the seminar I attended back in 2008, I realised that I have always felt that rich people were money minded, scheming and arrogant (influence of all the hong kong drama serials) and that I would not be accepted by friends and family around me if I were too rich and successful. No wonder I was satisfied with just being mediocre and just earn a decent income!
Many of us did not consciously choose our beliefs, our beliefs were formed over time through our life experiences, the stories we hear, the movies we see etc and etched into our subsconcious as we attached our emotions to it.
Only when I was aware of my unconscious beliefs about money was I able to make a more powerful choice as to which beliefs to keep, which to let go of and to create new empowering beliefs that will support me in my journey towards wealth and financial freedom.
2. Ownership and Action
Ever notice how students who do well in studies or excel in sports tend to be motivated, self driven and they exhibit good self discipline? Compare this to those whose parents have to keep pushing them to do their homework, send them to tuition classes and personally monitor their work?
The difference between the former and the latter lies in the former group’s ability to take responsibility for themselves. The underlying reason is because they are focused on what they want.
I know because I used to be very passive and bo-chup about my studies during Primary school and only did my assessment books when my mother nagged at me. Naturally my PSLE results were mediocre. Somehow during Secondary School, I started to “wake up” and put in effort into my studies, diligently doing my homework and revising my work. And lo and behold, I jumped the class ranks and came out top in the entire cohort by secondary four!
Why can I sharing all these?
Because the success formula behind my achievement in school was not intelligence or miracles, it was simply a result of me deciding to take ownership for myself and taking the necessary actions to work towards my goals. I experienced the same amazing effect at work in my financial life when I finally told myself “That’s it, Yong Hui, it’s time for you to take charge of your finances, because no one else can help you unless you decide to help yourself and nothing will change until you take the first step!” And that resolution became the turning point for me.
Harv once said “Your wealth can only grow to the extent that you do”. From then, I started working on myself, enhancing my financial skills and knowledge, and developing empowering mindset and attitudes. I attended seminars, read books and researched on money management, investing and asset protection etc. Most importantly, I applied what I learnt and started to track my expenditure, monitor my cashflow, investing my money in various instruments and enhancing my insurance coverage.
I will be sharing some of my learnings and financial information on this blog and website. I hope you will find useful and helpful to kick start or enhance your financial knowledge =)
3. Supportive Peer Group
Having a supportive peer group is the other key element that contributed to my growth.
I was fortunate to be part of a very supportive environment when I joined the financial services industry. I was part of a positive and motivated team who encouraged each other to strive towards our financial goals; I had an inspiring mentor who guided me along the way and supported me through my down periods, never giving up on me. I was also very grateful to have a supportive husband and family who gave me their blessings to venture into self employment.
As the chinese saying goes, we become who we associate and spend most time with.
Who are the Top 5 people you spend the most time with? Are they supportive in what you do, do they provide guidance or encourage you along the journey?
If so, congratulations! If not, I invite you to find some new friends and form a support group of like-minded, positive people who can provide the moral support and ideas along your journey towards achieving your goals.
To Your Success and Happiness,
Yong Hui
