100 best companies to work for yield 14.16% vs S&P’s 5.97% and Russell 3000’s 6.34% return.

Levity Effects:
Humor -> Communication (Enhance negotiation skills, build rapport between leaders and employees, grab attention, relax listeners, making them more receptive to your message, make the information more memorable.
More efficient meetings (improved decision making, braking down barriers). Informal relationships with employees (sense of belonging). Remarkable presentations (zap rule: audiences needs a zap at least every 3 to 6 minutes during a presentation to stay focused and interested). Training that sizzles. Humorous communications (voicemail announcement, emails) Bottomline: your people will be a hundred times more likely to follow you and produce for you, if you can simply lighten your communication up a bit.
7 proven ways levity will keep ’em awake in your presentation: 1. Relax (You have to relax. You must be calm. Don’t forget. You’re just talking to people.) 2. Begin with a joke. 3. Talk to the audience, not at them. 4. Empathize with the audience. 5. Add levity. 6. Be human. 7. End on time and with a finish.

Fun -> Creativity (innovation) 1. Make the work environment more fun. 2. Expose and awaken latent funness from more serious employees. 3. Hire employees who are more fun and creative.8 questions that you can ask to help identify a potential levity-minded employees or leader: 1. Tell me about a time you used humor or a lighter tone to diffuse a difficult situation. 2. How have you used your wit to win over an audience, maybe in selling a product or making a big presentation? 3. If we asked former bosses about you, would you say you’re a fun person? Why or why not? 4. Explain your overall philosophy of having fun at work. 5. What’s the most fun event or activity that you’ve ever participated in at work? 6. If you could create your perfect work environment, what would it be like? 7. Your manager has asked you to come up with a creative solution to a problem.. Understanding that we believe fun spurs creativity, how would you get started on tackling the problem? 8. Tell me how you would bring fun and energy to our company.

Respect -> Trust. Humor earns some respect: the conditions necessary to make a joke effective are the same conditions necessary to make a business work: communication, understanding, common ground, trust and respect. Nine-to-five Adversaries: sharing a laugh with someone is an incredibly powerful way to foster trust and rapport. 10 steps to build a trusting environment: 1. express simple kindness, courtesy, and politeness. 2. Be tolerant of people when they make mistakes. 3. Listen first; talk second. 4. Stop butting in when other are speaking. 5. Give employees credit when their ideas work. 6. Refuse the urge to insult, embarrass, and disparage others. 7. Involve people in decisions that affect their work lives. 8. Apply the rules to everyone the same way. 9. Let people balance their work lives and home lives. 10. Praise five times more than you criticize.

Lightness -> Health
Shared meaning (intimacy in humor, unspoken bond). Healthier homes (increase the immune system’s activity, decreases stress hormones, increase the antibody immunoglobulin A). Healthier cultures (happy workers are more productive. 8 ways laughter strengthens your sanity: 1. helps us connects with others. 2. get rid of bad feelings, 3. yanks us out of our antisocial shells, 4. gives us passion, 5. makes us feel great, 6. laugh things off instead of complaining about them, 7. get rid of frustration, 8. laugh when you’re nervous.

Wit -> Wealth
Lowers turnovers. Recharges batteries (fun breather allows employees to approach work with renewed energy and passion). Humor increases personal success. Humor makes you employable.

How to build a culture the encourages consistent fun throughout the year: 1. Build from respect, 2. Have employee champions, 3. get senior management buy-in, 4. link fun to work, 5. keep it personal (e.g. celebrate birthdays), 6. recognize, recognize, recognize, 7. Be consistent.

142 ways to have fun a work. I’m sure there are more. This list is already worth the price of the book.

