THE ENLIGHTENED MILLIONAIRE

“A VOICE FROM AMERICA”

By Ernie D. Delfin

THE ENLIGHTENED  MILLIONAIRE

                      “If  a  free society cannot help the many who are  poor, 

                                    it cannot save the few who are rich.”

                                                                               ---   John F. Kennedy

              I had the fortune to have personally met and briefly talked to   Mark Victor Hansen and Robert G. Allen, two well-known authors in America,   as I was one of many who attended their respective   seminars in the early 80’s that they have been separately  conducting in California the last 20 plus years.  They even autographed their first books that I bought then. Recently they co-authored a new book enticingly titled “The One Minute Millionaire  -- The Enlightened Way to Wealth.”   Curiousity prompted me to buy a copy, which I  was able to read in a day while on a brief vacation in the beautiful island of Maui last week. Today’s  column will be some kind of a  book review  imbedded with my own personal observation or   business inputs to this ever-interesting topic of wealth and its creation.

                        The book has a remarkably inspiring  anecdote  that somewhat reaffirmed my philosophy that    unless wealth  was  inherited or won in a Super Lotto,  money  (or success)  in most cases must always be paid upfront and in full.  That’s  the  hefty price of success that the vast majority of people  in the world are not willing to pay.   The “One Minute Millionaire”  tells  the story of Le Van Vu who hardly spoke any English  when he arrived in America but always friendly and through smiles and sign language was the daily supplier of doughnuts to John McCormack & Company.  (Le Van Vu became a “mentor”  of John McCormack how to become a  millionaire the enlightened way)  During his first months in America from Vietnam via the Philippines, Le and his wife  worked in a bakery and at night they  listened to audiotapes to learn English. To save most of their meager salary, they slept on sacks full of sawdust on the floor in the back of the bakery.  Some  flashback: In North Vietnam,  The Van Hu families were already very wealthy  but his father was murdered, so the family moved to South Vietnam where he went to school and eventually became a lawyer.  Having the DNA, grit, intelligence and work ethic of his father, Le prospered only to be captured and imprisoned for three years in one of his visits to North Vietnam. He was able to escape back to South Vietnam after killing five Communist soldiers but the South Vietnamese government had suspected him as  a  planted spy from the North so he was arrested and  put to prison once again.

                 After serving time in prison Le got out and started a fishing company which  eventually became the largest cannery in South Vietnam.  Then came the Vietnam War.  When  the US government decided  to leave the country,  Le and his wife made their boldest and most serious  life-changing  decision to leave Vietnam. With his hoarded gold loaded in one of  his fishing vessels, which he exchanged (in the Asian culture or terminology this is called “bribery”) for his passage out of Vietnam  and he  and wife found themselves in a refugee camp in the Philippines before they finally reached their  destination in America.

                    Having left behind everything that he worked so hard, he became so distraught that he attempted to  jump into the ocean and end all his miseries. But as fate had it, his loving wife comforted and inspired  him to just give themselves one more  chance in America, the bastion of freedom and  land of opportunity. Who ever doubt that  behind a successful man is a wonderful woman?

                     In Vietnam, family takes care of family and Le and his wife found themselves working for a cousin’s  bakery in Greenspoint Mall, and now they are multi-millionaires!    How?  They saved all their take home pay: Le $175 a week and his wife $125,  by forgoing an apartment of their own with all the  concomitant costs like utilities, telephone, car or commuting expenses.  Le’s cousin  promised to  sell them the bakery once they can come up with $30,000 down payment, and he would  finance the $90,000 balance.  With this  new dream of becoming a business owner again in America,   they saw another ray of hope that motivated them  to replicate their previous  business successes in Vietnam. 

                     Here is what they did: Even with a $300 weekly net salary  they decided to continue living in the back room of the bakery. For two years they managed to keep themselves  clean by taking sponge baths in the mall’s restrooms.  Their diet consisted primarily of bakery stuffs  and they sacrificed much and lived  with extreme  frugality.  But in two years, they  were able to save the $30,000.00  for their down payment to buy the bakery.   A happy ending?

                       Not quite!  Now,  saddled with a note of $90,000 they decided to continue living in the bakery back room for another year to forgo paying for a house mortgage or apartment rent and all concurrent costs of living far from their business.   After only three years,  the promissory note  is fully paid from their  profits of the bakery  coupled with their  extremely high savings rate!  (For my  readers in the Philippines,   in America some cars,  that all depreciate unlike real estate or a bakery business,  are financed  even  up to  5 to 10   years depending upon the make and model.)   

