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THE GIVERS GIFT

The Myth of Giver Burnout

Years ago, Dutch psychologists studied hundreds of health professionals. They tracked the amount of

time and energy that the health professionals gave to patients, and asked them to report how burned

out they felt. A year later, the psychologists measured giving and burnout again. Sure enough, the more

the health professionals gave, the more burned out they became in the following year. Those who gave

selflessly had the highest burnout rates: they contributed far more than they got, and it exhausted them.

Those who gave average (matchers) and that that gave little (takers) were far less burned out.

But strangely, in another study, the Dutch psychologists found evidence that some health care

professionals seemed immune to burnout. Even when they gave a great deal of time and energy, they

didn’t exhaust themselves. These resilient health care professionals were otherish givers:(those that give for a define purpose) they

reported that they enjoyed helping other people and often went out of their way to do so, but weren’t

afraid to seek help when they needed it. The otherish givers had significantly lower burnout rates than

the matchers and takers, who lacked the stamina to keep contributing. This study pointed to an

unexpected possibility: although matchers and takers appear to be less vulnerable to burnout than

selfless givers, the greatest resilience may belong to otherish givers.

Part of the reason for this is illuminated in fascinating work by Northwestern University

psychologists Elizabeth Seeley and Wendi Gardner, who asked people to work on a difficult task that

sapped their willpower. For example, imagine that you’re very hungry, and you’re staring at a plate of

delicious chocolate chip cookies, but you have to resist the temptation to eat them. After using up their

willpower in a task like this, participants squeezed a handgrip as long as they could. The typical

participant was able to hold on for twenty-five seconds. But there was a group of people who were

able to hold on 40 percent longer, lasting for thirty-five seconds.

The participants with unusually high stamina scored high on a questionnaire measuring “other-

directedness.” These other-directed people operated like givers. By consistently overriding their

selfish impulses in order to help others, they had strengthened their psychological muscles, to the

point where using willpower for painful tasks was no longer exhausting. In support of this idea, other

studies have shown that givers accrue an advantage in controlling their thoughts, emotions, and

behaviors. Over time, giving may build willpower like weight lifting builds muscles. Of course, we

all know that when muscles are overused, they fatigue and sometimes even tear—this is what happens

to selfless givers.

In Utah, a seventy-five-year-old man understands the resilience of otherish givers. His name is

Jon Huntsman Sr., Back in 1990, Huntsman was negotiating an acquisition with Charles Miller Smith, who was the president

and CEO of a chemical company. During the negotiations, Smith’s wife died. Huntsman empathized

with Smith, so he decided not to push any further: “I decided the fine points of the last 20 percent of

the deal would stand as they were proposed. I probably could have clawed another $200 million out

of the deal, but it would have come at the expense of Charles’ emotional state. The agreement as it

stood was good enough.”

Was a CEO’s emotional state really worth $200 million to Huntsman? Believe it or not, this wasn’t the first time Huntsman gave away a fortune during a negotiation. Just four years earlier, in

1986, he made a verbal agreement with a CEO named Emerson Kampen. Huntsman would sell 40

percent of a division of his company to Kampen’s for $54 million. Due to legal delays, the contract

wasn’t written until six months later. By that time, Huntsman’s profits had skyrocketed: that 40 percent

of the division was now worth $250 million. Kampen called with a matcher’s offer to split the

difference, proposing to pay $152 million instead of the original $54 million. Huntsman was poised

to bring in nearly triple the original agreement. But he said no. The $54 million was good enough.

Kampen was incredulous: “That’s not fair to you.”

Huntsman believed in honoring his commitment to Kampen. Even though the lawyers hadn’t

drafted the original purchase agreement, he had shaken hands six months earlier on a verbal

agreement. He signed for the $54 million, walking away from an extra $98 million. What type of

businessman would make such irrational decisions?

In 1970, Huntsman started a chemical company that reigns today as the world’s largest. He has

been named Entrepreneur of the Year and earned more than a dozen honorary doctorates from

universities around the world. He’s a billionaire, one of the Forbes one thousand richest people in the

world.

As his deal-making choices show, Huntsman is also a giver, and not just in business. Since 1985,

he has been involved in serious philanthropy. He is one of just nineteen people in the world who have

given at least $1 billion away. Huntsman has won major humanitarian awards for giving more than

$350 million to found the world-class Huntsman Cancer Center, and made hefty donations to help

earthquake victims in Armenia, support education, and fight domestic violence and homelessness. Of

course, many rich people give away serious sums of money, but Huntsman demonstrates an uncommon

intensity that sets him apart. In 2001, the chemical industry tanked, and he lost a sizable portion of his

fortune. Most people would cut back on giving until they recovered. But Huntsman made an

unconventional decision. He took out a personal loan, borrowing several million dollars to make

good on his philanthropic commitments for the next three years.

Huntsman sounds like a classic example of someone who got rich and then decided to give back.

But there’s a different way of looking at Huntsman’s success, one that might be impossible to believe

if it weren’t backed up by Huntsman’s experience and by science. Maybe getting rich didn’t turn him

into a giver. What if we’ve mixed up cause and effect?

Huntsman believes that being a giver actually made him rich. In his giving pledge, Huntsman

writes: “It has been clear to me since my earliest childhood memories that my reason for being was to

help others. The desire to give back was the impetus for pursuing an education in business, for

applying that education to founding what became a successful container company, and for using that

experience to grow our differentiated chemicals corporation.” As early as 1962, Huntsman told his

wife that he “wanted to start his own business so he could make a difference” for people with cancer.

