Ideas on How to be rich and stay healthy

After spending most of the time doing what I do... I considered that in order to fullfill the goal of this blog which is to be able to count one million € in less than 5 years I remembered some interesting ideas from some of the latest books that I read, the first idea that will also help my goal is that in order to acomplish the materialistic purpose I must have a healthy life, I read an article last week that said that as crazy as it seems the biggest acomplishers in the finance sector have also been (some of them of course) the biggest weight loosers in the past. This explains the level of focus and the personality of an individual.

Ironically three weeks ago as all of this is taking place, I got an invitation from my colleagues at the office to get into this competition about the "biggest weight looser"(not that I´m fat I started 1.66m and 78k) We are 6 competitors we bet 100€ each the winner takes it all, and we started loosing weight on the 1st of March the final day will be the 1st of June. So far so good a new diet, exercise most of the time and the energy is back.

While considering that as a new challenge I jumped to a second idea which is that thoughts about money and the lack of it dominate many people's minds each day. A great deal of people all over the world spend much time worrying about money, no matter what their own particular financial situation may be. How many understand the real purpose of money though I wonder?

Here is a short and true to life story that demonstrates that many people who think they understand the purpose of money, and make their own living by giving others their advice on this subject, really do not have the faintest idea of the real purpose of money at all. They have in many cases fallen into an old trap which has put them in a state of self-delusion regarding it.

THE PURPOSE OF MONEY

An investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The banker complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied “only a little while”.

The banker then asked why didn't he stay out longer and catch more fish?

The Mexican said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs.

The banker then asked, “but what do you do with the rest of your time?”

The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my child, take a nap with my wife, Kati, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my friends, I have a full and busy life.”

The banker scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat, and with the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats; eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then NYC eventually Europe where you will run your expanding enterprise.”

The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”

To which the banker replied, “15-20 years.”

”But what then?”

The banker laughed and said that's the best part. “When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions.”

”Millions.. Then what?”

The banker said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kid, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your friends.” - (Anonymous)

In "The Abundance Book" John Randolph Price writes: "Webster says that money is a 'medium of exchange, a measure of value, a means of payment.' In short, money is what people use to buy things. Nothing evil, unspiritual, or materialistic there. Money is simply a part of the physical-living process, and in the past it was as varied as stones, beads, feathers, fishhooks, animal skins and shells.

"Today we give paper money and coins to people for the things they sell or the work they do. Simple, isn't it? Where it gets complex is that many people do not have sufficient paper or coins to exchange for the goods and services they need and want. Why not? Because their consciousness is not attracting, or it is literally repelling, the energy of money. And that's very curious, because the energy of all form, including money is already an inherent part of each individual's Force Field, an essential part of his/her Light Body.

I have to remember here an idea from my father tha t he told me like 10 years ago, we where having luch in the sunny streets of Mexico and he said:

-You see there will be the time in which money is not going to even exist.

-How come? I replied

- The point is that the real value of money is just too complex, the physicall money will dissapear instead and you will see... there will be some kind of virtual money in your computer, where you would have your money and buy and pay all without the real money in your hands.

-So money is an illusion, don´t let it be an obsession.

"Recognize that it is the will of God for you to be wealthy. Understand that there is not anything that even resembles lack, limitation or poverty in His consciousness. You were born to be rich! You are the offspring of the infinite abundance of the universe.

"Gratitude and thanksgiving are vital ingredients in developing a prosperity consciousness. Nothing opens the door to the Storehouse as quickly as a thankful heart.

"You develop a prosperity consciousness by changing your mind--by replacing ideas of lack with ideas of abundance. Spend more time each day thinking about what you want rather than what you do not want. You don't want lack so stop talking about it.

"Keep your money circulating. If you horde it for a rainy day, you may have to spend it on an ark.

"Critical thoughts and feelings of fear will hold back your good, while a consciousness of love and trust will speed up the flow. Love is the Fulfillment of the Law, and Faith is the energy that clears the channel."

In his book "Creating Affluence" Deepak Chopra tells us: " 'S' STANDS FOR SPENDING AND SERVICE. Money is like blood; it must flow. Hoarding and holding on to it causes sludging. In order to grow, it must flow. Otherwise it gets blocked and, like clotted blood, it can only cause damage.

"Money is life energy that we exchange and use as a result of the service we provide to the universe. And in order to keep it coming to us, we must keep it circulating."

In the recent DVD movie "The Secret", to some that have seen it there seems to be too great an emphasis by the speakers on the acquirement of money and material wealth in general, even to the extent that one of the speakers tells about how he constantly visualizes checks arriving in the post, and this is what he receives each day now - checks in the post. This same speaker has experienced a great deal of problems in his life over the past months due to the way he has been handling money, and it becomes evident that although he attracted a great deal of money into his life using his visualizing techniques, with it came a great deal of problems also, which could eventually result in his reputation being ruined entirely.