                        Messrs. Hansen and Allen  then pose this question to their readers:  “Do you think Mr.  Le Van Vu is a millionaire today?  The authors’  last sentence in the last chapter says  “We are happy to tell you, many times over!” 

                                                                * * * *                   

                The One Minute Millionaire is a  book that is  unusually creative and revolutionary as it has two books in one:  the left (even numbered) pages are for  non-fiction people like me and the right pages are  fiction  based on an imaginary heroine named Michelle,  deliberately done to address two kinds of learners, the left-brained people and the right-brained people.  The authors who are mega-selling authors in their own rights (Mr. Hansen is best known for the Chicken  Soup for the Soul with more than 80 million copies in print Mr. Allen’s  book on Nothing Down that sold over  l.2 million and his others books,  Creating Wealth, Multiple Streams of Income have all been major New York Times bestsellers)  combined their talents and experiences to come up with one of the best  books on Wealth   I’ve read.  They have included  very good, often colorful,   anecdotes about wealth and how it is earned, invested and utilized  for the enhancement of the human world. 

             By the way, Mr. Allen’s life had an early turning point when he,  by sheer accident,   (although some spiritual people tell me that in the dictionary of God, there are really no accidents)  he briefly worked for the patriarch of one of the wealthiest families in the  Philippines,   Don Lopez of Meralco and the ABS-CBN conglomerates when the Lopezes were in exile in San Francisco during the Marcos dictatorship.  At tender age  of l9, the young Allen was able to see how the really wealthy lived and prospered which left indelible mark in his mind that propelled and inspired  him to become a multi-millionaire in his own right also.   The early beginning of Mr. Hansen in businesses, however,  did not result in phenomenal success but was forced into bankruptcy.  But that did not deter him to keep on going until he found his way to the top and became a multi-millionaire the enlightened way.  Their  individual and spectacular successes can be an inspiration to any reader of their books.  Check their website at: www.oneminutemillionaire.com   Both authors are not the greatest speakers  in my book  (their audio or video tapes are available in the USA)  but there is plenty of substance and proven principles  that go with their presentations and in the pages of their many best-selling  books. 

            The book is written in an easy format that can be understood by even a high school drop out. It is designed to teach and share how to create wealth even though you have little or nothing to start with, using  the power of leverage to build wealth rapidly, overcoming your fears so you can take reasonable risks and use their “one minute” habits to build wealth over the long term.  Somewhat,  it is a good sequel of the  “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” book by Robert Kiyoshi and Sharon Lechter, CPA,  that  I also wrote a “review”  but my Philippine STAR editors changed the title of that column as   “Rich Family, Poor Family”   a couple of years.  Same column  also appeared in my “The Metamorphosis” column  in the  Asian Journal,  a San Diego, Calif. based weekly.   Another excellent book that is at par with One Minute Millionaire is  “Millionaires Next Door” scholarly researched and written by Profs. Danko and Stanley.

                                                    * * * *                                                                            

             Without appearing  or sounding condescending,  the authors very adroitly expounded that indeed “there is more to life than money” and give you enough reasons why they wanted the readers to become  enlightened millionaires.   They believe that  an Enlightened Millionaire will have great ABUNDANCE  that bear  good fruits such as: greater innovation, charity, tithing, expansion, new opportunities and challenges for others and even lower prices.  The opposite is THE Mentality of Scarcity (that also spawn the “talangka”  or crab mentality which most Filipino readers would understand). The twin for abundance is ALTRUISM  that can give rise to nobility, fulfillment, joy, happiness, honesty,  and selflessness.  Its enemy is Greed that often is more visible in the lives of our society, because often altruism, although is always a Good News,   does not sell the newspaper well compared to the bad or ugly news.  The authors have a dream and believe that if they can help 1,000,000 millionaires who willingly and gratefully gave l0% to charity and/or  tithing  to be used by churches and foundations to help others,  then the world will become  a better place for our children and their children.   (As a Philippine born national, my prayer is that hopefully their vision can also include the Philippines!)

