Friday, April 23, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
How to Create Your Own Good Luck: 4 Timeless Tips
I never knew an early-rising, hard-working, prudent man, careful of his earnings, and strictly honest who complained of bad luck.”
Henry Ward Beacher
“We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don’t like?”
Jean Cocteau
“Many an opportunity is lost because a man is out looking for four-leaf clovers.”
Unknown
Luck. Some hope for more of it. Some don’t believe in it. Some think that everyone but themselves are lucky.
But can you create more of your own good luck in life? Here are a few timeless thoughts on that topic.
1. Work hard. Be proactive.
“I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more luck I have.”
Thomas Jefferson
“To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.”
Bruce Lee
This is in my experience very true. The more I work, the more I take chances and am proactive in life the more times I tend to be lucky.
Just sitting around and waiting for some good luck to land in your lap tends to be a pretty bad strategy. Creating your own opportunities and taking massive action simply gives you more of most things. Even luck.
Also, the more you practice the more you improve a deciding factor like your intuition. A better gut feeling can result in more decisions that may seem lucky from an outside perspective.
2. Be prepared.
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
Seneca
“One-half of life is luck; the other half is discipline – and that’s the important half, for without discipline you wouldn’t know what to do with luck.”
Carl Zuckmeyer
Now you that you have spotted an opportunity, what to do? Exactly. It’s a great idea to have an idea about how you can use an opportunity in a way benefits you. If you are unprepared then it’s easy to fumble away half of your lucky moments.
So, read. Talk about what you want with others that have more experience and knowledge than you. Ask them a lot of questions. Practice and educate yourself so that you are ready to make good and useful decisions when the opportunity arises.
3. Luck may often just be the golden rule.
“Your luck is how you treat people.”
Unknown
As you treat someone else s/he will feel like treating you. Maybe not today or tomorrow. But over time these things have a way of evening out.
So what looks like someone being lucky a lot from an outside perspective may just be s/he using the golden rule in a good way.
4. Being unlucky can be a sort of luck for you too.
“Luck never made a man wise.”
Seneca
“All of us have bad luck and good luck. The man who persists through the bad luck – who keeps right on going – is the man who is there when the good luck comes – and is ready to receive it.”
Robert Collier
“Each misfortune you encounter will carry in it the seed of tomorrow’s good luck.”
Og Mandino
Having some bad luck can in many ways be a good thing too.
When things are rough but you somehow get through them you tend to gain strength and perhaps a bit of wisdom and perspective on life. It may not have been fun. But those gains can be very helpful in the future.
I think that things do often balance out over time. You have bad meeting, date, day or even week. But, in my experience at least, then you often have something good happen or you get a lucky break the next day or week. Of course, in that situation it is important to be attentive and not still be focusing on that negative situation in the past.
The important thing is to keep going through ups and downs. The worst thing is when you just go passive and don’t do anything. Because then nothing seems to happen in a good long while.
I also find it useful to ask helpful questions when having a “negative situation”. Question like these:
* What is the good thing about this?
* What can I learn from this?
* What hidden opportunity can I find within this situation?
At first it might seem stupid to ask such a thing when having a bad day. But after a while you get used to it and your mind even starts to do it automatically from time to time.
Another important benefit of having some bad luck is what Robert Collier mentions above. When the good luck comes you are ready to recieve it.
You feel that after that bad luck you actually deserve your lucky break. This ties into hard work too. When you feel you have deserved your lucky break then you will have no or less problem with taking it.
There will be less self sabotage. There will be less situations where you start telling yourself that you can’t handle it or don’t deserve it.
You just go for it. And by having kept on going through the rough times you have gained strength and wisdom that will enable you to make the best out of this new and lucky situation.
If you like it please share with others .. Thank you very much! =)
Henry Ward Beacher
“We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don’t like?”
Jean Cocteau
“Many an opportunity is lost because a man is out looking for four-leaf clovers.”
Unknown
Luck. Some hope for more of it. Some don’t believe in it. Some think that everyone but themselves are lucky.
But can you create more of your own good luck in life? Here are a few timeless thoughts on that topic.
1. Work hard. Be proactive.
“I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more luck I have.”
Thomas Jefferson
“To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities.”
Bruce Lee
This is in my experience very true. The more I work, the more I take chances and am proactive in life the more times I tend to be lucky.
Just sitting around and waiting for some good luck to land in your lap tends to be a pretty bad strategy. Creating your own opportunities and taking massive action simply gives you more of most things. Even luck.
Also, the more you practice the more you improve a deciding factor like your intuition. A better gut feeling can result in more decisions that may seem lucky from an outside perspective.
2. Be prepared.
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
Seneca
“One-half of life is luck; the other half is discipline – and that’s the important half, for without discipline you wouldn’t know what to do with luck.”
Carl Zuckmeyer
Now you that you have spotted an opportunity, what to do? Exactly. It’s a great idea to have an idea about how you can use an opportunity in a way benefits you. If you are unprepared then it’s easy to fumble away half of your lucky moments.
So, read. Talk about what you want with others that have more experience and knowledge than you. Ask them a lot of questions. Practice and educate yourself so that you are ready to make good and useful decisions when the opportunity arises.
3. Luck may often just be the golden rule.
“Your luck is how you treat people.”
Unknown
As you treat someone else s/he will feel like treating you. Maybe not today or tomorrow. But over time these things have a way of evening out.
So what looks like someone being lucky a lot from an outside perspective may just be s/he using the golden rule in a good way.
