Ich liebe die Insel der Götter, Bali!
Es ist so schwer, das erleuchtete Leben im Paradies zu genießen
Vorwort
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„Wow, bist du im Urlaub?“
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„Nein, ich arbeite hier!“
In diesem Expat-Reiseführer wird dieAutor 4sterbeschreibt, wie eine „Workation“, eine Mischung aus Arbeit und Urlaub, sein Leben veränderte und gibt wertvolle Tipps, wie Arbeitnehmer, Startups oder Selbstständige dies erreichen können. Ein Laptop und eine zuverlässige, schnelle Internetverbindung sind heute die einzigen Werkzeuge, die viele Unternehmer benötigen. Sie können als sogenannte „digitale Nomaden“ arbeiten und leben, wo sie wollen.
Um diese Unabhängigkeit optimal zu nutzen und als Unternehmer erfolgreich zu sein, müssen Sie lernen, loszulassen. Eine solche Denkweise verhindert, dass man fälschlicherweise glaubt, dass nur die eigenen Anstrengungen ein Unternehmen aufrechterhalten können.
Durch die Optimierung und Digitalisierung von Prozessen wird dieAutor 4sterbeschreibt, wie er im Einklang mit seiner Arbeit lebt und sich der Lebensphilosophie eines digitalen Nomaden verschrieben hat. Dieser Expat-Reiseführer ist eine Hommage an Bali und eine Einladung, mit ihm auf die Insel der Götter zu reisen. Lassen Sie sich von seinen Erfahrungen inspirieren, Ihr eigenes Leben in Freiheit und Glück zu genießen.
Es ist so schwer, das erleuchtete Leben im Paradies zu genießen
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
Welcher Ort könnte Ihr Paradies sein?
- Denken Sie an die Orte, die Sie schon immer besuchen wollten.
- Schreiben Sie sie auf und erstellen Sie eine Liste.
- Tun Sie es in schriftlicher Form, denn die schriftliche Form ist so wirkungsvoll.
- Finden Sie heraus, warum Sie im Überfluss leben möchten.
- Und schreiben Sie Ihre drei wichtigsten Gründe dafür auf.
- Was ist der nächste Schritt, den Sie in diese Richtung gehen müssen?
- Schreiben Sie also die nächste Aufgabe auf, die Sie erledigen müssen, um in diese Richtung zu gelangen.
Mach es jetzt!
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Über den Autor 4ster
Die Idee, sich ein paar Tage frei zu nehmen, erscheint vielen Selbstständigen, Freiberuflern, Startups und Unternehmern unmöglich. Ohne ständige Arbeit in ihrem Geschäft befürchten sie, dass alles zusammenbricht. Autor 4ster hat dies im selbstgeschaffenen Hamsterrad seiner Unabhängigkeit schmerzlich erlebt.
Der Wendepunkt im Leben des Autors 4ster begann mit einer Wendung des Schicksals: Nach dem Tod seines Schwagers Marc ließ der Selbstständige alles fallen, um seine Schwester zu unterstützen. Er beschreibt, wie er eine digitalisierte Welt und automatisierte Geschäftsprozesse meisterte und eine glückliche und harmonische Work-Life-Balance fand.
Er nahm an einer Workation auf Bali teil und verlegte sein Büro auf die Insel der Götter, um sich mit anderen Remote-Mitarbeitern zu vernetzen. Dieser gemeinsame Arbeitsurlaub leitete die Trennung von banalen Alltagsaufgaben ein.
In seinem Expat-Reiseführer gibt er wertvolle Tipps und ermutigt Mitarbeiter, Selbstständige, Freiberufler, Startups und Unternehmer, sich von seiner Geschichte inspirieren zu lassen.
Weitere Informationen zumAutor 4sterfinden Sie unterVitality4Happiness.com
Winterflüchtling
Der Winter in Deutschland war für mich immer hart, weil es nicht viel Licht gibt und die Nächte so lang sind. Im November und Dezember ist der Himmel in Deutschland meist grau, es regnet viel und manchmal schneit es. Im Winter sind die Straßen zugefroren. Mir gefällt nicht, dass es nachts und morgens sehr rutschig wird. Als ich in Deutschland lebte, war ich zu dieser Jahreszeit oft deprimiert. Außerdem mag ich Weihnachten immer noch nicht. Ich denke, es ist zu kommerzialisiert und es macht mich krank.
Aus gesundheitlichen Gründen hatte ich jedoch das Gefühl, dass ich Deutschland im Winter verlassen und Zeit auf der Südhalbkugel verbringen musste. Das erste Mal, dass ich dem Winter in Deutschland entkam, war nach meinem Abschluss im Jahr 1988. Ich nahm mir eine Auszeit, bevor ich einen Job bekam, und reiste nach Australien, wo ich vier Monate verbrachte.
Ich habe eine sechswöchige Busreise gebucht, um herumzureisen und verschiedene Orte zu erkunden. Sie verlief von Sydney entlang der Ostküste in Richtung Queensland. Dann hinauf nach Cairns, über die Insel ins Zentrum, nach Tennant Creek, einem kleinen Dorf, das dafür bekannt ist, dass es an der Kreuzung zweier großer Autobahnen liegt. Von dort fuhr ich weiter nach Darwin, reiste dann zurück nach Alice Springs und besuchte Ayers Rock. Von dort nahm ich den Zug nach Adelaide. Diese Busfahrt gab mir also einen Vorgeschmack auf alles, was Australien zu bieten hat.
Als Musiker, der täglich übt, habe ich meine Gitarre bereits nach einer Woche in Australien vermisst. Einer meiner ersten Stopps auf der Busreise war ein Ort namens Byron Bay an der Ostküste. Dort gab es einen Musikladen namens Byron Music. Sie hatten eine 12-saitige Akustikgitarre, also kaufte ich sie und nahm sie auf meiner Busfahrt mit.
Nach Byron Bay fuhr der Bus nach Queensland und übernachtete in Rockhampton, was für mich eine sehr gute Stimmung war. Es hat Spaß gemacht, im Meer zu schwimmen und zu surfen
mochte die großen Wellen. Rockhampton schien der beste Ort zu sein, weil ich Gitarren- und Rockmusik mag.
Ich erinnere mich, dass ich einen Traum hatte. Es ging darum, in einer Hängematte unter Palmen zu liegen und online Geld zu verdienen, während ich mich entspannte. Seit ich diesen Traum zum ersten Mal hatte, habe ich immer an Queensland und Rockhampton gedacht. Ich wollte in einem einfachen Holzhaus wohnen und mit einem Computer in meiner Hängematte Geld verdienen. Mein Vater brachte mich auf die Idee: In einer Hängematte liegen und Geld verdienen
Ich wollte auch sehr entspannt sein und sehr günstig leben. In meinem Traum brauchte ich nicht einmal ein Auto, denn alles, was ich erreichen wollte, war nur eine kurze Radtour von meinem Wohnort entfernt. Ich könnte auf dem Weg zum Laden oder beim Treffen mit Freunden trainieren. Ja, das war mein Traum, aber es hat lange gedauert, bis ich ihn verwirklicht habe.
Nach vier Monaten in Australien kehrte ich nach Deutschland zurück und bekam meinen ersten Job. Jedes Jahr habe ich meine Urlaubstage gespart und bin in tropische Regionen oder nach Australien gereist, um dem deutschen Winter zu entfliehen. Ich habe Mittelamerika besucht: Mexiko, Honduras, Guatemala und Belize. Einige karibische Inseln, z. B. Dominikanische Republik, Jamaika und Französische Antillen.
Und dann habe ich wunderschöne Orte im Indischen Ozean gefunden, wie die Seychellen, Martinique und die Malediven. Auch wenn die Malediven beliebter sind, gefallen mir die Seychellen am besten. Ich bin fast jeden Winter aus Deutschland geflohen. Die meisten dieser Länder waren angenehm und ich hatte dort eine gute Zeit. Dennoch sprach mich nichts so stark an wie die Vorstellung, in Queensland zu leben, die ich im Kopf hatte.
Wenn du „nie“ gehst, wirst du es „nie“ erfahren
Australier haben ein Sprichwort: „Wenn du nie gehst, wirst du es nie erfahren“ in „Wenn du nie gehst, wirst du es nie erfahren.“ verdrehte. Das Northern Territory und das australische Outback werden „Never-Never Land“ genannt. Das gibt ihm eine lustige Doppelbedeutung: Wer ins Outback geht, lernt das Outback kennen.
Nach der Reise ins „Niemals-Niemals-Land“ passierte auf dem Rückweg nach Deutschland etwas. Ich habe drei Tage in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, verbracht. In Australien erkannten die Leute mich nicht als Tourist. Nun, das ist in Malaysia nicht der Fall. Westliche Besucher sind leicht zu erkennen. Kuala Lumpur ist voller Straßenverkäufer, die versuchen, kitschige Artikel zu verkaufen. Jeder wollte mir etwas verkaufen und die plötzlichen Unterbrechungen wegen nutzlosem Schmuck und falschen Rosen waren ärgerlich.
Die Atmosphäre dort machte mich schnell wütend und genervt und ich konnte es nicht ertragen. Aber um ehrlich zu sein, ich war überhaupt nicht bereit. Es wurde kein Versuch unternommen, etwas über Malaysia zu lernen oder zu lesen. Ich dachte, das vorgebuchte Hotel wäre in Ordnung, habe mich dort aber nicht wohl gefühlt.
Schließlich kam ich zu dem Schluss, dass Asien nicht der richtige Ort für mich war. Asien war für mich der erste und größte Kulturschock. Aus diesem Grund bin ich lange Zeit nicht nach Asien gereist. Wenn ich nach Australien oder Neuseeland reiste, hatte ich manchmal Zwischenstopps in Asien, aber ich beschränkte sie auf ein Minimum und verließ den Flughafen normalerweise nicht.
Nach der Erfahrung dieses Zwischenstopps wurde mir klar, dass ich so erleichtert war, mich in Australien frei bewegen zu können. Denn solange Sie den Mund halten, werden Sie von den Australiern nicht als Tourist erkannt. Australien ist eine vielfältige Mischung von Nationalitäten, hauptsächlich aus vielen europäischen Ländern. Wenn also ein Europäer auftaucht und die Australier Sie aufgrund Ihres Akzents nicht erkennen, gehen sie davon aus, dass Sie auch Australier sind.
Seit 1988 habe ich fast jedes Jahr versucht, dem deutschen Winter zu entkommen und an meinem Traum vom Leben in Queensland festgehalten. Ich suchte nach einem Ort, der meinen Träumen entsprach. Doch 2016 änderte sich für mich alles, als ich von meiner Freundin Kerstin diese Nachricht erhielt, über die ich zuvor gesprochen hatte.
Kersten erzählte mir von einem Arbeitsplatz auf Bali und schlug mir vor, dorthin zu reisen.
Obwohl ich beschäftigt war und die Frist ab dem Tag, an dem ich ihre Nachricht erhalten hatte, nur zwei Wochen betrug, kam mir diese Idee. Ich musste es tun, weil ich wusste, dass ich es bereuen würde, wenn ich es nicht täte. Während ich auf Bali war, hätte ich meinen Traum, in Australien zu leben, fast vergessen. Es waren drei Wochen und als die Arbeit vorbei war, musste ich nach Hause. In diesem Moment wurde mir klar, wie sehr ich es liebte. Ich wollte nicht gehen. Die Atmosphäre, Stimmung und Umgebung entsprachen genau meinem Traum.
Es entsprach in jeder Hinsicht meinem Traum oder hatte zumindest das Potenzial dazu, vom Leben in einem Holzhaus bis zum Geldverdienen in einer Hängematte zwischen zwei Palmen. Am Ende war Bali mein Traum und erfüllte meine emotionalen Bedürfnisse. Und deshalb erinnerte ich mich an diesen Traum, als ich dort war. Nach 27 Jahren und 27 Wintern habe ich endlich meinen Traumplatz gefunden!
Das Witzigste an dieser Geschichte ist: Die Unterkunft, in der wir auf Bali übernachteten, hieß „Villa Mimpi Manis“. Mimpi Manis bedeutet „Süßer Traum“. Vielen Dank, Bali, dass du mir dieses besondere Zeichen gegeben hast. Vielen Dank, dass Sie mich zu meinem Schicksal geführt und meinen Traum erfüllt haben.
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
- Wovor rennst du weg?
- Welchen Ort, welche Aktion oder Aktivität meiden Sie?
Hier kann man am meisten lernen und wachsen.
Loslassen
Für die meisten Menschen ist es schwer vorstellbar, ihren Job, ihre Selbstständigkeit oder ihr Unternehmertum hinter sich zu lassen und in einem fremden Land zu bleiben oder von zu Hause aus zu arbeiten. Für mich musste das Schicksal eingreifen, bevor ich lernte, dass nicht alles schief geht, wenn ich für eine Weile weg bin. Und diese Erfahrung gab mir den Mut, eine Reise nach Bali zu unternehmen und an einer Workation teilzunehmen.
Eine „Workation“ ist eine Kombination aus Arbeit und Urlaub. Es ist also ein Arbeitsurlaub. Hier habe ich gelernt, mein Geschäft zu optimieren. Einfügen von Prozessen, die von selbst laufen. Die Arbeit an andere delegieren, die es noch besser können als ich. Und das können Sie auch lernen, und dieser Expat-Reiseführer zeigt Ihnen, wie.
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
Machen Sie die „Loslassen-Meditation“ auf der Websitehttps://i-love-bali.com/
Das Passwort ist der GUTSCHEINCODE auf der Tastatur.
Widmung: Für meine Kinder
„I Love Bali“ zu schreiben war eine weitere Lektion fürs Leben. Ich konnte mich an viele Höhen und Tiefen erinnern, die ich im Laufe der Jahre erlebt habe. Ich weiß, dass einige meiner Familienangehörigen und Freunde nervös sind, was ich sagen könnte. Aber ich bin wirklich dankbar für diejenigen, die mich reden lassen.
Einem davon widme ich diesen Expat-Reiseführer
Witwe
Diese Witwe ist eine wundervolle Seele, anderthalb Jahre jünger als ich. Es besteht kein Zweifel, dass sie eine enorme mentale Stärke hat, aber sie brauchte sie in dieser Geschichte wirklich!
Sie ist eine kleine Person und sieht etwas zierlich aus. Sie lebte die meiste Zeit im Haus ihrer Eltern, weil sie nicht reisen oder woanders leben wollte. Sie hat drei Kinder großgezogen. Sie liebt die Gartenarbeit so sehr, dass sie das Grundstück ihrer Eltern in einen Park verwandelt hat. Nachdem sie einige Seminare von Jürgen Höller besucht hatte, verwandelte sie ihr Leben in ein Abenteuer. Nach dem Tod ihres Mannes begleitete sie mich auf einer Reise nach Südafrika. Infolgedessen hat sie in dieser Zeit hauptsächlich in Kapstadt gelebt, die Welt bereist, ihr eigenes Unternehmen gegründet und aus der Ferne gearbeitet.
Zweitens widme ich diesen Expat-Reiseführer ihrem Mann:
Marc
Er war körperlich stark. Er hat mich dazu inspiriert, diesen Expat-Reiseführer zu schreiben. Vielen Dank, Marc, für deine Motivation, auch wenn der Preis, den du dafür bezahlt hast, viel zu hoch ist!
Diesen Expat-Reiseführer widme ich auch meinem ehemaligen Mitarbeiter:
DJ Qris
Qris arbeitete in meinem Geschäft. Und er begann als Freiwilliger. Aber seine Entwicklung im Laufe unserer Zusammenarbeit ist einfach unglaublich. Es spielte keine Rolle, ob er sich das Knie brach; er machte sich trotzdem auf den Weg.
Heute spielt er mit einer sehr erfolgreichen Band in Deutschland, die die größten Stadien mit Fans füllt. Chris, ich bewundere, was du getan hast und wie du gewachsen bist. Meine größten Glückwünsche gehen an Sie. Deshalb widme ich Ihnen diesen Reiseführer!
Dann war da
Becky
Sie hat mein Leben aufgepeppt und war für mich der Auslöser, Deutschland zu verlassen.
Und schließlich meine neue und zweite Frau:
Fühlen
Sie ist eine wunderbare Seele. Mit ihrer unglaublichen emotionalen Intelligenz. Und sie ist die herzlichste Person, die ich je getroffen habe. Ich danke Ihnen für Ihre Liebe!
Endlich wurde mir klar, dass ich diesen Expat-Reiseführer für meine wunderbaren Kinder schreibe. Auch wenn ich nach fünf Jahren auf Bali den Kontakt zu ihnen verloren habe, was mir in der Seele wehgetan hat. Ich trage euch beide in meinem Herzen, wohin ich auch gehe. Ich wurde schwer verletzt, aber durch diesen Schmerz wurde mir klar, wie sehr ich deine Liebe und Anerkennung brauche.
Meine Kinder
Schreiben Sie insbesondere diesen Expat-Reiseführer für Sie. Louis ist eher introvertiert, er ist ruhig und er ist sehr sensibel. Aber andererseits ist er technisch sehr, sehr begabt. Eine Sache, die wir gemeinsam gemacht haben, war zum Beispiel, dass er Komponenten für einen Computer bestellte, während ich in Neukaledonien unterwegs war. Er hatte die Teile für den Computer zu Hause und einer seiner Freunde versprach ihm: „Ich helfe dir, die Teile zusammenzusetzen und deinen Computer zum Laufen zu bringen.“
Als die Teile ankamen, war sein Freund nicht in der Stadt und konnte meinem Sohn nicht helfen. Louis wartete geduldig auf seine Rückkehr. Dann hatte ich ein Videogespräch mit Louis am anderen Ende der Welt. Louis zeigte mir stolz die Kartons mit allen Komponenten, dem Mikroprozessor, dem Netzteil und dem Speicher.
Ich sagte: „Wie wäre es, wenn wir das in einem Videoanruf zusammenstellen?“ Und in einem zweistündigen Videoanruf auf WhatsApp, 11.000 Meilen entfernt, haben wir den Computer aus der Ferne zusammengebaut. Können Sie sich vorstellen, dass er zu diesem Zeitpunkt die Teile bereits zu Hause hatte und geduldig auf die Rückkehr seines Freundes wartete? Das wäre mir nie passiert!
Okay, meine geliebten Kinder, ich möchte, dass ihr wisst, dass ich euch bedingungslos liebe. Und aus der Ferne wollte ich dir sagen:
Ich liebe dich. Es tut mir Leid. Bitte verzeihen Sie mir. Vielen Dank! Ich liebe dich. Es tut mir Leid. Bitte verzeihen Sie mir. Vielen Dank! Ich liebe dich. Es tut mir Leid. Bitte verzeihen Sie mir. Vielen Dank!
Ich bin meinen Kindern dankbar, dass sie mir einen Grund gegeben haben, das zu tun, was ich tue, in dem Wissen, dass ich eine bessere Welt für ihre Zukunft schaffe. Ich weiß mit Zuversicht, dass wir uns eines Tages wiedersehen und friedlich und in Harmonie wiedervereinen werden.
Ihre Herausforderung für heute
- Bitte verzeihen Sie mir, danke!
Die Insel der Götter
Ich möchte Sie auf eine unvergessliche Reise mitnehmen; Ich erzähle Ihnen die Geschichte, wie ich nach Bali kam, alles begann im Oktober 2016.
Meine Schwester rief mich morgens an und als ich antwortete, hörte ich sie am anderen Ende der Leitung schluchzen. Sie war auf dem Heimweg aus Kroatien, wo sie mit ihrem Mann Urlaub gemacht hatte. Während er das Auto fuhr, drehte er sich abrupt um und sagte zu ihr:
„Ich fühle mich nicht wohl. Ich muss eine Pause machen. Er hat das Auto angehalten und ist herausgesprungen.“ Als er zu Boden sank, flehte er sie an: „Bitte hilf mir, Petra. Hebe mich hoch. Ich habe Schwierigkeiten beim Atmen!“
Doch weil er deutlich größer war als sie, war Petra nicht stark genug, um ihn zu tragen. Sie geriet in Panik und sagte zu ihm: „Wie kann ich Ihnen helfen? Du bist viel zu groß. Bitte setzen Sie sich auf den Beifahrersitz und entspannen Sie sich.“
Mit Mühe gelang es Petra, ihrem Mann auf den Beifahrersitz zu helfen, doch sobald er sich setzte, begann sein Gesicht blau zu werden und er verlor bald das Bewusstsein. Petra geriet in Panik und rief um medizinische Hilfe. Als die Sanitäter eintrafen, halfen sie Petra und begannen sofort mit der Verabreichung von Herzdruckmassagen und Elektroschocks, um ihren Mann wiederzubeleben. Dies dauerte etwa eine Stunde.
Leider waren die Elektroschocks erfolglos. Trotz aller Bemühungen erlangte er das Bewusstsein nicht wieder, obwohl er gelegentlich die Augen öffnete und für einige Sekunden zurückkehrte. Am Ende erklärten ihn die Sanitäter für tot. Meine Schwester hat ihren geliebten Ehemann verloren.
Als Petra mir erzählte, was passiert war, fehlten mir die Worte. In einer solchen Situation sind Sie zu allem bereit, wissen aber auch, dass Sie nichts tun können. Ich wollte sie kennenlernen
Lass sie meine ganze Unterstützung haben. Ich sagte ihr: „Ich werde alles hinter mir lassen und mich dir anschließen, und ich werde für dich da sein, solange du mich brauchst.“
Ich rechnete damit, drei oder fünf Tage bei ihr zu bleiben. Es dauerte zwei Wochen, die Rückführung ihres Mannes von Kroatien nach Deutschland zu organisieren, und ich blieb bis zur Beerdigung bei ihr. Da sie in dieser Zeit jede schwierige Entscheidung traf, war ich beeindruckt, wie stark sie war.
Traurigkeit und Dankbarkeit
Irgendwann wurde mir klar, dass ihre Stärke darin lag, dankbar für die Zeit zu sein, die sie mit ihrem Mann verbrachte. Ich bewunderte und beneidete ihre Stärke, weil mir diese Eigenschaft fehlte. Ich war beeindruckt.
Die Tiefe ihrer Stärke war für mich eine Offenbarung. Das Geschehen hat mich zutiefst berührt und es motivierte mich bald, etwas zu tun, das völlig außerhalb meiner Komfortzone lag.
Süße Träume - Süße Träume
Ungefähr zum Zeitpunkt der Beerdigung traf eine Nachricht von meiner Freundin Kerstin ein: „Sehen Sie sich das an: Eine Workation auf Bali!“ Es war ein Treffen von 12 digitalen Nomaden, die drei Wochen auf Bali verbrachten und Erfahrungen austauschten, während sie in einer wunderschönen Villa namens „Mimpi Manis“ lebten und arbeiteten. Die Bedeutung dieses Namens ist „süßer Traum“. Jedes Mal, wenn ich daran denke, wird mir warm ums Herz.
Ich schaute auf meinen Kalender und sah, dass es nur noch zwei Wochen waren, bis diese Arbeit begann; Nach einigem Überlegen entschied ich mich zu gehen. Es war ein großer Vertrauensvorschuss, aber ich dachte mir, wenn ich mein Leben und mein Geschäft in Deutschland nicht hinter mir lassen und jetzt Bali besuchen könnte, wann würde ich dann jemals wieder den Mut haben, etwas so Verrücktes zu tun? Nachdem ich gesehen habe, wie meine Schwester ohne Zögern oder Nachdenken mutige Maßnahmen ergriffen hat.
Das war der Anstoß, den ich brauchte, um Deutschland zu verlassen, von Bali aus zu arbeiten, mein Geschäft hinter mir zu lassen und eine lebensverändernde Entscheidung zu treffen. Ich übergab die vollständige Kontrolle über mein Unternehmen an Chris, meinen Mitarbeiter, der das Unternehmen bereits leitete und leitete, während ich meiner Schwester half. Während ich auf Bali war, wurde er mit der Abwicklung aller operativen Details in Deutschland beauftragt. Von Bali aus habe ich mich ausschließlich auf Online-Marketing und Controlling konzentriert.
Plötzlich fiel mir ein, dass ich immer davon geträumt hatte, in einer Hängematte zu arbeiten und über ein Modem mit dem Internet verbunden zu sein. In meinem Traum befand sich die Hängematte zwischen zwei Palmen. Ein Kabel verband meinen Laptop mit einem Modem, das an eine Telefonleitung angeschlossen war. Wenn Sie dies lesen, können Sie sich wahrscheinlich vorstellen, wie weit meine Fantasie zurückreicht.
WLAN war damals noch nicht einmal bekannt.
Meine Vorstellung davon, wo dieser Traum wahr wurde, war immer Queensland, genauer gesagt die Gegend von Rockhampton. Ich stellte mir vor, in einem sehr einfachen Holzhaus zu sein
Wohnen nah am Wasser, nah am Strand und alle Annehmlichkeiten mit dem Fahrrad erreichbar. Ich verband diese Idee und diesen Traum mit Freiheit, einem sparsamen Lebensstil und einem Leben, das meine grundlegenden körperlichen und emotionalen Bedürfnisse befriedigte.
Endlich hatte ich die Chance, diesen Traum Wirklichkeit werden zu lassen. Obwohl mir bewusst ist, dass ich nicht wie erhofft in Queensland, Australien, lebe, kann ich mit Zuversicht sagen, dass ich meinen Traum auf Bali lebe und die Lebendigkeit Balis als Ort mich völlig davon überzeugt hat, es mein Zuhause zu nennen.
Hals über Kopf verliebt in Bali
Ich habe mich total in Bali verliebt. Um ehrlich zu sein, wurde mir erst an dem Tag, an dem es Zeit für mich war, Bali nach der Arbeit zu verlassen, wirklich bewusst, wie sehr ich mich verliebt hatte. Bis dahin hatte ich keine Ahnung, wie sehr ich die Insel vermissen würde. Als es Zeit war, Bali zu verlassen, überlegte ich, ob ich zum Flughafen fahren oder noch ein paar Tage bleiben sollte.
Letztendlich kam ich zu dem Schluss, dass es am besten wäre, den gebuchten Flug zurück nach Deutschland zu nehmen, da ich dort einen Termin hatte. Es war ein Treffen mit Kerstin und einigen Köpfen einer Unternehmer-Mastermind-Gruppe. Der Unternehmer-Vordenker traf sich zu einem dreitägigen intensiven Positionierungsworkshop, und da ich ihn bereits organisiert hatte, fühlte ich mich verpflichtet, daran teilzunehmen. Dieses Mal ging ich nicht mit dem Herzen, sondern mit dem Kopf und stieg in den Flieger zurück nach Deutschland.
Als mir klar wurde, wie sehr ich Bali vermissen würde, brach ich in Tränen aus, als das Flugzeug vom Gate zur Landebahn rollte. Und in diesem Moment war mir klar: Ich möchte den größten Teil meines restlichen Lebens auf Bali verbringen. Zumindest bis ich einen neuen Ort entdecke, der meinen Träumen, Wünschen und Bedürfnissen noch besser entspricht als Bali.
