Here it is! Free registration to my presentation coming up in two days. If you want to learn how to maximize your eLearning product, soft skills, brainstorming techniques or just learning how to maximize social media — this presentation is for you! Click the link down below.
Pandemic proof career? Is that even possible? Well, let me just tell you that all the hard work I’ve put into my ESL podcast, the dividends are soaring. My PayPal account is skyrocketing, but why? Because I live in my passion, I’ve developed a skill which is now a significant asset, and my 4 cores of credibility are absolutely SOUND.
Some of you have gotten hit hard this year in terms of your finances, and if you continue doing the same things for the next year, you’ll find yourself in even deeper troubles. It’s time to switch it up.
Podcast is available in stories and IGTV live is coming up soon!
So, a video had come out on Buzzsprout talking about “podcast stats” and are they truly meaningful.
Now, most of you already know that my podcast, which had originated back in January of 2016, has been stagnant forEVER. But do I care? No. That was a passion-project and still is today. Although a very small amount of listeners listen a day (anywhere between possibly 4-30 plays on a given day), I still do it. Why? Because I simply don’t give a fuck about plays. Straight up.
Now, in the podcast down below (I was doing it around July 23rd), I talked about how my stats had exploded (and ultimately topped off at about 12k plays in a month) for my ESL podcast. The stats are absolutely BOOMING, and over the past few weeks, the least amount of plays in one day was 156, but I average around 400 and topped out at 1,200 in a day.
If you look at the trend, the month of July had a 50% overall increased compared to the month prior, and that month was a record, too, by about 200 plays.
Would I continue doing my podcast regardless of less plays? Well, look at my personal development podcast and you would know that I don’t give a damn — and neither should you!
If you cannot get control of yourself, do not try to get rich. It makes no sense to invest, make money, and blow it. It is the lack of self-discipline that causes most lottery winners to go broke soon after winning millions. It is the lack of self-discipline that causes people who get a raise to immediately go out and buy a new car or take a cruise.
It is difficult to say which of the 10 steps is the most important. But of all the steps, this step is probably the most difficult to master if it is not already a part of your makeup. I would venture to say that personal self-discipline is the number-one delineating factor between the rich, the poor, and the middle class.
Simply put, people who have low self-esteem and low tolerance for financial pressure can never be rich. As I have said, a lesson learned from my rich dad was that the world will push you around. The world pushes people around, not because other people are bullies, but because the individual lacks internal control and discipline. People who lack internal fortitude often become victims of those who have self-discipline.
The language school where I have been teaching since May last year had to close on the 18th March. I am owed three weeks pay, which should have arrived by 11th April at the latest. There are 8 other teachers in the same boat and we have all been unable to contact the owner. He isn’t answering his phone, e-mails or Line messages (but the messages are being read) I need my money!
Anonymous Teacher in Thailand
I’m fortunate enough to have built up my skillsets over the course of 5 years. However, the comment above, which I found on a website, shows a plead from an individual who works at a language center (like me) that sadly fell into the grim reality of a corrupted owner. He was supposed to get paid but the owner has literally went AWOL, or so it seems (because line messages are being read). I have empathy for these teachers, including the rest around the world, who have had their jobs completely slashed away. 36 million English speakers in America have lost their jobs and that toll will continue climbing because the spread of the virus will amplify.
In the past here in Thailand, there have been floods that wiped up a large portion of the country, inundating homes and districts for up to a half-a-year, coups that ran rampantly on the streets of Thailand, disrupting an entire nation. Riots between two political parties that saw dozens of lives lost, but this certainly trumps them all, doesn’t it?
The company that hires and sends us to teach in Thai public schools refuses to tell the teachers when our contracts will officially begin. Meaning we don’t know if they will begin in May or July. If our contracts don’t begin until July, it means we will have gone from March to the end of July with little or no pay. The fact the company refuses to be upfront with teachers, only highlights the poor character of this Thai-run company.
They assume that they can string the foreign teachers along and we will be there when school starts. But they assume wrong. When the school term starts again, I suspect the companies and schools that have ignored and not looked after the foreign teachers will be left with giant holes to fill. Loyalty is a two way street.
Anonymous Teacher
I think you guys get the point. Because this gentleman is a 1 in 2,000 foreigner teachers (give or take a couple thousand) here in Thailand, he can be disposed of, just like most Americans who have lost their jobs to COVID.
However, because I’m a podcaster, online trainer, teacher, have proven my capabilities and have gotten results, I’m probably a 1 in 3 here in Thailand, putting me in a category that’s hard to get into.
“Arsenio, do you have a lot of work here in Thailand?” Absolutely NOT. There are forces beyond my power that play a pivotal role in this white-ocracy, but because I’m well-known online because the videos, and worldwide because my podcast….there are people inquiring from all corners of the world for my services. How did I do this?
Whether you’re at home and stuck — or wondering what you can do with all the free time, this is the best way you can start strengthening skills that can provide you with extra income…not waiting on others to open their doors.
I’ll try making this as unbiased as possible.