Huntsman lost both of his parents to cancer, and had survived three bouts of cancer himself. Curing

cancer is so deeply ingrained in Huntsman’s fiber that he has even prioritized it above his political

ideology. Although he worked in the Nixon White House and has been a longtime supporter of the

Republican party, Huntsman has been known to favor Democratic candidates if they demonstrate a

stronger commitment to curing cancer.

There’s little doubt that Huntsman is a skilled businessman. But the very act of giving money

away might have contributed to his fortune. In Winners Never Cheat, he writes, “Monetarily, the most satisfying moments in my life have not been the excitement of closing a great deal or the reaping of

profits from it. They have been when I was able to help others in need . . . There’s no denying that I

am a deal junkie, but I also have developed an addiction for giving. The more one gives, the better

one feels; and the better one feels about it, the easier it becomes to give.”

This is an extension of the idea that otherish givers build willpower muscles, making it easy to

give more, but is it possible that Huntsman actually made money by giving it away? Remarkably,

there’s evidence to support this claim. The economist Arthur Brooks tested the relationship between

income and charitable giving. Using data from almost thirty thousand Americans in the year 2000, he

controlled for every factor imaginable that would affect income and giving. He adjusted for

education, age, race, religious involvement, political beliefs, and marital status. He also accounted

for the number of times people volunteered. As expected, higher income led to higher giving. For

every $1 in extra income, charitable giving went up by $0.14.*

But something much more interesting happened. For every $1 in extra charitable giving, income

was $3.75 higher. Giving actually seemed to make people richer. For example, imagine that you and I

are both earning $60,000 a year. I give $1,600 to charity; you give $2,500 to charity. Although you

gave away $900 more than I did, according to the evidence, you’ll be on track to earn $3,375 more

than I will in the coming year. Surprising as it seems, people who give more go on to earn more.

Jon Huntsman Sr. may be on to something. Research shows that giving can boost happiness and

meaning, motivating people to work harder and earn more money, even if the gift isn’t on the colossal

scale of Huntsman’s. In a study by psychologists Elizabeth Dunn, Lara Aknin, and Michael Norton,

people rated their happiness in the morning. Then, they received a windfall: an envelope with $20.

They had to spend it by five P.M., and then they rated their happiness again. Would they be happier

spending the money on themselves or on others?

Most people think they’d be happier spending the money on themselves, but the opposite is true. If

you spend the money on yourself, your happiness doesn’t change. But if you spend the money on

others, you actually report becoming significantly happier. This is otherish giving: you get to choose

who you help, and it benefits you by improving your mood. Economists call it the warm glow of

giving, and psychologists call it the helper’s high. Recent neuroscience evidence shows that giving

actually activates the reward and meaning centers in our brains, which send us pleasure and purpose

signals when we act for the benefit of others.

These benefits are not limited to giving money; they also show up for giving time. One study of

more than 2,800 Americans over age twenty-four showed that volunteering predicted increases in

happiness, life satisfaction, and self-esteem—and decreases in depression—a year later. And for

adults over sixty-five, those who volunteered saw a drop in depression over an eight-year period.

Other studies show that elderly adults who volunteer or give support to others actually live longer.

This is true even after controlling for their health and the amount of support they get from others. In

one experiment, adults either gave massages to babies or received massages themselves.

Postmassage, those who gave had lower levels of stress hormones—such as cortisol and epinephrine

—than those who received. It seems that giving adds meaning to our lives, distracts us from our own

problems, and helps us feel valued by others. As researchers Roy Baumeister, Kathleen Vohs,

Jennifer Aaker, and Emily Garbinsky conclude in a national survey of Americans, “meaningfulness

was associated with being a giver more than a taker.”

There’s a wealth of evidence that the ensuing happiness can motivate people to work harder, longer, smarter, and more effectively. Happiness can lead people to experience intense effort and long

hours as less unpleasant and more enjoyable, set more challenging goals, and think more quickly,

flexibly, and broadly about problems. One study even showed that when physicians were put in a

happier mood, they made faster and more accurate diagnoses. Overall, on average, happier people

earn more money, get higher performance ratings, make better decisions, negotiate sweeter deals, and

contribute more to their organizations. Happiness alone accounts for about 10 percent of the variation

between employees in job performance. By boosting happiness, giving might have motivated Jon

Huntsman Sr. to work harder and smarter, helping him build up his fortune.

Huntsman is not the only influential businessperson who has come to view giving as a source of

energy. In 2003, Virgin mogul Richard Branson set up a council called The Elders to fight conflict and

promote peace, bringing together Nelson Mandela, Jimmy Carter, Kofi Annan, Desmond Tutu, and

other leaders to alleviate suffering in Sudan, Cyprus, and Kenya. In 2004, Branson launched Virgin

Unite, a nonprofit foundation that mobilizes people and resources to fight deadly diseases like AIDS

and malaria, promote peace and justice, prevent climate change, and support entrepreneurs with

microloans and new jobs in the developing world. In 2006, he pledged to donate all $3 billion of the

profits from the Virgin airline and train businesses over the next decade to fight global warming. In

2007, he offered a $25 million prize for innovations to fight climate change. Was this string of events

caused by a midlife crisis?