              The  chapter on  Tithing can  also be profound eye opener for many readers. It  describes that the  Enlightened Millionaire is a giver because giving is the highest form of manifestation of one’s true self.  It is an action based on faith. Why is this? The authors answered:  “Because giving expands money. How? Just as water exists in three forms – ice, liquid and vapor  --- we find it useful to think that money exists in three dimensions: the frozen state (material) the liquid state (mental) and the ethereal or spiritual state.  If you give money from an attitude of gratitude and abundance, it thrusts you from the material state into ethereal or spiritual dimension”    Sir John Marks Templeton, founder of the successful Templeton Funds  once said that “Tithing  gives the greatest return on your investment. ”  The authors  concluded that if we go behind the scenes of most great fortunes, you’ll find a common pattern --- the more they gave, the more they got!  ( UNFORTUNATELY AND SAD  TO NOTE  THAT  MANY, INCLUDING THIS WRITER, DO NOT SEE THAT IN OUR PHILIPPINE SOCIETY THE LAST 20-40 YEARS!  IT SEEMS THAT RIZAL’S OBSERVATION ABOUT “THE REIGN OF GREED” STILL EXISTS TODAY!  Can somebody please  prove me wrong?)

                  The last chapter is the best argument I have ever read why people must come out of the closet and must learn to be comfortable with the idea of prosperity.  They quoted Russell H. Conwell (the founder of Temple University in Philadelphia) which was written  over a hundred years ago, whenever he delivered his famous  “Acres of Diamond” speech  (for the full text, the reader can visit: www.temple.edu/about/temples_founder/acres_text.html.

          “ I say that you ought to be rich, and it is your duty to get rich.  How many of my pious brethren say to me, “Do you, a Christian minister, spend your time going up and down the country advising young people to get rich, to get money” Yes I do of course”

             They say, “Isn’t that awful! Why don’t you preach the gospel instead of preaching about man’s making money?” Because to make money HONESTLY is to preach the gospel. That is the REASON. The men who get rich may be the most honest men in the community.  “Oh,”  but say some young man here tonight, “I have been told all my life that if a person has money he is very dishonest and dishonorable and mean and contemptible.:  My friends, that is the reason why you have none because you have that ideas of people.  The foundation of your faith is altogether false. Let me say here clearly… ninety-eight out of one hundred of the rich men (and women) of  American are honest. That is why they are rich. That is why they are trusted with money. That is why they carry on great enterprises and find plenty of people to work with them.

           Say another young man, “ I hear sometimes of men that get millions of dollars dishonestly. “Yes, of course you do, and so do I. But they are so rare a thing in fact that the newspapers talk about them all the time as a matter of news until  you get the idea that all the other rich men got rich dishonestly.

           My friend,  you.. drive me .. out into the suburbs of Philadelphia and introduce me to the people who own their homes around this great city, those beautiful homes with gardens and flowers , those magnificent homes so lovely in their art, and I will introduce you to the very best people in character as well as in enterprise in our city… They who own their homes are made more honorable and honest and pure, and true and economical and careful by owning them.

              We preach against covetousness… in the pulpit… and use the term… “filthy rich” so extremely that Christians get the idea that … it is wicked for any man to have money.  Money is power, and you8 ought to be reasonably ambitious to have it. You ought because you do more good with it that you could do without it.  Money printed your Bibles, money builds your churches, money sends your missionaries, and money pays your preachers and their help. … I say, then, young man, you ought to have money. If you can honestly attain into riches… it is your… godly duty to do so. It is an awful mistake of these pious people to think that  you must be awfully poor in order to be pious!”                           

                                                                    ** * *          

                    After reading The One Minute Millionaire…the Enlightened Way to Wealth LEFT pages  that logically summarized chapter-by-chapter ideas and necessary paradigm shifts to become an enlightened millionaire, I am recommending this book (without any commission!)    You will read and learn about topics or principlesa like the Millionaire’s  AHAS, Leverage, Mentors,  TEAM  (Together Everybody Accomplishes Miracles) , Networks, Infinite Networks, Skills and Tools,  SYSTEM (Save Your Self Time Energy  Money)  Real Estate Principles,  Business and  your own “Acres of Diamond”.

             From a scale one to ten,  this writer gives “The One Minute Millionaire”  a nine!     Buy  and read and reread it, and who knows it  might also help you to  become an Enlightened Millionaire!

                                                        ----   3  0 –

E-mail writer at:  ernie.delfin@gmail..com  or   drbannatiran@yahoo.com

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Websites:       www.rotaryeclubGlobalKalingaD3780.org

TEN HABITS OF FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE PEOPLE

TEN HABITS OF FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE PEOPLE

By Ernie Delfin

Habits are funny creatures. Good ones are difficult to acquire but bad ones just happens.  Good habits are formed over time like rocks.  Habits are what our character is made of

             The realization that as I grow older, there are more and more things I can no longer  compelled me to write my thoughts and leave a legacy to others, especially my loved ones.   In my youth,  I thought I am superman and as such, money will always be there as I can easily earn my keep.  But as work becomes less enjoying and gardening more fulfilling,  my paradigm has changed as I like many people never wish to retire broke or die penniless.  As growing old   is mandatory but retiring independently is optional. 

