Develope your Creativity

If you wonder what makes creative people different, you should try to be creative yourself. And it is not tough, if you are willing to log your thoughts and take in new experiences. Each one of us would like to enhance our inherent capabilities. There is no limit to what the human mind is capable of, it only needs to be put on the right track and given enough practice to perform better.
There are certain tried and tested techniques that can be put to use to develop your creativity.

The difference between great thinkers and us ordinary mortals is that their thoughts have been recorded for posterity and ours have not. Have you ever come across ideas that ring a bell, and you exclaim, "Hey, even I thought of that." Why then is it that another person has given the idea to the world, and you are the one who only reads what he have to say, though you have an idea that’s as original or better.


The main difference could be that he put down his thoughts in writing, improved upon it and then implemented it. Jot down worthwhile thoughts as they come to you, and slowly it will become a compulsive habit. Such thoughts could strike you anywhere and not necessarily at the time that you have set aside for writing them down.
So what do you do? Make it a practice to carry around a small pocket notebook, or maybe loose sheets and a pen in your handbag or pocket or briefcase.
Remember it should be easily accessible. This is imperative as thoughts can fly away at the slightest pretext. And once a day, sit down, sift and evaluate these thoughts. Record the worthwhile ones in a more permanent manner, preferably in a journal or diary.
In fact, many people practice writing a compulsory number of pages everyday. They find that this puts their thoughts in proper perspective and clears the mind. Try it, assign yourself, say two pages, and write everyday. Remember there are no rules, you may jot down feelings, ideas, problems, doubts, just about anything.
Do you find writing uninteresting? Then try a method called mind mapping. Arm yourself with bright coloured pens and put down the information that you want to record in a visual manner. Intersperse writing with drawings, and make a journal which none but you can decipher.

Would you eat stale food? Definitely not. Why then give our minds the same inputs day in and day out. Stimulate your mind by deliberately exposing it to a new experience everyday.
The time taken for this need not be very long. It may be a different kind of music, a different television show, maybe a few minutes of a different language which you may not understand but just listen to its flow. The new input can be anything, use your imagination. If you have the resources you may visit a new place, maybe once a week.
Do you feel this is not possible? Make a new acquaintance; read an author you haven’t read before. Test yourself by asking whether you heard, smelt, tasted or touched something new? If yes, then your mind has had its fresh input for the day.
The human mind has an amazing capacity to store such inputs. You’ll be surprised at yourself when you find that you can retrieve these inputs and put them to practical use.
Life in the modern world is stressful. It is important that you take some time off to relax and unwind.
Do whatever you like best and let your subconscious mind take control and decide for you. Activities like swimming, walking, cycling etc., can give one a real physical and mental boost. Maybe, you would like to draw. Drawing can be relaxing and at the same time it brushes your skills of problem solving while you endeavour to replicate an image from your imagination on to paper.
Give yourself a challenge to overcome. Keep it within achievable limits for starters. The thrill you feel when you overcome the challenge will spur you to take on more.
Adopt a new role model every now and then, read up on them, analyse what made them famous and try to think along the same lines. Who knows, as a result you’ll end up as someone else’s role model!
While employed in any of the ways suggested above you may find one thing leading you on to another totally unrelated thought. This is referred to as associational thinking. There are no set patterns for this, as associations differ from one person to another.
Try writing down a word, or looking at a picture and jot down whatever associated thoughts come to mind. You’ll be surprised both at yourself and at the variety of thoughts that crop up when done as a group. This activity is an exercise in creative thinking. Think of it as a creative workout.
What happens when you perform activities like the ones suggested above? Your mind tries to think and act in a way it is not used to. This is what being creative is all about. Soon you will find that as you get used to using your mind creatively, you will be able to apply creative thinking to mundane tasks. As a result, you will find an increase in productivity. Yes, you’ll perform better and achieve more each day, just like the role models you tried to emulate.

