Dare to Change Life Coaching & Mentoring

Tag: building wealth

5 Tips to Overcome Fear of Investing

I was recently asked in my private Wealth Building For Powerful Women group: “How can I overcome the fear of investing?”

And because it’s such a common block for many people, especially after experiencing huge “paper losses” in the recent markets’ swing to bear territory, I feel that this topic deserves a closer look.

By the way, I suggest that you also check out the 3 Common Misconceptions about Investing.

Tip #1: Get Solid Knowledge About Strategic Investing

It’s natural for us to feel fearful about doing something we don’t understand well or don’t have solid knowledge about.

Remember your math or science classes at school? The subjects seemed complicated and even scary sometimes…until you learned and understood them.

Even driving a car at first, when you were just getting started, felt like a complex skill, right? And now you can drive it with your eyes closed… well, almost. LOL

The exact same approach applies to becoming knowledgeable about investing – the more you learn and practice, the more competent, confident, and discerning you become about making financial decisions.

In addition to learning about different investment strategies, different financial instruments available to you, and various ways to manage investment risk, you can also learn how to deal with market cycles, how to plan for retirement, and how to create a solid investment portfolio that will carry you over market downturns and economic recessions.

You can read books (e.g., Tony Robbins: “Money” and “Unshakable”, or Millen Livis: A Shift Toward Abundance: Pathway to Financial Freedom) , read financial publications (e.g., Wall Street Journal) and financial articles on the Internet, listen to financial podcasts (e.g., The Investing for Beginners or The Investor’s Podcast), take online or LIVE investment training (e.g. Grow Wealth with Stock Market Investing and Grow Wealth with Real Estate Investing), watch financially-inclined youtube channels (e.g. MillenLivisChannelWealth)

*When it comes to investment training, it’s very important that you trust and connect with the instructor/guide.

Tip #2: Think LONG Term

Think LONG term – don’t worry about “making it happen” and “getting it right” in a short time. All strategic investors have a long view investment horizon.

Having a longer timeframe helps mitigate risks from cyclical financial markets, but it also gives you time to test your strategies, make adjustments, and decrease pressure to hit “home runs” with each investment.

So, don’t judge your investment portfolio’s performance after just a month… or even a year.

Investment portfolios can sometimes take a decade or two to produce that long-term 9% + returns. Be patient and let your portfolio grow into its full potential.

Tip #3: Start Small

Allow yourself to screw up at the beginning. That’s normal with just about anything, right? That’s how we learn.

So start small, give yourself room to learn through experience. You can even start by using “paper-trading” options that some brokerage companies offer….

Also, decide how much you can stand to lose (it’s called “risk tolerance”). You can use “trailing stops” to control your losses.

What I like about stock investing is that it doesn’t require large sums of money upfront (if you’re planning to invest on your own instead of hiring an investment advisor to manage your money, which usually requires a large minimum – from $250K to $500K).

There are a number of micro-investing services out there on the Internet that can help you get started investing when you don’t have a lot of cash to allocate. Do some research and read users’ reviews before opening an account.

Tip #4: Adjust and Refine

We learn the most from our mistakes. If what you were doing at first isn’t working out – PAUSE. You can always adjust and refine your strategies as you learn and become more experienced.

It’s totally OK to change your strategies if you realize you made a mistake. The worst mistakes are made when we panic.

When you make up an investment portfolio, you want to take into account the amount of money you have to invest, your investment goals and timeframes, and your risk tolerance.

Your investment portfolio needs to have an adequate asset allocation that takes all of these factors into account.

Always think about striking a balance between GROWING your money and PROTECTING it at the same time.

And if your financial situation or needs change, you can always adjust your portfolio’s asset allocation. So, there’s no need to be frightened about making a mistake – you can always course-correct.

Tip #5: Keep a Bigger Perspective

Let’s say you lose money on some of your investments.

First of all, if you do your research and know what you’re doing, you can NEVER lose 100% of your invested money.

