You have more power over your financial destiny than perhaps you have given yourself credit for. No one can stop you from being extraordinary, well almost no one. The truth is there is one person who holds the keys to your success or failure, your poverty or riches, your freedom or imprisonment. If you are unsure of who I am referring to, look no further than your nearest mirror!

Here are 3 powerful ways to improve your finances by regaining control over the person in the mirror.

Acknowledge the Problem

Few like to admit that they are financially sloppy. In fact, we often go out of our ways to display artifacts that “prove” that we have our acts together. Money problems can evoke feelings of anxiety and strain relationships in ways few other subjects can. Just imagine how many friendships and marriages have been destroyed over finances.

Simply acknowledging that a problem exists with our finances is often a substantial part of the battle. Consider the following three keys about acknowledging financial problems. First, an unacknowledged enemy will flourish. A problem that is denied or ignored will fester and continue to hinder your progress. Acknowledging the problem enables you to pinpoint precisely what challenges (behaviors or associations) are blocking your financial objectives. It could be the lack of an emergency fund, need for instant gratification, shopping excursions with your friends, failure to invest, not investing enough, keeping a dead-end job, or even making too many splurges on family members. Second, it is difficult to be fed up with a problem that you haven’t yet acknowledged. In short, you need what Les Brown calls an “I had it moment,” meaning “enough is enough. I refuse to live this way anymore.” Free yourself from the stigma of not having all the answers. We’ve all made mistakes regarding money. Now, let’s move on to solutions. Third, without acknowledgment, your actions might not deal with the root-cause of the problem. Consider the wife criticizing her husband’s spending habits without realizing that there is an underlying pathology prompting his misbehavior. The true causes of financial problems are frequently masked. For example, debt is often not the problem but rather the symptom of the problem. Accordingly, I recently wrote on how to live debt free by addressing the underlying financial and mental issues causing indebtedness.

Remember, acknowledgment is typically pivotal to effect change. The application is that you can reclaim your power by acknowledging the problem today.

Harness the Power of Focus

Many years ago, I was overweight and learned a powerful lesson regarding focus. I had tried diets and exercise programs, and the only one that seemed to “work for me” made me sick. I decided that I “needed” a new piece of equipment to get in shape. However, I a) was very young with limited financial resources and b) had already unsuccessfully tried many programs and products. I decided that in order to encourage my family’s sponsorship, I needed to prove to them that I was focused on my weight loss this time and that nothing would deter me. I literally read and implemented every sound regimen that I could get my hands on. I utilized all my existing equipment until they broke.  I conscientiously moderated my eating habits. Eventually, I did get the new equipment that I requested, and in just 10 weeks, I loss the remaining 40 pounds! This had previously seemed like an impossible feat, but focus made the impossible possible for me.

The implications of this example are not exclusive to fitness. There are many parallels between your health and your wealth. In fact, one study found that 47% of millionaires engaged in jogging or running within the last month, and 23% played tennis within the same period. That’s a tangible correlation. Indeed, the same principle that enabled me to lose my weight quickly also helped me to eliminate all of my consumer debt in my mid-twenties. Harness the power of focus to achieve your financial dreams as well.

Place Yourself on an Increase Fast

I’m convinced that we occasionally need to go on an increase fast. Spend 30 days where you only think about the best, read the best, associate with the best, and hear the best. This is your increase fast. You will allocate some time each day to invest in yourself, and everything that you do during this time will tend to your prosperity and abundance. Concentrating your mind on increase is one of quickest ways to begin reprograming negative thought patterns, to expand your vision, to dream again and to come up with creative solutions to challenging financial problems.

My primary caution is that during and after this period you will likely have to overcome both external and internal roadblocks that suggest that you are being silly or ineffective. Not everyone will appreciate your vision. Nearly every dreamer has faced this. Imagine if Walt Disney had stopped when he was fired for not being creative enough or if Steve Jobs had given up when Apple ousted him in 1985. In Jobs’ case, he referred to his firing as the best thing that happened to him. Just because you face adversity doesn’t mean that you are on the wrong path. Similarly, you may have mental “cow paths,” which are dull and uninspired ways of thinking that are designed to keep you from stretching yourself. Such paths are often self-defeating. These “cow paths” will keep you in your comfort zone financially (and otherwise), if you let them, and will work to any dreamer’s detriment. Recognize “cow paths” in your thinking, and reject every thought containing your vision to that which is common.