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The easiest way to get rich

Judging by their behavior, most people have an obsession with wealth. Politicians promise to create it, most popular magazines are filled with gossip about those who have it, and the average person spends much of their adult life trying to obtain it. We are creatures obsessed with money, partly for what it can buy, but also as a thing of value in itself.But most people misunderstand money. They don't really know how to obtain it, or how to hold onto it once they have it.If you're interested in getting rich, I'm going to give you the simplest formula for doing so. In fact, if you follow it you're virtually guaranteed to build enough wealth to get you into the top 5% of society. As the shampoo advertisement says: "It won't happen overnight, but it will happen".

The hardest way to get rich:Before I go into my formula, let me tell you about hard ways to get rich. One of the hardest is to be born into it. Of course, if you happen to enter this world as a Hilton, a Gates or a Windsor, then life is sweet. But since 99.9999% of the population aren't that lucky, I'm assuming you didn't win that particular lottery.And speaking of lotteries, gambling is another very difficult way to get rich. Sure, some people buy a lottery ticket and win big, but most don't. You can gamble your entire life and you'll most likely end up broke rather than wealthy.When I was younger, I thought the easiest way to get rich was to become famous through some kind of creative act. Stephen King got rich writing horror novels, so why not me? I'm now much wiser and realize that the vast majority of novelists never even get published. Of those who do, most wallow in obscurity. Only very few make it anywhere near the best-seller list, and only one in a million will achieve any kind of serious wealth.The same fate awaits the majority of musicians, software company founders, sportspeople and website creator. For every Google that makes its owners billions, there are a million websites that lose money. Creativity is the most fun and rewarding way to get rich, but it's also a very difficult way. The reason the media raves about and idolizes those who've built wealth through creativity is because they're so rare. You don't hear about the vast majority who wallow in obscurity and poor pay, because they're not interesting. "Young genius makes $1 billion from website" is a great headline "Ten thousand young geniuses make nothing from their hard work" isn't.I'm not saying you shouldn't keep your dreams alive. It's one of the best parts of life. But this article isn't about the most fun way to try and get rich - it's about the easiest way.Okay, here's the system.

Step 1: Get a well-paid job:This is a reasonable amount of work, and takes a few years, but it's a virtually guaranteed way to make a good income. If they're willing to put in the work, almost any intelligent person can get a job paying $100,000 or more within the space of a few years. While it's not easy, it is by far the easiest and most likely way to secure a good income. In fact, I've already written an entire article on how to get a job paying more than $100,000 a year for those who wish to pursue this avenue.

Step 2: Get good tax advice: However you make your money, your number one expense is likely to be funding the government. In most developed countries, the average worker pays around 30% of everything they earn straight into the taxman's pocket. If you've taken my job advice, you'll most likely pay even more than that.While taxation is necessary to fund the good things governments provide, you don't do yourself any favors by paying more than your fair share. If you're serious about building wealth, get a good accountant who understands how to legally minimize your tax bill.

Step 3: Save 20% of everything you ever earn: As soon as you get paid, arrange to have 20% of your income removed into a savings account. Many banks can do this automatically for you. Keep your savings account separate from your spending account, and you'll barely miss this money.There's a saying in economics "expenses rise to meet income". This means money that's easily available to you is certain to be spent. That's why most people's paychecks disappear before their next payday. They get used to having a certain amount to spend, and habitually run down their bank account. Have your savings moved somewhere it's a hassle to get them out of to avoid this risk. Many high interest accounts require you to give them a few days notice, which is ideal for this purpose.

Step 4: Conservatively invest the funds that build up in your savings account: Once a month, go into your savings account and divide the money by investing it into the three core conservative assets: shares, property and cash. Open a mutual fund account for shares, a property fund for property, and a money market fund for cash. Look for share and property funds that invest in a broad range of assets and most importantly charge very low fees. An index fund is ideal for the shares. An index of property funds is ideal for property.Put an equal amount into each account. This will diversify you against risk in any one particular asset. If you're younger, this rule is a little bit flexible, allowing you to take a little more risk and put more into shares and property if you like.

