Sting, Music & Business

 

In our past posts we examined how many big names with great incomes, went from riches to rag and died in poverty.

 

How many times you read of this and that superstar’s jewelry being sold in a public auction? 

 

Or how many times you read on the papers about that NBA star ending in jail for whatever reason?

 

Unfortunately there’s a number of these examples. 

 

If you want to know it all, the list is going to grow… indeed I would really like to reveal who’s the next basketballer who’s going to get broke. I really do but I hold it back. 

 

Luckly, there are some music stars instead who are not just world famous singers, they also are great businessmen.

 

These are the people we should admire because they have been both successful in their art as well as in their business career, and in some cases they made their real money in this last one.

Today we talk about Sting.

 

According to the Sunday Times, Sting is one of the richest artist of England. Obviously everyone can imagine he made some serious money, however instead of wasting it in shenanigans like many of his colleagues, our man invested in many real estate properties. 

 

His Real Estate list goes from NYC, London, Malibu and a number of properties in the countryside. 

 

One of these properties is of particular importance because other than being really beautiful is also profitable (please allow me this personal judgement) and it supports his image of businessman.

 

You read it right. It’s profitable, it helps in supporting his image and staying there is a real pleasure.  

 

How could this be possible? 

 

Well that’s very simple.

 

Sting is a great businessman and he was able to exploit his real estate qualities and bring them out to their top.

 

Let’s start with his Tuscan property he and Trudie Styler own in Figline Valdarno about 45 minutes southeast of Firenze, a 300 hectares property (about 741 acres) in the world’s most exclusive countryside. The farm is called Il Palagio, (the ancient Tuscan word for Palace, a word used during the Renaissance age) which they bought from the Duke Simone Vincenzo Velluti Zati di San Clemente. Sting and Trudy they get it restored and even expanded the property with more acres (today is about 900) and they converted all the farming to Biodynamics.

 

At the Palagio, they produce and sell wine, Extra virgin Olive Oil and honey. Obviously their main production is wine. They hired top professionals for their business as their viticulturist is Alan York, while their Enologist is the world famous expert Paolo Caciorgna. 

 

The property lies in one of the best areas of the Chianti. The property includes: farms, vineyards, historical buildings and from all the above listed elements combined we can conclude his food products are of the highest quality level. Indeed we know their wine and their organic olive oil are exported both in England and in the US and are sold in places like Harrods in London or Dean and Deluca in the US. 

 

A second key element is the land. Tuscany’s land is absolutely unique, there’s no other place in the world like the Tuscan countryside and you can talk to whoever has been there he can tell you he immediately fell in love with it. Many of them bought a home there and for many is a permanent holyday destination. This made Tuscany a world’s famous tourist destination. 

 

Of course there are other elements that made Tuscany famous abroad, Just consider the fact that the British Royals love Tuscany and when they want to spend some time there, they go visit their Tuscan peers, as still at today many land owners in the Chianti Regions are noble families who own their properties as part of their family old heritage. 

 

However, if we talk about creating value, what’s really smart is to link excellent food products from a world famous land to a world famous music star who campaigned for environmental issues countless times. 

 

What a better way to support the environment than apply biodynamic farming into your own land? Besides we know Trudie donates a percentage of all profits to the environmental causes she and Sting support, like the Soil Association, which promotes organic food and farming in the U.K., and the Rainforest Foundation, which the couple founded in 1989.

 

I really admire Sting for the way he managed to create his Tuscan business and how he did manage to communicate it. 

 

Investing in Tuscany can be really an excellent investment other than a real pleasure. 

 

At this point I wish you know you can follow this profitable wave of investing in Tuscany and if you are interested in it, you can write directly to myself at luigiemanuelefoscale@gmail.com 

 

I will be happy to help you out with whatever question you might have regarding investing in Tuscany.

Luigi Foscale

How to follow our Community on the Media

Dear Friends,

after a so big audience I recap you all the place you can follow our community:


@Facebook: www.facebook.com/retirerichfoscale

@Twitter: https://twitter.com/luigifoscale

@Financial Times: http://clippings.ft.com/luigifoscale

@Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpwlnavOk68


Stay tuned!