Meine Erfahrungen sind im Expat-Reiseführer „I Love Bali“ dokumentiert. Es erzählt die ganze Geschichte sehr detailliert und ich lade Sie ein, es anzusehen und die Geschichte zu genießen. Ich hoffe, es wird Sie dazu inspirieren, wichtige Entscheidungen zu treffen, bedeutende Veränderungen vorzunehmen und zu wachsen und alle Stärken zu nutzen, die bereits in Ihnen liegen. Warten Sie nicht auf ein Ereignis wie den Tod oder die Beerdigung eines Freundes oder Verwandten, um zu erkennen, wozu Sie fähig sind. Alles ist möglich.
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
- Finden Sie heraus, was „I Love Bali“ für Sie bedeutet.
Einführung
Stellen Sie sich vor: Es ist der 29. November 2022 und es ist 16 Uhr. Ich treffe drei Musiker des Udara Mantra Orchestra. Wir sitzen zusammen im Shiva Chalet, um die Akkorde und Harmonien für den heutigen Auftritt zu üben und durchzugehen. Zwei Wochen zuvor kaufte ich eine Gibson-Bassgitarre und fragte Adi, den Manager von Udara Bali:
„Wäre es in Ordnung, dich zu einer Session zu begleiten, weil die Band keinen Bassisten hat?“ Er stimmte zu und ich war mehr als glücklich.
Unser erster Auftritt begann nur zwei Stunden später um 18 Uhr. Einige Gäste kamen herein und wir begannen, Mantras zu spielen. Es gab eine Kakaozeremonie und einen Kirtan. Kirtan ist ein Ruf-und-Antwort-Gesang oder musikalischer Dialog, ein Genre religiöser Darbietungen, das sich während der indischen Bhakti-Andachtstradition entwickelte.
Wir spielten den ganzen Abend bis 21 Uhr. Ich saß neben dem Mischpult. Während ich Bassgitarre spielte, kümmerte ich mich auch um die Tontechnik und passte die Mikrofon- und Instrumentenpegel an. Dies trug zur Verbesserung des Klangs bei, indem den Sängern beim Singen mehr Bass und Hall und beim Sprechen weniger Bass verliehen wurde, was mich auf die Idee eines feineren Monitorings brachte. Am Ende der Nacht war ich so dankbar für die Erfahrung. Da ich seit Jahren nicht mehr in einer solchen Band gespielt habe, genoss ich die Erfahrung, Bassgitarre zu spielen.
Vor mehr als 40 Jahren
Denken wir also daran zurück, wie alles begann. Ich war 15 Jahre alt und es war 1980. Mein Vater fragte mich: „Klaus, bist du bereit, in drei Wochen bei der Goldenen Hochzeit mitzuspielen?“ Er fuhr fort: „Eine Frau aus der Nachbarschaft fragte mich: Johann, kannst du bei unserer Goldenen Hochzeit Musik machen?“ Mein Vater fragte sie: „Wäre es für dich in Ordnung, wenn mein Sohn mich auf der Gitarre begleiten würde?“
Er fuhr fort: „Sie stimmte zu … und ich stimmte auch zu. Jetzt liegt es an dir …“ Und ja, ich fühlte mich selbstbewusst genug, weil ich bereits seit ein paar Jahren Musik machte. Angefangen mit dem Erlernen von Akkordeon und Orgel, die mir meine Eltern aufgezwungen hatten. Bis ich mich für mein erstes Instrument entschied: eine Gitarre.
Aber ich hatte zu diesem Zeitpunkt erst seit einem Jahr Gitarre geübt, also... war ich alles andere als makellos. Da ich jedoch ein gewisses Verständnis für Musik hatte, war ich zuversichtlich, dem zuzustimmen. Wir hatten also drei Wochen Zeit, uns vorzubereiten. Mein Onkel Jakob schenkte uns Ordner mit Texten zu deutschen Volksliedern, Trinkliedern und „Evergreens“, die er als Musiker spielte. Er schenkte uns sogar einen seiner Guyatone-Verstärker. Dieser Röhrenverstärker war damals eine recht exklusive Marke mit dem feinen Röhrenklang eines Mesa Boogie.
Drei Wochen später haben wir zusammen geübt und die gesamte Ausrüstung in das Auto meines Vaters gepackt. Wir beide, mein Vater und ich, waren sehr, sehr nervös. Das werde ich nie vergessen, denn nachdem wir das Auto beladen hatten und eingestiegen waren, legte mein Vater aus Versehen den ersten Gang statt den Rückwärtsgang ein. Das Auto machte einen Satz nach vorne und prallte gegen die Garagenwand. Es ist etwas kürzer geworden! Aber es war nicht dramatisch. Wir konnten trotzdem zu unserem ersten Auftritt gehen.
Wir spielten die ganze Nacht, sangen deutsche Volkslieder, Trinklieder und ein paar Evergreens. Es war mein erster bezahlter Auftritt! Und ich wusste damals noch nicht, dass Hunderte folgen würden. Ich habe auch gemerkt, dass mir Musik Spaß macht
schließen. Aber noch mehr faszinierten mich Soundgeräte wie Verstärker, Lautsprecher und Mischpulte.
Mit all den bunten Tasten können Sie den Klang verändern, indem Sie Effekte hinzufügen, Bässe und Höhen lauter oder leiser machen und die Lautstärke ändern. Ich habe es geliebt, damit herumzuspielen. Aber die Ausrüstung war damals so teuer, dass ich immer dachte: „Wie kann ich so etwas selbst bauen?“
Vor weiteren 15 Jahren
Gehen wir zurück in den Herbst 1966, als ich eineinhalb Jahre alt war. Eine kleine Prinzessin trat in mein Leben: meine Schwester Petra. Sie war süß und als sie geboren wurde, schenkten ihr alle in der Familie viel Aufmerksamkeit. Ich war nicht mehr der Prinz der Familie, oder zumindest war es nicht mehr so wichtig, der Prinz zu sein wie früher! Jetzt bekommt die Prinzessin die ganze Aufmerksamkeit in der Familie. Ich wurde so eifersüchtig und wollte mehr Aufmerksamkeit, dass ich wieder anfing, mir in die Hose zu pinkeln!
Meine Schwester hatte einen kleinen Körper. Sie war zierlich. Aber andererseits wurde sie bald ziemlich konkurrenzfähig und willensstark. Meine Mutter erzählte die Geschichte immer wieder: „Als Petra ein kleines Kind war und Klaus mit seiner Raupe spielte, wollte Petra sie auch haben. Sie zog an seinen Haaren, bis er seine Hände öffnete und das Spielzeug fallen ließ. Und dann hat sie damit gespielt.“
Ich war so verzweifelt darüber, aber andererseits habe ich natürlich auch etwas daraus gelernt: wie man sich konkurriert. Aber das war nicht mein Charakter. Über diese Geschichte hat meine Familie immer gelacht: Einer meiner Weihnachtswünsche war: „Bitte, lieber Weihnachtsmann, bring meiner Schwester zu Weihnachten eine Raupe, damit ich endlich selbst mit meiner Raupe spielen kann!“
Eine andere Geschichte über meine Schwester, die meine Mutter jedem immer wieder erzählte, ist: „Als Petra bereit war, zur Schule zu gehen, musste sie den Bus dorthin nehmen. Wir mussten beide den gleichen Bus nehmen. Doch vor ihrer ersten Busfahrt sagte Petra: „Im Bus reserviere ich den Sitzplatz neben mir für meinen Bruder.“ Obwohl sie noch nie zuvor im Schulbus gesessen hatte, wusste sie bereits, dass sie vor mir im Schulbus sitzen würde!
Einige Jahre später trat ich weiterhin in einer Band auf. Es war eine Coverband und wir spielten in den Bierzelten auf der Kirmes, wie Thanksgiving hier genannt wird. Ich habe fast jedes Wochenende gespielt, oft mehrere Abende hintereinander, und ich habe es geliebt, in dieser Coverband Gitarre zu spielen. Wieder einmal hatten wir einige davon
Top-40-Songs, aber die meiste Musik bestand aus Evergreens, Volksmusik und Trinkliedern. Meine Schwester folgte mir immer, wenn ich in der Band spielte. Sie traf dort Freunde und tanzte gerne, während ich auf der Bühne Musik spielte.
Anerkennung für Leidenschaft
Ich spürte ihre Anerkennung. Sie war stolz darauf, einen Bruder zu haben, der Musiker in einer Band war. Ich habe diese Anerkennung sehr geschätzt, weil sie mir viel mehr Selbstvertrauen gegeben hat. Sehen Sie, die Geschichten darüber, wie sie mich an den Haaren zog, um ein Spielzeug loszulassen, oder ihre Zuversicht, dass sie früher im Bus sein würde als ich, erzählen nicht gerade die Geschichte eines starken Selbstvertrauens. Aber gerade deshalb habe ich ihre Anerkennung so sehr geschätzt.
An anderen Abenden, an denen ich nicht auftrat, gingen wir feiern. Wir gingen in eine Disco oder zu einer Live-Musikveranstaltung. Und wieder einmal hat sich Petra mit Freunden getroffen und getanzt. Währenddessen habe ich der Band zugeschaut und mich in den Pausen mit den Musikern unterhalten. Ich habe Informationen von den Musikern aufgenommen, aber nicht über die Musik!
Das meiste, was ich gelernt habe, betraf die Ausrüstung, die sie verwenden. Mein Interesse an Tontechnik führte mich dazu, Elektronik zu studieren. So wurde ich Telekommunikationsingenieur, angetrieben von meiner Leidenschaft für Lautsprechersysteme, Verstärker, Mischpulte und Audiotechnik.
Dann bekam ich einen Anruf von einer anderen Band und sie sagten: „Wir suchen einen Bassisten.“ Ich sagte ja! Weil ich immer dachte: Ich kann einigermaßen gut Gitarre spielen, aber ich komme im Moment bei der Entwicklung meiner Gitarre nicht voran.
Als ich anfing, in Bands zu spielen, war ich schon immer von der Bassgitarre fasziniert. Es hat nur vier Saiten, die gestimmt werden müssen. Die Bünde sind breiter, sodass sie leichter zu finden sind. Der Ton ist tiefer, daher klingt er maskuliner. Die Saiten sind dick und verletzen Ihre Finger nicht so sehr wie die dünnen, scharfen Saiten einer Gitarre. Dies waren einige logische Gründe, auf die Bassgitarre umzusteigen.
Im Grunde ist Bass spielen so ziemlich dasselbe wie Gitarre spielen. Also besorgte ich mir meinen ersten Fender Jazz Bass und begann mit der neuen Band zu jammen. Weil
Da diese Band moderner war, folgte mir meine Schwester noch öfter. Wir spielten weniger Trinklieder und mehr Top-40- und Rockmusik.
Ich habe es viel mehr genossen, diese Musik zu spielen, weil sie leidenschaftlicher war. Denn nachdem ich jahrelang die deutschen Evergreens, insbesondere die Trink- und Volkslieder, aufgeführt hatte, hatte ich es so satt! Ich konnte es nicht mehr hören oder spielen! Das erste, was ich tat, war, mit meinem Vater aufzuhören, mit ihm zu spielen. Ungefähr zwei Jahre später, nachdem ich meinen Abschluss gemacht und meinen ersten Job bekommen hatte, hörte ich auch auf, in der Coverband zu spielen.
Nun, es dauerte nicht lange, bis ich wieder Musik machen wollte. Aber dieses Mal landete ich in einer Soul- und Bluesband. Wir spielten unsere eigenen Songs und Coverversionen alter Blues- und Rock'n'Roll-Nummern. Wissen Sie, mit Trinkliedern und Top-40-Hits war es einfach, Geld für einen Auftritt zu bekommen. Als unbekannte Band, die ihre eigenen Songs spielt, ist es jedoch noch ein langer Weg, bis Sie ein Musiker werden, der so bekannt ist, dass die Leute für Ihre Musik bezahlen.
Aber dieses Mal war es mir völlig egal, weil ich es mit Leidenschaft gemacht habe. Ich habe es genossen, die Musik zu spielen und die Klänge zu hören, die ich liebte. Meine Vorbilder waren Bruce Springsteen und Bryan Adams. Ich habe sogar versucht, wie sie zu singen und ihre Stimmen nachzuahmen. Um ehrlich zu sein, habe ich es nie geschafft ... Damals war mir nicht bewusst, dass ich eine einzigartige Stimme hatte. Jeder hat eins. Um authentisch zu klingen, müssen Sie das Beste daraus machen. Aber das war mir damals noch nicht klar.
Unabhängig davon verkörperte unsere Band das Gefühl der Blues Brothers oder The Commitments. Sie haben die Filme wahrscheinlich gesehen und kennen die Gefühle, die ihre Soulmusik hervorruft. Ja, die Blues Brothers sind eine Soulband. „Blues“ ist der Nachname von Jake und Elwood. Das war großartig und es war mir egal, dass ich damit kein Geld verdiene. Ich hatte einen gut bezahlten Job als Ingenieur.
Das Leben meiner Schwester Petra war völlig anders. Mit 20 Jahren heiratete sie, gründete eine Familie und bekam drei Kinder. Sie arbeitete in einem Verwaltungsbüro, wie eine Beamtin. Ihre Leidenschaft war die Kindererziehung. Mit der Geburt ihres ersten
Wegen ihres Sohnes hörte sie auf zu arbeiten. Neben der Erziehung ihrer Kinder kümmerte sie sich um Haus, Familie und Garten und sorgte dafür, dass alles schön aussah.
Meine Einstellung zum Leben gestaltete sich anders: Ich suchte nach anderen Ländern und Regionen, insbesondere in der südlichen Hemisphäre oder in tropischen Regionen, im Indischen Ozean, in der Karibik, in Mittelamerika und Neuseeland.
Ich verbrachte meinen Winterurlaub damit, Deutschland zu entfliehen, und stellte fest, dass es noch mehr Dinge gab, für die ich eine Leidenschaft hatte. Ja, ich habe fast jeden Winter eine andere Reise unternommen. Ich habe meine neuen Leidenschaften entdeckt: Reisen und Freiheit. Aber darüber werde ich Ihnen in den nächsten Kapiteln mehr erzählen.
Und jetzt ist es an der Zeit, dass Sie Ihre Leidenschaft finden und ihr folgen.
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
- Was ist deine Leidenschaft?
Schock am Morgen
Es war der 17. September 2016. Meine Schwester rief mitten in der Nacht an und ich ging noch im Halbschlaf ans Telefon. „Du rufst früher an“, murmelte ich benommen. Sie sagte: „Ja, es tut mir leid.“ Ich hörte ein herzzerreißendes Schluchzen am anderen Ende der Leitung und setzte mich kerzengerade im Bett auf, um sie zu fragen: „Was ist los?“ Warum weinst du?"
Sie antwortete: „Wir sind auf dem Rückweg von unserem Urlaub in Kroatien. Und Marc ist einfach gestorben.“ Ich war fassungslos, bis ins Mark erschüttert und sprachlos. Ich wusste nicht, was ich sagen sollte. „Marc sagte, er habe sich beim Autofahren nicht wohl gefühlt. Dann hielt er das Auto an der Raststätte an und stieg aus.“
Ich konnte den Schmerz und die Traurigkeit in ihrer Stimme hören, als sie mir das erzählte. Ich merkte, dass sie Schmerzen hatte, denn sie sprach langsam und atmete tief ein. Nachdem sie eine Weile über ihre Worte gestolpert war, gewann sie ihre Fassung wieder und fuhr fort. „Er sagte mir, er fühle sich unwohl und brauche eine Pause. Er sprang aus dem Auto, fiel zu Boden und bat mich, ihn hochzuheben, weil er Schwierigkeiten beim Atmen hatte.“
Marc war viel größer als sie und Petra war nicht stark genug, um ihn zu tragen. Sie hatte Angst und fragte ihn: „Wie kann ich Ihnen helfen?“ Du bist viel zu groß. Bitte machen Sie eine Pause und setzen Sie sich auf den Beifahrersitz.“
Petra sagte, sie habe ihrem Mann geholfen, auf den Beifahrersitz zu steigen, aber es sei schwierig gewesen. Doch sobald er sich setzte, wurde sein Gesicht blau und er fiel in Ohnmacht. Petra schrie um Hilfe. Jemand vom nächsten Auto rannte ihn an und holte ihn aus dem Auto. Sie führten eine Mund-zu-Mund-Beatmung und eine Herzmassage durch und riefen natürlich einen Krankenwagen.
Es dauerte einige Zeit, bis der Krankenwagen kam. Während sie auf den Krankenwagen warteten, kämpften die freundlichen Menschen, die angehalten hatten, um zu helfen, hart
darüber, meinem Schwager beim Atmen zu helfen. Als der Krankenwagen endlich eintraf, gaben sie ihm Elektroschocks und versuchten verzweifelt, ihn wiederzubeleben. Manchmal öffnete er die Augen wieder, wenn auch nur für ein paar Sekunden, und schloss sie dann wieder. Sie versuchten es fast eine Stunde lang, mussten aber schließlich aufgeben. An diesem Tag verlor meine Schwester ihren Mann.
Als mir klar wurde, was passiert war, sagte ich zu Petra: „Ich werde für dich da sein, solange du mich brauchst.“ Ich bleibe bei dir und helfe dir, alles vorzubereiten. Sag mir Bescheid, wenn du nach Hause kommst. Ich komme vorbei, um dir zu helfen.“
Ich habe mein Unternehmen Rooms4Music als Selbstständiger geführt, daher muss man immer erreichbar sein. Aber zum Glück hatte ich bereits einige Systeme und Prozesse eingerichtet. Ich hatte auch einen Mitarbeiter und ich musste ihm nur ein Blatt Papier geben, auf dem stand:
Bitte kümmern Sie sich um alles.
Du kannst mich anrufen.
Aber ich werde ein paar Tage nicht dort sein.
Zum Glück konnte ich mein Geschäft hinter mir lassen und meiner Schwester helfen. Ich hatte geplant, drei oder fünf Tage bei ihr zu bleiben. Der Transport des Leichnams ihres Mannes von Kroatien nach Deutschland dauerte fast zwei Wochen und ich blieb bei ihr, bis alle Bestattungsvorbereitungen getroffen waren.
Dank der von mir eingerichteten automatisierten Prozesse und der Hilfe meiner Kollegin konnte ich mich voll und ganz auf die Hilfe für meine Schwester konzentrieren. Ich musste nicht über mein Unternehmen, Rooms4Music, nachdenken und mir Sorgen machen. Ich nutzte das Internet manchmal zum Telefonieren oder für andere Dinge, aber es dauerte nur ein paar Minuten.
Dann bekam ich diese Nachricht von meiner Freundin Kerstin, die mir sagte: „Es gibt eine Arbeit auf Bali und die ist einer Idee, die du hattest, sehr ähnlich. Schau dir das an
Kommen Sie vorbei und probieren Sie es aus.“ Genau das habe ich getan. Auch wenn die Beerdigung erst zwei Wochen her war und ich erst in drei Wochen wieder vor Ort sein würde, konnte ich trotzdem mitmachen, weil ich es bereits getan hatte Prozesse in meinem Unternehmen eingerichtet hatten.
Lassen Sie uns nun darüber sprechen, was ich aus diesem traurigen Ereignis gelernt habe:
Aus emotionalen Erfahrungen können wichtige Veränderungen und Entscheidungen resultieren. Als Beispiel beschloss ich, meiner Schwester sofort zu helfen. Ich würde nicht zögern, zu helfen, und ich bin mir sicher, dass ich es auch nicht tun würde, oder? Aber als ich sagte, ich würde für weitere drei Wochen nach Bali fliegen und mein Geschäft hinter mir lassen, geschah das, weil ich ein paar Dinge gelernt hatte, die mir bei dieser Entscheidung geholfen haben.
Erstens war ich etwa zweieinhalb Jahre älter als mein Schwager. Diese Erkenntnis lehrte mich, dass der Tod mir, Ihnen oder jedem anderen jederzeit widerfahren kann.
Niemand weiß, wie lange sie leben werden. Nun, wenn Sie sehr krank sind, ist Ihre Lebenserwartung wahrscheinlich kürzer als wenn Sie gesund sind. Aber wir wissen nie, wann es passieren wird, egal was passiert. Marc war ein starker Mann bei guter Gesundheit, der alle überraschte. Wenn so etwas passiert, gibt es uns die Chance, unser Leben zu überdenken und Entscheidungen zu treffen, die wir normalerweise nicht treffen könnten.
Zweitens habe ich nach dem Tod meines Schwagers über viele Dinge nachgedacht und viele Fragen gehabt.
- Hat Marc jede Gelegenheit genutzt?
- Hatte Marc eine gute Zeit in seinem Leben?
- Hat er die Ziele erreicht, die er sich gesetzt hatte?
- Was war sein größtes Interesse?
- Hat er es erlebt?
Ich habe mir all diese Fragen gestellt. Ich dachte darüber nach, was ich denken würde, während ich auf meinem Sterbebett lag und auf mein Leben zurückblickte.
- Was bereue ich?
- Welche Entscheidungen hätte ich gerne in meinem Leben getroffen?
Es gibt eine Meditation darüber, Entscheidungen zu treffen, die genau diese Fragen beantworten. Stellen Sie sich also vor, Sie liegen auf Ihrem Sterbebett und haben noch eine Stunde zu leben. Denken Sie in dieser Stunde über Ihr Leben und die Entscheidungen nach, die Sie getroffen haben, auch über die großen.
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
Machen Sie die „Letzte Stunde“-Meditation auf der Websitehttps://i-love-bali.com/
Das Passwort ist der GUTSCHEINCODE,
die auf der Tastatur.
Stellen Sie sich vor, Sie liegen auf Ihrem Sterbebett und blicken auf Ihr Leben zurück. Denken Sie zu Beginn kurz über die Fragen nach:
- Haben Sie jede Gelegenheit genutzt?
- Hattest du eine schöne Zeit in deinem Leben?
- Haben Sie die Ziele erreicht, die Sie sich gesetzt haben?
- Was war Ihr größtes Interesse?
- Hast du es befolgt?
- Was bereuen Sie?
- Welche Entscheidungen hätten Sie gerne in Ihrem Leben getroffen?
Nutzen Sie die Meditation der letzten Stunde, um die Antworten zu finden. Freunde dich mit dem Tod an. Machen Sie den Tod zu Ihrem Ratgeber, zu Ihrem allerbesten Ratgeber!
Schreiben Sie detailliert auf, was Sie während der Meditation erlebt haben. Schreiben Sie es unbedingt auf!
Trauer: Die wertvollste Zeit im Leben
Am 15. September reiste meine Schwester nach Deutschland, nachdem ihr Mann Marc gestorben war. Sie ging zu ihrem Haus in einem kleinen Dorf 150 Kilometer nördlich von Frankfurt, wo sie und Marc friedlich lebten. Sie waren erst seit etwa anderthalb Jahren verheiratet und daher immer noch wie Frischvermählte. Trotzdem hatten sie eine sehr starke, liebevolle Beziehung.
Ich nahm meine Zahnbürste und andere wichtige Dinge und eilte zu ihr nach Hause, als sie mir sagte, sie sei angekommen, damit ich für sie da sein und sie in dieser schwierigen Zeit trösten konnte. Als ich dort ankam, sah ich die Schmerzen, die sie hatte. Ich umarmte sie und kuschelte lange mit ihr. Sie wiederholte mir immer wieder die Einzelheiten darüber, wie Marc gestorben war.
Nachdem sich im Dorf herumgesprochen hatte, dass Marc gestorben war, kamen viele Freunde, um sie zu besuchen und ihr ihr Beileid auszusprechen. Viele von ihnen weinten, und meine Schwester auch. Danach fingen alle an, über ihren Mann zu reden. Überraschenderweise erholte sich meine Schwester oft schnell von ihrer Trauer und konnte ihre eigenen Geschichten über ihren Mann erzählen.
Route 66 auf einer „Gummikuh“
Als zum Beispiel einige seiner Motorradfreunde kamen, um ihr ihr Beileid auszudrücken, erzählte sie ihnen von Marcs Liebe zu Motorrädern und seinem Traum, die Route 66 zu fahren. Das Lustige ist, es gibt ein Klischee, dass man in den Süden der USA will und wenn Wenn Sie ein Biker sind, möchten Sie die Route 66 entlangfahren, und zwar auf einer Harley Davidson. Sie denken vielleicht, dass dies der typische amerikanische Traum ist, nicht wahr?
Nun, Marc hatte andere Pläne. Er wollte nicht mit einer Harley-Davidson auf der Route 66 fahren. Nein! Er wollte es auf einem BMW-Motorrad machen, das in Deutschland einen lustigen Namen hat. Wir nennen es „Gummikuh“! Durch die Kardanwelle
Beim Beschleunigen des Hinterrads ist die Fahrdynamik bei BMW-Motorrädern anders als bei Motorrädern mit Kette. Beim Beschleunigen hebt sie ihren Hintern wie eine geile Kuh.
Für die meisten Menschen mag es normal erscheinen, mit einer Harley-Davidson die Route 66 entlangzufahren, aber für Marc wäre es immer eine „Gummikuh“. Meine Schwester lächelte, als sie an die schöne Erinnerung dachte und wie dankbar sie war, diese Geschichte teilen zu dürfen, ihren Mann zu kennen und so eine tolle Zeit mit ihm gehabt zu haben.
Außerdem kam Marcs Sohn, um meine Schwester zu besuchen. Er fährt Mountainbike, was meine Schwester an den Unfall ihres Mannes beim Mountainbiken mit seinem Sohn erinnerte. Er stürzte vom Fahrrad, schlug sich den Kopf und brach sich viele Zähne. Anschließend mussten ihm viele Zähne ersetzt werden. Ehrlich gesagt waren Marcs Zähne schon vor dem Unfall ziemlich schief. Marcs neue Zähne waren so gerade und sahen wunderschön aus. Marc erzählte immer wieder, was nach dem Unfall passierte: „Mir hätte nichts Besseres passieren können als dieser Unfall, weil ich nie gedacht hätte, dass ich so schöne Zähne haben würde.“ Nachdem Petra diese Geschichte erzählt hatte, lachten alle wieder! Wir waren wirklich dankbar dafür, wie sie sich an diese Geschichte erinnerte und wie er uns zum Lachen brachte!
Ich hatte erwartet, drei oder vier Tage bei meiner Schwester zu verbringen, bevor wir ihn zum Friedhof trugen, aber am Ende waren es zwei Wochen. Für den Transport seines Leichnams von Kroatien nach Deutschland musste viel Papierkram erledigt werden. Nach etwa zehn Tagen kam er dort an. Mittlerweile haben wir alles organisiert. Zum Beispiel eine Anzeige in der Lokalzeitung.
Marc kümmerte sich auch um viele Dinge, die sonst niemand erledigte, wie zum Beispiel Online-Banking, Schlüsselorganisation, Bankzugang und Geldverwaltung. Als Petra nach Hause kam, hatte sie keine Ahnung, wo ihr Mann das Zeug aufbewahrte. Es ging auch um seinen Willen. Petra wusste, dass er eines geschrieben hatte, aber sie wusste nicht, wo er es aufbewahrte. Also rief sie ihren Anwalt an, doch der Anwalt wusste nichts davon. Wir suchten weiter danach, konnten es aber nicht finden.