The acquiring of wealth utilizing the Law of Attraction as explained in the movie is all well and good as far as it goes, but as the great Henry Drummond pointed out in his wonderful little book, "The Greatest Thing in the World", money and material wealth is not the be all and end all. There are much more important things in life - health for instance, and peace of mind.

Drummond reminds us "The most obvious lesson in Christ's teaching is that there is no happiness in having and getting anything, but only in giving. I repeat, there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. And half the world is on the wrong scent in the pursuit of happiness. They think it consists in having and getting, and in being served by others. It consists in giving, and in serving others. He that would be great among you, said Christ, let him serve. He that would be happy, let him remember that there is but one way--it is more blessed, it is more happy, to give than to receive."

It just so happens that anyone that is willing to forget themselves in the service of others will have all their own needs met anyway. They will never want for anything, and will come into possession of that priceless something that no amount of money can buy - Peace of mind.

We are living in the greatest time in human history. Never before has communication and the sharing of information with others around the world been so easy, and enlightened film-makers are taking advantage of this in order to bring home important messages to us. There is no excuse anymore for us not to make the very best of ourselves and the environment in which we are surrounded. We have a greater Power within us than is in the world, and we can use this Power to change our own individual world and the world as a whole into a better place for everyone.

Forbes 2009 The top ten Billionaires and the dealer

The ammount of billionaires in the world decreased by almost a third in the last 12 months as many of the world's richest men and women fell victim to the economic recession.

Those worth over £1billion fell from 1,125 in 2008 to just 793, as a combined $2.4 trillion (£1.74 trillion) was wiped off the value of their collective 2008 $4.4 trillion fortune.

As a result, the average billionaire saw their net worth fall from $3.9bn to $3bn in the year, as the value of investments, property and other assets all collapsed.

List of the Top 10 billionaires in the world as well as the Top five losers.

1 Bill Gates, Microsoft $40bn Down $18bn USA

2 Warren Buffett, Investor $37bn Down $25bn USA

3 Carlos Slim Helu, Telecoms $35bn Down $25bn MEXICO

4 Larry Ellison, Oracle $22.5bn Down $2.5bn USA

5 Ingvar Kamprad, Ikea $22bn Down $9bn SWEDEN

6 Karl Albrecht, Aldi $21.5bn Down $5.5bn GERMANY

7 Mukesh Ambani, Petrochemicals $19.5bn Down $23.5bn INDIA

8 Lakshmi Mittal, Steel $19.3bn Down $25.7bn INDIA

9 Theo Albrecht, Aldi, Trader Joes $19.3bn Down $3.7bn GERMANY

10 Amancia Ortega, Zara $18.3bn Down $1.9bn SPAIN

Five Biggest Losers – Forbes 2009 World Billionaires list

1 Anil Ambani, Reliance $10.1bn Down $31.9bn

2 Laskhmi Mittal, Steel $19.3bn Down $25.7bn

3 Warren Buffett, Investor $37bn Down $25bn

4 Carlos Slim Helu, Telecoms $35bn Down $25bn

5 Kushal Pal Singh, Property $5bn Down $25bn

Few debates over the new list come to mind let´s consider the third richest man on earth

Carlos Slim Helu.was born in Mexico city.

Slim has been vice-president of the Mexican Stock exchange and president of the Mexican Association of Brokerage Houses. He was the first president of the Latin-American Committee of the New York Stock Exchange Administration Council, and was in office from 1996 through 1998.

He was on the Board of Directors of the Altria Group (previously Philip Morris) (resigned in April 2006) and Alcatel. Slim currently sits on the Board of Directors for Philip and Morris International. He was on the Board of Directors of SBC Comunications until July 2004 to devote more time to the World education and development fund, which focused on infraestructure, health and education projects. In 1997, just before the company introduced its iMac line, Slim bought three percent of Apple Computer's stock, which has skyrocketed over the years.

He built the large Mexican financial-industrial conglomerate Grupo Carso which owns, among other companies, the now bankrupt Comp Usa electronic retail chain. On December 8, 2007, Grupo Carso announced that the remaining 103 CompUSA stores would be either liquidated or sold, bringing an end to the struggling company. After 28 years he became the Honorary Lifetime Chairman of the business. He is also Chairman of Telefonos de Mexico America Movil and Grupo Financiero Inbursa.

Slim is said to have shown an interest in buying the Honda Formula One team.Slim would overtake the billionaire owner of Force India, Villay M., to become the richest team owner in a sport famous for being a playground for the super wealthy.