Luigi Foscale

Luigi Foscale on Eastern Europe

Why if in Italy a bank goes bankrupt nobody in the world would care about, while if maybe the island of Cyprus (whose value is equal to two Italian banks) the world seems to crumble?

This month I posed myself this question and I answered with what you can read below.

This article’s subject is aimed to show you how some of the weak economies could provide some inputs to reflect on.

We have examined a number of Eastern European economies and we compared them to the average West European data, and to the so called rich countries, among them: USA, UK, Germany, Finland, Denmark and Israel. 

 

Of these countries we have taken into consideration the number of inhabitants, the median age, the life perspectives, the unemployment rate, the total GDP, the GDP per capita, in the years 2010/11/12 and we also made a forecast. 

 

First of all we examined Poland. Among all the East European countries Poland is a relatively young country with 38,8 median age. It’s the 21st country in terms of GDP with $802 bn. The unemployment rate is of 20.7% that is particularly high. A positive element is the GDP per capita, that goes from 19,700 USD in 2010 to 20,500 in 2011 to 21,000 in 2012. 

 

The second country we picked up is Romania. A country with a large population with a youthful median age. Its GDP IS OF $274 bn, the 49th world’s economy. Even in this case the GDP per capita has grown from 12,400 to 12,800 since 2010 to 2012.  

 

The most meaningful data is the unemployment rate that is of 4,3% only, which is an excellent result if we consider the middle term perspectives.  

 

The third country we look into is Bulgaria that despite it has less inhabitants respect to Romania and Poland, it has grown its GDP per capita from 13,500 to 14,000 to 14,200 for the years 2010 /11 and 2012.

 

Greece has few inhabitants more than Bulgaria (10m vs 7m),however its data are negatives, because of the economic crises that crunches the country since a while. The unemployment rate is 24.4%. Almost a person over 4 is unemployed and he’s looking for a job. Besides, Greece has suffered an increasing continuous loss of its GDP per capita from 28,700 to 26,700 to 25,100.

 

Dramatic data. The drastic drop of the GDP per capita leads the country to have a contraction in their productivity, that is echoing in job cuts, first of all in the private sector. 

 

The private sector employees have a drop in their consumption, companies pay less taxes and the government has less budget also for public servants who are sent home. This way they create more unemployment and more crisis. The country appears to be in a self-feeding downward spiral with no chance of going upwards.

 

The GDP per capita increases in Poland, Bielorus, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Macedonia, Ucraine (+10% GDP per capita in 3 years!) Russia (+10% GDP per capita in 3 years!) and Azerbaijan. 

 

We’ll now analyze the numbers in terms of absolute value. Greece has a GDP o f 280, Poland 802, Romania 274, Israel 247, Finland 198, Denmark 208. 

 

If you look at the Rumenian GDP, you’ll notice that the Rumenian economy isn’t that small. This is due to three factors. A fiscal policy that sees an average taxation of 16% that allows the black market to surface in a natural way and not in a coercive way like it happens in the so called “rich economies”. 

 

Romania is an example of how you can take advantage from globalization, because since the end of the Communist era, back in the 90s, the local governments, have created the basis to attract foreign investors who brought there their production plants and chains. 

 

This led to a substantial growth of the GDP and a growth of industrial activities. In practice even governments are in competition among them to attract the good customers (foreign companies and investors).

 

Another data that is meaningful is unemployment. Let’s see the countries that we all consider as rich. The unemployment rate in Liechtenstein is of 2,8%, in Switzerland is 3%, Japan 4,4%, Austria 5,2%, Denmark 6,4%, Germany 6,5%, Finland 7,8%, USA 8,2%.

 

You think all these countries are rich?

 

Under a certain point of view you could affirm that in rich countries there’s a high employment rate. This is supported by an economy that produces products demand. In practice in rich countries demand supports jobs. 

 

So it’s better to invest in those countries which have a high employment rate?