Secondly, you’re not going to jump into financial markets with ALL your investable funds, right? And so, since you’re not investing the cash you need to survive tomorrow or next month, it’s OK to allow some “paper losses” while markets go through temporary corrections.

If you don’t panic and don’t sell when everybody panics, your paper losses can recover…

When you’re investing for long-term goals, you don’t need that money for a decade or more. And in the long run, the markets tend to go up.

The Bottom Line

The fear of investing is not easy to overcome. It is especially hard if you lost a lot of money in the past. Nobody likes losing money…even if it’s just temporary.

So, I understand that making that first leap into the markets may feel hard and scary. But just because it feels hard and scary to you right now doesn’t mean that you should avoid investing altogether.

Think about all those times in your life when you felt scared before you learned how to do it well. Biking, swimming, driving, speaking a foreign language(s)… And once you learned the skills, it became natural for you…

And so, use the 5 tips shared in this article, learn about investing, and practice until investing becomes another natural skill for you.

To Your Health, Wealth, and Freedom!

PS: Click below to DOWNLOAD the free Wealth Planner
https://daretochangelife.com/wealth-planner and start taking simple steps on your road to Personal Freedom and Financial Independence.

July 20, 2020
BE THE LIGHTHOUSE – Your people need you!
We all experience exceptionally high levels of anxiety…that lead to fear and panic…

Fear waves are coming from every corner of our lives…
- Concerns about health, especially “high risk” groups – elderly, people with compromised immune systems and underlying health condition (my mom, 83. is sick right now….)
- Concerns about jobs, and how this global shock will affect global economies…
- Concerns about the stock market plunge and its effects on our investments…
- Concerns about small business sustainability during the “demand shock” among all cancellations and prohibition….
- Concerns about closed schools, canceled flights, and canceled events…
The panic created real chaos in our countries and in our lives – our lives have been disrupted, people feel they don’t have control anymore…and they have been buying everything as if we’re going to have a major shortage of ALL supplies for months to come…

Look… It IS a serious situation indeed.

Nobody knows when it will turn around…

Now more than ever we must be mindful and compassionate, use common sense and act responsibly with all our choices.

My heart goes out to ALL who got caught up in this crisis – got infected and are dealing with this virus, are restrained on cruise ships or airplanes…are self-quarantined at home for weeks, or lost a job and have no money to pay the rent.

AND… it’s also the time for us to rise to the occasion.

It’s the time to be the source of calm, and reason, compassion and unwavering optimism.

It’s the time to practice everything we’ve learned before and have a wider perspective on our lives.

As Dr. Joe Dispenza says, “You only resonate with the information that is equal to the emotions you experience.”

All your work that you’ve done before prepared you to be able to control your thinking and emotions independent of the external environment…choose where you place your focus/energy.

And during the time when many people experience fear and panic, survival and separation, you’ve got to be able to do what’s “not normal”– to model calm and reason, compassion and love.

You’ve got to demonstrate these qualities and give people an opportunity to do the same.

And so, I want to invite you to practice feeling invincible and empowered…especially in these challenging times.

I invite you to be a CONTRARIAN, a super-human if you will – observe, notice, acknowledge everything that IS good in our lives, everything that IS working, everything that you appreciate about yourself, your life, your people, your country, our inter-connected world.

?Be the Lighthouse for those who need guidance right now.

?Be the LIGHT to your family, friends, clients, neighbors.

?Be the ONE who shines brighter in dark times.

Because YOU CAN.?

To Your Health, Wealth and Freedom.

P.S. this crisis WILL PASS. And it might be a good time to start planning for your future.

I want to offer you a GIFT – Wealth Planner pdf – so you leverage the extra time you may have now to prepare yourself for the next phase in your life and secure your future.

CLICK HERE to download your FREE copy
March 24, 2020
Six Lessons to Boost Peace of Mind and Happiness
Today I want to share with you some insights from my time off the grid.