Actually, Branson was giving long before he became rich and famous. At age seventeen, a year

after starting Student magazine and five full years before launching Virgin Records, Branson started

his first charity. It was the Student Advisory Centre, a nonprofit organization that helped at-risk youth

with a range of services. He made a list of problems that young people faced, from unwanted

pregnancies to venereal disease, and convinced doctors to offer free or discounted services. He spent

many nights on the phone at three A.M. consoling people who were contemplating suicide. Looking

back, he notes that early in his career, he “had been interested in making money only to ensure

Student’s continuing success and to fund the Student Advisory Centre.” Today, giving continues to

energize him. The “thing that gets me up in the morning is the idea of making a difference,” Branson

writes, “to help safeguard our future on this planet. Does that make me successful? It certainly makes

me happy.”

These energizing effects help to explain why otherish givers are fortified against burnout: through

giving, they build up reserves of happiness and meaning that takers and matchers are less able to

access. Selfless givers use up these reserves, exhausting themselves and often dropping to the bottom

of the success ladder. By giving in ways that are energizing rather than exhausting, otherish givers are

more likely to rise to the top. In two studies of employees in a wide range of jobs and organizations,

psychologist David Mayer and I found that otherish employees made more sustainable contributions

than the selfless givers, takers, or matchers. Employees who reported strong concern for benefiting

others and creating a positive image for themselves were rated by supervisors as being the most

helpful and taking the most initiative.

Ironically, because concern for their own interests sustains their energy, otherish givers actually

give more than selfless givers. This is what the late Herbert Simon, winner of the Nobel Prize in

economics, observed in the quote that opened this chapter. Otherish givers may appear less altruistic

than selfless givers, but their resilience against burnout enables them to contribute more.

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women and children living in poverty stricken community needs serious attention to survive http://theesoopap.goddadysites.com

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Giving to Charity is a Generous Act of Kindness, But…

Extreme poverty on a global basis will not be overcome when money flows out of the poverty stricken area. The trouble is very few organizations are trying to develop strategies that bring income to residence in these poverty areas so that money can flow back in.

Extreme poverty on a global basis will only be overcome when money flows out of the poverty stricken area.  The trouble is very few organizations are trying to develop strategies that bring income to residence in these poverty areas so that money can flow back out.  Rather what you see are many charitable people and organizations taking and giving things to those in poverty.  Then they leave and whatever they gave is consumed and often times fast forgotten.  

Giving things to people is a very generous act of kindness.  In some cases the recipient’s life is changed.  But in many cases this will also create a dependency to be established and the next need is met with an open hand.  Not all things fall into this category; a life saving drug for example is often a pure gift and the recipient has no ability to utilize it beyond its purpose.  But what if things could be different for other things that are essential to life?  What if the person getting the gift is also getting an income, a skill, a craft to be used to provide an income?  One such item is a simple shelter, a home.  

Is it far fetched to think this is possible?  Not at all, and in honesty it is not a new thought but when it is applied to housing it is new indeed.  Housing unfortunately has a high cost associated with it.  Higher than many things people who live in poverty need and higher than most people are accustomed to giving.  For example it is easy to give a pair of shoes or an article of clothing but how does one give someone a simple shelter, a house?  After all, a simple shelter or adequate living space offers more positive benefit than anything else.

In simple terms the occupant needs to become part of the solution.  They must be given the skills and tools as well as the materials to build shelters for their communities or geographic regions.  Once skilled and employed their ability to overcoming the challenges of poverty has begun.  Once employed, like everywhere else on earth, much can be done with the income: improve education, health, wellbeing, child care and development, personal security, and much more.  The journey to the end of poverty can begin.

Visit our website https://theesoopap.godaddysites.com 

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Want To Be An Entrepreneur? Start Here!

Want to be an entrepreneur? It's the first question everyone asks: where do I start? Well, if you want to be an entrepreneur but you wonder what's been holding you back, I have the perfect place to start: the mirror.

It's the first question everyone asks: where do I start?

Well, if you want to be an entrepreneur but you wonder what's been holding you back, I have the perfect place to start: the mirror.

Yes, if you want to know what's holding you back in your professional life, grab a mirror, and after you get over all the admiring, notice what's between your ears. That's right, it's your head.

Everything your life is today is a direct result of what's been going on between your ears. Henry Ford said it well, "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you're right."

If you think your problems come from outside of your head, please move on. I can't help you. And ironically, you won't be able to help yourself. Because all change comes directly from you and the understanding that you're responsible for your life - no one else - nothing else.

Now, if you're still with me and you're willing to accept what I've written so far, good. You're on the right track - the track to a better, more fulfilling life.

Your mindset - in essence - how you think, determines outcomes. Accept this and you're on your way to being not just any entrepreneur, but a successful entrepreneur.

The next step: overcoming fear. We all have it - and for good reason. Sometimes fear saves your life. Long ago, fear served us well when we heard the growl of a hungry tiger. And unfortunately for many would-be entrepreneurs today, the fear they feel is equivalent to hearing that tiger - even though it's not a life-threatening situation. So instead of moving forward , they end up frozen with fear. Realize this to overcome any fear: the absolute worst thing that can happen is that you fail. Big deal. Get up, dust yourself off and go at it again.

And the next step: weigh the gains. The safe route is the 9-to5 J.O.B. (Just Over Broke) -- The world of mediocrity and the false security of "knowing" that they show up to work and they get paid for that day. The fact is people get fired from "secure" jobs every day. Why not weigh the gain of living the life of your dreams using your new-found mindset of knowing you can succeed?