             

Funny thing about habits. Bad ones just happen while good ones are usually the result of considerable effort.
Habits are what personal character is made of, and basically they come in just two varieties: good and bad.
Some people act as if their habits were as predetermined as their blood type and are about as likely to ever change. But there are a select few who live by the truth: It is possible to learn good habits and unlearn bad ones, no matter how ingrained they are. It's all a matter of choice.
The secret of learning good habits or breaking bad ones is in choosing to repeat—or refrain from doing—something over and over and over again until it becomes a natural response, a habit.
Want to become more financially responsible? Here are the habits of those who are. Consciously focus on these actions, then repeat them over and over until they become natural responses.
Habit 1: Financially responsible people know their income (cash coming in) and the money going out (obligations)  every month. They calculate a current balance after every transaction and always know the exact state of their money.
Habit 2: Financially responsible people know  what their needs are versus their wants.  They think consciously of every purchase.  Thinking means weighing needs and acknowledging wants. It means exercising discipline and delaying gratification—saving the money first and then buying the item.
Habit 3: Financially responsible people live  within their means and save money consistently. They never spend all they have because they are habitual savers. They see saving as a long-term process and make the sacrifices necessary to reach their goals. They are patient, steady, consistent and find saving money to be a necessity.
Habit 4: Financially responsible people buy basic insurance against premature death and catasthropic evens.  They also fund their own emergencies. They don't buy into the notion that the purpose of credit cards is to pay for unexpected emergencies. Financially responsible people realize that life happens, and so they maintain significant emergency funds. Just in case.
Habit 5: Financially responsible people know their financial condition precisely. These folks usually know within a few bucks the current balance on their mortgage or other secured loans. They regularly update their net worth, which is the difference between the value of their assets and their liabilities. They make each financial move in light of the effect it will have on their net worth.
Habit 6: Financially responsible people refuse to live under the fantasy of entitlement. While others feel entitled to run up huge credit-card debt simply because they have an approved limit and uncontrollable desires, financially responsible people don't approach life with this feeling of entitlement. They are not driven to keep up with their neighbors at any cost. They are content to live within the limitations of their income.
Habit 7:

Habit 8:

Habit 9:

Habit 10:
Becoming financially responsible is a process. I sabotaged myself for many years, convinced that I could never change. But I was wrong. I have changed and continue to make new progress every single day.
It all starts with a single step: A decision to become financially responsible. And then it's just one step at a time—again and again. One good habit after another. EC

______________________________________________________

MUHAMMAD YUNUS' FORMULA ON MICRO-LOANS MUST BE REPLICATED TO ALL THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES

The Metamorphosis

By

Ernie D. Delfin

MUHAMMAD YUNUS’  FORMULA  ON MICRO-LOANS

MUST BE  SPREAD TO ALL COUNTRIES

          Last week,  while  watching TV on CSPAN  I happened to  watch an hour address of  Dr. Muhammad Yunus before the media in Washington D.C.  before he was given a “Medal of Freedom Award”  by President Obama as one of 16 people as “agents of agents” in our world today.  I have read his book on Micro-Finance years ago, and I believe that the proven success of his Grameen Bank must be spread to all countries, especially the third world countries,  in order to empower the poor faster, thereby contributing to the progress of their respective  nations.

           As a brief background, Dr. Muhammad Yunus is a global leader in anti-poverty efforts, and has pioneered the use of "micro-loans" to provide credit to poor individuals without collateral.  Dr. Yunus, an economist by training, founded the Grameen Bank in 1983 in his native Bangladesh to provide small, low-interest loans to the poor to help better their livelihood and communities.  Despite its low interest rates and lending to poor individuals, Grameen Bank is sustainable and 98% percent of its loans are repaid – higher than other banking systems. It has spread its successful model throughout the world.  Dr. Yunus received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his work. 

           Having been born and raised in the Philippines, still a developing nation, I have witnessed that t the World Bank model of primarily lending and dealing with the established  institutions has kept the progress mainly on the top of the economic pyramid.  The trickle down theory has not worked well but kept the status quo where the poor gets  poorer, and the rich richer.  Lack of capital aggravated by lack of education and business know how  made those in the bottom of the pyramid preys of predatory lending, where the Shylocks of the world make a ton  of money at their expense, without even realizing it.  In many developing countries in Asia, Africa or Latin America,  the Shylocks of the world are still making a lot of money because there is only a few Grameen Banks.  This where businesspeople  as well as NGOs from first world countries like   the  Rotary International with its 1.25 million Rotarians in 200 countries, or Lions International,  must get involved NOW to accelerate the expansion of micro lending, the Grameen Bank way.

