This article was written by Adam G. Force and originally appeared on Thrive Global
I have now spoken to a lot of different entrepreneurs and been around the block in the business world for almost two decades. We are all eager to figure out the magic formula for success or the next great tactic to win. While tactics regularly change, there are deep rooted lessons and shared messages among experts, around success and wealth, that stand the test of time.
Ok let’s get right into it.
For starters, I’m not here to just bullet out a few corny comments telling you to love yourself or create a vision board.
There are fundamental lessons I’ve learned from amazing people that are necessary to understand if you want wealth.
But who am and I why might you listen to me?
Well, I worked for over 10 years as Director of Strategic Marketing at WebMD and started two businesses with Change Creator being my current life mission. Through that business, I’ve had the chance to interview amazing people like Arianna Huffington, Tony Robbins, Guy Kawasaki, and many award winning Social Entrepreneurs.
I believe we are all teachers and and we are all students based on our unique experiences.
Now, I have something important to share with you based on my experiences and it’s not just another lame filler blog looking for clicks.
I know, it sucks when you’re stressed about money. I’ve been there a lot and I’m sure you have too. It’s awful.
We all have what seems like a million bills to pay and many times we’re waking up each day to work that may not be what we really desire.
Things are OK.
Not bad.
Can’t complain.
Could be worse.
Have you ever used those descriptions when someone asks you how work is?
Even though I was happy with a great company like WebMD I would use same words and they shouldn’t be part of your description when talking about work.
Why?
As Tony Robbins told us in our interview, “The most sacred gift that you can give, besides your love, is your labor. So find something that you’re here to play for that’s more than just yourself.”
As British philosopher, author and speaker, Alan Watts, once said, “If you say getting the money is the most important thing, you will spend your life completely wasting your time.”
If you have a lot of money but are depressed or hate what you do everyday, you’re still broke.
Related: How to Know Which Type of Investment to Seek
It’s More Than Passion
To most people, the word work implies that it’s something hard, something you have to do. If you “work” all day long, it’s likely that you don’t find much joy in it. Career implies you’re working toward something on a bigger scale, something more sustainable. You might devote more energy and feel a sense of purpose, since you’re working toward a long-term goal.
But somebody who has a mission? They’re not even in it for the money. They’re not even in it for the way it makes them feel. They do it because it’s what they’re made for. For them, it’s not work; it serves a higher purpose.
Now, when you become a master of something you’re born to do you will be happy, find long term success AND you’ll be able to get a good fee for whatever it is you’re doing.
But here’s what many people miss and why they fail or struggle.
You can’t just find your passion and expect great success or wealth.
You need to know your competency and market to succeed as a entrepreneur.
What market are you going to serve and what problem can you solve in a scalable way?
3 POWERFUL INVESTMENTS
“…if you want to succeed in the financial world, then you have to work harder on yourself than you ever do on your job or your business.” (Tony Robbins, Change Creator Interview)
1 – Prime Your Brain For Wealth
You can have a broke mindset or you can have a wealthy mindset. Perspective matters, a lot. Let me say it again, perspective matters! The topic requires a full book so I want make sure this point is taken seriously.
This is a fundamental necessity to achieve wealth, one that requires ongoing work, yet so many overlook it.
Everyone wants the new trick or tactic for quick cash and a better life. You can have all the tools in the world but if you don’t have the right mindset it doesn’t matter.
Don’t get me wrong, money management, investment strategies all play a role but the inner game is an essential foundational strength to master.
It’s not easy to change perspective or habits. It requires conscious effort and hard work.
Historical conditioning and thought patterns can consistently hold you back whether you acknowledge it or now. As it has been said, if you want to change the fruits, you will have to first change the roots. If you want to change the visible, you will have to first change the invisible.
Psychology is incredibly powerful and important to success in business and life. This message has been made clear by all the greats. I’ve been in business for over 18 years as an entrepreneur and in corporate. I’m still learning more about the power of psychology everyday.
Let’s have a little fun with a quick exercise.
Write down everything you heard about money, wealth and rich people while growing up. What were your parents habits around money?
Write down how you believe the things you learned growing up affected your financial life so far.
Those are only things you learned but are not necessarily true nor do they represent who you are.
Once you realize this you can start changing how you think about money.
A couple examples of simple differences in perspective shared by T. Harv Eker are:
Rich people focus on opportunities while poor people focus on obstacles.
Rich people have their money work hard for them and poor people work hard for their money.
If you hate black jelly beans, you probably won’t have any. If inherit a bunch of black jelly beans you will somehow get rid of them.
If you hate money because you believe it’s the root of all evil. Guess what? You won’t have much of it.
Want to start changing your mindset?
I dare you to try and stop complaining for a week, don’t even think of a complaint. Not only is it really hard to do but that simple act starts to change things around when you’re successful at it. You will see how much you drag yourself down with negative crap. Practice this until you master your mindset to avoid complaining.
If you have not read Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, I highly recommend you do as it will outline these ideas in great depth for you.
Read it multiple times! It has literally changed my wealth over the past few years dramatically.
2 – Find Good Mentors
My first interview ever for Change Creator was with the founder of Entrepreneur on Fire, John Lee Dumas. He worked the corporate life and got fed up like many do. He decided to get into podcasting and when he started he invested in himself by paying a mentor $3,000 per month for support. Today, he makes hundreds of thousands of dollars per month.
