We love Iron Man, the swaggering hero in the amazing red and yellow suit, don’t we?  But he’s not all fiction.  Meet Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors and the inspiration for Jon Favreau (Iron Man director) in the film depiction of genius billionaire Tony Stark.  It’s no surprise then that the futuristic SpaceX factory was used as a filming location for Iron Man 2, and Musk has a cameo in the movie.

An entrepreneur, engineer, and inventor, Musk turned his sights on game changers in human transportation, energy and space exploration after selling Pay Pal, which he co-founded, to Ebay.  But it was not a smooth sailing endeavour and he faced one challenge after another, both in his personal life and ventures through which he tried to articulate his vision for the future.

Like Steve Jobs, he clung on to his vision and stayed foolish and hungry despite being able to throw in the towel anytime, salvage what’s left and walk away.  The video below is well-worth a watch and we’ll be hearing more about Elon Musk for many years to come.  If you have been inspired by this posting, then our little effort would have been well worth it.

By the way, Tesla’s shares have plummeted from almost USD200 to USD120+.  Anyone smell a bargain?

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Extracted from a Speech “Living Happily after Retirment” given at a Senior Citizen’s Association in Bombay, India by P. P. Ramachandran, Economics Post Graduate from the Bombay University. after serving in the Reserve Bank for forty years.

1) Retirement is not adding “Years to your Life but adding Life to your Years” – Retirement is not a calamity but an opportunity.

2) Believe in yourself and your values.

3) Don’t let anything get you down. Always bounce back.

4) Set goals for your future after retirement and never settle for anything less.

5) Realise that there are others in this world with bigger problems than you.

6) Appreciate the good things of life after retirement - Sunrise, Sunset, Flowers, Birds, Good Healthy Food, Exercise, Travel etc.

7) Be thankful for the good times you have with your loved ones.

8) Spend more time with your family and friends. Make new friends with younger people, even after retirement

9) Appreciate the simple things of Life after retirement and don’t get overly caught up in the material things of life.

10) Be an optimist and see the Cup as being Half Full.

11) Before long, your attitude will rub off others and you can make the world a better place to live by simply making yourself a happier person.

Let me conclude with an allegorical story.

First, a Genie created the Cow and said, “You must go with this farmer daily to the field all day long under the Sun, have calves, give milk and help the farmer. I give you a span of sixty years.” The Cow said, “That’s surely tough. Give me only twenty years. I give back forty years.”

On Day 2, the Genie created the Dog and told him, “Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at strangers. I give you a span of twenty years.” The Dog said, “Too long time for barking. I give up ten years.”

On Day 3, the Genie created the Monkey and said to him, “Entertain people. Make them laugh. I give you Twenty years.” The Monkey said to the Genie, “How boring, Monkey tricks for twenty years. Give me only Ten years”. The Genie agreed.

On Day 4, the Genie created Man. He told him, “Eat, sleep, play, enjoy and do nothing. I will give you twenty years.”

Man said, rubbing his hands with glee, “Only twenty years? No way. I will take my Twenty and give me the Forty the cow gave back, the Ten that the Monkey returned, and the Ten the Dog surrendered. That makes eighty. OK?” OK said the Genie.

That is why for the first twenty years we sleep, play, enjoy and do nothing. For the next forty years we slave at work to support our family. For the next ten years during retirement, we do monkey tricks to entertain our grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit in front of the house and bark at everybody. “

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2 years ago, I read in TIME magazine that a car that can fly was in the works.  Fast forward to today and it has become a reality.

Terrafugia’s Transition flying car debuted in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, USA in July 2013 in two 20-minute flight demonstrations and showed that it could fold its wings to be driven about like a car.

That it has been approved by the US regulators as a road-legal vehicle demonstrate how forward looking the US is.  Having served as a business red tape buster in public service, I bet most countries would struggle to classify it as such.

Under development for seven years, it is indeed a dream come through for Terrafugia.  The possibility this clever invention opens to commuting in large countries is immense.  Yes, this means that regulators will have to think up new regulations for this class of vehicle but it is exactly the relentless challenge of existing boundaries that continues to put the US in the forefront of global innovation and progress.

Wanna buy one?  The TerraFugia Transition is currently priced at USD279,000!  Cheaper than your auto Mercedes S-Class 350 (SGD 383,000) but way, way cooler.

Not ready to rest on its laurels, Terrafugia has announced plans to develop a vertical-take-off-and-landing flying car, known as the TF-X.  Check out the Video below.  It will excite your senses and inspire you!

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Courage is something I always admire. Courage is about doing it right because it’s the right thing to do, not because it’s the easiest way out. This is epitomised in a documentary I chanced upon. Presented by Jeremy Clarkson in the BBC documentary, The Greatest Raid of All Time (2007) tells the true account of a British Commando raid on the heavily defended Normandie dry dock at St Nazaire in German-occupied France during the Second World War. In the face of impossible odds and the knowledge of almost no chance of returning home to their loved ones, the brave commandos proceeded with a sense of duty second to none.

