Workshops & Seminars

I am developing the following workshops and seminars:

* - Academic Excellence Workshop. This is a 5-Day Workshop for Students which I plan to conduct during school holidays. This workshop will help all students to do well in school. Major topics will include goal-setting, study planning, time management, revision and exam techniques, etc

* - Seven Steps To Financial Freedom. This is a one and half day workshop aimed at empowering working people to become better money managers, with the ultimate aim of becoming financially free. Financial success is presented as a logical, 7-step process.

* - Memory Enhancement Seminar. This is a one-day seminar aimed at helping students to improve their ability to store and retrieve information, in other words, to improve their memory.

* - Personal Goal-Setting. A one-day seminar to motivate people to set personal goals in any area of life. Highlights include the reasons why goals are vital, how to set goals, and how to achieve them.

* - Work Habits Employers Look For In Their Employees. This one-day seminar seeks to highlight the major work habits all employers want from their employees. Most people under-perform not because of lack of knowledge and skills, but due to bad habits, which consist of their thoughts, actions and attitudes. This is a seminar every employer would want to send their employees to.

* - Why You Should Become Your Own Boss. This seminar aims at inspiring students, the unemployed and even the employed, to consider becoming self-employed. The country is faced with with a high level of unemployment (90% of working-age people do not have a paid job). My objective is to get as many people as possible to create their own jobs rather than look for jobs. The basic premise of the seminar is that the answer to unemployment is not employment but self-employment.

* - How To Start A Business. People who attend the "Why You Should Become Your Own Boss" seminar will want to know how to do it. This seminar will highlight the practical steps involved in starting a business, from identifying the problems of society and hence the opportunities, to research and business planning, to raising funds, and actually establishing the business.

* - Real Estate Investing Seminar. Real Estate is the wealth base of the rich. This seminar will highlight the advantages of real estate to other investment options, how banks view real estate, how to leverage the bank's money to gain control over properties, how to calculate the financials of each investment, etc. I see this seminar becoming popular in PNG.

* - Stock Market Investing Class. This will be a weekend seminar which covers the basics of what stock markets are, how they are organised, how they operate, and how people can make money buying and selling shares. I see this seminar becoming very popular in PNG.

* - Biblical Principles for Wealth Building. This seminar is aimed at the Christian community. The Bible talks a lot about money matters and the place of wealth and riches in the lives of Christians. Most Christians fear becoming wealthy because of such scriptures as 1 Timothy 6:10, which states, "The love of money is the root of all evil.", or Matthew 7:24 which says "You cannot serve both God and money". Another verse is "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go into the kingdom of God." (Matthew 19:24) But many other scriptures indicate that it is God's will for his children to prosper and succeed in every area of life including financially. Many Biblical characters were very rich (e.g. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job, King David, etc)but were also men of great faith. The seminar provides a balanced Biblical view of wealth and prosperity. It also focuses on how Christians can prosper financially.

Watch this site for exact dates and venues.





Visit this blog for more details.

Other Books

I am working on several more books which I plan to have published by the end of 2010. Here are some of the titles:

* - Stock Market Basics: An Introduction To Stock Market Investing For Beginners In Papua New Guinea.
* - Real Estate Investing: An Introduction To Real Estate Investing For Beginners In Papua New Guinea.
* - Why Study Hard? 12 Reasons Every Student Needs To Achieve Academic Excellence.
* - How To Score Top Marks: Study Skills For Enhanced Academic Performance.
* - Why Read? 25 Personal Benefits For Bookworms.
* - Major Distractions Faced By Students And How To Deal With Them.

Visit this blog from time to time for more information.

3rd Book - "Be Your Own Boss"

My third book is titled "Be Your Own Boss Volume I". The subtitle is "18 Reasons Why You Need To Seriously Consider Becoming Self-Employed And Minding Your Own Business." It is a motivational book aimed at encouraging school leavers, the unemployed and even the employed to think about starting their own businesses. I believe that the book will change many peoples' lives, because it has changed me already. I expect to have it printed in April 2008 and launched in June.

I am currently working on Volume II, which will give 15 more reasons. This will be followed by "How To Become Your Own Boss" and "How To Succeed As Your Own Boss".

Enquiries on these books can be sent to my email address, which is secos@global.net.pg.

