Our House magazine addressing our associates. This issue contains how OTP for becoming the best version of ourself. Retirement planning, Behavioural difference and gallery
The Triple Threat | Article on Global Resession | Harsh Kumar
INSCRIPTIONS 38 JULY2022.pdf
1. A MAGAZINE FROM THE GOPAST CENTRE FOR LEARNING
Inscriptions 38
TRUTH STAYS FOREVER
July 2022
2. R.GOPINATH
PAGE INDEX
Page CHAPTER Topic By
3 SCULPTOR SCULPTS
OTP for becoming the best
version of ourself
MR R.GOPINATH
15 GURUS SPEAK
Retired life, be more joyful than
a youth’s life
MR R.GOPINATH
27 CATERPILLAR SPACE Grand Paa Mr Nishith Joshi
Behaviour Mr N Vaidyanathan
32 WE ARE PROUD OF
Ms Thanya Sri evolving into a
classical dancer par excellence
37 GALLERY
SCREEN SHOTS OF THE
SESSIONS IN PROGRESS
4. OTP for becoming the best version of ourself
R.Gopinath
gopinathr@go-past.com
We have the potential to emerge as the best in the
world. We have super powers contained inside us,
and all those powers bundled together gives us this
unlimited potential. The power to communicate, the
power to solve problems and creativity are examples
of such super powers.
In some countries the citizens may have the freedom
of speech, freedom of religion and other types of
freedom provided by their constitution. Whereas in
some countries citizens may not be given such
freedom, and in some countries these types of
freedom are available only to a select few.
One freedom that all of us possess is the freedom to
make our choices. This freedom we possess all the
while. No matter how restrictive the circumstances
are, we still are endowed with this freedom. We have
above mentioned super powers inside us. But they
are in dormant state. The awareness that we have the
“power to choose” will activate those super powers.
Ignorance of this freedom keeps them in dormant
state for ever.
5. Fear is a state of mind when we are unaware of
this freedom to choose our responses to a given
threatening situation or having forgotten
possessing it.
Please look at this picture:
There is a stimulus and there is a person in this
picture. The stimulus can be anything that evokes a
response from this person. It can be a picture or a
sentence uttered by a neighbour or it can be a song
or a flag or a news on TV or an incident. Anything that
she is exposed to and the one that demands a
response from her can be called as “stimulus”
There is a space between the stimulus and the
person. In that space she has the freedom to choose
her response. This space can be too small, even
something like a micro second, but still the fact
remains that even in that small space we still have the
freedom to choose. When she is aware of this fact,
she will be in control of the situation otherwise she
may only feel as if she is a victim of that situation.
6. The stimulus could be a life threatening situation also.
The fact is that even in such a grave situation she still
has her freedom to choose her response.
The stimulus could be a hyper emotional drama put
up by a person who matters, but the fact is that even
in such situation she still has her freedom to choose.
She can respond in any many ways R1, R2, R3 and
so on as per her choice as shown in this picture;
So far we have been discussing about the
stimulus which is an external factor. But one of
the most common stimulus is our own thoughts.
So let us discuss the same now.
7. We can become the best version of ourselves that we
used to fantasise often. But to progress towards that
we have to overcome the fear of failure.
Please look at this picture: In this picture P: the
present level and G: the goal that we want to reach:
When we start pursuing that goal, our mind starts
assessing the possibilities of 1) Success and 2)
Failure. If the probability of success seems to be
encouraging then the mind allows us to step up the
activities that will take us there. But if it appears that
the probability of failure is high, the mind hesitates to
permit us put in that efforts.
It doesn’t stop here, it goes forward to imagine the
consequences of such failure: The insult, the pain and
the loss of such a failed attempt. This thought
(imagined) triggers a stream of sirens in the brain, and
the brain starts releasing all those chemicals into the
body. Those chemicals (hormones) stop the body, it’s
limbs and its senses from functioning.
8. We know that to reach a goal not just a single action
is required but a combination of multiple actions,
perfectly timed and executed superbly as planned is
required. So you can estimate for yourself how
effectively your mind should function to order such a
high level of precise actions.
