Make your dreams come true in this lockdown phase

I believe no one wants to be locked inside their house, even if it’s for a good cause. For some, it’s not easy to spend so much time away from their usual routine. Everyone I’ve seen wants to live a good life. Make money, spend it on things they want to, travel the world, and give quality health & education to their family. Life becomes better when we we’re successful in doing what we are up to. 

As things are, in every profession, some people are more successful than others. Ever wondered, what is it that makes them successful?

It’s not that people fail deliberately. 

Maybe you couldn’t have what you wanted to have, due to whatever reasons. I have been with people who’re happy with the life they’re leading. I’ve also read biographies of a few inspirational people. From what I’ve observed, there are a few traits which are absolutely essential for success. Every one must have them if they want to make their dreams come true and be successful in life.

Traits of successful people

The first one is hard work. Without it, one can’t live a good life. A lot of youngsters I see these days expect that they get everything in life without doing much. Like they want to win some kind of lottery or get into a job where they get paid for doing close to no work. This is not the right approach for long term happiness. You can never achieve your full potential without working hard for it. Easy money will not take you far. People who are self made, are always respected more than those who get things on a platter. The ones who take responsibility, end up improving lives of so many people around them. Such people are regarded even after their soul leaves the body. 

The second most important thing is discipline. Having a routine is absolutely essential. A common trait among the most successful self-made people is that they are early risers. They have a fixed time of when they get up. Slacking off in bed will not make you progress in youth, it’s important to have a pattern. When young, Bill Gates would sometimes not go home for months and stay late coding software. Even now he has all the money in the world, yet he’s active and not retired. Warren Buffet is known for his disciplined approach to doing things and a simple lifestyle. If you aspire to make as much money as them, then you’ll have to be focused in your pursuit of excellence. 

The third most important thing is to have a goal. Taking things as they come would never take you far. You’ll have to have a passion for something. Don’t be just another person in your field - be someone who will make others stand up and take notice. Steve Jobs was passionate about easy to use things. He was good at finding talented people and extracting quality work from them. I know one guy who’s passionate about making money and puts in crazy hours even though he’s earned enough to last a lifetime. You can go to any length to achieve your goal if you are passionate about it. If you don’t have a goal now then keep working at it and one day you’ll realise your inner calling. 

Next, always be prepared to take calculated risks. Being in comfort zone will take you nowhere, for you’ll stay there only. Luck favours the brave. This is how Columbus discovered America, as he chose a route which others wouldn’t. This is how Edison discovered the light bulb, by failing thousands of times. This is how modern smartphones were made, when no one else anticipated their potential. If these people can do it then so can you, and achieve much more than what you think you possibly can.

Last, you have to stay positive at all times. There will be all kinds of days. What sets some people apart from others is how they see things. A bad event means it’s an opportunity for you to do even better. After every down there’s an up. Feeling negative and frustrated will not benefit you in any way. Rejection doesn’t mean end of the world, it means you’re meant for better things in life. You can’t expect others to see your awesomeness if you can’t see it yourself. Keep believing in positive intent and you’ll be amazed at how much goodness resides in the world. 

Remember, lockdown is just for few more weeks, your career will last for years to come.

So, if you’re locked down in your house, then try to count your blessings. Use the commute time you’re saving into something else far more productive. Work even harder than before. Follow a disciplined routine and keep waking up on time. Focus on your goal and strive to achieve it in the time to come. Be ready to take some risks. See the positive side of things. Make a list of all the productive things you’d do once lockdown is over. Your life will completely change, as you’ll experience your dreams coming true.

Want to be rich? Then gift gold to your wife

Rich is the man, who treats his wife like a queen. A man who generously spends on his wife, never becomes poor. In fact, the goodness comes back manifold. Honestly speaking, no man can do enough for his wife, what she has done for him. Yet, one can surely make an attempt somewhere. Such as by giving nice-nice gifts. And it’s always good to gift something valuable, as a token of thanks for all the wonderful things she’s done. What can be better than gold?

Gold is a delightful thing to gift. The stack of notes at your home, will stay like this, their value won’t increase. Better use them for something that will bring happiness. 