 

Sure, because countries with high employment rate have average salaries that keep growing. Average salaries are connected to the residential real estate values. If we compare the average salaries with the real estate prices, you will notice that values are balanced. The average salary is a crucial indicator through which I decide where I am going to invest in real estate.

 

Now if I am telling you that Azerbaijan has an unemployment rate of 1%, Croatia of 3,4%, Russia 6%, Bulgaria 9,9, Romania 4,3%, you think these are business opportunities too?

 

While you are reading these words, if you already asked yourself if this giant world crisis was manipulated by someone, now you know it’s better to learn as much as possible, studying the economic data in order to have a clear idea of the situation. An idea that has to be yours only and not dictated by someone else.

 

If you don’t understand the numbers and you think they are difficult to grab, don’t worry, I want you to know that they are made difficult on purpose, because this way those in the government can better control their own interests. 

 

In the end it’s really Cyprus so scary with its 10 bn bailout, that is a bit more of what has been given to save an Italian bank or two years of property tax in Italy? 

 

Dear Reader open your eyes!

 

Luigi Foscale

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt did it too…

According to the L.A. Times the Jolie-Pitt have bought a huge farm in Italy. The couple joined a long list of celebs who found in Italy that special place where to secure their own investments.

The Jolie-Pitt family have bought Villa Costanza, a 4.4 acres property in the Valpolicella, the renown wine-production area in the Veneto Region.





Villa Costanza - Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie



At present the Villa is named after the founder (Costanza Caldera from Bergamo) of the Religious institution that owns the property since 1953, The Pious Mothers of Negrizia.

 

The Saibante family were the property owners since the end of 1500 until the beginning of the last century, when they left the property for the family's extinction. Eventually the Monga family succeeded. Today's visible structures are datable to the early decades of the 1600. The Palace is an upside-down U shape with two façades. The main one has an outstanding body and two aisles which are perpendicular to it; the one facing north looks at a fountain with a marble group. On the ground floor we find a porch that goes along the three sides of the building. The west wing, that already embodied some cottages,it was eventually uplifted, while in the late 700 it was probably used as stable. The noble floor windows are rectangular-shaped, while the center of the facade sticks out with three giant windows decorated by a nun from the institute. The courtyard is closed by a little wall in which are set 6 mythological statues preceded by two tuff-made lions. On the inside there's a well which origins goes back to 1623. Inside the buildings there are two large halls, one with a Cotto pavement and another with a Soffitto a Cassettoni (Lacunar ceiling). The other in its central body and stuck off on the courtyard has a stucco decorated ceiling and walls frescoed with landscapes. Today is used as Chapel. In the first hall, that is decorated with frescoes by Verona born painter Paolo Ligozzi (1629), high pedestals prop up two telamons (colossal marble male figures used as columns,) holding up two Ionic Capitals upon which the roof beams are based.

 

Paintings of army leaders and of continents are plugged into fake niches and in the overdoors. From the ancient garden there's not much left out: the fountain and an artificial grotto. The park was devastated by the Germans during World War II. There are still a few architectural pieces from the collection of Andrea Monga.

 

The area is a world famous enotourism spot, whose grow is of stellar proportions thanks to its Amarone and the Spumante. Let’s not forget Valpolicella is just a hour drive from Venice, what could be a better connection between the dolce vita and a great real estate investment?

A growing number of celebrities and big investors are choosing Italy and first of all Tuscany to invest their assets but other regions are entering the target list and Veneto is obviously one of them and not just because of Venice. 



 

Let’s not forget Veneto is the home of the Palladian Villas, a series of XVI century properties designed by Architect Andrea Palladio for the wealthy Venetian Merchants of the Renaissance period. As many of you certainly know, the Villa Rotonda (or Villa Capra) by Andrea Palladio was taken by Irish Architect James Hoban as model for the project of the White House in Washington D.C.

Indeed all the Palladian Villas are protected by UNESCO as part of a World Heritage Site.

Although here is not just a matter of cultural heritage. As a matter of fact the very first reason for buying here is beauty, the beautiful landscape, the beautiful architecture, the monuments, the Palladian Villas, then there’s the wine, and the delicious food…

All these elements are tourism attractions and tourism brings money. That’s why buying a property in Veneto is a very valuable investment, because it’s a tourist attraction, and any property lying in any tourist spot has an additional value to its square meters.