Here are the other gains of entering entrepreneurial waters:

Freedom: Yes, the positives include the freedom to set your own hours, leave the office when you want, and vacation on a whim. You not only have 100 percent control of your schedule, but also freedom from the negatives of normal jobs: dealing with boneheads, having to show up at a certain time every day, sitting in pointless meetings. On and on.

Control: You and you alone sit in front of the control panel of your business. You decide what products or services to offer. You choose your ideal customer. In short, you control every aspect of your business instead of someone else telling what to do.

Unlimited Income: No one will tell you your salary. You and your new mindset get to create your income. And let me tell you from personal experience, the sky truly is the limit. Just be sure not to set your goal too low and settle for good, when great is achievable. Business guru Jim Collins said it best: "Good is the enemy of great."

Work/Life Balance: What's my favorite characteristic of being an entrepreneur? Let me start with the end in sight -- you get to attend every one of your kids' school events or family get-togethers. Yes, that is the blessing of not working for someone else. You don't have to submit a time-off request or wonder if you have accumulated time-off to take a vacation.

I'll leave you with this: "You can't teach hunger. You either have it or you don't."

You still with me? You still willing to give your new life a shot? To be bold? Adventurous?

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Using Charity Credit Cards to Help those Who Need it

Charity credit cards are a great way to show support for a certain charity. Many credit card companies offer a wide variety of reward programs, but many people find they really do not need those types of rewards. So credit card companies began teaming up with charities to offer people an easy way to support the charity of their choice. When a person uses a charity credit card a percentage of the amount charged to their credit card goes to the charity. Charity credit cards make a person feel good every time they use their credit card. While it is nice to donate to charity, this can be a problem. Most people get carried away and think that they are doing good by charging on their credit card, however, they may also be charging themselves into a financial crisis. A person who tells themselves this may end up charging things they usually would not. The better way to think of a charity credit card is that instead of earning rewards or simply getting nothing from charging on the credit card a charity is benefiting. Charity credit cards usually give a low percentage rate of money to charities. There are a variety of cards and a person looking to really make a difference should compare to find the one that gives the most to charities. Another option is for a person to get a credit card that offers cash back and then donate that cash to the charity of their choice. Even though there are many different charity credit cards that donate to many different causes, a person may not be able to find the charity of their choice or they may find a new charity to donate through this way and keep donating to their other charity through cash donations. Either way, charity credit cards are very beneficial and the charities really appreciate the money earned though this method. Charity credit cards area nice way for people to use reward programs. This reward program is not a selfish one, but rather one of kindness and giving. A person may feel compelled to let their credit charges get out of control, though, so it is always important for a person to keep in mind that they can always donate money to the charity instead. A person may also consider switching to a charity credit card if they are finding the rewards they earn though other credit cards are not being used. Article Tags: Charity Credit Cards, Charity Credit, Credit Cards, Credit Card

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What does a successful female angel investor do? learn morehttps://theesoopap.tumblr.com/post/638682007791124480/how-to-become-a-successful-female-angel-investor #angelinvestors #nonprofitorganization #donation #theesoopap (at Abuja, Nigeria) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJUPQSwjxI0/?igshid=19kxt4wdsj6ge

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How to Become a Successful Female Angel Investor

Rose Vitale is a successful female angel investor who manages www.womeninbusinesspodcast.com  and she manages the collection and investment strategies for all types of people, including wealthy clients, in the investment world and gives them the right advice on all investment matters.

What does a successful female angel investor do? She invests in privately held companies. She is an investor who makes a research-based investment following a strategy to facilitate success.

Not anyone can be a female angel investor. However, being a successful female angel investor is completely different and it requires a certain diligence in order to meet some of the characteristics and qualities.

An aspiring female angel needs to know the true physical structure and work qualities of a successful investor in order to take the decisions and advice of an intelligent person who acts as a catalyst for future investments. The following tips and steps by Rose Vitale as a successful, female angel investor will provide professional insights for investing in your own angel group. As a successful female angel investor, the following tips and steps on how to become a successful female angel investor through this article post.

Getting started

First, there are some important things to consider when investing in women. For example, what companies can you invest in? How much money do you have to invest? And know how to finance those investments?

When picking your startups, it is very important to consider both the potential for profit and any non-financial returns related to the investment.

What is an Angel Investor?

A successful female angel investor is usually a high-value and quality individual who provides support and advice for small startups or entrepreneurs, including financial backing in exchange for ownership equity.

In other words, a successful angel is an investor who is seen in the family and friends of an entrepreneur and is given security to invest their money.

The funds that Angel Investors provides is an investment that helps businesses get off the ground or a running in the early stages.

In short, the angel is also known as a private investor, seed investor or angel funder.

”Previously, only accredited investors, such as those with annual incomes of more than $ 200,000 or $ 1 million in investable assets, were eligible to become an angel investor, and they contributed. But currently, following investment laws and regulations, women whose minimum income or wealth limit they can engage non-profit investors as angel investors through a customer funding platform”.

Who Can Be a Successful Female Angel Investor?

Angel investors are generally people who have earned the status of "accredited investor" but this is not a prerequisite. Angels must meet certain requirements to be a "recognized investor" in womeninbusinesspodcast.com based in the US country. People, who have an annual income of $200,000 or more, or at least $ 1 million, can be investors. It does not include its original property / home. Angel investors usually use their own money, take care of the money they owe from many other investors, and strategically place it in their own managed funds.

