advice | The Online Business Blog of Azmir Ismail

The truth about get rich quick gurus

I saw this video below about get rich quick gurus, and immediately thought of my experiences with them. It is a grey area, as you wonder whether the gurus/coaches are successful because of their students or in spite of their students. I have been to seminars where such practices are done, to a point where I thought that it is standard practice. I went to one online seminar recently, and the same practice was run.

Personally, I believe that every seminar/training that involves making money, should have a big sign that says ‘Buyer Beware’ 😀 There is no guarantee that you will succeed. Always, always do your due diligence. Especially, with these desperate times, there will always be con opportunities.

A few keywords that should be warning bells with these gurus. ‘Easy’, ‘Money making’ and ‘Millionaire opportunity’ are some of them. Think about it, whatever it is, short of marrying a very-very wealthy spouse, making good money is not easy 🙂

Again, buyer beware!

How Not To Fail at Anything?

How not to fail at anything? Don’t do anything. For example, don’t make the decision or don’t do the work. Because, if you do it, it’s success is not guaranteed, while failure is a certainty.

Anything that we do has its risk, but what we did not do does not have risks, because it has never been attempted.

The Essence of Atomic Habits by James Clear

One of the books I really recommend people to read, especially to improve themselves, is Atomic Habits by James Clear. I found the book about two years ago, just before the pandemic. It is actually the compilation of his few years of writings at his own blog, Jamesclear.com.

It will take a lot to talk about what the book is all about, but the video below does a good job of explaining the essence of the book.

The video

It has been useful to me. One of the things that I follow from the book, is the ‘Don’t break the chain’ idea as espoused by Jerry Seinfeld as explained in the book and video above. 🙂 That is why I post content almost everyday.

Just In Time For The Daily Post

Just in time to publish my daily content, as I promised myself that I will post. It is not enough that you say, also need to commit to it and actually do it.

Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Don’t We?

gray newton s cradle in close up photogaphy — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Know Your Numbers Is To Measure Everything

Here is an example that happened a few days ago. I went to a printing shop to print my daily work lists. I planned to do 30 copies double sided. I handed the list, asking the staff to make 30 copies as I asked. She did it, charged me RM 12, as it was 20 cents per side. (0.20 x 60 (double sided)), according to her. Then I noticed the price, below 50 copies, 20 cents per side, above 50 copies, 10 cents per side. So, if I asked her to do 50 copies instead, she would have charged me (0.10 x 100 (double sided) ), which would be only RM 10, saving me RM 2.

Lesson here – make sure you know your numbers, so you can measure everything. I was only focused on the number of copies, not the eventual cost vs savings. I call this my RM 2 lesson.

close up photo of yellow tape measure — Photo by Marta Longas on Pexels.com

Blogger Tips – How To Write A Post Every Day – Guaranteed

My actual plan was to write everyday. But, my last post was on 28th October, which you can check out here. Okay, the usual excuses was I was tangled in other matters (work especially), and I didn’t know what to write.

Then eureka, a brilliant idea, which is actually not new and quite simple. Instead of a new post, just check out an old post, revise it and post updates about it. 🙂 I am definitely gonna do this when the well of idea dries 🙂

Sometime around 2014, I bought and reviewed a product called Google Sniper. I reviewed it here, and at that time gave it a positive review. Not, anymore, you can check the post for my additional comments on it. One thing for sure, in the world of internet marketing, the technology evolves rather quickly. But, I have to admit that the marketing behind Google Sniper was good and still timeless.

an old review video about Google Sniper 😛

I do not recommend this product. It is so outdated.

No Golden Bullet For Success

There is no shortcut to success. At the most basic, when you want to achieve something, the route is something like this as listed below

Know What You Want To Achieve In The End.
- it doesn’t have to be crystal clear, however, it has to be visible to you.

Find out the steps/way to achieve it.
- Find/search the resources to do it. Nowadays, there is a lot of resources.

Do the steps. Get Feedback. Adjust. Continue.
- Execute it. See what happens. Does it get you closer or further? Adjust your work. Repeat.

photo of bridge under white clouds — Photo by Aleksey Kuprikov on Pexels.com

Five Zero Is A Reality Reflection

In organizations, you might have star players/performers, but if the leader is of poor quality, the organization will suffer at really inopportune time. Sentimentality can only go so far, but in the end, it is a results based when it comes to doing business.

Big question for the board.

Do You Have Grit?

The TED talk on Grit by Angela Duckworth

To do well you must have grit, basically persevering, going on .. when things are not going your way.

The Google Talk about Grit

Actually, I saw both videos and for me, both are relevant nowadays, as we are restarting our lives post pandemic. We gotta know when to hold on and when to let go.

All the best.