Yikes, what a week!

If you’ve been wondering where I’ve been or why I’ve been ignoring you, this post hopefully exonerates me!

Last Monday, months of secrecy and preparation culminated in a romantic (writing my own review) proposal to my girlfriend of 4 years, Elysia, (who many of you know!) in Central Park, New York!

Man, with arranging a ring, both that the girl will like, and that’s the right size, picking a location, and keeping it all secret from a partner who, also working online, is around you basically 24/7… Let’s just say it makes “making money online” look easy!

Anyhow, it’s a super exciting time for us so I couldn’t help but share. Here’s some pics for the nosier among you as well:

This is near where we were in CP:

And for the ladies, this is the ring:

We’re back in Mexico now, ready to get stuck into some serious work and enjoy our first few weeks of the “affianced” life! haha

You’ll be hearing from me again soon.

Alot of people have goals, both financially, and as regards their online business. I assume you are one of them.

Maybe you want to make an extra $1000 a week to help pay the bills. Maybe you want to build your business to $10k a month to replace your work income and quit your job. Maybe you want that mansion and Ferrari that you see in those “how to get rich” advertisements.

Knowing WHAT you want is important. But knowing WHY you want it, is VITAL.

Because money – including that which you hope to make online – is always a means, never an end. It’s only ever a vehicle by which you can obtain something else.

Maybe that something else is security – the feeling of greater comfort and less stress related to your finances.

Maybe that something else is freedom – a greater level of choice over how you spend your time.

Maybe that something else is respect – a way to gain greater admiration from those around you. (the “something else” isn’t always a positive thing).

For me it’s freedom.

I just got back from a little jaunt snowboarding in New Zealand with a group of old friends. The past month I’ve been back at home in Australia visiting family but for the rest of the year I’ve been living in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The ability to live and work anywhere, choose my own work hours and freely decide exactly how I spend my time every day is the peak for me. That’s what life’s about for me right now and that’s the WHY that my financial goals move me toward.

There are 2 reasons that knowing what that something else is for you, is important.

1. For your own motivation

Because “what’s” aren’t inspiring. $10 000 a month as a physical object is nothing. It’s just paper. But the changes that would make to your life are inspiring. What you would DO with that income is inspiring? What WOULD you do with the level of income you desire? Do you even know? Alot of people don’t.

Moving toward “Freeing myself from my day job to spend more time traveling with my family” is a lot easier than moving toward “10 000 a month in income”.

2. To make sure your goal is really going to bring you the “something else” that you want…

There’s a good example of this idea in the movie Wall Street. The guy is a big financial trader, hoping to do these massive deals and become a multi-millionaire. When asked what he will do after that, he says something like “Just retire, buy a motorbike and ride across China”… ie, something you could do for probably $5000 if you really wanted!

So many people say for example “I want to take my business to 7 figures a year” – and I often think: “What for?”

What will you do with 7 figures a year? Do you even know? What is it that you REALLY want?

I don’t say so to blow my own horn, but my girlfriend and I have this year lived a life that it seems alot of people dream of. Classified “retired” by our level of work in most people’s standards, living in a beachfront, oceanview apartment in the basically year round sunshine of west coast Mexico. We have a lady to do our washing, clean our place if we want, we eat out probably 4-5 times a week…

Want to know the big secret?

Our rent is $695 a month! I pay $1.50 for beers – $20 for a high end meal.

I always said I wanted to be a millionaire. But the longer I live, I only grow more convinced that you don’t really need to be!

The point is that if you know what you REALLY want (that something else), underneath the monetary goals, you might realize that you don’t actually need anywhere near as much money to achieve it… you might even see that no level of money is going to get you to that thing you really want. Maybe it’s time that you really need… maybe it’s love? It’s always something.

So what is that WHY for you? What is your “something else”. I’d love to hear from you!

Or if you don’t want to post, give it some thought in your life this week. What is it you really want, and are you really moving toward it…

I think the world would be a better place if more people were able to allocate more time to the ancient art of reflection.

In my mind, there are few things that seem as conducive to a happy, valuable and prosperous existence as the mindset that, when it can, seeks time to try to understand itself, it’s experiences, it’s desires, and those of others.

It’s the mindset that is inquisitive, that is always trying to understand, that is always open to learning, that is always seeking an opportunity to adapt or improve the way it does things by knowing a thing or a person or a circumstance or oneself in some new level of depth.

Because it would appear that it’s through this type of mind that so much other good flows. For to grow and improve at anything we do as humans, reflection is required, analysis is vital, understanding is mandatory. So that mind that always inquires sincerely, must always expand. Our experience of life and of good must be enhanced by our willingness and capacity to explore them.

It might seem like fluffy theory but it’s easy to discuss real examples of the reflective mind in action.