How does Angel Investing work for women?

On a simple and easy basis, financing is based on which a startup they would like to invest in. In this case angels follow a different approach then investing institutions.

When an investor provides angel funds, the investor acquires an equity or ownership stake in the company. The equity amount for each angel invested can be more equal to the amount of capital provided in the individual case, and the investor acquires a fair amount of capital at the end of a specified period, subject to the terms of an angel investor

Successful Angel investors know their risks

To be a successful female angel investor you need to know the risks involved. Because, investing in any company is not a sure thing, and failing at the forefront of risk without having to start your angel journey is a surefire way.

Successful angel investors have their clear strategy

Successful angel investors will not start spreading seed money to multiple startups or entrepreneurs without a plan. If you do not have a strategy, now is the time to question any strategy that you may need to spend some time for yourself. Rose Vitale, can help you develop a strong investment strategy that you can integrate as your own angel investor.

Successful female angels do regular homework about investing

High level of research and due diligence must remain in the program of successful Angel Investors. Research is essential to make sure your money is in good hands and whether you can see a favorable return on investment. In fact, most successful angel investors regularly spend more time exploring potential investment opportunities.

Finding a successful female angel Investors

Finding a successful female angel investor, contacting them, discussing investments and meetings can make your angel go a long way toward success. The angel investing community is a relatively small family, but don't be deprived of guidance, advice, and advice from an already successful angel. There are plenty of places to connect with angels like networks, events, conferences and LinkedIn etc.

Do You Want To Be A Successful Female Angel Investor Or Ready?

Being a successful female angel investor does not necessarily have a proper road map. This is not something that you have learned from birth or it is not something that you can learn overnight. In this case, the most successful investors spend countless time honoring their investment skills, often learning how to succeed from failure.

So you can visit our website www.womeninbusinesspodcast.com for the benefit of a successful female angel investor and any advice and assistance and all information about female investment.

About author,

Rose Vitale has been an industry leader with up to 25 years of experience in building her own corporate empires as a successful business owner and entrepreneur, as well as helping small businesses maximizes their full potential.

Rose is the founder of many high profile corporations with years of experience and success between all of them. With all of this experience behind her, she has demonstrated that she’s got the knowledge and commitment of what it takes to become successful in the modern world of starting and maintaining your own business. Since the beginning of her entrepreneurial career, Rose has been using effective strategic marketing practices in order to ensure all of her businesses and investments maintain their quality standard.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rose Vitale has been an industry leader with up to 25 years of experience in building her own corporate empires as a successful business owner and entrepreneur, as well as helping small businesses maximizes their full potential.

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Learning what it takes to become a daily investor starts by realizing that you are already one. There is a thin line between the everyday person and the professional investor. Inside this article we will discover the areas of life which differentiate the professional investor from the common individual....https://theesoopap.tumblr.com/post/638651946210869248/how-to-make-good-investments-every-day-as-an-angel #theesoopap #angelinvestors #fundraiser (at Abuja, Nigeria) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJTIaNijIW9/?igshid=1jyraxfoflgzx

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How to Make Good Investments Every Day AS an Angel Investor

Learning what it takes to become a daily investor starts by realizing that you are already one. There is a thin line between the everyday person and the professional investor. Inside this article we will discover the areas of life which differentiate the professional investor from the common individual.

To shy away from investing simply because it seems complicated or difficult to learn would be to miss out on a great adventure, one which would offer an entertaining and insightful path towards financial independence and the pursuit of excellence.

Very few people realize that investing is already an every day occurrence. In fact the majority of people are completely unaware of the fact that investing is something they do on a regular basis, whether they realize it or not.

Millions of people around the world invest in various things day in and day out without even thinking twice about what the actualized returns will be. We invest in our personal health by buying food we think will be good for us, with the hopes that we will receive a longer life here on earth, it's a gamble based on an educated decision. It's an investment.

The hopes of every sensible investor is to receive in value as much as or more than that which you have spent. If you imagine investing in an education such as college, your banking on the fact that your education will some day bring you value either by income in a profession or by a service which will help bring meaning (or value) to your life. Were we to invest in entertainment, say for instance buying a "ticket" at the movie theatre, we are investing with the hopes that the joy we receive will be equal to or greater than the value of an $8 dollar movie ticket.

So as we come to realize that investing is something we do on a daily basis, an aspect of life which permeates all things both monetary and otherwise, it becomes our responsibility to start deciding where and how we want to invest our energy to maximize the quality of our choices and the impact they have on our life.

So you might ask why so few people are investing in ways that can bring them financial growth, when they are clearly investing in so many other areas of their life. Finding this answer will help create a dynamic shift in the way you move forward on your path towards financial growth. Professional "Investors" spend cash to make cash, the rest of the population spends cash to receive things other than cash (ex. gas, shopping, traveling, etc.)

These items that we spend our hard earned cash on often times stand as a gap between our financial security. Given the option to choose between investing: 1) 65 dollars cash, in return for 95 dollars cash each and every Saturday evening or 2) Buying a new shirt and a new pair of pants every Saturday evening.

Which would you choose?

