Shelfari rocks

I reckon, Shelfari is by far the best book's social networking site.

Comfort zone...are we in it?

"Man like every other animal is by nature indolent. If nothing spurs him on, then he will hardly think, and will behave from habit like an automaton." - Albert Einstein

Let's move out of our comfort zone, while we are still able to.

Is life about money? or Is money our life?

Ok. Let's start out by understanding the concept of money and how it affects our life.

What can you do nowadays without money? To value and appreciate our lives, we definitely need money. It's not a question of how much money we have or earn but the fact that without a single cent we would definitely NOT live. In Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the need for financial security is one of the first physiological needs in our lives.

So, when I hear somebody says that 'money is not everything in our life' or 'money is the root of all evil', I start to wonder whether one really values his/her life. Robert Kiyosaki said in his latest Conspiracy of the Rich (COR) book, "Lack of knowledge on money is the root of all evil". I could not agree more.

Well, now that we've established the financial needs in our life, which is money, what are the ways to better earn and manage your money to better appreciate and value your life? Wouldn't you rather work at your own time and pace, and at the same time be able to spend valuable time with your family and friends? Do you think it's possible to do that when you are working 5 days a week (for some even 6days a week) 9a-6p (or it may stretch to late in the evening for some) every day? Have you ever thought of your health condition when you spend almost 40-60 hours a week working? Did you ever have time to exercise, go to gym or jog in the park?

Today, we are trapped in this so-called employment factories that we don't even realize it. We've become robots or followers rather than leaders and thinkers. We're lured by attractive financial packages and security that we are reluctant to let go of these comfort zones. Days become months, months become years, and by the time we realize it, we are a month into our retirement age. Yes, we can't wait for the savings that we've put into our EPF for the past 30 years. Is what we have in EPF enough to sustain us for the rest of our lives? How about our medical bills? Yes, we were too busy with work in our younger years that our health condition deteriorates rapidly. In fact, do we even think we will live to be able to retire at 55 or 56 happily and comfortably?

There are a lot, in fact, plenty of opportunities out there to improve the value and quality of our lives. It's a matter of opening your eyes and minds to them. There will always be a risk in everything that we do. Don't be afraid to fail. We learn from our failure and we rise and come back better and stronger.