Because the COVID pandemic, tutors in Thailand have profited massively from it. Meanwhile, language centers have completely dithered and fallen apart because they were romantically in love with the past. In saying that, zoom’s profit, around the world, has skyrocketed 1,300 percent because from the schools in America, to every other country in the world….zoom is a MASSIVE HIT.
It took a pandemic to boost the stock to unforeseen heights…and that wasn’t overnight. This was a 9-year making.
Then Mark, the man we are still unsure about the entire Cambridge Analytica and how he helped Trump win the election, has launched his own platform. He’s trying to sway people from zoom and for them to come on Facebook messengers live video with over 50 participants, but we all know how bad Facebook calls and videos are.
When it comes to chat applications in general, they honestly don’t do well. Viber is probably the best when it comes to making phone calls, but anytime I’m on Facebook or Line, the voice fades and video continuously freezes.
Like Apple, Facebook has their fans. Although they’ve misconstrued algorithms and they’re forcing you to buy ads to have a more significant reach, the tides have completely changed on both Facebook and Instagram. Before, Instagram hashtags were fantastic at bringing newcomers onboard. I’m talking circa 2018. Now, it’s impossible to get anyone from hashtags because now that Facebook owns Instagram, that mentality has spilled over to IG, too. My highest video reach always involves younger women being interviewed with me. In videos that I have a strong message — forget about it.
So will Facebook enthusiasts make a drastic change from the zoom platform to stick with their guns at Facebook? Or will someone like myself, who’s been using zoom for over a year, make a change because it’s free?
As I was sitting at my desk listening to a group of 5 students give their presentation with the program director of Waterloo University, the audio was in and out. I can count a handful of times where it just didn’t work, and that was a frustrating experience. However, google is FREE. So anytime you use something for FREE, don’t expect it to be its full 100%. Zoom, which has an astronomically better platform than any other videos service, especially social media, is a paid one — 40 minutes of group chat is all you get. When it comes to schools, however, they are upgraded for free — which is a cool perk.
But going back to google, the features just aren’t there. You can’t use audio from your computer, whiteboard material, file sharing, etc. Some people would say “you can,” but it’s not like zoom.
The last time I used google was when I had to give a 20-minute presentation to a group of employees from a company here in BKK. When I first joined the room, the audio was gone. I couldn’t hear a damn thing…so I had to restart my Mac and sure enough — it began working. Just imagine if it was a live interview and google did that to me? So much for getting a job! That’s unreliability at its finest, and because Google likes to depict places in the world as being bad (Africa — off topic, but true)….I would NEVER use their platform as a reliable service.
Mark loves competition, but his product is faulty. Facebook pages and algorithms have taken a significant hit, and because of it, someone who has a group of 800,000 people would only get 1000 video likes because notifications don’t pop up for the other 99%. Facebook has intentionally orchestrated this, and if they’re not in it for the best interest of the end user, I would NEVER support a new service…especially someone that they rollout just to make a quick buck.
Google almost lost me a potential job because their platform is shambolic…and I think that’s all that needs to be said.
Busy people are often the most lazy. We have all heard stories of a businessman who works hard to earn money. He works hard to be a good provider for his wife and children. He spends long hours at the office and brings work home on weekends. One day he comes home to an empty house. His wife has left with the kids. He knew he and his wife had problems, but rather than work to make the relationship strong, he stayed busy at work. Dismayed, his performance at work slips and he loses his job.
Today, I often meet people who are too busy to take care of their wealth. And there are people too busy to take care of their health. The cause is the same. They’re busy, and they stay busy as a way of avoiding something they do not want to face. Nobody has to tell them. Deep down they know. In fact, if you remind them, they often respond with anger or irritation.
If they aren’t busy at work or with the kids, they’re often busy watching TV, fishing, playing golf, or shopping. Yet deep down they know they are avoiding something important. That’s the most common form of laziness: laziness by staying busy.
Rich dad forbade the words, “I can’t afford it.” In my real home, that’s all I heard. Instead, rich dad required his children to say, “How can I afford it?” He believed that the words “I can’t afford it” shut down your brain. It didn’t have to think anymore. “How can I afford it?” opened up the brain and forced it to think and search for answers.
But most importantly, he felt the words, “I can’t afford it,” were
a lie. And the human spirit knows it. “The human spirit is very, very powerful,” he would say. “It knows it can do anything.” By having a lazy mind that says, “I can’t afford it,” a war breaks out inside you. Your spirit is angry, and your lazy mind must defend its lie. The spirit is screaming, “Come on. Let’s go to the gym and work out.” And the lazy mind says, “But I’m tired. I worked really hard today.” Or the human spirit says, “I’m sick and tired of being poor. Let’s get out there and get rich.” To which the lazy mind says, “Rich people are greedy. Besides it’s too much bother. It’s not safe. I might lose money. I’m working hard enough as it is. I’ve got too much to do at work anyway. Look at what I have to do tonight. My boss wants it finished by morning.”