A skillful investor is constantly aware of the aspects which influence both where money is going, what is happening to it while it is gone and how the money will circulate back into his or her bank account. The decision of whether or not to invest your hard earned money in ways that can bring you a greater financial return is an important one. Investing must be a decision made based on a genuine interest to achieve a higher standard of financial excellence. Coming to the understanding that investing is something we're all already doing will help us to connect investing as the next natural step towards our financial growth.

Future articles I write may have more informatino on how you can invest and what your options are as an aspiring investor. Until then invest in your future by taking some time to ponder the essence of the daily investor, and how your life will be effected by your decision to pursue a broader understanding of the wide world of investments.

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To Be an Angel Investor Is Easier Than You Think The good news is that you don’t need to be a millionaire to become a business angel, but there are a lot to learn....https://theesoopap.tumblr.com/post/638579677264510976/to-be-an-angel-investor-is-easier-than-you-think #nonprofitorganization #theesoopap #fundraiser (at Abuja, Nigeria) https://www.instagram.com/p/CJRT5yMj8Uk/?igshid=hmnzdmntnv32

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To Be an Angel Investor Is Easier Than You Think

To Be an Angel Investor Is Easier Than You Think

The good news is that you don’t need to be a millionaire to become a business angel, but there are a lot to learn.

Here is what you should learn.

1. You must not  start Big

It can be tempting to throw money at every pitch deck that you receive. There are tons of Start-ups looking for funding every day, in every sector and country on the planet. While everybody talks about the insane multiples achieved by early investors in unicorns like Uber (>2500x), nobody talks about the failures. There is a very high probability that 9 companies out of 10 in your portfolio will eventually fail or barely break-even.

Hence, I strongly advise you to take a very careful approach by first investing relatively small amounts ($6000). This will allow you to invest in different companies and climb up the (steep) learning curve of angel investing.

It is important to understand that anything below $6000 might prevent you from entering most rounds. Crowded cap tables with lots of small shareholders can be difficult to manage for founders. VCs are also not very fond of this.

Don’t forget that there is a very high chance that you will never see the money you invested in these startups again. You have to be able to stomach this.

Be patient, and once you feel comfortable, increase your ticket size. Don’t FOMO, tech is not going away, so there will be plenty of opportunities around once you feel ready. I started too big too early, and have now significantly reduced my ticket size.

2. Count on your peculiarity

A very experienced business angel who lived through the dotcom boom and successfully sold his startup told me one of the most important pieces of advice.

Before you start deciding on the themes you want to invest in, know what you don’t want to touch.

This is key because it will give you more headroom to focus on where you are good at. I decided to exclude social and mobile games because I never really understood the dynamics that were driving these markets. I now feel comfortable passing on these investment opportunities.

On the other hand, you also need to specialize to develop an edge. Use your own experience for that. I worked in Mobility for 4 years, so I had spent a lot of time experiencing first hand what works and what doesn't. Use this proprietary knowledge and leverage it, it will allow you to eventually score your biggest wins.

3. Make your vision and work on it.

Since there is an endless stream of companies looking for funding, I felt overwhelmed at first. How was I suppose to make decisions with this amount of decks to review? Would I eventually FOMO? It quickly became apparent to me that I needed to put a rating system in place to filter out the most promising ones. Most top VCs invest in <1% of the pitch decks they see, and “no” is their standard answer. I decided to apply the same rigor to my approach and build a model.

I used the factors listed as decisive by Peter Thiel in his classic Zero to One and added my touch to it. Companies are rated from 0 to 5 on every factor, and those with a score below 70 are automatically eliminated. I review those with a score above in detail and if they are promising, I meet with the founders.

A simple yet efficient way to filter deals.

It also allows me to keep track of all my decisions and get back to them later. In a few years, I might find out that I passed on a Unicorn. But at least, I’ll know why, and I’ll be able to adapt my ratings if necessary. Then I’ll go crying.

4. Do the unthinkable

You might be perceived as a small fish in a big pond with $6000 tickets and little experience in angel investing, but this doesn’t mean you won’t be able to access good deals. You need to differentiate yourself by offering something most big business angels don’t have: time. If you are a product manager, offer the startup to help them on their roadmap. If you have expertise in growth, assist them in building out their acquisition channels.

Compensate the fact that you will not invest a high $ amount by adding value to the business and by being hands-on, for free. You would be surprised how often this will get you through the door. This will not only be very appreciated by founders but it also allows you to hedge your bets by being active.

Be good, be helpful, and open your network.

Make sure to take important aspects into account: raising funds is time-consuming. It often prevents founders from focusing on their core tasks, i.e. growing their company. Be a good BA and say yes or no quickly, ideally not more than 2 days after you talked to them. Your reputation matters.

5.  Streamline your Deals

To invest in the best startups, you have to have access to the best opportunities. While there is an endless flow of pitch decks flying your way, many of them aren’t very interesting. Getting access to the best startups without being a renowned business angel (i.e. mostly successful founders) can be tough. So, as Paul Graham said: do things that don’t scale.

·         Screen companies: Subscribe to newsletters in the sectors that interest you the most. Follow the founders of companies that inspire you on Twitter. Set Google alerts on funding. Install the Kima plugin to see their latest deals.

·         Cold email Founders: Once you found a promising company, email their founders and give them feedback on their product, be useful. Once they start raising funds, they will remember you.

·         Leverage your Network: Ask people around you if they recently tested cool new products. You will be surprised to see how many good leads you will get.

