This is the most important essay in my life. It took me and my business partner a very, very long time to evolve this concept and the good news is we have also tested it too. So you can use it without fear. If ever, you are in trouble with this concept, have faith as we have installed enough safety nets to help you sustain your life-line. Always remember, if you really find yourself in a dead end, trust no one, contact me or my business partner, we will summon the rest to help you out of danger. Even if we are not around to help, we would have reserved some sacred power to pull you through. Be rested!
This essay is divided into 4 parts for effective delivery: (1) The Past, (2) The Present, (3) The Future and (4) The Perpetuity.
From time to time, this essay is improved and updated to provide the ultimate advice for the acquisition of land. This is a culmination of pure blood and tears. Nothing flows more freely - mostly bitter and occasionally sweet. Do revisit this essay periodically to receive a more seamless deliberation.
The Past
2,500 years ago, SunTzu was already in battle for land. Once victorious, he would order an absolute massacre of the dwellers. No mercy must be given, the prize was only the land. The land held the hope for the conqueror as a place where he can till the land for food, dig the land for minerals and accumulate one's wealth for the next battle.
Even up to the two Iraqi wars in 2000 and 2003, it was still about land. The first war was started due to Iraq's successful invasion of Kuwait to own even more oil fields. The prize was the oil that the Kuwaiti land holds. Unless the land was occupied, the ownership of the oil beneath remained firmly with the Kuwaiti's oil sheikhs. The Americans were more than willing to go into war because the prize of Kuwaiti's indebtedness to the armed assistance rendered was too great to refuse. The second Iraq war was conducted because of the American's insatiable appetite for long-term stable oil supply. These conquests were about land ownership, which in turn owned the rights to the oil reserves beneath.
Even the world wars I and II were about the Germans, latter the Japanese, taking over the ownership of land and pretended to create that bullshit Greater Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. The true intention was to take over the land and all its natural resources, never mind the existing inhabitants. That more or less explained their ruthlessness towards local inhabitants.
Land is an interesting commodity as it doesn’t deteriorate or age over time. If for anything, it appreciates in true value as the resource will get more scarce as the country develops, more people will fight for the ownership.
Any buildings or infrastructures built on the land may deteriorate over time. They can be torn down, reconstructed and renewed. There are unlimited variations. For an old farm, one can build a school, then tear it down to build a hotel and then tear it down to build a casino. Land use is not an issue at all.
Land ownership is paramount to one's success.
Then why not have other business types? The answer is NOT POSSIBLE. In the past, new companies based on the latest technologies quickly became the largest companies in the world, notably GE, IBM, Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Apple, Nokia and so on. Noticed where are they now. Nowhere near the top. GE was formed by Thomas Edison on the back of his invention of the light bulb. Under him, GE grew to super size. But, due to lack of new innovations, the company is now a very, very pale shade of its former splendor. IBM used to be super big, now is no longer the darling of computers. Microsoft used to be 97% share-owner of the world's personal computer's heartbeat, but now no longer the beloved. Yahoo was once the search engine to cry about, but it is now Google's arena. In time, Google too will fade. After a super strong run by Apple in the 1970s, Apple was banished by IBM and Microsoft to almost valueless but later rebounded to become the largest company in the world using iPhone3,4,5. But, ever since the demise of Steve Jobs, the architect behind the design and push, Apple is now a pale shade of its former glory, unless there is a new architect, Apple will join IBM, one of the former super greats, as has-beens. Nokia reinvented itself from a timber logger to mobile phones and became super big, but again due to lack of continual innovations, the company is now in the throbs of the dead. There are too many such technology examples.
They grow big because of innovations, they grow big because of individual passion. This is the storyline behind every successful technology company. But, every technology has its own s-curve. The s-curve will initiate somewhere around half of the last current s-curve. It will take a while for its new technology to form and mature. Once formed, the technology will rise rapidly surpassing its current market dominant player. After a while more, it too will enter the plateau-ing phase, waiting to be overwhelmed by the next promising technology (the final phase of an elongated s-curve).
Passion is important in a business. It allows one with no start-up capital to start. Based on passion, one can be a lawyer, an accountant, an engineer, a musician, a doctor, a dancer, a singer, a composer or even a cook. This is a low capital pastime. One will gain inroads into the money world. With a bit of luck and a passion of at least 10 years, one can start employing others to help out. This is when the business from a passion will take off. This is also when the guy will stop improving and start to enjoy life. After a while, illnesses start to claim him. He extinguishes rapidly. I saw this in my own father, we must be warned. In a passion business, only continual quality improvement in its products will see one's sustenance. This is life-consuming. It consumed Steve Jobs.
The first pot of gold must come from the passion. Through passion, one can easily arrive at the first pot of gold rather quickly. But, to earn the next pot, it is stupid to continue to get it from the passion. Because passion, due to the lack of need of capital, it has to be compensated by being very labour-intensive, it rapidly exhausts the mind and the soul. Therefore, to try to earn the next pot of gold from the same passion play is not only silly but a waste of time. The passion business will generate the first pot of gold and spare cash flow but not much more (Li Ka Shing started with a plastic factory and moved on to land). In order not to exhaust oneself further, it is important to reinvest the first pot of gold and all these spare cash flows into a super capital-intensive investment. A super-capital-intensive investment has a beautiful characteristics of not having much labour attention but yet able to generate a reasonable income stream. One such vehicle is the land. I see no other that requires almost zero attention. By mere proximity of the land's location to the city, others are more than willing to pay one's rental to use or pass through. If the land is developed with infrastructure, the rental improves.
Sometimes the first pot of gold can come from one's father. If that is the case, then the adherence to this essay is a must if one wants absolute power.
This is one's past and this is one's pre-requisite. Without the first pot of gold, it is useless to discuss this essay.
This part is a delectable approach to the first-half of the person's life.
The next part - The present - I will discuss the investment model and the correct attitude towards land.
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