Dreaming of the life that you always wanted is the first step for a successful living. It is a prelude to all achievement. Stephen Spielberg dreamt every minute of his life of becoming a great movie director long before became famous. In order to make your dream come true, you need to write out a goal. A goal is a valuable code for living. 

The difference between a successful and a “commoner” is that the former make goal at every point of his or her life. If you fail to plan, you are actually planning to fail.  A “commoner” asks why he needs to have a goal. Goal is like the lighthouse for a certain direction. Read my article “Why do you need a goal”.

However, not all set out goal achieved easily. It is like taking a route from where you are now to where you want to go. Be it your finances, love life, career, mind strength, health, communication, planning makes it the way you want to be. Goal setting is one of the main factors for a successful living.

No matter where you are, only a small fraction of the entire population is rich. Is Affluence depends on your fate? I do not think so. The reasons for this can be many: the lethargic attitude of the majority; the majority do not understand the competition-many people are selling the same product and service; absence of initial capital; the majority has mixed feelings towards wealth; time is not right and so on.

Though all the reasons are justified, there is always an opportunity for a problem. Affluence is everyone’s right. That you have to belief strongly.

Knowing your strength

I am like you. We are all the same. We have the same emotions running through our spine. The brain is one “stupid” chunk of “softy” jelly dancing to the whims and negativity it creates by itself in its substrates. We are all negative animals in human form.

Have you seen a baby descend with a smiling face? Historically, babies were slapped firmly on the butt to make them cry to clear the amniotic fluid out of their lungs and get them breathing. It can be that the expelled baby from the security of a warm dark womb into a bright cold delivery room, which might cause a baby to cry. The ‘trauma’ of birth had somewhat caused negativity in the brain to cry out. It is all about frustration of survival.

We face frustration in our everyday lives. This is because out brain tells us that a certain situation is frustrating. We act upon it negatively. To know your strength is very important in your life. If you can only understand this, you can with stand any frustration. I will explain this with my own life as a property manager.

This thing just happens to me recently during a dialogue session with one of my colleague. As we were discussing about our new building project, he suddenly brought a story of his friend who is managing a dormitory. His friend always complains about how he feels in-secure managing his dormitory, and how he feels fearful of his job. To this, my friend replied that he has a colleague (that is I) who manages a much bigger dormitory with 15,000 workers as compared to the complainant who manages only 800 workers. Furthermore, I had to manage a team of 34 plus staff to run this dormitory and face many office “politics”.

My colleague continued that the difference between the complaining manager and me is that I am a steady person and can with stand frustration. My colleague has lightened my burden and enlightened me of my own strength. I felt a sudden peace in my soul and felt good about me. I felt a sudden burst of energy within me. I am very grateful for my colleague to make me know my strength.

Affluence is the result of how much you know about your strength.

Leverage

Historically, our grandfathers live within their means. However, modern living does promote some ways to get out of this old-fashioned proposition of limited means and unlimited wants.

You will hear financial advisors who teach you that savings are better than debts. In business, they say it is better to clear off the debt and diversifying your investment. As long the debt funds an asset that pays for its own debt service and puts money into your pocket every month, it is better than holding cash in your bank.

If you are an employee, you have to think as if you are an entrepreneur. Treat clients with respect, colleagues with care and comfort, and try the very best to make everyone satisfied. It is difficult though but you have to give great service to everyone. If you can make everyone happy, that is your leverage. You colleague is your asset and can be a great support in carrying out your work.

Recently, there was a briefing for most of our colleagues who were also from other portfolios. The briefing happened at my site office. I take this rare chance, which took most of them by surprise, to order some food for those who attend. Though the expenses were from my personal income, it is a great way to show that you care for their presence.  Read my article on 20 tips to make your colleague like you.

Leveraging your relationship with your clients, colleague and your family is what life is about. Like how Palaeolithic man sharpened his hunting tools to leverage their chance of ever hunt, we need to sharpen our relationship skills with others to have a win-win situation.

Affluence is an output tied up with our relationship with others finally.

Opportunity

It is nature’s balance of finding how each species find its own links and dependency for survival. A grasshopper is eaten by a frog, which is eaten by a snake, which is eaten by a hawk. Predators and prey is what is balance is all about.

However, our mind builds block to our efficiency to survive. Are you in the crowd waiting for opportunity? Look for opportunity and you will see it everywhere. As I was watching the royal wedding being boasted in the television live, I can imagine how all these wealth created from history. Colonisation helped to build Britain’s wealth. London’s development as a world city today, owes its flourish to the once profitable slave trade. Look for opportunity strictly.

The recent Japan earthquake and tsunami has a good price tag for Japanese second hand cars as owners find it expensive to buy spare parts for Japanese cars. There is opportunity here for buyers and agents.

All classified ads are opportunity column. Buyers and sellers is where opportunity is. Affluence is always there for us to see and pick it up.

Promote

How good are you in what you do? How many people know about you and your abilities? Only you unless you promote.

As in business, you can promote your business through advertisements. However, as a talented individual you can also advertise your talents and abilities through the help of the internet.

You can start a simple blog telling about your talents and what service you provide. As your blog catches up with Google first page, it serves as an advertisement and promotion for your product and service. Read Google Hottest Tools.

You can create a facebook page  to promote your business and services. Twitter is another social media where you can promote. You can write out a book and promote here.

Self-improvement is necessary for boosting up your affluence. Whether you are an employee or working for someone else, without promoting affluence hardly comes by by what you can give and sell .