Cruising Without a Bruising (to the Wallet)

I get to cruise for free! Well, not actually for free. On a two week cruise I might have to give three x 30 minute talks on my subject. I know, it’s a blooming hard life but someone has to be out there entertaining the masses on the high seas!

If you’re feeling green with envy already, let me compound that by telling you that I also get to take someone with me (hitherto, it’s always been my husband, but I may be seeking volunteers if he annoys me enough), my expenses to the point of departure are paid (flights to Barbados, for example), and I even get discount on any on-board purchases and get my laundry done for free – washed and ironed, I’ll have you know. I was sorely tempted to take the entire contents of my laundry basket with me last time just to get full use of the service!

Now when people hear that I’ve just come back from cruising the Caribbean or the Med or Norway or some other far flung destination and I indignantly tell them that it wasn’t a holiday because I was “working,” they invariouably say something along the lines of “I wish I could do that” or “How do you get to do that?” So I decided I should write an ebook on how to do it.

Before I did, though, I thought that perhaps I should check and see if there’s any such book already available and, guess what… there is.

So here’s the link to download it – totally free:

Show me how to cruise for free ebook

You’ll see that you don’t even have to be a speaker to do this. Cruise ships need people with all kinds of skills, even to just work as companions, dance hosts, art instructors, etc. I even saw a chocolatier readying for a cruise where he’ll teach people on-board how to make truffles!

So whatever skill you might have, there’s probably a cruiseship audience somewhere that will be glad to have it. Daniel Hall’s program will show you how to get yourself booked.

The pdf is completely free and if you like what you read, there’s a $97 program that you can take to find out more.

So it’s only $97 so you and your partner/friend can cruise free for the rest of your life. Not a bad trade-off in my book. And I should know, I’ve been there

Enjoy!

Oooh, She’s Making It Up As She Goes Along!

I’ve always said that journalists just make up half the things they write and here’s some proof – as if you needed it!

I was interviewed for a piece in a Welsh newspaper and one of the questions I was asked what the value of my investment property portfolio. Now this is a question I always decline to answer because it’s likely to have one of two effects on people, neither of which are good. People will either think “huh, that’s not much,” or they’ll think “ooh, I could never get to that point,” so it puts them off even trying.

Then there’s the question about whether you answer in terms of value or in terms of number of properties, given that you could buy 10 or 20 properties in some locations for the price of the home in Sussex in which I currenly live.

So faced with this question I always answer as above and give permission to say I have a “multi-million pound portfolio”, which is exactly correct.

So having been given this answer, why did the journalist who wrote the piece in the Welsh paper have to go ahead and make up a figure? And it’s interesting that she’s chosen the figure of “around £1.4m.” My own home is worth more than that!!!

I guess this tells us a lot about what she thinks is a big amount, since she still describes me as a “property tycoon” and this kind of illustrates my point and supports my reasons for never saying.  Actually, a great deal of what you’ll read in the papers says more about the writer than the subject. I recall Gill Fielding (friend and Secret Millionaire extraordinaire) telling me about an article in which the journalist accused her of making up her accountancy qualifications, yet had they asked, she would have been able to show them her current membership card, or had they researched, they would have found her registration! Of course that wouldn’t have made such a good story though, would it?

I once saw Russell Brand doing a very funny routine around a completely fabricated piece on him that appeared in The Mirror (I think it was), but you don’t have to be as famous as Le Brand to fall victim.

Anyway, here’s the link to the inaccurate story about Maria Davies, but there are several inaccuracies, if you want the true story, visit my own Women In Property Investment website instead.

Correct Breathing for Professional Speakers

Watching Dragon’s Den, you’ll see many pitches suffer because the person delivering them runs out of breath.

The reason for this is because when we’re nervous we tend to breathe high in the chest. This makes for a very weak voice and consequently a weak pitch.

When you speak you need to sound full of confidence and a strong voice requires a strong diaghram to drive it. Most people breathe from the wrong place - from their chest rather than from this diaghragm.  Test yourself now… place one hand on your chest and one on your stomach, take a deep breath and determine whether the stomach expands of the chest rises.  If it’s the chest, you’re placing too much strain on the wrong parts of your body and you probably suffer from back pain because your core is not strong.  You need to get into the habit of breathing from the diaghram instead.

Here’s a really good video that gives some very quick and easy exercises that you can do regularly and easily to strengthen your core and get that diaghragmatic breathing right:  http://bit.ly/fw5Ch

So next time I see you on Dragon’s Den, you won’t run out of breath, will you?  And will have less chance of hearing the words “I’m Out” (except from Duncan Bannatyne, of course! )

Meeting Gary Player

GaryPlayer

Originally uploaded by Maria Davies

I’m the last person to be into sport, especially golf, although with the amount of business one hears is done on the golf course, I almost wish I knew how to swing those sticks – oops, sorry – clubs around.

Even I have to worship at the feet of Mr. Gary Player, however. Even I know he’s the greatest golfer of all time. So I was very honoured to attend a breakfast with him recently and even more delighted to be able to take my Dad who DOES golf and was even more honoured to meet his hero.

Altogether now… aaaah, sweet.

