The Indian economy is firing on all cylinders, fueled by policy reforms that are the catalysts for growth in one of the world’s fastest growing economies.
This was the central theme of the message delivered by Atul Penkar, lead sub-advisor of the Excel India Fund at an investor conference held in Toronto on September 19th. Mr Penkar is also the Head of Offshore Equities at Birla Sun Life Asset Management Company Ltd. (BSLAMC) in India.
Titled “Expert Insights into India: The World’s Growth Giant,” the conference was sponsored by Excel Funds Management Inc., in association with BSLAMC, the on-the ground sub-adviser of Excel’s three India-focused funds: Excel India Fund, Excel India Balanced Fund and Excel New Leaders Fund.
Mr. Penkar noted that India’s GDP growth has exceeded long-term projections made by Goldman Sachs and that the country was already close to achieving 2020 growth forecasts five years earlier.[1]
Money does not buy happiness. You’ve heard that before. Many studies of happiness have shown that relationships, a positive attitude, working towards goals and helping others, are at the core. Even exercise and pet ownership are considered contributing factors. How much money is in your bank account doesn’t even make the list.
On the other hand, constant struggle and worry about money can certainly rob you of happiness. Luckily, whether or not you struggle with money has less to do with how much you have and much more to do with your mindset. That’s why being a Money Coach brings me so much happiness. I have the opportunity to help people stop struggling and gain mastery over their money.
I also have the opportunity to dispel the misconception that money mastery is synonymous with giving up all the fun stuff you enjoy, and thinking only of a distant retirement or being prepared for a “rainy day.” As a Money Coach, I don’t set your priorities; I help you determine what matters most to you. The approach Money Coaches Canada, co-founder Karin Mizgala and I developed in our book Unstuck, is focused on the concepts: Dream, Plan, Live.
We believe that to live the life you want, you need a clear vision of what that life will look like. Once you have a dream, you develop an action plan with steps you can take immediately. In that way, your dream isn’t some far off wish; it becomes an active part of your daily life and you are able to recognize—and celebrate—the progress and victories along the way.
Here are some ideas to get you started living according to your goals.
Use your dreams to set your priorities
What do you really want in your life? More travel? Early retirement? More time with your children? To start a business? Of course, there is no right or wrong answer. It’s your life. Never assume that the life you want is out of your reach. A clear vision of what you want is an amazing source of motivation to make things happen. Because once you have uncovered what you really value, you can take actions that support your dreams becoming reality.
We’re constantly reaching out to financial authorities we feel would benefit our audience the most. From Mark Seed, to Xiaolei Liu, to Rob Carrick, we are always looking to compile information and pick the brains of experts in the industry. This is why we were ecstatic to hear that Jon Chevreau was willing to do a little interview with us about his most recent book. (Highlighted link is to original post at Stocktrades.ca)
A little bit about Jon before we start
Jon has long had our attention here at Stocktrades from his writing at Moneysense and the Financial Post. He is the owner of FinancialIndependenceHub, the author of Findependence Day and the co-author of Victory Lap Retirement, which is what this interview will be about. He was a columnist for the National Post from 1993 to 2012 and was Editor-in-Chief for Moneysense Magazine from 2012 to 2014. If we had to choose some financial authorities on the internet today that we’d follow, Jon would be near the top of the list.
We hope you enjoy this interview, and if you’re interested in purchasing Jon’s book, head on over Victorylapretirement.com to see what it’s all about or purchase it from Amazon here.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE THIS BOOK?
Jon: Co-author Mike Drak approached me with the idea of a book about Retirement/Victory Laps after he encountered my website, the Financial Independence Hub, and my financial novel, Findependence Day. We thought we could marry the two concepts since Findependence gets you to the point you can launch a proper Victory Lap.
COULD YOU BRIEFLY DESCRIBE THESE FOLLOWING TERMS IN YOUR OWN OPINION, OR AS THEY RELATE TO THE BOOK?
What is Findependence?