A few months ago I felt a deep desire to make time for my inner expansion – to focus on refining my awareness, honing my focus and clarifying my vision.

I strongly believe that there are times when we need to slow down to speed up.

So, for my B-day, I chose to go to the Buddhist Meditation Center (to the disappointment of my family members and the curiosity of some friends.)

Spending almost a week at the Buddhist Meditation center reconfirmed my deep conviction that our mind is the control center of our life experiences.

It was my first exposure to the Science of Conciseness according to Buddhism.

While I love many wise sayings attributed to Buddha and have read/heard a few times about Karma, Reincarnation and the Wheel of Life, I haven’t really dived into those concepts that much…until the visit to the meditation center.

Some questions that I couldn’t answer before could be reasonably answered using the concept of Karma (e.g. “How come some young children get cancer?!” or “Can a human being in this life be reborn in a different form in the next life?”)

The Buddhist notion of mind’s delusions like attachments (to our wishes being fulfilled, or to our opinions and beliefs), mistaken aspirations, anger, hatred, jealousy, ignorance (a.k.a. mistakes in perceptions) resonated with me deeply.

“All our problems are caused by our attachments to the uncontrolled desires.”

I love the depth of Buddhists’ appreciation for the “preciousness of human life” and how the loving-kindness, compassion and cherishing others are inherent attributes of Buddhist teachings.

“Every person has the potential to be a Buddha in making.” Yep, that means YOU and I are “Buddha in making.” Very cool, isn’t it?

And the sober reminder of the impermanence of our lives (one time we meditated on death…just to cheer us up LOL) kinda shook me up and made every moment of my life and every person I love and appreciate 100X more precious…

Frankly, I’m still processing many profound concepts (e.g. the idea of emptiness, the Buddhist perception of death, etc.) as I work my way through these teachings.

However, what I want to share with you briefly today is SIX practical applications of the Buddhist teachings.

Please note that these are NOT exact Buddhist lessons but rather my personal inference of the teachings I received.
1. There are no inherently “faulty/broken/evil” people. We all, at some point in time, are controlled by the mind’s delusions (e.g. attachments, anger, ignorance, etc.) So, we must distinguish a person from her/his delusions and refrain from judgments and discrimination.
1. Every human has a vast potential for happiness and success…within her/him. The potentiality of the mind is like seeds of consciousness. That’s why it is SO important to be aware of your thoughts and feelings and be able to intentionally choose what you focus on and how you want to feel.
1. YOU are not your mind and not your body. That’s why YOU can control your mind and your body. Also, it’s important to feel the acceptance of our [physical] death. Nothing is permanent and life is not about building a citadel around you, to protect yourself from suffering….Life is meant to be experienced.
1. You, as a human being, have a powerful ability to engage with your imagination. You can ask questions like “What would need to take place for me to ________?” You can imagine living your desired reality. You can visualize the place/time where your current predicament doesn’t exist… Any end of suffering starts in your imagination. Imagination IS a functioning faculty of your mind.
1. Your gracious and effortless presence in this world can be the greatest contribution to others. Shifting your focus from your challenges and predicaments to other people’s challenges and suffering is a powerful technique to help release your attachments and suffering.
1. The roots of all our problems lie in the uncontrollable, un-peaceful mind. The true, lasting happiness can only be found within a peaceful mind. Only by creating peace within our mind and helping others do the same, we can make the world a better place.
OK, I think you’ve got the gist of these valuable teachings (and this is just scratching the surface) – just enough to remind yourself that YOU have limitless potential and tremendous inner power. You can create anything you set your mind to create (as long as you keep reasonable expectations and are detached from the outcome). And your life, as it is right now, is very rare and precious.

Now…I would LOVE to know what you think about this topic, what resonated with you, what feels foreign to you…

So, go to my private Facebook group “Wealth Building for Powerful women” and share your insights and opinions. I promise – we will NOT judge them!

To Your Peace, Power, and Prosperity!

P.S. Do you think it’s a good idea for you to to start (or continue) planning for your future?

