The Secret to Building Wealth

When it comes to making money, there are hundreds of books and audio available. Some are full of great information, while others aren’t worth the paper they’re printed on. I’ve read many of these and having separated the wheat from the chaff, I’d like to save you some time and recommend some of my favorite authors. These people have served as my teachers and mentors and I hope they may do the same for you.

The Grandfather of wealth building techniques and self improvement, if you read no other book on creating wealth (which is just silly), make sure to read Napoleon’s “Think and Grow Rich”.  His work has inspired everyone from Tony Robbins to Donald Trump.

Creator of the Rich Dad/Poor Dad Empire, Robert was the person that started it all for me.  His writing opened my eyes to alternative ways of looking at money and how different rules apply to the rich versus the rest of the world.

Michael is the best friend you can have when it comes to successfully managing your business.  His consultation becomes relevant from the very first chapter, explaining I’ve witnessed but never understood, like why the best technicians in the world often fail when they break off and try to start their own companies.

For truly understanding the secrets to a lifetime of wealth these two gentleman are some of the best teachers one can hope for. Robert Shemin shows how you don’t need to be some form of genius to make money. Just flip your thinking and embrace your limitations as assets. Robert Allen has written some of the best how to books on creating multiple streams of passive income to date. He even proved his methods effective when challenged by the L.A. Times.

Last but not least is Suze Orman.  You will not find a better source for advice on keeping the money you’ve earned and getting out of the tight financial spots we all find ourselves in from time to time.

Each of these individuals, along with countless others, offer priceless methods on how they became wealthy and you can too.  Keep in mind though, that the best way to success is to take advice and counseling for what it is, but in the end you are the one responsible to makes the decisions that work for you.

The interesting thing is that, though each author recommends different approaches to making and keeping money, all of them boil down to 3 fundamental areas:

1. Stock Investments

2. Business Ownership

3. Real Estate

Everything else that may be discussed, from options trading to network marketing, whether to diversify or focus your investments all fall into one of these three categories.  The biggest mistake that most novice Entrepreneurs make is trying to move too fast.  The “hot stock tip” or “$5k a month online” promise lead people to lose thousands of dollars trying to make a fast fortune.  Lasting riches are created slowly, steadily, over a long period of time.  Gambling is exciting, but creating multiple sources of income is hard work and often boring.  However, building true wealth is so much more than making money.

By now most the “Get Rich Quick” individuals have stopped reading.  Which is a shame as I am about to share the most important secret concerning wealth building that I’ve learned.  First let me share the stories of three very different people.  As you read, decide if you would consider these individuals as wealthy.

Bob

Bob is homeless and spends his days begging at the off-ramp of a local freeway.  He served in Vietnam and was awarded a Purple Heart and Medal for Valor.  When he returned to the states he found his wife left him and he was stuck in a society where he no longer fit and no one wanted him.  So he chose not to be a part of it.  He feels that he fought for freedom and that is what he now has. . .no worries, nothing to lose and all the time in the world.

Peter

Peter is the founder and CEO of a multinational shipping company.  He possesses several billion dollars in cash and assets and works 60 hours or more a week to keep it.  He has more money than he can ever hope to spend, a Lamborghini, a mansion and a private jet.  He also has an ex-wife who once loved him very much and children that he only sees every couple of months.  Not to mention he is way too busy making money to enjoy the toys he currently has.

Beth

Finally there is Beth who is the mother of 3 beautiful children and married to Jerry, the most wonderful husband she could imagine.  They are a very happy family, but live paycheck to paycheck trying to make ends meet.  That is until they find out Jerry has been diagnosed with a terminal form of cancer.  They might be able to delay the spread but the cost is immense and not covered by insurance.

