Ask anyone, “do you want more money?” and the answer is usually “yes!” More money can mean many things: freedom, fun, adventure, getting out of bills, no more worries, a new BMW. Whatever we want, money is often the means to get it.
Why don’t we have everything we want? We’re definitely smart enough: after all, we’ve sent a man to the moon, shouldn’t we be able to earn an extra few thousand dollars? We certainly work hard enough: statistics show that Australians work between 40 and 60 hours a week. Americans get just two weeks of vacation a year. There is no lack of work ethic here.
So what stops us from achieving the wealth we truly desire?
Is it lack of knowledge? No, there are thousands of books and articles on how to build wealth and there are thousands who have done it before, it is doable. The answers are out there, for anyone to access.
Is it lack of desire? Surely not, as most people express a real longing for more cash and can see the real benefits of building wealth.
The distinction between those who make millions and those who don’t has nothing to do with intelligence, drive, work ethic, knowledge, skill, opportunity, or even luck. The difference lies almost entirely in beliefs and attitude. These distinctions boil down to seven basic secrets of what I call the “millionaire mindset.”
Secret #1: Beliefs about money
Millionaires have specific beliefs about money and wealth. This is the most fundamental and important aspect of becoming (and staying) a millionaire.
Millionaire beliefs include:
* I deserve to be rich.
* There is more than enough wealth for everyone.
* When I get rich, so do others.
* I get rich by adding value to people’s lives. I do this by providing services, knowledge or products that enrich others.
* Building wealth is enjoyable and fun.
* If I want it, I can achieve it, attract it, possess it, enjoy it.
* I am the captain of my own ship.
* I’m not alone: In wealth creation, I have many partners who help me design, implement, and manage my products and services. We all benefit from the growth of wealth.
* Nobody suffers because I am rich.
* Wealth brings the opportunity to help others.
* I am so thankful for everything I have in my life already.
* I am on this planet to enjoy my life.
* I am already rich beyond measure.
How many of those beliefs do you share with millionaires? Chances are, if you don’t have all the wealth you want, you may have some limiting beliefs about yourself and money.
We develop our beliefs about money primarily from our family and our early experiences with money. Do you remember your first conscious thought about money? Was it positive? Very often, our experiences with money are negative or unfavorable, associated with guilt, fear, jealousy, and all kinds of low-level emotional states.
Culturally we are also bombarded with messages about money. Have you heard of these?
* Money does not grow on trees.
* Money is the root of evil.
* It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to pass through the gates of heaven.
* The meek will inherit the earth.
* There is virtue in poverty.
When you think about it, these maxims are of no help at all if you want to increase your wealth. If you subscribe to these beliefs, your ambitions will be in constant conflict with your underlying notions about wealth. The result? A dead end. No wealth can grow under these conditions.
Secret #2: Reasons to Create Wealth: The Carrot and Stick
Millionaires have very specific and very compelling reasons WHY they accumulate wealth. These reasons keep them focused on their goals. These may include a desire to experience freedom of choice, provide a solid education for their children, help their favorite charity, eliminate personal debt, ensure a secure future for themselves, or just have fun.
Regardless of the details of “why” they want to build wealth, all of the reasons fall into two distinct categories. These are the ‘Carrots’ and the ‘Sticks’. Both ‘carrots’ and ‘sticks’ are essential components of the millionaire mindset.
The ‘carrots’ are the juicy treat. Like the horse that has the carrot suspended in front of it to keep trotting on, looking for the delicious delicacy, millionaires also have ‘carrots’. These could be a new Jaguar, a beach house, a trip abroad, a stylish wardrobe, a solid educational fund for your children, the ability to donate to your favorite charity, a sense of freedom, a sense of adventure, the freedom of choice. The reasons are both tangible and esoteric. Basically the most important thing is that the ‘carrots’ feel good.
The ‘sticks’ are the painful reminder of what they don’t want. My aunt, who is now very wealthy, says that the main reason she worked so hard to become financially independent is that she did not want to experience the poverty of her childhood again. It was such a painful experience that she served as a whip, a ‘stick’, to propel her wealth building activities. Other wealth building ‘sticks’ could be the pain of oppressive debt, the fear of underfunded retirement, the worry of wondering where the next meal will come from.
Anthony Robbins claims that people will do more to avoid pain than to gain pleasure. This is a key observation in developing the millionaire mindset. In order to carry out wealth creation plans, the budding millionaire needs to have “carrots” and “sticks”. The sticks keep the feet on fire, they keep the awareness of the pain as an incentive to keep trying, to keep working on the plan. However, the ‘carrots’ provide the inspiration, the joy and the rewards. The ‘horse’ of wealth moves much more effectively if he has both ‘carrots’ and ‘sticks’ encouraging him.