2nd Book - "Young Money"

"Young Money", my second book was launched this month. It provides advice for working people on how they can manage their personal finances. The sub title is "What Working Class People Need To Know And Do To Achieve Financial Independence And Freedom."

The book's contents are as follows:

Foreword by Samuel Tam, Founder of Entrepreneurial Development Training Center & Master Trainer of Personal Viability Program
Preface
Introduction Academic Excellence And Professional Success Does Not Guarantee Financial Success
Chapter 1 Making Sense Of Your Pay Cheque
Chapter 2 The Budget: Your Personal Plan For Financial Success
Chapter 3 Cash Flow Management: Your Key To Financial Success
Chapter 4 Your Personal Financial Statement
Chapter 5 The Difference Between Needs, Wants, Assets And Liabilities
Chapter 6 Living Above, Below And Within Your Means
Chapter 7 Bad Spending Habits To Avoid
Chapter 8 Paying Yourself First Or Saving: The Only Way To Succeed Financially
Chapter 9 Investing: Putting Your Money To Work For You
Chapter 10 The Power Of Giving And Receiving
Chapter 11 Lending: How To Operate Like The Bank
Chapter 12 The Difference Between Good Debt And Bad Debt, And How To Use Good Debt To Get Ahead Financially
Chapter 13 Gambling Is Like Chasing The Wind
Chapter 14 Think Long Term And Act Daily
Chapter 15 Now Do It!

The book is priced at K40/copy (K50 including postage anywhere in Papua New Guinea).

1st Book - "Success After Graduation"

"Success After Graduation", my first book, was published in 2006 The book provides practical advice for school leavers on what life is like after school. It has become popular withs students throughout the country. The book's contents are as follows:

Foreword by Grand Chief Sir Paulias Matane
Preface
Introduction Graduation Is Like Leaving The Lagoon For The Open Sea
Chapter 1 A Job Is Not Guaranteed
Chapter 2 The Job Market Is A Buyers’ Market
Chapter 3 How To Write A Job Application Letter
Chapter 4 How To Perform At A Job Interview
Chapter 5 Work Habits That Will Help You Rise Up The Corporate Ladder And Keep Your Job
Chapter 6 Develop Good Interpersonal Relationships
Chapter 7 Form Success-Oriented Associations
Chapter 8 Job Security Is Dead
Chapter 9 Planning For Early Retirement
Chapter 10 What To Do When Fired
Chapter 11 Create Your Own Job If Nobody Gives You One
Chapter 12 Marriage And Financial Security
Chapter 13 Education Does Not Stop At Graduation
Conclusion Life Teaches Differently From What School Teaches

It is selling at K40/copy (K50 including postage any where in PNG).

Speech At North Goroka Primary School Graduation

Here is a speech I presented at the graduation of Grade 8 students at North Goroka Demonstration Primary School on Wednesday 5th December, 2007.

Acknowledgements …

It is an honour and a privilege for me to say a few things at this 8th Grade 8 Graduation Ceremony of the North Goroka Demonstration Primary School.

Graduating students, teachers, ladies and gentlemen, the reality in the country as far as the education of our young people goes is as follows:

• Out of every 100 students in Grade 8 throughout the country, an average of 50 drop out every year. At NGDS I understand that the majority of students go onto Grade 9, but in many other schools, half of the students do not make it.

• Out of the 50 who make it to secondary school, 25 drop out at the end of Grade 10.

• Out of the 25 that make it to Grade 12, about 12 make it to college or university.

• And out of these 12, only about 3 get paid jobs straight after graduation, while the rest spend months and years searching for jobs.

If you have followed these statistics, what I am saying is that out of every 100 students graduating throughout the country at Grade 8 level, only 12 are likely to go as far as college and university level, and out of that, only 3 are likely to get jobs upon graduating with certificates, diplomas, and degrees. Many of us here today know of several people who have been to college and university – even in Australia – but are today without jobs.

That is the reality in the country today. It has come to the point where getting an education is just to gain knowledge, not to get jobs. Our country is therefore being filled with thousands of educated young people on the streets who are disappointed and angry at the rest of society. They feel cheated. They feel that they have been promised the world but given nothing. The education system has become like a dead-end road which does not go anywhere, so people who travel on it have to retrace their steps.

The main reason for students not making it up the hierarchy is that secondary schools, colleges and universities lack capacity to accommodate them all. They do not have enough classrooms, dormitories, laboratories and teachers. It is not that the students are stupid or lack intelligence. Papua New Guineans are very brainy people who have the potential to compete with the rest of the world, but our government has not invested enough in educational infrastructure, with the result that we have a very high attrition or drop-out rate.