Maybe you had an argument with someone. Did you go back later and ask “Why did I say that particular thing? What was I really feeling that maybe I couldn’t say? Would the outcome have been different if I had said something different? Is there something I could do differently in that situation next time?”

Or something even simpler…

Maybe you feel a bit “off” in your day to day life sometimes. Do you ever stop and ask “I wonder why I’m feeling this way? Is there something I value in my life that isn’t being fulfilled? What is it that I really value? Is this what I want to be doing with my life?”

Or conversely…

Maybe you had a big success and you’re feeling on top of the world. Do you ever stop, delve into your joy, and ask “Why am I enjoying this? Could I be feeling the same thing in another way? How can I put more of this feeling into my life?”

Maybe those questions are my own projection and aren’t relevant to you at all, but the questions and answers themselves are irrelevant, it’s the matter of asking the questions  (and sometimes acting on them) that’s important.

And maybe it’s not even questions, maybe it’s just statements. Particularly for positive experiences.

Maybe it’s just stopping to really think through how special a certain experience was, how much you valued a certain moment, just to drown yourself in the gratitude for a particular thing… that’s reflection too.

But I don’t know if we get enough time for it.

The world moves so fast, there aren’t enough hours in the day, we’re inundated with information, and stimulus, and things that want our attention… and all those other 21st century cliches… that to sit, (heaven forbid) do nothing, and think, is the last thing on our to do list. The benefits from it are intangible, they can’t be quantified, we can’t show them to anyone. Yet without new thoughts, new ideas, deeper understanding, better connection to ourselves, where are we?

If only we could fit it in…

Imagine more people taking time trying to understand why they upset someone… More people thinking about why another person did what they did… More people trying to see other people’s perspectives… More people taking time to fully appreciate the beauty and joy in their lives… More people with time to understand why their idea isn’t working out, their relationship isn’t as happy as it was, or their business isn’t moving forward as they’d like.

I can’t speak for everyone, but it’s a world I’d like to live in.

I get the feeling that most people live life in a state of anticipation.

I know I do.

We do the things we do day to day in anticipation of a future benefit.

We’re hitting the gym so we can look great at the beach this summer…

We’re working hard so that we can advance our careers or grow our businesses…

We’re meeting people to network in the hope of doing a business deal…

We’re saving money so that we can buy a nice something or other that we want…

I get the feeling that the secret to life, the ultimate happiness and fulfillment we can achieve as human beings might just be…

To live life for it’s own sake.

To learn for the pleasure of stimulating our minds.

To work for the pleasure of challenge and the pride of daily progress.

To interact with others for the joy of connection.

To eat for the pleasure of enjoying our meals…

Just maybe…

What do you think?

Remember…

You’ve only got time to meet so many people in your life…

Who are you going to choose to meet?

You’ve only got time to read so many books in your life…

Which ones are you going to read?

You’ve only got time to see so many places in your life…

Where are you going to go?

You’ve only got time to eat so many meals in your life…

Which are you going to try?

You’ve only got time to take so many risks in life…

Which are you going to take?

You’ve only got time to love so many people in your life…

Who are you going to give yourself to?

You’ve only got time to build one life…

What kind of life are you going to build?

This is something that doesn’t get talked about near enough but that you’re going to be hearing alot more about from me in the coming months at AndrewHansen.name

Some people think this is a truth that applies only after you start making money but I don’t believe that’s the case.

I realize more and more every day that the secret to real wealth, and not just financial wealth but personal and spiritual wealth is…

That when you’re trying to make money solely for your own personal gain, you’ll always have a cieling, a limit of potential. But when you’re making money to contribute to something outside of and greater than yourself or your company, you reach a whole new level of wealth creation, happiness and fulfillment in life.

I’m not one who attributes this reality to something metaphysical or spiritual, it’s merely a reality that I’ve experienced to be true that that makes sense. And it’s not just me…

It’s been said by many a great entrepreneur that

“A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business”

Interesting huh?

I know that when your financial situation isn’t the way you want it to be that it’s easy to think “I can’t even pay my OWN bills, how can I give to someone else??” I’ve been in the same mindset myself before. However, paradoxically, it can be this excessive focus on “my own problems”, “my own situation” “my self” that is in fact the cause of financial problems, not the output. If you don’t believe me, remember that the ultimate question of wealth creation is “how can I add value to someone elses life?” – note: someone ELSES life, not your own – no self focus there.

My own life has changed so much as my understanding of this concept has grown. I couldn’t explain why, but there’s something about the way money and opportunities seem to find you when they know that you’re not only concerned about yourself.

