SUCCESS

Success is a matter of attitude. It is a matter of what you think u are capable of. It is a matter of futuristic thinking and planning. It is about doing things carefully. Instead of getting out of your car without looking at the speeding car zooming towards you, you can be more careful. You can also climb down more carefully so that you don’t fall off the aircraft stairs. In fact, it is also about taking a backup on your computer in case it is a most important project in your life. And then about counting your chickens before they hatch….And about positive attitude….And about believing that: “if you think you can, you are right”.

LIVE THIS MOMENT HERE AND NOW

Some of us may think that we have no bad habits because we do not smoke or drink. We may think that we do everything perfectly right. Let me tell you, you all have a secret mental addiction! That addiction leads you into doing all kinds of things. In fact, it prevents you from doing many things. No, you will tell me. No, master, I have nothing like that.

Listen to me. You are addicted to postponing every action. You have acquired the taste of postponement every task. You have created a mindset that allows you to put off everything. Yes, that is your secret addiction.

Listen to the chatter of your mind. It is always busy collecting arguments, or listing reasons about why you should postpone some tasks. It has such power over us that we will never enter into the act itself. There are many things, which we say we shall do that tomorrow. The tomorrow becomes another tomorrow and tomorrow continues to grow. Today never comes. You can accomplish a task if you do what you have to today.

The present moment is not a reality to many of us. The speculative future seems to be our reality. We prefer to while away our time in the fantasies of the future rather than focusing on the reality of the present moment. A small Zen story: A man went to the Master and asked: When will I become enlightened? The Master said: Now.

The disciple could not understand: Now, how can I become enlightened now? I need a lot of practice. It needs lot of methods. It needs lot of meditation. How can it be now? Then the Master says: Never, go away. Do you get the meaning of this story? It is the story of how mind works or tricks us. Remember this story whenever you mind says: You are not good enough onto yourself. You are not complete by yourself. You are not full by yourself.

It will always be telling you the same thing. It has been telling you the same thing. Today your mind will say: I to do that meditation, this practice or that practice to be enlightened. Only then I can become enlightened; only then I can realize my self. Only then I can achieve the goals of my life.

Tomorrow also it will be telling you the same thing. It will never let you fell that you have reached somewhere or that you have achieved something. Couple this disaster. You know, this addiction has a simple cure. Live this moment now. Live in the here and now. Your future is in this present moment. What you cannot do now you shall never be able to do anytime. Go on. Try it.

OPTIONS TRADING IN STOCK MARKET

“Share Market”. All of us heard about it and we know that if you have the knowledge of it, you can make lot of money from it. In share market, there are lots of ways to earn money. I also want to discuss with you a major money making idea. It is OPTIONS. I show you how you make a profit from stock, either its price increase or decrease.

Options are hedging/investment instruments, which allow the buyer the right but not the obligation to buy/sell the underlying stock/ index. The buyer of the option incurs a charge for this right, which is referred to as the “Premium”. The option writer or seller is the other party to such a contract who earns the premium.

We play it by two ways:-
1) Call Option.
2) Put Option.

Call Option: - It is a right but not obligation to buy a particular asset at a pre-specified price. Let’s take an example:

Mr. X buys a stock call option at Rs.1000 strike price at end month by paying a premium of Rs.10. Now he has a right but not obligation to buy stock at the end of month at a price of Rs1000.

Suppose the stock at the end of month is:-

Ø Rs.1100 then Mr. X buys it at Rs.1000 as he has a right to buy it at Rs.1000 and makes a Profit: -Rs. (1100-1000-10) = Rs.90.
Ø Rs.900 then Mr. X does not but it and book a Loss: - Rs.10 (premium amount).


This is how Mr. X makes a profit. In case of Call Option, his loss is limited but profit is unlimited, if price of share increase. In case stock price is below Rs.1000, he buys stock from market and book a loss of premium amount. But, if stock price is more than Rs.1000, he can buy it for Rs.1000 and book a profit of amount which is more than Rs.1000.




Put Option: - It is a right but not obligation to sell a particular asset at pre-specified price. Again let’s take example of Mr. X:

This time Mr. X buys a stock put option at Rs.1000 strike price at the end month by paying a premium of Rs.10. Now he has a right but not obligation to sell stock at the end of month at a price of Rs.1000.