So far we have been discussing about the
stimulus which is an external factor. But one of
the most common stimulus is our own thoughts.
So let us discuss the same now.
9. The fear of Failure:
We know that all big discoveries were preceded by
numerous failures.
In a game of cricket let us say a bowler bowls 10
overs and gains one wicket; we don’t say that he
failed 59 times (6X10-1).
Theoretically speaking it is possible to score a
century in 17 balls, but still when a batsman scores
century in 400 balls we call it a successful innings.
The scientists did not label it as “failure” instead they
labeled it as “progress” and that did the trick. The
same with the players we saw above. Labels
changed, responses changed.
Over a period of time we have developed a thinking
habit. Our thoughts follow a pattern. Just as we had
developed physical habits, we have also developed
thinking habits. That is exactly why our responses in
that space are like automated outputs. As much as
physical habits can be changed, even thinking habits
also can be changed.
Let us say a person has developed a thinking habit
that “The destiny is always unkind to him. His wishes
will never come true. Even if something good appears
to be happening it is only a temporary gain, after
10. which soon the trend will reverse and the misfortunes
will surface in life”.
With this type of a habit how can he ever become the
best version? Every time an external stimulus like a
motivational talk reaches his ears, the quick response
is this can be true for others but not true for him.
Even when an internal stimulus like a beneficial
thought comes in his mind, the response could be to
negate the same with his old thinking habit.
What is the solution for this?
Let us say this negative response from him is R1 in
this picture. The first thing to do is to remind himself
of the freedom to choose another response say R2.
This very awareness will empower him. This will
unlock those dormant powers like creative thinking,
communication skills and such other powers.
11. Nowadays we need OTP to do any transaction.
Can we also get one such OTP to change our mental
transactions? Yes the OTP is given below:
Yes it is as simple as this. Start observing the
thoughts that you produce habitually R1. Remind
yourself that you have the freedom to choose R2 or
R3, Train yourself to do so. There could be internal
resistance. Even stiff resistance. But Practise it again
and again, this will now create a habit of the response
R2 which is a beneficial one and allows you to
progress towards, become the best version of
yourself.
12. Please gather the following life stories to substantiate
your understanding of this article:
Life stories of sports persons:
Michael Phelps,Jennifer Azzi,Sachin Tendulkar, M S
Dhoni.
Life stories of artists:
Amitabh Bachchan, Lata Mangeshkar, Puneeth
Rajkumar,
Life stories of beauty queens;
Sushmita Sen, Pia Wurtzbach, Shamcey Supsup
13. Life stories of Scientists;
Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, C V Ramanujam
Stories of Heads of businesses:
Narayan Murthy, Indra Nooyi, Sundar Pichchai,
15. Retired life, be more joyful than a youth’s life
Part-1
R.Gopinath
gopinathr@go-past.com
Three major phases of life.
You will observe that the roles and responsibilities
undergo changes as we pass through these three
phases of life (Ref: Pic above). I phase 2 and phase 3
regular income plays a vital role in fulfilling the
responsibilities pertaining to that phase.
Income is generated from two sources 1) Occupation
and 2) Assets.
16. How does a person generate income from any
occupation? This picture will explain it:
In the third phase of life it is mostly likely that the
body and mind functioning shows big variation with
what it used to be in ages 30s and 40s. Therefore to
depend on these to produce occupational income
can be risky.
17. Let us now consider the other source of income:
Assets. (More detailed analysis of this will be done in
the next issue)
Assets can be classified into the following categories:
18. What are the major needs of an elderly couple or an
elderly person?
1) They would like to be agile and moving around
(Healthy and mobile)
2) They would like to engage themselves with some
activity/hobby to use their time
3) They would like to enjoy autonomy in deciding
matters related to them.
4) They want to feel secured and cared for.
5) They want to be respected and listened to.
One of the primary resource that can provide most of
the above is a regular monthly income.