If you answered YES, then I’d like to offer you a GIFT – Wealth Planner – so that you prepare yourself for the next phase in your life and secure your future.

CLICK HERE to download your FREE Wealth Planner

And if belonging to a PRIVATE FREE community of like-minded women sounds good to you as well, join us here => Wealth Building for Powerful women
February 4, 2020
Wealth Creation Starts with YOU.
In the last week post, Benefits of Intentional Living, I promised to tell you how I started living intentionally and briefly shared with you the rough patch I went through a few years ago – the downward spiral that brought me to my knees and…opened my heart.

I never thought that something like that could happen to me.

Using the “societal metrics of a successful life”, I was living an American dream – family, beautiful house in the suburbs of New York, prestigious high-paying job, friends, parties, vacations….

Yet deep down I was not happy – it felt like was dying inside. And there came a time when I could no longer pretend, so…I decided to dare and change my life.

Yeh, I jumped – walked out of my “prestigious comfortable job”, my comfortable marriage, my beautiful and comfortable home, and…re-started my life all over again.

I recall feeling enthusiastic about my future again, especially after graduating from the “prestigious and well known” business school. I SO wanted to create lasting wealth, serve others, travel, and make a difference in the world.

Yet it didn’t happen… for some time.

I got into a free-fall and my “parachute” didn’t open for a while…

The promising business partnership fell apart; my new investment business was cash-poor and I had to let go of my team members; I struggled with paying bills and student loans; had serious health issues; and got depressed.

At that time I didn’t know that the Wealth creation must start with me…

Wealth creation starts with YOU

I was SO focused on “external” achievements that I completely neglected the most important source of success in my life – myself and my well-being.

I felt stuck and unhappy…again.

And what I discovered was that I had to rethink how I perceive happiness.

I realized that I neglected my inner well-being.

I needed to change…again. But this time the change had to be from the inside out.

You must re-train your brain

I needed to re-train my brain.

And the best way to do that is to practice mindfulness.

So, I decided to practice intentional living by introducing a healthy daily routine. I’ve strived to live intentionally every day by being deliberate with my time, focus, and choices.

Let me share with you the daily routine that has helped me turn my life around and create an incredible life:
1. I start my morning by counting at least 5 things I’m grateful for –Gratitude is my anchor state.
2. Then I get up and drink some water (often with a slice of lemon) to get my body hydrated.
3. Next, I get to my meditation space. I meditate anywhere between 30 – 60 minutes (based on my schedule that day). I use different styles of meditation – silent, guided, or mantra. Meditation helps me get into a state of being where I feel more calm, peaceful and intentional with my thoughts and emotions.
4. Next, I head to my yoga room and practice yoga and/or Qigong.
5. During weekends, I like to read books, especially on metaphysics and mindfulness, and journal.
6. Only after these 5-6 steps, I nurture myself with nutritious food – make a green smoothie for breakfast (with kale, celery, cucumber, sunflower sprouts, lemon, banana and green apple).
7. After my nutritious breakfast, I go for a walk in nature.
I begin my morning with this simple routine – BEFORE I even start my to-do list for the day.

Out of all those 7 steps, meditation is one of the essentials. Being in the state of calm and silence, when the chatter/noise of the outer world is neither distracting nor guiding my focus, allows my brain to rest and recover.

Oh, and I also like to set an intention before my meditation… For example, one of my intentions is to feel in love with my life (no matter what challenges I may encounter.)

Sometimes it’s hard to shut down my busy mind or switch attention from physical pain… In these situations, I just notice those thoughts, acknowledge them and gently get back to the flow.

Noticing what’s happening in your mind or body without passing any judgment is often referred to as mindfulness.

You Can Do It, Too

Following a healthy (and supportive) morning routine will change how you feel about your day. It may not be easy, at first. You may forget, or skip some steps; you may choose to do none on some days.

What’s super important is that you don’t beat yourself up. Guilt is one of the most toxic emotions humans experience and I know first-hand how draining this emotion feels.