Step 5: Reinvest any income you get from your assets straight back into buying more assets: Mutual funds and property funds pay dividends. Money market accounts pay interest. Don't take this income into your spending account. Instead, select the option to have it reinvested into the fund that generated it.

Step 6: Never touch these funds and do your best to ignore them: The business press, like the mainstream press, loves a crisis. "Shares to skyrocket" or "Property to plummet" headlines will sell many more copies than "Things to continue steadily". All markets go up and down. Every day, some speculation will be published about some crisis or opportunity. Ignore it all.Just keep putting the 20% into your assets. Sometimes they'll go up and sometimes they'll go down in value. But over the long term, they'll almost certainly go up.

Step 7: Wait a decade:Do what I've outlined above and in a decade you'll be rich. Sure, you won't be Bill Gates, but you'll almost certainly be in the top 20% of wealth holders. Wait another decade and you'll be in the top 5% or higher. That's the plan. It's not the most exciting or glamourous way to build wealth, but it's the easiest. Quite simply, this is how most rich people got there.

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Importance of Communication Skills

The word "communication" is derived from the word "common" which means to share, exchange, send along, transmit, talk, gesture, write, put in use, relate.
Communication is a process that serves to connect senders and receivers of messages through space and time. Although human beings tend to be interested primarily in the study of human communication, the process is present in all living things and, it can be argued, in all things.
Communication is basically conveying effectively what we feel, think, want or need. In all relationships, at school or at home or at work, communication is an integral part of life.
But are we effectively conveying what we want to say?
Very often, the answer is no.
But then, there is no need to be despaired.
Like other skills, communication is a skill that can be acquired and developed with patience and hard work.

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The right to be Rich

Whatever may be said in praise of poverty, the fact remains
that it is not possible to live a really complete or success-
full life unless one is rich. No one can rise to his greatest
possible height in talent or soul development unless he has plenty
of money, for to unfold the soul and to develop talent he must
have many things to use, and he cannot have these things unless
he has money to buy them with.
A person develops in mind, soul, and body by making use of
things, and society is so organized that we must have money in
order to become the possessors of things. Therefore, the basis of
all advancement must be the science of getting rich.
The object of all life is development, and everything that lives
has an inalienable right to all the development it is capable of
attaining.
A person’s right to life means his right to have the free and
unrestricted use of all the things which may be necessary to his
fullest mental, spiritual, and physical enfoldment; or, in other
words, his right to be rich.
In this book, I shall not speak of riches in a figurative way. To
be really rich does not mean to be satisfied or contented with a
little. No one ought to be satisfied with a little if he is capable of
using and enjoying more. The purpose of nature is the advance-
mint and enfoldment of life, and everyone should have all that
can contribute to the power, elegance, beauty, and richness of
life. To be content with less is sinful.

The person who owns all he wants for the living of all the life
he is capable of living is rich, and no person who has not plenty
of money can have all he wants? Life has advanced so far and
become so complex that even the most ordinary man or woman
requires a great amount of wealth in order to live in a manner
that even approaches completeness. Every person naturally wants
to become all that they are capable of becoming. This desire to
realize an innate possibility is inherent in human nature; we can-
not help wanting to be all that we can be. Success in life is be-
coming what you want to be.

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Getting rich is a specific subject to study

You will begin to get richer quicker as soon as you learn and use the following fact and use the following fact:

SUCCESS, itself, is a specific, separate and distinct study-subject as is mathematics, physics, spelling, physiology,

chemistry, or any study-subject taught in our schools and universities.

The laws and principles of SUCCESS are just as real_and just as provable-as the Law of gravity.

THe study of SUCCESS as separate subject deals with as many different and identifiable factors as

almost any other subject and more than most. I have devoted forty years to researching, testing and compiling

PROVEN SUCCESS METHODS. I have three private libraries and fifteen personal files which contain

more than a thousand different (but sometimes related) PROVEN SUCCESS METHODS.