Jon: Findependence is simply a contraction of the phrase Financial Independence. And so Findependence Day is the day you achieve financial independence, which we define as the moment when all sources of passive income (pensions, investments, royalties etc.) exceed your monthly expenses nut (rent/mortgage, food, clothing, utilities etc.)
Explain a Victory Lap Retirement?
Jon: Victory Lap Retirement can be described variously as semi-retirement, self-employment, an encore career or launching a creative career (writer, artist, musician) that lets you monetize what was previously a hobby. Normally, the Victory Lap is made possible by first achieving Financial Independence. It differs from traditional full-stop retirement in that you may still be working, albeit not for a single employer.
Rather you have multiple streams of income, some of which may be passive (pensions, investments) and some of which may be active (part-time work, contracts, an online business). This allows you to pursue the inner creative dreams you may have harbored when you were young, and which you may have put aside during the decades you worked in a traditional “Job” and raised a family. In your Victory Lap, you work because you want to, not because you have to (financially speaking).
Lastly what is an Encore Career?
Jon: An Encore Career or Legacy Career is a late-life reinvention of your career, as described by the website encore.org and the book Encore by Marc Freedman. Its subtitle says it all: Finding Work that Matters in the Second Half of Life.
IN YOUR OPINION, HOW IS A VICTORY LAP RETIREMENT MORE BENEFICIAL THAN THE TRADITIONAL RETIREMENT?
Jon: We think it’s crazy to go from the 100% work mode of traditional salaried employment to 100% non-stop leisure, which is the traditional “full-stop” retirement that often occurs at age 65. By the way, I turn 65 next April and don’t expect to slow down much if at all. I’m in the fourth year of my own Victory Lap and am as productive as ever, and probably in much better physical and mental health.
Marketing your business online is crucial in the competitive marketplace of the 21st century. This is the case whether your business operates exclusively online, only in the brick and mortar world, or both online and in the proverbial “real world.”
As you contemplate your online marketing plan, you do not need to reinvent the wheel. You do want to put your own unique spin on your online marketing efforts for your business. However, there are some tried and true general strategies you will want to consider when developing your own online marketing plan for your business. Indeed, there are five specific tips you will want to keep in mind when it comes to your online business marketing endeavors.
1.) Fully leverage Social Media
In order to most effectively market your business online, you need to understand that social media is not just for socializing any longer. Indeed, that has been the case for some time. The effective marketing of your business demands that you fully leverage social media.
Research into social media and business marketing reveals that utilizing a platform like Facebook or Instagram can prove to be twice as effective as email marketing and telemarketing, according to CIO, a leading magazine on digital marketing.
Some business owners initially balk at the idea of integrating social media into their overall marketing plan. In the end, social media need not be overwhelming.
The best course to take to begin fully leveraging social media into a comprehensive marketing scheme is to commence the process slowly. What this means is you can begin to develop a successful, compelling social media effort by initiating the process through the use of one platform.
Focus your initial attention on a social media platform that appears to be favored by your customers or clients, as well as by opinion leaders in your industry or market segment. This may be Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Google+, or LinkedIn. From beginning with one social media platform as part if your comprehensive marketing efforts, you can build over time and truly fully leverage appropriate social media options.
2.) Use Pay-Per-Click advertising
Another methodology you can employ to develop an effective online marketing regimen for your business is utilizing pay-per-click advertising. Pay-per-click, or PPC, advertising allows you to place ads in certain locations online, including at social media sites.
PPC advertising permits you the ability to highly target your advertising. You truly can focus on a very precise market segment, a process that works to optimize your overall return on the investment you make in advertising dollars. With PPC advertising, you only pay when a potential client or customer actually clicks on your advertisement.
The following is Part 2 of a sponsored Q&A with the founders of the firm behind Canada’s new Prosperium cybercurrency. Doug Coyle, pictured on the left, is the Chief Executive Officer of Toronto-based Prosperium Inc. Tony Humble is President and Chief Organizational Officer. You can find the introductory blog in this series by clicking on Blockchain Revolution, Global Prosperity and Prosperium. Also, a new white paper has just been published.