                                                           ------------------- 

          Briefly, allow me to  illustrate the modus operandi of this “underground lending” (that is the only one available) in many  rural villages in the world::  The venture capitalist (Shylock of the village) lends  FIVE PESOS to a market vendor on Monday morning, then collecting ONE PESO as interest ONLY the next Friday!  So the ORIGINAL FIVE PESOS earned  52 PESOS for one year!  But after 5 weeks, Mr. Shylock has earned another FIVE PESOS to lend. Beginning on the 6^th week,  he will be  collecting TWO PESOS AS INTEREST ONLY from two market vendors!   Just extrapolate  what happens every five weeks, or  after several years from the day when  the  original FIVE PESOS that was lent to the first vendor!  

        That is the factual scenario of many  third or fourth world country’s  poor villages, where credit facilities of the  World Bank or any traditional banks cannot or do not want to  reach.  I am not surprised at all  why Grameen Bank is succeeding, after  great patience in dealing with the slow pace of  changing the mindsets of those in the bottom of the economic pyramid. 

        Another excellent book that deals with developing nations is “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid” by Dr. Prahalad.   The book  succinctly describes the successes of several business enterprises in India, Mexico and Latin American countries that thrives in the lower economic  strata the country  by the application of revolutionary marketing and consumer principles, and diligently working with a different mindset of their client base.  The companies that were showcased in the book illustrate  how a social enterprise can make a fortune by incorporating the prevalent values of the  market place and never imposing the traditional business practices of Wall Street.

      The  building of a nation is never easy but I believe it   can be accelerated through the innovative fusion of  labor,  committed entrepreneurs and  social capital that is not only centered on making profits  that only go to the owners of the enterprise.   Socially oriented businesses as advocated by Drs. Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank, and  Dr. Prahalad, author of “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid”  should be supported and encouraged  to expand faster in as many countries as possible.  It is one proven way to make the gap between the very rich and very poor narrower in many countries of the world.

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Email: ernie.delfin@gmail.com  or  drbannatiran@yahoo.com

WHY MAN MUST SAVE AND INVEST 3/5/12

WHY A MAN MUST SAVE AND INVEST

By Ernie D. Delfin
Founder-Charter President, Global Kalinga e-Rotary Club
Past Asst. District Governor, District 5320

Our education, experiences and memories are three things that we cannot bequeath to our heirs. When we die, all these "precious" things die with us and are gone forever. After living a half century on this planet Earth, as a precocious child of God, I have learned so much from the University of Hard Knocks --- many valuable life's lessons which at this stage of my life, I feel now the urge to share with those I love dearly, including my many clients, friends and loyal readers. Had I started from a higher socio-economic ground and had I known and applied these time-tested Principles of Success (in all of Life's quadrants: physical, social, mental and spiritual) much earlier in life, I would have been a better, happier and more fulfilled successful person today. However, considering my humble beginnings in a progressive farming village in the Philippines, versus Orange Country where I am today, I feel that it is not really that bad life’s journey after all.
I used to say I am a self-made man, but it is now more appropriate (with humility) to say that I did the best I can with the talents that That Somebody Up There has given me and He graciously blest my human efforts that brought me and my family to where we are today. Indeed, our life is our gift from God, and what we do with