There are few other subjects which are compsosed of that many different laws, principles, rules

and identifiable factors. Surely, that fact alone (and there are many other reasons) justifies

the classification and study of SUCCESS, itself, as a separate, specific and distinct subject.

The reason people succeed slowly in their professions or occupations is that they concentrate

in improving their job-skills. The fact is that becoming more skillful in one's profession or occupation

is only ONE proven success method.

Certainly, it is necessary and important that you become more knowledgeable and skillful in your work

- but that still is only ONE proven success method.

Since there are more than a thousand proven success methods, you can easily realize that you are

handicapping yourself by concentrating on only ONE proven success method (job-skill) out of a

thousand additional success methods.

Thats is why it is necessary to obtain and constantly use as many proven success methods as possible-

in addition to improving your job-skill.

That is the only way you can get richer...........quicker!

You may succeed -slowly and with great difficult-by becoming more knowledgeable and skillful

in performing your work. But you cannot get richer quicker that way!

you must also use may other proven success methods-in addition to improving your job-skill to GET RICHER....QUICKER!

There are more than thousand proven success methods. I know -because personally have

them in my private libraries and personal files.

These are specific, separate, distinct PROVEN SUCCESS METHODS.

They can be used-in addition to job-skill- in ALL occupations........and in every activity.

As you study the following chapters, you will learn that improving your job-skill is just ONE success

method which must be supplemented by many other proven success methods in order to build the

kind of success momentum which will make you richer.....quicker!

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Is oppurtunity Monopolized?

No one is kept poor because other people have monopolized
the wealth and have put a fence around it. You may
be shut off from engaging in business in certain lines, but
there are other channels open to you.
At different periods the tide of opportunity sets in different
directions, according to the needs of the whole and the particular
stage of social evolution which has been reached. There is
abundance of opportunity for the person who will go with the
tide, instead of trying to swim against it.
So workers, either as individuals or as a class, are not deprived
of opportunity. The workers are not being .kept down. by their
masters; they are not being .ground. by the trusts and big business.
As a class, they are where they are because they do not do
things in a certain way.
The working class may become the master class whenever they
will begin to do things in a certain way. The law of wealth is the
same for them as it is for all others. This they must learn, and
they will remain where they are as long as they continue to do as
they do. The individual worker, however, is not held down by
an entire class’s ignorance of these laws; he can follow the tide
of opportunity to riches and this book will tell him how.
No one is kept in poverty by shortness in the supply of riches;
there is more than enough for all. A palace as large as the capitol
at Washington might be built for every family on earth from the
building material in the United States alone, and under intensive
cultivation this country would produce wool, cotton, linen,
and silk enough to clothe each person in the world finer than
Solomon was arrayed in all his glory, together with food enough
to feed them all luxuriously.
The visible supply is practically inexhaustible, and the invisible
supply really is inexhaustible. Everything you see on earth is
made from one original substance, out of which all things proceed.
New forms are constantly being made and older ones are dissolving,
but all are shapes assumed by one thing.

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Thinking in a certain way

You must form a clear and definite mental picture of what you want.
You cannot transmit an idea unless you have it yourself.
You must have it before you can give it, and many people fail
to impress thinking substance because they have themselves only
a vague and misty concept of the things they want to do, to have,
or to become. It is not enough that you should have a general
desire for wealth to do well with. Everybody has that desire.
It is not enough that you should have a wish to travel, see
things live more, etc. Everybody has those desires also. If you
were going to send a wireless message to a friend, you would
not send the letters of the alphabet in their order and let him
construct the message for him, nor would you take words at
random from the dictionary. You would send a coherent sentence,
one which meant something. When you try to impress your wants
upon the thinking substance, remember that it must be done by
a coherent statement.
You must know what you want and be specific and definite. You
can never get rich or start the creative power into action by sending
out unformed longings and vague desires.
Go over your desires just as the man I have described went
over his house. See just what you want and get a clear mental
picture of it as you wish it to look when you get it.
That clear mental picture you must have continually in mind. As
the sailor has in mind the port, toward which he is sailing the ship,
you must keep your face toward it all the time. You must no more
lose sight of it than the helmsman loses sight of the compass.
It is not necessary to take exercises in concentration, nor to set
apart special times for prayer and affirmation, nor to .go into the
silence, nor to do occult stunts of any kind. Some of these things
are well enough, but all you need is to know what you want and to
want it badly enough so that it will stay in your thoughts.

