We use the phrase "it is normal" without thinking when we really want to say that something is usual.
If something goes wrong, if we suffer, or if life is hard, then "it is normal" and we could really say that it is common but not normal.
So we accept it and take every burden on us, without thinking that there are other ways of doing things, because it is "normal".
And so it is, like everyone else.

But, are you going to be like everyone else?

• I get up in the morning to go to work in a hurry and I have no time for a coffee and kiss my wife (or husband).
  It is common but not normal.
• I'm stressed and I get upset easily, but I do nothing to change my habits to avoid stress.
  It is common, but not normal.
• I eat fast food and pre-cooked meals as usual to not spend time on cooking. Then I feel tired and I go to the pharmacy to buy vitamins to maintain the tonus.
  It is common, but not normal.
• I watch violent movies on television, aggressive ads and read all the news that speak of war and conflicts. Then I proclaim that what this world needs is peace.
  It is common, but not normal.
• In my conversations I talk about all the economic problems that I have, of scarcity in the world and I'm always saying that I need money, but my real goals are to live in prosperity and increase my quality of life.
  It is common, but not normal.

Should I go on?

What to do to get out of this vicious circle?

• Watch your conversations, conversations with yourself and with others, and talk free from history.
• Take a step and get new habits, eve if they are small things like getting ten or fifteen minutes early to avoid hurrying up and start the day without stress.
• Stop feeding your mind from television and other garbage media. Look for good news and you will find them.
• Start taking better care of yourself.

This is normal and usual, I hope.

It is the first time you invest your money and you have no idea of what is an investment?

An investment is an asset that produces money back for you. Basically it  means that in return of your capital the assets produce more money. Depending on the asset and performance you get, you expose your capital to a level of risk and the theory is the higher the risk, the higher is the return you'll get back.

These are basic features that an investor you should consider for your first investment:

1. Control: Should I control my investments or should I go through intermediaries? How much this controls costs me?
2. Risk: How much money I can lose?
3. Volatility: The price of the asset has many variations? (Something very common in higher risk products)
4. Liquidity: how quickly could sell the asset?
5. Costs: The cost of buying, selling and managing the investment?

An investment can produce two types of income:

1. Capital: When the price of the investment goes up in value.
2. Income: When you receive dividends.

In any case I always recommend products that you can control with Internet through the online banking for three simple reasons:

1. You get more interest
2. They have less expenses
3. You can control it at all times

Create passive income

Making a living from passive income is to control assets and create a system that operates automatically without any intervention on your part. But passive income will not get started "passively", unless you get an inheritance, of course.

We must begin to acquire assets and passive income will be the result. Before you make your first investment you must get the most important asset of all: your financial training. This the foundation that will allow you to build your system.

More tips for your first investment

Image courtesy of [Sujin Jetkasettakorn] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

To decide which financial product purchase start by study its evolution and seek for historical information. Look at the products that have evolved better in downturns in the financial markets, if it worked well in hard times, those are the good ones!.

When buying do not lean in prices: a lower-priced product can be at their most expensive moment. Do not rush, if in doubt choose safe funds to ensure a minimum return and in any case you will be putting your money back to work for you.

Many recommend diversifying to many financial product to minimize risks, but I see this as a problem that will hinder you from managing effectively your assets.

And finally, even if it is your first investment, do not get into the hands of a bank manager: he or she is there to collect their fees and make their own money, so their recommendations will remain influenced by their own interests.

How much should I invest?

I could not tell you much you should invest, just say what you can save the rest of the money into an emergency fund, which is always an investment anyway, but it will allow you to have enough cash for a project or something you want to buy without asking for a credit to get it.

Are you ready for your first investment?

I'm sure you've already been in love. Or maybe you are. And at first everything seems to be beautiful and possible. You've got a positive energy that minimizes all obstacles and trials. You feel calm and happy.

This is simply because the magic of the wonderful meeting has filled your mind, and your spirit is full of satisfaction and joy.

So if we stay in love for our entire life, we would be happy and peaceful all the time.

Yes, except that this emotional love state does not last forever, even if we always love our loved one, that first time feeling eventually loses its power and influence and we become sensitive to situations again.

Extend love so it becomes a background emotion

But imagine that you've got, besides the love for your wife or husband, a good life, and that you're surrounded by good friends, and that your children are growing beautifully, that each week you practice your favorite activities, etc.. Then you can maintain this feeling of seamless happiness inside you.

These good things will saturate the brain with positive experiences to install this background emotion of joy to stay.

To do this, we will see four major areas to improve:

1. The activities related our body: walking in nature, practicing individual sports without competition, massage, sunbathing, swimming, body contact with other people, sexual activity, tenderness, good eating pleasures, etc. A long walk in nature or near water has the same physiological effects that antidepressant.

2. Activities and feelings related to relationships: Having pets, enjoying a family, and keeping a good professional and social lifestyle. Practicing team sports.

Productivity and repetitive tasks at work and the time spent in front of screens, reduces the number and quality of these informal activities where we have the pleasure of being together just for sharing.

• It is not the same to hug a friend and have a coffee together than to put a message on the his Facebook wall.
• It is not the same getting a phone call to learn that you're grandma, than to learn it out from the Facebook wall.
• It is not the same to see a sunrise on the mountains than to watch it on a video.

3. Activities and feelings related to the intellect: creativity and arts, learning and discovering, meditating, training, imagination to create new projects and philosophical aesthetical pleasures.

Repetitive daily tasks and handling only known results can cause the reduction of brain connections. Confronting things and trying to innovate strenghts our personality and stimulates our creative side.

4. Activities and feelings related to the spiritual: to enable human beings to rise above their condition, to understand the underlying mechanisms of the world, to connect with something that is bigger than oneself, to discover the meaning of existence, prayer, meditation. In our increasingly materialistic society, the importance given to these elements is mixed with suspected sectarian mechanisms.

However, spirituality is a hallmark of the human species in the animal world and is found in various forms in all peoples and latitudes.

The "recipe" is to create a world in which we should maximize this kind of activities and good emotions. To do this change can be difficult and may have to use som "surgery" (change of job, change of residence, change of husband ...). It is not always easy.

So, go slowly: when I start to not feel good, the right question is "How can I feel a little better here and now", so you can find your own answers right now what is good for us to evolve into good background emotions. This is one of the basic principles of emotional intelligence: to deal with the emotion, and then deal with the situation.