The importance of having purpose

" Dear Pearlin,

My friend show me an article from your book, Sleep & Get Rich. Your book is simple to read and inspiring, though I had read many similar books like Adam Khoo and others. But your compilations are more practical in my perspective.
Because of your book, I had rekindled my blog again with a new theme focusing on lifestyle related. I had added your link to my blog too. Though my blog traffic had not attract much traffic yet but your book is good enough to get me started.
I hope that one year later, I can proud to quote and share with others of you too.

Thank you.
Sincerely,Willy Liang"

"Garrick Tan thks Pearlin for writing boss of me, i read the book everyday, very motivating, hope i can learn from these people's success...cheers!"

"Hello, Mrs. Siow,

My name is Irfan Adianto, I’m an Indonesian student in NAFA studying Fine Arts. I just want to say that your book Boss of Me is such a bundle of inspiration for me.. It made me realize that success is not reserved for those who grew up with a silver spoon in their mouths. But for those who believe that they deserve it. I also read The Four-Hour Workweek after reading your interview in the papers. And loved the idea of making a muse to support your income, without getting trapped in the 9-to-5 mentality. Yet, you are the only person i know who happens to practice the idea, so I want to learn from you as much as I can."

It's emails like these that I get from my readers that make my day, validate my purpose & push me to achieve more :)

Interview with HER WORLD magazine - April

1. Why do you think it's important to have a second source of income, especially in these times?

Building wealth through passive income is exciting because it does not require you to change careers. It keeps more cash in your pocket and releases you from job dependency, making you truly financially free. Case in point: Wealth guru, Robert Kiyosaki's teachings focus on generating passive income by means of investment opportunities, such as real estate and small businesses - with the ultimate goal of being able to support oneself by such investments alone.

2. What are some of the pros and cons of having a passive income?

Advantage: It puts you in control of your financial destiny and you won't be at a loss if you get retrenched or suffer a pay cut. Having passive income also lets you sleep and get rich literally - so you can continue making money while on holidays or sleeping!

Disadvantage: You have to work very hard at the beginning and forgo sleep and relaxation as you may have to take up courses or be doing research online after work. You will also have to invest some money upfront to start off your business and learn a few costly mistakes before you succeed.

3. What are some things of note if one is considering creating a source of passive income?

Assess the time and money you can afford to invest in your business. Map out your goals (financial and lifestyle) and evaluate your options. Identify what you want to do (for example, my book, Sleep & Get Rich!, offers 10 options) and shorten your learning curve by seeking experts or mentors in the field.

4. Can you give us some tips to start?

1. Imagine it - be clear about what you want, write down your goals and set a deadline.
2. Figure out how you're going to get it - make a list of everything that you will have to do to achieve your goal, then take this list and organise it into a plan.
3. Believe you have within yourself the ability to bring it about - read self-help and inspirational books to cultivate the proper mindset.
4. Begin taking action to move yourself towards it - do something everyday to move you toward your goal.

5. Can you share what are qualities that struck you about all the people you interviewed for Sleep & Get Rich?

Three things struck me about these successful entrepreneurs and they are:

1. They identify what really works in business by learning from the best experts they can find. They are usually "gung ho" in nature, undaunted by past failures and what naysayers say.

2. They learn very well, systematically studying and retaining what they're taught. Like scientists, they absorb, ponder, analyze and review the material over and over again.

3. They apply what they learn and go and do the work…and pay the price. They take the risks and understand that no matter how much knowledge they have, only action will help them achieve their goals.

6. Why is it that after interviewing so many people for Sleep & Get Rich, you decided to write an e-book?

An ebook about weight loss is something right up my alley as I can write and have a background in fitness. It is a low-cost business (I spent about $1,000) to start with high profit margins (I've made over five-figures from it so far!).

7. How long did you take to research and write your e-book?

It took me about five months to produce my ebook, The Essential Post-pregnancy Weight Loss Guide (available at http://www.exercisepostpregnancy.com) and this included interviews with experts, layout of ebook and creation of website to sell the ebook.

8. Actually, I'm not the kind who'd pay to download an e-book. I'm sure there are many people like me. So I'm wondering, how do you market/sell your e-book and make sure ppl actually pay to download it?