The pre-Sale rollout plan for Prosperium tokens
Jon Chevreau: Let’s resume with a recap how you’re rolling out Prosperium units and how pricing steps up over time.
Doug Coyle: Our currency Prosperium does have a period at the beginning, which we call our Presale period, when accredited investors can buy the coin at a value that is rising over time. The current value that we’re offering our token at is $2 per token for the presale token. That will be stepped up to $2, $4, $6, $8, $10, $15, $20, then by increments of $10 until finally it gets to $100 per presale token.
That price is based upon the network value; as we accomplish various milestones and increase the value and utility of the Prosperium platform and token the market price increases steadily; but once you reach $100 it then converts at 100 to 1 so one Prosperium token becomes 100 Prosperium “dollars” at a 1 to 1 ratio. It becomes stable at that point. That means that 1 Prosperium dollar is equal to one Canadian dollar. From then on it’s stabilized by smart contracts so it becomes very easy for someone to look at their Smartphone, see their balance is 1000 Prosperium dollars and they know what they what can buy with one thousand Prosperium dollars since it’s equal to C$1,000.
Jon: And outside Canada?
Doug: Each country will have its own Prosperium token that matches the local fiat currency. So in England, one Prosperium pound will equal one UK pound; same with the peso or the US dollar etc. We are set to be a stable-value token in all countries that accept us: wherver the regulators accept our platform so people are able to trade in a currency and know the price of anything in Prosperium dollars or tokens.
This is very different than Bitcoin because right now Bitcoin is worth around $4,000. So on any given day how do know how much the price of a cup of coffee is in Bitcoin? You don’t, not without doing a bit of a calculation or having your phone do it for you. So it’s a big advantage having a stable-value currency for everyday use that you can trust won’t fluctuate and be volatile while they hold it and that they know the price of things in that currency.
Fiat currencies vs cybercurrencies
Hub CFO Jon Chevreau
Jon: You used the term fiat currency just now. Can you comment on traditional “money” and so-called fiat currencies like the dollar, Euro etc.? There’s nothing magical about the value of a dollar except that it’s dictated by governments, right? At least since it’s no longer backed by gold.
Doug: You’re right: part of understanding how to design a currency for Prosperium is understanding the mechanism that all currencies play in an economy; an economy is just a community of people trading their work with each other: goods and services. The economy, the GNP or GDP, is just the sum of all those transactions in that community; so what is money? Money is just a trusted accounting system; and the important word there is trusted. If you’re in an economy or country that has its currency backed by gold or silver or some commodity, you’re using that commodity to create that trust factor; you’re trusting that gold will be relatively stable over time.
If you live in a country like Canada or the United States, or most of the world now, it’s not backed by a commodity like gold or silver but by the promise of the sovereign: of the government. You are relying on the fact that the government will say yes, we’re going to back that dollar and manage it and keep it at a relatively stable value. You can question how much you can trust any sovereign to handle money but that’s the theory. So you have those two systems of creating trust; backed by a commodity or backed by the promise of a sovereign.
Jon: Do you use the term fiat?
Doug: Yes, we use the term fiat. Fiat just means by demand or by order. I as the king demand, or order, that this piece of paper here is worth one Canadian dollar.
What is backing Prosperium?
Jon: At least when it was backed by gold, it was finite, like Bitcoin. But now it’s potentially infinite? Look at Zimbabwe and what happens with inflation when it’s backed by nothing? Or Venezuela.
Doug: Yes, which raises a very interesting question. What is backing Prosperium? In our case, it’s a very concrete thing that backs it. New currency can be created; you have to remember that all currency is created. Continue Reading…
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We believe that to live the life you want, you need a clear vision of what that life will look like. Once you have a dream, you develop an action plan with steps you can take immediately. In that way, your dream isn’t some far off wish; it becomes an active part of your daily life and you are able to recognize—and celebrate—the progress and victories along the way.
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