A caring family of the sons and daughters is the other
one. While it is likely most of the elders get that
caring family environment because of the grateful and
affectionate children, one must consider the financial
burden on them for this purpose. They (sons/
daughters) have a big family to be taken care of. They
have committed themselves to a many times bigger
life style, bigger houses, and better education to their
children than what their parents would have provided
for them. Even if they are willing to support their
elderly parents are they financially capable of doing
so?
19. They may undergo a great stress in balancing these
two needs. The following statements indicate that:
Instead of talking about income in general let us
examine the types of income and the most suitable to
cater to the needs of the elderly. To do this let us
consider the classifications of income:
20. Retirement planning has two phases: 1) Accumulation
Phase and 2) Distribution Phase.
Accumulation phase is the time when a person saves
money for his retirement. During this time he is
accumulating the corpus.
21. Distribution phase is when he is consuming the
corpus by converting it into a cash flow. If the life
style requirements can be classified into 4 levels:
1) Minimum level ( the barest minimum that this
person can live within the means provided for (say
50% to 60% of used to level)) and
2) Reasonably comfortable( little less than the pre-
retirement level, letting go of whatever can be let
go (say, 75%to 80% of the used to level))
3) Aspiration level of life ( the one that a person will
be fantasising about (say 150% of the used to
level))
This picture will explain the scientific principles one
need to adopt during both the accumulation and
distribution phases.
22. We had mentioned about the assets in the beginning
part of this article. We will discuss about the same in
the next issue which is a continuation of this topic to
see how income will be a better tool than assets to
fund the post retirement life.
Post retirement needs has two major parts 1) The
regular cash flow needs and 2) Once-in-a-while lump
sum cash requirements to meet the needs of big
events (predictable/unpredictable).
We therefore need a good financial adviser who can
study various financial instruments available in the
market and suggest the most suitable ones for this
purpose. This needs calculations, projections and
appropriate risk management strategies to cover the
interest rate risk, inflation risk, risk on capital and
assets, longevity risk, mortality and morbidity risks.
In the next issue of this article we will discuss some
data provided by the help age India study done to
understand the significance of having a scientific
planning related to retirement needs so that
“Retired life, be more joyful than a youth’s life”
28. BEHAVIOUR
(N.Vaidyanathan.,FChFP., QPFP ®)
I am aware, the above headline, looks like a simple common terminology, like, we used to see
the upper part of iceberg, so casually, in the sea. But, once we go deep into further study of the
same, we may wonder about its mighty characteristics of one side, and at the same time we may
be shocked, once we turn back the history, and come to know, it even toppled the unsinkable ship
called “TITANIC”.
On the same note, we are going to have a look in depth about the title called “BEHAVIOUR”,
and its roles , in our life journey called “Financial Life”.
Before moving forward, on the article, I hope all the readers of this article, will acknowledge the
real truth, that in today’s life, we are all surrounded, predominantly by technologies and also by
its terminologies. One of the most attracted terminology, in today’s scenario, on the web is,
“WEALTH CREATION”. Honestly, it is a beautiful terminology. and it has attracted many
people across the globe, like falling in love at first sight. It is such a powerful word. But we will
go deep dive, in this article, how the BEHAVIOUR of any person, is helping to reach the
successful destination called Wealth Creation.
Hope you all, will accept the truth, that our parents & our forefather’s have not started their
carrier, with a handsome income, like most of the present Gen X, Gen Y or Gen Z , is getting.
now a days. Adding to that truth, the entire earning span Income of our parents (or) forefather’s
was on a slow & steady phase, on their monthly income parameter. But in spite of that, most of
our previous generation people, have fulfilled, their Financial goals & Responsibilities with
pride, and also accumulated the wealth, shown the present world, as a real life example, how to
be , on the journey called Financial life .
If we analyze the same, we could see, the evident reason is, their Financial Behaviors, played a
very vital role, for that successful journey, from starting to end, on their Earning Span. So let us
explore more, in depth, about their behavioural ideology, on some of the important parameters,
on the concept called Money, between Previous Generation & Present Generations.