The reason why only 25% of college and university graduates get jobs, is simply that there aren’t enough jobs around. The education system produces graduates faster than our economy can generate jobs for them.

Given this scenario, is there hope for our young people? Fortunately, yes. If your child does not make it to Grade 9 next year, or Grade 12 and college/university in the following years, I want to encourage you not to give up on them. You can help them to upgrade their marks through CODE or other avenues. This is what many parents have been doing.

But I would like to suggest to you that as there are not many jobs for office workers in the country, your child stands a better chance if you send him or her to a Technical College or a Vocational School to learn technical trades. As our country develops, the need for architects, mechanics, heavy equipment fitters, boiler makers, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, brick layers, welders, etc will increase.

We have so many mining companies already in existence, and many more are going to come on stream. These companies will need people with the above trades more than office workers. And competition increases among these companies for trades people, salaries and other terms and conditions will increase, such that technical college and vocational school graduates earn more than Business College and University graduates. It is in fact already happening.

The other option, and to me this is the best in the long-term, is for parents to help your children who drop out at Grades 8, 10 and 12, and even college or university, to become self-employed. Instead of spending a lot of money on school fees, put the money in your child’s hands and help him or her to start a small business. In PNG, the opportunities for self-employment are just so many. The sad thing though is that we the locals are mentally and physically blind to these opportunities but other people like the Asians can see them, so they are flooding the country to take advantages of those opportunities.

PNG is a young developing country with a great future. It is a land of opportunities. As somebody has said, it is "a business man’s paradise". Anything you touch in PNG can literally turn into gold. Look at ice block, buai, egg sellers etc. They have more money than university graduates.

If you empower your child to get into business when he leaves Grade 8, 10 or 12, by the time his mates who have been to college or university start looking for jobs, he should be many steps ahead of them financially. I really believe what I am saying, because I have observed many self-made successful business people in this country and read about so many in other countries who dropped out of school but went on to becoming financially successful through self-employment. The striking thing is that most of these people dropped out of school or never went to school at all!

If you want your child to get some basic instruction in starting a business on the land, there is a new school here in Goroka which teaches agriculture business. It is called the Goroka Agribusiness Training Institute (GATI) which the National Training Council has recognized as a unique institute which teaches people to start a business on their own land. It is not a school where you get a certificate and look for a job; it is a school where you get a certificate to go back and work on your land. I was among 11 other people who graduated with a Certificate in Agribusiness just yesterday. The school is located opposite the Blind Centre, and will be offering both general and specific courses in various areas of agriculture business next year.

I have concentrated most of my talk so far on drop-outs, simply because the majority of students graduating with Grade 8 certificates today from this school and others throughout the country will not make it up the ladder, and for those that do, the majority will not get paid jobs.

For students who will be going onto to Grade 9 next year, my only advice is this: study hard. You must be serious about your future. Your parents will do their part by sacrificing financially. Some of them will be working hard physically to pay your fees, while most working parents will be going into debt to ensure that you are in school. You must do you part by working hard at school. Here are several things you must do:

• You must attend all the classes.
• You must pay attention.
• You must do all your home work.
• You must read a lot of books.
• You must be careful about the people you associate with.
• You must not give in to peer pressure.
• And you must avoid friendships (boy-girl relationships).

Most of this advice is contained in my book titled “Achieving Academic Excellence”, which will be published next year. I hope that every parent can buy this book for their child because it covers a lot of areas related to doing well in school.


In summary, my message to us today is that:

• The drop-out rate is very high.
• Jobs are scarce.
• Unemployment is high in this country.
• Parents are better off sending your children to technical and vocational schools as demand for technical skills will increase compared to office jobs.
• Parents can also consider helping your children to go into business both in town and in the village rather than spending more money on getting them educated without any promise for paid jobs.
• Finally, to students who go to Grade 9 next year, you must strive to succeed academically.

To all graduating students, I note that North Goroka Demonstration School’s motto is Striving For Success. Whether you go on to secondary school or not, you must believe in yourself and do your best. All of us who have come to witness your graduation today can wish you the best, but you must strive for success in whatever you do with the rest of you life from here on. May God bless you on this special day and guide you towards success.