A property in an Art city can be considered like an AAA bond thanks to the economy linked to it and the many people who come see it and who work with its visitors. A Coffee shop in front of the Arena di Verona will always be in business, like any other travel and lodging business in any classical tourist site. Is this brick culture or culture of brick?

In this case it’s both. The connection between culture and brick as investment is very profitable. If we follow the cultural economy equation we’ll find out:

Unique Culture = Interest = Tens of millions of Tourists = retail businesses that work = properties linked to Culture that are crowded = properties that return value.

Obviously you don’t have to be a millionaire to be part of this high return business.

Luckily also those who only have €100G can be part of this investment plan and regarding the growth, the sky’s the limit.

Besides investing in Italy which is the nation with the 90% of the world art heritage and the highest number of UNESCO protected sites, it also means having the chance of enjoying yourself the value of culture by enriching your knowledge (that never hurts) and more important by investing in highly valuable cultural sites you give the local economy a contribution to preserve the world’s heritage.

In the end, if you think like the Jolie-Pitt family, that Culture is a great investment form, and that buying a triple A real estate bond can be a profitable choice, you re on the right page.

I personally invest in Culture-related properties and I find myself very comfortable with it.

Investing in Culture is the best investment you can do because it helps growing your pocket, your knowledge and your spirit too!!!

Luigi Foscale

A Real Retire Rich Story

 

This week I would like to submit you a very interesting case study that it was also showed on Discovery Channel’s “Europe’s richest people”. 

 

Indeed I think it’s extremely important to study rich people, how they did make their fortune and how did they manage to keep their wealth along the years.

 

I won’t reveal this person’s name for now but I can anticipate he’s a famous pop singer who went through some real hard times before he made it and who during his long career he collected something like 87 among gold and platinum discs. 

 

What’s interesting however is the fact that instead of squandering all of his money in a short time or living a losing life which would had ended in misery, like many people in the sport or in the show business, (among them even some American basketballer who at the latest London Olympics instead of focusing on his own job, tried to pick up another discipline’s gold medallist girl who was instead very smart and flatlined him).

 

During his whole career our singer saved up a fortune of about $110 million and he has been living with his wife for more than 40 years. Together they have four children, nine grandchildren and a beautiful dog.

 

I think it’s a great example of a Retire Rich story. 

 

How did he do it? 

 

Let’s study together the money psychology of this Retire Rich leader.

 

First of all he knew the show business was an erratic world and our singer was enough smart he knew money had to be invested in real estate.

 

With this simple-as-abc statement our singer managed to build a fortune along the years. 

 

It’s amazing to see how such a very simple statement may change a man’s destiny. He was convinced that in an erratic environment you needed financial stability. 

 

And he was right.

 

While you are reading these words, you understand you can adopt these beliefs too, you understand your financial destiny depends on what your beliefs are. Rich beliefs attract wealth.

 

In addition, our singer pronounced some words that could be considered as a real manifesto: “Always invest in the brick ‘cause it’s steady….it’s one of the best investments ever”. “Bricks can’t be spent, they’re there…. I am not a great businessman, my job is singing.”

 

“Always invest in the brick.“

 

”...it’s one of the best investments...”

 

“...Bricks can’t be spent...”

 

While reading these words, you understand that the right intuition about money can also lead you to wealth.

 

Attention and care over his fortune in the early years allowed this singer to keep his wealth. 

 

“How to handle money is very important in today’s world”.

 

“You have to be careful.”

 

“You could have made millions, and find yourself with your bank account empty.”

 

“Always look after your money.”

 

This is an entrepreneurial lesson. You have to learn how to manage your money.

 

Would you know what he invested on?

 

Our singer bought homes and hotels in different places: Las Vegas, Hawaii and Mexico. One of his best buy was the Pink Palace in Los Angeles, that he bought in the 70’s from a Hollywood diva for a knockdown price and which he sold in 2002 for $4 million. 