Suppose the stock after one week is:-

Rs.1100 then Mr. X doesn’t sell it and book a Loss: - Rs.10 (premium amount)
Rs.900 then Mr. X sells it at Rs.1000 and book a Profit: -Rs. (1000-900-10) = Rs.90

This is again how Mr. X makes a profit. In case of Put Option, loss is limited but profit is unlimited, if price of share fall. As if stock price is more than Rs.1000, then Mr. X sells stock in market at a price more than Rs.1000 and book a loss of premium amount. But, if stock price is less than Rs.1000, he can sell it for Rs.1000 and book a profit.

Note: - As you see, it is very easy to make money with the help of “OPTIONS”. There is equal chance of losing money in “Options Trading”. So, before going to make money out of it; please do some research regarding how it works in your favor?

How To Calculate BSE Sensex?

BSE Sensex (or Sensitive Index) is the prime and older indicator of stock market trend in India (the other being the Nifty Fifty). It consists of 30 stocks representing a wide cross-section of industries. It is calculated using a well attested method called Free Float Market Capitalization.

What is Free Float Market Capitalization?
Simply put its the market capitalization of all shares in "free float!!!" Free float shares are those that are available for trading in the open market. They rest may be FDI holdings, promoter holdings, locked in shares, strategic stakes, ESOPs etc. Suppose 40% of all shares is openly available. A free float factor is decided by BSE which would be 0.4 (anything in the band of above 35% -40% would have this factor). This factor is multiplied with the total market capitalization of the company (which is the prevailing share price * total no. of shares issued by the company) to get the free float market capitalization.

How to Calculate Sensex?
You know how to find the free float market cap of a company. Now add these for all the 30 companies that constitute the Sensex. You have the total free float market capitalization for the Sensex. The Sensex value is this value relative to a base period. The Base period for sensex is 1978-79 and the Base value is 100. The Free-float market Cap is divided by a number called the index divisor to arrive at the right value of Sensex. This divisor factors in changes in scrips, dividend paid, etc right from the base period. A simple way to find the current index divisor would be calculating the previous day's free-float market cap / previous day's sensex.

Here's an example to calculate the sensex
Free Float Market cap (prev day) = 320000 cr

Sensex Value = 16000

Div = 320000 / 16000 = 20
Current Free Float Market Cap = 336000 cr

Current Sensex Value = 336000/20 = 16800

Wow! You can find out the Sensex Value!

MAN WITH NO BAD HABITS

I want to discuss with you an incident of my life happened few days ago. Here it is:

Few days ago, a man was waiting for a taxi. A beggar came along and asked him for some money. The man ignored him. But being a professional, the beggar kept on pestering him. The man became irritated when he realized that the beggar would not leave him alone unless he parts with some money.
Suddenly an idea struck him. He told the beggar, "I do not have money, but if you tell me what you want to do with the money, I will certainly help you." "I would have bought a cup of tea", replied the beggar. The man said, "Sorry man. I can offer you a cigarette instead of tea". He then took a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and offered one to the beggar. The beggar told, "I don't smoke as it is injurious to health.”The man smiled and took a bottle of whisky from his car and told the beggar, "Here, take this bottle and enjoy the stuff. It is really good". The beggar refused by saying, "Alcohol muddles the brain and damages the liver". The man smiled again. He told the beggar, "I am going to the race course. Come with me and I will arrange for some tickets and we will place bets. If we win, you take the whole amount and leave me alone". As before, the beggar politely refused the latest offer by saying, "Sorry sir, I can't come with you as betting on horses is a bad habit.”Suddenly the man felt relieved and asked the beggar to come to his home with him. Finally, the beggar's face lit up in anticipation of receiving at least something from the man. But he still had his doubts and asked the man,"Why do you want me to go to your house with you". The man replied, "My wife always wanted to see how a man with no bad habits looks like."

This small story tells us that it does not matter that "you have bad habits or not but matters how you handle". Don’t make me wrong, I am not telling you that to get something in life; you will induce in some bad habits. But I am pointing you that for achieving success in life, you have to enjoy every movement of life to the fullest. As if you can enjoy your life with full concentration on what you want to be in life. I assured you that you get what you want.

