Blog Archives

The Cash Flow Game

1/27/2011

I just love the game CashFlow even though my kids always seem to beat me at it. The game was created by the folks at Rich Dad, Poor Dad which in itself is an excellent series of books produced by Robert Kiyosaki and company.

The game CashFlow is meant to imitate life somewhat in that you start the game in the Rat Race. You must go through all kinds of challenges while at the same time trying to create Passive Income mostly from Real Estate. When your Passive Income exceeds your Expenses you are out of the Rat Race and on to the Fast Track. Pretty cool huh!

So as we were playing the game I got to thinking how many of the people around me have ANY Passive Income at all and the answer is extremely few. Most of my friends know nothing about Real Estate investing and to be honest with the high RE prices one has to be quite an expert to get any Cash Flow out of a property in Alberta or at least Calgary.

Most of my friends have tried to create passive Income through Network Marketing but that has been a pain for many of them because they need to chase family and friends. Even I am tired of that. That’s why I like what I do now.

I create passive income WITHOUT talking to family and friends and without calling leads and without the huge investment usually required for Real Estate Investments. Since I don’t need to talk to my friends or family about it, if you want to know more, ask me for a special invite but only if you are really serious and really looking for extra income. I don’t have to recruit anyone so I enjoy that. However, anyone who knows me knows that I like to look after my friends. Only problem is that I often want for them what they are not willing to do for themselves.

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More on Change!

1/23/2011

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Here is another post from a blog I kept in 2001 and it too is about Change. I must have been going through somethings back then but they act as a nice reminder now. Check it out...

I can't remember how many times I have read or been told, when things are going wrong in your life look in the mirror.

Recently there were several sequences of events that had me totally frustrated. Why were people being such jerks with me? Why were they screwing up when it came to my stuff? Maybe I am just in a bad cycle, I thought. I would just have to put up with it until it passed.

Then I remembered the proverbial mirror. Was it me? Could it possibly be me? Hey, everybody else was being mean, they were the ones messing up, so how could it be me?

I decided to run a little test over a couple of days. I was going to do everything in my power to forget about all the customer service nightmares I had just been through. I was going to expunge them from my thoughts. Every time these thoughts would enter my mind, I would flush them.

Moreover, I was going to be happy and nice. Not just on the outside. I knew that everyone deserved to be treated with real love and respect without any expectations on my part.

The results were phenomenal.

What I learned was what I already knew. When things are going wrong in your life, look within. Look at yourself. You may not like what you see. You may not even want to admit it. Unless you do however, you can't move forward because, Change begins with YOU!

That is the first level of change that must take place if you want to change your world. The next inevitable level of Change begins at HOME!

Then and only then can the third level of change begin. That is in the people around you.

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Choices

1/22/2011

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I love the concept that if I want to change what is happening to me and even around me then that Change begins with Me! I like it because it puts me in control of my own destiny. Everyday we have people pulling our strings, pushing our buttons and we, not them get to choose how we react. Get mad, even if you don't show it, and they win.

Remember this. He who gets mad first loses.

If I am driving too slowly and the person behind me honks his horn, I can get mad and salute him in unfriendly ways or I can just let it slide. The choice is mine and mine alone. If the other person chooses to get mad, that is his choice. I didn't make him angry. How can I, when he is in control of his own destiny and emotions just as I am.

Ultimately Change is all about Choices! Choose to be in control of your own emotions.
Choose to be Happy!
Choose to be Nice!
Choose to associate yourself with positive people!
Choose to be a Giving person!

Choose to monitor and control your thoughts for your thoughts become words. Words can cut or they can heal; choose to use them wisely. Your words become Actions. Understand your actions for they become Habits. Study your habits for they will become your Character. Develop your Character, for it becomes the beacon of change for all, in the corner where you are.

(Taken from a Blog post I wrote in 2001)

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My Thoughts

1/22/2011

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"Stand back and view the whole painting. If you stand to close you will only see the dots, the blemishes, and the brush strokes."
Allan Marston

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My Thoughts

1/22/2011

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"If you let your feet get tangled in the weeds of detail you might fail to see the glorious picture that lies beneath the surface."
Allan Marston

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Wisdom of The Soul

1/22/2011

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"As you become wiser in the ways of the world, you are less wise in the ways of the soul."

I remember when I was a child I would trust my instincts more. I would know almost intuitively, what was supposed to happen. As I grew older and as I grew smarter, I trusted my gut less and listened to my peers. When I was older, well, I was much wiser I figured, so I did not listen to my gut at all. I listened to my friends, my co-workers, my bosses, my family and all those people who loved me so much. After all, they were only looking out for my best interests.

