Not a Dollar More After Three Weeks of Self-Coaching and Study!

After around three weeks of reviewing "motivational" and "get-rich" clips, articles, and books, it is clear that:

1. The fuzzy feeling good "coaches" produce reduces output 
2. One does get some interesting theories about success and how it should be possible to get rich, but these pieces of advice are like astrological comments: they seem to make sense, but don't lead to changes. 

The bottom line: I didn't make a dollar more due to my self-studies. So far my provisional impressions.

Current Coaching: More Rhetoric Than Actual Help

This animation encapsulates the majority of current coaching approaches: "People have all the resources they need - either within them or within easy reach." This might work for some people and some situations, but it strikes me as more rhetoric than real help. Positive change is much more painful and time-consuming than coaches want potential clients to believe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb59hZ02MQc&hd=1

Learning From Israel?

Maybe the almost universal military training (which naturally includes management of groups, use of all kinds of machinery, ways of clear communication and constructive cooperation, etc.) is a major factor in Israeli start-up prowess. Japan and Germany also started in '45 with similar training levels. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ctInbFHBSQ

Which Books and Ideas Are Worth Experimenting With?

There are massive amounts of get-rich guidebooks out there. Which are worth reading and experimenting with? I've asked around and some examples of actually helpful texts that came up were Keith Ferrazzi's "Never Eat Alone" and “Magic of Thinking Big” by David J. Schwartz. So these will be my starting point to get into the "millionaire mindset".

Personality, Opportunity, or Intention: What Comes First?

What is the first step on the road to riches? Is it the personality (genetics, life experiences, education, etc.), an opportunity that presents itself? Or maybe the intention to become wealthy? Most self-help books claim that the third factor is most important, while (not really rich) newspaper journalists claim that the first two are decisive.
If the media people are right, I probably don't stand a realistic chance. That's why believing in the primacy of intention is the only option.

Meditation Does Not Work: It comes down to simple resting and hanging around with some friends

I don't trust the claims about meditation. There is no secret ingredient. And none of the research seems to compare meditation to simple resting, the feeling/illusion of doing something meaningful, and being together in a positive peer group, etc.
Anyway, even if meditation were great, using Buddhist or Hindu mantras or symbols is rather silly. Those were designed for triggering emotions in Indians or East Asians. Instead, I suggest using quotes from the A-Team, Sailor Moon, or He-Man.
"By the Power of Grayskull!" should be much more effective for Western practitioners instead of "Namu amida butsu" or the like.

Free Training in Exchange for a Cut of Future Earnings: Why does no coach do that?

Strangely enough, success coaches, NLP masters, hypnotists, and other experts with supposedly close-to-magical powers never agree to free training in exchange of a percentage of the clients' future earnings. If their claims were true and just a minority would pay something like 10% of a multi-million income, this should be a great investment. Yes, I've asked, but was always turned down...
I can understand that novice coaches can't wait that long for their cash flow, but established names should be able to do so.

Do Inspirational Quotes Fall Under Copyright Protection?

(And I thought writing some hobbyist blog were mindless fun...)

If I look at quotes, phrases, and passages from copyrighted books, do I have to add any disclaimer or ask for permission of the author?
This one, for example:

"The twin killers of success are impatience and greed." -- Jim Rohn

Do such inspirational quotes really help people? It's so abstract that everybody can agree. Why not just stick to the Bible? 
 

500% Markup for the 'Seekers of Wisdom': Gritty Grassroots Entrepreneurship in India (Guest Contribution by Kellri)

I lived in India for a year and I would go back there in a second if I had any possibility of finding steady work. There certainly is a lot of extreme poverty and crime, but the people that really irritated me the most were the Western hippies on a quest for enlightenment. There really is no other group of people so utterly worthless and deserving of a solid beating than those people. One of the most entertaining things to do is hang out with a group of Indians and mock the hippies for being intentionally filthy, stupid, and easily taken advantage of.

The real cash in India, if you can stomach it, is in starting your own religion. The thicker you lay it on, the more cash you will earn. The place I lived had a couple of cults dedicated to fleecing the Japanese, as well as an utterly ridiculous Hari Krishna commune for the French. All of them smoked weed, which was legally available in the town, so I supplemented my own income by picking up a big bag of the stuff at the gov't operated dispensary, repackaging it in colorful fabric from the market and then dispensing to the "seekers of wisdom" at a 500% markup. My only rule was buy your shit and get the hell away from me. Eventually I got a local guy to make chillums in his fireplace and he'd sell those to the same people - again, at unlikely prices. He ended up supporting his 9 kids just by selling a handful of clay pipes. When I left, I handed over the whole process to him and he now has a beach-side house and is a well-respected man about town.

三日坊主 (A Monk for Three Days = Being an Unsteady Worker)

Considering a handful of failed blogs, the missus has some doubts that this project will survive for more than half a week. Basically, she is always right, of course, but hopefully not in this particular case...

Starting from Level Zero: Is there a "Secret Juice" to being an entrepreneur? (Part 1)

Is there a "secret ingredient" to becoming wealthy? And: Is this something learnable/teachable?

I asked a senior entrepreneur and accomplished author who graciously answered my questions (on condition of anonymity). Therefore not the raw exchange, but my summary. (Which will be a work in progress while I digest his advice and comments.)

The Chinese have a saying "會者不難" ("It doesn't seem difficult for those who know how to do it"). My impression is that veteran business people and entrepreneurs don't see how difficult it is for us "muggles" to understand the very basics of making decent money in the free market. This level zero is missing in most guidebooks and inspirational speeches.

1. The media paint a very misleading picture of entrepreneurs. Successful creators of companies are not so much artists, but have a highly systematic approach. It is this step-by-step strategy in combination with analytical skill, perseverance and a lot of hard work that brings their astonishing success.
2. In other words: This attitude is learnable, but/and there is no "philosopher's stone" or inborn magic. Attention to details and systematic way of proceeding are crucial.
3. To find the starting point for your enterprise, try to come up with products/services that are missing and that you could provide with your combination of skills and knowledge. What does the market not provide and you could?
4. At the same time, think also realistically about your personal situation: Maybe you have a family and a stable job with more free time and social benefits is actually a better choice at this point in time? The media are filled with successes, but most start-ups fail. And most entrepreneurs, especially those that "make it" at some point, will crash. Multiple times.

[More to come...]

The "God of Wealth"

 The God of Wealth (Well, it used to be a big snowman, but the thrifty people of our neighborhood department store just gave him a new hat and bright red vest. Isn't that a great turn-around story?)

Becoming really, really rich: It can't be that difficult, right?

Christmas is around the corner. My life is pretty great. Good marriage, wonderful kids, interesting job, subtropical sunshine, too much good food, and even my Facebook feed is entertaining. Most things have worked out really well over the last years. Well, the only drop of bitterness is: I still haven't joined the ranks of the rich and wealthy.
Why? I probably haven't tried hard enough. This blog will record my way up into the upper class. With all those self-help books and inspirational Youtube videos around, how difficult can it be? Let's find out together...