November 07, 2003
Welcome to this month's issue of the Wealth Keys newsletter.
(Please feel free to pass this along to friends.)
This edition includes…
1. Mindset Article: Are You an Ant or a Grasshopper?
2. Announcement: A new page on staying healthy while you create your fortune
3. Subscriber Article: Pushing (Literally) Past Your Comfort Zone
4. Event Review: Dead Doctors Don't Lie
It's great to have you join our rapidly expanding network.
To thank you for subscribing to our newsletter, we have created a visual aid to help you maintain that all-important positive mindset.
To download your copy, please go to either of these locations:
http://www.atiproductions.australia.ms/nl-download.html
http://home.austarnet.com.au/margob/1download
FEATURED ARTICLE:
Are You an Ant or a Grasshopper?
Travis had a well-paid job in the construction industry. He made large amounts of money which he spent in full every week, buying trendy clothes, smoking too many cigarettes and treating his many girlfriends to lavish nights on the town. Travis had a financial plan of sorts – he bought over $500 worth of lottery tickets every week, convinced that eventually he'd become a millionaire through playing his lotto “system”. Then he would buy his yacht and retire.
But one day Travis injured his back on the job and the money stream dried up. Because he was working for a friend at the time, and the friend hadn't bothered to take out disability insurance on his behalf, Travis would up with a very small settlement, along with a major disability.
It took several years before Travis was well enough to work again, so he was forced to get by on very limited funds. The girlfriends dropped away and the cappuccinos were replaced by instant coffee. Eventually he found a job as a groundskeeper for the city's parks and gardens, but this paid far less that his former positions, and Travis accepted that he'd never regain his former lifestyle. One good aspect of his new job was that his employer was obligated to pay into a retirement plan. This was fortuitous because once again Travis spent his entire pay packet each week.
Five years later, disaster struck again when Travis injured his shoulder at work. This time his employers refused to acknowledge that the injury was work related, so Travis spent six months in court trying to prove his case. Although he won and the employers were forced to pay for his surgery, Travis felt betrayed by his former bosses and refused their offer of a desk job. He cashed in his small retirement fund and decided to invest in a share float organized by an old acquaintance. Once again he could see those millions lining up to pour into his bank account.
His friends pointed out that Travis had enough funds from his payout to build a small houseboat, and, with some careful investments, he could live quite comfortably on his boat. But Travis wasn't interested. He was “going for the million!”
There was one small problem - Travis no longer had an income to cover his living expenses. Ignoring his friends' advice to claim a disability pension in order to preserve his finite resources, he stubbornly held out for the pot of gold in the form of the share deal. But as the float met with delay after delay, Travis began dipping into his nest egg to pay for rent and food. By the time the deal went ahead without him, Travis had spent all his funds and was forced to move out of his apartment. He now collects a disability pension and lives in a van. He's still looking for that surefire scheme that will get him his boat and the million dollars.
This story reminds me of one of Aesop's fables, the one about the ant and the grasshopper. The ant gathers food for her nest all summer while the grasshopper sings in the sun and makes fun of the industrious ant. When winter comes, the grasshopper starves while the ant lives comfortably off the food she has stored to tide her over.
How does this apply to you?
Are you a grasshopper? Do you live for the moment and believe you'll miraculously acquire money through a windfall of some kind?
Or are you an ant, a diligent saver and an astute investor who plans for the future?
Can you get creative and find a way to do both?
ANNOUNCEMENT:
Staying Healthy While You Build Your Fortune
We have just added a page on health to the Hidden Keys to Wealth site. As you all know, wealth without good health is a booby prize. Helping a friend deal with a debilitating illness has really brought this home to me over the past few months. When your body is failing, nothing else matters.
It was always our intention to add a page of health tips that you can incorporate while pursuing your wealth creation dreams and we decided that now was the time. For the moment, it's available only to subscribers. You can find it at
http://www.hidden-wealth-keys.com/health.html
This article was submitted by one of our subscribers, a playwright and composer from Oregon. Thank you, John, for your contribution.
Pushing (Literally) Beyond Your Comfort Zone
Three months ago, upon the advice of my chiropractor, I bought a bicycle. I didn't just have a bad back - I had a bad everything!
The idea of riding a bike terrified me, and that's one of the reasons why I did it. I bought one with an electronic speedometer and odometer, big fat tires for safety, and most important - mountain gears!
When I first got on the bike I felt like I was gonna die. I kept riding, waiting for the inevitable crash to the pavement as my heart imploded or my brain melted. But that was three months ago. I have now logged 495 miles on the thing up to this point. I don't own a car, and the town where I live is mostly hills. But rain or shine I'm on my bike, though it isn't always easy. I still feel like I'm gonna die, but only when I take on a steep hill that pushes beyond my limits.
I'm starting to see some benefits. I've gained one inch of muscle on my thighs, flattened my abs, and improved my upper body proportions without going to the gym. I'm now waiting for the results of an echocardiogram to see if my cardiovascular system has improved. I had what seemed like a heart attack last year so I'm anxious to see if there's any change.
However, I see my bike as much more than a physical fitness machine. For me, the bike is a statement of personal independence. I can go anywhere, literally under my own steam. I've overcome my fear that I'm too old and fragile to ride a bike. People see me whizzing around town and wave. I've become a bit of a local character, my gray hair flying in the wind, a silly grin on my face. I'm actually having fun!
All because I did something I thought would kill me. Instead, it's helped me come alive.
John K. Fox, Ph.D.
EVENT REVIEW: Dead Doctors Don't Lie Seminar
For those of you who haven't come across him yet, Joel Wallach is a former veterinarian who now markets high quality nutritional products through his network marketing company, American Longevity. He wrote a best-selling book called Dead Doctors Don't Lie, and has distributed over 44 million copies of his CD of the same name. We attended his lecture on the Gold Coast this week and really enjoyed his presentation.
Dr Wallach's scientific credentials are impeccable. He has degrees in agriculture and veterinary medicine, and in the course of his career has performed 17,000 autopsies on 454 species of animals and 3,000 humans. He became a naturopathic physician as a result of questioning the fact that while veterinary science had discovered how to cure most diseases in livestock, those same diseases were considered incurable in humans.
Dr Wallach demonstrated that most diseases, and many cases of what were considered “natural deaths”, were in fact the results of vitamin and mineral deficiencies. In 1991 he was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Medicine/Nutrition for his discoveries regarding the origins of the disease cystic fibrosis.
Following on from our review last month of Paul Zane Pilzer's seminar on the coming Wellness revolution, you might like to take a look at Dr Wallach's web sites if you're interested in network marketing. You can learn about the products and the business at
http://www.deaddoctors.com
http://www.americanlongevity.com
Australians should visit:
http://www.australianlongevity.com.au
We advise reading the book before you make any decisions, as this will give you a more thorough overview of Dr Wallach's approach to health and longevity.
You can borrow a copy from your local library or purchase one from
http://www.amazon.com
We welcome your feedback and suggestions. Please let us know what information you find useful and we'll do our best to accommodate you.
You can reach us any time at
admin@hidden-wealth-keys.com