Once again I thank the Board of Management, Staff members and the Graduation Committee for giving me the privilege of speaking at this graduation. And I thank you ladies and gentlemen for giving me your ears.

Thank you and God bless!

Governor General's Speech at Launching of "Young Money"

"Young Money, my second book was launched by His Excellency Grand Chief Sir. Paulias Matane, Governor-General of Papua New Guinea, on Saturday 5th April 2008 at the Granville Motel in Port Moresby. It rained very heavily right throughout the day, but His Excellency was kind enough to come on time, have lunch with us, and launch the book. Here is Sir. Paulias Matane's speech which he delivered before launching the book.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with great pleasure that I accepted the invitation from Tiri Kuimbakul, one of Papua New Guinea’s upcoming writers, to officiate at the launching of the book titled “Young Money”, with the subtitle “What Working Class People Need To Know And Do To Achieve Financial Independence And Freedom.”

"As many of you know, I have been encouraging Papua New Guineans to write about our culture, our country and our personal experiences. Our country is unique in many respects, and most of what people in the world read about the country, has been written by foreigners. I have been advocating on numerous occasions for Papua New Guineans to write about their own country, which they know better than foreigners. I am glad to say that a number of people have taken up the challenge, one of whom is the author, whose second book will be launched today.

"I wrote the foreword to “Success After Graduation”, the author’s first book which was published in 2006. The foreword to “Young Money” was contributed by my friend Samuel Tam, founder of the Entrepreneurial Development Training Centre and Personal Viability (PV) training programme, which teaches financial independence and freedom among other very important topics.

"“Young Money” comes at a time in our country marked by financial struggle as a result more of mismanagement at both the individual and national levels.

"At the national level, despite the fact that there is a lot of money around than at any time since independence 32 years ago, not much tangible development is taking place. Our hospitals are still without vital drugs, and our schools are continuing to turn students away due to shortage of space. This is happening despite the fact that millions of both our own government as well as donor funds have been channeled into health and education. I put the reason down to mismanagement, abuse and abdication of responsibility by those in charge of managing the resources and providing these services. Our roads and other vital infrastructure are also falling apart for the same reason.

"At the personal level, the majority of working people in our country are struggling to make ends meet. One of the reasons for our people struggling is the rising cost of living. But the other major contributing factor is financial mismanagement. Our people just do not know how to manage their money. They are financially illiterate. The majority live from fortnight to fortnight without saving anything for emergencies, much less for investment. They actually live above their means, and prop up their lifestyles by borrowing from banks, financial companies and informal money lenders who charge exorbitant interest rates. One missed fortnight pay is enough to send them into bankruptcy.

"The results of mismanagement at the individual and family level are dire. Thousands of school-age children of working people are not able to go to school because the parents do not have the money to pay for their school fees. Money problems seem to be cause of many marriages and families breaking up. Money problems are also driving our young women and girls into prostitution, contributing to the escalation in the HIV infection rate. And bad money habits are contributing to a significant drop in the living standards of most of our working class people once they are terminated, retrenched or retire. Money is essential in modern Papua New Guinea, such that when people fail financially, they fail in many other areas of life as well.

"It would probably be true to say that a lot of the stealing and white collar crime that goes on in the country is because people are not able to manage their personal finances well. Many of our public servants find that their lifestyles cannot be sufficiently supported by the salaries they receive, so they ask for additional payment from the people they are supposed to serve free of charge. Sadly, much of what is received through this means is spent on daily consumption and not on investment.

"A large proportion of our workers spend a lot of their money on unnecessary areas such as gambling, alcohol, smoking and betel nuts. Papua New Guineans spend at least K100 million a year on poker machines alone, not mentioning what people spend on lotto tickets, horses and other forms of gambling. It is also said that PNG politicians, bureaucrats and landowners are going to cities like Cairns and Brisbane to gamble. I shudder to think what the situation will be like when casinos are introduced into the country.

"Papua New Guinea is a nation of consumers. When people have money, they generally want to spend it. It seems like there is an insatiable desire to buy and consume or accumulate things, rather than to make money grow through investment. It seems like money is for spending only.

"I am convinced that we Papua New Guineans are very rich. There is no place like our country. And I am speaking as someone who has traveled extensively. I have said this many times and I will say I again: We have the potential to become the richest and most powerful black nation on earth!