·         Build your brand as a Business Angel: Write about it (yes, this medium post falls in this category), Tweet about it, talk about it. Make sure people are aware that you are active. Start generating inbound leads.

·         Try Crowdfunding: Did you know that Revolut or Monzo, which are now worth Unicorns, went through multiple rounds of Crowdfunding? The biggest platforms in Europe are Crowdcube or Seedrs. These platforms are great to get dealflow, but be extra careful when reviewing pitch decks, the overall quality tends to be low these days.

·         Join a syndicate or a Business Angel Club: Let others do the heavy lifting for you. Bear in mind that some of these clubs/syndicates charge annual fees or require a minimum amount invested.

6. Adaptability is Vital

If you spent a bit of time thinking about your overall investment strategy, you might have heard about Markowitz’s modern portfolio theory. One of its key findings is that diversification reduces risk while allowing you to secure the optimal return. In other words, you don’t put your eggs into one basket. The same applies to startup investments.

Credits: Simeon Simeonov

This chart tells one thing: the more companies you own in your portfolio, the more likely you are to generate a profit. With only 5 companies in your portfolio, you only have only a 50% chance of making your money back. Many angel investors consider 15 to 30 holdings as the sweet spot. On the other hand, having a concentrated portfolio could become hugely profitable if you have a winner in it. But it’s more of a gamble.

Aim for a number of holdings that match your resources. If you want to invest $30000 per year, and your ticket size $6000, you should end up with 15 holdings.

This leads me to another brilliant insight I learned from a veteran investor: startup investments are like wine vintages. Some years are exceptional, and even startups that you weren’t so sure about end up becoming a success. And other years are complete disasters, and all startups go bust. To avoid this, invest in at least 3 different vintages!

My gut feeling tells me that startups raising in 2020, amid a global pandemic, will have a very higher chance of succeeding! Valuations are becoming more reasonable, startups focus on profitability and are frugal when it comes to spending. Now is the time to be aggressive and scout for the best deals.

7. Master your principles

Funding rounds are complex. There is a lot of legal paperwork involved, the terms can be difficult to understand and it’s full of idiosyncratic jargon. Make sure you understand what you are getting yourself into before committing a single €.

Educate yourself about term sheets, valuations, share types, liquidity preferences, etc. There are many great resources out there:

·         Ultimate Start-up Funding Guide by Crunchbase

·         YC guide about raising a Series A

·         Term Sheet by the Galion Project (French)

You might also want to ask a lawyer about the tax implication your investments can have. Be prepared.

8. Double down on the champion

Investing in early-stage startups is a risky business, and there are high chances that most of your companies will go bust or barely break even. However, if you have the chance to own shares in a company that proves to be a success, double down on them by investing in subsequent rounds. This increases the size of this holding in your portfolio and will mechanically reduce the overall risk of your portfolio.

This approach is called “follow-on” and is actively used by VCs. Wondering why? Let’s listen to what Marc Andreesen said, founder of Netscape and one of the most successful VC firms, a16z:

The key characteristic of venture capital is that returns are a power-law distribution. So, the basic math component is that there are about 4,000 startups a year that are founded in the technology industry which would like to raise venture capital and we can invest in about 20.” “We see about 3,000 inbound referred opportunities per year we narrow that down to a couple hundred that are taken particularly seriously… There are about 200 of these startups a year that are fundable by top VCs. … about 15 of those will generate 95% of all the economic returns … even the top VCs write off half their deals.

In other words, these winners will pay for all the failures in your portfolio, and they’ll generate a profit on top. If you don’t take advantage of the power-law and aren’t ready to double down on your outliers, you’ll miss out on most of the opportunities.

To avoid dilution and protect your line, you need to double down. This means that most of your capital will eventually flow into these follow-on investments. Make sure to have a buffer to react quickly.

Wrapping up

Even though everybody thinks they have an edge on other investors, they probably don’t. Unfortunately, both you and I will likely lose 9 out of 10 bets. If the remaining one is the next Zoom, then we will be doing great. Otherwise, we might end up losing money. Some VCs believe most angel investors will end up with a negative IRR on their portfolio. The good news is that most VCs do as well.

Although I’d rather avoid ending up in this situation, I would not regret the investments I made because they allowed me to learn invaluable lessons. If I became a better investor, it’s by actually putting my money where my mouth is. Nothing replaces learning by doing.

However, angel investing should NOT be the backbone of your overall financial strategy. Allocate only a small portion of your net asset (5 to 10%) to these bets, and put the rest of your money in less risky assets like equity and bonds. Best of Luck!

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The guardian angel of Science and Tech

 https://www.linkedin.cn/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6748246588021452800

We are living in a technical age. Many are convinced that science and

technology hold the answers to all our problems. We should just let the

scientists and technicians go on with their work, and they will create

heaven here on earth. But science is not an enterprise that takes place on

some superior moral or spiritual plane above the rest of human activity.

Like all other parts of our culture, it is shaped by economic, political and

religious interests.

Science is a very expensive affair. A biologist seeking to understand

the human immune system requires laboratories, test tubes, chemicals

and electron microscopes, not to mention lab assistants, electricians,

plumbers and cleaners. An economist seeking to model credit markets

must buy computers, set up giant databanks and develop complicated

data-processing programs. An archaeologist who wishes to understand

the behavior of archaic hunter-gatherers must travel to distant lands,

excavate ancient ruins and date fossilized bones and artefacts. All of this

costs money.