4. Being unlucky can be a sort of luck for you too.
“Luck never made a man wise.”
Seneca
“All of us have bad luck and good luck. The man who persists through the bad luck – who keeps right on going – is the man who is there when the good luck comes – and is ready to receive it.”
Robert Collier
“Each misfortune you encounter will carry in it the seed of tomorrow’s good luck.”
Og Mandino
Having some bad luck can in many ways be a good thing too.
When things are rough but you somehow get through them you tend to gain strength and perhaps a bit of wisdom and perspective on life. It may not have been fun. But those gains can be very helpful in the future.
I think that things do often balance out over time. You have bad meeting, date, day or even week. But, in my experience at least, then you often have something good happen or you get a lucky break the next day or week. Of course, in that situation it is important to be attentive and not still be focusing on that negative situation in the past.
The important thing is to keep going through ups and downs. The worst thing is when you just go passive and don’t do anything. Because then nothing seems to happen in a good long while.
I also find it useful to ask helpful questions when having a “negative situation”. Question like these:
* What is the good thing about this?
* What can I learn from this?
* What hidden opportunity can I find within this situation?
At first it might seem stupid to ask such a thing when having a bad day. But after a while you get used to it and your mind even starts to do it automatically from time to time.
Another important benefit of having some bad luck is what Robert Collier mentions above. When the good luck comes you are ready to recieve it.
You feel that after that bad luck you actually deserve your lucky break. This ties into hard work too. When you feel you have deserved your lucky break then you will have no or less problem with taking it.
There will be less self sabotage. There will be less situations where you start telling yourself that you can’t handle it or don’t deserve it.
You just go for it. And by having kept on going through the rough times you have gained strength and wisdom that will enable you to make the best out of this new and lucky situation.
If you like it please share with others .. Thank you very much! =)
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
How to Save Income Tax?
In fact, in order to save yourself from paying too much income tax, you will need to increase your spending most of the time. Let’s break it down to two major categories – the first consists of strategies that won’t require extra spending, the latter consists of strategies that require you to spend more in order to save the amount of tax payable.
Strategies that don’t require extra spending
* Stop being employed
* Start your own business
* Become a business owner
* Become an investor
* Become a boss
* Set up a company
All the above methods give you a whole new perspective. Your income will be taxed differently. Most of your necessary expenses will be tax deductible.
Just in case you are wondering what is the difference of all the above, they are actually the same. Businesses are being taxed differently by the government simply because they provide jobs to the people who like to be employed and pay more taxes.
However, for personal income tax planning, there are still a few methods that don’t require extra spending. But you will have to park your money in the right place:
* Save education funds in Skim Simpanan Pendidikan Nasional (maximum RM3000)
* EPF contribution and life insurance premium (maximum RM6000)
* Education plan and medical insurance premium (maximum RM3000)
* Ask your employers to reduce your monthly salary but increase your EPF contributions by the same amount
* Change “Fixed allowances” to “reimbursement” based on receipt
Strategies that DO require extra spending
* Donation to registered and approved charities under Section 44(6) of the Income Tax Ordinance
* Take up further education or professional courses
* Buy books, journals, magazines and other publications
* Buy sports and exercise equipment
* Pay your parents’ medical bills
* Do a full medical examination
* Pay Zakat (only applicable to Muslims)
* Buy a computer
* Hire a tax consultant
The problem of paying too much income tax is a good problem to have. Only high-income-earners face the trouble of paying too much tax money.
I would like to congratulate you if you think you are paying a lot of income tax. After all, that’s a “good problem” to be worried about.
Disclaimer: This article just provides my general view about tax-saving methods. If IRB questions you regarding possible tax evasion or tax avoidance, please don’t tell that I teach you all these :) Anything that is unsure, please consult a professional tax consultant.
Strategies that don’t require extra spending
* Stop being employed
* Start your own business
* Become a business owner
* Become an investor
* Become a boss
* Set up a company
All the above methods give you a whole new perspective. Your income will be taxed differently. Most of your necessary expenses will be tax deductible.
Just in case you are wondering what is the difference of all the above, they are actually the same. Businesses are being taxed differently by the government simply because they provide jobs to the people who like to be employed and pay more taxes.
However, for personal income tax planning, there are still a few methods that don’t require extra spending. But you will have to park your money in the right place:
* Save education funds in Skim Simpanan Pendidikan Nasional (maximum RM3000)
* EPF contribution and life insurance premium (maximum RM6000)
* Education plan and medical insurance premium (maximum RM3000)
* Ask your employers to reduce your monthly salary but increase your EPF contributions by the same amount
* Change “Fixed allowances” to “reimbursement” based on receipt
Strategies that DO require extra spending
* Donation to registered and approved charities under Section 44(6) of the Income Tax Ordinance
* Take up further education or professional courses
* Buy books, journals, magazines and other publications
* Buy sports and exercise equipment
* Pay your parents’ medical bills
* Do a full medical examination
* Pay Zakat (only applicable to Muslims)
* Buy a computer
* Hire a tax consultant
The problem of paying too much income tax is a good problem to have. Only high-income-earners face the trouble of paying too much tax money.
I would like to congratulate you if you think you are paying a lot of income tax. After all, that’s a “good problem” to be worried about.
Disclaimer: This article just provides my general view about tax-saving methods. If IRB questions you regarding possible tax evasion or tax avoidance, please don’t tell that I teach you all these :) Anything that is unsure, please consult a professional tax consultant.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