Ruffling Feathers at the PSA Convention

After speaking at the Professional Speakers’ Association Convention last year, I was asked to contribute an article to their “Speakeasy” magazine.  I thought my readers may like to read the published article, reproduced below, which will give you the gist of my convention talk.  You’ll see that even supposedly enlightened professional speakers have issues around financial discussions…

 

Maria Davies Wows the audience of Professional Speakers at their 2008 Convention

You’ve been speaking for years and have shared the stage with some of the biggest names in the business.  Thousands of pairs of eyes have watched you and at least as many ears have received your message. Through your skill, you’ve touched, changed and improved many lives. But all of that pales into insignificance when you have the chance to speak in front of your peers at Convention.

Now you must decide the purpose of your Convention talk.  What do you hope to share with your colleagues that will make a difference to them.  And how about you? Is your concern to be liked or to be remembered? Do you want to tiptoe around the sensitive issues or use whatever you can to drive home a powerful message, even if it does mean offending some?  Which route would you choose?

These were decisions I had to make when preparing my speech for this year’s Convention at Forest of Arden Country Club.  My talk was entitled “Looking After No. 1”.

I hold firm on these beliefs:

1. We must take care of ourselves before taking care of others;
2. We owe it to others to be successful first;
3. Because of the way the western world is set up, money is necessary to enable us to do this.

Now having been speaking on the subject of wealth for the last 8 years, I know how much resistance there can be to item no.3. But if you dispute the truth of this statement, if you believe money isn’t important, just try getting by without it and see how long you manage to stay in your home!  Or perhaps you think “ok, so you need money to live, but it’s not that important.”

Do you know what is the no.1 cause of marriage breakdown in this country?  Can you guess? I’m sure I’m not the only child who grew up realising that the only time her parents ever fought it was over lack of money.

Eight years ago when I left my highly-paid job in the City of London due to health problems, it was having a passive income (from a property portfolio started in 1990) that empowered me to make that choice. The alternative would have been to stay where I was, work myself into an early grave, or leave anyway and face possible bankruptcy. So I agree, money is not THE most important thing on the planet, I think the most important thing is our health, but even this can be compromised due to lack of funds.

However, polite company doesn’t talk about money, does it?  And this was my secret weapon from the platform that Saturday morning as I decided to ruffle a few feathers to drive home my points.  As I began with a photo of my gorgeous big house and a description of my car and lifestyle, I could see the horror on the faces of some of my friends.  What was I doing? This wasn’t going to get the audience on my side!

 

And even afterwards, when I spoke about my parents and showed the audience what I’d achieved with that money, comparing it with the underprivileged background I’d had to overcome, some people remained firmly stuck in the “Who does she think she is?” camp.  You could argue that this was due to my failure to bring the entire audience back on side, but I believe that many people are so conditioned in what Randy Gage calls “lack programming” that even if I’d listed all the charitable donations I make and the time I’m able to donate to worthy causes, their positions were already entrenched.

Besides, I was more concerned with holding up a mirror to those who did get it. Twice, I asked my audience to stop and realise what was going through their heads. What judgements were they making? And what effect would it have on their own achievements if they thought negatively about me for flaunting wealth and success?  In order to do this most effectively, I had to be prepared to appear somewhat arrogant. 

OK, so maybe I could have driven home the same point without upsetting some people, but would my talk have been so dramatic? Or so memorable?

The fact is that the judgements you make about others will determine your own level of success.  You also need to realise that you’re constantly being judged, whether you like it or not. Are you going to be afraid to become highly successful in case you’re judged harshly?  What messages were you given about money and success when you were a child that have now created continuing beliefs that may be holding you back? 

So sorry, guys, it was all a set-up, I’m nice really… or am I?  Yes, I’ve bought my parents a house, but this, along with the other good things I do, was a selfish act because doing it made me feel great.

There was another reason for telling you this story though, as I also wanted you to know that the background I came from had conditioned my parents to fail in their lifetime dream and this conditioning is still going on for most people today.  Does it apply to you?  Only you know what went through your head when you heard me speaking.

To be congruent, you really do owe it to others to ensure you become successful first. For me, as my subject is wealth creation, this must mean financial success. For you it may be something different.  It doesn’t matter what, it just matters that you are a success, and here’s why…

If you wanted to learn to be successful in any field, shouldn’t you learn from someone who’s done it, not someone who just read a book on it once? Look around at the people who offer speaking and support. Rikki Arundel is the absolute embodiment of success in coping with trans-gender issues; Richard McCann is the absolute embodiment of success in rebuilding a life after violent loss and there are many, many others amongst our PSA colleagues. 

First, decide what success means to you then go and achieve it. Once you’ve done so, you’ll be qualified to help others along the path you’ve already travelled.

What money really does is give you choices. Choices such as to how you spend your time. If you no longer have to trade your time for hourly pay just to cover the bills, and if you have more than enough coming in, how much more time & money can you donate to your family, church, charity or to getting out there making a difference speaking?

The speaking business is one of the most highly paid professions in the world, so let’s not pussy-foot around the fact that we’re there to make money whilst also making a difference.  It’s so much easier for you to do the latter if you do the former first.

Maria Davies is a speaker, columnist and published author. She frequently appears on TV & radio as a wealth creation expert and writes for “A Place In The Sun Magazine”.  Her websites are www.laddersofsuccess.com and www.womeninpropertyinvestment.com