Why is that important?
Well, not only does a great mentor expedite your success, they offer you resources and help guide your thinking in the right direction for wealth because they are successful. The way they think and act is working. Surrounding yourself with their energy and insights is extremely valuable.
The biggest struggle many have is knowing how to find a mentor or actually get them on board to be a mentor. People will likely tell you to just ask and most will gladly help. Well, I’m here to say that’s not really true. Successful people get a million emails and requests. They don’t have the time to help everyone.
Time is our most valuable asset and if you’re not willing to invest in yourself, than no mentor will either.
Do you always have to pay for mentorship, of course not. But you will want to have something of value to them to offer in return.
A first step to really getting someone on board might be to find a way to meet face to face. There’s nothing more powerful than in-person relationship development.
I have many mentors and I invest a lot to get their attention. This may not be direct payment but I offer them a podcast show, magazine placement and all those things cost me a huge investment.
Where can you find good mentors, make face to face connections and get them on board?
Honestly, one of the very best ways to do this is to invest in attending good conferences that have like minded people you can learn from.
You don’t just invest in attending the conference you invest in your future.
Conferences are great because you can meet people in person, share ideas, let them get to know you.
Again, this is the best way to make a real connection with someone that lasts.
The value goes far beyond the conference once you make those connections. A few thousand dollars to obtain mentorship and build your network with real relationships is priceless. Seems scary and those who don’t invest are the ones that fall behind.
There are many conferences but sharks Kevin Harrington and Daymond John caught my attention talking about Survive and Thrive, which is for mission focused businesses.
Survive and Thrive is actually really unique because it very intimate, you get 1-on-1 mentorship from a range of entrepreneurs and impact investors. What’s even cooler is that it’s on a campsite by the water so it’s not a lame stuffy conference hall or hotel. You actually do outdoor water sports, sit around campfires, and really connect with people there.
Our team attended the Survive and Thrive conference that took place in September 2017. It was AWESOME!
Amy and Keisuke are hanging out with the original Shark, Kevin Harrington. What’s even cooler is that they got a live interview and during Kevin’s keynote talk he gave Change Creator a shout out saying, “Change Creator is Crushing it!”
Because of this amazing conference we now have people like Kevin Harrington in our network and talking about Change Creator. I hope this mentor thing is becoming more clear.
Here are some of our key lesson from the conference but this is just the tip of the iceberg!
5 Powerful Truths From The Survive and Thrive Conference
I was so curious about this event that I interviewed the 3 founders. They all have incredible backgrounds and offer tons of cool insights.
You can listen to the interview here
3 – What is Your Net Worth?
Rich people focus on their net-worth while the not-so-rich focus on their working income.
You can ask any rich person what their net worth is at any time and they will know.
Why?
Because they know what every dollar is doing thanks to organization and money management.
Even in the biography of Gandhi, he states that money organization is essential. Of all people, he’s not one that I would have expected to talk about managing money.
How often do you look at all your finances, credits and debts?
Are you tracking your month over month changes or are you just paying bills?
Do you know every monthly expense you incur and how much to expect month over month?
Do even have any investments that makes your money work for you?
Do you have accounts setup for specific money savings?
Do you have a financial advisor?
If you’re answering no to any of those questions you got work to do if you want to start seeing your money grow.
First and foremost this was the most difficult thing I learned years ago when I realized for years my bank account just hovered around the same place or dropped at times. How can you expect to see your money grow if you don’t know where you’re spending money, how much, and what is bringing money in or not?
Some next steps.
- I highly recommend making a Google Sheet or Excel document to track your finances.
- Here is an example of what I use to track my numbers – click here
- Contact a financial planner or get a referral to one you trust and build that relationship. They will discuss your goals and help get you setup. You should also talk about getting some money, even if it’s $100, to put into mutual funds. That will give you an exponential return over a lame savings account which offers basically nothing.
- Setup your bank with a few checking accounts and have any money from work or business distributed automatically to those accounts so your money compounds over time.
- Primary checking which is for paying expenses and necessities (50%)
- Long term savings (25%)
- Leisure and giving (25%)
Once you take those steps you will not only feel less stressed and more confident but you will start seeing your money grow, especially if you master the mindset that keeps you looking for opportunities.
Related: How to Know Which Type of Investment to Seek
Final Words
Let’s recap.
Pursuing a mission and knowing your competency and market empowers well rounded success..
Investing in yourself to become more conscious of your perspectives and habits will allow you to start creating a wealth mindset.
Investing in your network and mentorship from the right people will expedite your success and help shape your wealth mindset.
Investing in a financial advisor and adopting disciplined money management practices, will allow you start making your money work for you.
Over my years on this Earth I have found perception, perspective and mindset tend to be a key factor in anything. It’s like an algorithm that gets you results because it drives actions.
You might be doing marketing and studying copy writing.
You might be learning how to talk to people and negotiate.
You might be an athlete.
You might want better health and wellbeing.
They all have a common denominator, psychology.
Happiness and sustainable long term success is about more than money.
Play for something bigger than yourself and follow your values, passion and greatest competency.
The money will come, especially if you master the powerful investments outlined in this article.
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