Levity for life: bringing home the fun.
Lighten up at home: Start each day smiling in the mirror. Smile at your family. Spend time with your peeps. Go easy on the kids. Go easy on your sweetheart. Take stock (note how you treat those around you.)
Lighten up in public: Smile at strangers. Lighten up on vacation. Lighten up at public events. Lighten up in traffic. Lighten up in restaurants. Lighten up in private: take better care of yourself. Develop tolerances for others’ misguided attempts at humor. Work on your sense of humor.
3 steps to developing your own unique sense of humor: 1. exposure. Read. The more you read comedy or satire, the more saturated your brain becomes with wittier dialogue and comical expression. 2. Inventory: as you discover hat you find amusing, take note of it. Remember it. File it away. 3. Application.

A few red flags to avoid: 1. Kidding (“just kidding!”), 2 Mockery: a mean-spirited joke at someone’s expense, 3. Sarcasm, 4. Anger.

This book is a fun read as an audiobook. I was surprised how the authors managed to stretch out the topic to so many pages. At times, it was repetitive (how many times can you say “humor,” “fun,” “lighten-up,” and etc.). Yes, the power of humor is multi-dimensional. We all can use more of it.

STEPS:
Start
Team building
Evaluating (Strategize)
Path (Creation an Action Plan)
Start (again)

Jump Start:
3 Principles of wealth building:
1. Leverage of Money & Time (Put your work into 4 categories: energy (gain energy while doing), excellent, competent, incompetent, leverage others for incompetent category, and create a system for excellent and competent area. This allows you to do more of the “energy” work).

2. Velocity – increase the velocity of your money: Look for untapped cash reserve, access the equity of your real estate, eliminate bad debt, increase good debt, monitor all assets, increase your time leverage by the use of systems in your business and investments, and exploit every legal tax loophole available.

3. Cash Flow: In business, collect on receivables faster, give discounts for case, use good debt, apply for credit from suppliers, maximize short-range and long range income, weight the cash consequences of every change in your business, watch your current statistics closely.

Seven steps of Jump Start!
1. Create a business: hobby vs. business, independent contractor (20 IRS factors), change the type of income your business receive into portfolio or passive income. Have your LLC own the business building. Business structures: LLC, Limited Partnership, General Partnership, S Corp (flow through income tax, no self-employment tax, good for a small business with loss or income < $50K), C corp (its own tax schedule, income > $50K. Business Structure Considerations: Tax planning, Funding sources and exit strategies, asset protection. This huge chapter has a very comprehensive explanation for various corporate structures.

2. Discover your hidden business deductions. Commonly overlooked business deductions: auto, bad debt, business start-up (legal, business structure setup, filing fee, accounting fees, office equipment, office furniture, costs of investigating business, office setup costs), education, entertainment, legal and professional fees, travel, interest, moving expenses, software, charitable contribution/promotion, taxes (sales tax, etc.). Hidden business deductions: boat, children, clothing, gifts, home offices, medical reimbursement, personal care, pets, travel/vacation. Tax credits: work opportunity credit, welfare to work credit, ADA tax credit. Others: group life insurance.

3. Pay your taxes. 7 ways to minimize taxes: 1. Business structure timing (fiscal year). 2. Timing payroll withholding (at the end of year), 3. Wise use of tax deferrals, 4. Income splitting with business structures, 5. Income splitting with dependents, 6. depreciation, 7. carryforward losses. Passive losses can be used to offset passive income unless you’re real estate professional. RE Dealer vs. RE developer (subject to uniform capitalization rules) status.

4. What’s left goes into real estate. Smart Real Estate Investing: Buy the building your business is in. Then charge your business rent for use of the building. Holding titles: joint tenancies with or without survivorship, community property, tenants-in-common, land trust (privacy). Transfer title to a land trust, then transfer (no public record) your beneficial interest to an LLC.
5. Real estate income comes out tax-free.
6. Buy a house the right way.
7. Make your home give you money (equity).

Four ways to make money from real estate: cash flow (cash-on-cash return), tax benefits of ownership, debt pay-down, appreciation. In high appreciation area, two strategies: 1. rent-to-own program. 2. Buy and resell.

Protecting your own home: 1. Homestead exemption, 2. Single-member limited liability company (use a land trust to avoid due-on-sale clause), 3. debt.