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Getting into the Business

Success, in any particular business, depends for one thing
upon your possessing, in a well-developed state, the faculty-
ties required in that business.
Without good musical faculty no one can succeed as a teacher
of music. Without well-developed mechanical faculties no one
can achieve great success in any of the mechanical trades. With-
out tact and the commercial faculties no one can succeed in mercantile
pursuits. But to possess in a well-developed state the faculties required
in your particular vocation does not insure getting rich. There are
musicians who have remarkable talent and who yet remain poor.
There are blacksmiths, carpenters, and so on that has excellent
mechanical ability, but who do not get rich. And there are merchants
with good faculties for dealing with people who nevertheless fail.
The different faculties are tools. It is essential to have well
tools, but it is also essential that the tools should be used in the
right way. One man can take a sharp saw, a square, a good plane,
and so on, and build a handsome article of furniture. Another
man can take the same tools and set to work to duplicate the
article, but his production will be a botch. He does not know
how to use good tools in a successful way.
The various faculties of your mind are the tools with which
you must do the work which is to make you rich. So it will be
easier for you to succeed if you get into a business for which you
are well equipped with mental tools.
Generally speaking, you will do best in that business which
will use your strongest faculties. the one for which you are
naturally .best fitted. But there are limitations to this statement
also. No one should regard his vocation as being irrevocably
fixed by the tendencies with which he was born.
You can get rich in ANY business, for if you have not the right
talent, you can develop that talent. It merely means that you will
have to make your tools as you go along, instead of confining
yourself to the use of those with which you were born. It will be
easier for you to succeed in a vocation for which you already
.You can get rich in ANY business have the talents in a well-developed
state, but you can succeed in any vocation, for you can develop any rudimentary talent, and there is no talent of which you have not at least the rudiment.

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There is a science getting rich

There is a science of getting rich, and it is an exact science,
like algebra or arithmetic. There are certain laws which
govern the process of acquiring riches, and once these laws
are learned and obeyed by anyone, that person will get rich with
mathematical certainty.
The ownership of money and property comes as a result of
doing things in a certain* way, and those who do things in this
certain way. whether on purpose or accidentally. get rich,
while those who do not do things in this certain way. no matter
how hard they work or how able they are remain poor.
It is a natural law that like causes always produces like effects,
and, therefore, any man or woman who learns to do things in
this certain way will infallibly get rich.
That the above statement is true is shown by the following facts:
Getting rich is not a matter of environment, for if it were, all
the people in certain neighborhoods would become wealthy. The
people of one city would all be rich, while those of other towns
would all be poor, or all the inhabitants of one state would roll
in wealth, while those of an adjoining state would be in poverty.
But everywhere we see rich and poor living side by side, in
the same environment, and often engaged in the same vocations.
When two people are in the same locality and in the same business,
and one gets rich while the other remains poor, it shows
that getting rich is not primarily a matter of environment. Some
environments may be more favorable than others, but when two
people in the same business are in the same neighborhood and
one gets rich while the other fails, it indicates that getting rich is
the result of doing things in a certain way.
And further, the ability to do things in this certain way is not
due solely to the possession of talent, for many people who have
great talent remains poor, while others who have very little talent
get rich.
Studying the people who have gotten rich, we find that they
are an average lot in all respects, having no greater talents and
abilities than other people have. It is evident that they do not get
people have rich because they possess talents and abilities that
others do not
have, but because they happen to do things in a certain way.
Getting rich is not the result of saving, or thrift. Many very
penurious people are poor, while free spenders often get rich.
Nor is getting rich due to doing things which others fail to do,
for two people in the same business often do almost exactly the
same things, and one gets rich while the other remains poor or
becomes bankrupt.