Its All About "SIP INVESTING"

The why’s and how’s of investing in SIP
Your money lying in a liquid fund, pending deployment to your chosen equity fund would fetch you higher returns than a savings bank account where you would have normally parked your surplus cash.
Why SIP?
The mantra for wealth creation is to invest early and regularly irrespective of the size of the amount invested. SIP investment is the ideal tool for this. The sooner you begin investing, the more time your money will have to grow because of power of compounding (shows in my earlier blog “8th wonder of the world: Compound Interest). Regular, disciplined investing. If you are a salaried investor, SIP investing enables you to save a fixed portion of your salary every month. You don't even need to remember your date of investment . Just enroll in a monthly SIP and give a bank mandate to your fund; every month a fixed sum will automatically get transferred from your account to your chosen equity scheme.
Small amounts. As an SIP entails regular investing; all you need is as low as Rs 100 a month to enroll, as against Rs 5,000 for a one-time investment.

How to invest in an SIP?
All Mutual Funds have predetermined dates of any given month on which an investor can make regular investments in SIP. For instance, if you receive your salary on the first of every month, you can choose seventh or tenth of every month as your SIP date. But if you get your salary by the month-end, the first of the following month would be the ideal, as you wouldn't want your money lying idle in the bank account for long.

I don’t have enough money to save:
This is what most of the people said when it comes to money. Think why we just invest for a particular expense like marriage, house, child education etc. and not for to be live freely in life without the worries about money. Please try to invest your money on regular basis from your younger age, as this will help you to become financially sound in future. Normally, people start investing after marriage or after born of child, but it’s too late to be a financially sound. Start early and “let you money works for you”.
Invest your money on monthly basis from your salary. You paid your all expenses from your salary, and then why not treat investment as an expense for you and your loved ones. You must hear “money makes more money”. So, invest your money in with good managed portfolio and this will provide you to earn more money. If you have knowledge of stock market then start and make some money out of it or you can go for mutual fund, in which fund managers work for creating wealth for you.

“The key is to make saving your habit and I assure you that it pays you even when you are not working”

Interactive
1st Person: I’m not able to save regularly. I don’t have the discipline.
2nd Person: Why don’t you start a mutual fund SIP? You can invest a small amount every month.
1st Person: The markets are doing badly. Do you think I should stop my SIP?
2nd Person: No, because this is a chance to get units cheaper. Then, as and when the markets rise you.

Indian equity market has been tottering since the beginning of 2008. Seeing the volatility the question on everyone's minds is: “Is this a good time to invest, or is worse yet to come”? If you believe that markets will fall further, you could stay in cash. We, however, do not believe in timing the market. Financial goals are important and it's always advisable to avoid timing the market as there's no telling how it might behave tomorrow, or the day after. Investing for short-term or long-term? When will the markets rise or fall, is anybody's guess. This, however, should not change your goals. So, how do you invest in the market, ride the volatility and still reach your financial goals? The short answer is systematic investment plans.
Under SIP, investments are a pre-specified amount, in a selected scheme and at pre-specified time periods, monthly or quarterly. In our view, investors should ideally invest via SIP over at least 2-3 years. This way they can exploit the most critical benefit of an SIP - rupee cost averaging. Let's understand how this is possible. Say, you invest Rs.1000 every month in a pre-determined equity scheme, and start when its net asset value was Rs.12 in January.

SIP in a falling market

Month NAV No. of units
January 12.00 83.33
February 12.30 81.30
March 12.50 80.00
April 12.90 77.52
May 13.25 75.47
June 13.40 74.63
July 12.10 82.64
August 11.20 89.29
September 10.30 97.09
October 10.10 99.01
November 10.50 95.24
December 10.20 98.04
Avg. purchase cost of 12 Sip’s Rs 11.61

(The example is for illustrative purpose only. We have assumed that the SIP is done on the first trading day of the month; SIP amount is Rs 500.)
However, if the investor had opted for longer investment tenure of say 12 months, he could have benefited from greater fluctuations in the mutual fund's NAV. These fluctuations which arise over a market cycle lower the average purchase cost of the SIP over the long-term. As is evident from the table, if the investor had taken an SIP for 12 months his average purchase cost would have declined to Rs 11.61. But SIP has reverse impact also. Compare this with the average purchase cost of Rs 12.71 for a 6-month SIP.

SIP in a rising market

Month NAV No. of Units
January 12.00 83.33
February 12.30 81.30
March 12.50 80.00
April 12.90 77.52
May 13.25 75.47
June 13.40 74.63
Avg. purchase cost of 6month SIP Rs. 12.71

(The example is for illustrative purpose only. We have assumed that the SIP is done on the first trading day of the month; SIP amount is Rs. 1000.)