As you have probably realized from each of these individual’s stories, an abundance of one thing does not make a person wealthy.  In each case they were only possessing one of the three components of the truly wealthy.  So with that in mind, as I promised I would like to share with you the most important secret I’ve learned concerning the building of wealth:    

You will find that if you possess a balance of each of these items, in any quantity, you are already wealthy. When kept in balance the components will feed each other and grow accordingly. Let’s look at each of these in more detail.

Relationships

Of all three components, Relationships may be considered the first among equals as it is the most personally fulfilling. Relationships include not only your friends and family, but your employees, partners, mentors, network and even people you’ll never know.

Having strong relationships with your inner circle of people is what enables you to make more money. A happy home life makes going to work more tolerable and enables you to excel at your job. Excellence often pays off in raises and bonuses. Inner circle relationships also offer you an abundance of money making opportunities in other areas such as partnerships, sharing investment opportunities and funding.

Finally are the relationships with people you may never know. Just as important as making money is giving back. Whether you are spiritual or not you’ll find that your personal wealth increases proportionally to the amount that you tithe. Remember that it is those with an abundance that are more likely to share what they have. The more that other people help you, the more you are able to help others. You’ll find that when you start to build strong relationships the money will start to roll in.

Money

Money speaks for itself. It pays for all of the goods and services we desire. When handled properly can make our life easier and when misused can make our lives miserable. Most people always want more of it, but in reality are not prepared to deal with the reality of it. From the time we are born most of us are trained in how to live as poor or middle class. We have no idea how to live as a rich person, though we think we do!

How often have you heard someone say, “If you gave me a million dollars, I’d just put it in the bank and live off of the interest.”? This is the middle class training we’ve received and a prime example of why so many lottery winners are broke within 5 years. What makes you think that your local bank wants your $1M? Not to mention FDIC only insures $100,000. That’s $900,000 that is technically left up for grabs. If you don’t know how to use your money, there are plenty of people who know how to use it for you!

Becoming rich has its own set of problems and it is the previously mentioned relationships that will help you thrive. Once you have a firm grasp on how to handle your money, regardless of the amount, then you can begin to enjoy all of the perks that money can buy including cars, houses, travel and charity. You will also learn that an abundance or properly managed money can get you the most valuable resource in the world. . .time.

Time

Of the three components, Time is perhaps the most valuable. This is because you can always make more money and build more relationships, but there are only 24 hours in a day. Each of us only has a set number of years in which to live our lives the best we can. Therefore it’s not how much, but rather what we do with the time we have. My father recently told me that no one on their death bed ever says, “I wish I spent more time at work.”

Most people spend their days working to obtain two things: money and time off. Working for time off. . .that’s just ridiculous when you think about it! So that just leaves working for money. When an individual obtains enough money to cover their monthly obligations, the need to work long hours for low pay also becomes absurd. The only good reason to work is for self fulfillment.

What this all means is that once an individual has multiple sources of passive income as mentioned in the beginning, all those work hours are freed up for other endeavors. These endeavors may include spending more time with family and friends, expanding your network of business associates and offering more to your community and charities. In extreme cases like Beth’s we may even be able to buy a little more time to be with those we love. With more time available we can come full circle to building more and stronger relationships.

So you can see that Relationships lead to making more Money, which leads to more Time for stronger Relationships. If you currently have a balance of these three components, then congratulations, you’re already wealthy. Now just continue to nurture and grow each component and enjoy life!

On the other hand, if like most of us, one component vastly outpaces the others start looking at how you can bring things back in balance. Going back to our three stories, Bob may have all the time in the world with nothing to lose, but it’s not a very fulfilling life when no one notices or cares that you’re gone. Even if Peter finds time to enjoy his billions, it will never fill the hole left from losing his family. Finally, Beth would give all the money in the world to spend just a few more weeks with her husband.

Remember that the middle class/poor mindset of working harder when times are tough may be the worst thing you can do. Take care to balance each component in the cycle and the rest will take care of itself. I hope you can use my experiences to help you live a full and happy life. After all that is the definition of True Wealth.