While I still enjoy reading, I have a huge waiting line in my reading list and I have been trying to find more and more time to read. Since I take a lot of long trips, the travel time would have been a great time to catch on my reading right? However, I am unable to do so because I have some motion sickness… Fail!

The next best thing? Podcasts. I’ve been subscribing to some podcasts and they are very convenient for an information junkie like me. So what’s in my podcast subscription list right now?

1) Ravi Zacharias: Ravi and his team are my favorite Christian Apologetics and they have 2 programs over at iTunes — Just Thinking and Let My People Think. Listening to Ravi and his team’s podcasts is an absolute must for me… this is nourishment for my spirit and my brain as well. If you doubt your faith and if you doubt God, listen to Ravi Zacharias!

2) The Dave Ramsey Show: I try to catch Dave’s radio podcasts and his podcasts are always updated over at iTunes. I get a lot of practical personal finance knowledge from Dave Ramsey, I just love his no nonsense approach to money. I must admit though that I haven’t been listening to Dave’s show as much of late. Looks like I need to do so again.

I’ve also recently subscribed to the podcasts of Seth Godin and the The Economist. Seth Godin was introduced to me by my good friend Carlo Ople and my pastor Dennis Sy. The Economist was a magazine/journal I used to read a lot before, good thing they now have podcasts.

While reading books/journals are still best, podcasts may be the next best thing.

However, there’s still one book that I must read everyday and no technology can be a good substitute for me, the Bible.

ps – I still like to read books by the way, I just need to find time to do so. Will share my reading list soon.

There was one question posted there that I want to discuss in this blog, a question I have been asked many times – “what is the secret to being rich?” Ever since I went public (as a personal finance speaker / writer), answering that proverbial question seems to be the bane of my existence, so to speak. Well, I don’t really get annoyed answering that question but I am a bit disturbed that people actually think there is some sort of secret to being wealthy. My answer? There is none – never was, never will.

Let us not fool ourselves that there is a magic formula that will answer our question. Achieving financial freedom is a process and that process requires something so simple, yet so difficult to many – discipline. There is a reason why I recommend books like Total Money Make Over (Dave Ramsey) or Millionaire Next Door (Thomas J. Stanley & William D. Danko ) over more popular books like Rich Dad Poor Dad (Robert Kiyosaki) and Secrets of the Millionaire Mind (Harv T. Ecker).  Read those books and you’ll know why. I subscribe to Dave Ramsey’s podcasts because they are very practical, easy to apply and well, I like his ‘no-nonsense’ approach. I read Rich Dad Poor Dad and I must say there’s some value particularly on awakening our mind to the alternatives. I glanced through the book Millionaire Mind and didn’t even read much anymore because it’s full of mind tricks and lacking of real principles that will work. Unlike Total Money Make Over and Next Door Millionaire, they are direct to the point and you can actually apply it and see real measurable results.

There are no secrets; there are no short-cuts. To believe so is the markings of a fool and no one wants to be a fool right? If there’s one book that will really change you and make you not just achieve success but significance… it’s the Bible. One more thing, as you desire great wealth, pay more attention to the why rather than the how.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. – Matthew 6:21

If you want to ask me a question on Formspring, visit http://www.formspring.me/RandellTiongson Sensible questions only ok? Questions on love, marriage, dating, hair, good looks and all that, ask my friend David Bonifacio.

I used to hate waiting and I get annoyed if I have to wait. However, I needed to get used to waiting with the kind of work I have so I decided to make my waiting time productive. When I say productive, I didn’t mean bringing my laptop with me and do a lot of those work — I meant being productive in the sense of recharging oneself.

How? I read and listen to podcasts a lot during those ‘waiting time’. I make sure I always travel with my Bible, a book and an iPod especially on those trips that I need to ride a plane. I fly often, like 2 to 3 times a month but I look forward to those trips so I can recharge myself. The best benefit is I get to read God’s word more than I do during my normal routine — in doing so, I can read the Bible cover to cover once a year (give or take a month or two). I also get to read my books and I have loads of them (most are unread). I also get to listen to podcasts, something I don’t get a chance to under my normal routine.

I just finished the book “Heavenly Man” and I probably will grab another book and shove it to my body bag. I just updated my iPod with my favorite podcasts – the Dave Ramsey Show. I also downloaded podcasts of someone Francis Kong recommended to me a long time ago, Ravi Zacharias — I never really got to it and totally forgot it, until now.

So next time you fret about waiting, make it a productive wait and take the chance to do some real learning. Happy waiting!

Here’s what Dave Ramsey says…

“Debt is not a tool!”

Myth: Deb is a tool and should be use to create prosperity.

Truth: Debt adds considerable risk, most often doesn’t bring prosperity, and isn’t used by wealthy people nearly as much as we are led to believe.