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.
Monday 30 November 2009
Thursday 12 November 2009
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?
Wednesday 4 November 2009
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
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
Tuesday 3 November 2009
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
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
Sunday 1 November 2009
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.
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.
Thursday 29 October 2009
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.
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.
Step 1 - the 5 W's
In helping to define your dream, there are many questions to be asked
Who - Is your dream just for you or does it involve family or friends?
What - what do you want (many people know what they don't want, but don't know what they want out of life)
When - when do you want to get there. Timing is important because it allows us to work on
Where - where do you want to be, physically, financially, emotionally
Why - what motivates you. Why do you want to do this?
Finally "How". That's where I come in. I can help you to put the steps in place to make your dream plan happen. This is the How.
Mark Hopgood
01732 80 80 67
mark@hopgood.eu
Who - Is your dream just for you or does it involve family or friends?
What - what do you want (many people know what they don't want, but don't know what they want out of life)
When - when do you want to get there. Timing is important because it allows us to work on
Where - where do you want to be, physically, financially, emotionally
Why - what motivates you. Why do you want to do this?
Finally "How". That's where I come in. I can help you to put the steps in place to make your dream plan happen. This is the How.
Mark Hopgood
01732 80 80 67
mark@hopgood.eu
Wednesday 28 October 2009
Let me help you Define your Dream
Over the last 14 years I've helped over 4000 people to improve their lives through my proven methods and techniques.
If you want someting different from what you have now, and are willing to do something about it, then I can help you.
I guarantee that your life will be changed for the better by allowing me to work with you.
Whether your goal is based on time, finance, retirement, health, personal development or family, I can help you to define your dream, set achievable goals and help you to take steps to transform your position.
Mark Hopgood
01732 80 80 67
mark@hopgood.eu
If you want someting different from what you have now, and are willing to do something about it, then I can help you.
I guarantee that your life will be changed for the better by allowing me to work with you.
Whether your goal is based on time, finance, retirement, health, personal development or family, I can help you to define your dream, set achievable goals and help you to take steps to transform your position.
Mark Hopgood
01732 80 80 67
mark@hopgood.eu
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