“I can’t afford it” also causes sadness, a helplessness that leads
to despondency and often depression. “How can I afford it?” opens
up possibilities, excitement, and dreams. So rich dad was not so concerned about what we wanted to buy as long as we understood that “How can I afford it?” creates a stronger mind and a dynamic spirit.
My point is that it’s those doubts and cynicism that keep most people poor and playing it safe. The real world is simply waiting for you to get rich. Only a person’s doubts keep them poor. As I said, getting out of the Rat Race is technically easy. It doesn’t take much education, but those doubts are cripplers for most people.
“Cynics never win,” said rich dad. “Unchecked doubt and fear creates a cynic.” “Cynics criticize, and winners analyze” was another of his favorite sayings. Rich dad explained that criticism blinded while analysis opened eyes. Analysis allowed winners to see that critics were blind, and to see opportunities that everyone else missed. And finding what people miss is key to any success.
Rich Dad Poor Dad
This is a story of my life. Am I playing it safe by staying here in Thailand for 7 years? Full story in podcast down below.
Real estate is a powerful investment tool for anyone seeking
financial independence or freedom. It is a unique investment tool.
Yet every time I mention real estate as a vehicle, I often hear, “I don’t
want to fix toilets.” That’s what Peter Lynch calls noise. That’s what
my rich dad would say is the cynic talking, someone who criticizes and
does not analyze, someone who lets their doubts and fears close their
mind instead of open their eyes.
So when someone says, “I don’t want to fix toilets,” I want to fire back, “What makes you think I want to?” They’re saying a toilet is more important than what they want. I talk about freedom from the Rat Race, and they focus on toilets. That is the thought pattern that keeps most people poor. They criticize instead of analyze.
“I-don’t-wants hold the key to your success,” rich dad would say. Because I, too, do not want to fix toilets, I shop hard for a property manager who does fix toilets. And by finding a great property manager who runs houses or apartments, well, my cash flow goes up. But, more importantly, a great property manager allows me to buy a lot more real estate since I don’t have to fix toilets. A great property manager is key to success in real estate. Finding a good manager is more important to me than the real estate. A great property manager often hears of great deals before real estate agents do, which makes them even more valuable.
Here goes another listening! This is Part B. This is slightly easier because it’s a discussion between two people rather than just a lecture (Part C). Nonetheless, here are the questions down below, but make sure you tune into the podcast for the audio and to answer the questions!
Do you remember the once popular way for new startups to raise funds that didn’t need venture capital — which was highly selective because of the return on investment? It was known as the initial coin offering (ICO). Initial coin offering offers investors with units of crypto-tokens in the forms of Ethereum and Bitcoin.
Some venture capitalist firms even believed that the ICO can disrupt the traditional IPO, or initial public offering, for a company who wants to list their company on the stock exchange to raise funds for their business like their offshoot crowdfunding platform Kickstarter and Indiegogo. However, the difference between ICO and crowdfunding is where ICO is set to fund blockchain based startups and blockchain based projects, normally, it is done in a presale and it has been very successful.
How does an ICO work?
I still remember listening to a podcast which a couple of people were talking about the potential of ICO for startups — especially blockchain based startups and decentralised apps startups. All of these startups became alternatives to the current startups that brought innovation and disrupted the current market like Airbnb that disrupted the traditional hotels’ business model — while Uber had disrupted the traditional cabbies in San Francisco business model, which had highly monopolised the market. These business models were known as the crowd based or marketplaces which were based on trust by both parties.
ICO is an offshoot of crowdfunding where a project or a startup founder decided to run a campaign to collect funds for its project from strangers. Even a Malaysian social enterprise startup that allows college or university students to launch their campaign like Kickstarter to finance their studies without student loans. However, the only difference here will be a token sale being offered to you and you can trade the token on cryptocurrency in a pre-sale. One of the easiest token sales will be the Ethereum token with its market capitalisation and it was done with the Ethereum smart contract app.
The most popular Ether will be the decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO), which is a distributed investment company that’s fuelled by Ethereum. An investor can receive some Ether DAO token with their market price and enable an investor to participate in the DAO governance. Since then, DAO is the blueprint for fundraising and crowdfunding for startups and projects. However, the risk of being hacked is higher compared to traditional fundraising through a venture capital firm or a crowdfunding platform because DAO is vulnerable to hacking and fraud.
Examples for successful Initial coin offering on Ethereum are:
Augur
Melonport
Golem
ICONOMI
Singular DTV
First Blood
Digix DAO.
They are many ICOs for them to explore new ways to connect the application with the token and to leverage smart contracts to keep an ICO secure and mitigate risks for investors to invest. The future of ICO is immense because it enables everyone and companies to easily trade tokens and raise funds freely. This will make the investment and stock trading more inclusive as social entrepreneurs, tech company founders, startup founders and Bill Gates had been envisioned by them. Here is when the global financial system will be disrupted.
Legality
ICO is still a grey matter, but the regulators are aware of them and start to regulate them while other jurisdictions are adopting a wait and see in the latest development of these new horizons.