In der Zwischenzeit trafen wir alle Vorbereitungen für die Beerdigung und ich fuhr sie herum, um Lebensmittel und andere Notwendigkeiten zu besorgen. Eines Tages, als wir vom Einkaufen nach Hause kamen und die Lebensmittel in den Kühlschrank stellten, sah meine Schwester eine Plastiktüte im Kühlschrank.
Neugierig schaute sie in die Plastiktüte und fand darin alle Zugangscodes, Schlüssel und andere Dinge, die ein Einbrecher beim Versuch, in das Haus einzubrechen, nicht finden sollte. Marc hat es in den Kühlschrank gestellt! Also machte er Pläne für alles und sorgte dafür, dass seine Frau alles hatte, was sie brauchte, falls so etwas passieren sollte. Das war ein kluger Schachzug von ihm, nicht wahr?
Meine Schwester verspürte eine weitere Welle der Dankbarkeit. Marc war Beamter bei der Deutschen Post. Also gingen wir dorthin und fragten: „Könnte er sein Testament hier behalten?“ Sie ließen uns an seinem Schreibtisch sitzen. Unter der Beobachtung eines Postangestellten durchsuchte Petra seinen Schreibtisch und durchsuchte Ordner und Akten. Schließlich fand sie einen Umschlag mit der Aufschrift „Letzter Wille“. Auch hier hatte er alles so gut organisiert und meine Schwester war sehr dankbar für die vorausschauende Denkweise ihres Mannes.
Später in dieser Woche trafen wir uns mit Marcs Sohn und seiner Ex-Frau, um gemeinsam das Testament zu lesen. Als nun andere Leute kamen, um meine Schwester zu trösten, hätte sie zwei weitere Geschichten darüber erzählen können, was Marc für sie getan hatte, aber sie erzählte immer noch die gleiche Geschichte: wie er starb.
Während dieser Zeit begann ich zu erkennen, wie Dankbarkeit helfen kann, Traurigkeit zu überwinden. Dankbarkeit ist das Gegenteil von Angst, hilft aber auch, wenn man traurig ist. Angst und Dankbarkeit sind zwei Seiten derselben Medaille: Wer Angst hat, kann nicht gleichzeitig dankbar sein.
Wenn Sie dankbar sind, können Sie keine Angst haben
Mittlerweile beweist das, was ich hier auf Bali sehe, dass dies wahr ist. Die gute Nachricht ist, dass Sie üben können, dankbar zu sein. Möchten Sie lernen, wie es geht?
Dann möchte ich Ihnen eine Geschichte über die Hindus auf Bali erzählen. Die Balinesen haben in jedem ihrer Häuser und in jeder Straße einen kleinen Tempel. Und sie haben Tempel in jedem Haus. Nun ja, es gibt so viele Tempel, dass man gar nicht den Überblick behalten kann! Balinesische Hindus zünden Weihrauch an, beten, meditieren, zeigen Dankbarkeit und teilen einige Opfergaben im Rahmen einer kleinen Zeremonie, die sie dreimal täglich durchführen. Sie legen die Opfergaben in ihren Tempel und verbrennen Räucherwerk, damit es gut duftet. Das Erstaunlichste für mich ist, wie sich die Balinesen nach dieser Zeremonie fühlen.
Die erste Zeremonie findet am Morgen statt und wenn Sie durch die Straßen schlendern oder einen Markt besuchen, werden Sie alle Balinesen lächeln sehen. Sie sind gerade von der Zeremonie zurückgekehrt und nehmen Blickkontakt auf. Das steht im krassen Gegensatz zu den Deutschen! Wenn in Deutschland jemand aus der Gegenrichtung kommt und ich guten Morgen sagen möchte, schaut er immer weg, sobald er bemerkt, dass ich ihn ansehe, und tut so, als würde er mich nicht sehen!
Nachdem Sie gesehen haben, wie die Balinesen auf Bali versuchen, Augenkontakt herzustellen, werden sie Ihnen das breiteste Lächeln schenken, das Sie sich vorstellen können. Und es ist dasselbe wie geteilte Liebe; Es ist wie eine Glückstherapie! Mir gefällt, wie die Balinesen das machen. Ich habe bereits gesagt, dass Sie sich selbst beibringen können, dankbar zu sein und Dankbarkeit als eine Ihrer Hauptemotionen zu empfinden. Lassen Sie mich erklären, wie:
Der einfachste Weg, dies zu lernen, ist, jeden Morgen fünf Dinge aufzuschreiben, für die Sie dankbar sind. „The Gratitude Challenge“ von Deepak Chopra ist eine großartige Möglichkeit, sich daran zu gewöhnen, dankbar zu sein. Es gibt 30 Tage, in denen
Sie praktizieren jeden Morgen Dankbarkeitsmeditationen, die eine Gewohnheit der Dankbarkeitspraxis in Ihrem Kopf aufbauen und diese unbewusst verkörpern ...
Deshalb möchte ich, dass Sie sich dieser Herausforderung anschließen. Es wird Ihren Geist stärken und Ihre Ängste, Sorgen und sogar Traurigkeit reduzieren.
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
Registrieren Sie sich auf der Websitehttps://i-love-bali.com/
für die Dankbarkeitsmeditationen.
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Was ist eine Workation?
Wie wir bereits sagten, ist es eine Mischung aus „Arbeit“ und „Urlaub“. Der Begriff
„Arbeiten im Urlaub“ oder „Arbeiten auf Reisen“ wird üblicherweise als Bezeichnung für eine „Workation“ verwendet. „Digitale Nomaden“ sind Menschen, die dies ständig tun.
Was sind digitale Nomaden?
Ein digitaler Nomade ist jemand, der sein Unternehmen von jedem Ort aus führen kann, weil er es digitalisiert hat. So können Sie auf Reisen oder in einem anderen Land arbeiten. Diese Art der Unternehmensführung ist eine sehr befreiende und einfache Art zu arbeiten und zu leben. Die meisten Arbeitgeber mögen es nicht, wenn Sie aus der Ferne arbeiten, weil sie Sie gerne im Auge behalten. Sie möchten, dass Sie für den Rest Ihres Lebens auf ihrem Schoß sitzen.
Während Ihrer Arbeitszeit möchte Ihr Arbeitgeber sehen, was Sie tun, sofortige Ergebnisse erzielen und Sie kontaktieren, wenn etwas schief geht. Aber in letzter Zeit haben sich die Dinge geändert und die Situationen haben sich weiterentwickelt.
Aufgrund der Pandemie begannen viele Menschen, online zu arbeiten. Viele Menschen nutzten die Zeit, in der alle im Lockdown waren, um zu lernen, wie man von zu Hause aus Geld verdienen kann. Heutzutage sind die Menschen viel aufgeschlossener gegenüber der Idee, von zu Hause aus zu arbeiten. Wenn Sie also ein Angestellter sind, können Sie Ihrem Chef heute sagen: „Ich möchte reisen und meine Arbeit aus der Ferne erledigen.“
Allerdings sind die meisten Arbeitgeber noch nicht daran interessiert, dies zuzulassen. Die meisten Arbeitgeber mögen es nicht, wenn Sie von zu Hause aus arbeiten, weil sie nicht nachverfolgen können, wie viele Stunden Sie arbeiten. Durch Drücken Ihres Fingerabdrucks am Zeitautomaten oder Scannen Ihres Mitarbeiterausweises beim Ein- und Ausstempeln kann Ihr Arbeitgeber sehen, wie viele Stunden Sie arbeiten. Arbeitgeber sind nicht daran interessiert, dass Sie von zu Hause aus arbeiten, weil sie wissen, dass es schwieriger sein wird, Sie bei der Arbeit zu halten, wenn Sie aus der Ferne arbeiten.
Anstatt also stundenweise bezahlt zu werden, sollten Sie mit Ihrem Chef darüber sprechen, wie viel Sie für Ihre Arbeit auf der Grundlage Ihrer Arbeitsergebnisse erhalten werden ... Auf lange Sicht ist dies die bessere Wahl für Sie. Wenn Sie stundenweise bezahlt werden, profitiert Ihr Arbeitgeber nur davon, dass Sie produktiver und effizienter sind. Das liegt daran, dass Sie zwar bessere Ergebnisse erzielen, was Ihnen ein Gefühl der Arbeitszufriedenheit gibt, Ihr Arbeitgeber aber der Einzige ist, der finanziell davon profitiert.
Sie und Ihr Chef profitieren gemeinsam von der Bezahlung für Ergebnisse. Ich denke, das ist eine fairere Regelung, als stundenweise bezahlt zu werden, stimmst du zu? Digitale Nomaden arbeiten als Freiberufler, Selbstständige, Angestellte, Unternehmer oder Investoren, um ihren Lebensunterhalt zu verdienen. Doch die meisten von ihnen haben noch einen langen Weg vor sich, bis sie sich wirklich „digitale Nomaden“ nennen und die Welt bereisen und dabei am Laptop arbeiten können.
Aktivitäten am Arbeitsplatz in Bali
Kurz nach Sonnenaufgang trieben viele von uns Sport oder surften am nahegelegenen Strand. Nach unserer Morgengymnastik trafen wir uns alle zum Frühstück. Dann holten fast alle ihre Laptops hervor und fingen an zu arbeiten.
Überraschenderweise nutzten alle digitalen Nomaden Apple Macbooks. Zu diesem Zeitpunkt wurde Microsoft Edge zum Standardbrowser für das Windows-Betriebssystem, der nicht deinstalliert oder sogar vollständig deaktiviert werden konnte. Es verhielt sich wie eine Wasserleiche und tauchte immer wieder auf. Vor allem dann, wenn Sie es am wenigsten brauchen. Das war für mich ein Grund, nicht mehr mit Windows zu arbeiten.
Ich habe mir auch ein gebrauchtes MacBook gekauft, bevor ich zur Arbeit ging. Aber der Schmerz, den ich durch die Migration hatte, war das fast auf den Kopf gestellte Verhalten, unterschiedliche Tastatur- und Desktop-Layouts. Außerdem waren die Tastenkombinationen, die nicht mehr funktionierten, so nervig, dass ich bald bereute, was ich getan hatte. Ich hatte das Gefühl, dass sich meine Arbeitsgeschwindigkeit um 80 % verlangsamte. Was für jemanden wie mich ein fast unerträglicher Schmerz ist. Ich glaube, ich habe bereits erwähnt, dass Geduld nicht zu meinen Stärken gehört!
Jetzt verstehe ich, warum der angebissene Apfel das Symbol der Vertreibung aus dem Paradies ist. Lustigerweise erfuhr ich später, dass die Buddhisten behaupteten, Steve habe darüber nachgedacht, Buddhist zu werden. Wahrscheinlich aufgrund seiner Einsicht in den Schmerz, den er durch diese Fehlkonstruktionen verursachte: Im Paradies war kein Platz mehr für ihn.
In der Arbeitsgruppe waren 12 Personen tätig, die alle in unterschiedlichen Bereichen arbeiteten. Einer von ihnen nutzte beispielsweise einen Dienst namens Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon). Wenn Sie diesen Service nutzen möchten, können Sie Produkte aus anderen Ländern wie China kaufen und diese direkt an ein Amazon-Lager an einen beliebigen Ort auf der Welt liefern lassen. Meistens sieht man gar nicht, was man verkauft. Es geht direkt von China dorthin, wo Sie es verkaufen möchten.
Sie wählen einfach den Standort aus, an dem sich Ihr Produkt voraussichtlich gut verkaufen wird. Dann kümmert sich der FBA-Service von Amazon um alles Weitere, wie Bestellabwicklung, Versand, Verpackung, Retouren und Rückerstattungen. FBA ist ein Geschäftsmodell, bei dem Sie es lediglich vermarkten und sicherstellen müssen, dass Ihr Amazon-Shop ein gutes Ranking hat und viel Verkehr erhält.
Eine weitere Person am Arbeitsplatz war Spezialist für Optimierung
Amazon-Angebote. Er half Menschen, die bereits Produkte auf Amazon hatten. Also diejenigen, die FBA gemacht haben. Sein Hauptaugenmerk lag darauf, dafür zu sorgen, dass Produkte in den Amazon-Suchergebnissen gut ranken. Um Verkäufe zu generieren und Bewertungen zu erhalten, half er beim Aufbau. Während der gesamten Arbeit unterstützte er weiterhin andere.
Ein Teilnehmer schrieb Blogs und fügte Google AdWords-Links hinzu. Ihre Website verfügt über Affiliate-Links und sie erhält eine kleine Provision, wenn jemand auf die Anzeigen klickt. Personen, die Affiliate-Links auf ihren Websites platzieren, werden vom Eigentümer der Linkseite für jeden Klick auf die Anzeige bezahlt.
Ein Blog-Autor muss wissen, wie er seine Website suchmaschinenoptimiert. Um mit diesem Geschäftsmodell Geld zu verdienen, müssen Sie jedoch viele Leute dazu bringen, die Website zu besuchen und auf den Affiliate-Link zu klicken, da die Pay-per-Click-Provision niedrig ist. Um viel Geld zu verdienen, braucht man viele Klicks!
Mastermind
Eine Workation ist wie die Mitgliedschaft in einer Mastermind-Gruppe oder dem, was manche Leute als Brain Trust bezeichnen. Sie besteht aus Menschen, die sich gegenseitig unterstützen, die gleichen Werte teilen und die gleichen Ziele erreichen wollen. Als ich arbeitete, war es das Ziel eines jeden, seine unternehmerischen Fähigkeiten zu verbessern. Wir wollten auch lernen, wie wir die Freiheit, die das Leben als digitaler Nomade mit sich bringt, optimal nutzen können.
Wir sprachen über Reisetipps, wohin man reisen sollte, mögliche Visa-Probleme und andere Dinge. Aber wir waren alle hauptsächlich da, um Geschäftsideen und Tipps auszutauschen. Wir sprachen darüber, wie wir unsere Unternehmen führten, und entwickelten Möglichkeiten, sie zu verbessern, umzusetzen und dafür zu sorgen, dass sie besser funktionieren. Wir haben uns auch gegenseitig viele Anregungen für Seminare gegeben, auf die ich in einem anderen Kapitel eingehen werde.
Bei einer Workation profitieren alle davon, voneinander zu lernen. Sie fragen sich vielleicht: Wenn wir uns gegenseitig kopieren, würde das nicht irgendwann zum gleichen Geschäftsmodell führen und uns in Konkurrenz setzen? Die kurze Antwort darauf lautet:
„Im Allgemeinen...ja.“ Wenn Sie jedoch von jemand anderem lernen möchten, werden Sie wahrscheinlich viele Abschreibfehler machen, die überhaupt keine Fehler sind. Aber das sind eher Möglichkeiten, seine Persönlichkeit zu zeigen. Ihr Unternehmen wird niemals dasselbe sein wie das eines anderen. Ihre Persönlichkeit wird immer durchscheinen, und das ist gut so.
Nehmen wir an, Sie kopieren die Idee und das Geschäftsmodell eines Immobilienmaklers, aber dieses Geschäftsmodell gefällt Ihnen nicht einmal. Realistisch gesehen wird Ihr Immobiliengeschäft nicht so funktionieren wie seines, weil Sie es nur als seelenlose Geldmaschine betrachten. Das wird Sie auf lange Sicht nicht erfüllen, weil Sie nicht das tun, wofür Sie leidenschaftlich sind, und gegen Ihre Werte arbeiten.
Da dieses Geschäft auf eine Weise funktioniert, die Sie nicht wertschätzen möchten, wird es früher oder später zu einem Burnout führen. Mein Gesundheitszustand
Es wurde noch schlimmer, als ich kurz nach dem Starten von Rooms4Music einen Burnout hatte. Denken Sie daran: Wenn Sie ein Unternehmen gründen, müssen Sie zunächst viel Arbeit investieren. Sie werden immer Energie verlieren, wenn Ihr Unternehmen nicht Ihre Leidenschaft oder Ihre Werte widerspiegelt.
Allerdings haben Sie die Möglichkeit, mehr oder weniger dauerhaft zu arbeiten, wenn Sie Ihre Leidenschaft kennen, Ihre Werte kennen und Ihr Unternehmen danach ausrichten. Wenn man sich mit Leidenschaft für sein Geschäft engagiert, ist man meiner Erfahrung nach in etwa 80 % der Fälle im Flow; Wenn du im Flow bist, kostet dich das keine Energie, es gibt dir mehr Energie!
Wie funktionieren digitale Nomaden?
Einer der digitalen Nomaden verkaufte seine Dienste auf freelancer.com, einer Website für Menschen, die selbstständig arbeiten und von anderen eingestellt werden. Menschen, die seine Dienste kaufen, geben ihm ihre Arbeit. Neben freelancer.com gibt es noch andere Orte, an denen man Dienstleistungen bestellen kann.
Fiverr.com ist ein weiteres Beispiel. Auf Fiverr können Sie Dienstleistungen von einer Vielzahl unterschiedlicher Experten erwerben. Bei Fiverr können Sie ein breites Spektrum an Dienstleistungen bestellen, wie z. B. Suchmaschinenoptimierung, Grafikdesign, Bildbearbeitung, Werbung, Übersetzung, Website-Erstellung und Automatisierungsdienste.
Die meisten Menschen, die auf diesen Websites Dienste anbieten, kommen aus Ländern mit niedrigem Einkommen in Asien. Das bedeutet, dass ihre Dienste in der Regel recht günstig sind. Wenn Sie Dienstleistungen aus Asien bestellen und Ihr Unternehmen in einem westlichen Hochpreisland ansässig ist, erhalten Sie eine gute Marge auf die für Ihr Unternehmen geleistete Arbeit.
Hören Sie mir jetzt gut zu: Ich muss Sie warnen: Viele der Dienste auf Fiverr sind von sehr geringer Qualität! Wenn Sie Fiverr-Verkäufern Arbeit geben möchten, empfehle ich Ihnen, etwa 5 Testauftritte mit den gleichen Anforderungen zu bestellen. Wählen Sie diejenigen mit vielen guten Bewertungen, auch wenn diese oft sehr beschäftigt sind und Ihrer Bestellung nicht die volle Aufmerksamkeit schenken.
Oder geben Sie neuen Verkäufern eine Chance! Wenn Sie neue Verkäufer ohne viele Bewertungen auswählen, finden Sie möglicherweise hochmotivierte Leute mit guter Verfügbarkeit. Wenn sie jedoch ein paar Bewertungen haben, lesen Sie diese, und wenn sie unrealistisch positiv sind, möchten Sie vielleicht einen genaueren Blick darauf werfen. Wenn Sie jedoch der Meinung sind, dass die Bewertungen falsch sind, bestellen Sie nicht dort! Wenn Sie Ihrer Intuition vertrauen, werden Sie herausfinden, wer für Sie gut funktioniert.
Ihre Gefühle können Ihnen helfen, mehr über gute Dienstleistungen und die gewünschten Ergebnisse zu erfahren. Auf diese Weise können Sie die richtigen Leute für Ihr Unternehmen einstellen und deren Dienste bei Bedarf nutzen. Dasselbe würde ich auch empfehlen, wenn Sie noch Angestellter sind. Sie sollten mit Ihrem Chef vereinbaren, dass Sie für die erzielten Ergebnisse und nicht stündlich bezahlt werden.
Westliche Arbeitnehmer erwarten jedoch in der Regel einen Stundenlohn. Wenn Sie sie stundenweise bezahlen und sie nicht beschäftigen können, sitzen sie einfach herum und tun nichts für Sie, während sie trotzdem bezahlt werden. Daher ist es eine clevere Möglichkeit, nur für Ergebnisse zu zahlen und Websites für Freiberufler zu nutzen, um die Personalkosten zu senken und die Arbeitskosten niedrig zu halten, indem nur dann Kosten anfallen, wenn Arbeit erforderlich ist ...
Erkenntnisse aus der Arbeit
Meine wichtigste Erfahrung ist, dass der Austausch von Wissen eine großartige Möglichkeit ist, Ihre geschäftlichen und persönlichen Fähigkeiten zu verbessern. Sehen Sie, es war eine gute Möglichkeit, meinen Reisehorizont zu erweitern. Beim Austausch von Reisetipps und Erfahrungen als digitaler Nomade erfuhren wir, welche Länder wir besuchen sollten und wo die besten Orte sind.
Während einer Arbeit ist das Kopieren nicht verboten. Ich empfehle Ihnen dringend, die Ideen anderer Leute zu kopieren, denn Sie haben den Beweis, dass das Konzept funktioniert. Sie müssen sich keine Sorgen machen, dass sich Ihr Unternehmen genauso entwickelt wie das Unternehmen, von dem Sie lernen. Das liegt daran, dass Sie immer Fehler machen werden und diese Fehler Ihre Persönlichkeit widerspiegeln.
Darüber hinaus sind Sie stets bestrebt, die vorgestellten Ideen zu verbessern. So bringen Sie mehr von Ihrer Persönlichkeit in Ihr Unternehmen. Ich bin mir sicher, dass Sie inzwischen verstanden haben, dass es umso besser wird, je mehr Persönlichkeit Sie in Ihr Unternehmen einbringen, oder? Stellen Sie sicher, dass Sie die Idee auf eine Weise kopieren, die Ihren Werten und Leidenschaften entspricht.
Wenn Sie versuchen möchten, Ihr Unternehmen dorthin zu bringen, wo es hingehört, lagern Sie alle Aufgaben oder Pflichten, die Ihnen nicht gefallen, an Fiverr, einen Spezialisten oder sogar einen Lieferanten aus. Wenn Sie beispielsweise mit Ihrem Lager ein Unternehmen betreiben und Ihre Produkte selbst an Kunden versenden, aber Verpackung, Versand und Rechnungsstellung hassen, sollten Sie den Fulfillment-Service von Amazon in Betracht ziehen.
Sie können Ihre Produkte an ihre Lager schicken und sie können sich um alles kümmern, was Ihnen nicht gefällt. Ihre einzige Sorge wird darin bestehen, Produkte zu finden. Wenn Ihre Leidenschaft die Beschaffung hochwertiger, gefragter Produkte mit hohen Margen ist, empfehle ich Ihnen dringend, dieses Geschäftsmodell zu nutzen.
Mein Rat hier wäre jedoch, nur das zu beschaffen, was gefragt ist. Sie werden immer in der Lage sein, die Bedürfnisse Ihrer Kunden zu erfüllen, solange Sie Ihre Kunden mehr lieben als Ihr Produkt. Es ist üblich, dass Selbstständige oder Unternehmer nur Produkte kaufen, für die sie eine Leidenschaft haben.
Können Sie erkennen, dass sie dadurch ihre Produkte mehr lieben als ihre Kunden? Ja! Am Ende sind Sie ständig auf der Jagd nach Kunden! Wenn Sie ständig dem Geld nachjagen und gegen Ihre Werte und Leidenschaft arbeiten, werden Sie früher oder später ausbrennen.
Burnout ist eine schreckliche Erfahrung. Es entzieht Ihrem Körper viel Energie. Ich habe es durchgemacht und es war ein ziemlich schreckliches Gefühl. Ich werde erklären, wie ich krank wurde, wie ich erkannte, was falsch war und wer mir geholfen hat, es zu überwinden, und später werde ich im Detail verraten, wie ich meine Leidenschaft zum Beruf gemacht habe.
Reduzieren Sie Lebenshaltungskosten und Steuern
Als digitaler Nomade haben Sie die Wahl, im Ausland in einem günstigen Land zu leben. Der wichtigste Vorteil besteht darin, dass Sie viel schneller finanziellen Schutz, finanzielle Sicherheit und finanzielle Freiheit erreichen können, wenn Sie Ihre Dienstleistung weiterhin in einem Hochkostenland verkaufen. Es ist ein einzigartiges und entspannendes Gefühl, dies erreichen zu können. Später werde ich näher darauf eingehen, was finanzielle Absicherung, Sicherheit und finanzielle Freiheit bedeuten. Es ist mehr oder weniger die materielle Seite des Überflusses.
Wenn Sie im Ausland in einem Niedrigsteuerland leben, können Sie möglicherweise auch einige Steuererleichterungen und Steuervorteile erhalten. Der Umzug in ein Land mit niedrigen Steuersätzen kann ein großer Schritt sein, und dafür gibt es mehrere Möglichkeiten. Der erste Weg besteht darin, den Einwanderungsprozess zu durchlaufen, der normalerweise schwierig ist und viel Zeit in Anspruch nimmt.
Die andere Möglichkeit besteht darin, dass einige Länder Programme haben, die es Ihnen ermöglichen, einen Reisepass zu erhalten, wenn Sie dort investieren. Mit diesem Reisepass können Sie eine örtliche Aufenthaltsgenehmigung beantragen, dort Ihr Unternehmen bzw. Ihren ersten Wohnsitz anmelden und Ihren Wohnsitz in Ihrem Heimatland beenden. So vermeiden Sie Steuern in Ihrem Heimatland.
Es ist auch möglich, überhaupt keinen Wohnsitz zu haben. Dann kann kein Staat Steuern auf Ihr Einkommen erheben. Dies ist jedoch ein kniffliger Prozess mit vielen Fallstricken, der sorgfältig durchdacht werden muss. Und natürlich wird Ihr Unternehmen in dem Land besteuert, in dem es registriert ist. Wie auch immer, finden Sie Ihr „Bali“!
Geistiges Eigentum ist ein Fehler
Natürlich ist das, was ich Ihnen heute erzähle, nicht nur meine Idee. Und was auch immer ich Ihnen sage, wenn ich Ihnen nur meine Ideen erzählen würde, wäre dieser Leitfaden sehr, sehr kurz! Ja, 90 % oder sogar mehr von dem, was ich Ihnen erzähle und was ich hier teile, ist das Wissen, das ich von anderen Menschen gelernt habe. Und diese anderen Menschen teilten auch 90 % oder sogar mehr von dem, was sie von anderen Menschen gelernt hatten. Und diese anderen Leute...
Können Sie sich vorstellen, wie die Geschichte weitergeht? Ja! Der größte Teil der Weisheit, die wir heute auf der Welt sehen, stammt aus der Steinzeit! Ehrlich gesagt... eigentlich alles, denn all das Wissen, das wir heute haben, ist schon ewig da! Es wird im Universum im unendlichen Informationsfeld gespeichert.
Heutzutage denken die Leute: „Wenn ich eine Idee habe und sie veröffentliche, ist es meine Idee.“ Es ist mein geistiges Eigentum. Der Staat sollte mir helfen, sie zu schützen. Und ich muss sie beschützen! Und ich möchte es nicht öffentlich teilen!“ Zumindest wenn ich es öffentlich teile, ist es anderen Leuten nicht gestattet, es zu verwenden oder weiterzuverkaufen.
Ich denke, das ist Unsinn. Das ist völliger Unsinn, weil es die Entwicklungsgeschwindigkeit verlangsamt. Es verringert das Bewusstsein anderer Menschen. Geistiges Eigentum ist ein Hindernis für die weitere Entwicklung. Und deshalb gefällt mir die Idee nicht. Eigentlich denke ich, dass geistiges Eigentum so ist, als würden zwei Flöhe auf einem Hund leben und darüber feilschen, wem der Hund gehört. Der Hund ist für beide da, auch wenn er wahrscheinlich noch mehr Flöhe hat!