  

Don’t forget properties are the best investment as stated by a millionaire who has been accumulating properties for 40 years.

 

Our singer’s name is Engelbert Humperdinck.

 

He knows what life worth...

 

I really admire him and I wish to be an example like him one day. 

 

Luigi Foscale

The Wealth & Health Manifesto

 

I know many people whose only goal in life is to accumulate wealth. According to the common logic, a successful person is someone who owns a large luxury house, a sporting car, a basketball team…the list could go on and on.... and there are also many specialized magazines that keep their readers up-to-date about the latest must-have gadget.

 

However my personal experience taught me that despite many of these material things could satisfy our sensorial pleasure, I am deeply convinced that real success isn’t just about material things.

 

According to German Psychologist Erich Fromm there are two modes of existence struggle for the spirit of humankind: the having mode, which concentrates on material possessions, power, and aggression, and is the basis of the universal evils of greed, envy, and violence; and the being mode, which is based on love, the pleasure of sharing and in productive activity.

I don’t wan’t to debate here Fromm’s thesis but I think that after considering these two approaches it makes more sense “being” a person of success.

 

At this regard I would like to make a real example: there’s this man that we’ll call him “The Banker”. This is a real person but as this blog aims at being an inspirational source even from unsuccessful stories, we won’t report his name here and we’ll leave it anonymous.

 

The Banker graduated cum laude, he worked top jobs in a major financial consulting firm and eventually became the CEO of one of the major Financial Groups of the planet.

 

As a banker he made very audacious choices, and the market followed its gut. The media supported him and praised him for his great organizational skills. Afterwards he resigned from office and his stock option package was equal to an eight digit check.

 

From the professional point of view he did a great job. In addition, if you had to make a ranking about the most successful people on an European scale, our Banker would be mentioned among the first five.

 

However if I would tell you his son is a drug addicted and spend 6 months a year in rehab centers while his wife has an affair with her personal trainer, would you still judge him as a successful man?

 

What do you think he would feel when he’s about to go to bed at night... is he proud about what he created?

Will he be a happy man who’s accomplished about his own life?

I had the chance to meet him and I can say that nonetheless he’s an extremely powerful person, I think he’s hiding a deep sense of depression and frustration.

Why?

Because success, real success, it’s ALSO economic success but it’s not just that.

Can you define yourself a successful person if your affective life is a total disaster?

No.

Until the Western Civilization’s ethics would be exclusively founded upon material wealth, our civilization it can't be defined as really evolved.

Real success, in my opinion and on my life experience, it’s based on 5 areas that have to be in perfect balance:

1. Health
2. Love
3. Wealth
4. Social health
5. Entertainment

Let’s see them one by one:

First Wealth Area. Health

Ancient Romans used to say: “Mens sana in corpore sano”. [1]

I don’t think there’s a better expression than this.

In my opinion “Mens sana” means to be serene and mentally stable. Having no problems that take your sleep away.  Being what endocrinologist Hans Selye define as Eustress. Not too much loaded not too much down. A just mid-measure that allows you to be centered on your own being.

There are some techniques, I have been using for years and of which I can guarantee their effectiveness.

Every day, do 15 minutes of Meditation. You lie down in a quiet spot and you focus on your own breath. If your thought shifts to something else from your breath, you have to focus back on your breath. During the exercise you feel really light and quiet, often it might happen you enter the REM phase.

Another technique is to try visualizing yourself and your objectives as they were already accomplished. Our mind indeed doesn’t make a difference between a visualization that has been lived in first person and what happens in reality.

Another advice is to dedicate some of your daily time to an activity you like. For example you can listen to your favourite music, you can pat your pet or practice your favourite sport. This would help you to unplug your mind from the daily routine.

The "corpore sano", means to be perfectly fit. Practicing sport and following a healthy diet.

This means keeping yourself away from possible illness. Keep yourself in good shape and in good health is an activity that guarantees you the reach of other spheres of wealth, so it can take you one step closer to the real success.