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Good Salesperson

Good in person selling takes time and practices, but most of all it takes commitment. In many ways, person to person selling is the most difficult, and the most effective sales approach. As with any relationship, trying to make a connection to a customer involves subtle signs and a salesperson’s ability to present the properly energetic, but measured and knowledgeable approach to his customer will make or break a sale.

Make the difference
There is an old saying that a good salesperson can sell anything, and to an extent, that’s true. There is no sleek sales material or slick website to interfere with the perception of credibility that a salesperson either creates or fails to create.

Realize customer’s desire
Customers are looking for a reason to buy. The biggest secret of in person sales is that a product will sell itself if you don’t’ get in the way. Salesmanship isn’t about controlling an exchange; it’s about having real trust in your product. If you believe in what you are selling, the customer will know it.

Learn your product
Knowledge is more than power, its sales. The best way for you to increase you sales is to become an expert in what you sell. Know the product the way a user would know it. Anticipate questions and have response ready. If there are tricks to using the product effectively, know what they are and share that information in an entertaining way.

Know your competition
Understand the competition and recognize their strengths. Address questions about those products in an honest and sincere manner. Avoid criticizing anyone’s products. Discover the competition’s strengths and weaknesses so you can give yourself a full and complete picture of what the market has to offer.

Be the expert
Once you know your products, competitors, and the market, yo will sell more. The knowledge will give you confidence, and that will make you credible with the customer. Credibility is gold in sales.

Listen to sell
After being an expert at what you are selling, the next most critical characteristics you need to develop is the ability to listen. This can sometimes be difficult to do because the type of personality that is drawn to sales is naturally outgoing and enjoys doing the talking.
If you are having problems in this area, use this simple exercise. After each statement you make, force yourself to remain silent until the customer responds with either words or body language. If he doesn’t respond, ask him a question.
This is good because it gives you an opportunity to get new information. In order to avoid new lecturing, try for this approach as part of any face-to-face sales or marketing opportunity.
The best salesman can direct an exchange without ever appearing to do so. Learn to use a conversational and consultative approach to inspire the customer to do what he wanted to do when he walk through the door buy you product.

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Getting rich is simpler than you think