I wanted to post here today about two causes that I’ve been supporting lately both with my money and time, that has added a new dimension to my excitement and passion for living. Both are doing some very special things. Check it out…

1. Kiva.org

If you haven’t heard of Kiva, you might have been living under a rock. Kiva is an organization that helps to fund entrepreneurs from the third world through loans from contributors like me by the process of Micro-financing.

So for example, I go to Kiva and sponsor an entrepreneur. It might be a lady who wants to open a grocery store in her village, so I lend her $25.

This $25 doesn’t just get given to her for her shop. I actually loan it to her as an investment that I make a return on as she begins to profit from her shop! I can then use those returns to donate further!

It’s an amazing concept.

From my first round of donations, I just received my first notice that I’d earned 8.25% return on one of my micro loans after just 6 weeks!! (better than my stock portfolio right now, I might add!) As those returns accumulate, I can (but don’t have to) loan those returns to the same entrepreneur or a different one and further my support.

The best thing is that when you loan, you don’t just help that entrepreneur. When that entrepreneur starts a clothing store or a knitting business, she puts clothes on the backs of children in the village. The reach of your contribution is magnified enormously.

I can’t say enough about Kiva and it’s something you should definitely check out if you want to start contributing outside of yourself.

2. The Venus Project

This one is a little more controversial but something that I’m extremely passionate about.

The truth is that in all the history of the civilized world, we’ve never experienced a planet that is free from war, corruption, poverty, and crime. Even today, in the most technologically advanced and “abundant” times the world has ever known, half the world population still lives in poverty, 1 billion of them on less than $2 a day.

This fact leads us to question the system or the processes by which we manage people and resources on planet earth. If our planet can only provide great wealth to a small percentage of people and nothing to the vast majority, is it really an effective system? Rather than a political movement, The Venus Project believes that systems like money, and politics are ideas to which with advancements in our intelligence that today we have made, there are updates that need to be made.

TVP advocates a complete redesign of our culture, to a culture where the earth is declared the common heritage of all people; a culture where human potential is allowed to flourish, free from the monotony of boring jobs, the enslavement of having to “make a living” in order to survive, free from crime, war, poverty, and corruption.

It’s creators have developed ideas for societies that could operate without the need for money, in which all resources are abundant, and don’t need to be sold. When nothing has monetary value, and everything you need is easily available, why would someone steal? When every country has all the resources they could ever need, why would anyone go to war? When important decisions about how we manage the resources of the earth and people are made with real data and analysis by enormous computers, what need would we have for biased, corrupt politicians? If everyone had access to everything, how would anyone have access to nothing and live in poverty?

It’s not a religious movement, or a political movement and bears no similarity to any existing philosophy or system that has been attempted before. It’s an idea as radical as any but just about as radical as is needed for the “radical” circumstances in which planet earth now finds itself.

You can learn more about the ideas of the Venus Project by the little video in the bottom of the right sidebar on this page or through their website at thevenusproject.com

It’s a long time off but it’s the kind of world I know I’d like to live in, so I’m doing that I can.

Finally, I want to ask you…

I want to start a little group. I want you to suggest your favorite charities and means of contribution here below. Then what I’ll do is start a special list, for “contributors”. If you’re a contributor, you’ll get discounts on all my products in the future or offers I happen to share from other people.

This way we’re helping the world and each other to grow – isn’t that cool?

Not only that, I’ll make a special page on my blog for Contributors where you can list your name and website to get some extra exposure too!

So let me know below and we’ll get this thing started!

Remember, you will achieve the most in your life, be the most happy, most fulfilled and most excited about life when life isn’t all about you. Ask how you can contribute to someone else today and you’ll see your life change in deep and profound ways.

This has nothing to do with marketing or business but I feel, as lacking in value as these sentiments are… they need to be shared.

So I’ve moved from Australia to Canada this year and been doing lots of traveling to the U.S for the past few years so I’m no stranger to tipping.

In Australia, the tipping culture is no where near the same, such that I can count the times I’ve given tips back home on one hand.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not a stingy guy, and I’m all for the “abundance” mindset – moreover, I consider myself reasonably generous, and I think those who know me would agree

My problem with tipping is a fundamental logical problem that for some reason, whoever invented the “tipping” process didn’t seem to realize…

Think about it.

The reasoning is that because people in the service industry get a lower than normal wage, so they have to make extra money from tips. Why that burden should be placed on the consumer when it wasn’t ME who decided what the minimum wage should be is ridiculous enough, but let’s overlook that for a moment.

Most stupidly of all is this…

So a waiter works a shift, and makes an extra bit of cash on top of their hourly rate, which they then use up in all the tips that they have to PAY when they eat out or get a taxi!

Where is the LOGIC in that?

Oh well, just wanted to have that public grump and get it out there. If you agree or disagree, I want to know why