our life is our gift to God.
Among the things I have learned early in life that became more valuable every year I've lived in America is in the area of savings and investments. As workers, employees, laborers and breadwinners, young and old are pre-occupied with the business of living, I feel the extreme importance, like a parent to a child, to convey and leave some gems of wisdom so that the child can have a better life than his parents. To the young people of the world, I plead you to read and heed this financial advice on savings which everyone who is earning a living has the power to create and control its continued existence or cause its premature death.
You must start believing that savings have that profound value that becomes more apparent with the passage of time. The growth of your savings is somewhat analogous to the invisible yet magical rewards of responsible parents in witnessing their children metamorphose into good citizens and becoming their own successful and fulfilled human being.
With that emotionally charged introduction, Let me now share you my TOP TEN REASONS why a man must save (and invest):
1. Your savings affect the way you stand, the way you walk, and even the tone of your voice. In short, your physical well being and self-confidence. A man without savings is always running. He must take the first job offered, or nearly so. He sits nervously on life's chairs because any small emergency throws him into the hands of others.
2. Without savings, a man must be too grateful. Gratitude is a fine thing in its right place. But a constant state of gratitude is a horrible place in which to live. A man with savings can walk tall. He may appraise opportunities in a more relaxed manner, have time for judicious estimates and not be rushed by economic necessities.
3. A man without savings is always prone to react often displaying more form than substance. Without savings, a person's confidence is easily eroded as his daily chores revolve around tension-relieving activities instead of indulging in income producing endeavors while surrounded with more relaxed, happier and productive people.
4. Without savings, a man delays decisions that are good for him and his family and often misses opportunities in his lifetime, like associating or running with true winners in life. For lack of savings, he is relegated to the backseats of life, envying the gaiety and camaraderie of those who have.
5. A man with savings can afford to resign from his job when his principles so do dictate. And for this reason he will never need to do so. A man who can afford to quit is much more useful to his company, and therefore more promo table as he can afford to give his company the benefit of his most candid judgments. He does not need to kiss somebody's you-know-what.

6. A man with savings can afford the wonderful privilege of being generous to this family or to his
neighborhood's emergencies. He can take the level stare of any man, friend, stranger, or even his enemies.
This priceless commodity adds to his personality and character.
7. With savings, a person can afford to order from "left to right" in expensive hotels or resorts without being
nervous with the bill. Man without savings is forced to stay with friends and relatives' homes when he is out of
town.
8. With savings, you do not have to feign your happiness or contentment; you do not have to live in a far-away fantasyland. While it is true that money (savings) can never buy true happiness, it definitely serves as a nice down payment! Believe it or not, it is more fun to suffer in comfort than to agonize in misery.
9. The ability to save, fortunately, has nothing to do with the size of one's income. Many high-income people spend it all. They are on the treadmill, darting through life like minnows. In his classic book, The Riches Man of Babylon, Clayson admonishes strongly that every person must affirm and declare, "I must pay myself first because a part of my earnings is mine to keep!"
10. Lastly, heed the advice given by the Dean of American bankers, J.P. Morgan, to a young broker, "Take waste out of your spending; You'll drive the enjoyment out of your life!"
Perchance some of us no longer need more money for college, a home, retirement or vacation in a nice resort, and then we must just save for self-confidence, and as a role model for others. The state of our savings does have a lot to do with how tall we (or a nation, for that matter) talk or walk in this world.
After all, next to our personal relationship with our own God, faithful action in taking care of our families is our primary responsibility and this can be fortified by habitual savings and investing them wisely. Religiously doing this habit builds not only our character but increases a comfortable nest egg. What we do now, not tomorrow, is the beginning of what we do next. Our savings are the seeds of what we can harvest tomorrow.
THEREFORE SAVE NOW AND INVEST !!




Content ©


Copyright (c) 2004. Progressive Times Action Group. All rights reserved.

MY ENTREPRENEUR'S CREDO

THE ENTREPRENEUR’S CREDO
By Ernie Delfin

“ I do not choose to be a common man,

It is my right to be uncommon… if I can,

I seek opportunity … not security.

I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled

And dulled by having the state look after me

I want to take calculated risks;

to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed.

I refuse to barter incentive for a dole;

I prefer the challenges of life
to the guaranteed existence;

the thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of Utopia.

I will not trade freedom for beneficence

nor my dignity for a handout.

I will never cower before any master
nor bend to any threat.

It is my heritage to stand erect.

Proud and unafraid; to think and act for myself,

To enjoy the benefit of my creations

And face the world boldly and say”

This, with God’s help, I have done, All this is what it

means to be an “ENTREPRENEUR.”

7 FACTORS TO CONSIDER IN GOING INTO BUSINESS

“GOING INTO BUSINESS WITH
ALMOST ZERO CAPITAL”
By
Ernie Delfin

FACTORS TO CONSIDER WHICH BUSINESS TO GO
INTO THAT GIVES YOU BETTER ODDS TO SUCCEED:

7 M’S 7-ELEVEN HEALTHY
COFFEE

M oney (Capital) $ 500,000 $99 to $499


M anpower Hire and Pay Recruit & Train


M anagement Hire and Pay TEAM concept=Free

M aterials (Inventory) Buy & Pay It’s just your $99 to
all your stock $499 distributorship

M arket 1 -3 mile radius G l o b a l

M inutes (Hours/Days 168 hours/wk. Part time= 5-10/wk
of operations) 24 / 7 days Full time = 50 hrs/wk