During the past 500 years’ modern science has achieved wonders

thanks largely to the willingness of governments, businesses, foundations

and private donors to channel billions of dollars into scientific research.

These billions have done much more to chart the universe, map the

planet and catalogue the animal kingdom than did Galileo Galilei,

Christopher Columbus and Charles Darwin. If these particular geniuses

had never been born, their insights would probably have occurred to

others. But if the proper funding were unavailable, no intellectual

brilliance could have compensated for that. If Darwin had never been

born, for example, we’d today attribute the theory of evolution to Alfred

Russel Wallace, who came up with the idea of evolution via natural

selection independently of Darwin and just a few years later. But if the

European powers had not financed geographical, zoological and

botanical research around the world, neither Darwin nor Wallace would

have had the necessary empirical data to develop the theory of

evolution. It is likely that they would not even have tried.

Why did the billions start flowing from government and business

coffers into labs and universities? In academic circles, many are naïve

enough to believe in pure science. They believe that government and

business altruistically give them money to pursue whatever research

projects strike their fancy. But this hardly describes the realities of

science funding.

Most scientific studies are funded because somebody believes they can

help attain some political, economic or religious goal. For example, in

the sixteenth century, kings and bankers channelled enormous resources

to finance geographical expeditions around the world but not a penny

for studying child psychology. This is because kings and bankers

surmised that the discovery of new geographical knowledge would

enable them to conquer new lands and set up trade empires, whereas

they couldn’t see any profit in understanding child psychology.

In the 1940s the governments of America and the Soviet Union

channelled enormous resources to the study of nuclear physics rather

than underwater archaeology. They surmised that studying nuclear

physics would enable them to develop nuclear weapons, whereas

underwater archaeology was unlikely to help win wars. Scientists

themselves are not always aware of the political, economic and religious

interests that control the flow of money; many scientists do, in fact, act

out of pure intellectual curiosity. However, only rarely do scientists

dictate the scientific agenda.

Even if we wanted to finance pure science unaffected by political,

economic or religious interests, it would probably be impossible. Our

resources are limited, after all. Ask a congressman to allocate an

additional million dollars to the National Science Foundation for basic

research, and he’ll justifiably ask whether that money wouldn’t be better

used to fund teacher training or to give a needed tax break to a troubled

factory in his district. To channel limited resources we must answer

questions such as ‘What is more important?’ and ‘What is good?’ And

these are not scientific questions. Science can explain what exists in the

world, how things work, and what might be in the future. By definition,

it has no pretensions to knowing what should be in the future. Only

religions and ideologies seek to answer such questions.

Consider the following quandary: two biologists from the same

department, possessing the same professional skills, have both applied

for a million-dollar grant to finance their current research projects.

Professor Slughorn wants to study a disease that infects the udders of

cows, causing a 10 per cent decrease in their milk production. Professor

Sprout wants to study whether cows suffer mentally when they are

separated from their calves. Assuming that the amount of money is

limited, and that it is impossible to finance both research projects, which

one should be funded?

There is no scientific answer to this question. There are only political,

economic and religious answers. In today’s world, it is obvious that

Slughorn has a better chance of getting the money. Not because udder

diseases are scientifically more interesting than bovine mentality, but

because the dairy industry, which stands to benefit from the research,

has more political and economic clout than the animal-rights lobby.

Perhaps in a strict Hindu society, where cows are sacred, or in a

society committed to animal rights, Professor Sprout would have a better

shot. But as long as she lives in a society that values the commercial

potential of milk and the health of its human citizens over the feelings of

cows, she’d best write up her research proposal so as to appeal to those

assumptions. For example, she might write that ‘Depression leads to a

decrease in milk production. If we understand the mental world of dairy

cows, we could develop psychiatric medication that will improve their

mood, thus raising milk production by up to 10 per cent. I estimate that

there is a global annual market of $250 million for bovine psychiatric

medications.’

Science is unable to set its own priorities. It is also incapable of

determining what to do with its discoveries. For example, from a purely

scientific viewpoint it is unclear what we should do with our increasing

understanding of genetics. Should we use this knowledge to cure cancer,

to create a race of genetically engineered supermen, or to engineer dairy

cows with super-sized udders? It is obvious that a liberal government, a

Communist government, a Nazi government and a capitalist business

corporation would use the very same scientific discovery for completely

different purposes, and there is no scientific reason to prefer one usage

over others.

In short, scientific research can flourish only in alliance with some

religion or ideology. The ideology justifies the costs of the research. In

exchange, the ideology influences the scientific agenda and determines

what to do with the discoveries. Hence in order to comprehend how

humankind has reached Alamogordo and the moon – rather than any

number of alternative destinations – it is not enough to survey the

achievements of physicists, biologists and sociologists. We have to take

into account the ideological, political and economic forces that shaped

physics, biology and sociology, pushing them in certain directions while

neglecting others.

Two forces in particular deserve our attention: imperialism and

capitalism. The feedback loop between science, empire and capital has

arguably been history’s chief engine for the past 500 years. The

following chapters analyse its workings. First we’ll look at how the twin

turbines of science and empire were latched to one another, and then

learn how both were hitched up to the money pump of capitalism. #money #science #technology #innovation #tech # # # #like #travel #tech #data #technology #innovation #ai #artificialintelligence #india #deeplearning #culture #work #markets #research #datascience #machinelearning #globalgiving #nonprofit