When we talk about wealth, we usually heard about fancy cars, huge houses, fancy clothes and expensive travel. But if we really sit down and think about our lives are these the things in our life that are really the most important to us? Well these luxury items can come with wealth and be apart of your plan, to me wealth has a larger meaning then these subject items. I believe a lot people get caught up in these luxuries and lose focus on the true meaning of life. I dont want to sound sensitive and make it seem like I dont want these luxuries also, I just feel as you get older and understand life you realize where and who you want to spend the majority of your time with.
"Wealth is the number of days that you can survive without working while also maintaining your lifestyle" - Robert Kiyosaki
This is one of the best quotes that I have heard in regards to the true meaning of wealth. This quote touches on the value of time, money, friends, family and personal interest. Notice that he leaves no mention of the quality of the lifestyle that you live. There are many different ways to define what wealth specifically means to you but anything that allows you to free your time up, spend time with your loved ones and enjoy specific hobbies all while not having to worry about money is something everyone is interested in. In order to obtain the wealth we are currently touching on, you either need to have a large sum of cash in the bank or have created a income cycle that doesnt involve trading your time for dollars. (Corporate America-40 hr work weeks)
It is easy to get caught up in life and forget about what truely matters to you. We continue working our boring old 9-5 and watch the days pass by as we make no adjustments with our lives to put ourselves in a better position to enjoy our lives. There are different ways to create the wealth we speak of where we can enjoy time with friends and family and enjoy personal hobbies so we can actually enjoy our lives.
The most common way that individuals try and create wealth is by starting there own business. I agree, that this is one of the only ways to reach your financial goals and allow you to free up your time in a way that you can spend it doing the things you love. The biggest problem people come across when starting a business is underestimating how difficult it is to start and maintain. The "business" owners usually create a new job for themselves and end up spending more time in this new role than they did in there old 9-5. By doing this, you are really taking a step back if your idea of wealth is what we have harped on through out this post. This is a difficult challenge to overcome but the sooner you get started and the sooner you learn from past experiences the sooner you will put yourself on the road to wealth. And well this may take 5, 10, 20 years if you keep trying and truly focus on the goal of financial freedom, you will hit this mark and prove to have provided a better life for not only yourself but the people you love also.
So i guess the question is... how do you truely figure out a situation where you are trading your time up front for a passive/residual income in a business that grows? You can do this by either creating your own system/ business (which is harder than it looks) or you can study past systems and businesses and recreate what has already worked for them. By taking bits and pieces of information on previously successful businesses you will be able to mold these ideas into your own and cut down the learning curve to reaching your financial goals. Whether you are starting a business in real estate, the auto industry, the fitness industry or any other industry, try and make sure it something that you enjoy and like to do. I say this because it will take time, you will not see results the next day or even in the next couple years. So by doing something you think you will still enjoy in the next 5-10 years, you will not burn out and you will put yourself in a better position to reach your goals.
Conclusion: Setting yourself up for financial freedom and obtaining your end goal of TRUE WEALTH is not easy. You have to continue to read books on successful individuals who have already achieved your goals, educate yourself any way possible and try and find a mentor to answer difficult questions you may have. By educating yourself and learning how to reach these goals you could eliminate years of this process. Like I said, this is not easy but you will be able to sleep much better at night knowing you are trying and are on the right path to better provide for your family and loved ones. You may not know it, but you have a lot of people counting on you and by putting in the effort you will put yourself in a better situation to not let them down.
So for the new year, why dont you write down some goals and some action steps to how you are going to obtain these goals. Whether you are going to start your first business or your going to purchase your first rental property or flip your first house. Right down a few goals that you have always wanted to accomplish and then write down the necessary steps its going to take to acheive these goals. Chip at these goals daily, educate yourself in the areas you need to be educated in and most of all take action. The action you take will determine the success you have. So get out there and do something with your life that you friends and family members will be proud of.
Enjoy the New Year!