M ansion (Net Profit) $50,000 to SKY IS THE LIMIT!
$120,000 / yr (Attitude determines
your altitude=income)

MUHAMMAD YUNUS' FORMULA ON MICRO-LOANS MUST BE SPREAD TO ALL COUNTRIES

The Metamorphosis
By
Ernie D. Delfin



MUHAMMAD YUNUS’ FORMULA ON MICRO-LOANS
MUST BE SPREAD TO ALL COUNTRIES

Last week, while watching TV on CSPAN I happened to watch an hour address of Dr. Muhammad Yunus before the media in Washington D.C. before he was given a “Medal of Freedom Award” by President Obama as one of 16 people as “agents of agents” in our world today. I have read his book on Micro-Finance years ago, and I believe that the proven success of his Grameen Bank must be spread to all countries, especially the third world countries, in order to empower the poor faster, thereby contributing to the progress of their respective nations.

As a brief background, Dr. Muhammad Yunus is a global leader in anti-poverty efforts, and has pioneered the use of "micro-loans" to provide credit to poor individuals without collateral. Dr. Yunus, an economist by training, founded the Grameen Bank in 1983 in his native Bangladesh to provide small, low-interest loans to the poor to help better their livelihood and communities. Despite its low interest rates and lending to poor individuals, Grameen Bank is sustainable and 98% percent of its loans are repaid – higher than other banking systems. It has spread its successful model throughout the world. Dr. Yunus received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his work.

Having been born and raised in the Philippines, still a developing nation, I have witnessed that t the World Bank model of primarily lending and dealing with the established institutions has kept the progress mainly on the top of the economic pyramid. The trickle down theory has not worked well but kept the status quo where the poor gets poorer, and the rich richer. Lack of capital aggravated by lack of education and business know how made those in the bottom of the pyramid preys of predatory lending, where the Shylocks of the world make a ton of money at their expense, without even realizing it. In many developing countries in Asia, Africa or Latin America, the Shylocks of the world are still making a lot of money because there is only a few Grameen Banks. This where businesspeople as well as NGOs from first world countries like the Rotary International with its 1.25 million Rotarians in 200 countries, or Lions International, must get involved NOW to accelerate the expansion of micro lending, the Grameen Bank way.

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Briefly, allow me to illustrate the modus operandi of this “underground lending” (that is the only one available) in many rural villages in the world:: The venture capitalist (Shylock of the village) lends FIVE PESOS to a market vendor on Monday morning, then collecting ONE PESO as interest ONLY the next Friday! So the ORIGINAL FIVE PESOS earned 52 PESOS for one year! But after 5 weeks, Mr. Shylock has earned another FIVE PESOS to lend. Beginning on the 6th week, he will be collecting TWO PESOS AS INTEREST ONLY from two market vendors! Just extrapolate what happens every five weeks, or after several years from the day when the original FIVE PESOS that was lent to the first vendor!

That is the factual scenario of many third or fourth world country’s poor villages, where credit facilities of the World Bank or any traditional banks cannot or do not want to reach. I am not surprised at all why Grameen Bank is succeeding, after great patience in dealing with the slow pace of changing the mindsets of those in the bottom of the economic pyramid.

Another excellent book that deals with developing nations is “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid” by Dr. Prahalad. The book succinctly describes the successes of several business enterprises in India, Mexico and Latin American countries that thrives in the lower economic strata the country by the application of revolutionary marketing and consumer principles, and diligently working with a different mindset of their client base. The companies that were showcased in the book illustrate how a social enterprise can make a fortune by incorporating the prevalent values of the market place and never imposing the traditional business practices of Wall Street.

The building of a nation is never easy but I believe it can be accelerated through the innovative fusion of labor, committed entrepreneurs and social capital that is not only centered on making profits that only go to the owners of the enterprise. Socially oriented businesses as advocated by Drs. Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank, and Dr. Prahalad, author of “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid” should be supported and encouraged to expand faster in as many countries as possible. It is one proven way to make the gap between the very rich and very poor narrower in many countries of the world.

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Email: ernie.delfin@gmail.com or drbannatiran@yahoo.com

TOP TEN REASONS WHY A PERSON MUST SAVE & INVEST

TOP THEN REASONS WHY A PERSON MUST SAVE AND INVEST

By Ernie D. Delfin
Member, Newport Irvine Rotary Club
Asst. Gov., District Chair, New Chapter Development

Our education, experiences and memories are three things that we cannot bequeath to our heirs. When we die, all these "precious" things die with us and are gone forever. After living a half century on this planet Earth, as a precocious child of God, I have learned so much from the University of Hard Knocks --- many valuable life's lessons which at this stage of my life, I feel now the urge to share with those I love dearly, including my many clients, friends and loyal readers. Had I started from a higher socio-economic ground and had I known and applied these time-tested Principles of Success (in all of Life's quadrants: physical, social, mental and spiritual) much earlier in life, I would have been a better, happier and more fulfilled successful person today. However, considering my humble beginnings in a progressive farming village in the Philippines, versus Orange Country where I am today, I feel that it is not really that bad life’s journey after all.