Es gibt also keinen Zuwachs an verfügbaren Informationen. Sie war immer da und wird immer da sein. Das Einzige, was wächst, ist unser Bewusstsein dafür. Unser Bewusstsein und unsere Wahrnehmung neuer Informationen. Aber die Information selbst war schon immer da und wird immer da sein. Aber leider schreitet die Bewusstseinsbildung meiner Meinung nach viel zu langsam voran!
Und Diskussionen über geistiges Eigentum verursachen dieses Problem. Sie sehen, die Steigerung des Bewusstseins ist eine E-Funktion. Viele Menschen beschweren sich heute darüber, dass der Wandel so schnell voranschreitet. Ich denke, das liegt daran, dass es eine E-Funktion ist. Der Prozentsatz, um den es im Durchschnitt jedes Jahr wächst, ist ziemlich gleich. Die Menschen waren schon immer davon gestresst. Ich vermute, seit der Steinzeit.
Sehen Sie, der Sohn sagte in der Steinzeit zu seinem Vater: „Erinnerst du dich, als Opa einen Hasen gefangen hat? Er musste die Haut mit den Händen abziehen, weil er kein Werkzeug hatte! Und dann hast du dieses scharfe gefunden-“ scharfkantiger Feuerstein, und du hast damit ganz einfach die Haut des Kaninchens aufschneiden können! Und außerdem hast du herausgefunden, wie man damit Feuer macht! War das nicht eine Revolution? Heute habe ich dieses Metallmesser und kann es problemlos Schneiden Sie das Kaninchen auf, das wir gefangen haben. Und dank des Feuersteins können wir ein Feuer anzünden und grillen.
Mein Gott, ich bin so gestresst von der Geschwindigkeit des Wandels.“
Verstehst du den Punkt? Ja, es ist immer noch dasselbe. Die Geschwindigkeit, mit der das Bewusstsein wächst, ist wahrscheinlich immer noch dieselbe wie in der Steinzeit. Wir fangen gerade erst auf einem höheren Niveau an. Wir kennen mehr Informationen, wir kennen mehr Fakten und physikalische Gesetze und einige von uns wissen sogar etwas über Quanten- oder Metaphysik. Ja, aber alles Wissen hat schon immer existiert und wird immer existieren. Es gibt also keine Verbreitung und vor allem keinen Bedarf an geistigem Eigentum.
Exzellente Modellierung
Das Wiederverwenden von bereits Vorhandenem und das Zusammenfügen zu einer neuen Kombination nennt man „Modeling of Excellence“. Ich möchte Sie dazu ermutigen. Wenn Sie also von jemandem lernen können, der eine gute Strategie, eine gute Methode oder eine gute Idee hat, kopieren Sie ihn. Setzen Sie einige Ihrer neuen Ideen ein und verleihen Sie ihm Ihren Charakter. Das ist einfach ein Quantensprung. Und es gibt ein sehr häufiges und großes Missverständnis über den Quantensprung. Viele halten es für einen großen Schritt, eine revolutionäre Erfindung. Aber das ist es nicht. Ein Quantensprung ist die kleinstmögliche Erhöhung des Energieniveaus, das ist alles!
Ich denke, der Eigentümer eines geistigen Eigentums sollte kein ausschließliches Recht haben, es zu verkaufen. Aber jeder sollte die Möglichkeit haben, diese Informationen zu nutzen und weiterzugeben. Wer darauf aufbauend die besten Produkte und Dienstleistungen kreiert und damit seinen Kunden den größten Nutzen bietet, sollte davon profitieren und am meisten verdienen! Modellieren, kopieren und personalisieren Sie also weiter. Schaffen Sie den bestmöglichen Service, das bestmögliche Produkt oder die bestmögliche Information für Ihre Kunden.
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
- Was sind Ihre wichtigsten Erkenntnisse aus diesem Kapitel?
- Wie werden Sie sie in Ihr Leben integrieren?
Selbst und ständig arbeiten
Auf Deutsch sagen wir „Selbstständig = selbstständig und ständig arbeiten“. Das bedeutet „selbständig und dauerhaft arbeiten“.
Mein Schwager Marc hat diesen Satz ziemlich häufig verwendet. Nun, er war Sicherheitsingenieur bei der Deutschen Post und brachte den Mitarbeitern bei, wie man Unfälle vermeidet. Er musste Regeln und Vorschriften anwenden. Darüber hinaus musste er weitere Regeln und Vorschriften befolgen.
Aber im Grunde war er ein kreativer Kopf auf der Suche nach Abenteuern. Er fuhr weiterhin Motorrad und träumte davon, die Route 66 zu fahren. Und er wollte ein Individuum sein: Er wollte keine Harley Davidson fahren; Er träumte davon, auf einer Gummikuh zu reiten! Eine Gummikuh, wie wir sie in Deutschland nennen, ist der Spitzname für ein deutsches BMW-Motorrad.
Er muss innerlich unter den Regeln und Vorschriften gelitten haben, die er anderen beibringen und bei seiner Arbeit einhalten musste. Seine Seele suchte nach Abenteuer, Freiheit und Individualismus. Bei der Arbeit musste er die Menschen vereinen und sie dazu bringen, alle Regeln und Vorschriften einzuhalten, um Unfälle zu vermeiden.
Einmal wäre er bei einer nächtlichen Motorradfahrt beinahe mit einem Reh verunglückt. Deshalb dachte er leidenschaftlich: „Wie können wir Unfälle mit Rehen vermeiden, wenn wir nachts mit dem Auto fahren?“ Und er hatte eine Idee. Er hat gehört, dass viele Tiere Ultraschalltöne hören können. Er dachte an ein Ultraschallgerät, das Hirsche oder andere Tiere wie Hunde warnen würde. Sie hören das Auto aus der Ferne kommen und rennen von der Straße weg.
Er erzählte mir immer wieder von dieser Idee und recherchierte darüber. Aber er suchte nicht nach einer technischen Lösung. Er recherchierte, ob etwas Ähnliches patentiert worden sei. Also recherchierte er wie von der Arbeit aus über die Regeln und Vorschriften
war es gewohnt. Leider hat er nie angefangen. Dann kam ihm der Gedanke,
„Selbstständig“ zu sein bedeutete, dauerhaft selbstständig zu sein, was ihn daran hinderte, überhaupt damit anzufangen.
„Selbstständig und kontinuierlich arbeiten“ ist für Selbstständige oft die Wahrheit. Aber Sie haben immer die Wahl, wie Sie Ihre Arbeit und Ihr Unternehmertum organisieren. Entweder du wächst und entwickelst dich und machst aus deiner Selbstständigkeit ein Unternehmen, oder du bleibst stecken und machst weiterhin alles selbst. Ich möchte Sie ermutigen, den Schritt von der Selbstständigkeit zum Unternehmer mit eigenem Unternehmen zu wagen. Ein Geschäftsinhaber hat Menschen, die mit Leidenschaft Aufgaben für ihn erledigen, während er das Unternehmen zu einem lernenden Unternehmen entwickelt. Dieser Weg wird in den folgenden Kapiteln ausführlich beschrieben. Lesen Sie also weiter, wie Sie Ihr Unternehmen transformieren können.
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
- Was sind Ihre wichtigsten Erkenntnisse aus diesem Kapitel?
- Wie werden Sie sie in Ihr Leben integrieren?
Der dunkelste Punkt meines Lebens
Ich möchte Ihnen die Geschichte des dunkelsten Punktes in meinem Leben erzählen, der durch Überregulierung verursacht wurde. Ich werde Ihnen auch erzählen, was ich daraus gelernt habe. Wir alle kämpfen mit den Höhen und Tiefen des Lebens. Sie können sich wahrscheinlich an die dunkelste Zeit Ihres Lebens erinnern. Können Sie darüber nachdenken? Nun ja, das können Sie wahrscheinlich. Vielleicht macht es dich auch ein bisschen traurig. Ja, zumindest macht es mich traurig, wenn ich an meines denke.
Es war das Jahr 1998. Ich war in eine Frau verliebt und wir beschlossen zu heiraten. Ein Jahr später kam unser erstes Kind zur Welt. Klar, meine Ex-Frau und ich hatten am Anfang große Liebe zueinander. Mir wurde jedoch klar, dass ich mir die Lebenshaltungskosten, die eine Heirat und ein Kind mit sich bringen würden, nicht leisten konnte. Dadurch hatte ich das Gefühl, in einem Zustand der Entbehrung zu leben.
Mir wurde auch klar, dass sie nicht die Richtige für mich war. Aufgrund des Eheversprechens und der Verantwortung für das Kind kam eine Scheidung für mich nicht in Frage. Deshalb habe ich es überhaupt vermieden, darüber nachzudenken. Infolgedessen blieb ich in einer Knappheitsmentalität.
Wir trafen uns und lebten in einer kleinen Stadt namens Marburg, einer Studentenstadt. Etwa ein Drittel der Bevölkerung sind Studenten. Es ist eine schöne Stadt und die Preise sind angemessen, so dass wir dort ganz bequem von unserem Einkommen leben können.
München statt Kalifornien
Zu diesem Zeitpunkt hatte ich ein Arbeitsvisum für den Umzug nach Irvine, Orange County, südlich von Los Angeles, parat. Ich wollte für meinen Job von Deutschland nach Kalifornien ziehen. Allerdings galt das Visum nur für mich, nicht für meine Frau. Wir konnten also nicht gemeinsam in die USA ziehen. Stattdessen wurde ich von der Firma, für die ich arbeitete, nach München versetzt. Also zogen wir nach München. Ja, wir haben unsere bescheidenen Lebenshaltungskosten in Marburg, einer kleinen Studentenstadt, gegen eine der teuersten Städte Deutschlands getauscht! Damals war München nach Düsseldorf und Hamburg die drittteuerste Stadt Deutschlands!
Dadurch versank ich immer tiefer im Knappheitsdenken. Und von da an wurde es noch schlimmer! Meine Frau wurde krank und verlor ihren Job, und ich wurde der alleinige Versorger. Ich musste Geld einbringen. Aber ich hatte das Gefühl, dass sie es einfach weiter brennen ließ. Infolgedessen wurde ich vom Knappheitsdenken noch mehr erschüttert.
Das war zu einer Zeit, in der ich mir große Sorgen um die Betreuung meines Kindes und meiner Frau machte. Ich wusste schon damals, dass sie nicht die Richtige für mich ist. Aber der Gedanke an eine Scheidung machte mir Angst. Aufgrund der Gesetzeslage in Deutschland ist eine Scheidung für denjenigen, der das Geld für die Familie verdient, sehr teuer!
Also arbeitete ich härter, um mehr Geld zu verdienen, und versuchte, es zusammenzuhalten. Naja, nach anderthalb Jahren hatten wir genug von München. Dort ist es so wichtig, sexy zu wirken und so zu tun, als wäre man mehr als man ist. Also verließen wir München und zogen gemeinsam in eine kleine Stadt namens Ludwigsburg in der Nähe von Stuttgart und lebten dort.
Unser Sohn Louis wurde 2005 geboren. Jetzt hatten wir zwei Kinder. Obwohl wir finanziell einigermaßen zurechtkamen, war ich unglücklich verheiratet. Ich wusste, dass meine Frau nicht die Richtige für mich war.
Deutsche Überregulierung
Mit unserem Umzug nach Ludwigsburg wechselte auch ich den Job und wechselte zu einer Bosch-Tochtergesellschaft, ETAS. Es war ein privates Unternehmen. Aber die Mitarbeiter dort verhalten sich wie Beamte, wie Hunde, die jede Regel befolgen, ohne darüber nachzudenken. Es hat mir also keinen Spaß gemacht, dort zu arbeiten,
In Deutschland haben wir einige sehr lustige Wörter für sie. Wir nennen sie „Johannisbeer-Poopers“. Ein anderes Wort, das die schwäbische Version davon darstellt, ist „Dipfeleschisser“. Nun, sie sind „Erbsenzähler“. Unter „Erbsenzähler“ versteht man Steuerberater, auch „Erbsenzähler“ genannt. Deshalb nehmen sie alles sehr ernst und stellen die Regeln nicht in Frage; Sie gehorchen ihnen, unabhängig davon, ob sie Sinn ergeben oder nicht.
„Das haben wir schon immer so gemacht!“
Diese Einstellung macht mich verrückt! Es ist wichtiger, Regeln zu befolgen, als darüber nachzudenken und zu verstehen, warum es Regeln gibt. Nun, ich habe kein Problem damit, Regeln und Vorschriften zu akzeptieren und zu befolgen, wenn es dafür einen guten Grund gibt. Aber ein Verfahren anzuwenden, nur weil es traditionell so gemacht wird, nur weil es eine Tradition ist, auch wenn es keinen Sinn mehr ergibt, ist Unsinn. Dann wird es Zeit, das Verfahren zu ändern!
Die meisten Deutschen sind nicht bereit, Regeln, Vorschriften und Verfahren zu ändern. Vielmehr halten sie gerne an Traditionen fest. Bei ETAS saß ich in einem Unternehmen fest und arbeitete für ein Unternehmen, das weiterhin traditionelle Praktiken anwendete.
Alle alten Regeln halten Straßenräuber aktiv. Ein lustiges deutsches Wort dafür ist „Wegelagerer“. Ein Beispiel für Wegelagerer ist die Industrie- und Handelskammer. Dies ist eine Organisation, die Geld von Unternehmen annimmt, ohne der Gemeinschaft zu helfen. Ein anderes heißt „Fee Collection Center“, was soviel wie zentraler Geldeintreiber bedeutet
bedeutet. Es verpflichtet jede Person oder Firma, die über einen Computer, ein Mobiltelefon, einen Fernseher oder ein Radio verfügt, staatliche Radio- und Fernsehsender zu bezahlen.
Heute gibt es Tausende privater Fernsehsender. Die privaten Unternehmen arbeiten mit kleinen Budgets. Allerdings müssen Sie für staatliche Fernseh- und Radiosender bezahlen, auch wenn Sie diese nicht sehen oder schätzen. Diese Kanäle verschlingen ein sehr hohes Budget. Aber im Allgemeinen ist das, was sie senden, nicht besser als das, was auf privaten Sendern ausgestrahlt wird. Im Grunde bezahlen Sie also die Regierung für die Verbreitung ihrer Propaganda.
Private Rundfunkveranstalter sind auf die Werbung angewiesen, die sie erhalten. Mittlerweile verdienen die Staatsbetriebe mit Zahlungen der Gebührenerhebungsstelle und Werbung. Ihre Programme sind nicht einmal werbefrei. Ja, sie bekommen ihr Einkommen von beiden Seiten! Doch die Nachrichten auf staatlichen Sendern sind genauso weit von der Wahrheit entfernt wie auf unabhängigen Sendern.
Auch eine traditionelle Bank ist eine Art „Johannisbeerverkacker“. Sie halten sich an alte Regeln und Vorschriften. Durch eine wahnsinnige Überregulierung erschwert der Staat die Erbringung effektiver Dienstleistungen. Daher erheben sie hohe Gebühren. Allerdings verändern Fintechs das Spiel. Die Technologie entwickelt sich schnell weiter und traditionelle Banken haben nicht aufgeholt. Ich glaube nicht, dass sie verstehen, was los ist. Ein weiteres Beispiel für eine solche Organisation ist das Grundbuchamt. Das Grundbuchamt ist eine staatliche Verwaltungsbehörde, die äußerst langsam und veraltet ist. Dabei handelt es sich um den Prozess der Registrierung, wo Sie Eigentümer der Immobilie sind. Sie erledigen immer noch alles mit Papierkram!
Glücklicherweise erleben wir heute auf der Welt einige Entwicklungen, die alle Straßenräuber überflüssig machen werden. Also lasst uns noch ein wenig darüber nachdenken. Straßenräuber und Organisationen, die auf alten Regeln und Traditionen basieren, manifestieren alte Regeln. Das finde ich gar nicht gut! Weil es die Entwicklung stoppt, stoppt es den Fortschritt, und alles, was ich über sie denken kann, ist Folgendes:
„Vater, vergib ihnen, denn sie wissen nicht, was sie tun.“
Jesus
Wer konservativ und dogmatisch ist, verhindert die Entwicklung der Gesellschaft. Die gute Nachricht ist, dass Blockchain viele dieser Menschen überflüssig machen wird. Ich kann es kaum erwarten zu sehen, wie das passieren wird. Beispielsweise sehen sich traditionelle Banken einer starken Konkurrenz durch neue gegenüber
Fintech-Unternehmen werden entlarvt. Zum Beispiel diejenigen, die mit Kryptowährungen handeln oder internationale Geldtransferdienste anbieten, die viel günstiger und schneller sind als ihre eigenen. Einige Beispiele sind die Fintech-Unternehmen
„WISE“ und „Revolut“. Früher war auch „PayPal“ eines. Aber sie wurden auch eins
„Straßenräuber“ mit unglaublich komplizierten Verfahren und hohen Gebühren.
Die traditionellen Banken werden ihr Geschäftsmodell ändern müssen, sonst werden sie wahrscheinlich Pleite gehen. Dies wird natürlich einige negative Folgen für die Menschen haben, die ihr Geld bei ihnen geparkt haben. Allerdings haben wir möglicherweise keine bessere Wahl, um den alten „Straßenräuber“ loszuwerden. Was ich heute sehe, ist, dass alte traditionelle Banken immer noch nicht verstehen, was da draußen in der Welt vor sich geht. Sie verstehen nicht, wie die Blockchain-Technologie alles verändern wird.
Das alles ähnelt dem, was bei Kodak passiert ist. Sie erfanden die Digitalkamera, hatten aber keine Ahnung, welche Auswirkungen sie haben würde. Sie beschlossen, stattdessen weiterhin traditionelle Kameras und Kamerafilme zu vermarkten und zu verkaufen. Sie beschlossen, die Digitalkamera beiseite zu legen. Kodak hat die Technologie, die es selbst entwickelt hat, nicht weiterentwickelt! Unternehmen wie Canon und Fuji haben die neue Technologie aufgegriffen und zum Erfolg geführt. Infolgedessen ging Kodak bankrott!
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
- Was sind Ihre wichtigsten Erkenntnisse aus diesem Kapitel?
- Wie werden Sie sie in Ihr Leben integrieren?
Verwandeln Sie Ihr Unternehmen
Gehen wir zurück ins Jahr 2009. Ich war arbeitslos und dachte: „Was mache ich mit meinem Leben?“ Einerseits habe ich mich auf Stellen beworben; Andererseits habe ich darüber nachgedacht, ein Mehrfamilienhaus zu kaufen und die Wohnungen einzeln zu vermieten.
Aber ich hatte auch noch eine andere Idee. Ich war damals Bassist der Band Pleasure Pigs und unser Proberaum war nicht sehr geräumig, aber sehr teuer.
Mir wurde klar, dass es einen erheblichen Platzmangel für Bands und Musiker gab, um ihre Musik aufzunehmen und Bandproben durchzuführen. Ich habe ein Gebäude gefunden, in dem ich Räume mieten und an andere Musiker untervermieten konnte. Aufgrund seiner Betonbauweise war es relativ schallisoliert. Im Prinzip ist diese Art von Geschäft dasselbe wie ein Mehrfamilienhaus, allerdings hatte ich sehr laute Mieter! Aufgrund des Mangels an Proberäumen wuchs meine Firma im Jahr 2010 rasant. Der Südwestfunk, der lokale Fernsehsender, hat dies aufgegriffen und in einer Nachrichtenmeldung darüber berichtet!
Ich brauchte ein Jahr, um den Aufbau des Unternehmens zu planen, und das tat ich, während ich arbeitslos war. Ich lebte von Arbeitslosengeld, aber die staatlichen Zahlungen gingen nach einem Jahr aus. Wenn Sie jedoch hauptberuflich Ihr eigenes Unternehmen gründen, unterstützt Sie der deutsche Staat und zahlt es als Gründungszuschuss für ein weiteres Jahr aus! Ich dachte, auch wenn ich zunächst nicht viel Geld verdienen würde, könnte ich immer noch den gleichen Lebensstil führen wie zuvor.
A few months before I started my own business, one of my applications was answered and I was offered a job. I decided to work for this company four days a week while building my business on the fifth. As a result, I lost my start-up grant, but the salary was significantly higher. And I had been on the state's radar for long enough.
So I started my own business part-time, and I would recommend that to you too. Don't become self-employed full-time! It is better if you reduce your working hours at your current job. Build your own
Start your business slowly and reduce your working hours with your employer step by step.
So in the second year I reduced the number of working days as an employee from four to three and gained a little more time for my own business. Another year passed and I saw that my business was profitable enough to support me. As a result, I decided to quit my job and focus solely on my business. Since there was decent growth, I was confident it would succeed.
For the first two years I worked three to four days a week for my employer. On the other two days of the week and on weekends, I was able to focus on my business. But at this point, I was now at the point where I could quit my job and have the entire week to focus on my business. However, I was still working 12 to 14 hours a day, seven days a week, with no day off.
Even when I was on a day trip with my kids, I was still on the phone. I read, studied, planned, checked lists, and did many other things to improve my business. That was three years of intense work.
Entrepreneur seminar
I also started attending seminars and reading books about entrepreneurship. A book that helped me a lot was “The Path to Becoming a Successful Entrepreneur.”
First I read the book and then attended the seminar of the same name. Because of this seminar, I examined my business in detail.
Initially, I looked at all of my daily tasks and realized that everything I do are employee tasks. And then suddenly it hit me. You're not working on your business, Klaus. You are an employee. Your company keeps you busy. You work in and not on your company.
I examined each of my daily tasks. I filled the fridge with drinks. I cleaned the rehearsal rooms. Among other things, I set up the amplifiers and replaced defective devices. I also had managerial responsibilities, such as drafting contracts with clients, collecting funds, and doing accounting.
From this seminar I learned that I needed to start automating processes to free up time. I have implemented systems such as automatically withholding rent payments from my clients. I later delegated this task to my tax advisor because they needed the numbers anyway and because they are much better at dealing with banks and accounts and have all the fancy software you need.
In Germany there is a software called DATEV that looks like a mess, but that's another story! The tax advisors can handle it, but for me it was far too complicated! This was a big step towards being more effective and efficient and getting rid of a task that I really didn't like. The tasks you need to do in your business that you don't like are the ones you want to look at first! Because they rob you of a lot of energy.
The rehearsal rooms were another example of what I didn't like doing. First I got a cleaning service and then I realized that this cleaning service cost me €250 a month. Then I came across these automatic robot vacuum cleaners that cost €250 each. I put a vacuum cleaner in every rehearsal room and told the band to run it themselves after they used the studio. I got rid of the cleaning work and the robot vacuum cleaners paid for themselves after three months because I no longer had to pay for the cleaning service.
You need to look at things that have high effectiveness and replace work that you don't like doing. Another thing that always bothered me was all the paper that comes in the mail. I don't want to deal with it all the time! I found a service that scans my mail and emails it to me. If it's a tax bill, I just forward the email to my tax advisor, that's it and I don't have to do anything with the mail anymore.
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
- Was sind Ihre wichtigsten Erkenntnisse aus diesem Kapitel?
- Wie werden Sie sie in Ihr Leben integrieren?
Make you obsolete in your company
Another game changer was updating my website to list all of my services. I've implemented a lot of things through web forms so people only need to provide their name, address and bank account details. After receiving the email confirmation, they can read the contract and then come to the rehearsal studio and we will simply sign the contract and the deal is done!
I never got to the point of fully switching to electronic contracts. At least not for long-term rental contracts. But for those who were only booked daily, we just did it online. I made this possible simply by implementing Google Calendar on the website. This gave me an overview of my customers on the website and was able to synchronize them with my cell phone. On my phone I could see which room was booked by which band at what time and which customer would be using it. And that was another considerable efficiency and effectiveness booster!
So how do people get their keys to get into the studio? Well, for recurring bookings I gave them a key that they keep permanently. But for individual bookings, I simply installed a key safe with a PIN code on the building. With the online booking confirmation, tenants receive the numerical code, which is the key to entering the building. When you're done, just put the key back in the safe and everything's done! I didn't have to wait for them to arrive, and I didn't have to wait for them to finish rehearsals.
To choose the tasks and systems you want to implement, you need to do a simple calculation: First, you need to estimate how much time this specific task will cost you each month. Secondly, there is usually an implementation or ongoing cost involved and you will need to invest some money in the process.
With a safe with a numerical code, the safe itself costs money. It takes some time to mount, and then you need additional time to set up the calendar and booking system on the web. Therefore, you will initially need to spend more time on the process than just doing it manually. Now you can estimate how long it will take to implement your chosen process.
And once you have an idea of the process, calculate how much it will cost you to maintain the system. For example, online payment services may be subject to credit card fees that range from 1 to 3% of sales, leaving you with permanent additional costs and less profit! 3% doesn't sound like much, but with a 35% sales margin you have 10% less profit!
With a safe with a numerical code I save time permanently because I don't have to go to the rehearsal room to get the keys. Purchasing the safe involves initial costs, but does not cause any additional maintenance costs and does not cause any permanent additional financial burden. And now you can calculate how much time and money you will save and what additional setup and ongoing costs you will incur.
You should consider your salary when determining which processes you want to implement. Using the safe as an example, let's say I save an hour a day because I don't have to go to the studio to get the keys. Suppose I pay myself €30 per hour. By using the key safe I can save 30 hours of working time per month, which corresponds to €900 in labor costs. Since there are no ongoing costs, the key safe pays for itself, which means the company can save significant costs in the long term.
Learning how to manage employees and pay yourself realistically is another valuable skill and can also be a booster for effectiveness and cost reduction.
For example, let's say you pay yourself €30 per hour and your employee gets €20 per hour. If you delegate some of your work to your employees, you save €10 per hour. So the more you can delegate, the more
better! Of course, you have to be able to afford to work less. But by this point, you should be at the point where your business is generating enough revenue and revenue to support it.
In my fourth year, the financial and time-saving harvest of these processes began, and I made it a rule to reduce my work hours by one day each month. I worked in my business for almost three years without taking vacation or even a few days off. So I took a day off the first month. This was followed by two days off in the second month and three days off in the third. After seven months I was able to take a week off. I traveled to Bulgaria for a week and had my first vacation since starting my company. By extending my vacation by one day each month, I was able to run my business remotely two years later.
When my brother-in-law died in 2016, I realized that I could say to my sister, "Okay, sister, I'll be there for you as long as you need me!" During the two weeks I spent with my sister around the To prepare for her husband's funeral, I received a message from a friend; She wrote:
“There is a workation in Bali that might interest you.” There were only two weeks left until the workation and I had already spent two weeks with my sister. I had to make a decision. The workation would last three weeks. Can I stay away from my business for five weeks? I was so confident that my business could run without me that I decided to take the plunge.
Seminar junkie
During this time I became a seminar junkie, also learned a lot about dealing with money from Bodo Schäfer's course “The Path to Financial Freedom” and attended his seminar. Then I attended some Tony Robbins seminars, like this one
“Business Mastery” seminar. I learned how to improve marketing processes through Business Mastery. I also found out about Rich Dad when I was at his
“How to Buy and Sell a Business” seminar. I'll tell you later if you don't know who Rich Dad is.