29. Behaviour No: 1 (On the aspect of Income)
It is clearly evident from the above diagram how our parents were constructed their monthly
income structure, after giving first priority to savings and then for the expenses, and that too, we
can see the size of each wall. But, if we look at the other side of present generation diagram, we
can see, predominantly, how they are constructing ,their structure, with a size of Expense wall is
higher that income , and also their savings wall, (Provided if available) is lesser in size.
So, it is a very simple straight understanding, to create wealth, first we need to change our
behavior to Income – Savings = Expenses but not Income - Expenses= Savings.
Behaviour No : 2 ( On the aspect of Future Planning)
By seeing the above two diagram we can easily, come to the conclusion, our parent’s behaviour,
on the allocation on the aspect of income, is to make sure future planning is utmost primary one,
and present priorities was a secondary one. On the other hand, if we look at the behavior
handling of present Gen X & Gen Y people, predominately was, more at present priorities, rather
than, allocating fund for Future essentials.
Income
Savings
Income
Savings Expenses
Present Priorities
Future Planning
Income
Future Essentials
Present Priorities
Income
Expenses
Previous Generation
Present Generation
Previous Generation
Present Generation
30. Behaviour No : 3 (On the aspect of liabilities)
There was a common practice, in olden days, that if any person, gets into the entry of liability
entrance door, will definitely get caught, in the life of liability net, forever. Hence they have
avoided that path. But in the case of Gen X & Gen Y, their behaviour has been completely
changed, when compared to our parent’s life. I feel, that is also one of the key important factors,
which is blocking the present generation, to create wealth.
The below diagram, will explain a sample data, of around 100 people, from the past & present
generations, how the liability related life is being built.
Behaviour No : 4 (On the aspect of choosing investment options )
While talking about the choosing of investment options, it has been evidently seen, that our
previous generation, had a limited options, and they have chosen the product, based on
familiarity based, and they hold on that investment, until the purpose came. But in the case of
present generations, they have got so many investment options, and trying to explore everything,
at one go, with a mind set of creating of Instant Wealth Creation. Because of that, their
behaviour, seems to be, most of the times restless, and they are forced to keep changing their
Over Liability
Less Liability
No Liability
5
30
65
Over Liability
Income level
equal liabili:es
No Liability
50
40
10
Previous Generation
Present Generation
31. investment options, very often, and that results in destroying of wealth creation . The following
diagram explains behaviour pattern of both the generations.
When analyzing the present generation behaviour investment options in the above structure. It is
clear, they are not continuing, till the purpose of the investments gets accomplished.
Behaviour No : 5 (On the aspect of Discipline)
The above diagram, clearly shows, the path for Wealth creation, adopted by our previous
generation was, not by Financial Intelligence, but by Financial Regularity. At the same time,
present generations, behaviour is purely depending on Financial Intelligence, rather than
Financial Regularity.
Hence, I would like to conclude this article, with a simple, but powerful points, to create a
wealth, we simply need to construct, all the structure, like our previous generation along with
Discontinuing / exiting from that
investment
Starting the Investment
Exploring choices of Investment op:on
Deciding the Purpose of Investment
Continued that investment
Chooses the product
Decided the Purpose of investment
Financial Intelligence
Financial Discipline
Financial Intelligence
Financial Discipline
Previous Generation
Present Generation
Previous Generation
Present Generation
32. balancing of Financial behavior, at all times, from the start to end of earning span, to create
Wealth.
All the above data to support this article has been gathered from my personal experience in
interacting with the old clients and the prospects.
Wishing you all, for a peaceful life forever.
34. Ms. M. S. Thanya Sri daughter of Mr. D. Murugesan (LIC Agent ,
Ambulance Service at Avinashi) & Mrs. M. Sheela. She is studying in 10th
std at AKR Academy CBSE School , Anaipudur, Avinashi .
Her passion in Bharatha Naatiyam has made her to participate & perform
in many festivals and functions for which she has been honoured with
many certificates. Also she is very much interested in the Martial Arts
karate and has participated in many events