"For a start, we each have some land in our villages. If all these land were titled and valued, we would realize that we already sit on thousands, if not hundreds of thousands.

"Our country is a land of unlimited opportunities to do business in. Unfortunately, most of our people are blind to these opportunities. We are allowing foreigners to take over even the small businesses which we could run ourselves. We are becoming spectators on our own land, because every time we have money in our hands, we just want to spend it. Saving and investment are not in our vocabulary. We do not know how to invest and multiply the amount of money that is available to us.

"The author shares in the book that working people need to regard part of their income as “food” for eating or spending and part of it as “seed” for sowing or investing. They need to look upon their jobs as “seed-source”, and he encourages them to become “seed-minded” and not “need-minded”. These are good ideas to open our peoples’ minds and eyes.

"One thing I have also noticed is the money habits of the children of our local business people. These children generally do not appreciate the hard work done by their parents to come to where they are. They take a lot of things for granted. They misuse vehicles, demand money to drink and enjoy life with their mates, spend a lot of time in pubs, night clubs, poker houses, etc. I am fearful that such habits will ruin the businesses their parents worked hard to build up.

"“Young Money” also comes at a time when our country is experiencing economic recovery. The prices of all our export commodities are at an all-time high. Our foreign reserves are up. The Kina is stable, and interest rates are low. Banks have more money to lend than people are borrowing. And with the new developments in the resource sector (for instance the Ramu Nickel project, the LNG project and the Frieda River gold prospect), we are set for even better times in the years ahead. But I fear that if we do not learn how to manage and grow this wealth, we will squander it all and our people will continue to live in poverty.

"Ladies and gentlemen! We need to manage our money more prudently. It is not how much we earn that matters; what really matters is what we do with what we earn. If we do not manage well, we will continue to struggle, regardless of how much we earn. Many of us sitting here think that earning more is the solution to our money problems. But I am saying that if you do not know how to manage the little you already earn, you cannot manage bigger amounts. You will only find yourself spending more as your income rises.

"I believe that “Young Money” will help a lot of our working people. It is a simple, common-sense book, written in simple English in the contemporary PNG context. The author informs me that he has either sold or received orders for more than 600 copies already. This is a sign that people do want to know how to manage their money.

"But, as useful as “Young Money” is, just reading this one book will not be sufficient to get most of our people to change their habits. What we really need to do is to include financial literacy in our education curriculum. We need to teach our children the importance of budgeting, saving and investing. We need to teach them to avoid bad money habits. We need to highlight the effects of debt, gambling and other harmful ways of spending money.

"The author states in the preface to the book that the United States and Australia have come to realize that financial education has been missing in their education systems, with the result that the majority of highly educated and professionally successful people fail financially. These countries have only recently (2003 and 2004 respectively) taken steps to educate their people about good money habits. They have established task forces and even legislated laws to educate their people to help their people become financially literate.

"If such developed countries which have hundreds of years of experience in dealing with money can do this, a developing country like Papua New Guinea definitely needs to begin to educate its people. We need more people in the country who are financially independent and free. Without financial freedom, we cannot be truly free, both as individuals and as a nation.

"I am proud that one of the young writers who counts me among his mentors, has plans to write more books on money, business and investment. I am sure that these books will help a lot of people in our country to become better managers, savers and investors.

"Ladies and gentlemen, with these remarks and observations, it is now my pleasure to congratulate the author as well as to launch “Young Money: What Working Class People Need To Know And Do To Achieve Financial Independence And Freedom.”

"Thank you for your attention!"

Tiri Kuimbakul’s vision for Papua New Guinea

Tiri Kuimbakul’s book Success after Graduation has become a runaway bestseller since its launch in November 2006.

Since the launch of the book – aimed at young people in general – over 400 copies have been sold in the first three months, with orders coming in from all over the country.

And his star has continued to rise since the launch, with interviews with both local and overseas media; a weekly newspaper column for young people; and meeting many people personally and through an avalanche of emails, faxes, letters, and telephone calls.

This is all something new for the quietly-spoken layman pastor.“

When I first came upon the idea of writing books sometime in July 2005, I did not know what lay ahead of me,” he reflects.

“It has been like launching out into deep waters not knowing what will happen.“It has really been a journey of faith.

“And I have met so many people I would never have known had I not written this book, many through correspondence.

“I hope to meet them in person some day.

“I am very happy with the response so far.

