So, I'm not going to lie to you & say, "If you do this one thing, you'll be successful!" No, I won't do that. We know each other pretty well by now, so I feel comfortable telling you that I think most success books are a crock. I think the authors tell stories which are mostly true, however, I also think that their story can't be true for everybody.
I'm not trying to say that only some people have the ability to be successful, I'm actually saying that the way successful people became successful is the way THEY became successful but that doesn't mean it's the absolute formula for success. Most likely, if I tried to duplicate what someone else did to become successful, I would fail because we have very different life circumstances. Timing is everything, contacts are everything. There are so many variables that come into play for someone to become truly successful.
All that being said, I still believe that there are some key things people need to know in order to be more effective with their finances, skills, ideas, & products.
In the book "Rich Dad Poor Dad" the author, Rich Kiyosaki, explains the three different mindsets people groups tend to adopt. And for the sake of keeping this short & sweet, I will keep it...well...short & sweet.
Mindset 1: Low Income = "I need to do whatever I can to pay for my expenses."
Mindset 2: Middle Income = "I need to do whatever I can to buy bigger, better things."
Mindset 3: High Income = "I need to do whatever I can to invest in things which will give me a good return in the future."
Which category do you fall under? Really, think about it. Don't think about how much money you make, just think about your philosophy when it comes to managing money, because you may very well make 1 million dollars a year, but have the first mindset.
I think we can all agree that we SHOULD have the third mindset, however, most Americans would fall under the second mindset- always after bigger and better. So, how do we change this? How do we switch our brains off from processing one way & turn it on to process another way?
I believe it can be done by doing what I explained in the blog prior to this one (How to Dream Effectively). When we take a look at what we have, which are expenses, & then turn them into investments, we then begin to think with the third mindset. What I mean is this...if you have a car, your car is an expense. It literally makes you no money. It only takes money away from you. But what if you turned it into an investment instead? What if you rented it out? If you have a truck, let people rent it for moving. Got a car? Offer to drive someone to the airport. Believe it or not, there are websites out there where you can offer these services. (Check out Uber)
Maybe the whole car thing freaks you out...ok, what about turning your yard into a garden? I don't know if you know this or not, but your yard also makes you literally no money. It just sits there, demanding you to make it as green & weed-free as possible, & you so easily fall into it's dirty little trick, causing you to buy more fertilizer, weed-killer, & landscaping stones, all of which didn't make one penny of profit for you. I bet you've got a good 1/2 acre of green luscious grass in the back yard ready to be tilled up into rows & rows of your kid's least favorite food group in the world--vegetables, which by the way can be sold to others or eaten...meaning less money on your grocery bill, & oh yeah, I almost forgot, a potential profit.
Now, there's something to be said for possessing things, like a yard, that only bring you enjoyment and don't make you money. I enjoy mowing the grass and landscaping, I also enjoy seeing neighborhood kids playing in my yard & I don't necessarily need to till it up so I can make some money. Again, as I've said before, money is NOT the end goal- if it were, fulfillment would be far, far away. However, I'm simply making these specific suggestions to show you that using what you have to bring yourself closer to financial freedom AND serving a need in your community is only an idea away.
Food for thought.
Joel Widman
Owner
Anderson The Fish