I invite you to forgive yourself, remind how many benefits you’ll experience from having a healthy daily routine, and simply get yourself back into the flow.

By the way, you don’t have to have all those 7 exact steps – I encourage you to come up with a daily routine that works for you and your life.

So, what daily routine are you going to implement in your life?

What ideas that I shared with you today resonated with you?

Share your intentions and ideas in our private Wealth Building for Powerful Women group.

To your Peace, Power, and Prosperity!

P.S. For my birthday, I chose to go to the meditation retreat hosted by the Buddhist monks. It has been a truly fascinating experience…I’ll share more about it in my next emails or videos.

Have you downloaded yet my Checklist for Living Free? It’s my gift to you and you can Download it HERE. EN-JOY!

Also, my team and I are cooking some VERY COOL experiences for you in the coming months….So, make sure you stay in touch!
January 27, 2020
Odd Holiday Message
I believe you’re reading this because you’re not where you want to be financially in your life.

Because there’s a gap between your aspirations and your current financial reality.

Yes?

And I also suspect you have tried to change your financial situation before. Probably a few times….

Tight budgeting? Done.

Money mindset program(s)? Done.

Dabbling with stock investing? Done.

Investing in your own business? Done.

You may feel like you’ve tried so many things already yet without a dent in your bank account’s balance, let alone an improvement in your financial new worth.

Does it sound a little like you or someone you know?

You’re so not alone!

I certainly can relate…

It was December 2008… I was sitting in front of my computer in my small rental apartment…after massive losses in my investment business, car accident, divorce…

Feeling hurt, scared and overwhelmed, looking at my bank account balance (after paying the divorce attorney)…and thinking:

“How the hell did I get here? How did I get to this financial mess?? And is there a way out from here?“

Well, I now know that the answer is an unequivocal YES!

I just couldn’t see things clearly at that time – I was too close to my troubles, really stressed and focused on what wasn’t working in my life (which felt like EVERYTHING during that time).

Look…whatever your financial situation may be right now, it’s NOT the end of your life story. It’s just a chapter and…likely, a wake-up call.

There is always a way out and way forward if you choose to make real change, instead of ignoring the need for change by putting another Band-aid on the situation…

Change is not something that most people seek or welcome when there is not enough “pain.”

Change is often uncomfortable, unpredictable, and even scary (because it’s unknown).

And it seems that human nature is such that we delay/avoid/ignore a need for changes in our lives until things get really ugly.

Until we get so uncomfortable/hurt/disturbed that we can no longer go on with businesses as usual.

Why am I talking to you today, during the holiday season, about the real change?

Because I see too often that people wait…and wait…and wait until they lose their health, relationship, money, hope…

Because this is the time of the year (Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year) to MAKE TIME and reflect on your life experiences.

It’s the time of the year to make plans and contemplate what you want to let go of, what you want to have more of, and what you want to accomplish next year…

So, I encourage your to MAKE TIME for yourself, print and use my Wealth Planner (click HERE to download it right now) and really immerse yourself into “your mind’s journey” that this Wealth Planner takes you on.

Create a BIG picture for your journey to Financial Independence:
1. Start with WHAT you want to create/experience;
2. Dig out the skills and experiences you already have and those you may need to upgrade/acquire;
3. Outline money habits you’ve got to change, old thinking patterns that must stop and the new ones you want to practice more;
4. Assess your environment and inner circle (what/who do you want to keep and what/who to let go?);
5. Decide what changes you want to see in your physical and emotional body.
If you feel like “I know it already”, consider that this Wealth Planner is a tool to “re-mind” your old conditioned mind so that you allow yourself to snap from “survival” or “just enough” state and leap to elegant joyful State of Creation.

So, yeah, this is my “odd holiday message” to you.

Let me know how it lands on you. What resonated? What frustrated? What inspired?

To your Peace, Power and Prosperity!