The beauty of Internet marketing is the fact that you can first locate a "hungry" market then present the "solution" to them. Before I started my ebook, I did research online (using keyword research on Google) and found out that there were thousands of women searching for post pregnancy weight loss tips daily. This is a ready market that I could tap on.

After that, it was a matter of applying some search engine marketing techniques to ensure that my website pops up when they search for certain keywords (eg post pregnany weight loss) together with pay-per-click (PPC) advertising on the side of Google when those keywords are typed in the search, amongst other online marketing strategies.

Alot of people in the US and UK shop online and they buy all sorts of things (including ebooks). That is my target market, not so much in Asia where e-commerce is not very developed. An ebook is also more personal than a book off-the-shelf as my buyers get to hear my voice (on my website) and even email me questions. I also keep in touch with them via email and send them weekly fitness and health tips. In fact, it was through our correspondence that spawned my second fitness book - a more concise, workout-focused ebook with audio and video formats called Body Back Fast!

9. What are some tips you have for aspiring e-book writers on the subjects to write?

It is to your advantage to know about your topic or have an interest in it before you write an ebook. Chances are, most people will not be successful immediately when they start a business, so if you don't have the interest, you will be turned off after a while. If you have an interest in your business topic, you will not be so frustrated if your business fails because, along the way, you have learnt about something that you enjoy.

10. Apart from the e-book, what other things do you do?

I write freelance, maybe about two articles (in health, fitness, relationship and finance topics) per month and teach pilates three times a week to private clients. I have just completed another ebook called Asia's Dragons which profiles eight of the best online brains in Asia and their success systems that have made them millions! This is selling at http://www.yourfinancialfreedomseminar.com. (not ready yet, check in end Feb) Asia's Dragons will also be made into a print book around May to be sold at bookstores islandwide and regionally.

11. Do you consciously try to create many different sources of income? If yes, why?

Yes, I want to be like my interviewees in Sleep & Get Rich! which is to work as little as possible and still have income coming in auto-pilot. Ultimately, my goal is to help as many people as possible gain financial freedom and I will continue doing projects along that same vein. The weird thing is - the more I do, the more free time I seem to have to pursue other interests (mundane or constructive). And, having the freedom to do anything I want is truly priceless!

How to go on more holidays

Just spoke to a friend of mine who told me that everybody he knows have tightened their purse strings and are getting ready for a tough year. And, the situation is said to get more dire after Chinese New Year as more layoffs are expected.

Well, you can either wallow in the depressing news and let it bring you down or...DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

Ask yourself - Do you want to be subject to retrenchments and pay cuts or are you going to take control of your own financial destiny?

I chose the latter, that's why, contrary to what most people are doing, I have actually cut back on my work, so that I can go on MORE holidays. My holiday schedule so far:

1. Shopping & sourcing trip to Hong Kong in April
2. Clubbing & eating trip to Japan in May
3. Charity trip to help Bali Dogs in August
4. Adventure trip to Goa, Kerala and Rajasthan in November

I am able to indulge myself because I have created PASSIVE INCOME. This is money that keeps on coming in, even when I am on holiday. Inspired by my interviewees in Sleep & Get Rich!, I created a weight-loss maternity ebook with my sister at http://www.exercisepostpregnancy.com, and we are doing pretty well.

All I need to do is carry out some simple online marketing to drive traffic to my website and ka-ching! Best part of it, all work can be pre-planned in advance or outsourced - enabling me to go on a holiday and return to see money in my bank! I am currently working on another ebook (see my post below on Asia's Dragons) that will provide even more passive income :)

To find out how you can create a lucrative passive income stream, check out my book, Sleep & Get Rich! (out in all major bookstores, except Borders).

10 ways to recession-proof yourself

Sleep & Get Rich! Out now in all major bookstores (except Borders)

ABOUT THE BOOK

Did you know that you could earn thousands of dollars in a day? Did you know you could do so without leaving home?

Sleep & Get Rich! offers valuable money-making lessons from inspiring people who have mastered a balanced work/family lifestyle by working passively.

This strategy-packed guide will reveal powerful but simple methods for striking it rich. Exclusive interviews with entrepreneurs prove how easy it is to get started and build a lucrative enterprise. The techniques you will discover in this book are realistic and everyone can take the step towards making passive income. Just one or two of these strategies will add significant dollars to your monthly income. In no time at all, they will put you in a position of financial security that will totally transform your life!

