Why I had To Write This Book?
Hard facts and heart reasons
1. Ergonomy
2. Gratitude
3. And love
Yeah, I'm an ergonomy freak.
I like to simplify things. I love things that are effective. That's why I keep simplifying everything. I hate double-handling and doing things twice. As soon as I understand how to do it, I 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 produces results. Yeah, "effectiveness" is the keyword for me behind that. Results only come from doing the right thing in an effective way. So, in the end, it means one has to work less, and one gains more time.
Bloody mosquitoes!
With the time you gain, you can travel. And during travel, you get a lot of inspiration, and that's a wonderful thing. So, in the end, ergonomy leads to less work and more time. Time to think. Time to travel. Fewer distractions so you can focus better. And actually, if you have more time to think, you will know what is essential for you, and you can focus better on the essential things. And if you have more time, you can travel. And traveling is a very inspiring experience. And with these new inspirations, your thinking time becomes more effective. And in the end, you produce better results with less effort by working less and even by having fewer costs. So you can even save more money and become financially free much earlier.
But how about gratitude?
From my sister, I learned how she overcame sadness, grief, and the pain of sorrow after her husband passed away. And she did it by being grateful for the time they had together. And I learned gratitude is a habit that you can learn, you can practice, and embody. People keep saying you can't buy happiness! You can buy happiness. I found a way to do so just by automating your gratitude by donating money! Just put an automatic money transfer in place to donate a bit of money. Let's say it's only a Euro a day, but it reminds you every day that you can afford it and that you can be grateful for doing so. And this is like buying happiness.
People keep saying it's better to give than to receive. But that's a very stupid interpretation of the original because it creates the mindset that people who give are more blessed than I am. You're stuck in a trap, feeling poor while other people are happy. But the original saying is it is better to be in a situation where you can give than to be in a situation where you need to receive. And that leads to a much better mindset for becoming abundant.
Become wealthy, become rich.
So the way to buy happiness is by regularly donating a little bit of money. And as soon as you can afford more, you can buy more happiness with that strategy. And it really works. Apart from that, gratitude builds a very strong foundation for abundance. The beautiful thing is that your fear fades away if you feel grateful. You don't feel any fear at the same time. And here in Bali, the people practice gratitude with their little ceremonies three times a day. And you should have a look at their faces to see how they are smiling and how happy they are after doing so. The friendliness and their tolerance, especially their frustration tolerance! I'm always impressed by that. Yes, finally, they have less drama in their lives. They feel more secure because of that. They have less stress and more awareness. And more awareness leads to faster and better decisions. See, with better decisions, you go on a better road, and your life is a better Journey. The journey of your life is more pleasant because of that.
And now, how about love?
Well, I love freedom. I especially love the freedom of mind. I love to travel. I love financial freedom. Yes, financial freedom is an abundance. It's about loving money. It's loving my assets.
And, of course, I love my kids, and my kids are the primary reason I'm writing this book because I love them unconditionally.
And this book is also about a woman I fell in love with. She shared my love for Bali, and she shared her love with me. And I'm very grateful because she made me go and exit and escape my golden cage in Germany. She made me move to Hanoi. She made me move to Asia and travel and live overseas. And I'm so grateful for the encouragement her love gave me. And now, I want to give back.
That's why I want to give back gratefully, for what I have learned along the way. I want to help you move faster and live your dream earlier than I did. I want to encourage you to find your Bali. See, Bali in this book is just a wildcard, a placeholder. Bali can be your destination as well, but it doesn't have to be. It could be anywhere in the world. It can still be at the place where you're living. But to find your paradise - that's what this book shall serve you with.
To finally live abundantly in paradise.
So now, another word for my beloved children
who are adults meanwhile:
I miss you, but I love you unconditionally. And see, the lifestyle I'm living today goes back to a dream that started in 1989. That was more than 30 years ago. And with this book, which I'm writing for you, I want to encourage you to learn from my mistakes and not to hesitate for another 30 years until you live your dream. I want to help you with this book to understand what your dream is and to make it happen much, much faster than I did. I want to help you focus on your way to paradise to make it simpler to follow your heart's reasons and make better progress than I did. And that's why I'm sharing my learnings in this book with you.
I want you to build your wealth faster and better than I did. With wealth, I mean abundance—inner abundance and outer abundance. So in your mind and in your financial situation, both spiritually and materially. So, my beloved kids, I want to encourage you to follow up on your dreams and make them come true. Learn from my mistakes, do better in your life, and find your own Bali, whatever that wild card in this placeholder means for you.
Live your dream
Take the next step.