I’m at a place in my life where I promise you I will not deal with anything I don’t have to.
Don’t overdo what I wouldn’t overdo.
Do to others what you would like done to you.
~ ALAN IAN ATKINSON
Writer, Author, Storyteller
NOTE: “Ethos” is an ancient Greek word meaning “character,”
We are on our penultimate lap (Formula 1 talk for F1 fans) of the year. There are 50 days to go. Well, there were 50 days. Now, there are 38. Before we know it, we will be seeing news articles from the major news agencies from all over the world, showing videos, pictures and talking about the year that was.
You will also hear big stories of what the world will be like, going forward into the next year. Last year’s major story from all the experts, analysts, economists and whatever else they want to call themselves; was that we, that is you, me and everyone else in this world; would be facing a world recession, due to major economies falling “prey” of this word, “recession”. Now, as the year filled with predictions of a world recession is coming to a close; the word “recession” no longer applies. That word has been replaced with a term known as “economic soft landing”.
First of all, the experts, analysts, economists and whatever else they want to call themselves; are fortunetellers; looking into their crystal ball, also known as data sheets of the months and years of the past; to predict, yes, “to predict” what is going to happen in the future. Many of these fortunetellers, rarely offer a glimmer of hope.
If we have not met our goals and our new year’s resolutions which we pledged at the beginning of this year; now is the time to give it your all.
It is a time that you may want to evaluate and rethink your goals and strategy. Do you continue with the goals and new year’s resolutions, go all out with the mindset of accomplishing them; or abandon them and start working on your plans for next year.
If the decision is to abandon your goals and new year’s resolutions, it is best to evaluate where you are with them.
Have you achieved more than 75% or 50%? You may have set up proposals or closings for the balance left. Is it worth the push for the rest? You only have 38 days to go.
One of the biggest adrenaline highs you can ever experience is knowing that you have given your all. Run the full race. I have always said, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over”. That “want to achieve” may just be the push you need to achieve what you set out to do. You will find that you have that energy to put all your senses into action. Done! More often than not, the response from having completed what you set out to do for the year or period of time would be, “I never knew I had that oomph, drive, persistency, in me”.
What if, in the end you did not achieve it? You may have achieved 85% or 90% of your target. So close, yet so far. You will be proud of yourself. The biggest takeaway will be that you know personally, you gave it your all. You are no quitter.
At the same time you have built momentum in your work habits which you can carry forward. This means you don’t slow down at the end of the year, but carry forward your work speeds and target and goal achieving habits to the next. You may start to taper off maybe in January or a couple of months later. That momentum could build you a strong foothold in the next year.
Or do you start planning now for 2024? Under most circumstances, you know you aren’t going to hit your targets for 2023, even by a longshot. If you think it is better for you to put the goals and targets for this year aside, and start with your plans for 2024, then go for it. If you start planning now, you have a head start. Have you done the math?
Decisions, decisions. You know yourself best. Don’t make decisions based on excuses. Your results should not be based on excuses. On one hand you really don’t have to meet the goals and new year’s resolutions that you set at the beginning of the year. “Get, get lah. Don’t get oso can” (Malaysian “anything can” talk).
However, do you think you owe yourself the experience of achieving your goals? Decisions, decisions!
I am learning to love
the sound of my feet walking away
from things not meant for me,
to things that are.
It’s got rhythm.
~ ALAN IAN ATKINSON
Writer, Author, Storyteller
There are signs…Inflation is on the up in most countries. Malaysia just announced it hit 4.4%, mainly due to the rising cost of food.
Interest rates are climbing to curb inflation. Bank Negara, Malaysia’s central Bank; has increased rates twice this year. At least another two increases are expected before year-end. The 4.4% increase from the usual average of 2.5%; will see to that.
In layman’s terms, it means “stop buying!” The everyday person is affected.
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Governments reduce interest rates to encourage people to spend in hopes of self-propelling the economy.
An overheating market can be seen when there is a rush to spend money on too few goods available, causing prices to soar very quickly. This can be seen in the share market, too.
When signs show of an overheating market, interest rates are raised. The brunt falls on the everyday person, the same person that was encouraged to spend in the first place.
Now, that same person has to live with headaches, worry, high debt, depression at times leading to suicide.
All these financial hardships also leads to easy withdrawal access from the forced savings retirement funds like the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) in Malaysia. The government allowed for 4 withdrawals during the recent Covid-19 pandemic. Is there no end in sight of this financial abuse to the everyday person?
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Cashflow in the Malaysian market (1)
To help understand this system, a simple way of looking at this is generally laid out in front of us: Let us say there is RM100 billion cash flowing in the market.
Money is used on food, housing and travel (motor vehicles, etc).
Next, some is used on luxuries and lifestyle.
A major portion of that is used for investment. These investments include, share, equities, fixed deposits, savings and other types of investment. Here, we are looking at investment by individuals, small-to-medium enterprises and businesses.
At anytime, RM100 billion circulates in Malaysia. If investments are attractive, the public may cut down spending and invest more in their investments. When they do this, it will cause a situation to have more products available and less consumers, meaning goods available outstrip demand. If this situation prolongs for a period of time; it may force the price of goods downwards.
The same came be said if the situation reverses where there is more cash in the market than goods. Too many people chasing too few goods, causing the prices of goods to spike upwards.
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Can we call this “financial abuse”? Well, it is quite simple. In a free market, businesses are allowed to advertise and entice. No wrongdoing there. It is the everyday person that would have to learn to be responsible in his fiduciary decisions. It is a free world (in most parts), after all.
I welcome businesses with all their advertising and enticing. With all their cajoling, coaxing, soft sell, hard sell, sweet sell. Picture yourself in the acres of room in the rear passenger seat of a motor carriage that oozes with charm, looks and class; upholstered with only the very best of leathers and material that money can buy.
The strength in the whole process lies within you, me, us. We decide if we are to buy / acquire or not.
NOTES:
1. This is a very simplified explanation for the general readership, especially people without financial knowledge. I have purposely left out keypoints like foreign direct investment and other factors to keep the explanation at its very basics – entry level. It is assumed here that loans taken out; do not involve cash from the system.