P. S. Some REALLY cool Wealth trainings are coming your way in 2020. But I have something SPECIAL FOR YOU RIGHT NOW!

Something that would help you JUMP START Your Investing Journey OR RE-CALIBRATE it for better RESULTS.

I am talking about The Wealth Collection Holidays’ Special – a bundle of my most transformational and insightful programs that focus on helping you make your money work for you.

AND you can own LIFETIME access to these programs with the incredible 70% OFF (SAVING $700) if you ACT by January 1, 2020!

Wanna look what’s inside?

Check it out here: WEALTH COLLECTION HOLIDAYS’ SPECIAL
December 13, 2019
13 Money Lessons your Kids are NOT TAUGHT in Schools.

Did you have a great experience in school when you were young?

I had a mixed one… and very little of what I was taught was important for my success in life.

You see, some kids have a great experience in schools. But, sadly, many feel that it was some of their worst experiences.

Not only some kids experience bullying and social pressure as “unpopular”, but many also have their individuality and genius crushed. No wonder homeschooling is so popular these days!

And what bothers me a lot is how little practical skill-sets our kids get in schools and colleges.

Specifically, I am referring to basic financial education.

Not only our kids are not taught about the history and origins of money, the basics of financial literacy and financial responsibility, but they are also often get conditioned to fear money and/or to perceive the desire to be wealthy as a bad or unworthy pursuit.

So, if I could propose the basic financial education to our kids or even young adults, here’re 13 Financial Literacy Tips I would include:

1. Money is not a “thing” – it has the meaning YOU assign to it. So, it could be something that has a positive and empowering role in your life. And the best part is that it’s YOUR choice how you perceive money – a friend or a foe.

2. Wealth is not something you acquire…It’s what you create in your life. It’s also not the destination but a journey. This journey will build your character, test your strength and teach you important lessons.

3.     Money is a form of exchange of value. In the old days, people traded commodities (e.g. grains or chickens, etc.) for things they needed. Then they invented money (e.g. gold/silver coins and later notes) as a more convenient token of exchange. The more people you serve and satisfy the demand they have, the more opportunities you create to earn more money.

4.     You must know your cash flow – how much money is coming IN and how much money is coming OUT. And cash flow coming IN MUST BE MORE than cash flow coming OUT. If it’s the other way around, you’re bound to be a slave to money.

5.     You’ve got to understand your personal financial statements. That includes your bank statements, credit card, and mortgage statements, etc. Ignorance is expensive.

6.     You must understand different kinds of debt. “Good debt” is the leverage that helps grow wealth. “Bad debt” is high-interest consumer debt (credit cards’ debt) that hinders your efforts to grow wealth.

7.     You’ve got to know the difference between assets and liabilities.  For example, a house with a mortgage is a liability, not an asset.  A car with a car loan is a liability, not an asset. More liabilities = less money for you. More assets = more money for you.

8. There are three types of income: Earned (paycheck from a job), Capital gain (when you sell the asset that appreciated in value), and passive income (when you receive money without exchanging your time for money).

9.     Savings are seeds of your wealth. Investing is the fertilizer for growing your wealth. Strategic investing is how you make your money work for you.

10. To accelerate your wealth growth you must have multiple sources of income. Multiple Sources of passive income is how you become financially independent.

11.   You can create wealth by building a business that offers products and services that people need, want, and are willing to pay for; OR by investing in various assets that provide value appreciation/growth and income (e.g. real estate, stocks, etc.)

12.   It’s not about how much money you make but how much you keep. Understand how to manage it and how to minimize your investment risk. Know when to act and when to wait. Be mindful of fees and taxes. Invest in your knowledge – THAT’s the investment that has high returns.

13.     NEVER put all your eggs in the same basket. Diversify your investments, develop skill-sets in different areas you want to invest in. Take responsibility for your financial sovereignty.

What do you think about these tips? Which ones you’d share with your kids? Which ones resonated with YOU the most?

To your Health, Wealth and Freedom!

December 6, 2019