In the above table the average purchase cost of the SIP is Rs. 12.71. Clearly, the SIP has not worked in the investor's favor. Why is that? Because if he had instead invested lump sum in January, his purchase cost would have been Rs. 12.00 as opposed to the average purchase cost of Rs 12.71 over a 6-month period. Conclusion: “In an SIP, more units will be credited when a scheme's NAV is low and fewer units when it's NAV are high.”

Points to remember before opting for an SIP
1) SIP investing is meant to eliminate market-timing, investors must opt for a long-enough SIP tenure so as to 'time' the market downturn.
2) SIP investing is equally beneficial in a falling market. Most investors believe that lump sum investments (as opposed to SIP investing) prove more beneficial in a falling market. This is only partly true. Having an SIP in operation during a falling market can ensure that investors stand to benefit should markets fall even further.

8th Wonder of the World : "Compound Interest"

As all we learned compound interest, just as a formula for calculating the sums during our school days but never use it in our practical life. If we just analyze how it works in our daily life, it shows tremendous result. I show you how it work and its impact on our life, if we use it for investing: -

It forced me to think about investing, when I read a story in newspaper. It was the story of the Persian emperor who was so enchanted with a new 'chess' game that he wanted to fulfill any wish the inventor of the game had. This inventor, a mathematician, decided to ask for one seed of grain on the first square of the chessboard doubling the amounts on each of the following squares. The emperor, at first happy about such modesty, was soon to discover that the total yield of his entire empire would not be sufficient to fulfill the 'modest' wish.
The amount needed on the 64th square of the chessboard equals 440 times the yield of grain of the entire planet. Just try converting into money in any currency and you will realize the importance of compounding. You can also calculate it by a simple formula, which we taught in our high schools. For those more mathematically inclined, I state below the formula:
Vn = Vo * (1+r) ^n
What it means is that: The amount of money that you require (Vn) is equal to the amount invested today (Vo) multiplied by [1+ interest rate (r)] raised to the number of times the amount is compounded (n).

Let’s take an example:
If you can invest Rs. 1000 in any fixed deposit plan which gives you 10% p.a. interest and do not touch the amount for a long time. Can you imagine what amount your son or grand son receives after 50 or 100 yrs?

1 year @ 10% p.a. it becomes Rs.1000
5 year @ 10% p.a. it becomes Rs.1464
10 year @ 10% p.a. it becomes Rs.2358
15 year @ 10% p.a. it becomes Rs.3797
25 year @ 10% p.a. it becomes Rs.9850
50 year @ 10% p.a. it becomes Rs.106719
100 year @ 10% p.a. it becomes Rs.12527829

Look how your investment or just Rs.1000 becomes 1.25cr. in 100yrs without doing anything.


Do you know that what is the impact on your investment of Rs.1000 if the rate of return is 9%p.a. instead of 10%p.a.? I show you what 1% rate of interest can do it, if it is compounded on annual basis.

1 year @ 10% p.a. it becomes Rs.1000 but @ 9% p.a. it becomes Rs.1000
5 year @ 10% p.a. it becomes Rs.1464 but @ 9% p.a. it becomes Rs.1412
10 year @ 10% p.a. it becomes Rs.2358 but @ 9% p.a. it becomes Rs.2172
15 year @ 10% p.a. it becomes Rs.3797 but @ 9% p.a. it becomes Rs.3342
25 year @ 10% p.a. it becomes Rs.9850 but @ 9% p.a. it becomes Rs.7911
50 year @ 10% p.a. it becomes Rs.106719 but @ 9% p.a. it becomes Rs.68218
100 year @ 10% p.a. it becomes Rs.12527829 but @ 9% p.a. it becomes Rs.5072514

See what 1% can do if it is compounded on yearly basis. Impact on your investment is more than twice in 100 year by only 1% difference of interest rate.

Think if Rs.1000 (one time investing) becomes 1.25 Cr. in 100 yrs. Think if you invest Rs.1000 p.m. (it may be equal or less than 10% of your monthly salary) and on the same you get compound interest on monthly/yearly basis, how much it will be in 10 or 20 years.
Moral of the Story is ; "Instead of worrying about 'r', just start investing on regular basis. That is the key".

24 Golden Investing Rules of Warren Buffet

“HOW Warren BUFFET DOES IT”

The book, “How Buffet Does it”, is a step-by-step guidebook for investing like Buffet in any market environment. The book presents 24 ideas Buffet has followed from day one and makes his the richest person through investing. I explain all the 24 ideas which were used by Buffet.

1. Choose Simplicity over Complexity.
When investing, keep it simple. Do what’s easy and obvious. If you don’t understand a business, don’t buy it.