On March 5, 2008, forbes ranked Slim as the world's second-richest person, behind Warren Buffet and ahead of Bill Gates During some parts of 2007, several major financial publications had ranked Slim as the richest person on earth. It is interesting to note that even if he also is one of the biggest loosers of the economy and even if he lost his second place this year he´s still the third.

Another interesting factor of the Forbes list that is interesting to mention is the entry to the list of Joaquin "El chapo" Guzman

The global credit crisis may have cost the world’s richest men billions of dollars but one industry seems virtually recession-proof. Mexico’s most wanted drug baron has leapt on to the annual Forbes rich list after a bumper year of cocaine trafficking.

Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who is thought to be responsible for thousands of murders, made his debut on the authoritative list with an estimated personal fortune of $1 billion.

Guzman is nicknamed The Dwarf because he is just 5ft tall but he is one of the most feared men in Mexico. His Sinaloa cartel is involved in a vicious drug war that has killed around 7,000 people since the start of last year.

He has been on the run with a $5 million reward on his head since 2001, when he escaped from prison apparently hidden in a laundry truck. He is the number one most wanted man in Mexico and on the Interpol and US wanted lists.

"He is not available for interviews," said Luisa Kroll, senior editor of Forbes magazine. "But his financial situation is doing quite well."

The magazine places Guzman’s worth at £726 million, putting him at number 701 on the list, in between a Swiss oil-trading tycoon and a US chemical heir.

Forbes cited estimates that Guzman and his operation is likely to have grossed 20 per cent of the $18 billion to $39 billion in drug revenues that Mexican and Colombian traffickers laundered last year - “enough for him to have pocketed $1 billion over his career and earn a spot on the billionaires list for the first time”.

Guzman’s fortunes in the past year compare favourably to the rest of the billionaires on the list. Sir Richard Branson and Sir Philip Green were among the nine in 10 billionaires who lost money over the past 12 months. On average, the world’s wealthiest people are estimated to have lost 23 per cent of their total wealth in a year.

When Guzman escaped from prison to the fury of the Mexican authorities, he was serving more than 20 years for criminal association and bribery. Mexican officials are convinced that he leads the Sinaloa drug gang, though he has never been convicted on drug trafficking charges. The Mexican government has already repudiated the nomination.

Guzman, 54, is not the first drug trafficker to make the list. Pablo Escobar, the Colombian cocaine lord, was once included, before dying in a shootout with the South American nation’s security forces in 1993.

Is Gold the answer now?

When everyone is affraid of the market the only option available seems of course to be the Gold, the precious metal's price has been increasing in the long term, but when people get nervous about the world's economies and weak currencies, gold becomes a hot haven even in the short term.

Gold is regaining its safe-haven status as an earthquake rocks financial markets and makes standard investments seem more risky. To get a better sense of what gold is worth, it's important to understand who's buying it and why. When markets panic, all sorts of people will rush into gold. The main support for gold this year has come from a strange mix of central banks, mutual fund managers, upwardly mobile Third World residents and frightened investors.

They're worried about the world economy, they're worried about the true value of currencies (in many cases, the U.S. dollar), and, despite its apparent uselessness, they still view gold as a haven.

The increasing wealth in China and India, as well as in the Middle East, is supporting the gold price.

The biggest single buyer of gold right now is likely China's central bank. China had amassed $1.8 trillion in official currency reserves by the end of June, much of it in U.S. Treasurys. Though the U.S. dollar has regained some strength lately, the International Monetary Fund, Warren Buffett and others still see the long-term trend as down. That's a big reason China watchers think the country is converting some of its cash into gold.

Another big driver of gold's recent price gains has been another commodity pulled out of the ground: oil. Not so long ago, the world's oil-producing countries took their profits in U.S. dollars, then deemed the world's safest currency. Now that the dollar has wobbled over the year, Persian Gulf emirates rolling in profit from skyrocketing oil prices are choosing gold as their preferred store of wealth.

While it is also an attractive asset for investors and government bankers, 70% of newly mined gold still goes into jewelry. The traditional gold purchases in the third world are simple chain-link necklaces or bracelets with virtually no design so that the value of the jewelry is pretty much equivalent to the value of the gold.

Then there are investors, large and small, who have increasingly turned to gold as a place to keep a portion of their portfolios(gold will be my pick this month believe me) the rise of exchange-traded funds, which hold physical gold, have created another huge source of demand, giving even small investors an easy way to buy and sell gold. All currency crises have been caused by excessive debt The mere possibility that such a crisis can occur in the world economies makes gold valuable as a hedge. Not everyone is jumping on the gold bandwagon. The great 20th-century economist John Maynard Keynes decades ago declared gold a "barbarous relic,"
But now I think we can trust gold... So keep an eye on it and keep an eye on the best big move because is going to happen!!!