Home Loopholes: 1. Live in your home for two years… 4. renting room, 5. Above $140K income, move interest deduction off Schedule A through home office deduction. 6. Home equity loan full deductibility: prove the additional debt is used for investment or business purposes (out of schedule A). 7!9. Controlled entity sale (to your own multi-owner LLC) at the appreciated value to step up depreciation. Use the same strategy to save the “two-year” residency requirement. Be flexible between cash-flowing properties and appreciation strategy.

New Tax Strategies for C Corporations:
Getting money out of your C Corp: tax-free benefits, salaries, loans (lend money to your investment LLC or LP), and money partner(form an LLC, in which both you and your company are members. The corporation provides and money and you provide the management). Double taxation occurs when dividends are paid. Avoid control-groups situation by mixing up controlling owners. Double taxation is still cheaper than flow through at 35% personal tax rate.

7 secrets of C Corporations
1. Own tax rate: first $50K is 15%. 2. Medical reimbursement plan (can’t discriminate against other employees). 3. Disability insurance (tax free). 4. Accumulate dividend income. 5. Receive dividend income. If there is no ownership in the corporation paying the dividends only 30% of the dividend income is taxable. If owns 20% or more, only 20% of the dividend income is taxable. 6. Ability to borrow from pension plans. 7. Ability to go public.

When NOT to use a C corporation:
1. Your business has losses. (can’t offset the loss against other income). 2. You business has high income. (may need to distribute in salary), 3. Your business is a qualified personal service corporation. (stuck with a professional LLC, professaional LLP, or an S corporation. 4. Your business is a personal holding company. (high capital gain tax rate, and liquidation of the company). 5. You want a simple structure. (need professional bookkeeping).

This book went from A to Z on how to the rich structure entities to take advantage of their benefits. Quite an eye opener. The key takeaways for me are the use of different strategies for different economic conditions (cash flow and appreciation of real estate), deeper understanding of the S- vs. C-corporations, the idea of using debt to protect your real estate assets, and many other ideas. I’ll probably have to get an updated edition when it comes to the time to “Jump Start” the process for myself.

The 10 advantages of real estate investment:
1. Cash flow, 2. Control (unlike stocks which you lose control to the company officers), 3. Appreciation, 4. Leverage and Other People’s Money (OPM), 5. Depreciation, 6. Refinance, 7. Asset protection, 8. 1031 exchange, 9. Hedge against inflation, and 10. Physical asset.

Why multifamily apartment?
1. Cash flow (commercial leases last many years). You can quickly increase of the value of an acquisition by increasing its net operating income and sound management principles.
2. Demand: upcoming wave of renters from baby boomers, echo boomers, and immigrant.
3. Affordability
4. Business cycles: not affected by business cycles like rising interest rate.
5. Maintenance: less than Commercial properties. On-site technicians can be supported. Refinancing to take some equity out. 1031 exchange.

Two real-world examples were given by author: 1 was a construction play: buying an existing property with an adjacent empty lot to be built up. The other one was an operations play: increase revenue and reduce expenses, then refinance to take original investment out.

The author then debunked the myths:
Myth #1: You need a lot of money. No, you just need a good deal. With each successful deal you will have more and more investors beating down your door to place money with you and your investments.
Myth #2: You have to start small. Large apartments are secured by the assets themselves because their values are based on performance and cap rate, where as small family home rentals require cash assets and its appreciation depends heavily on the neighborhood.
Myth #3: You need midas touch. No magic, just know how and common sense.
Myth #4: You have to know somebody. “In investing, it’s all about what you know because what you know will determine who you know. In order to find a good deal, you need to know how to spot one.
Myth #5: You have to be a seasoned negotiator. “If you have a “hard-sell” a deal, then it probably isn’t a good deal.

Key indicators for success:
The market: 1. Cycles: buy at low point. 2. Population and employment growth. 3. Supply and demand (construction vs. absorption). 4. Barriers to growth: a. submarkets that are fully built out or developed, b. government-protected land, c. city boundaries, d. zoning changes, e. natural formations such as mountain ranges or bodies of water. 5. Urban renewal: an effort to reestablish cities’ downtown areas as thriving civic centers where people live, work and play. Where the urban renewal is just beginning, there are huge opportunities.

