06/04/2015: The New 2 Year Journey Begins!

     Well, my corporate account is finally set-up.  There was some issues in getting it set-up, but I am now ready to start trading this account.  I actually placed a pending short order on the EURGBP last night, but it was not triggered.  I have another coaching session with Emmanuel tomorrow.  The plan is to review market trend identification in more detail.  Like the old saying says: "The trend is your friend"  It is one of the most important concepts, so it will be time well spent.


I have a meeting tomorrow morning with Greg to layout my 2 year plan for his 50 Millionaires Challenge.  I am #1 on the list.  The timing for this coincides well with the Making of a Millionaire Project.
    While I was in the UK, Greg encouraged me to surround myself with successful, like-minded people.  So, I decided to start a local "Master Mind" entrepreneur group. I talked to a few entrepreneur friends in the area and we will be holding monthly meetings.  The goal of the group is to share ideas, provide support and help one another and just keep each other motivated in what can be a challenging field.  We will be holding our first meeting next Tuesday.  I hope to grow the group and challenge the group to help others.  With the help of the group I hope to start a Children's Leadership program like Knowledge to Action has in the UK.

"Here's to your success"

Bill McManus

05/19/2014: Preparations for the 50 Millionaire Challange

     I was told that I would be receiving a contract for the Forex Account I will be trading sometime today.  This will be the last administrative piece before I get started on this 2 year journey.
     I have scheduled regular training sessions with my coach Emmanuel out into July.  He will be working with me to keep me on track.   I believe the project goal is to average about 3% profit on the account on a monthly basis.
     I am excited to get started and I am proud to be the first of Greg's 50 future millionaires on this project.  I am sure it is going to be an educational and exciting ride.  But, as I stated before, it fits perfectly with the Making of a Millionaire book project.
     I will be doing my best to also work other parallel projects with Greg to accelerate the project.  I have one in the works right now which I will post about later on today or tomorrow.

"Here's to your success"

Bill

05/16/2014: Assertiveness Pays Off.

     Introducing Arnold, my new assertive alter-ego.  I have begun to assert myself as necessary.  After my last meeting with Greg, I did as he recommended and sent him and email and copied Bridgette on the items we had agreed up.  He had agreed to set me up for unlimited trainings with my Forex trainer Emmanuel.  He also agreed to set me up with a funded Forex account to trade as part of his new 50 Multi Millionaires Challenge.  Also, as instructed, I set a deadline of the end of last week to get the items addresses.
    Well, at the end of last week, the training had not been set-up, nor had the account been funded.  So, in order to get the items addressed, I needed to take some assertive action.  My first step was to send the above picture to Greg on FaceBook with the following message:  Mr. Secker. I am Arnold, Bill's new assertive alter-ego. I was told you and he had an agreement last week regarding setting up training and a funded account. I was also told that you have not followed through on that agreement as of yet. I am here with a friendly reminder. But if I have to "I'll Be Back..."   I like to use humor where possible.  I thought it might be a subtle, effective and memorable way to get some action. Well, I saw that Greg had viewed the message, but I did not hear from him.  I knew his assistant Bridgette was out of town and was due back this Monday.   So, I figured I would wait and he would probably have her address this on her return.
     At close of business on Monday, I checked and still nothing had been set-up.  On Tuesday morning I checked again and still nothing.  Being afternoon in the UK, I knew that there was ample time to begin addressing the items, so I decided to contact Greg and Bridgette and ask for a status. I sent the following email.

Hello Greg & Bridgette!

    A week has passed, so I am checking in to see if I can get a status on the training and account set-up per my agreement with Greg last week as referenced in my email below.  Can I please get an update?  Is there anything you need from me?  If so, please let me know.  Thank you and have a great day!

Bill

     Well, it worked because on Wednesday I as copied on an email from Bridgette to have the account set up as well as the training.  As of this morning, the training sessions have been set-up and the account is in process.  So, going forward I will be assertive, but handle it in a tactful manner.  This was way I ca get things done and not ruffle too many feathers.

    So, I am ready to start as #1 of the 50 in the Multi Millionaire Challenge.   What a better fit for the Making of a Millionaire Project.  I am going to set-up a  meeting with Greg to layout the 2 year plan.

"Here's to your success!"

Bill

05-06-2014: I'm Back! Assertiveness is the key!!

Assertiveness!  That's what I have been missing.  The diminishing number of posts over the months, to the total lack over the last 2 months was all due to lack of assertiveness.

     I had a great call with Greg today.  Probably the most important one yet.  He asked how I have been doing in general.  Well, I told him, "to tell you the truth, I am frustrated.  We started this project about 5 months ago and I feel like you aren't on board and I feel like I am not even on your radar."  I hated to even say those words as I was afraid I might upset him and he may bid me farewell.

     Well, come to find out, he has been waiting for me to be assertive and take the reigns and control over the project and my life.  He said he is indeed busy, but I need to demand his time.  And if we agree to something on the call, I have to get with his PA Bridgette, or whoever I need to do get it addressed.  I have just been waiting around.