The people you will meet in this book are ordinary people — from housewives to IT enthusiasts, who are making tonnes of money while they sleep. Their real-life advice will give you a complete step-by-step blueprint for breaking through the obstacles that hold you back from living the life you want!

Find out how a full-time mum turned her e-book into a passive income stream that gives her five-figures, auto-pilot! Learn how one man overcame adversity to make his millions on eBay and be mentored by a successful investor on the tricks to getting a high ROI (return on investment) on your money.

So many people are profiting right now from passive income streams and so can you!


CONTENTS

1. Stock Market Genius — Keane Lee, T3B System
2. eBay Millionaire — Benjamin Marc Wee
3. Insurance Hotshot — Merry Riana, Merry Riana Organisation
4. Innovative Inventor — Dr Ting Meng Choon, HealthSTATS
5. Digital Media Maven — Virpi Tervonen, Golden Publishing House
6. Best-selling Author — Catherine Lim
7. Angel Investor — Landy Eng, eAngelz.com
8. Internet Marketing Guru — Larry Lim, Marketing Sphere
9. Real Estate Magnate — Mohamed Ismail Gafoor, Propnex
10. Network Marketing Expert — Dora Hoan, Best World International


ABOUT THE AUTHOR
After having authored her best-selling first book, Boss of Me!, Pearlin carved a lucrative passive income pie for herself by publishing, together with her sister, an e-book on post-pregnancy diet and fitness — concrete evidence that Sleep & Get Rich! offers a blueprint for success!

A former journalist at Singapore Press Holdings upon graduation, she had a brief foray as a technologist — as the founder of an online barter site in 2000 and as a business development manager for CNET Networks Asia. Craving freedom and recognising that there is more to life, she took a corporate hiatus and enrolled in a pilates course to feed her soul. When not hanging around inspiring people or travelling, Pearlin spends her time giving private pilates classes and dreaming up more million-making ideas.


*******

Praise for Sleep and Get Rich!

“This book offers more than just inspiration fuel but also a compass for others to follow and tactics that you can put into action now.”

Brian Schwartz
Author of 50 Interviews


“This book is fabulous to read, easy to read and a must-read! It is the only book in Singapore that has condensed the success principles and belief systems adopted by the top 10 passive income earners. It will definitely open your mind to create multiple streams of passive income, whoever you are and whatever occupation you are in.”

Cayden Chang Kheng Mong
Master NLP Trainer, Director & Founder
Mind Kinesis Management International LLP


“Pearlin has written a book that espouses the old-fashioned virtues of knowledge and hard work.”

Barry Jones
Principal, Maroon Ventures

Ebooks Extraordinaire

This best-selling E-book author and publisher has her migration from Finland to Singapore to thank for her online success today. “During my year-long maternity leave in Finland I was pondering what business I could start in order to work from home. Because everything I came up with felt too risky, I decided to continue my academic career,” explains 37-year-old Virpi Tervonen. Open to seeing what life has to offer, she, her husband and then 10-month-old daughter left Finland and came to Singapore in 2004. Both Virpi and her husband came here to work. “I was keen to explore the world for opportunities and Singapore seemed exotic and different from the US or Europe,” she says.

However, coping with the new culture, language and climate took its toll. “I had just come direct from Finland where I spent one year at home looking after my daughter. Working long hours and getting used to the demands of new work in an environment that was run in a completely different way than I was used to in Scandinavia was all a little bit too much for me to handle,” Virpi reveals. That plus the fact that her daughter was spending all the time with the maid pushed her to quit her job as a senior researcher at the National University of Singapore.

She was inspired to start an Internet Marketing business after reading the book, The One Minute Millionaire by Robert Allen and Mark Victor Hansen. The book describes four ways to become wealthy – go into real estate, start a business, invest in the stock market or do Internet Marketing. Despite the fact that her Internet knowledge only extended to “using Google a few times a week to check stuff”, she decided to go with Internet Marketing as it seemed to demand the least initial capital to invest and smallest risks. “You can work from home and the ways to make money are endless,” she says. Nothing prepared her for the steep learning curve that loomed ahead, which she says is a blessing in disguise. “Had I known what I was getting myself into, I may not have done it.”