One last word about ‘sticks’. If you have too many, his life is filled with fear: fear of poverty, fear of debt, fear of an underfunded retirement. This is not a way to lead a life, and certainly a very eager way to approach wealth development. A few ‘sticks’ are a good way to start and then focus more on your ‘carrots’. Not only are they so much more fun to think about, but they will make the wealth building process so much more enjoyable and enjoyable.
Secret #3: It’s not about the money
Every rich person knows that building a fortune is never about the money itself. However, it is about what money can do. Money enables experiences that provide pleasure. Ultimately, building wealth is about feeling good, nothing more, nothing less. Can you feel good without building wealth? Absolutely! This is why a rich person feels good, feels ‘rich’, regardless of the balance in their bank account. For the wealthy person, the accumulation of wealth is as pleasurable a process as the results.
Rich people aren’t obsessed with results or the bottom line. Rich people focus on the process of adding value to their clients, to their colleagues, to their employees, to their field of work. They know that when adding value, the laws of reciprocity dictate that the value comes back to them in the end. This way they can feel good at any given moment. Building wealth is as much about serving others as it is about feeling good in your own life.
Secret #4: Awareness is a key skill for wealth creation
Those who create and attract wealth have a greater sense of self. They are acutely aware of what might be holding them back in their personal growth, including self-efficacy, limiting beliefs, low-level emotional patterns, and lack of knowledge or skill. They take active steps to remove obstacles to their success.
Those with a millionaire mindset are also very sensitive to their surroundings. They surround themselves with people who support them and help them in their goals. They hire coaches, select mentors, and pay the best advisors they can afford. They avoid people who are negative, pessimistic, or caustic in some way. They design inspiring environments that remind them of their personal vision and reflect their individual values. Everything around them is a reflection of who they are deep down and resonates with their view of themselves as already in possession of the wealth they desire.
Secret #5: Focus Reveals Opportunities
Along with heightened awareness, the focus on key priorities works like a giant searchlight: opportunities are revealed by powerful, focused light. Without clear focus, these same opportunities may still exist, but because awareness is not focused, they may not necessarily be noticed by the individual.
Secret #6: Repeat baby steps
Having focus and heightened awareness is not enough to get rich. Inspired and deliberate action is required to create results. Wealthy people take measured steps in creating their results. They know that some action is better than none and that small steps now lead to significant results over time.
Secret #7: Connect with joy, in the moment
True wealth comes in the experience of joy, in the moment. In fact, this is a choice brought about by the awareness of our connection to all of humanity, the entire universe. When we feel integrated and separated from the great experience of life, we can relax and savor the experience of the moment, now. A great sense of peace thus allows joy, happiness and ultimately wealth and prosperity to flow.
So how do you actually create wealth?
This is the first question people always ask when they want to escape poverty and earn more money. In fact, it should be the last question to be answered. You cannot attract wealth if you do not have the right beliefs, reasons, focus, awareness and attitude. Any financial project will be swamped without these items in place first.
With that caveat out of the way, how do you build wealth?
The simple answer is that there are a multitude of methods and strategies. You can use one or more. These include:
* A traditional trading company
* Invest in stocks, managed funds, bonds, etc.
* Investment in properties
* An online business.
What we know for sure is that there are very few ‘jobs’ that pay extraordinary wages that turn into massive wealth. Business and investment is really the key to wealth that is not dependent on you actually showing up to provide a service.
How do you get started on the technical side of things related to building wealth?
First of all, choose the strategy that you will enjoy. If you are a technophobe, perhaps an online business is not for you. If you enjoy making and decorating your home, maybe real estate investing is something for you. Whatever you choose, you have to enjoy it and make it fun!
There are plenty of good resources out there to teach you the nitty-gritty of investing, starting a business, etc. Don’t feel like you have to do it alone! Get advice, get help, get a coach, get a mentor. Educate yourself: read, read, read. So take action, baby steps of course!
As a starting point, here are some great resources for you:
Rich Dad Poor Dad – Robert Kiyosaki
Cash Flow Quadrant – Robert Kiyosaki
The Myth E Revisited – Michael Gerber
You were born rich – Bob Proctor
The One Minute Millionaire – Mark Victor Hansen
Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill
There are many more books, links and articles on my website http://www.innercompass.com.au to point you in the right direction.
Now go and prosper!
I wish you a life of love, laughter, joy, health and prosperity.
Best wishes
Copyright 2006 Zoë Herbert Routh, Internal Compass
