A recent conversation with my friend

Mark

Hi Lisa, how are you? I'm back from Orlando and enjoying the snow.

23:04Lisa

lol, I bet you are! Even though it's starting to turn into sludge!

Did you have a good time?

23:05Mark

It's a great workout going to the school and back.

23:05Lisa

I'm sure it is. Poor kids here have to go regardless of the weather.

23:05Mark

I had an amazing time. I'm so excited about the MonaVie opportunity. I met 20 people who are earning more than $1m a year in just 5 years.

23:06Lisa

Sounds too good to be true!

23:07Mark

It is amazing. We're growing our business every week. You can imagine how I want you to get involved as it's open in the netherlands and uk.

23:08Lisa

Ah, but I won't be in the Netherlands much longer. I'm counting down the days till I get back to Wales.

23:09Mark

How's the planning going. You sorted?

23:12Lisa

Extremely busy. Loads to arrange, forms to fill in, government agencies to contact and visit in February. It's a lot more work than I had bargained on, to be honest with you. Getting there slowly but surely. I'll be fine, it just takes time and luckily I have that at the moment. If I was moving back next month, I wouldn't be feeling so calm.

23:14Mark

You're a survivor - you'll get there. Sounds like a lot to get through.

23:15Lisa

It is. And I am :)

23:17Mark

I love chatting with you - v positive.

What's the time there?

23:19Lisa

:)
An hour later than with you. CET here. So it's pretty late.

23:20Mark

I'd say - well when you do get to bed, have a good sleep. Busy day tomorrow?

23:21Lisa

I will, I have a great bed!
Not too bad. Morning off as it's test week then a few hours in the afternoon. What are you up to tomorrow?

23:26Mark

I'm meeting with someone who wants to start in the business at 10:30 over coffee. Then I'm meeting with a partner company that's going to support my software business (I'm bringing the cakes) Then I'm picking up my flip chart for my tasting party on Saturday. Then I'm going back, pick the boys up and take Herb to Judo. Picking up my new car at 4pm then going shopping, then relax - aahh!

23:27Lisa

Bloody hell! Sounds like you have a busy day ahead of you!
What car did you buy?
You seem to have a lot on the go. Good for you!

23:42Mark

I'm busy, but I feel like a kid I'm so excited. I got a red Mini Cooper. My days are so mapped out it's like I've got a laser vision / focus on activities.

23:43Mark

I think when Sue said she was going to do teacher training, something clicked, I just went into focus mode and made a plan. Now I'm looking after the kids my time is more precious and I try to fill it with activities that are going to benefit my future.

23:45Lisa

Good for you! You sound like you have a very happy family and extremely fulfilled!

23:46Mark

I think the best thing for me was when I went to Orlando and learned that everyone was about helping people. That's my passion, so being able to help people break free feels like gift, not a job.

23:47Lisa

It sounds as rewarding as teaching.

23:49Mark

It is, very and I was a teacher, I remember pining a little when I left, but know I'm back to being able to use my passion for other peoples benefit.

23:50Lisa

Which is brilliant! I don't want to leave teaching. Only started 5 years ago.

23:51Mark

It's great that you care. I remember you saying before how you would miss your pupils when you left.

I'm going to have to go soon, gotta go scan some documents before shut eye. Night night.

23:52Lisa

Yeah, will miss them shed loads. But thankfully there's internet and they all have my FB page, the one I made for pupils, that is!

see ya! Have a great day tomorrow!

23:52Mark

Ha ha!

You too. Great speaking with you.

23:53Lisa

you too :)

New Years resolution - in advance

Here's some preparation of what's to come and a little exercise.

Over the holiday period you may have a little time to think really hard about your dream.

It works better if you involve your partner and  kids if you have any.

I'm going to spend a little time with Sue, thinking about whether the next year will be like the last.
Do I want to be doing the same things, going on the same holidays to the same places.

Or do we want something different from what we have now. This will be the start of what I hope to be a good new year's resolution.

What's better? Friends, Strangers or Enemies?