2. Make your own Investment Decisions.
Don’t listen to the brokers, the analysts, or the pundits. Figure it out for yourself. Become a value investor. It’s proven to be a very rewarding technique over the long term.

3. Maintain Proper Temperament.
Let’s other people overreact to the market. To succeed in the market, you need only ordinary intelligence. But in addition, you need the kind of temperament to help you ride out the storms and stick to your long-term plans. If you can stay cool while those around you are panicking, you can surely prevail.

4. Be Patient.
Think 10 years, rather than 10 minutes. Don’t dwell on the price of stocks. Instead, study the underlying business, its earnings capacity and its future. If the question is, “How long will you wait?” – “If we are in the right place, we will wait indefinitely” says Buffet.

5. Buy Business, Not Stocks.
Once you get into the right business, you can let everyone else worry about the stock market. Business performance is the key to picking stocks, the long track record of any company that is on your buy list. Buffet looks for following five main things before investing in a company.
I. Business he can understand.
II. Companies with favorite long-term prospects.
III. Business operated by honest and competent people.
IV. Businesses priced very attractively.
V. Business with free cash flow.
Don’t think about “stock in the short term.” Think about “business in the long run”.

6. Look for a Company that is a Franchise.
Some businesses are “franchises”. Franchise generates free cash flows.

7. Buy low-Tech, Not High-Tech.
Successful investing is rarely a gee-whiz activity. It’s less often about rockets and lasers and more often about bricks, carpets, paint, shaving blades and insulation.
Do not be tempted by get-rich-quick deals involving relatively complex companies (e.g., high-tech companies). They are the most unpredictable in the long run. Look for the absence of change. Look for the business whose only change in the future will be doing more business, e.g. Gillette Blades.
8. Concentrate Your Stock Investment.
Better to have a smaller number of investments with more of your money in each.
Portfolio concentration- the opposite of diversification- also has the power to focus the mind. If you are putting your eggs in only a few baskets, you are far less likely to make investments impulse or emotion.

9. Practice Inactivity, Not Hyperactivity.
There are times when doing nothing is a sign of investing brilliance. Be a decade’s trader, not a day trader.

10. Don’t look at the Ticker.
Tickers are all about prices. Investing is about a lot more than prices. It is about value. It is about wealth. Abstain from looking at share prices everyday. Study plying field and not the scorecard. Know the value of something rather than the price of every thing.

11. View Market Downturns as Buying Opportunities.
Market downturns are not body blows; they are buying opportunities. Change your investing mind-set. Reprogram your thinking. Listen to like a sinking market because it presents great buying value opportunity. Pounce when the three variables come together. When a strong business with an enduring competitive advantage, strong management, and a low stock price come into your investment screen.

12. Don’t Swing at every Pitch
What if you had to predict how every stock in the Standard & Poor’s (S & P) 500 would do over the next few years? In this scenario you have very poor chance of being correct. But if your job was to find only one stock among those 500 that would do well? In this revised scenario you have a good chance. A few good investments are all that is needed.

13. Ignore the Macro; Focus on the Micro
The big things- the large trends that are external to the business- don’t matter. It is the little things, the things that are business- specific, that count. It is possible to imagine a cataclysm so terrible that the markets would collapse and not bounce back. Externalities don’t matter- and you can’t predict them, anyway. And what can you do about them? Focus on what you can know; the workings of a good business.

14. Take a Close Look at Management.
The analysis begins- and sometimes ends- with one key question; who’s in charge here? Assess the management team before you invest. A investing in any company that has a record of financial or accounting shenanigans (creative accounting, accounting jugglery). Weak accounting usually means weak business performance. Strong companies do not have to resort to tricks.

15. Remember, The Emperor Wears No Cloths on Wall Street.
Wall Street is the only place where people go to in Rolls Royce to get advice from people who take the subway. Ignore the charts. A value investor is not concerned with charts. Invest like Benjamin Graham. Graham told investors to “search for discrepancies between the value of a business and the price of small pieces of that business in the market”. This is the key to value investing, and its far mare productive than getting dizzy studying hundreds of stock charts. Offer documents of most mutual funds say – in small print – that past performance is no guarantee of future success. Buffet says the same thing about the market: If history revealed the path to riches, librarians would be rich.

16. Practice Independent Thinking.
When investing, you need to think independently. Make independent thinking one of your portfolio’s greatest assets. Being smart is not good enough, says Buffet. Lots of high – IQ people fall victim to be herd mentality. Independent thinking is one of Buffet’s greatest strengths. Make it one of your own.