Now, sales for her digital book about acupressure for pregnant women gives her five-figures a month on autopilot! In fact, she makes so much money that her husband has quit his job and now stays at home with her. “It took me a little bit more than a year to succeed. That may seem like a long time but compared to the time I took to get my Ph.D. to earn $5,000 a month as a researcher and now, when my income has multiplied and I have my dream lifestyle, one year is nothing,” she asserts.

Find out how she did it in Sleep & Get Rich! Out end of December in all major bookstores (except Borders) and Amazon.com

He made US$900,000 in one month on eBay!

Looking at his laidback manner, it’s hard to tell that Benjamin Marc Wee is a multi-millionaire with his fingers in several lucrative online businesses. “My entrepreneurial spirit started in school. I was studying at UC Berkeley and tuition fees were not cheap. To pay for them, I had to find ways to make money,” recalls the 36-year-old. At his university, students were required to clear their rooms after every term, so many of them threw their books out. Seeing a money-making opportunity, Benjamin bought all the old textbooks with his credit card and re-sold them to new students. He continued to do this for several terms, eventually doing so well that his business was bought out by a second-hand bookstore for US$200,000. Motivated, he continued to buy and sell; this time, gathering all the ‘junk’ dumped outside the student dormitories. “The school would hire a company to clear the stuff so I offered to do it for free. I hired Mexicans and carted all the goods, ranging from old computers to clothes, to eBay’s headquarters which was five minutes away. Then I sold them all online.”
When he returned to Singapore after graduating, friends and relatives were skeptical when he told them about his eBay business. “They told me to get a life!” Benjamin listened to them and got a job as a reporter at Reuters, writing energy reports. Then tragedy struck. His girlfriend back then had a miscarriage and passed away. Devastated, Benjamin stopped going to work and was fired. He was also evicted out of his apartment as he could not pay the rent. He moved in with his friend and after a few months of moping around, he decided that he could not continue living like this and he turned to what he knew best to make a living – eBay.
Leveraging on his creativity and skill, Benjamin designed websites selling digital products and sold ready-made web stores on eBay. They were a hit, and he sold 10 websites a month at US$3,000 to US$4,000 each.
A holiday in Japan changed his life and gave him the inspiration that netted him US$900,000 in one month on eBay! Find out what it is in Sleep & Get Rich! out end December in all major bookstores (except Borders) and Amazon.com

Sleep and & Get Rich!

Inside my second book, Sleep & Get Rich!, you will meet:

1.Stock market genius – Keane Lee, T3B System
2.eBay millionaire – Benjamin Marc Wee
3.Insurance hotshot– Merry Riana, Merry Riana Organisation
4.Network marketing expert, Dora Hoan, Best World International
5.Publishing maven – Virpi Tervonen, Golden Publishing House
6.Internet marketing guru - Larry Lim, MarketingSphere.com
7.Angel investor – Landy Eng, EAngelz
8.Innovative inventor – Dr Ting Choon Meng, HealthSTATS
9.Best-selling author - Catherine Lim
10.Real estate king – Mohamed Ismail Gafoor, Propnex

Sleep & Get Rich! offers valuable money-making lessons from inspiring people who have mastered a balanced work/family lifestyle by working passively. This strategy-packed guide will reveal powerful but simple methods for strik­ing it rich. Exclusive interviews with entrepreneurs prove how easy it is to get started and build a lucrative enterprise. The techniques you will discover in this book are realistic and everyone can take the step towards making passive income. Just one or two of these strategies will add significant dollars to your monthly income. And in no time at all, they will put you in a position of financial security that will totally transform your life!

Find out how a full-time mum turned her e-book into a passive income stream that gives her five-figures, auto-pilot! Learn how one man overcame adversity to make his millions on eBay and be mentored by a successful investor on the tricks to getting a high ROI (return on investment) on your money.

So many people are profiting right now from passive income streams and so can you! Sleep & Get Rich! will be out in all major bookstores (except Borders) and on Amazon.com for $15 from end Dec 08.

P.S. Excuse my lack of posts but I have been tied up at an Internet Marketing conference, waking up at 7am all the way till 7pm, after which I try to keep up with my social life before collapsing into bed.