I believe it is in everyone and everyone dreams of it. This blog shall be my journal on my journey of a tough and challenging life. Success is always in everyone's mind but what has one done anything about it? I am starting this blog although i have yet reached my goals or being successful in my passion. But somehow, i don't know what, deep in me, i know i will succeed in time to come. Hence, i created this blog to pen down this journey from the start, till the end. Every detailed events of it, will be here.
I graduated late as i did not really take studies seriously. I worked as an IT consultant for several years. Pay was not really good but because i worked overseas, the one thing i had advantage was the exchange rate. Now, i am self-employed, learning and building my way up. Far from being successful but i had to start somewhere.
My family members are all professionals. Sounds good right? But why do i feel strange about that and nothing to be proud off about this? All my family members are typically the scholars, working professionals like teachers, lecturers, physicians, doctors and scientists. One thing i notice about these "super scholarstic family members" of mine. They have one sandbox mentality, which is study hard and get a good job. Seriously, that's what they only talk about.
Since young, i was really someone that "cannot listen to instructions". I hated rules and i like to explore on things even if it's risky. I hated school, i hated studying and basically just want to try out anything i feel is good. My mom's a teacher and boy, how mad she gets about me. That's the thing about lecturers, teachers, etc, they are from the education system and they do not think anything further besides "study hard and get a good job". When i have an idea, just about anything, they will gun me down, pour cold water over my shoulders by bringing up failed scenarios on people trying to pursue what i want to do. It's like, they gun you down even before you even try to stand up and make sure you just follow what they want you to do. (does this ring any bells to any of you?). I understand from their point of view and why they do that. It's just the way they think and was brought up. They were from scholastic environments but they never had any entrepreneurial or investment sense at all as they do not dare to think of taking a single bit of risk.
Now, that's the problem, our parents live at the time where "get a good job" is something good at that time. Probably so. However, we all know now at current times, things happen so fast. Retirement age on the "employment" sector had been raised by our government. But has it REALLY being raised? On paper it says 65-68 years old retirement age, but why do we see people at the age of 40-50 getting laid off for new personel which are younger? Market cycles circulate so fast these days that it's almost impossible for one to follow. So is having a job safe now? Of course at the start one may need one, but i always believed that "work because you WANT to, not you NEED to". There is a big difference there.
Living under my scholastic family's roof, i too somehow got fixated with that kind of thinking and hence i took a job overseas as an IT consultant. Boy do i hate it so much. It's everyday codes, updating on new methodologies, more codes. "i have to get out of this, there has to be another way", that was what had always been in my mind. Then the next inevitable hard frightening truth comes in, "HOW?" I've been studying IT since my university days, i don't know anything and i can't get out from it. Thoughts flooded in, "i have to start all over again which will take a long process". I believe it's in everyone's mind. I got pretty scared, thinking of the time i won't have money (pay), the extra hard work that you have to do because you're way behind other people, it's just so frightening. Basically it's a total paradigm shift from what i was "brought up" with. I tend to hear some of my peers complaining about how their life sucks because their IT jobs require them to stay back late, or work from home till late at night. Not to mention them, i myself had my share of that as i was also in that same line of industry.
It was then, like many other people, tries to find other ways and the cheapest way was to get some books and like many other people too, my first book was "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki. That book itself had me reading it like a zombie from day and night. Taking the MRT, while having lunch or even when going to meet my clients, i'll whip out that book and read it. Being hungry for "a way out", this really opened my mind. It was then i felt, "WTF have i been doing with my life". I was 28 that time with no assets, big student loan, an old car (but no loan on it) and hated my job and definitely not much of a savings (or shall i say, shameful to even call it "savings"). It was there and then i realized that i was in a way lucky because i worked overseas with a pay that after conversion, was pretty ok (but AFTER conversion only). Hence i told myself that i may have an advantage because of this from many people back home.
It was then i started to become money savvy, i learnt from scratch. read books, search from the internet, asked and talked to people (no matter what an idiot they may think i am but hey, i'm still getting info from you right?). At that very moment, as i dug further in the rabbit's hole, i found myself clueless on what i'm clueless about but from then on, i made it a point that i saved 2/3 of my salary and started venturing into properties and stocks. The time my eyes opened, that was a time of recession. (the 2008-2009 sub prime recession in the states that shook the entire world) but i couldn't do much as i did not have much savings like i mentioned earlier on.
That particular time, a good friend of mine mentioned about a property back in my home country. It was a commercial shop lot and it was going for a million bucks. Blimmey! that was the deal of the century! Why i said that because that location was beyond excellent. It's always packed with people, day and night. It's so populated there that everyone goes there for business or leisure. It's easy to get tenants and mind you, rentals for these shop lots that area could easily earn you a 5 figure salary! But alas, i did not have enough money and i was deprived of that chance. it was snapped up in less than a 2 days. That commercial shop lot, is worth easily 5 million now. IN A SPAN OF WHAT, 4-5 YEARS??? it's like earning 1 million a year!
I realized how backward i am. And i started learning up as much as i can. Properties, stocks, commodities and even index futures. Don't get me wrong, i'm still far from being an expert as i have mentioned, i'm still far from being called "successful" but i would like pen down and share my experiences through this blog. I started trading financial securities due to the hunger of success, it crashed me hard but again, due to my conversions of my salary, i withstood that. That crash in my trades made me realize one very important statement and it is "if you find education EXPENSIVE, try IGNORANCE!". That's why i lost BIG TIME in my trades at the early stages. I traded with very little knowledge (in other words it was more like betting). Slowly, recuperating from my losses, i slowly learnt more and more and more in properties, stocks, investing, etc. I haven't reached the heights i have expected but this is my journey to my passion and one day, i know i will be continuing on this blog as someone successful. In the 3rd quarter of 2012, i took my first very big step and change in my life. I quit my job and pursued my passion.
I'm a trader and investor now and this, is my journey.
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