Not everyone is serious about making a change in their lives. Some friends are happy to let others carry on and stay as they are. For me a true friend is someone who can dedicate time and share skills with you. Spend 2 hours a week with me for a month to reboot your life. Just think, what if it worked?

Why having a family (or a dog) is so good for your financial future

I've just been focusing seriously on my diary for the next 4 months.
So, now I know what I will be doing until Feb 2009 and this led me to remember what my wife Sue had said to me when we were about to have our first child, Herb, 8 years ago.

"for the next 18 years you'll be responsible for knowing where he is every day and night"

Ok, that's a great responsibility. 8 years later we've moved to a larger house and started several businesses which have helped fund our homebuilding.

Now after looking at my diary I have a few questions for you.

Do you know where you will be every day and night for the next 18 years?
What will you be doing that is Asset time and what will be Liability time?

Here's why I think having a family is good for your financial future.

1. Network (you meet so many people at the school gate, parties, clubs etc.)
2. Planning (you have to be in at certain times, so this gives you time to plan)
3. Knowing where you'll be for the next 18 years.
4. Demand for bigger (kennel, more bedrooms, bigger house) helps you to drive forward
5. Time (you can't afford to go out so use your home and time as assets)

Anyway have a look at my ever growing calendar at my meetup group.
http://www.meetup.com/letsevolve/calendar/
How can you use your time to help build your dream?
kind wishes
Mark

How much time and income do you need for your dream

Again, I'm making an assumption here,
but your dream involves some kind of freedom - financial or time.

Here's a spreadsheet I've put together to see what's achievable.

http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AgOnzC1aJT2edDFicHJOcXNUc3hfYVlaSFdJQ2hWcVE&hl=en

Change the values in the yellow boxes to see what you could "retire" on or when you could sack the job / boss

As ever, if you need to contact me, I'm at mark@hopgood.eu or 01732 80 80 67

regards
Mark

Asset time vs Liability time

Those who have read Rich dad poor dad or the cashflow quadrant will know about Assets and Liabilities.
http://astore.amazon.co.uk/richdad-21

Asset - something that actually earns you money.
Liability - something that costs you money.

I like to think of my time and how I spend it. Notice the word "spend" - time is money they say.
I like to categorise my use of time in 2 ways.

You can either spend your time improving yourself or working on your business (asset time). This ultimately generates you money.
or
You can spend time as a liability, i.e. watching TV, sitting in traffic, doing nothing. This ultimately loses the opportunity to increase your potential or earnings.

I like to try and maximise my asset time and minimise my liability time. This helps me with the previous step in that it helps me to decide what's a good use of my time.

Next blog post we'll have a look at how much time you have in a lifetime and what can be acheives with a little planning.

Step 2 - quantify (how much) time to make way for your dreams

I was thinking of calling step 2 smash up the telly.
The reason? I think it's the biggest suck of your time going. When my wife Sue recently started a teacher training course, the first thing I suggested was to cancel the sky subscription. "We won't have time for telly", we agreed. Do you feel that you are watching too much telly or drinking too much or reading the news paper? Sounds familiar?

As Sue was going to be doing homework and study for the next 9 months, I thought I would use my spare time productively. This is where quantifying your time is important.

How much do you spend on each activity every day?

Take a classical worker - their day could be broken down into the following sections.

8 hours sleep
8 hours work
8 hours... DREAM TIME!

That's right, there's 8 hours every day where you are not sleeping or working.
What do you currently do in this time?

Make a list of what you do of a typical evening. Be honest and get a notepad and write down what you do.


Mine currently looks like this.
Cooking, Eating and chatting with Sue - 1 hour
Networking - 1 hour
Telly - 1/2 hour
Facebook - 1 hour
Reading - 1 hour
Planning - 1 hour
Working on one of my businesses - 1 hour
Blogging - 1 hour

How much time are you spending doing things you could do without.

You'll start to get a picture of how much spare time you really have.
The next step is to think about Asset time vs liability time.