A year later I got a call from my landlord and my landlord told me, “We want the building back. We have to use it for ourselves because we have hired 800 people and we need office space for them. So you have to move out, but we are ready to compensate you for the early termination of the rental agreement.”
At first I thought: Do I have to throw out all my bands? Or can I find another building and move them there? But the seminars I attended last year prepared me well for the call from my landlord. I simply told them, “I consider the building and the lease I have with you to be the most valuable asset in my company. To buy me out of the lease, you have to compensate me for the entire value of the company." They asked, "How much is it worth?"
The phone went silent as I told them the business value that my accountants had calculated for me. They replied, “Thank you,” and ended the call rather abruptly. Three days later I got another call from them and they said:
“Deal, we’re in. We urgently need the building.”
Now I was in trouble because I was already living in Indonesia. I suddenly had to move all of my musicians to another building. However, I also faced an even bigger problem that I didn't expect.
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
- Was sind Ihre wichtigsten Erkenntnisse aus diesem Kapitel?
- Wie werden Sie sie in Ihr Leben integrieren?
Big goals
After my first return from Bali in November 2016, many of my friends, my parents and my sister asked me, “How was it?” And I started telling them what I had experienced. Many of them responded with a statement similar to, "When you talk about Bali, it sounds like you're talking about a woman you've fallen in love with." Yes, that describes the feeling quite well.
When I came back, I felt like this was the place where I wanted to spend most of the rest of my life. At least until I find a place that serves me even better. Actually, even though it was six years ago, I couldn't find one at first! Since then, I have felt homesick for Bali in almost every other country except Thailand. And in Germany it comes up the fastest!
Meanwhile, after visiting the neighboring island of Nusa Penida a few times, I found that the energy and tranquility, due to the low population density, suits me even better. At least Nusa Penida is an option that serves me even better.
Nusa Penida offers more peace and quiet, but an involuntary stay in Dubai also made me rethink things in the meantime, because the best feature of Bali, that women chased me to get me into bed, is no longer necessary since I'm married again.
After I arrived in Germany, it was time to start meeting with my mastermind group and we had this workshop on marketing strategies. We came together to work intensively on our companies' marketing concepts for three days, to exchange ideas and learn from each other. Yes, the workshop was fantastic.
One of the members was Thomas Kowol. He had already planned a trip to Cambodia and Vietnam. I had never visited these countries before, so I asked him:
“Would you mind if I joined you?” He said, “Of course I would like to travel with a friend.”
So there were only three weeks left! And now I've just been to Bali for three weeks for work. And before that I was with my sister for two weeks. Occasionally
I only had a short time to take care of my business on site. And now it only took two weeks. And so I booked the flights.
50-50 mode
So now I was almost in 50-50 mode. I spent 50% of my time traveling and 50% in Germany taking care of my business on site. Three weeks later I arrived in Hanoi with Thomas and we explored the city. Well, Hanoi was another culture shock for me. It was stressful, very dirty, overpopulated and extremely noisy, and to be honest I didn't like Hanoi at all.
So what do you do when you're bored? Well, I spent my time on Tinder and made some connections. One of them was Becky and we arranged to meet at the nearby Hanoi Social Club. And well, we enjoyed a few glasses of red wine together and some good conversation.
Well, we had a few red wines of my favorite type of red wine: Merlot. Wine is usually three to five times more expensive than in Germany. And the local wines are, well, and that gave me the idea of growing wine myself.
Becky had already worked in international schools for several years. First in Africa, Ghana and now in Hanoi.
And I was deeply impressed by this woman's courage. I traveled to countries that I never considered attractive to work and live in. But she earned quite well. And as I said, she impressed me with her courage. And for some reason something took us away. Well, we had a few red wines of my favorite type of red wine: Merlot.
We spent our first hot night together tipsy. Yes, and after that night it was time for me to take the flight to Da Nang that Thomas and I were booked on. And so it was time to say goodbye, but we both felt like we needed to see each other again. So I asked her, “Do you want to come over to see me in Da Nang next weekend?”
And she said, "Yeah, I'd like to see you, but I've already booked a flight for a weekend in Bangkok, Thailand." Well, first of all, it didn't look like we were going to see each other anytime soon. But then I thought and realized that it is rainy season in Vietnam, and the weather forecast for Da Nang predicted that it will rain for the next few days. Da Nang was nicer, quieter and more relaxed than Hanoi, but I couldn't do much there because of the rainy weather.
So I looked at the flight schedules and there were flights to Bangkok. I didn't think twice and booked a flight to Bangkok to see Becky. So we spent the weekend together in Bangkok. And yes, we ended up falling in love. It was a very romantic weekend in Bangkok and we spent the whole time together enjoying our new love.
She then had to fly to Hanoi for work on Monday morning. And I found out that I had to use my flight from Da Nang. Otherwise I will lose all my subsequent flight connections. So I booked a flight to Da Nang and took my flight from Da Nang to Siem Reap in Cambodia where I met Thomas again.
A broken leg is not a broken leg
In Siem Reap we booked a tour to the floating markets. And the tour operator picked us up. And at the travel agency they told us that it's about an hour's drive before we get on the boat: "So if you need to pee or poop again, do it here so we don't have to stop along the road."
So I went to the toilet. It was wet on the floor. When I left the toilet my flip-flops, or thongs as Australians call them, were wet and they slipped and I fell to the floor. And I had terrible pain in my right foot. I didn't understand what had happened yet, but I said, "Guys, I'm not going on tour with you today because this hurts so much it's going to take me out today." I didn't realize how serious it was. And soon I was in a tuk-tuk that took me to a hospital.
At the hospital they x-rayed my leg and said, “It’s a pretty complex fracture. "Either we have to operate immediately, or we have to apply a bandage, and the operation can be done in the next two or three weeks." And so it was time to get in touch with my travel health insurance. They were very cooperative and said : “Okay, we’ll fly you back to Germany and have you operated on there.”
So I informed Becky about the unpleasant surprise and she said, "I will come to Siem Reap next weekend to see you there before you fly to Germany for surgery." And so she arrived in Cambodia a day later. We had another romantic weekend and the broken leg didn't bother me too much; it was immobilized with some painkillers.
And we were even able to visit a temple, for example. Ankara Buddhist Temple and a Buddhist monk blessed my leg for good healing.
And yes, we still enjoyed our love and a wonderful weekend together, and then it was time to board the flight to Germany.
An ambulance picked me up at the airport in Frankfurt and took me straight to a hospital in Stuttgart. A few hours later I was in the operating room. They opened the leg and fixed the bones with nine screws and a plate. Now I was pretty immobilized and had to stay in the hospital for a few days. From there I started working and writing and following up on the learnings from the mastermind workshop.
I started developing my new website and I started developing Vitality4Happiness. And I started publishing all the ideas I had about Vitality4Happiness on my new website.
Working from the hospital was only possible via the hotspot on my cell phone. Because in Germany there are rules and regulations for a hospital to provide WiFi. It's ridiculous how things are over-regulated in Germany due to safety restrictions and considerations.
It's completely different in Asia, where you have free Wi-Fi almost everywhere. There is no security problem there. However, Germans are so concerned about security that they punish themselves with rules and regulations. And I see that Germany is making much less progress compared to Asia.
So apart from working on my website on the phone hotspot, Whatsapp was of course busy communicating with Becky in Hanoi. I told her about the situation and that I would be immobilized for about 4 to 6 weeks. And she had already booked a flight to Bali for Christmas. But she simply decided to rebook her flight to visit me in Germany. And she did. So from Christmas to New Year we spent some time together and visited some friends. For example Thomas, my sister and my parents. And we took a tour of Germany together and enjoyed our new love and our new life.
During this time we have set ourselves a goal: We want to live together in Bali and as quickly as possible. After New Year, it was time for her to return to Hanoi to return to her work. This was because she is bound by an employment contract in Hanoi.
So we decided on our first step: I'm going to move to Hanoi with her. And that was the plan. As it turns out, I moved there in mid-January to live with Becky in Hanoi. Even though I didn't like the city, I enjoyed Becky's love.
What you can learn from it
Now see what I learned about this: If you have a big goal, like living in Bali for the rest of your life, or at least until you find something better. Problems become small. The broken leg couldn't stop me. The fact that my new love was in Hanoi, a city I didn't like, couldn't stop me! This was still acceptable as a first step towards Asia, so I would only recommend finding your big goal here.
Follow your big goal, and problems that arise along the way become quite small. Because you can still see the goal over there on the horizon. And that the challenges don't stop you from pursuing your goal. Find your big goal. Maybe you want to make it even bigger than you can imagine right now. And then go ahead and follow this program. Because it will change your life forever.
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
What are your big goals?
- Think about your big goal, your vision that you want to achieve in your life
- Think about your 2 biggest goals that you want to achieve within 20 years to support your big life goal
- Think of 3 goals you need to achieve within 10 years that are needed to reach your 20 year goals
- Think of 5 goals you will accomplish within 5 years to reach your 10-year goals
Ready to jump
So now it was time to move and get everything ready. So I put together a to-do list to prepare for my departure to Hanoi. And it was a long list. It contained tasks that I needed to organize for my business. Like handing over management to my employee Chris. We had to make some arrangements together so that he could sign contracts on my behalf. And that he was able to make his own decisions.
The beauty of it is, if you give people more responsibility, you will learn and see their intelligence explode. And that's wonderful to see! Giving other people more responsibility, watching them grow and becoming better versions of themselves. It's a wonderful thing to experience!
Another thing I had to do was make sure my mail got to me. So I had to move my official residence to my sister. She was kind enough to scan or photograph the letters I received. She simply emailed me the scan or image. And everything was organized.
Then I reduced everything I had to a minimum. I gave it away as a donation, I threw it in the trash, and I gave gifts to my friends. For example, my car: I no longer needed it. So I handed it over to my colleague and gave it to him. Well, not really. For some reason we made a contract and I sold it to him for €1 so that he could present a bill of sale for the re-registration. So from now on he could use the car. It was his car now, and it was his, and he was grateful. And I was happy that it made him happy!
And so the rest ended up in the trash. Finally, I had a box of clothes for the winter. And I left all of that with my sister, along with that
necessary paperwork that I thought I needed to keep. It later turned out to be pretty useless! You do not need. In the end I had two backpacks and that was all I needed to move to Hanoi.
All hell broke loose
But something else happened. Of course I had to inform my children and my ex-wife. When she realized this, all hell broke loose! She went crazy. She sent me not-so-funny WhatsApp messages so I felt like I could see her screaming on the other side. She was desperate about it. She kept asking, “Who will look after the children?” You see, I took my kids on the weekends and spent some time with them. From now on that was no longer possible.
- “Are you going to pay child support?”
- “How will we make decisions that we need to make together?”
- "How can I reach you there?"
- And: “Who decides…”
- ... and hurrah!!
She really, really asked some questions that I honestly hadn't thought of, hmm. But then, a day later, she came back with a message that surprised me. She wrote to me: "I can understand it, and I know that it was always your dream to move abroad."
Yes, and actually, before we got married, I had a visa to go to the United States. I stopped the job offer in California and didn't move for family reasons. She remembered it, and it reminded me again. I had already forgotten that because that was almost ten years ago. After she calmed down, I arranged a meeting with her and my children.
We sat together and drank coffee and cake. We talked about how we would resolve the situation. We thought it would be wise to ask a counselor and arranged to meet with a family counselor. We had a good conversation with them. We listened to their recommendations for resolving such a situation. We have a contract between us that they alone make decisions about the children
allowed while I'm away. Of course she was welcome to ask me, but I gave her power of attorney. I allowed her to make decisions about our children over my head.
During the remaining time in Germany I had a few meetings with my children. Surprisingly, the relationship with my children, and also between my ex-wife and me, became much better. So, what a change of situation!
Before that it was always difficult! Since I said, "I will move to Hanoi and later to Bali," the situation has changed. It became more positive! At first I didn't understand why. But it was a good thing. And as Albert Einstein put it so beautifully:
"Always doing the same thing
and expecting different results is a clear sign of insanity."
I did something different and the results changed. Isn't that nice? It was completely unexpected for me.
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
What is your Hanoi?
What is the next step you need to take? Hanoi was not the destination. The goal was to go to Bali. But I had to take a detour. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the detour. It was already going in the right direction. We have to understand that you don't travel in a straight line from A to B to get from where you are to your destiny.
Life will take you on a journey, an amazing journey, and you have to accept that it goes up and down. And that it will challenge you and take you through different life experiences. That could be fear. It could be anger. It can even be an illness. It takes you out of your comfort zone, out of balance.
Along the way you will experience times of pleasure, times of pain and sorrow. But anything that throws you off balance will be an impetus for growth. Just make sure you're not constantly out of balance. Because this leads to permanent or chronic illnesses.
But if you get sick every now and then, get injured or have an accident, it doesn't matter as long as your goal and destiny are big enough. And as long as you can still see your goals on the horizon, it's a helpful landmark to guide you!
Now imagine climbing Batu Karu. It's not a straight line. It goes through valleys and it goes over mountains. It goes along the river, it goes through the jungle. Parts of it could be a paved road. But other parts of the track up there can be slippery and muddy. And that's where you get dirty. Accept the challenge, enjoy the journey.
All this is the price you have to pay for your freedom! Or did you think you could get something like that for free? No of course not! You have to go through these experiences, you have to grow every time you experience fear, pain or sadness. You will experience sadness, but it is worth it. I can only encourage you to keep going. Take a step towards your big goal every day and enjoy the journey.
Hanoi, that can't be true!
Did you know that Swabians talk a lot about Hanoi? The Swabians live in the region around Stuttgart. I lived there before I moved to Bali. “Hanoi” is a word in their dialect, and it means “this cannot be true.” So you use the word “Hanoi” to express being surprised by something.
In this chapter I would like to tell you how life developed in Hanoi. So I lived with Becky in her house on Hanoi's West Lake. It was right on the shore, so we had a nice view over the water from the balcony. We found Hanoi very pretty after sunset. Hanoi has many lakes and they all look very green. Hanoi looks pretty dirty during the day. But as soon as it gets dark you can see the lights shining over the lakes. They are reflected from the other side and it becomes a truly enchanting picture.
While in Hanoi, I had the screws and plate removed from my foot and began walking again. And I started riding my bike, usually for my morning workout, a lap around West Lake. And yes, we enjoyed life, love, food and travel. We traveled together to Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam. During this time I also organized my first workation in Bali and kept inviting people.
My sister, her daughter, her son joined her, and a friend of hers.
The workation took place in the villa “Mimpi Manis”, where we spent three weeks together. As a result of work in Bali in the villa "Mimpi Manis". Petra has become a digital nomad. She started her own business and now lives most of the time in Cape Town, South Africa. She travels a lot and organizes her own life as an independent entrepreneur. Something I never thought she could do. Her son used to work as a graphic designer as an employee. He now has one
Yoga teacher certificate. In doing so, he also takes his first steps towards entrepreneurship.
During the time of working in Bali, Becky also came to Bali, but went to Ubud and stayed there. And we both realized during this time that we were good friends, but were no longer a good couple. Well, we gave our love one last chance and met a few times when we were in Bali together.
But since we both realized that our love had disappeared and only a good friendship was developing, we were both ready to give it up. And it was a very harmonious breakup of a relationship, something I had never experienced before. After their booked vacation in Bali was over, we said a nice goodbye. There was almost no pain or worry whatsoever.
Even though that relationship is now over, I am very grateful for the time I had with her. And I'm especially grateful that she paved the way for me to Bali, where I've lived for the most part ever since. I traveled a lot over the next three years. I had to commute back and forth between Germany and Bali to organize a few business things that I felt I needed to be there for.
I also became a seminar junkie. I attended, say, four or five different seminars a year and traveled around the world to do so. To Australia for “A Date with Destiny” and to the USA for “How to Buy and Sell a Business”. And I took part in the entire Tony Robbins Mastery Program, which also took me to Fiji. I calculated that I flew around the world about three times in 2018. So I spent quite a bit of money on seminars and plane tickets, but it was worth it. And my business was doing well and it paid for everything.
And during that time I lived most of the time in Pererenan, near Villa Mimpi Manis. The villa is located about two kilometers north of the well-known town of Canggu. And during the visa runs and when attending the seminars, I repeatedly experienced developments that deeply impressed me. Every time I left Bali I saw a construction site. And four weeks later, when I returned, the building was finished and the shops were open.
And I thought, "How do the Indonesians do this?" When you see the workers during the day, they are sitting in the shade and smoking Sampoerna cigarettes. And four weeks later they are finished. Even if they don't have large machines for the construction work on site. They do everything by hand. I haven't figured out how they do it yet, but I would be more than happy to learn. In Germany at that time they wouldn't even have started the damn paperwork for the new building!
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
- Which detour do you have to take to remove an obstacle?
- What are you doing for it?
- Until when?
The best and worst in Bali
What are the best and worst things about Balinese culture? Warning: Reading this chapter can quickly become very addictive! It's possible that after reading this you'll want to travel to Bali and check it out for yourself.
Balinese culture is primarily expressed through the mentality of the Balinese Hindus. There are a few things that make them unique including:
- As you think.
- How they act.
- How they navigate and orient themselves.
- And how they perceive yours.
gratitude
They practice gratitude, share offerings, burn incense, pray and meditate during their ceremonies. When they are finished they have a big grin on their face and after the ceremony you will always notice the Balinese trying to make eye contact and smile at you. When you smile back it feels so good; They give so much love when they smile. It's like happiness therapy.
I highly recommend playing this game instead of the Russian game. What is the Russian game? The Russian game is the opposite. The rules are simple: no eye contact, whoever grins first loses. We Germans are also pretty good at this game. But we're having a hard time beating the Russians at home.
The Balinese do exactly the opposite. When they come out of the ceremony, they smile, make eye contact and share their love. And I highly recommend you to join this game. Because it gives you so much energy. Because love is that
only type of energy that becomes stronger when shared. So go ahead: you have nothing to lose!
One of the many great qualities of the Balinese people is their gratitude. In their daily rituals, they take time to practice gratitude. The opposite of fear is gratitude. I feel like people in Bali don't have nearly as much fear in their lives compared to people in the West. Because where there is gratitude, there is no room for fear.
They are also very brave people. Construction workers are often seen climbing barefoot onto scaffolding in a new building. They work without safety equipment and even climb onto the roof in flip-flops or thongs, as the Australians call these shoes. You won't believe it, but their risk tolerance is impressive. It often takes my breath away. They always laugh their heads off when I tell them that people in Germany even take out insurance for their mutts!
The ceremonies take place three times a day in their temples at home. Each street also has a temple where a ceremony is held for full moon and one for new moon. In addition, ceremonies take place in the temple itself twice a year.
Nyepi
Apart from that, there are events like Ogoh-Ogoh or Nyepi. Let's start with Nyepi because it is very, very special. Nyepi is New Year's Day in the Hindu calendar. In the western world, it is the day we cure our hangovers from a New Year's Eve party.
But in Bali it is something very special: it is a day of silence and is therefore also called Balinese Day of Silence. People stay at home. They are not even allowed to go out on the streets. You are not allowed to light a fire. People even turn off the electricity. Since there is supposed to be no light on Nyepi, it gets dark early as the sun sets.
Nyepi's intention is simply to retreat to a quiet place, listen to your inner voice and reflect on your life. The Balinese stick to it. There is no traffic and no cars driving around except for emergencies. The airport is also closed. Hotels are almost completely closed, offering only the most basic services to their guests.
The internet is even shut down; Yes, believe it or not, even the internet providers stop their service for 24 hours. Nyepi offers the best conditions to retreat to a quiet place, listen to your inner voice and reflect on your thoughts. The experience is truly remarkable.
Ogoh-Ogoh
The day before Nyepi is called Ogoh-Ogoh, which is the exact opposite of Nyepi. It looks like carnival. About two or three months before Ogoh-Ogoh, the Balinese begin building large spirit sculptures and moving them through the streets. During a ceremony they bring all these sculptures out into the street where people shout, sing and play traditional Balinese instruments as they watch. It's a really good show.
These sculptures are huge. But because of the way the electricity is laid here, the cables hang over the street, and the sculptures are so big that it's difficult to get them under the cables. I have a video on my YouTube channel.
You can find the video of it at: https://i-love-bali.com/
You can also see what happens during Ogoh-Ogoh and how they get the sculptures under the cables. And that also answers the question: Why is Bali offline on Nyepi on New Year's Day? Because they damage the cables so badly that there is no longer any internet connection!
Furthermore, the Balinese only live in the here and now. They have little understanding of the past and future. This is even represented in the Indonesian language.
Bahasa Indonesia has no grammar to express past or future tense. Verbs are always in the present tense. You can express past and future in Indonesian, but only through phrases like: “in a week” or “yesterday”.
But there is no translation for “will” or “was”; it only exists if you insert a specific time into the sentence. Since the verbs only exist in the present tense, dating a Balinese is difficult! Punctuality is only partially known here. I wouldn't say that none of the Balinese understand the concept of time. But most Balinese people don't take appointments as seriously as we do in the Western world.
ergonomics
Another thing is that there is almost no understanding of technical things or ergonomics. Ergonomics is the study of how to build something so that it is easy to use and fun. Many things in Bali are put together in such a way that you say to yourself: “How could they have designed it like that? It’s terribly inconvenient to use it like that!”
Probably the worst construction you will see here is the plumbing. I suppose only the most hopeless kids get to be plumbers! It's terrible how they build water pipes and drains without traps. This is especially true if you come from Germany, which is a very perfectionistic nation.
I have no idea how the Balinese maintain their orientation or sense of direction. Share a location on Google Maps? Oh dear God! If you want to read the map or ask someone, “Can you please show me where I need to go on Google Maps?” Getting an answer is almost impossible. Even as they navigate around, you'll have a hard time understanding how they ever get where they want to go.
When I first moved to Bali and lent my scooter to my girlfriend, I was worried I wouldn't ever see either of them again. Because I was afraid she wouldn't find her way back to the house! So far it has always turned out that they came back. But the way they navigate makes it hard for me to understand how they do it.
Also, there's this thing with math: If you go to a store and buy two things, one for 15,000 IDR and the other for 20,000 IDR, you already know how much you have to pay, right? Yes, so you have to pay 35,000 IDR. Most Balinese people can't figure this out without a calculator. You enter the whole numbers with all zeros into the calculator! So you don't even abstract to calculate 15 plus 20. They charge 15,000 plus 20,000.
If you pay now and give them 50,000 IDR, you expect 15,000 IDR back, right? But before they give you the change, they use the calculator again to calculate the change. Most of the time they don't have it right! However, there are two places where people who can do mental calculations like this: at the weekly markets and gas stations. They get along quite well even without a calculator. But most other Balinese... It's funny to see, but you have to be patient until they get the result.
Waiting is also a big problem, at least for me, because I find it difficult to be patient. The service is often... well, let's put it this way: very, very relaxed! Sometimes if you give them two orders, they will only fill one. For example, if you order a beer and a hamburger, you only get one of them. The second one was forgotten along the way!
Speed of development
On the other hand, although the pace of work is slow, I am impressed with the speed at which they produce results! You can especially see this on construction sites! Whenever I had to leave Bali to extend my visa. I have visited Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Australia and many other countries in the region. As I was leaving Bali for a trip, I noticed a new construction site and asked myself, "What will this be when it's finished?"
When I returned from my visa run four weeks later, the building was finished and the shops were open! Suppose you look at the construction sites during the day. In this case you will notice the workers sitting in the shade and a
Smoking Sampurna cigarette. I have no idea how they do it, but I'm interested to find out!
Furthermore, Balinese culture is resilient in many ways, particularly to the influence of Western cultures. They tolerate visitors but refer to Westerners as “Bule”. The word “Bule” means Caucasian or “white person.” It is not considered racist to say this. Unlike in the Western world, when dark-skinned people are called “black” or “Negro”. I find it absurd to view this as politically incorrect. In Bali, “Bule” simply means a white man. And they accept us as we are.
Even in tourist areas, they maintain their culture and carry out blessings and ceremonies. Although they would have a lot of work to serve tourists and visitors. They still hold their ceremonies and make time for them three times a day.
Knalpot terror
One aspect of Balinese noise resistance irritates me: their ability to deal with noise. Although the noise can be deafening at times, Asians don't seem to be bothered by it! A subculture in Bali is known as the “knalpot terrorist.” The term “Knalpot” is the Indonesian word for “exhaust pipe”. People ride around on motorcycles with a custom-made poppot that contains nothing. The motorcycles become unbearably loud. Yuck!
There are so many of these loud motorcycles on the road that it's a pain in the ass for me. Since I'm sensitive to noise, I enjoy quiet days like Nyepi. The noise of the motorcycles often made me very angry and I despised the people who made that noise, especially at night. But I recently found a way to deal with it and make peace with them, and I say to them:
“Tuhan, berkati kamu dengan otak dan knalpot baru.”
This means: “May God bless you with a brain and a new exhaust pipe!”
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
Do you want to try it too? I invite you to join in this blessing, laugh and feel good when you hear a loud bang.
“Tuhan, berkati kamu dengan otak dan knalpot baru.”
“Tuhan, berkati kamu dengan otak dan knalpot baru.”
OK? For the third and final time:
“Tuhan, berkati kamu dengan otak dan knalpot baru.”
Father, forgive them
In 1999 I started at the Bosch subsidiary in Stuttgart. I quickly realized that this environment was not right for me. It was a safe job. So it was like working as a civil servant. However, as I said, I don't like the bastards; I rather hate them! I was now one of them!
My hatred of the Bosch bastards was reflected and I hated myself, and that was a kind of dishonesty towards me. As a result of this internal conflict, some psychological and health problems arose. The pain in my joints and muscles led to the diagnosis of rheumatic disease.
Then I got a prescription from the doctor and went to a pharmacy. The owner of the pharmacy, Alois Sterr, served me, looked at my face and glanced at the prescription. He was shocked and asked: "Mr. Forster, can I ask you how old you are?"
“Yes, 46,” I said. He looked at me and said, "Do you really have to eat that shit at your age?" That woke me up!
He lived off his income from selling the pills, and he dared to tell me not to take them. I realized that something was wrong here. I am very grateful for his honesty and for his courage in telling me this. Because it woke me up and I started looking for another solution.
Shortly afterwards I attended a seminar where I met Dr. met Mario Krause. We had some good conversations together during the seminar, and he also looked after me for a while after the seminar. Due to my rheumatic disease, I also asked him, "Can you do a test for me to find out what's going on?" Of course he could do that. So we did the blood test and it found that I had a digestive problem.
Dr. Krause treated this and my symptoms have almost disappeared. Well, at least for a year, then they came back! We have another blood test
done and had similar results. We repeated the same therapy with the same success and it cleared up for another year.
The truth is, I still had this hatred of myself and officials, as well as depression over my unsatisfying marriage and living in a scarcity mindset. I still had all of that in my head. So it kept producing the same symptoms over and over again.
Now you see, when you treat the problem on the surface, it fades away for a while and then resurfaces until you learn from it. Anyway, Mario and I have become good friends and we meet once or twice a year. I appreciate his support and advice. He laid the foundation for me to understand and heal my health condition.
