Wealth creation is a process. Forget about buying that ‘How to get rich overnight’ book. It just doesn’t happen, unless you strike it big in the casino. The process starts with an idea. Once it has been moulded into a workable business concept, an ‘action cycle’ follows, one of doing, learning and doing things better.
All successful people had to start from somewhere, right? And I can bet you now most of them had no assurance of success. The point is you have to get your hands dirty, starting today.
Once you get going, change is inevitable. You will begin to approach life with a different hat on. Old thinking habits will be replaced by a new age mindset.
Do you have what it takes to redefine yourself? Are you ready to turn your world upside down? Well that’s what’s required if you want to be financially free. If you’re not committed to change there’s no way you can achieve your life’s goals.
Broadly speaking, there are four actions required to achieve financial success:
- Acquire income generating assets
- Protect assets using corporate structures
- Grow your wealth by reusing the income generated by your assets
- Distribute wealth through philanthropic efforts
To entrench these actions into your way of life, you need to develop habits of highly successful people. There are five habits that I live by:
A. Keep things simple.
There’s the easy way and the hard way. In business the easy way is to ask and deliver. Customers have needs. You need to find out what they are. Once you know, make them happy.
People often tend to overanalyse problems. As a result, they get caught up in a state of inaction. I love the analogy given by Robert Shemin:
‘How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator? Answer: You open the door, put the giraffe in, and close the door.’
Don’t overcomplicate things. Sometimes the direct route to wealth is the quickest.
B. Take responsibility for your actions.
The most common excuse for failure is someone else. Do you blame other people or circumstances for your misfortunes? If your investments tank, who do you hold accountable, your advisor or the market?’
I love this quote by John Stuart Mill:
‘A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury.’
Irresponsible thinking (or inaction) is a wealth-destroying habit to harbour. It’s similar to an anvil hanging from your neck. The weight will pull you down and keep you there.
C. Find out what you don’t know.
This is another important habit of highly successful people. Wealth creation may be completely new to you. Realise that if you stick to what you know, it becomes very difficult to live up to your goals.
What you need to do is start a new chapter. First find out what you don’t know about money, stock investing, business building or real estate (or whatever the subject), and then explore each topic further.
Change doesn’t happen if you stay within your comfort zone. Always try and push the boundaries.
D. Appreciate life.
Money is not the real source of wealth. It’s a tool that people use to build and enjoy riches. True wealth comes from gratitude; appreciation for your friends and family, good health, love and other pleasures that life has to offer.
Don’t misunderstand me. Money is important. But if you make it your sole purpose in life, you may end up unhappy and alone. Be grateful for what you have.
Treat wealth creation as an opportunity for the universe to reward you for making the lives of people around you better. Say thank you more often.
E. First get and then give.
The idea that ‘giving is always better than getting’ was drummed into my head ever since I started attending Sunday school in my early teens. However, this is backward thinking. You cannot give what you don’t have, which is why you must first get.
That’s not to say you shouldn’t give some of your time to charitable causes or a 100 bucks to a person in need. With wealth creation, the more you receive, the more you can give and the bigger difference you can make in other peoples’ lives.
Have a look at rich people today, the charities they support or foundations they start. These things would not have been possible if wealth wasn’t sought in the first place.
After receiving, I believe whole heartedly in giving. Giving results in receiving!
It’s the universe’s way of thanking you for your humanity, so to speak. What contribution could you make to better the lives of others? Have you ever received an unexpected gift or surprise for doing something good, or giving up your free time to help someone?
For me, Karma is a way of saying that there is more to receive beyond what we can physically see. It’s the ‘unseen’ reward for supporting causes bigger than oneself.