"AFTER 6 PM" Rule

Most of us are working or planning to work in a company. As we all know, in a company we received a thing called "salary". For most of you, you are receiving a fixed amount of money every month. (unless you are receiving a commission based pay structure>> like me). Meaning that the company is the one who decides how much are you going to be paid. 

So when we mention about being successful and earning more than other people can earn, it can't be done simply by sitting down and work every single day. 

That's where the "After 6 PM" rule comes to play. 

After 6 PM rule basically mentions that how successful we can be, all depends on what we do after 6 PM (after our normal working hour). If we simply follow the normal path, it's hard to be extremely successful. Climbing the corporate ladder takes decades, and it also requires the person above us to move away from his/her seat. 

Meaning that most of the billionaires out there did not build their wealth by working for someone else. I'm not saying that it is wrong to work for your company. It is good to learn through the corporate way, but the final goal should always be to start something on our own.

The second reason to apply the After 6 PM rule is the illusion of job security. Some people feels that they are safe working in a company, but this recession is a wake up call for many. Many of my friends who were very comfortable working in a corporate line have just experienced what is called retrenchment. There are no such thing as job security as long as we are still working for other people. That is the reason why we should do things to create a true security for ourselves.

Now the question is how to apply After 6 PM rule ?

Before that, we should know how rich people make their money. 

There are 2 main paths in reaching financial stability.

1. Business>> Basically a sustainable business which gives constant stream of income. This is how rich people acquire their wealth from. 

Business = Opportunity (Creative Ideas) +  Skill + Resource + Trustworthy Partner

Trustworthy partner is an optional. Most of us who wants to start a business from nothing sometimes requires a partner to work together with. Meaning that we dont have to be able to do everything from A-Z. We just have to find a brilliant idea and outsource the right people to assist us to start something.

2. Investment>> This part is a bit tricky, in the sense that for some people, investment is a powerful money generating tool. For others, it is a place where you place your money in, and nothing comes out. 

Bottom line, lack of knowledge can kill you.

Investment can be divided into 3 main types.

A. Equities Market (Not suitable for moody and easily stressed people)

Equities is a double edged sword. Meaning it can help you or kill you. It comprises of shares, derivatives, commodities trading, etc. Be careful not to play in the equity market with minimum knowledge.

B. Properties (Location.. Location.. Location..)

Property is something that is used by the world richest people in growing their wealth. Although most of them requires big amount of money to be invested in, some are actually quite affordable such as Land Banking and REITS.

  

C. Exotic Investments (Quite interesting to learn about these)

Some of you might have heard of these few "unique" investments such as wine investment, stamp collection, old currencies collection, etc.

After knowing what the rich are doing, the next thing to do is to find the things that we can start doing during our "After 6 PM" time.

Few suggestions based on what I've seen and learn from people and what I'm currently doing:

1. Trading (Equities Market) 

Trading is a skill. It is hard to master, but once we have mastered it, it can provide us with sustainable income. Meaning that even if you're retrenched, you won't go hungry. Furthermore the equities market is something that will never go bankrupt or close down.  

Note that trading is different than investing. Trading refers to a way to make money in a shorter time line, from a few minutes to months. (Depends on the type of trading we are doing) 

2. Internet Marketing

Internet marketing is a growing trend. There are a few ways in doing internet marketing. The main ways are these 2. SEO and PPC.

SEO-> Search Engine Optimization

PPC-> Pay per Click

Internet Marketing is quite similar to trading. Meaning that it requires time to polish up the skill, but it can generate a sustainable income for you.

3. Exploring Side-Line Business

Side-line business refers to doing extra work in a job field other than your main job. In return commission is usually given out to them. For instance, some people are working full time and also act as a property agent during weekends to earn extra bucks. Or in my case, there are few people working under me in bringing prospective clients to me.

4. Doing Proper Investment

In Investing, few things to note is to first Identify your Risk Appetite, remind yourself Not to be Greedy. Learn about the investment tool. Know about the Risk and Opportunity before you decided to go in. Know how to put the "Eggs" in different baskets.  Feel free to ask me as I'm working in this line. =)

5. Starting a Business

The last and the most important one. This should be something that is embedded in our mind. Opening our mind and thinking out of the box is a crucial step in looking for a good opportunities and ideas to start our business. Strong businessman can immediately spot opportunities that comes along their way. The way to train this is to open up our perspective by reading or learning as much as possible from people who has managed to make it big.

Out of the 5 points above, number 1 to 3 is Optional. Meaning that only do it if you have any interest on the particular subject. 

For instance me, I have been intensively learning about trading for the past few months. After getting the necessary skill and information, I started doing paper trading for 2 months before I finally trade with actual money. But for internet marketing wise, i am not doing it. The concept is interesting, but I have no passion in pursuing it seriously.

No 4 and 5 on the other hand is something that needs to be done for all of us. Proper investment is necessary in order to grow our wealth. Why work hard for money when we can make our money work for us? And as I have mentioned earlier, starting a business should be made into our goal. Don't get too comfortable in our comfort zone and miss out all the great opportunities out there.