Gold is gold 

When I was a kid, I used to wonder, why Indians purchased so much gold? Even now I know people who baffle at the thought of it. However, buying gold is actually fantastic. One can become rich by purchasing the right pieces of gold. Even though there are many things which can be gifted, nothing beats the good old charm of gold. It’s a tried and tested thing, always wonderful. Like how our immediate ancestors were right on lifestyle and diet patterns, same goes for investing in gold. 

The value of Gold jewellery doesn't depreciate with time. You will get resale value even after 5-10 years. A finely crafted piece of jewellery lasts a lifetime and can be passed down generations. Can you gift your expensive phone to grandchildren after 20 years except for sentimental value? The phone you buy today worth ₹1 lakh, next year the value becomes ₹50,000. I know someone who purchased a second hand BMW worth ₹85 lakh, for just ₹28 lakh. I have never heard anything like this for gold jewellery. If you had purchased gold an year ago, today you would have got more than 35% returns on it. Of course, you won’t always get such returns, yet you’ll get them today. 

This is the time

There is no assurance of how time will be. When I went to Noida in 2008, even newspaper sellers were making money in property. This is difficult time now for such kind of people. Likewise, this is a good time to invest in gold, as returns will keep on increasing. 

Quite often it happens that people remain poor despite making lots of money. Having a good salary package doesn’t mean that a person will always be rich. There are some who earn less, yet end up having more assets. Not that they have a big bank balance - they just take a few right steps. One must know where to spend money on, especially when real estate isn’t giving as high returns it once was giving. 

What it means is that never stop your wife when she says she wants to buy gold. Take her to a showroom selling pure quality of gold, with great after sales service and magnificent designs. Let her have what she was, ensure to keep the items safe in a bank locker or somewhere else. 

Gujranwala Jewellers - a prominent name in Jalandhar, with 400 year old legacy. 

The golden sparrow 

Gold is one reason India was rich in the past. People laid emphasis on saving money to buy gold. Indian temples often had tonnes of gold inside them. We got invaded for this reason as foreigners were surprised to see our wealth. Countries got developed by looting our gold and ornaments!

Even now there are people in South India who don’t spend much on cars and gadgets, instead they do so on gold. In Kerala, from time to time parents purchase different pieces for their daughter. Like when she’s born, grows up, becomes adult, etc. When Narayan Murthy needed funds, his wife sold her jewellery. That enabled him to set up the company and see where it’s now. Truly there’s a woman behind every successful man!

So, just think, if in future you need money then gold will be your faithful friend. You can’t be assured of how your other friends will be, yet you can definitely be assured of the value of gold.

Count your blessings 

Always keep at least 10% of your investments in gold. It is safer than investing in real estate as well as stock market. 

It’s not that you should buy only gold and nothing else. Take your wife to a romantic dinner. A place with ambience or food as per her choice. In between the meals, out of the blue, gift her an item made of pure gold.

A relationship is not about being perfect. It’s about making the other person perfect. Look into her eyes and say “Sweetheart, I know I’m not as good looking as you. Nor do I have the kind of goodness which you have. You could have got anyone on earth. It’s purely my good fortune that you accepted me as husband. My life is all the better because of you. Surely I can never repay you back, for all that you’ve done for me. I can just make an attempt, for that here’s a small token.” And then hand her the golden box. 

At the end

I’ll like to tell something to all my blog readers. Every wife you see, goes through a lot. For all the jokes you crack on her, your mom is also someone’s wife. A wife leaves her home, her doting parents, the area she was fond of, everything. She does it for her husband. The least you can do is to appreciate her. For all the sacrifices she makes for your happiness. For all the planning she does so that you’ll have smile on your face. For all the hardships she goes through so that you won’t have to. It’s not easy to be a wife, when she leaves her loving parents and adopts a new family as her own. Tomorrow, if you have a daughter, she too will go through the same after marriage. So, try to give as much goodness to your wife as you possibly can. If you truly see the human in her and give her a platform to excel, then nothing wrong will happen. 

Always try to understand what she doesn’t tell you. Appreciate her for the smallest of gestures. Time to time, give her something in gold. Necklace, pendant, bangles, chain - whatever you want to. And make her the happiest woman on earth.