“I have sold many copies already to individuals - young people and parents, three bookshops and several schools.

“The first printing was 1000 copies.

“I gave away about 50 for promotional purposes.

“Of the balance, I have sold over 400 copies since November last year.

“So it is selling very well.“I hope to go for a second print sooner than I thought.

“One provincial government has already ordered 1600 copies for all the high schools in the province.

“I hope to get other provincial governments to do the same.

“Several of them are emphasising human resource development and providing free education for students in their provinces, but they cannot guarantee them jobs.

“This book will really complement their efforts.”

Success after Graduation covers 13 subjects which Kuimbakul believes students, school-leavers and young people in general need to know about what life is like after school.

He discusses these issues, like finding a job, succeeding in work, planning for early retirement, creating your own job, and many others.

“I wrote the book because I realised that most students and young people do not get much if any advice on the matters I cover in the book,” Kuimbakul explains.

“Many parents in PNG are illiterate and do not have any working experience, or are unemployed, so they do not provide advice and guidance to their children on the matters addressed in the book.

“Other parents are too busy with work and business that they neglect their kids.

“This is evidenced by so many children of successful people being on the streets.

“So I wrote the book to provide sound advice on real-life issues affecting young people, especially as they leave school and enter the job market.

“My target group is young people in general, which covers students, especially those in secondary school, college and university; school-leavers, the unemployed as well as those who are working.”

Kuimbakul, 41, is from Mount Hagen in the Western Highlands, however, graduated with an honours degree in economics from University of Papua New Guinea in 1988.

Kuimbakul has worked as an economist with the Department of Agriculture & Livestock (1989-1990); assistant Export Manager with Coffee International Limited (1991-1992); economist and general manager of Industry Affairs Division, Coffee Industry Corporation (1993-1999); export Manager with Kongo Coffee Limited (2000); and freelance consultant (2001-2007).

He currently manages a coffee marketing project, advises two community development associations in Western Highlands Province, does church work, writes and publishes books, conducts seminars, and speaks to students and young people when he gets the opportunity.

“I have just completed my second book, which is titled ‘Young Money: What Every Working Person Needs To Know And Do To Achieve Financial Independence And Freedom’,” Kuimbakul continues.

“It talks about how people can succeed financially.

“The premise of the book is that academic and professional success does not equate to financial success.

“It should be on the market in late March/early April 2007.

“I am also nearly finished with my third book titled ‘Be Your Own Boss!’.

“It discusses more than 30 reasons why people should seriously consider becoming self-employed/going into business.

“I think it will blow the minds of thousands of working people in the country.“I am aiming for it to be published in May 2007.”

Kuimbakul plans to write several more books over the next four years.

“By the time I am through, I will have covered the following areas: school, professional success, financial management, business and investing,” he says.

“In case you and others wonder why I want to write so many books, I would like to let you know that I have a vision for the future, which concerns empowering young people to become entrepreneurs.

“The vision is to develop and run an entrepreneurship school in the country for school drop-outs.

“I will use the books as resource material to develop a training manual and programme, and conduct training in conjunction with churches in the country.

“The motto of the programme will be ‘Turning Failure Into Success’.

“The programme will teach drop-outs and those who are labelled as failures, how to start their own businesses, as opposed to so-called business schools which teach people how to run other peoples’ businesses.

“The instructors will be successful business people who share a similar vision and are willing to give their time and knowledge for free, not textbook teachers.

“At the end of the training students will be required to develop business plans based on their own business ideas, which they have to defend before a committee.

“Whoever comes up with a bankable/viable plan and convinces the committee, will be funded from the proceeds of the books.

“The committee will provide on-going counselling, coaching and mentoring until the businesses are well-established.

“I hope that the program will produce many successful self-made business people in many parts of the country.

“This is the vision.

“This means that people who buy any of my books will buy into the vision and become partners with me in giving hope to as many of the hopeless young people we have on the streets of PNG today.

“ I do not know yet when the program will start.

“But that is the vision.”

Success after Graduation. By Tiri Kuimbakul. Self-published. Goroka, 2006. 151 pages. K40.

Kuimbakul writes another bestseller

By MALUM NALU

I was pleasantly surprised this week to receive a visit from my good friend, writer and former colleague at the Coffee Industry Corporation in Goroka, Tiri Kuimbakul.

He came into my office at The National after collecting five samples of his new book, Young Money (pictured left), which were hot off the press at The National’s sister company, Star Printers.