The next 10 markets to watch: (this list may be obsolete)
1. Seattle, 2. San Francisco, 3. Los Angeles Metropolitan Area, 4. Las Vegas, 5. Austin, 6. Denver, 7.Tucson, 8. Phoenix, 9. Boise, 10. Albuquerque. Do you own research. Level 1: at home. Level 2: travel to your proposed market and meet with area experts. Level 3: Speak with trusted business partners and discuss your findings with them.

The Purchase Process
1. Offer: verify the income, expenses, net operating income, calculate the value, loan payment and your rate of return.
2. The Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA)
3. Due Diligence
4. The List: leasing information and policies, financial and operating reports, income and expense items, studies, legal and construction documentation, exterior inspections, interior inspections.

Equity and Financing: Assume or obtain a new loan.

Assembling Your Multifamily Team:
1. Property manager, 2. Lawyer, 3. Accountant, 4. Mortgage Broker, 5. Commercial Broker, 6. Insurance Broker, 7. Contractors, 8. Appraisers, 9. Architect, 10. Tax Consultant, 11. Environmental Consultants, 12. Engineer.

To Infinity and Beyond: Author’s call to action.
1. Keep good records, 2. Limit your liability, 3. The sky is the limit!

As an small-apartment owner, this book gives me a new perspective to think “big.” There are definitely many advantages to own/operate as a share of large apartments. The author made a very good, convincing case. His two examples really hit home for me. But I wonder how hard it is to look for “good” deals when there are so many of the same class of people like Ken Mcelroy scouting the field for the next big deal. Gotta to keep my eyes open.

Listened to this original audio recording (LP) of Earl Nightingale. This was a breakthrough at that time but it’s still true today.
According to Earl, the problem with 5% life success rate, is conformity. We blindly followed what others do. Success is not narrowly defined as financial success but “progressive realization of worthy ideals/goals.”

In summary, the strangest secret is that “we become what we think about.” “As he sows so shall he reaps.”
1. Remind yourself you are what you think about.
2. Realize your limitation is self imposed.
3. Use your courage to think positively. Use Imagination to speculate freely. Act promptly and decisively. You’re standing in the middle of your acres of diamond.
4. Save at least 10% what you earn.
5. Act on them.

30-day test was advocated:
1. Write down your clearly defined goals, look at them all day. When you wake up and before you go to sleep. Place on the back of the card, “Ask and it shall be given you. Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened unto you.”
2. Stop thinking what it is you fear. Replace it with your positive worthwhile goals. Take control of your mind. Quit running yourself down. Be calm and cheerful.
3. Do more than you have to. Give more and better like you’ve never done before.
4. Be persistent. If fails, re-start for 30 more days.

“Act as though it’s impossible to fail.”

Making money is a direct result of success. Success is in direct proportion to our service. Put the fuel in before we can expect the heat. People who contribute to prosperity must also prosper. Your return is proportional to your service from who you receive your return.

Repeated here by a referenced doctor:
1. Set definite goal
2. Quit running yourself down
3. Stop why can you can’t. Think what you can become
4. Try to discover why you can’t from your childhood.
5. Change to the image of what you want
6. Act the part you decided to become.

Confucius is one of the most influential philosophers in the world. As a kid growing up in Taiwan, I learned about Confucius’ ideas and sayings. It was almost second nature for common Chinese to quote Confucius as the ultimate truth. But I know very little about his life and his views from Westerner’s perspective. This short book summarized it for me.

According to the author, Confucius is almost like Socrates, who was born about a century later, with respect to his conversational/dialog/Q&A approach to revealing his thoughts about certain subjects. His advocacy for broad love toward neighbors and country men in general was religious like, though he was born more than five hundred years before Christ.