Unfortunately it can happen you get sick, even in a serious way. As everyone of us, I happened to live very unfortunate moments. When I was a teen-ager my father had cancer and at the beginning, it was a real blow both for me and for my family.

However despite living a great state of distress, I did not let my downside get me down to the despair and since day one I tried to react to this thing by facing it with my interior strength, to which I relied on instinctively. Since the beginning I tried to transfer my inner energy to the other members of my family, first of all to my father who was the one who was physically suffering. The strength I tried to give him was to help him fight his disease.

I always faced difficult moments like this as a real personal challenge and I tried to not let myself be in despair. Nonetheless I was living a great state of suffering bur I never gave up, because deep in my heart I knew, I was sure I would had break through it because I wanted it with my whole being to be back living the life I had before. This way, even if going through an enormous suffering I made myself the way to overcome these difficult moments.

This experience provided me with the self-confidence that was necessary to face and to overcome any test that I would had undergone later in my life.

During my teen years my life was completely dedicated to sport. I played Rugby, Ice Hockey and Sailing.

I used to play in the Milan Rugby team and I joined the team in South Africa in 1995. There was the national World Cup.

Our first match in the calendar was with the Harlequins, a world famous team of the Premiership. Obviously it was a team that was way stronger than us under many points of view.  However since the first time I knew we had to meet them, I told myself: "don't be discouraged, do your best and you ll be ok with yourself and your consciousness".

The match was going really bad for us when I found myself in the typical "life dilemma" kind of situation. I had two chances, completely different from one another.

Option 1 I could have got rid of the ball and save myself from the tackle but it would have meant to give up the chance of scoring the try.

Option 2 I could have tried to keep the ball and running at full throttle targeting the try straight ahead. I had to consider though that by pointing the try I had to break through the defence line with a concrete chance to suffer a fracture somehow. Although it was a lifetime chance.

A real dilemma indeed.

Without hesitating I tried to break the defence line and after a number of physical adversities and a couple of headlong falls I scored the try but my shoulder cartilage was totally gone.

Our team had ended the changes because of the player accidents and I kept on playing despite the pain. We obviously lost the game but we gained the respect of the world champion team.

Today after a series of complex surgical operations I am still disabled and I had to give up both Rugby and Sailing, although as a consolation I have a story to tell, a story whose absolute protagonist is the strength to which we can turn to in those moments of difficult when we don't know where to grasp and the only thing we can rely on it's ourselves and our inner strength.


Second Wealth Area: Affection

Living without affection leads to loneliness, a grey area and a slow sense of emptiness.

Whoever you love, my suggestion is to harvest affection. In order to harvest affection you have to spend some of your active time with your loved ones.

For some people affection comes from their parents, for others it's their children, in many families even brothers and cousins are a source of affection so as pets they can be both source and the recipients of our affection.

My advice is to harvest your affection for what it's possible to yourself, because in the long term affection is the only element of strength in the life of everyone of us.


Third Wealth area: The economic wealth

For many people it's the main objective.

 

As I said before, material accomplishment is very important because money can allow you to do certain things they would be difficult or impossible otherwise.

Money is energy. If you possess it in great quantity it allows you to have a life with more chances.

Those who say money isn't important he lies and he knows he lies because our society and its mechanisms they are all based upon money since thousands of years ago.

Great amounts of money can assure yourself the best healthcare assistance, edgy cares and dedicated physicians. A number of American schools are private (even if they have scholarship programs for talented students, which I totally agree with).

However the real economic wealth isn't connected to possessing a certain status symbol.

I think instead that economic wealth is also a personal status of totally subjective nature.

"You are in the economic wealth range when you have automatic incomes which are higher than current spending". This is the wealth level I defined as Retire Rich.

To be at this level of wealth you have first of all to "feel rich".

It's absolutely crucial to convince yourself you live in a world of abundance and wealth. Even in a difficult moment as this, it's absolutely fundamental to see and feel yourself as rich. And if while you are reading these words you are thinking of your debts, you have to be aware that according to the law of attraction you are attracting even more debts.

According to the law of attraction you ll get what you think of today.