I used to say I am a self-made man, but it is now more appropriate (with humility) to say that I did the best I can with the talents that That Somebody Up There has given me and He graciously blest my human efforts that brought me and my family to where we are today. Indeed, our life is our gift from God, and what we do with our life is our gift to God.

Among the things I have learned early in life that became more valuable every year I've lived in America is in the area of savings and investments. As workers, employees, laborers and breadwinners, young and old are pre-occupied with the business of living, I feel the extreme importance, like a parent to a child, to convey and leave some gems of wisdom so that the child can have a better life than his parents. To the young people of the world, I plead you to read and heed this financial advice on savings which everyone who is earning a living has the power to create and control its continued existence or cause its premature death.

You must start believing that savings have that profound value that becomes more apparent with the passage of time. The growth of your savings is somewhat analogous to the invisible yet magical rewards of responsible parents in witnessing their children metamorphose into good citizens and becoming their own successful and fulfilled human being.

With that emotionally charged introduction, Let me now share you my TOP TEN REASONS why a man must save (and invest):

1. Your savings affect the way you stand, the way you walk, and even the tone of your voice. In short, your physical well being and self-confidence. A man without savings is always running. He must take the first job offered, or nearly so. He sits nervously on life's chairs because any small emergency throws him into the hands of others.

2. Without savings, a man must be too grateful. Gratitude is a fine thing in its right place. But a constant state of gratitude is a horrible place in which to live. A man with savings can walk tall. He may appraise opportunities in a more relaxed manner, have time for judicious estimates and not be rushed by economic necessities.

3. A man without savings is always prone to react often displaying more form than substance. Without savings, a person's confidence is easily eroded as his daily chores revolve around tension-relieving activities instead of indulging in income producing endeavors while surrounded with more relaxed, happier and productive people.

4. Without savings, a man delays decisions that are good for him and his family and often misses opportunities in his lifetime, like associating or running with true winners in life. For lack of savings, he is relegated to the backseats of life, envying the gaiety and camaraderie of those who have.

5. A man with savings can afford to resign from his job when his principles so do dictate. And for this reason he will never need to do so. A man who can afford to quit is much more useful to his company, and therefore more promo table as he can afford to give his company the benefit of his most candid judgments. He does not need to kiss somebody's you-know-what.


6. A man with savings can afford the wonderful privilege of being generous to this family or to his neighborhood's emergencies. He can take the level stare of any man, friend, stranger, or even his enemies. This priceless commodity adds to his personality and character.

7. With savings, a person can afford to order from "left to right" in expensive hotels or resorts without being nervous with the bill. Man without savings is forced to stay with friends and relatives' homes when he is out of
town.

8. With savings, you do not have to feign your happiness or contentment; you do not have to live in a far-away fantasyland. While it is true that money (savings) can never buy true happiness, it definitely serves as a nice down payment! Believe it or not, it is more fun to suffer in comfort than to agonize in misery.

9. The ability to save, fortunately, has nothing to do with the size of one's income. Many high-income people spend it all. They are on the treadmill, darting through life like minnows. In his classic book, The Riches Man of Babylon, Clayson admonishes strongly that every person must affirm and declare, "I must pay myself first because a part of my earnings is mine to keep!"

10. Lastly, heed the advice given by the Dean of American bankers, J.P. Morgan, to a young broker, "Take waste out of your spending; You'll drive the enjoyment out of your life!"

Perchance some of us no longer need more money for college, a home, retirement or vacation in a nice resort, and then we must just save for self-confidence, and as a role model for others. The state of our savings does have a lot to do with how tall we (or a nation, for that matter) talk or walk in this world.

After all, next to our personal relationship with our own God, faithful action in taking care of our families is our primary responsibility and this can be fortified by habitual savings and investing them wisely. Religiously doing this habit builds not only our character but increases a comfortable nest egg. What we do now, not tomorrow, is the beginning of what we do next. Our savings are the seeds of what we can harvest tomorrow.

THEREFORE SAVE NOW AND INVEST !!




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