Confucius first advised the rulers (war lords) how to govern people. But he didn’t get much traction so he decided to teach. He first came up with the “Golden Rules” – “What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others.” (己所不欲，勿施於人。) – treat others how you want to be treated long before the Christ. The other thoughts include Ren (Jen, 仁), Li (禮), Yi (義). The author didn’t go into details of each thought but I’m quite familiar with them.

The author cited several contradictions in Confucius’ teachings in how to farm and how to be a governor. To me, this is nitpicking. From what I can tell, the author did not think very highly of Confucius, especially about his inability to convince any rulers to adopt his methods of governing. And when he held a small official position, he did it poorly. The author is probably evaluating Confucius from the modern westerners’ angle. I’m not saying his thoughts were all that impressive but again I didn’t live in the era to know how out-of-box thinking he held. Amazingly, he was able to laugh at himself of his lack of accomplishment. But for all I know, he and his philosophy stood the test of time over over 2700 years. It’s hard to argue against such a track record.

As far as this book, I seem to learn a lot more from the Confucius Wikipedia than from the book.

The book started out with Lang Lang’s Parents’ story. The cultural revolution’s impact on his parents and artists’ living in the era sowed the seed of determination to succeed at all costs. The influence on the little Lang Lang was tremendous and unavoidable given his natural talents inherited from his artists parents.

Inspired by “Tom and Jerry” cartoon, Monkey King, and Transformers, Lang Lang started piano lesson at his tender age of 3 and were competing in piano contests at 5.It’s no surprised that his performance is animated. He’s just as competitive as his father, who placed being #1 and striving for immortality like Mozart as the most important thing to pursue in life.

Lang was introverted as a child and got brought out of his cocoon by his teacher Chu. Losing his first big contest as a 7 1/2 year old was devastating but it’s a turning point for him to see the yellow stuffed dog (consolation prize) as an encouragement rather than a reminder of defeat. That’s what makes a good, talented person great.

At 9 years old, Lang’s father took him to Beijing and live in a slum just to be trained to get into the Beijing Conservatory. After being rejected by Teacher “Angry,” followed by being threatened by his father to commit suicide, Lang became disillusioned and discouraged and refused then to play any piano until he met up with his favorite teacher Chu, who encouraged him to continue and he did.

Lang continued participating in piano contests. The big break came when he won the first prize in Japan. This gave him the visibility in US, where he participated in music camp and eventually won a scholarship to Philadelphia. The Law of Attraction really played out in his case like meeting a Chinese restaurant owner in Germany, meeting a Japanese pianist who taught him to put the soul in the music, which allowed him to win the grand prize in Germany, and the security guard at the German embassy taught him to trick to get a visa after being rejected. There were many cases people came to help him along the way. As the saying goes, “God helps those who help themselves.”

Eventually, he arrived in the US and had several run in with his conservative father who kept on pushing him to practice over 7 hours a day. As his young teenager, he revolted against his father but eventually reconciled with him. I don’t think he could have achieved so much without his dad and he admitted it.

The injury he suffered allowed him to step back and enjoyed a little life and had some balance in his life, including reading books, going to movies and concerts. This was a blessing in disguise. His American friend, Dick, really enhanced his characters by introducing him to a well adjusted life outside of piano.

Fast forward to now or the time when he wrote the book in 2008, he had accomplished so much. Last I checked on his website. He’s all booked around the world until end of November. One particular story stood out was the fact that China first refused to have him headline with Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra because he had not participated nor won any contest for three years since he started his professional life. This struck me as something deep in the Chinese Confucius culture, where only examinations and contests place a person in his/her among all. This was backward but I think it’s still prevalent today.

The book has a little too many details but is well written. I enjoyed reading/listening to his journey. All the mentioning of the classical music rekindle my interests in classical music. He is definitely a genius pianist. I wonder about the make up of a genius: how much is from the gene and how much is from the training and practices? For Lang Lang, I think it’s probably more than 80~90% of the latter. Without his father, his determination, and his good fortune, I don’t think he would be where he is now.