Here is the single most important thing you will ever hear about investing: Getting rich is simple.
Not easy, but simple.
And here is the second most important thing you will ever hear about investing: You have no excuse not to do it.
Only three ingredients are needed: income, discipline and time. Chances are, you already have two of them, income and time. All you need to do is add the third, discipline. And armed with the following knowledge, that key third ingredient may be a lot easier to find.
Here's how it works: Say you start with nothing, invest $500 (of your income) a month (a healthy discipline), and let your money ride (over time) in diversified investments. Long term, the stock market returns at least 10% annually. Assuming a 10% return, you'd have $102,000 after 10 years, $380,000 after 20 years, and $1.1 million in 30 years.
Here's a similar scenario: If you start with a nut of $50,000 and add only $250 per month, you'd have $180,000, $516.000 and $1.4 million after 10, 20, and 30 years, respectively. All this happens through the power of regular investing and a simple-but-powerful concept called compounding.
Compounding What is compounding?
Compounding is the reinvestment of the interest you receive from the money you set aside. For example, if you invest $1,000 and earn 10% interest on your principal at the end of each year, you'll get in $100 interest at the end of the first year. If you reinvest that interest, the second year you would start with $1,100, and thus would earn $110 interest. If you stay with it, you'd more than double your money every eight years.
"Compounding," Albert Einstein said, "is mankind's greatest invention because it allows for the reliable, systematic accumulation of wealth." Einstein was a smart man. But you hardly have to be a genius to make this concept work for you.
The real magic of investing comes when you combine the surprising power of compounding with continuous and regular investments -- in other words, discipline.
The best way to make these continuous investments happen is by setting up an account with a broker or mutual fund that automatically deducts a fixed amount from your bank account every month. "Automatic" is the operative word here. Trust me, if you don't set it up that way, it won't happen. Instead, you'll end up pouring money in when the market is soaring and skipping payments when it's heading down. Eventually you'll get discouraged and give up.
Dollar-cost averaging The process of continuously investing a fixed dollar amount is called dollar-cost averaging -- a term that sounds much more technical than it is. Through dollar-cost averaging, you'll end up buying more shares when a stock or fund is down, and fewer when it's up. For instance, say you're investing $500 monthly in a stock trading initially at $50 per share; so the first time, you buy 10 shares. If the next month the stock moves up to $62.50 your regular purchase will net you only eight shares. However, if the stock drops to $41.67, you'll get 12 shares (not including any transaction fees).
It's easy to set up regular-investment mechanisms, thus harnessing the power of dollar-cost averaging. Mutual funds are the traditional way. But there are other outlets, as well, that allow you to apply the strategy with individual stocks or exchange-traded funds, which are baskets of stocks that identically track standard market indexes, such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average .
Risk Sure, investing in the stock market has risk. There's always the chance the market will go nowhere for the next 20 or 30 years and you'll end up no better than where you started. But there's risk in everything, even CDs.
With CDs, your original investment isn't in danger. Most CDs are insured, and the federal government will step in and make you whole, even if your bank goes belly up.
But a problem crops up when something more sinister surfaces: inflation. At this writing, inflation, running at around 2%, is considered relatively benign. But is it?
Let's do some math. Your real return is the interest you receive less the inflation rate. If your CD is paying 3% and the inflation rate is 2%, you're only making 1% in real terms. If inflation takes off, say to 5%, your CD will probably be paying around 4%. In inflation-adjusted terms, you've lost 1%.
But it can get worse. Inflation hit 14% in the early 1980s. In such times, CDs and similar fixed-income investments don't even come close to the inflation rate, meaning you're losing serious money, in real terms.
By contrast, assets such as real estate and stocks tend to move with prices, and, over time, the stock market has outpaced inflation. For instance, in the 20-year period ending Dec. 31, 2001, the cumulative return of the market, as measured by the S&P 500 Index ($INX), was 1,606%, compared to 88% cumulative inflation over the same period.
What's the point? Yes, there's risk in investing in the market, but the odds are that continuous, regular investing combined with the power of compounding will make you rich.
The odds If you count yourself a member of the "I want it now" generation, the idea of waiting 20 or 30 years to get rich probably sounds like a dumb idea.
Sure, there are faster ways to get rich. You could win the lottery, or pick the next Intel (INTC, news, msgs) or Wal-Mart Stores (WMT, news, msgs). But don't quit your day job just yet. Your chances of winning big in the lottery run around 15 million to 1, at best.
Meantime, naturally, you would be sitting pretty if you had had the foresight to plunk significant cash into Intel or Wal-Mart 20 years ago. But consider this: You would have lost money if you'd picked Advanced Micro Devices (AMD, news, msgs) instead of Intel, and you'd be broke if you'd picked Kmart (SHLD, news, msgs) (which ended up merging with Sears Roebuck) instead of Wal-Mart. In both instances, your retirement plans would be history.
Here's the bottom line, like it or not: The fate of your retirement, your comfort in older age, probably lies in your commitment to the concepts laid out in the paragraphs above. For the vast majority of us, wealth creation is a slow and steady -- and powerful -- process. The tortoise almost always beats the hare.
It's not easy. But it's very, very simple.

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