Year: 2014

Financially Fearless

I have a recommendation for a useful, smart and long-rewarding present: a financial education book titled Financially Fearless: The LearnVest Program for Taking Control of your Money (published 31 December 2013) written by the young and inspiring Alexa von Tobel. This book makes a great Christmas present (or a gift for any occasion) that a parent can give to their child 18 – 26 years old (more financial education books to choose). But really, how many of us have our finances under complete control? According to Alexa von Tobel, 76 percent of all working Americans live from paycheck to paycheck. So basically, three out of four Americans are uncertain about their financial status, and the financial decisions they make. To live paycheck to paycheck is a “ no plan” of action and a bad choice. “You cannot be ignorant,” says Alexa. Financially Fearless: The LearnVest Program for Taking Control of Your Money is full of tasks and questions—and working through these exercises will help anyone build a solid foundation for future financial decision making skills …

Lyxfällan Top 10: Problems People have with Money

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” (Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina)  Even though Lev Tolstoy claimed the opposite, we can find similarities in unhappiness of financially broken families—both of which share a common starting point. After analyzing 17 Seasons of the popular Swedish TV Show LyxFällan (Luxury Trap in English), I did draw some conclusions about common money spending habits, lifestyles, and attitudes towards money. If you can relate to at least three of the following economical letdowns, consider yourself warned… Here is a list of the most popular issues that landed people in LyxFällan.  No savings – The most common feature that everybody shared was having  zero savings. This included people with an income of $2000-$6000 per month. No matter how small or large your income is, save at least 10%.  No concept of expenses and loans – Knowing how to budget and control your economy is one ability that most people from LyxFällan did not have. Here you will find The Top 5 Swedish Apps that will help you …

Self-Crisis Management – 7 Tips to Help You Hop Out of Bed

Almost everyone has at one time or another “hit the wall.” Meaning, have had a personal or career crises. And every crisis seems to start the minute you wake up: arrogance, procrastination and suffering from as little as noticing the weather outside. There are a lot of reasons why people end up in this situation. But the good news is that there is a way to get back on track. Remember, it all starts the minute you open your eyes in the morning. The secret element of success  Some time ago Life as an Investment published an article which discussed Knowledge and Motivation. But recently, while reading biographies of successful people and analyzing my own personal experiences, I came to conclusion that one important element was missing – D I S C I P L I N E! It may sound boring – be a disciplined person, but it can pull you out of a crises and make your dreams of reaching the pinnacle of success come true.   Your perfect productive morning It sounds …

Women’s Personal High Heaven

Women are usually considered risk averse in the investment world. In business too, women are stereotyped as being cautious of risk and responsibility—and prefer mostly support roles. Recently we talked with Nina Nordling—entrepreneur, motocross enthusiast, and a woman thriving despite these stereotypes. We are grateful that Nina has agreed to share with Life as an Investment of how she followed her passion of sports and how she changed her world among many doubters.                                                           Facts box: Name: Nina Nordling Age: 31 Family:  Nina is in a relationship with  the love of her life, who also happens to be her ex-husband. She is a legal guardian of three kids. Bio Startup entrepreneur and CEO of the social venture High Heaven, a worldwide digital meet-up for women looking fortheir next adrenaline adventure.                                           …

What is Immunity? Key Components to Health and Longevity Explained

What is good health? How do we describe a healthy person? Well, a healthy person is a lucky person whose body functions work properly, can move the way he/she wants, breathe easily, has no pain and no restrictions—and who doesn’t visit the doctor more than for ordinary check-ups. This person never gets sick when most others do—and can eat and drink whatever he/she wants without any problems. In other words, a healthy person is a person with a fine-tuned immune system. So, good health equals strong immunity. But what is immunity? Immunity is usually defined as a defence system that resists and fights viruses and infections that enter our body. However, it is more than just that. The immune system is designed to allow a human to live for at least 120 years—and not weaken after forty, fifty, or even sixty years of age. How is that possible? It depends on the individual. Have you ever thought about why young people are healthy and so full of life? And why some people keep this condition …