So it's absolutely crucial to see yourself as a rich man.

Although this isn't all. You also have to put in practice the tricks I explained in my latest post: The Survival Handbook. Do your Cashflow, set your goals and track them.

So you have to get busy in a constructive way in order to achieve your economic wealth and you will see you ll have the success you deserve.

Fourth Area. Social Wealth

In life you always have to seed.

The more you seed the more you pick up then.

If in your life you have been lucky, it's necessary to share what you have with those who don't have it yet.

At this point you could ask me. Are you asking me to do a sort of charity?

Absolutely yes.

I do charity and many people like me do it as well. Everyone of us has its own area. Everyone of us has his own skills. But it's very important to share what we have.

If you are too poor to share something economically, you just need to lend your work for a social cause. For example you can help out kids in an orphanage or go visiting elderly people who live in a perennial state of solitude.

Luckly we live in a world in which there are a lot of charities. You really can do a lot with very little. Believe me.

I personally help both little children who urgently needs surgical operations and abandoned dogs to find a home out from the Italian-shelter-lagers.

I have adopted three marvellous little dogs that were going to die. One is called Blacky. She's an interbred between and American Staffordshire and a Pintscher; it's a very sensitive pet. When she looks at me while I am eating I am able to read her eyes full of terror because of her past life starving fear, that she felt when she was in that shelter. I really feel shivers when I think of what she could have felt in her past.

Pilly is a foxy half breed which when I have adopted her she suffered pneumonia and was under-fed. After many intensive cares, she is now ok and she got strength and force. She always play with my 2 year old son and when she's with him she checks everything is cool. It almost seems she's working: when my son wakes up in the night or he's not well she comes to my bed to wake me up.

Princy is the latest she's been 7 years in a little cage that did not allow her to grow up. She's got her back legs broken and calcified so she cannot walk. She came at our home sick of every possible disease. She risked blindness and she was bleeding. After two months of antibiotics and highly specialized cares, now she's ready for a surgical operation in which they will put in place a prosthesis on her knees. The professor who is following her case he's the world number one, he said it's his second case so tragic but he's positive he's going to make her walk again.

Who knows how would she feel after seven years she didn't walk!

When I look in their eyes I read gratitude and sometimes I also see their sad memories, that are linked to the terrible past they lived. Although they know that now they are loved and protected.

I am an animalist and I am proud of it.

I know that when I come back home they re waiting for me.

It's not true that dogs don't talk. They talk with their eyes.

Fifth area. Entertainment and Culture

Time is a subjective variable of which anyone has a different perception.

In order to feel well, it's important to cut out so much time to feel satisfied from it.

Did you ever think how time flies away when you re doing something you like and how it does never flow when you re in line in the surgeon's waiting room?

If you like it time is the most important resource in your life.

You have to know how to manage it otherwise it would handle you.

Don't be afraid about cutting out some space for yourself. These bits of time are crucial because they allow you to feel better. Obviously abusing your free time can lead to perdition or to moral dissolution.

It doesn't matter how much time but the quality of the time you dedicate to yourself.

Free time is fundamental for any person who wants to define himself as a successful person.

Some economists say that wealth can be measured in months... in the number of months you are able to survive without working while keeping up with the same life tenure you are used to.

Obviously there are also other methods to calculate wealth level.

Time is fundamental and having free time isn't a luxury it's a necessity.

In one word: have fun.

As you had the chance to read we have been talking about health, affection, money, sociality and free time.

You don't think I did not suffer by leaving the sports I loved?

Very much.

However, in the past few years I have been thinking a lot about my life experiences, and I have tried to make a lesson, a moral lesson out of it, for myself and my children, something I could have transferred to my future generations. What I came up with was the idea that the real wealth and the real success in the end it's to have developed a formula that allows yourself to face any future challenge that the life presents you ahead.

 

I personally developed my formula upon my life experience and my formula is based upon inner strenght and the affection of my loved ones.

Once you got these two things you are ready for any challenge that can be ahead of yourself.

Have a nice journey
 

Luigi Foscale

[1] a healthy mind in a healthy body.