Healing without medication
I am therefore very grateful to Mario, whose therapy was a change in diet, and to the pharmacist Mr. Steer for making me aware that pills for the symptoms are not a solution. This helped me to permanently cure my rheumatic disease. Today I can move freely. My joints no longer hurt and I even started running marathons and finished seven or eight.
Bean counter, Korinthenkacker, Dipfeleschisser and Bosch
Now let me tell you a little more about civil servants and the “currant-cracker.” I will give you some examples of government organizations or industries. One of the organizations that is full of “currant-crackers” is the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. They continue to burden companies without providing a meaningful service. They only exist because the legal situation in Germany forces every company to pay for them. Nothing worthwhile comes out of them.
highwayman
One highwayman is the "fee collection center" GEZ. They collect money for state radio and television stations in Germany. There was a good reason for the founding of this organization when radio came into being. With the new technology it became possible to broadcast news and music , to inform, train and entertain society. Back then, the equipment for this was expensive. The development of the infrastructure had to be financed somehow.
For me the initial idea is to require the public to pay for radio and television stations. But these days it's so cheap to start and run a radio station. It probably won't cost more than $100 to set up a streaming station and stream music over the Internet. There are hundreds, thousands and even tens of thousands of private radio stations that receive no money from this organization.
Therefore, this organization is very outdated these days. They raise money for the state to run a completely outdated system and spread the state's propaganda. Private radio stations have a very small budget. Their main source of funding is advertising. They send messages and other things based on what advertisers pay for.
The state radio stations are financed through a combination of advertising and GEZ fees. Yes, even though they are paid by the toll collection center, they also sell airtime for commercials. They therefore represent a mix of government and advertiser interest.
I doubt that the government's opinion, news and propaganda are any closer to the truth than the truth influenced by advertising. Nobody is better or worse than the other. There is only one difference: State radio stations are expensive, while private stations have a smaller budget and waste less energy. The GEZ is an outdated organization, a parasite!
Let me give you another example with Nokia. Nokia used to be the world's leading mobile phone provider. When the iPhone came out, Nokia always thought
nor that people want to use a regular cell phone to make calls. Nokia didn't realize how much people would appreciate and how dependent it would become on them to have a toy in their hand and play around with it.
Think about what you do with your phone these days. How many hours a day do you hold it and play with it? How many minutes a day do you spend on the phone? At Nokia they still thought that people just wanted to use a phone to make calls.
Nokia has produced a smartphone. Do you remember the Nokia Communicator? I bought all the Nokia Communicator models they had during the product life cycle and loved them. It was a small computer, more of a work tool than a toy! However, Nokia was not ready for Apple's plan to turn phones into toys.
A few years later, Nokia went bankrupt. And again a few years later, Microsoft bought Nokia. Probably for less than 1% of its peak value. Incredible, is not it?
The limited life cycle of protectionism
Banks and the banking system are a different type of organization that has not caught up with modern development. Overall, banks are following the old rules and trying to make things safer for you. But security is your business, not your bank's. In addition, the government is forcing banks to make the processes more complicated and secure.
I find this ridiculous because it makes everything more complicated and expensive. Fortunately, today there are fintech companies that offer financial services in a more convenient and user-friendly manner.
PayPal, for example, used to be one of them. But PayPal is aging, and it's now nothing but a nuisance. Better examples include Wise or Revolut, which allow you to send money internationally for relatively low fees compared to the cost of a bank or PayPal transfer.
You also get better exchange rates and the transferred money reaches the recipient more quickly. You can also monitor the entire process from your phone as it is transferred, what rate it was exchanged at and when the other person received it.
Fintechs do a much better job than banks with their old-fashioned, outdated systems. The old banks don't realize what's going on! Many fintech companies use blockchain technology. That's the silver lining. My joy is that it will put a lot of curmudgeons and highwaymen out of business by simplifying the processes. We will get rid of parasites in industry and government administration.
Well, my guess is that traditional banks will either have to drastically change their business model to better serve customers or end up going bankrupt. Unfortunately, the latter scenario can have some negative consequences for those who have parked their money with them. But maybe that's the price we have to pay. Or we need to learn to invest, invest or park our money better than keeping it in a bank account.
Traditional banks clearly do not yet understand the implications of blockchain. Just like the print media when the internet came along. The printing industry has not understood what the Internet means to them. They continued to focus on books and newspapers, trying to protect their business and slander electronic media for copyright nonsense.I'm not taking part in this nonsense. Therefore, the author Klaus 4ster waives the copyright for content created and published by the author himself.
Many of them were forced out of business. Today, print media only make a fraction of their income and sales compared to times before the Internet. It's a positive development. In other words, an outdated business model was cleaned up.
The example of German history can also be cited as a political example of unsustainable protectionism. The East German communists tried to protect themselves by building a wall around the country. The wall had a funny nickname: Anti-Fascist Protective Wall. They tried to protect their socialist ideas from capitalism and it worked for 40 years. That was the time of the Cold War. It was a very stable political situation between East and West, although it was not a pleasant situation. I grew up with it. For me it was normal to live in the situation.
But in the end, all the protectionism doesn't help. It only works for a while. But this protectionism destroys the system, it is like cancer. And sooner or later all these systems collapse. This led to German reunification. A revolution in which, unlike other revolutions, no blood was shed. Germany can be pretty proud of that. Because historically speaking, peaceful revolutions like this haven't happened all that often.
Another amusing example of people trying to maintain the status quo was in England when they invented the railways. People started protesting against railways because they feared trains. Doctors said
Back then: “If you move a person faster than 30 km/h, he goes crazy.” Can you believe that? Yes, they just wanted to keep their horses!
I recently had to file my tax return. My tax advisor still sends me paper invoices. He promotes online accounting and stores receipts digitally in the DATEV software. But I hate this software: it looks like shit, is completely confusing and runs unbearably slow. The license for the software is expensive and for me as a customer it is almost useless. To understand how to use them, you have to use them every day. You can't use it if you only use it once a month.
Well, my tax advisor, the bean counter, is also one of these highwaymen. Like I said, he still sends me his paper invoices! I keep writing to him to simply email me a copy of the invoice and deduct the money directly from my account. He says he has to do it for legal reasons. He has zero risk with the debit authorization. And he should show me the paragraph. I keep asking him how many times I have to tell him to take money directly from my account. In his DATEV software, the invoice amount should be able to be debited on the day of payment at the push of a button. Completed!
It's a lie to call yourself a tax advisor because you're just a bean counter! In order to optimize my tax situation, I have to think about it myself! He never came up with an idea! He only talks about the risks if we follow my ideas. When it comes to tax savings, he doesn't advise me on what is legally possible. But there is always room for how you can declare taxes to put yourself in a better position. My tax advisor never came forward with advice for something like this!
When I sold my business, I asked him what the right path was. He came up with a simple calculation that would have fit on the edge of a postage stamp. He charged me around €1,400 for this! Well, that's probably his fee for his expertise, that he knew the formula; fair enough. As an accountant, I would have expected him to think ahead and he would have calculated this before I asked him. But, hey, isn't that the old highwayman mentality?
We talked about the Cold War and the East-West conflicts in Germany after World War II. It reminds me that we are having a similar situation right now. Today, the United States is engaged in a trade war with China. They accuse China of stealing their technology and call on their own companies to stop doing business with the Chinese.
The real reason is that they just want to protect the value of the American dollar. They recognized that growth rates in Asia, particularly China, but also India, Pakistan and Indonesia, are much faster than growth in the West, particularly the USA. I suppose it's essentially about protecting the value of the American dollar.
The Americans have understood what is going on and by starting this trade war they are trying protectionism. As always, it will work for a short time. But like the Cold War, it won't last forever. Economic growth in Asia will exceed that of the Western world over the next 10 to 20 years. This is also something I see a silver lining in.
Have you made these mistakes too?
So let's check together what my most valuable insights are from these insights about the bean counters, currants, Dipfeleschisser and Bosch:
Well, I had to understand that the rheumatoid pain I was experiencing was self-punishment. When I worked for this public service, Bosch, my hatred of myself reflected how much I hated working as a civil servant. My body only reflected my hatred and the pain I felt was me punishing myself. I didn't understand that at the time. It took me 20 years to figure this out.
Another important lesson is the hidden program that should help you better understand such mechanisms. I want to serve you with this because I am so grateful for
what I learned. I want you to do the same. So I would love for you to use some of these insights.
I have to come back to something else. I recently asked my son, "Did they teach you quantum mechanics or quantum physics in school?" He replied, "No, but maybe soon."
The knowledge of quantum mechanics and quantum physics is 100 years old and is still not taught in school. Today we know, and it is scientifically accepted, that it explains 80 to 95% of what we experience that Newtonian physics cannot explain.
Although quantum mechanics and quantum physics have been known for more than 100 years, they are not taught to children in schools. This creates creatures that believe they make decisions logically and are emotionally blind. But our emotions influence more than 80 percent of our decisions, and only a small portion of them are made consciously and logically.
The hidden agenda behind this expat travel guide is to make you aware of how much you rely on your emotions and how to deal with them.
Then there is the third part. So the first was the logical part, the second was the emotional part and the third part was our ego. Sometimes your ego just wants to play. When you give your ego a playground to play with, supporting your emotions and your logical thinking, all three forces come into harmony. And that brings about healing!
When I did my tax return, I thought for a long time about my hatred of the officials, curmudgeons and highwaymen and forgave them. I felt immediate healing. That was a wonderful experience. From the bottom of my heart, I believe this expat travel guide will help you experience the same.
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
- What playground can you give your ego to support you in playing?
- If you want to learn more about how to heal yourself, read the book “Prana Healing” by my wife Komang Sukerni and me.
You can do it on the website https://i-love-bali.com/
buy, and the VOUCHER CODE,
that is on the keyboard.
Freedom
- What does freedom mean to you?
- Does that mean you can do whatever you want?
- Ask yourself how free you feel in your life right now.
- Are you living your destiny, your own plan, your schedule and your goals?
- Or do you see boundaries everywhere?
- Do you follow other people's plans?
- How do you define freedom?
- What does it mean to not be free?
For me, freedom consists of four parts:
- The freedom of the spirit,
- The freedom to travel,
- Financial freedom and
- Sexual freedom.
So let's go through each part in detail.
Freedom of spirit
What does it mean to have no freedom of thought? A common saying goes that the mind is a prison. Phillip Arnold points out:
"You'll never be free,
until you free yourself from the prison of your wrong thoughts."
Most people's minds are like prisons, which is the opposite of freedom. The largest prison in the world is not Alcatraz; it's in your head, in our head and in mine too. I was there too. My mind used to hold me captive. I saw boundaries everywhere. Especially when I was married, a lot of things stopped me from doing what I wanted to do. I took on too many responsibilities and carried too much weight. As the saying goes, the weight of the world was on my shoulders.
Being responsible is the opposite of being free.
Responsibility and freedom are two sides of the same coin. The less responsibility you have, the more freedom you have. The more responsibility you have, the less freedom you have. In my experience, most people take on too much responsibility and have too little freedom in their lives. You depend too much on other people's opinions and follow other people's plans, which leads to scarcity thinking and you take on too much responsibility. These people often suffer from back pain. Back pain is the typical physical symptom of having taken on too much responsibility.
Bringing your mind back into balance between freedom and responsibility is a good way to live your freedom. It makes you sick to take on too much responsibility. All the rules, regulations and boundaries you have in the
Seeing the world will make you feel trapped. And the lack of freedom will always make you feel bad. People often lie to themselves and say things like, “I love the freedom I have,” but when you look at what they do with their lives, you see that they have too much responsibility and too little freedom.
So if you have back pain, you now know that it could be because you are out of balance and have too much responsibility. You will be surprised how it works. It will change the way you think about freedom, you will let go of some of your rules, regulations and responsibilities.
At the end of this chapter I will show you an affirmation from Tony Robbins.
The freedom to travel
I used to want to see all the countries in the world to enjoy the freedom of travel. I've traveled to about 100 different countries, some of which I liked and some of which I didn't. I finally made it to Bali, my true home and paradise. So now I don't feel like I have to travel as much. I'm no longer looking for my true home, but I still love visiting new countries and places.
Now I have a different dream, a different goal and a different place I want to go: I want to go to Mars! Not only that, along the way I want to have sex in zero gravity and have two kids. The first twins born on Mars. This is my new goal and my new purpose when it comes to freedom of travel. So why not? I've achieved my original goal and found my paradise in Bali, so why not conceive twins in space that will be born on Mars?
Now think of a place you would like to visit. What is it and where is it? Make this your destiny!
Financial freedom
- How does it feel to be financially free?
- What does it mean to you to be rich?
- How do you define fullness?
You are financially free if your assets grow faster through interest and dividends than you have to spend on your dream life. In the next chapter I'll tell you more about financial freedom, financial security and financial security.
Achieving at least a basic level of financial security is the foundation to begin growing, because no one has ever been enlightened who didn't know how to pay for their next meal. You might say, "Well, I know a few wise people, and they don't worry too much about money." You see, these people can make wealth, abundance and money out of anything. This gives them the security and confidence that they no longer have to worry too much about money.
If money is too big of a problem in your life, you will still end up with scarcity thinking. But if you can create abundance, wealth and money from any situation, that is a very good foundation for your growth!
Sexual freedom
I think the idea of monogamy goes against human nature. It is against nature because there are no monogamous animals. To be honest, very few people are monogamous, even though religion teaches us so. Well, at least most religions.
I grew up as a Christian in Germany. People who have never done anything sexual are called “innocent.” In German, "innocent" means "not guilty!" So we believe that people who have never had sex are not guilty. This means that you are guilty as soon as you have your first sexual encounter.
The Bible doesn't say this directly, but it does say that when a person loses their virginity, they lose their innocence and one becomes guilty by having sexual intercourse for the first time. This makes sex seem like something dirty and bad. This is complete nonsense.
Sexual illnesses don't come from sex. You are receptive to it depending on how you subconsciously think about it. Feeling guilty and dirty about it increases the likelihood that you will get sexually transmitted diseases or cancer in your genitals because you are afraid of it.
There were good reasons to promote monogamy and say that polygamy and fornicating is bad. For example, when sexual diseases such as gonorrhea, syphilis or AIDS killed thousands or even millions of people, it made sense to propagate something like that. But you only get these diseases if you have a negative attitude towards sex. And the symptoms clearly show what you are subconsciously thinking.
Once you realize that sex is a good and clean way to get endless energy, you will no longer be susceptible to sexual diseases. Even if you have sex with different lovers. But as long as you think sex is dirty, you will
you have any symptom or are susceptible to illness. Enjoy sex as a good, clean way to get energy. Enjoy sex without feeling guilty!
Freedom should be one of your core values. Freedom is more important than responsibility! Especially if you place too much value on responsibility. Back pain is a clear sign that you are out of balance because you have taken on too much responsibility. So use the affirmation, shout it out with Tony Robbins and enjoy freedom. You don't have to worry about what others think about your life. You will reach your destination where you can live freely. Create abundance from every situation. So you no longer have to worry about not having enough money and you don't have to live in a state of scarcity thinking. Have fun with good sex and use it as an endless supply of good, clean energy.
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
Do the “Freedom Affirmation” on the website https://i-love-bali.com/
Das Passwort ist der GUTSCHEINCODE auf der Tastatur.
Let's end this chapter with a nice exercise. It is an exercise developed by Tony Robbins. He uses this affirmation in his "Date with Destiny" seminars. It's a spell for freedom! There is a video on my YouTube channel and I encourage you to watch it and shout out with Tony.
What is financial freedom?
In this chapter you will learn the concepts of financial protection, financial security, financial freedom and absolute financial freedom. Let's start with financial security.
The idea behind financial protection is that you have enough money to last you six months, hidden somewhere under your pillow, in your bank account, in a safe, or better yet, with a mentor to keep the money away from you. This money should be enough for six months so you can live a very simple, frugal life. How much money do you need for financial security?
Now imagine only being able to pay for your very, very basic needs. Assume your basic needs are covered with €1,000 per month. This is probably enough for a couple who live a very frugal and simple life with all their basic needs covered.
Financial protection
It means you have enough money to cover your basic needs for six months. Either in a bank account, under the pillow, but it's best if your mentor keeps it for you. I have experienced it painfully myself, we have to learn to invest our money better, to invest it or to park money without a mentor: "...than to keep it in a bank account."
An example of financial protection is if you lose all of your income, which is a very unlikely scenario, but it is possible. You lose your job, your wife loses her job, or your spouse loses his job. Then you have no income. But assuming you have the money aside for financial security. In this case, you have six months to recover and find another job, start your own business, or make money in another way.
OK? Finding out how much money is needed is easy. Do you understand the concept? I already said, "Give it to your mentor" because you don't want to give it to a friend. you give it to someone you honor and respect. You give it to someone who isn't afraid to punish you or say no. You are instructing this mentor not to return this money to you unless it is a very, very serious and urgent emergency. This mentor will make sure you never touch that money.
We don't put this money in a bank account to earn interest. We are not interested in making money from it. It's just for protection, and we want it in a rock solid place where we can theoretically access it every day. But we also want to protect it from ourselves. That's why I keep saying, "Give it to your mentor and he'll keep the money safe for you" and he'll only give it to you in the very, very worst case scenario.
Now you understand the concept of financial security. Do you? Excellent! So let's move on to the next level.
Financial security
Financial security is when you have money invested that pays you dividends or interest that covers your basic needs. Consider the example of 1,000 again
€ per month. Now we have to calculate how much we have to invest in order to do so
Earn €1,000 a month to cover basic living expenses.
Financial security is calculated at 25 times the amount of money you have already committed to your financial security. We have €6,000 kept under the pillow or from your mentor, and we have to do the math 25 times €6,000, which turns out to be €150,000. Did you get it? OK!
Where will this €150,000 come from? Once you have saved €6,000, you can continue saving or topping up and investing the same amount. This investment could be, for example, an ETF such as the MSCI World ETF.
The MSCI world index typically grows by around eight percent per year. If you calculate 8% of €150,000, which is €12,000 as long-term average annual growth, then you take the annual growth of €12,000 and divide it by 12 months and you have the €1,000 needed for one month.
The nice thing is that if you only take out the profit, the underlying value of the ETF and your assets remain the same. In other words, the investment remains constant. You only take out interest and dividends. You don't touch base; that can feed you forever!
But the idea here is that you don't take any dividends either. Because then they will
€1,000 per month invested in additional savings, additional growth and compounding. That's another delightful thing. If you don't touch it, it will grow on its own. Plus, you'll keep adding some savings and building your wealth over time.
How long does it take? €150,000 seems like a lot at first. But compounding will get you to that point much quicker than you now expect. This will surprise you! Are you looking forward to this surprise? Don't hesitate, do it. There's only one mistake you can make: you don't get it started. Save for your financial protection today. Once you reach this milestone, you should start investing and saving for financial security.
Every person on earth should reach this point during their lifetime. The earlier in life, the better, because it's so liberating to know that nothing can go wrong financially. Thinking about money is stressful for most people. But this will take that burden away because money will be managed. You put it into a system and the system works for you! Now money works for you and you can stop working for money! It's a very, very liberating feeling. I believe that no one has ever become enlightened until they get past this point. Let's move on to the next step.
Financial freedom
A luxurious dream life is what financial freedom offers: everything. Let's say a luxurious lifestyle would cost you around 6,000 euros a month. That’s six times your financial security. You might think: I need about six times as much money as the financial security for that. To ensure financial security, you invested your money very conservatively. For example, you have invested your money in an MSCI World ETF that is growing very steadily and calmly.
I recommend you do it this way because it doesn't put too much strain on your nerves. The MSCI World is growing steadily, albeit with the volatility of the international economy. But now we can invest with a little more volatility that continues to swing up and down. This means higher volatility. For example: If you now invest in the NASDAQ, the American Tech Index or the German TecDAX, you will earn around 50% more per year. You can expect a return of around 12% per year on average over the long term. Because of the higher return, it is not six times. It's just four times more.
So far we have invested €150,000 in our financial security. And now it's four times as much. So we need €600,000 for financial freedom, which with an expected growth rate of 12% will pay us €6,000 per month. Do you think you can get by and live a relatively luxurious and comfortable life?
If yes, start the process!
And now again, if we don't touch this money, the growth that we have from value growth, interest and dividend growth will be put into compounding. And the miracle of compound interest will serve you. You will reach the point of financial freedom much sooner than you now expect! And you can still save some money and put a little more into it to make it grow even faster!
Absolute financial freedom
The concept of absolute financial freedom is simple: it pays for everything you can dream of. And there's more, in dividends, income and interest...
Let's assume you have around €100,000 a month to live on. You can then spend around €3,333 every day without touching the capital stock! Can you imagine that? Wow, I don't think you can do that!
Well, you can probably spend €3,333 one day, the next, and the next. But then it gets boring. Afterwards you look back and want to live a frugal life again. You will have a hard time spending that much money every day. But this is the point where you have achieved the absolute financial freedom that pays for everything you dream of. Okay, now let's calculate how we achieve this:
We have so far invested €600,000 in our Financial Freedom Fund. Now let's just multiply it by ten. So you have to invest €6,000,000. And with that we can make even more volatile investments. For example, we target our investments toward specific stocks or specific markets. There is a lot of talk about artificial intelligence at the moment. I believe artificial intelligence is a market that will continue to grow. So I'm looking for an ETF that represents companies that are actively developing artificial intelligence. I invest in it and expect a growth rate of around 20% per year, including dividends and interest. But be careful, I also expect it to be a bubble like the .com bubble. So once it drastically exceeds 20% per year, it's time to get out.
There is a lot of talk about artificial intelligence at the moment. I think artificial intelligence is a bubble because it's not intelligent at all... There's a lot of talk about artificial intelligence at the moment. I believe artificial intelligence is a market that will continue to grow. So I'm looking for an ETF that represents companies that are actively developing artificial intelligence. I invest in it and expect a growth rate of around 20% per year, including dividends and interest. But be careful, I also expect it to be a bubble like the .com bubble. So once it drastically exceeds 20% per year, it's time to get out. I invest in it and expect a growth rate of around 20% per year, including dividends and interest. But be careful, I also expect it to be a bubble like the .com bubble. So as soon as it drastically exceeds 20% per year, I'm already out.
If I invested €6,000,000 and the interest is 20%, I will end up with €120,000 a month. I honestly find it hard to imagine spending that. So now the money is working for you, and you can't avoid getting richer. It's a very simple concept. However, it will take some time before it is implemented. But would be a 10 or even 20 year old
Isn't working on it a well-thought-out investment for the results that can be achieved?
Why it doesn't work
Again, the only mistake you can make is not getting the process started. Start saving! Even if you only pay €100 a month, that's 60 months and then you'll have your financial security together. And then from the 7th year it starts working for you because now you can start investing. When you invest, you earn interest on your money and it works for you.
How do you get through the first phase of this process and how do you continue it? Getting something going requires some discipline. And discipline is a wonderful way to get something going. But unfortunately discipline doesn't last long! Instead, you need pain and pleasure. And that's why I ask you to put the money under your mentor's pillow and not under yours! He will make you feel pain if you don't keep saving!
But where does the pleasure come from now? The fun begins when you calculate your net worth, i.e. the total of your assets, every month. You can do this by using a spreadsheet or writing it down in a book. You will have fun and a sense of achievement when you can see how your assets grow. This chart or little book shows your progress. You will be very proud of it and have fun with it. Instead of trying to achieve everything through discipline, just let it happen through pain and pleasure. You can also call this fear and greed. Your mentor can help you with this. Fear is not a pleasant feeling, but it is a very effective motivator.
But your spreadsheet or book that keeps track of how much money you have takes care of your greed. Greed is also another good motivator. But I prefer to call it pain and pleasure. Because that's easier to remember.
This process can still stop along the way. And the reason for that could be:
Feeling guilty about being rich
Many people feel guilty when they have too much money. you feel guilty because other people don't have as much money. And they believe that this is an imbalance and that it is not fair. If you find that your wealth stops growing during this process, there is an easy way around this. You simply express your gratitude for your growth by donating a little money.
You can start with, say, 1% of your income and give it away to other people. If you make other people happy, it makes you happy too. It's like you're buying yourself happiness and a sign to the universe:
I live in abundance!
And the universe will reward you richly for it! Let's get it done and donate something too.
The best thing is to start right away. Donate a small amount at the beginning so it doesn't hurt you. But this will build a habit. Automate it and set up a standing order in your bank account. Every month 1% of the incoming money is donated. And let’s say 10% of that is saved. And then over time, maybe you earn a little more or learn to live more frugally, then you can increase the amount you save and donate. And you will be surprised how quickly it works! Are you ready for this surprise? Do it! The only mistake you can make is not starting! Set up this system now and trade!
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
- Buy happiness by donating money
- Give it to someone who needs it
- Experience happiness to see how it makes that person happy
- Feel and enjoy gratitude for your ability to give
Additional €16,164 net per year
Expat in Bali, Indonesia
In this chapter I will show you how to reduce your living costs by €16,000 per year. So let's look at the details of where we spend the majority of our money.
A big thing for me has always been my health insurance. And of course an even bigger issue is housing, renting an apartment and paying the rent for it. Another thing is the vehicle. You probably have a car in your home country. In addition, there are the costs for food, drink and internet and telephone connections.
Let's just go through the five things that typically, aside from taxes, but that's another chapter, will be the highest cost of living for you, at least that was the most significant chunk for me. Let's compare what I paid while living in Germany with what I pay now that I live here in Bali.
Health insurance
We start with health insurance. I was self-employed and was insured with statutory health insurance. They charged me almost €700 per month. But we expect €600 per month. I canceled that after I left Germany, and when I started living permanently in Indonesia, I took out private international health insurance. This only costs me €600 for the whole year! You can continue to have German statutory health insurance, but pause it as long as you are not in your home country. That's what I did at the beginning.
They only charged me €50 a month for this service. That means it was €600 a year that I paid for German statutory health insurance during the break. Plus the 600 € for the international one. If I have a health problem, I can use international health insurance. And when I return to Germany, the German statutory health insurance will be activated again for a short time as long as I am visiting Germany.
I used to pay €3,600. Now, at least at the beginning, I only paid €1,200. I have now even given up the €50 for statutory health insurance. Because I don't plan on going there anymore. And if I have to, I simply take out short-term insurance from a private provider and the problem is solved.
Apart from that, if you want to return to Germany and reactivate German statutory health insurance, you can go to the employment office and say: “I'm looking for a job.” Then every German statutory health insurance company has to provide insurance. It's easy to get back into it as an unemployed person. It's just a small administrative expense that you can perhaps save yourself with €50 a month.
But I decided it wasn't worth it anymore. Today I only pay 600
€ for international health insurance, and not a cent more for German statutory health insurance. I'm saving €3,000 on my health insurance today. And even if I were to still pay that €50 a month, it would still be €2,400 a year. That's quite a saving, just in one step!
Subletting the apartment
But let's come to another point: And that is the apartment. What do you pay for rent and utilities for the apartment or house you live in?
Let's assume you pay a total of €700 per month for a rented one-room apartment in Germany. Well, that won't be very exclusive, at least if she's in a big city. If it's in the country, you'll probably get a 3-bedroom apartment for it! But let's assume you pay €700 for your apartment including utilities.