One day after almost giving up all hope I sat in a room all by myself. I shut out my friends, my family and everyone else and all of their voices I banished from my head. At first, I cried. Then I became quite. Very quite! From deep within, I heard a voice cry out.

"Why don't you listen to me?"

I did not answer.

"No one loves you more than I do. No one cares about you more than I do," the voice continued.

So where have you been, I thought.

"You used to listen to me when you were younger. Not only don't you listen to me, you do not trust me and I have never steered you wrong. I am always here, trying to reach you over the voices of the world. My voice is soft! My nudges are gentle!"

I will be back, I thought. This feels so wonderful. All the wisdom in the world is within me!

"You make it sound like you have to visit me in some distant place. I am with you, within you, available to you 24/7/365. All you have to do is pay attention."

©2001 Allan Marston

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My Thoughts!

1/21/2011

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"Even though we are just a speck on the landscape of time, our thoughts, words and actions can echo through eternity."

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An Allan Marston Original!

1/19/2011

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I'm sixty going on ninety-five
And as I sit here starring at the sky
I think about the things that could have been.

I think about the girls I've dated
And I think about people I've hated
I think with both, it was only I, who paid.

My mind festers with things I should have said
To so many people who are all now dead
Regrets are a heavy price to pay.

If I had my life to live again
I would live for pleasure and ignore the pain
I wouldn't say anything, if I had nothing nice to say.

I would walk when I used to run
I would relax when the day was done
I would stop and smell the roses, like I never did.

You need not suffer, if you contemplate
If you immerse yourself in love, not hate
And learn from the mistakes, other people make.

I wish I'd known these things, when I was young and brave
Now wisdom comes on my way to the grave
Alas these seeds of wisdom, I leave for you.

© Allan Marston

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Riddle # 3

1/15/2011

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There is a common English word that is seven letters long. Each time you remove a letter from it, it still remains a common English word - from seven letters right on down to a single letter. What is the original word, and what are the words that it becomes after removing a letter at a time?

The Answer:
The original word is "Snowing". It decomposes to:
sowing, swing, sing, sin, in, and I.

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What season are you in right now?

1/15/2011

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Nothing lasts forever. Nothing stays the same. The only constant is change. The one cycle of change that has always intrigued me is the cycle of the changing seasons. Since the early Mesopotamians’ started farming, probably some seven thousands years ago, humans have known that they can count on the fact that no matter what, the seasons will change. Winter will turn to spring. Spring will turn to summer and summer to fall. There is evidence that indicates that this cycle even persisted through the ice age. Farmers have probably been the biggest beneficiaries of this change in seasons, but only because they have developed a plan to take advantage of this change.

I believe that we experience a change in seasons in our lives as well. And like the farmer, if we have a plan, we to can be successful. Winter can be the quietest time of the year for a farmer. Yet he doesn’t just go into hibernation, or go on a long vacation as some might think. Instead he uses that time to plan for the spring. He makes sure that his equipment is ready. So that when Spring arrives, he can go into action.

Spring is when the farmer tills his land and sows his seed. It is hard work. Frustrating at times, if the weather doesn’t provide for the ideal conditions to complete his tasks. Yet he persists. In the summer he maintains his crop. Guards it and protects it against pestilence that would rob him of his hard work in the spring. He also nurtures it so that when fall finally arrives he may reap the abundant rewards of his efforts.

What season are you in right now? Is it winter? A painful, quiet, maybe even a lonely time? And what are you doing to prepare for the certain coming of spring? Are there books you can read or CD’s / DVD’s you can listen to or view that can help you prepare?

Or is it Spring for you? A time of sowing. A time for rebirth. Remember this season can be painful to. Just ask the farmer.

If it’s Summer and you know it clap your hands. But whatever you do, don’t just sit there taking in the rays. Remember that it is a time to guard, protect, nourish and maintain. Snooze in the sun of the Summer of your life and you will surely lose the opportunity to reap the complete rewards of your hard work in the spring.

Fall is the most beautiful - and if you have taken care of all the details - the most abundant time of year. It is a time to reap; to celebrate; to give thanks. It is also a time to prepare. Do not be like the farmer who celebrated too long and too hard, so that the winter caught him by surprise. With grain not yet in the silo and equipment not yet in the barn, his losses were greater than his harvest.

If we know for certain that Pleasure follows Pain and that Sorrow follows Joy, then why not plan and prepare accordingly, so that we may minimize the pain and maximize the pleasure. Who needs a loooong winter? I’ll take a long summer and a great fall anytime.

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Allan Marston

I have written many blogs over the years so I am going to keep this one as my way of keeping in touch with my friends.

Allan Marston

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The Secret Killer

Find out what it is before it kills you and your loved ones and what you can do about it.

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