17. Stay within Your Circle of Competence.
Develop a zone of expertise, operative within that zone. Write down the industries and businesses with which you feel most comfortable. Confine your investments to them.

18. Ignore Stock Market Forecasts.
Short – term forecasts of stock or bond prices are useless. They tell you more about the forecaster than they tell you about the future. Take the time you would spend listening to forecasts and instead use it to analyze a business track record. Develop an investing strategy that does not depend on the overall movement of the market.

19. Understand “Mr. Market” and the “Margin of Safety”.
What makes for a good investor? A good investor is one who combines good business judgment with an ability to ignore the wild swings of the marketplace. When the emotions start to swirl, remember Ben Graham’s “Mr. Market” concept, and look for a “margin of safety”. Make sure that you also understand buffet’s concepts of Mr. Market and the margin of safety. Like the Lord, the market helps those who help themselves. But, unlike God, the market does not forgive those who “know not what they do”. Bide your time, and wait for Mr. Market to get depressed and lower stock prices enough to provide a margin of safety buying opportunity.

20. Be fearful when Others are Greedy and Greedy When Others are Fearful.
You can safely predict that people will be greedy, fearful, or foolish. Trouble is you just can’t predict when or in what order. Buy when people are selling and sell when people are buying.

21. Read, Read Some More, and Then Think.
Mr. Warren Buffet spends something like six hours a day reading and an hour or two on the phone. The rest of the time, he thinks. He therefore advises get in the habit of reading. The best thing to start is to read Buffet’s annual reports and letters and. Finally, restrict your time only to things worth reading.

22. Use All Your Horsepower.
How big is your engine, and how efficiently do you put it to work? Warren Buffet suggests that lots of people have “400 – horsepower engines” but only 100 horsepower of output. Smart people, in other words, often allow themselves to get distracted from the task at hand and act in irrational ways. The person who gets full output from 200 horsepower engine, says Buffet, is a lot better off. Make sure that you have the right role models. Strive for rational behavior, good habits, and proper temperament. Write down the habits, practices and philosophies that you want to make your own. Then be sure to keep track of them and eventually own them. Financial success is a “matter of having the right habits”.

23. A Costly Mistakes of Others.

24. Become a Sound Investor.
Buffet says that Ben Graham was about “Sound Investor”. He was not about brilliant investing or fads and fashions, and the good thing about sound investing is that it can make you wealthy if you are in not too much of a hurry, and it never makes you poor. To become a sound investor, you need to develop sound investing habits. Always fight the noise to get the real story. Always practice continuous improvement. It is less about solving difficult business problems, says Warren Buffet. It is about finding and stepping over “one – food hurdles” rather than developing the extraordinary skills needed to clear sevenfooturdles.

POEM: "THE ROAD NOT TAKEN"

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better chain,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads onto way,

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence;
Two roads diverged in a wood,
And I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made add the difference.

It’s What Inside That Count

There was a man who made his living selling balloons at a fair. He had balloons of many colors, including red, yellow, blue and green. Whenever business was slow, he would release a helium-filled balloon into the air. When children saw the balloon go up, they all wanted one. They would come up to him, buy a balloon and his sale would go up. All day, he continued to release a balloon whenever the sales slowed down.
One day, the balloon man felt someone tugging at his jacket. He turned around and a little boy asked, “If you release a black balloon, would that also fly?” Moved by the boy’s concern, the man replied gently. “Son, it is not the color of the balloon, it is what’s inside that makes it go up”.


The same principle applies to our lives: “It’s what inside that count. And what’s inside of us that makes us go up in our attitude.”

DESIRE THE SECRET OF SUCCESS

A burning desire is the starting point of all accomplishment. Just like a small fire cannot give much heat, a weak desire cannot produce great results. There is a short story to show you how.

A young man asked a priest the secret to success. Priest told the young man to meet him near the river next morning. They met. Priest asked the young man to walk with him toward the river. When the water got up to their necks, priest took the young man by surprise and dunked him under the water. The boy struggled to get out but priest was strong and held him down. When the boy started turning blue, priest raised the boy’s head out of water. The first thing the young man did was to gasp and take a deep breath of air. Priest asked “What did you want the most when you were under water”? The boy replied, “Air”. Priest said, “That is the secret of success. When you want success as intensely as you wanted air underwater, then you will have it.” There is no other secret.