Well, if you want to keep the apartment because it feels safe to you, then you could do that. Let's do the math for this: You keep it and you rent it out on Airbnb for €40 per day. This results in a monthly rent of around €1,200. you might say: “If the apartment only costs me €700 and I sublet it, how am I supposed to get €1,200 a month for it? That’s not realistic!”
Airbnb prices are higher than what you would normally pay for an apartment you see in the newspaper for long-term rental.
Let's say you can only sublet it for 10 out of 12 months per year because your prices are a little higher, but it's worth it. Your tenant does not have to worry about additional costs as these are already included. The tenant doesn't have to worry about the furniture because you leave your furniture there.
And the nice thing about it is that you may have an empty closet and you can just put everything you want to leave behind in your home country in it and lock it up. Then you don't have to pay for storage space. If you can sublet your apartment for 10 out of 12 months per year, you'll end up with a rental income of around €12,000, and you only have to deduct what you have to pay in rent and additional costs. That was €8,400. In the end you will earn 3,600
€ by subletting your apartment.
Now let's look at the cost of renting a space in Indonesia. I keep booking local accommodations and they usually cost me IDR 5,000,000 a month. This is a small furnished room, usually with a shared kitchen and room service. You will be provided with towels. You get your bed linen changed. you get the room cleaned. So it's at a pretty good level of service.
Some of these accommodations even have a shared pool. I'm more than happy about that. You may be asking yourself: “How many euros is 5,000,000 IDR?” 5 million sounds like a lot. That's only €300, which is what I pay here on average per month. So that costs me €3,600 per year. The exact money you make from subletting will pay your rental costs here in Bali. So it's a zero-sum game! Next, you're probably wondering: "How do I rent out my apartment in my home country while I'm in Bali?" There are several options:
- Either you ask a friend or neighbor to take care of it. Then you probably want to pay him a little for it.
- Maybe you have a family member who is willing to take care of it.
- Another option is to use a professional service by handing over the rental to a real estate agent and delegating the rental to a professional service provider. And it's in the real estate agent's best interest to rent it out for as much as possible.
How much does this real estate service cost you? Nothing! Because brokers usually charge the tenant a brokerage commission. You simply hand it over with full responsibility and allow him to complete the contract on your behalf. Then he takes care of everything. So easy, at no extra cost, and you have a professional service that has the best interest of getting it rented as quickly as possible and at the highest price possible. Because brokers usually take two to three months’ rent as commission. The higher the rental price, the better for him.
Let's choose an even better option: you give up your apartment in Germany completely. This is possible even if you live in an area where you may return but where the real estate situation is relaxed. When you come back after a while, you'll probably find something even nicer, and you'll be able to negotiate for even better prices than you're currently paying.
You then save the full €8,400 per year and only have to deduct the €3,600. You can enjoy pleasant savings of €4,800 per year by simply canceling your rental agreement and only paying rent in Indonesia. And you pay the refund of the deposit you paid to your landlord into your financial freedom account. This takes you a good step further along this path!
Vehicle and transport costs
Let's take a look at the vehicle costs and the transportation costs. If you have a car in your home country, you will probably incur monthly costs of €300. This is the loss in value of the vehicle, i.e. depreciation. It includes the insurance for it, the tax for it and its fuel.
You may also have to pay to rent a garage. This all adds up to €300 per month. That means it's €3,600 per year. In Indonesia, the most common and convenient way to get around is a scooter. So you don't need a car here. Driving is a pain due to the traffic density, especially in the south.
If you rent a scooter long-term, you will pay around €3 per day, which is around €90 per month.
You can get a good used Honda Vario scooter from €600, or a new one from €600
Buy for €1,200. I bought a new electric scooter for €800. If you have your own, you then have to pay €120 for registration. And you also have maintenance to worry about, but the workshop service here is pleasantly cheap, for example an oil change costs €4. Buying a scooter is the cheaper option from 9 or 12 months.
Due to the low cost of fuel, which is the only additional cost you have here, you currently pay around 70¢ for a liter. At home it is currently €2 or even more per liter. Look, with your car you're probably using fuel worth €75, €50 or maybe €100 a month.
But I now calculate that the fuel was already included in the €300 per month that we previously calculated. But here it adds up to just €100 a month. At home you paid €300 for your car. Instead of €300, you now only pay €100 for a scooter. Your monthly savings will be €200, which equates to a saving of €2,400 per year.
Depending on the value of your car, you may have achieved the cash for your financial protection in a single step by selling it. Now that was another big chunk. But it's not the end of the equation.
Food and Drink
Now let's move on to food and drinks. Well, in Germany I used to go shopping once a week and buy groceries at discounters. I paid €50, which is not a very large shopping basket. And sometimes I even had to do it twice a week. But let's say you buy groceries and drinks, a case of beer, a case of water, vegetables, fruit and a few small snacks, meat and fish. That adds up to €200 a month over four weeks a month that I spent in the supermarket.
This is where I get by when I go shopping for vegetables and fruit three times a week. I pay around 100,000 IDR every time. That means I pay €6 for every purchase. I go shopping here more often than in Germany because I want it to be fresh. The mild and warm climate means that fruit and vegetables spoil more quickly. Shopping three times makes 20
€ per week. In Germany I spent 200 euros a month on food. Here it's only €80. I save around €120 per month on food and drink.
Then you occasionally go to a restaurant. Let's assume you go to a restaurant of reasonable quality in Germany. There you pay €20 each. Here you can treat yourself to a snack and a drink for 100,000 IDR. If you choose street food, it's just a fraction of that. But let's expect 100,000 IDR per meal if you eat out. That's €6.
Let's say we eat out at a restaurant ten times a month. In Germany that would be €200: 10 times €20. And here it would be €60, because ten times 100,000 IDR is approximately €60. So, in total, we only spend €240 a month instead of €400 a month on food shopping at the grocery store, buying fresh groceries and eating out. The savings are approximately €160 per month. That's, times 12, almost €2,000 a year saved on food and drinks.
Well, alcoholic drinks are a different story: if you're an alcoholic, you won't do well financially here. The beer costs about the same as in Germany. And wine is typically three to five times more expensive. And the local wines are... well, it's not good quality. If you want a really tasty imported wine, you'll pay five times the price you pay at a discounter in Germany!
Communication and internet connection costs
Now let's finally look at the costs of communication, internet connection and telephone. If you have a cheap provider for your mobile phone contract and your landline connection in Germany, you will probably pay 25 each
€ per month. That's €50 per month. So €600 a year. Here in Indonesia, internet connections with free Wi-Fi are available everywhere! Wherever you go to a restaurant and drink a coffee, you don't pay anything for it. That's why you don't need a cable connection. In your accommodation, if you rent one with room service, internet connection is included in the price.
So I don't pay anything extra for that. Still, I would like to have a cell phone internet connection. If I use the best and most expensive providers, I pay IDR 100,000 for the package, i.e. €6 per month. This usually includes around 20 GB of data volume, a telephone and SMS flat rate. So I don't have to worry about it. I usually get by with a data volume of 8 to 12 GB per month.
Free WiFi is available almost everywhere. You can use this for your work and you don't even have to pay for it. Instead of €600, I only have costs of €36 per year. My savings on internet and communication costs are €564 per year. That's a lot of money for that!
Let's talk about connection quality. If you have a cable connection in Germany, the service is usually quite reliable. But you probably have a 20, 30 or 50 MB connection. Here a 50 MB connection is standard. And it's symmetrical! In Germany you usually have an upload rate of only 1/8 of the download rate. But here the upload is just as fast as the download, often even faster than the download rate.
With the UMTS connection, the data connection on your cell phone is also quite fast, but not as reliable as you might be used to in your home country.
Due to the long distances here in Indonesia, there are radio transmissions, and if there is a big cloud or a heavy rain shower, then there is
the connection has a lot of dropouts. These are much more common than in your home country. At least that's how it is during the rainy season. It is more reliable in the dry season.
But if you go to a restaurant and there's a blackout, you always have a fallback option by using your cell phone as a hotspot and continuing to work. I have two SIM cards in my phone from the two providers with the best network coverage: XL and Telkomsel. This means you can switch between providers if one of them has no reception. The two data packages cost
together about 10 € per month.
Calculation of savings
Let's calculate how this could work out for you in the best case scenario:
- We had savings of €2,400 per year on health insurance.
- If you give up your apartment in your home country and only pay for an apartment with room service here, you can save 4,800 euros a year.
- If you sell your car and rent a scooter, you can save €2,400 a year.
- You save around €2,000 per year on groceries.
- Finally, you can save €564 per year on the costs of communication, internet connection and telephone calls.
This results in a saving of €16,164 per year
Incredible, is not it? Let's do the math for this money saved. This is additional money that you have available net. Money saved is not taxed! Now imagine that you want to earn this €16,000 through additional income, so that your net income is €16,000 more. How much do you have to earn before taxes to
To receive €16,000 net? Let's say you have a tax rate of 30%. To achieve a higher net income of €16,000 per year, you need to earn €24,000 more before taxes!
As an example: your income before taxes is now €50,000 minus 30% tax is €35,000. you have to earn €74,000 gross, minus 30%, which equals €49,000! And in most countries the tax situation is even worse. If you increase your income from €50,000 to €74,000 before taxes, your tax rate also increases!
Most countries do not have a uniform tax rate, but rather a progressive tax rate: higher incomes are taxed more heavily than lower incomes. You will likely see a new tax rate of 35% instead of 30%
experience. So your additional income would have to be not just €24,000, but probably €30,000 more to get the extra €16,000 after tax!
Once again: money saved is net: money without taxes! What do you do with this saved money? I would recommend putting it entirely in your Financial Freedom account! See, if you put it all in, you'll achieve financial protection within five months! This will give you enough money in the bank to live without income for 6 months and a new source of income. And if you keep saving, you'll reach financial security within seven years.
Financial security, as I explained, means that you have so much money invested that you can live off the interest at a very basic level, and it only takes seven years to get there. This is a very, very pleasant situation because you never have to worry or worry about money again!
So start cutting costs. Go through each of these steps and deposit all the money you save into your Financial Freedom Account.
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
- What are your 5 biggest monthly costs?
- Which ones will you eliminate or reduce this month?
- Which ones in the next few months?
- Plan your savings
- Live your plan
- Invest the money you save in the account for your financial freedom
Who is Rich Dad?
The name Rich Dad, of course, comes from the book “Poor Dad, Rich Dad” by Robert Kiyosaki. Rich Dad had a role model, or so they say! That role model is Keith J. Cunningham, a businessman from Texas. He was born in 1950. At his age, he has already gained a bit of wisdom.
I met him when he taught Tony Robbins' Business Mastery Seminar, which I attended. I was quite impressed by the lectures he gave. He is actually an accountant at heart. But he's a funny accountant. Most accountants are introverted and not very emotional. He's a little emotional, and he's more of an extrovert and performs quite well on stage. Although he's not as extroverted as Tony Robbins.
He's fun to listen to and he made looking at balance sheets interesting. Because as he puts it: “The balance sheet gives you perspective on your business. "That's how you know where you stand financially." He has a very nice way of explaining it and a brilliant sense of humor. It never gets boring, even when you're looking at numbers.
With the knowledge gained from this, your tax advisor will provide you with a management tool for your company and your business decisions. You will learn how to interpret the numbers in the balance sheets and then in the income statements. With this information, you can make smarter decisions about your next steps in growing and developing the business.
He has also written a book called “The Road Less Stupid.” In this book he recommends having some time every day to think. What he calls “thinking time” and how he describes it, he does it in a meditative mood.
Think time
As he sits for an hour, he thinks about his business, letting his hand flow and writing while listening to his inner voice. This is a nice method. In the book he describes many questions that are very valuable for entrepreneurs and business owners. Every day, take one or a handful of these questions and think about them for an hour.
But in this book, the question that puzzled me the most was the following. The question is:
“How can you ruin a competitor’s business?” When I read this, my first thought was, this is strange and very destructive. However, his point of view is: "How could I harm my competitor's business model?" However, he looks at his own company from his competitor's perspective. Suddenly everything turns around. Now you can see your own company’s weak points.
You see, the answers to your questions are usually already written on your forehead. The damn thing is, your eyes look the other way. But with this technique you mentally put yourself in your competitor's position. From the perspective of a competitor, you now look at your own company from the outside and look for weak points.
That's a smart idea! Because now you see all the things that are already written on your forehead. Then of course you can take measures within your own company to prevent a competitor from attacking it. This is just an example of the questions I read in this book. I have already written a blog post about this:
https://vitality4happiness.com/ruin-someones-life-business/
The strange thing is that this destructive question "How can you ruin someone else's life or business?", as I call it on my blog, gets the most visitors. People search for questions like this. And so I learned that this is good for search engine optimization. However, I am not positive because I think the title is far too negative.
How do I buy and sell a business?
Later in 2015, I attended "How to Buy and Sell a Business?" by Keith J. Cunningham in Austin, Texas. I flew to the USA and took part. There I learned how to evaluate the value of a company. You can calculate it on the edge of a postage stamp: add up the profits from the last three years and you're done!
I from pre-tax earnings after everything is paid, including the business owner or entrepreneur's salary. Whatever the profit for the last three years turned out to be on the balance sheet, you simply take the sum of the last 3 years and divide it by 3. This gives you the average annual profit for the last three years.
Depending on the type of company, the capital tied up in the company, and the amount of work that the entrepreneur contributes, you multiply the average annual profit by a factor of, for example, 3. Now you have a very simple formula to estimate the approximate value of your company and what selling price you can achieve for it.
With the typical factor of 3 you can save yourself the two intermediate steps of calculating the average profit of the last 3 years and multiplying by the factor 3. Because the two three can be shortened, just as I simplified it above.
Of course, the more the company needs you to operate, the lower the factor is. If you, as a self-employed person, are the only employee who does everything yourself and all the time, you are 0! The more independent your company is from you and the better it gets along without you, the more valuable it is. Then a factor of 4 or 5 can also be justified. High capital commitment, gloomy industry prospects and low business development reduce the factor, low capital commitment, good industry prospects and good business development increase it.
I learned a lot in the seminar. But it was a lot about numbers and calculations. It was also about how to negotiate the price and how to find a business that was for sale. All of this helped me a lot with something that was to come a year later. But this is another story. I'll tell you about this in one of the next chapters.
When I say he crunched numbers because he is an accountant at heart, we also have to ask ourselves the question: “What is the purpose of a business?” For most, it is to make money. Well, that's not a very good approach. So before you go ahead and watch the next chapter, I want you to write down your thoughts.
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
- "What is the purpose of a company?"
- “What is the purpose of my entrepreneurship?”
Vision
In this chapter we discuss the vision of your company. Your company’s vision is built on purpose. I asked you:
What is the purpose of a company?
- Did you do your homework?
- Have you written down your ideas on paper?
If not, do it now. We need your ideas to keep going. Then let's examine and compare what most people believe.
Most people see running a business as a way to make money. In Germany, the primary goal of a company is to hire and pay people. For some people, the purpose of their business is to boost their ego and make it happy. Some people run a business to ensure they have enough money to pay all of their monthly bills like rent and taxes.
Some say, “The purpose of a business is to provide services and products.” But when you think about all of this, what if you offer a service that no one will buy from you? Or you make a product and if someone doesn't need it, they won't buy it from you.
Where does the money come from if you want to pay people to be your employees? Your customers! This is the key to the only correct answer to the question “What is the purpose of the company?” To serve customers, to provide them with benefits and advantages.
How do you create customer benefit?
The answer is: solve problems for your customers. It's about solving your customers' problems. These are usually not the problems you think your customers have. You best serve your customer by solving a specific problem. In this case, you will become the customer's first choice to purchase this service from you.
By placing the order, the customer basically said: “This is the most suitable service provider for me to solve the problem that I currently have in my life, in my business, in my free time, in my family or for myself, or whatever Whatever he thinks is his biggest problem. You will receive the contract if you are their number one provider who best solves their specific problem. There is no second place in sales!
But all the ideas about making money, having enough money to pay employees, serving your ego, or wanting to get richer are wrong. The purpose comes from just one thing: “To provide customers with the most valuable value to solve their most pressing problems.” Did you get it? Excellent!
Do you love your product?
Let's think about the purpose of your business: you need to analyze the people you want to help. Because they're the ones who make your business fun. It's not your product to love! Because if you love your product more than your customers, you have a problem: you have to chase customers so that they buy your product.
But if you work for clients that you admire and love, you enjoy dealing with them and therefore understand their needs, then you can find out their problems and determine what common problem they have. Once you get to the bottom of it, you can be completely flexible with the service or product you offer them.
This is a much more rewarding situation. Customers will feel like you care about them, that you care about their problems, not that you only care about your product to make money. No customer is interested in making you rich! Well, there are some who are like my wife!
If someone comes along looking poor and has a few avocados to sell, she takes pity on them and buys a few avocados. But these are a very rare breed of people, and you can't rely on getting enough customers like them. Don't think you can fool people by pretending to be poor or telling them, "My kids need new shoes," and then your customers will buy something they don't need.
Now I have an exercise for you: think about your best friends. Make a list of some people you know well and love. Make sure this list doesn't contain general descriptions of their personality, but rather specific people you know well, with a name and picture. Find the 3 to 5 people you love the most and then figure out what common problems they have. Then you need to be sure that your company's product or service will help these people.
In the next step, think again about your vision for your company. your vision is the ideal solution for your customers. This solution may be many years away. It can be far away on the horizon. The most inspiring vision is one you can't achieve in your lifetime!
I came up with a vision for my Business Rooms4Music: “In 2022, the most successful bands in Germany will come from Stuttgart”, the place where I run my rehearsal rooms. You see, most bands want to be successful. Since I mainly look after musicians and bands from the Stuttgart region, I thought this was a fitting vision.
Today I would have more courage and would probably say: “In 2032, the hottest bands in the world will come from Germany!” Then I have more time for a more comprehensive vision and can now break it down into mission and strategy. How do you achieve this? A mission is one level below your vision. The mission always answers the question of how you can best benefit your customers.
Do you love your customers?
Think about this question: What is the basic need that you want to fulfill with your vision and purpose of your business? Just two weeks after I developed my vision: “In 2022, the most successful bands in Germany will come from Stuttgart,” I looked at the charts: and there were already three bands from Stuttgart in the top 10! What a miracle how quickly this can happen!
There is another story I have to tell you about this. It's about my colleague Chris, who started working for me as a volunteer. He came to my rehearsal center and was looking for a recording studio. Luckily, I had a space available that suited his needs very well. He said, “I have little money, but if you give me the room for free, I would be happy to work for you.”
I thought about it. We had equipment in the equipped rehearsal rooms that needed to be maintained and cleaned. The equipment needs to be checked. For bands that rent rooms by the hour, keys must be handed in. If bands come over and want to take a look inside, someone has to be there to show them the rooms. Chris could explain the equipment and give them some time for a test sample. Finally, he could sign a rental agreement with the band or arrange a rehearsal date with them.
Ultimately I decided to accept Chris' offer. I handed over all these tasks to him. He wasn't my first employee; I had already burned three because I gave them a meaningless list of tasks to complete. At first they diligently followed the to-do list, but after a while they all became lazy. I did not understand it. Then I fired them because I couldn't get them to work reliably.
Chris also found himself in this situation after 2 years and I was quite unhappy with the way he was doing his job. Then we had a heated discussion, and I
was ready to throw him out! He sat in front of me and was very, very desperate. He begged me: “Please, please, Klaus, give me another chance.” I replied: “You have to take on more responsibility.”
I think he asked for a second chance because he had already embodied my vision. He may not have even thought about it, but felt that continuing his work would help him become a successful musician. So I learned that I should ask him for results instead of expecting him to work on a to-do list that doesn't make sense to him. I reworded everything we agreed on so that all I had to do was check the results and he is responsible for how it is done!
We also came up with another idea. I asked him: “Are you ready to become an entrepreneur too?” He said: “Yes, I’ve already thought about that”, so I asked: “How about I give you full responsibility for the equipped rehearsal rooms and Do you run it as your own business?” He thought about it for a while and agreed. We have concluded a contract for him to take over this part of the business including the existing rental agreements and all the equipment.
He paid it off within two years. He bought a running business and made it flourish! He has done an excellent job setting up a new website Ready2Jam. And on the Ready2Jam website, his rooms were better represented than my rehearsal rooms. He made it grow and he made it more beautiful.
Chris added an online payment service. Musicians who book a rehearsal space pay online directly upon booking, eliminating the need to manage cash payments. He automated the email responses to send them the key safe access code and all that kind of stuff.
Intelligence explodes with responsibility
Chris did a brilliant job and I was impressed by how people's intelligence explodes when you give them responsibility! He overcame his frustration and I overcame mine too.
Chris' creativity also increased. He noticed that we are now getting more requests from people who produce electronically like him. I couldn't notice them from a distance because I had lost a bit of connection with the musicians. But he saw that our customers' needs were changing. Now they need recording and production studios rather than band rehearsal rooms. So, based on his perception, we decided to change the image of our rehearsal rooms into production studios.
A redesign of the website followed with a focus on electronic producers. This attracted a lot of electronic producing musicians and we were able to rent out higher quality spaces! For the rock'n'roll bands we now have one
25 square meter room continues to be charged €250 per month. For example, there were five people in a band. Each band member had to pay €50 a month. There was always someone in the band who said: “I can’t afford the €50.”
But now we rented 20 square meters and 15 square meters rooms, enough for a single musician, and we were able to charge €300 a month. They didn't complain. They paid without haggling over the price. And we realized that our customers needed recording studios more than rehearsal rooms.
This was a very pleasing success, created by an employee who was gripped by the vision: “In 2022, the most successful musicians in Germany will come from Stuttgart.” We are currently in 2022 as I write this. Let's take a look at what Chris is doing these days: He performs with a band called SDP. His band fills the largest stadiums and halls in Germany!
You can find a video of him on my YouTube channel: https://i-love-bali.com/
Watch it and admire how Chris became a successful musician.
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
- Think about your company's vision.
- What is the purpose of your company?
- Who are the people you love most and want to serve?
- What are your most common and biggest problems?
- Choose a product or service that demonstrates your desire to support, serve, and solve their problem as effectively as possible.
OK? Do it now!
Save €3,000 annually
Make a one-time investment of €750
Let me ask you two fascinating questions:
- How can you save €3,000 a year with a one-time investment of €750?
- What needs to be done so that you get €1,372 in the first year and in the following years
Receive €2,229 in additional income?
But let's first think about why we're looking at it before we do the math. As an entrepreneur, you should look at all the tasks you have to do. You have many tasks in your company. Since “time is money,” there are many ways to free up time and generate more income. Now I'm going to give you a quick step-by-step guide on how to make more money with your business.
- Make a complete list of all the tasks you have in your company. Estimate how many hours you will spend on each task.
- Decide whether each of these tasks needs to be completed
- Does it make money?
- Does it benefit customers?
- Or is it just something you do because you've always done it?
- Maybe you don't even enjoy some of these things or find them pointless!
- Which of these tasks do you enjoy doing? Which one do you like the least?
Evaluate each task. This step is important because you lose energy when you do things you don't enjoy. Your energy is the most valuable thing you are
have; If you continue to do something you don't like, it will permanently waste your energy.
The goal is to only do the tasks that you enjoy doing. Because that gives you more energy. Anything else that doesn't give you energy needs to be eliminated.
- Which tasks are necessary?
- Which tasks are unnecessary?
Once you've made this list, it's time to evaluate it carefully. Now let's go back to the tasks and look at which ones are necessary and which ones aren't. Any task that is not necessary should be discarded. But most entrepreneurs never think about it because they are stuck in their habits. This list you just made will help you eliminate what you won't do in the future.
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
First, you should drop and remove all non-productive tasks. If they're not productive, then there's no point wasting time on them.
Second, you need to spend time carefully reviewing all the necessary tasks. The things you need to think about are:
- How much money does the task bring?
- How much return do you get for your efforts?
Only if a task is productive is it worth dealing with. And the next thing you need to think through is:
- How can I automate it?
- What do I need to do to make these tasks leaner, more effective and more efficient?
Only optimize necessary and productive tasks
You can't make it more efficient by optimizing non-productive tasks that aren't needed, don't add value to your customers, don't generate revenue, or don't move your business forward. So only pay attention to necessary and productive tasks! You have to eliminate everyone else.
Automating productive tasks can make them more effective; however, it is not always possible to fully automate them. Then you have to hand over the tasks that cannot be automated. Handing over means you delegate with full responsibility for the outcome.
The power of delegation
Delegate anything that cannot be automated to an employee, a service provider or a supplier. You should be paid for results, not hourly. I know that employees are typically paid hourly and we will even use this metric in our calculations. The goal is to pay suppliers for the results they deliver, rather than the time they spend on the task.
Now let's look at the math and numbers of the robot cleaning example: I used cleaning robots instead of a cleaning service. Surprisingly, the cleaning robots even became one of the things that made my rehearsal rooms unique.
There was even a news program about her! When the TV crew saw them driving around and cleaning the studios, they were so amazed that they included a video clip of it in their TV report. Robot vacuum cleaners are not used in any other rehearsal room.
People were amused by this. They remembered that and kept talking about what helped my company stand out and that people remembered that.
Cleaning robot profitability calculation
I bought the three vacuum robots for €750. The vacuum robots would pay off the initial investment of €750 in three months. Because €750 was saved on room cleaning over three months. It saves €3,000 per year with a one-off investment of €750, which is €1,372 in the first year and €1,372 in subsequent years
brings in an additional €2,229. Note that Microsoft Excel calculates the exact amount. It won't come out exactly that amount. But using this calculation you can get a good idea of the magnitude of the savings.
Investment in the first year
Let's take a look at the first year's investment. I paid €750 for all three vacuum cleaners. Each costs €250. Three times €250 is €750, and that's how much we paid for the vacuum cleaners. There may be additional shipping costs, but the investment is in this range to purchase the cleaners. The next step is to estimate the setup costs that I need to take into account to calculate that.
For starters, I estimated it would cost another €160. Consequently, the total cost of the initial investment is €910. The €160 comes from the following sources. Let's say it takes a total of one day to select a vendor, purchase and order the robots, and then set up and test them.
Let's further assume it takes us 2 hours to find a provider and order it, 4 hours to get it up and running, and 2 hours to test it. In this case, if I had done it myself, I would have paid myself €30 per hour. That would have been €240. But by delegating this task to my employee and paying him only €20 per hour, the eight hours only cost €160. That's what I'm assuming here.
So let’s get back to the savings from my cleaning service. I canceled this cleaning service for which I pay €250 per month. From my savings I have to deduct my initial costs, €910, as previously calculated. Now we need to calculate the ongoing maintenance costs.
Of course, we need to do some maintenance on the vacuum cleaners. The trash can needs to be emptied. Sometimes they can't find their way back to the charging station, so we have to collect them and bring them back manually. We need to make sure there are no bottle caps or guitar strings inside.
Depreciation costs
Finally, we have depreciation costs on the vacuum cleaners, which means we have to replace them every now and then. I expect them to run for 3 years before we replace them. So every year I take into account the depreciation of a third of my initial investment, which is €250. This is the cost of replacing a vacuum cleaner per year. When they need replacing, I have the money in my pocket ready to replace them.