It is expected to be launched later this month by none other than the country’s most-prolific book author and Governor-General Sir Paulias Matane.

It includes a foreword by Samuel Tam, founder of the famous Personal Viability Programme, and is a huge vote-of-confidence in the book.

The excited Kuimbakul handed me one of the first copies of Young Money, which like its predecessor Success after Graduation, is destined to become a runaway bestseller in Papua New Guinea.

Young Money basically touches on what working class people need to know and do to achieve financial independence and freedom.

If you have been academically bright or are professionally successful, does that necessarily mean that you are financially successful?

According to this book, the answer is NO!

But everyone, including you, can succeed financially.

Here is what you need to know and do to achieve financial independence and freedom.

In order to succeed in the area of personal finance, you need to budget your money, know what are needs, wants, assets and liabilities, avoid bad spending habits (such as betelnut, cigarettes, alcohol and poker machines), control your cashflow, save and invest (rather than continue to borrow money from the ‘money market’ down the road).

This book covers all these and more, and has been written with your financial success in mind.

In 21st Century Papua New Guinea, or wherever you may be reading from, financial success is so vital that if you fail financially, you fail in every other area of life.

Think about that!

Every other area of your life is influenced by how much money you earn and what you do with it.

This book is about what you do with your money.

If you apply the common-sense advice in this book, you will succeed where 95% of working class people have failed all over the world.

“I wrote this book in view of the fact that many people are struggling financially,” Kuimbakul tells me.

“Most are living in debt.

“What I found out is that it’s not because we don’t earn enough.

“This may be true in some aspects, but generally, what people earn is sufficient, but the problem is management.

“I wrote the book to help working people manage their personal finances.

“That’s what I want to get across to the people.

“It’s not how much you earn that matters, what matters is what you do with what you earn.

“Financial success is so vital that if you fail financially, you fail in every other area of life.

“This book is also timely because of the recent concerns expressed by the government, through the chief secretary, over attempts to stop public servants borrowing from finance companies and informal money lenders, or what you call ‘loan sharks’.”

Kuimbakul’s first book Success after Graduation has become a runaway bestseller since its launch in November 2006.

Since the launch of the book – aimed at young people in general – hundreds of copies have been sold all over the country.

And his star has continued to rise since the launch, with interviews with both local and overseas media; a weekly newspaper column for young people; and meeting many people personally and through an avalanche of emails, faxes, letters, and telephone calls.

This was all something new for the quietly-spoken layman pastor.

“When I first came upon the idea of writing books sometime in July 2005, I did not know what lay ahead of me,” he reflects.

“It has been like launching out into deep waters not knowing what will happen.

“It has really been a journey of faith.

“And I have met so many people I would never have known had I not written this book, many through correspondence.

Kuimbakul, 42, is from Mount Hagen in the Western Highlands, however, graduated with an honours degree in economics from University of Papua New Guinea in 1988.

Kuimbakul has worked as an economist with the Department of Agriculture & Livestock (1989-1990); assistant Export Manager with Coffee International Limited (1991-1992); economist and general manager of Industry Affairs Division, Coffee Industry Corporation (1993-1999); export Manager with Kongo Coffee Limited (2000); and freelance consultant (2001-2008)

He currently manages coffee marketing projects, advises community development associations, does church work, writes and publishes books, conducts seminars, and speaks to students and young people when he gets the opportunity.

Young Money was actually completed last year and was supposed to have been printed then but this was put off by a year.

“My third book is titled ‘Be Your Own Boss’,” Kuimbakul continues.

“It’s aimed at motivating people or readers, especially students and unemployed youth, to go into business for themselves.

“I’m trying to relate all these books to one another.

“My plan is to have 10 books out by the end of 2010.

“These books will cover how people can succeed in school, professionally and financially.

“I’m writing four other books aimed at empowering students to do well.

“From these four books, I have developed a workshop which I’m calling Academic Excellence Workshop.

“This workshop will take students through areas such as goal setting, time management, note taking, revision, preparation for exams, etc.

“This workshop will be conducted during school holidays.”

Young Money. By Tiri Kuimbakul. Published by SECOS Books. Goroka, 2007. 180 pages. ISBN 9980-86 -038-3. K40.Phone/fax: (675) 7323950. Mobile: (675) 6880033. Email: secos@global.net.pg .