     I admit it.  I guess I am too nice a guy by nature.  I have been told by many a manager that I am "too nice" to my customers or my people.  Maybe I am nice to a fault.  But Greg told me you can be assertive and go after what you want and still be nice.  He said he lives under the phrase "I would rather beg for forgiveness than ask for permission"  Well, I have been spending my whole life waiting around and asking for permission to be successful.  That stops today!  Today I am going to start being more assertive and take control of my destiny, rather than waiting around on others.

     I am back folks and this project is on track and the future is very bright!

"Here's to your success"

Bill McManus

03/11/2014: Perseverance

Perseverance: continued effort to do or achieve something despite difficulties, failure, or opposition.

I stumbled upon this statue depicting perseverance.  I think it captures it perfectly.

Sometimes the anchor becomes very heavy. My anchor is very heavy today...

02/15/2014: Olympic Lesson From Shaun White

My wife and I enjoy watching the winter Olympics together.  I really like to watch the snowboarding competitions.  Like the rest of the US, I was cheering on Shaun White, hoping he would be the first snowboarder to bring home gold for 3 consecutive Olympics.

The conditions weren't the best and although he gave it his best, he had a bad run on his last attempt.  Sadly Shaun was unable to bring home the gold.  He didnt' even bring home a medal, placing 4th in the half pipe competition.

"I'm disappointed," White said. "I hate the fact I nailed it in practice, but it happens. It's hard to be consistent."   

But, when asked if he would be competing in the 2018 Olympics he said "I think so".   After 4 years of training for these Olympics, Shaun didn't bring home the gold.  But, he is not giving up.  He will be going right back to training and will be back in 4 years.  I will be there to watch him and hope that next time everything works out for him.  I admire him for his talent and perseverance.  Go Shaun!

So, I took away a big lesson from this.  No matter how well you prepare and practice, there will be times when things just don't go your way.  Maybe you are doing all the right things but conditions aren't just right.  I will apply this lesson to my trading and to life in general.  There will be times when the conditions aren't just right and I will fall.  But like Shaun White, I just need to get back up and head to the top of the hill for another run and keep chasing the gold.

"Here's to your success"

Bill McManus

02/08/2014: Challenges continue

I am still facing challenges but doing better to have the right attitude.  I have still not had the opportunity to review my goals with Greg.  The week after we had our last session he was in South Africa.  The week after he was in Morocco.  This week he is in Australia on a speaking tour.  I have to understand that he is a busy man.  I will do my best to set-up some time with him next week as I do not believe he is traveling.

Trading: Trading has been a mental struggle.  Why?  Well, not due to major losses, just due to the lack of trading opportunities for the last 2 weeks.  The number of potential trades has been low for the last 2 weeks.  But, I have to realize that I cannot force trades.  The set-ups are either there or they aren't.  The idea is to avoid losses by only taking good set-ups.  An exercise in patience.  I am taking it as a challenge to grow further.

week of 01/16: 9 pending trades placed, only 1 of the 9 triggered for a small loss.

week of 01/23: 8 pending trades placed, only 1 of the 8 triggered 

Mentoring:  With mentoring being one of my goals, I started to mentor others through the icouldbe organization.   I am now mentoring under-privileged kids through Icouldbe.org (www.icouldbe.org) I am currently mentoring 2 students in their academics and planning for the future.  I am doing my best to pass on what I  learn from Greg nd others like Trevor Kearney, a new friend I met in th UK.  Trevor is a very successful man and also mentors children.  

Writing:  One of my other goals was to write my first children's book. With the lack of trade opportunities I have made quite a bit of progress on this book.  The book is to be the first in a series.  It is called Doran's Doorway Adventures.  I will finish this book this year and see what happens..

"Here's to your success"

Bill McManus

02/02/2014: Goals for 2014

As requested, I have sent my 2014 Goals to Greg.  He asked for: What I want to be, What I want to do and at I want to have.  My goals for 2014 are as follows:

For 2014….

Who Do I Want To Be?

1)     A Positive Person

2)     Healthy and Fit

3)     An inspiration to others

4)   A better all round person than I was on 1/1/2014

What Do I Want To Do?

1)     Maintain a positive outlook and positive self-talk and image

2)     Volunteer/Inspire: mentoring (icouldbe.org) 50+ hours for 2014

3)     Only take good trade set-ups.  Focus on trading plan!

4)     Begin to “brand” and build a significant following for The Making of a Millionaire

a.      Get a good website w/ email capture capability set-up

b.     Blog and post videos regularly

c.      Engage others in online success forums etc.

5)     Attain a good level of Physical Fitness

a.      Lose 40 pounds

b.     Exercise daily

c.      Lift weights 3+ days a week to tone up

6)     Complete 5-6 chapters of Making of a Millionaire

7)     Sell my old home

8)     Complete first children’s book: Dolan’s Doorway Adventures #1

9)     Disney Trip with family for Colin’s graduation (1 ^st week of December)

What Do I Want To Have?

      1)    Peace of mind.  Freedom from money and job worries.

      2)    Pride in my achievements for the year


"Here's to your success"

Bill McManus