For maintenance costs, I assume there are three robots and maintenance takes three minutes per day. However, we only do this three times a week, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. My employee's to-do list now includes vacuum maintenance, which he does 52 weeks a year.
This results in the following: We have three robots that need to be checked, each of which takes three minutes. We only serviced the robots three times a week and it took us 27 minutes. If you multiply 27 minutes by 52 weeks, you get 1,404 minutes. That’s how much time we spend on robot maintenance every year. Since this number is in minutes per year, we need to calculate how many hours that is. This corresponds to 23 hours of maintenance work per year; and if I pay my employee €20 per hour, the maintenance costs will be €468 per year.
So if I subtract this amount from my savings of €3,000 minus €910 in total investment costs, €468 in maintenance and €250 in depreciation, I will have €1,372 less in costs in the first year. This is the amount saved after I made the one-time investment of €750 for the cleaning robots.
In the following years we no longer had to make any investments. Because the vacuum cleaners had already been paid for. But we charge depreciation to replace it every three years. And we only have to calculate a third of the time because on average we only need one replacement per year. In the following years, the associated costs were only €53, a third of the €160.
We deduct the acquisition costs from the €3,000 saved by canceling the room cleaning. In addition, maintenance costs that were at the previous year's level were deducted. We also deducted depreciation because we had to buy a new vacuum cleaner on average every year. This means our savings in the following years amounted to €2,229 savings. Isn't that endearing?
And it continues to be the same savings in the third year, the fourth year and so on. You can download a table on my website. This allows you to calculate how much you can save and earn by making your business processes more effective and efficient through automation and delegation. It doesn't have to be your business that you're optimizing. It could also be something else you do privately. Have fun with your extra time and money saved!
Implementation steps
The main goal for you is that you only complete tasks that you enjoy. Because to learn and grow you need energy. Either you grow with your company or your company outgrows you. When this happens, you become a slave to your own company. So let’s recap the six steps you need to take to implement this plan.
- You need to eliminate all tasks that are not productive.
- Automate necessary tasks as much as possible. And if you can't fully automate it, delegate the rest. But delegate it, including full responsibility, to the service provider or employee. Hold the person, supplier or service provider responsible for the results.
- For example, increase the effectiveness of the sales process. Add an upselling product to the sales process. Or introduce
Down-selling product into the ordering process that generates additional revenue.
- Additionally, you should make the process more streamlined and ergonomic so that it is easier to complete and takes less time. However, remember that there is no point in making processes more efficient if they are not productive, are not needed, do not generate revenue, or do not provide additional value to customers. Because doing so will only make you run faster in the wrong direction!
- Focus on completing only the energizing tasks yourself.
- Use this energy to learn and grow together with your company.
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
- Make a list of the tasks you complete each month and estimate how much time you spend on each task.
- Remove and eliminate all unnecessary tasks.
- Do the calculation for the remaining tasks as I showed you before. You can find a template to download on my website.
- Start with tasks you don't enjoy, the biggest savings, and the quickest results.
You can now optimize your business and make more money while working less.
Am I willing to kill my child?
At the beginning of 2019, my landlord offered to reimburse me the entire value of my business if my company moved out of the property before the end of the lease so that he could use the building himself. My immediate questions were:
- Should I agree to this?
- What happens if I accept the offer?
I knew I would then have to find a new building quickly or close the business. But do you think I was ready for this? Honest? When I didn't know what to do, an internal struggle began within me.
- What type of termination agreement will we conclude?
- What does this mean for the musicians and bands?
The idea of terminating all of the bands' contracts felt ridiculous after almost 10 years of working to get as many bands into the building as possible. And now I'm supposed to throw them all out at once! I asked my tax advisor for advice. I asked him:
How can this be implemented optimally for tax purposes?
He said: “They should sell the whole business to their landlord so they can take it over and close it down, use the building and take all the assets with them. Another possibility would be an asset deal through compensation for the early termination of the leasing contract. But the money then ends up in your company's bank account. Any profits you make from this must be taxed at a rate of 30%. However, if you sell them your entire company, Germany has a very nice tax rule: you can have a company
sell once in your life for very low taxes. I would advise that in this case.”
After speaking to my tax advisor, I had a long series of conversations with my landlord. But they told me, “We’re not going to buy your business. We are a software company. “We’re not interested in buying a company that runs rehearsal rooms,” which of course made perfect sense.
Apart from that, they would also have taken over all of my company's liabilities. When you buy a home or business, you never know what's inside. Because it would be risky to buy the entire company, they declined.
So we had to find another solution. Then I asked my tax advisor:
“Give me a rough figure for how much more my landlord would have to pay to compensate for the additional tax burden if we do the asset deal?” My tax advisor started doing the math.
Finally, after a week, well, it seemed like a week, but it was probably only 3 or 4 days, he came back with his calculation for which he charged me €1,400. If you know the formula, you can calculate this on the edge of a postage stamp. But this is how specialists make their money: They know the formula! In any case, it was an expensive letter for a small bill.
His calculation said that they would have to pay 50% more for the asset deal than if they bought my business so that I would end up with the same net amount after taxes. I forwarded this letter to my landlord.
The letter enabled me to negotiate a higher price for compensation. However, they only ended up offering about 10% more than the original price. Which wasn't enough to compensate for the lousy tax situation.
I was quite distressed and felt hopeless about the situation. On the one hand, I had the opportunity to be compensated for the total value of my company
to get. On the other hand, I didn't want to spend a third of the money on taxes or cancel all contracts with the musicians! I did not know, what I should do.
Difficult decision to sell a company
I took a break, stepped away from stress for a while, took a deep breath, and began using my decision-making meditations. I went to Lovina and spent a whole day there thinking and meditating about what to do with my business. Whether I should sell it, close it or move it to another location.
I realized that my ideal scenario was for my employee Chris to take over the entire business. After working with him for a few years, Chris became the good heart and soul of the company. Many people have even asked me, “Is Chris your son?” He looks and acts like you.”
“No, he is not my biological son,” I replied, “but I feel a strong connection with him and working with him is almost like working with a family member.”
Richard Branson, a blueprint for selflessness
I was in a terrible situation and remembered what I had read in a book by Richard Branson. When he got into trouble over a legal dispute with British Airways, they grounded all of his planes. He too was in a situation where he didn't know what to do. This was around the time the war in Iraq began. To solve his problem, he did something completely selfless.
He simply used a plane that was still allowed to fly, loaded it with supplies for people in need and flew it all to Iraq. There he helped people from other countries leave the country by flying them out of the country. That made this happen even though he was desperate.
That got me thinking about setting up a foundation instead of giving the money to the state as taxes. I would have preferred to give money to a charity, start my own charity, or convert my business from a for-profit organization to a non-profit organization.
I spoke to my tax advisor about all of these options. But in the end there was no way around paying taxes. Chris and I decided that it would be best to find another house or building where we could continue to operate Rooms4Music and just move the bands there.
The long search for buildings began. We looked at a lot of buildings. We have researched hundreds of buildings on the real estate market. We were thinking about buying a building. We considered renting a building.
But we learned how lucky we were with my old landlord because they haven't increased the rent since I started using the building. When I rented additional space it was a little more expensive, but overall they didn't increase the rent. Now we have seen that for all the buildings we are looking for
viewed, would have to pay a higher price per square meter than we charged our bands.
If we had done that, we would have had to make the bands pay significantly more rent to keep the business profitable. We would have had to increase the rent for the bands by about 100% and that wasn't an option! Because most bands have at least one student, and one of them always complains: “I don’t know how I’m going to pay the rent.” Most bands wouldn’t have been able to afford the rent for a rehearsal room if the price had doubled.
Aside from thinking about charities and donations, I thought about how I could best help my bands find new rehearsal spaces. So I contacted all the other rehearsal space rental companies in our area and contacted the media. I sent out press releases about the situation and called the television station. The story eventually ended up on a Südwestfunk news broadcast. They reported on the situation and we got in touch with even more landlords who were willing to rent space to musicians to take on some of my bands.
We have also set up a service for the bands who have rented our studios to help them move all their equipment to their new rehearsal space using a rented van once they have found one.
In our contracts I usually had a four-week notice period. However, we have omitted the cancellation deadline in this situation. Whenever a band found a new space, I was willing to let them go without notice so they could move out immediately, which saved them rent and allowed them to pay for the new studio. This meant we were able to get all the bands out of the building on time because our contract with our landlord stated: “The building must be ready for occupancy by July 31, 2019.”
Kill my child
For my marketing, I used an email delivery service to send my press releases, offers for studios and newsletters to my customers. This time I had to use this mailing system to cancel contracts. We sent out 137 lease termination notices in a mass mailing! When I pressed that button to send the emails, it felt like I was killing my child.
When you run a business for almost ten years, it becomes part of your character. In Germany we have a word for a GmbH (limited liability company). It is also called a “legal entity”. After ten years, the company was no longer just a legal entity; it became more like a person with a very specific character! Of course, it reflects the character of the business owner, at least at first glance.
That's because Chris was running and operating it while I was away, so it started to reflect Chris' personality more and more, and our customers loved his style. I grew up listening to rock music, so my target audience was rock bands, the handmade ones Music and bands playing good old rock and roll.
But Chris is a musician who produces music electronically, and as the business grew we got more and more musicians doing that too. They needed recording studios, not rehearsal rooms. Over the last two years, the character of my business has evolved to be more like Chris's than mine. I lost some of my connection to my business remotely, and Chris stepped in and filled the vacuum.
As you probably understood, I previously described my ideal scenario in which Chris takes over the company. So I asked Chris: “Do you want to do that?” After some thought, he said: “Klaus, I enjoy my job,
but it's just a job. My dream is to be a musician and that is what I have planned for the future.”
I asked him, "So, are you okay with us closing?" He responded with a question, "Have you ever seriously considered that?" And I said, "No, I don't want to kill my child. I want to find another solution to keep this business going, to provide studios for musicians."
A life-changing call that we will never forget
At the time, I had no idea that my subconscious had already made a decision; After we had to admit that it was impossible to find a new building, I agreed to the deal with my landlord and decided to close the business.
That same week Chris got a call from a band and they told him, “Chris, our DJ is sick and we have 30 gigs to play this year. Are you available by any chance?” We couldn’t believe it!
We had just decided to close Rooms4Music and then a week later Chris got this fantastic offer. The name of the band that Chris got the offer from is called SDP.
Chris is now a band member and replaces the previous DJ. Today SDP plays at the biggest festivals in Germany, such as “Rock im Park” and “Rock am Ring”. They bring tens of thousands of fans to the Munich Olympiahalle and the Stuttgart Schleyerhalle.
I'm so happy to see how he's grown and that his dream has come true.
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
Which of your tasks are you willing to kill?
- View the list of tasks and activities you recently created
- Choose the task with the greatest potential for optimization: the one you don't enjoy, has the greatest potential for savings, and achieves the fastest results.
Mindstorming exercise
- Mindstorming is like brainstorming, but you do it alone, just for you.
- Listen to your inner voice and write down your ideas.
- At the beginning you write down the numbers from 1 to 50. This tells your subconscious that you need to come up with 50 ideas.
- Put yourself under positive stress and give yourself just 15 minutes to do it. Because with the time limit, creativity explodes.
Collect 50 implementation ideas for the task with the greatest optimization potential
Musicians are looking for rehearsal rooms
Yes, unfortunately the time has come, the Stuttgart rehearsal room center is closing. Due to the building owner's own needs, Rooms4Music will cease operations at the end of May 2019. We have over 100 bands their rehearsal room and musical home. We are now urgently looking for new premises in Stuttgart for the musicians.
After a long and intensive search, we unfortunately did not find a way to continue at another location. I'm very sorry for the musicians, but unfortunately the real estate market in Stuttgart doesn't allow them to continue at a reasonable price at the moment.
We had a building in mind, but the renovation costs were beyond all reasonable limits. That's why we unfortunately had to refrain from doing it again. And so unfortunately I have no choice but to stop operations here in the Holderpark of the Stuttgart rehearsal room center and close Rooms4Music after the end of business operations.
Despite an intensive search, we unfortunately have no way of continuing it in an economically justifiable manner. I'm stunned myself, and I know that the bands are now losing their rehearsal opportunities and the producers are losing their recording and mixing options.
I myself have to bury my child Rooms4Music. And my colleague Christian Böttcher is also affected by this. He has been running the business for the last few years. I will have to let him go, and he too will be his
Ready2Jam rehearsal rooms have to close.
We are still desperately looking for space that we can find for our musicians and offer them a new home. That's why we want to provide as many contacts as possible between musicians, bands and possible landlords.
If you know where something is available, or you have a rehearsal room yourself... Or if there is still space in your rehearsal room and you can sublet it to a second band, then enter below: Your email address and the size of the room. How much space it offers and the location... So that I can put you in touch with the musicians:
Keep On Rocking For A Better World!
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
So if you are willing to share your rehearsal space, if you know where a recording studio or rehearsal space is available, please let me know and enter on the Rooms4Music.com website:
- E-mail address
- the site
- and the key data of the room.
I'll forward it to our musicians who can contact you directly. Another request: share this page or video on your social channels. So that we can provide our musicians with as many new rehearsal opportunities as possible at short notice. Thank you.
Become an investor
After three years of intensive travel around the world, I settled in Bali. Then it was 2019 and I had this offer on the table from my landlord to take over my business and refund its entire value. And I did it. At the end of 2019, the money for the early termination of my business's lease ended up in his bank account. With this amount I was already financially secure! However, I couldn't invest it because so far I can't invest directly or buy land here.
I tried to open a stock account for my business in Germany but the rules and regulations were so complicated. They kept sending me contract forms that were 30 to 50 pages long. I tried to open a stock portfolio for my GmbH with three brokers in order to trade stocks and securities on the stock exchange. But it didn't work for anyone. Everyone complained that something wasn't filled out correctly, so I finally gave up. So I kept the money in my bank account and it couldn't work for me.
Then the pandemic started, and Indonesia was smart enough to say that all foreign visitors could stay as long as the pandemic lasted without needing a visa extension. It was therefore no longer necessary to leave the country to extend the visa. Nevertheless, most visitors left Indonesia, so there was great competition between accommodations and the cost of living fell sharply.
During this time my cost of living fell by about 50%. This means that Bali has experienced deflation of around 50%. So I was only spending half of my usual living expenses, and since I no longer had to travel, I was able to live on a very, very small budget. And that was a beautiful thing!
Retire with a guaranteed income
After the pandemic caused the market to plummet in mid-2020, I had an idea: I should simply turn my business, Rooms4Music, into its own bank.
First, I converted it into a holding company called “4ster Holding GmbH”. The GmbH only lent me the money as a loan.
Now it was possible to deposit it into my private account and invest. I invested in stocks and ETFs at a time when most markets were drastically undervalued. I no longer needed a stock portfolio for my company in Germany. That ended up being a pretty good situation because after the markets crashed due to the pandemic, there was a lot of growth, stock prices went up. Meanwhile, I still benefited from the very low cost of living.
If I invest privately, realized profits are taxed with a capital gains tax of 25%. But if I invest as a company, they will be taxed at the corporate profits tax rate, which is 30%. There are different tax rules for both. It is only cheaper or better if I trade with a slow hand and rarely move my assets in my private portfolio. But at least that was also a kind of tax optimization.
In 2019 I also attended the seminar “Managing taxes wisely”. It was about better handling of taxes and of course about the German tax system. I tried to apply what I had learned in the seminar. But at the end of the day it was almost useless. The most important thing I learned from this seminar was that I simply had to get rid of the German tax system because it is so incredibly complicated that you can only run away from it.
Here in Indonesia the tax rules and tax rates are much more favorable. For example, personal income tax is a flat 10%, and small businesses are not taxed at all.
But what about taxes when selling real estate? When we buy property in Germany, we pay between 3 and 5% of the purchase price in taxes. In Indonesia it is less pleasant because, first of all, it is a sales tax, meaning you pay the tax when you sell the property, which is usually a higher price than the purchase price and therefore results in a much higher tax amount. In addition, the tax rate is 10%, instead of 3 to 5% in Germany.
The tax situation for real estate is not as good here as in Germany, but the growth expectations are much better. Indonesia has inflation of almost 10 percent per year. You can easily tell by the amount printed on the banknotes. The smallest banknote you can get is 1,000 IDR, and the largest is 100,000 IDR, which is approximately €6 or US$6 at the time of writing this expat travel guide.
These large numbers on the rupiah bills reflect the inflation that Indonesia has had in the past. Due to this inflation, the value of assets, especially real estate, has increased tremendously. So you can easily expect real estate prices to increase ten to twenty times over the next ten years. In Germany and the rest of the Western world, however, property prices are unlikely to rise by more than 20, 30 or 50
% climb.
Investing in Indonesia
So far I haven't been able to invest or buy land here directly. But it doesn't matter. Because on July 7, 2020 I met Komang at the cacao ceremony. We fell in love and have lived together ever since. She now acts as an investor.
So I give her the money to invest as a loan and she invests it on her behalf. In the end we share the profits. This is a very good thing because it negotiates local prices, which makes investments and purchases cheaper.
When I got married in Germany in 1998, my living expenses increased by about four times! I tried to make money, but my wife kept burning it! And now, after I married Komang, she haggles over prices until she gets the local prices. Together we live cheaper than I could alone!
A year after we met at the cacao ceremony, we married on August 22, 2022. Well, since we moved in together, I have been helping my wife organize pranic healing retreats and her business has been going smoothly ever since. This is so wonderful to see.
Since I'm an investor and can live off my assets, I have the freedom to work whatever I want as long as I don't get paid for it here. So whatever I like to do, I do it! And whatever my wife likes to do, she does it! So she continues to teach prana healing, yoga, qigong, you name it! And that is her passion. My passion is to help her grow her business and like I said, it's great to see her business go through the roof in the process.
Komang is so good and she loves bargaining with the locals. She gets the best prices here, which keeps our costs low and lets us enjoy our financial freedom.
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
- Make a plan on how you want to invest
- Search, book and attend an investor seminar
- Open a stock portfolio with a discount broker if you don't already have one
Mission to Mars
Hello, I'm Klaus.
I'm currently taking the Millionaire Mind Intensive. Do you want to know what I learned and experienced? I doubt it! Do you really want to know? OK! I'll tell you!
So first of all, this seminar is in Kuala Lumpur. I traveled to Kuala Lumpur and this is what I learned during the seminar: I am a money monk! The universe takes care of me. I do not need money! And now I can live in complete serenity without having to worry about money.
At the seminar they asked me: "But why do you need money?" And I thought, "I don't know!" To find the answer, I sank into meditation and found out: I want to go to Mars with my lover! And I want to come back with twins, the first twins born on Mars.
And then they had this fun incentive: They held a lottery! I looked through my lottery tickets. There was one that caught my eye. I had one with the number: "10 911!" And this number somehow spoke to me. I thought:
“That must be a sign! The number 10 symbolizes a new beginning, and 911 is associated with emergency and rescue.”
No, no, no, I was thinking of something else! Have you heard of the German car manufacturer Porsche? They have a model called 911. So I imagined a different meaning of 911 when I read the number. I imagined the car! With this lottery ticket I thought I would win 10 of these cars.
I will have 10 Porsche 911s! My imagination ran wild and I started dreaming about what I would do with ten Porsche 911s. Do you want to know how it turned out? ...I'm going to Mars!
Mission to Mars: Ready to take off
It's time to board the spaceship. OK! Wonderful!
Boarding is complete. Please do not smoke until the captain has turned off the seat belt signs.
Mission to Mars: Space Experience
A dream came true, yes! This is Klaus Forster on Ocket ReX. I'm on my way to Mars! Melon Ask talked to me and I told him, "I want to have sex in space without gravity and get my wife pregnant; then she'll have twins on Mars!" And now I'm on my way! I also told him that I was short on cash... Melon laughed and offered to give me a ride for free! Can you belive that?
After a few days in space, I realized we had a problem. So I called the control center and told them about it: “Houston, we have a problem!
First: the gravity simulation is still switched on. So I can't have sex in zero gravity.
The second problem is: There are no women on board! I think doing twins in one shot is challenge enough.
Despite the absence of women and the obvious gravity, I am still determined to create something incredible. Now I guess I have to get pregnant alone?!?!? I don't know how to do it as a man, but I'm not giving up!"
Due to the large distance, it will take a while for the radio waves to reach Earth. Then people in Houston have to think about it. Even though I may not have all the resources to get pregnant, I am determined to find a way. I'll wait for Houston's response and let you know later.
Mission to Mars: Experiences with the HBOT spacecraft
This chapter might surprise you! But not in the way you think. I'm in the spaceship now! I'm here for fun, but really to heal. I'm in an oxygen chamber right now. But I'm not here for an emergency, just for prevention, or let's say it's for cure.
Recently I had an accident with my scooter. Because it's so warm here, you drive around in a T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops. Well, if you fall off the scooter you get some pretty unsightly scratches on your skin. Most of them are healed now, but I have an injury on my foot that isn't healing. Well, as the Aussies say: “Shit happens!”
So what is this oxygen chamber all about? It has an increased air pressure of 50 kilopascals inside. It's like being underwater. This is an overpressure that is about half an atmosphere higher than one atmosphere. So 1.5 atmospheres is the pressure to which the air pressure is increased. This is the water pressure you have when diving at a depth of 5 meters. If you are scuba diving or free diving and you are diving at a depth of 5 meters, you have approximately 1.5 atmospheres of water pressure.
At the surface of the water you have a pressure of one bar. This comes from the weight of the air. Under water, the pressure increases by 1 bar every 10 meters. So at a depth of 5 meters you have a pressure increase of half a bar. And that is the air pressure in this oxygen chamber.
You can hear the airflow through the mouthpiece. And this airflow is pure oxygen. So you breathe almost pure oxygen. And you stay in here for, say, 60 to 90 minutes. This overloads your blood with oxygen. The pH of your blood increases and it becomes more alkaline. This is a smart thing to do because most people's blood is usually too acidic. Being more alkaline has many positive medical side effects.
It even reduces your stress levels; you can think more clearly and the healing process is accelerated. That's always good. So I'm enjoying that here. To be honest, I haven't experienced the results yet. I'm not entirely convinced either. But I'll do a few more tests and report back later!
Mission to Mars: Twins conceived in space in zero gravity to be born on Mars
I spoke to Melon Ask. I told him I wanted to have sex in space without gravity and get my wife pregnant! I'm definitely excited to be part of this project so she can give birth to twins on Mars. I am confident that the results of the tests I am conducting and my commitment will contribute to the success of this mission.
And now I'm on my way. I also told Melon Ask that I was short on cash, so he gave me a ride for free! Can you belive that?
Houston, we have a problem
Let me call upon the earth:
"Where is the restroom?"
Due to the long distance it takes a few minutes. The radio waves have to travel all the way to Earth. Once they get there, the people of Houston will have to think about it... and then they'll come back with an answer.
So I'll tell you more about it later! I really hope we get a response from Houston soon. And I hope the wait will be worth it. And that I can delay peeing long enough.
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
What is your mission to Mars?
- Think about something very big
- Something completely crazy
- Something that seems unattainable within your lifetime
Why I had to write this expat travel guide
- ergonomics
Yes, I am an ergonomics freak. I like to simplify things. I love effective things. That's why I always simplify everything. I hate double treatment and having to do it twice. Once I understand how to do it, I'll try to automate it to make it easier to reproduce the same results with less effort.
To put it another way, I'm lazy! I don't like doing things twice! I like a strategy that gets results. Yes, “effectiveness” is the key word behind it for me. Results only come when you do the right thing effectively. In the end, this means you work less and gain more time.
You can travel with the time you save. And you get a lot of inspiration when you travel, and that's a wonderful thing. Ergonomics ultimately leads to less work and more time. Time to think. Time to travel. Fewer distractions so you can concentrate better. And those who have more time to think know what is important and can concentrate better on the essentials.
And if you have more time, you can travel. And traveling is a very inspiring experience. And with these new inspirations, your thinking time will become more effective. And in the end, you get better results with less effort, less work and even less cost. This way you can save even more money and become financially free much sooner.
- gratitude
But what about gratitude? I learned from my sister how she overcame sadness, grief, and the pain of grief after her husband died. And she did it by being grateful for the time they had together. And I learned that gratitude is a habit that can be learned, practiced and embodied.
People always say that you can't buy happiness. Incorrect! You can buy happiness. I found a way to do this by simply automating your gratitude through monetary donations! Simply set up an automatic transfer to donate some money. Let's say it's only €1 a day, but it reminds you every day that you can afford it and you can be grateful for it. And that's like buying happiness.
Some people say:
It is better to give than to receive.
But this is a very stupid interpretation of the original because it creates the mindset that people who give are happier than me. You are then trapped, feeling poor while others are happy. But the original saying is:
It is better to be in the situation where you can give than in the situation where you have to take.
And that leads to a much better mindset for getting rich.
Get rich, become wealthy.
So you buy happiness by regularly donating some money. And once you can afford more, you can use this strategy to buy even more happiness. And it works. That being said, gratitude provides a very strong foundation for abundance. The beautiful thing is that when you are grateful, your fear goes away. At the same time, you don't feel any fear.
And here in Bali, people practice gratitude with their small ceremonies three times a day. And you should look at their faces to see how they smile and how happy they are afterwards. The friendliness and their tolerance, especially their frustration tolerance! I am always impressed by this.
Yes, they have less drama in their lives. This makes them feel safer. You have less stress and more awareness. And more awareness leads to faster and better decisions. With better decisions you take a better path and your life is a better journey. This will make the journey of your life more enjoyable.
- Liebe
Now, how about love? Well, I love freedom. I especially love freedom of mind. I love to travel. I love financial freedom. Yes, financial freedom means abundant life. It's about loving money. I love my assets. And of course I love my children, and my children are the main reason I'm writing this expat travel guide because I love them unconditionally.
And this expat travel guide is also about a woman, Becky, who I fell in love with. She shared my love for Bali and she shared her love with me. And I am very grateful because she made me leave my golden cage in Germany. Becky made me move to Hanoi. She made me want to move to Asia, travel and live abroad. And I am so grateful for the encouragement her love gave me.
And now I want to give something back. That's why I would like to gratefully give back what I have learned along the way. I want to help you move faster and live your dream sooner than I did. I want to encourage you to find your Bali.
Bali is just a joker in this expat travel guide, a placeholder. Bali can also be your travel destination, but it doesn't have to be. It could be anywhere in the world. It can also be the place where you live now. But this expat travel guide is intended to help you find your paradise.
Reasons of the heart
To my beloved children (who are now adults): I miss you and I love you unconditionally. The lifestyle I live today stems from a dream that began in 1989. That was more than 30 years ago. And this expat travel guide, write for each of you:
So, my beloved children, I want to encourage you to pursue your dreams and make them come true. Learn from my mistakes, do better in your life and find your own Bali, whatever the joker, this placeholder means to you. Live your dreams. Take the next step and enjoy your journey.
Lebe in Hülle und Fülle im Paradies
Ihre Aufgabe für heute
- Buy yourself happiness by donating.