You’re Not a Turtle, You’re a Dog! – Motivational Story

Sometimes when people work, study, or even live together—they tend to examine each other and make comparisons. Eventually, if not immediately, one can find themselves battling inner conflict brought on by consciously or sub-consciously deciding that “I’m not as smart as the person next to me.” This way of thinking is a distraction and negative, and usually leads to giving-up and quitting. It is a feeling that eats from the inside and leads to nothing good or positive. As I once mentioned before in another post, Merenlin and myself teach adults how to swim (breast stroke) and how to stay calm (especially those who have had a traumatic experience) in water. We enjoy working with them the most because it is difficult for them to change old habits and easily adapt to function normally in water. Somewhere near the midpoint of the course I tell a story about a turtle and a dog. I tell this story because It helps the inner voice say “I can…I am good enough!” The voice that says the opposite …

What do you want to be when you grow up?

When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.” ― John Lennon We are all scared of change – and have been since the dawn of time. It is hard-wired into our brains through evolution….so our first reaction to “change” is to run from it or simply avoid it. It is the classic “fight or flight” reaction to the underlying fear associated with change. Even if you truly want your life to be different, it will be incredibly difficult to take that first leap….and then adapt. If you are someone who is yearning for change, that is, changing for the better, then please read on. Here’s something to consider when you’re on the verge of taking that first step. Think of this concept as a mental “exercise” to help …

IN WAKE OF THE STOCKHOLM TECH FEST, PART II: Startups

(THIS IS THE SECOND PART. Read the first part here) Things weren’t that bad at Stockholm Tech Fest. We actually got to meet some very talented and creative people in the Tech industry….people who are changing the future….people who we chose to discuss here today. In fact, one of them won the Life as an Investment Award!   Detectify https://detectify.com/about Built in 2012 CEO Rickard Carlsson Who are they? Detectify audits your site’s security so that you can focus on web development. They were born from the simple concept that the internet is broken—and now today we have a full-blown SaaS application that has moved-on to become one of the most exciting new companies in web security. Why are you the hottest and the coolest start-up in the Stockholm Tech scene right now? Our competitors do not perform as well as you would expect.  We are a security company, and that means preserving confidentiality and integrity.  Our competitors cannot keep up with the ever-evolving web landscape. And beyond that, we can hack right through you. …

(c) Image courtesy of Klarna

In Wake of the Stockholm Tech Fest, Part I: Diversity

Week 36 in Stockholm the tech scene was in full swing! It was highlighted by a Swedish- based company known as Klarna – who arranged the event which was devoted exclusively to tech-creative women. The “Women Create Tech” theme gathered over a 1000 women at Klarna’s headquarters to talk about their role in the hottest investment field in the country – IT. According to official statistics  in 2013, investments in the Technology field increased by 60%. Following the Klarna event, the “Stockholm Tech Fest” took place, attracting over 2000 participants – the largest ever in Sweden. At the conclusion of “Tech Week” in Stockholm, Life as an Investment ran the “Wild Women Do” workshop organized by Marie Milligan, Pyladies Stockholm and sponsored by Lifesum. When the three-day marathon was over Merenlin and I sat down in a café trying to sort out the “reality” of what just took place. The STHLM Tech Fest raised a wave of discussions on in the media about diversity in the tech industry. Some of the comments and posts had …

Share Happiness Challenge

People spend years pursuing happiness… searching for it, hoping to get it one day. The truth is that we already have it inside us, around us – everywhere! We just need to learn to recognise it! Life as an investment started #100daysofhappiness challenge and already 3 days in a row posting The Happy Pics on @lifeasaninvestment Instagram account and Pinterest account   Join us in the move in discovering, realising and enjoying happiness everyday of our lives! Post and repost our pictures using hashtags #100daysofhappiness and #lifeasaninvestment to participate in this happiness challenge. Make the world a little bit nicer and kinder and happier place to live! Open your eyes! Open your heart! Share LOVE! Share JOY! Share HAPPINESS!