Both World Wars brought out the best and worst in mankind. The sacrifice and toll on human lives was enormous and I hope none of our young people will ever have to relive the emotional turmoil that the Commandos went through. The clip is about an hour long and I strongly encourage you to sit through it. To take respite from our busy lives to reflect upon courage and ingenuity against impossible odds certainly invigorate us to persevere in our personal challenges. Enjoy the clip below!

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Something interesting happened today.  A gentleman bumped into me today and we recognized each other from the 30^th Jun 2013 Course Preview at the National Library Building.

He told me the Course Preview was well worth his time and that he was considering signing up for the Course.  He asked if he could be a millionaire once he completes the 2 days course.  I asked if he was looking for a magic, sure win formula and he nodded enthusiastically.  I then asked if he had been scammed before and again he nodded but this time with less enthusiasm.  Not once, he revealed, but twice.

This is what I shared with him.  Anyone who promises you a secret, magic formula is lying for there is no secret, sure win, cruise control style, formula to success.  Worse still, wishing and pining for a secret formula makes you an easy prey to scams and con.  My father did not leave me with an inheritance. Neither could he afford a lavish childhood for me. But he gave me a most wonderful gift.  He said,  “Son, I don’t have much for you, but I will give you an education.  The rest is up to you.”  I’ll never forget his words.

While I provide personalized individual coaching at a premium rate, the 2 days course will equip you with the tools you need to be successful in stocks and property.  Making money is not difficult.  Once you shut the door to greed and open your mind to learning and put in effort to apply what you have learnt in my course, there is no reason why you will not be successful.

However, let’s take a step back and define success.  Success has been narrowly defined by society and the media as being wealthy.  And like a rash, wealth seminars are everywhere these days and their speakers claim to be a millionaire and professes to teach you how to become one.

My wealthy (real wealth, not claimed) friends do not shout out like that.  They are modest and are some of the most down to earth folks you’ll ever meet.  They are successful not because they are rich, but because they receive genuine respect for their knowledge, businesses acumen and personality.  They have close friends they can trust, friends who know them for what they stand for and not what their bank account holds.

A mother who brings up her children with love, to the best of her ability is successful.  A taxi driver, who earns an honest day living and returns his passenger’s misplaced wallet is successful.  An employee who clinches a deal for his company in a fair competition is a success.  Let’s not stay in the hazy misplaced notion that wealth equals success.

I will equip you with the tools to be successful in property and stocks.  My success is that you become a savvy investor; one who is able to make good, independent investment for isn’t empowerment the ultimate merit of an education?

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A 53-year-old Singaporean widower by the nickname of Robinson has applied for a one way mission to Mars to build a permanent human colony.  Motivated to apply after his wife passed away, Robinson reckoned his 3 children would have grown up by the time the space mission is launched in 2023.

Recognizing that he is running out of time, Robinson is determined to live a meaningful life for himself and mankind even in his twilight years.

He said that  space traveling has always been his dream and claimed to be able to run a full marathon in 5 hours.

The worldwide search for volunteers like Robinson is conducted by Mars One, as part of a Dutch televised reality show to set up home on Mars in 2023, with  more astronauts arriving every two years thereafter.

Robinson’s quest to be part of this brave new adventure set me thinking deep into the night. At 34, I needed a challenge , an impossible fight. For a long time ever since I was a kid, I had pondered long and hard about the afterlife. Death is something we all think about but quickly push to the back of our heads, thinking, “it’s not my time yet, silly.”

There is actually a sea creature that lives forever. I kid you not. One specie of jellyfish, Turritopsis nutricula, is actually immortal! It is able to transform its cells from mature state back to immaturity. The medusa leads a regular cycle of life, but after maturing and mating, it reverts back to its initial state – a polyp colony. The process is referred to as “transdifferentiation”, and this jellyfish lives forever.

There is a lot of research going on in the area of immortality, scientifically known as cell regeneration and I have decided that I will devote my resources to support this frontier of research. There will be a lot of vested interest in this area especially from the pharmaceutical boys and the immense challenge would be to support this research from an accountable, non-profit setup which will ensure that research in this area reaches its full potential for all of us. Just as open source coding has allowed the world wide web to grow beyond our wildest imagination, the same will apply to cell regeneration research built upon such vision of open sharing, backed by strong dedicated funding.

If heaven is the euphemism for immortality, let me try, in my own little way to bring it to the present! Even if the research is only able to extend plant life for 50 years, it would be a remarkable achievement, don’t you think?

A fellow Singaporean, Robinson has inspired me to take on my impossible fight and it is our hope that by knowing how to invest confidently, you’ll be financially secure enough to have time to find your own impossible fight, whatever and wherever it brings you!

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