The quality of the imagination is to flow and not to freeze – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Closing Thoughts

In summation, there is so much potential within us to improve our financial worlds, but moving past ourselves is often our biggest challenge. The responsibility rests squarely upon our shoulders to acknowledge our shortcomings, silence the critical voice of doubt, set aside time to abandon ourselves to our focus, and stretch our thinking in ways that allow us to achieve success beyond our wildest dreams. Decide whether you are up for the challenge of moving beyond the person in the mirror today. That choice will decide your destiny!

He who refuses to embrace a unique opportunity loses the prize as surely as if he would had failed – William James

Roshawn writes at Watson Inc. on eliminating debt, investing money, and building wealth. Get his free eBook Your Foundation to Wealth by signing up for his email updates (no spam I promise). Get his RSS feed and connect with him on Twitter @roshawnwatson too.

Greed is good. Embrace it. Love it. Live it. In fact, greed may be the one thing that can save us. Don’t believe me? Greed was the foundation for this country. The brave souls who risked their life to settle in a new country did so out of self interest. Our forefathers recognized the importance of self-interest in the Declaration of Independence where they emphasized our unalienable right to pursue happiness.

Greed is good not just for your own life but for others as well. By elevating your life, you can radically elevate your family’s life, your community, and yes, even the world. Mother Teresa was greedy — she had an unquenchable thirst for serving the poorest of the poor. Missionaries are greedy in their quest to spread their religious beliefs. You just need to get greedy. You need to focus so intently on what it is you want that your desire seeps out of your pores.

But not all greed is created equal. The greed that nearly brought the world economy to a screeching halt in 2008 is disgusting. The greed that led to millions of hardworking people around the world losing their jobs is not “good greed.” You can (and must!) be greedy without exploiting others.

The problem is not that we’re too greedy, it’s that we’re not greedy enough! Sure, there are the occasional Bernie Madoffs and John Edwardses that lose themselves in their excessive desire — that will do anything to achieve their goal — but that’s not the issue most of us face. Our problem is that we are plagued by not caring, wanting, or being voracious enough in the pursuit of our own goals.

The solution? Stop putting yourself last and stop sacrificing your goals and dreams. Any successful entrepreneur is greedy. They have an insatiable desire to see their product come to market. They want to see their invention in the hands of as many people as possible. They want their book to hit the New York Times bestseller list. They will do whatever it takes to achieve their goal. They will stay up later and get up earlier. They‘ll say no more often.

Want to lose weight? Put yourself first. Schedule time on your calendar to exercise and don’t cancel for anything. Don’t let others get in the way of your goal. I get criticized for bringing my own food to parties and events. I don’t get this. Should I just go along with what everyone else is eating even though I know it’s not best for me? If I only wished for better health, I wouldn’t go through the hassle of preparing and bringing my own food and instead I‘d have a plateful of little weenies and Doritos. But I’m not simply wishful. I am greedy. Nothing is going to get in my way of better health — not even annoyed looks from the host.

The other 8 hours are the secret to improving your life. By focusing on yourself, and by elevating your own life, you are then best able to transform the lives of others. Self-focused is not selfish; self-focused is self-less. You learn this every time you get on a plane . . . “put on your own mask before helping others.”

When you invest in yourself during the other 8 hours, the life you change may be more than just your own. Now it’s your turn. Tap into your inner Gordon Gekko and relentlessly pursue your happiness.

For a limited time, you can download several free resources (assessment, poster, audio interview, video, and more) at www.other8hours.com and learn more about my new book, The Other 8 Hours: Maximize Your Free Time to Create New Wealth & Purpose.

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]]> http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/greed-is-good-why-you-need-to-tap-into-your-inner-gordon-gekko/feed/ 16 http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/make-more-money-and-live-your-passion-become-a-cre8tor/ http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/make-more-money-and-live-your-passion-become-a-cre8tor/#comments Fri, 02 Apr 2010 06:22:17 +0000 Robert Pagliarini http://www.pickthebrain.com/blog/?p=2022

Image courtesy of Tim Hussin/Meanderings

Your financial life has a certain trajectory — similar to a train on a track. There will be twists and turns, but you can easily determine where you will end up if you stay on the financial track you’re currently on. What if the traditional methods of working hard, cutting expenses, and saving don’t work for you? Brown bagging it every day won’t cause you to jump tracks and end up somewhere completely different. The guy living in the mansion overlooking the ocean didn’t buy that house by clipping coupons, and the woman passing you in a $400,000 Maybach didn’t get that way by eliminating her morning latte. For most of us, the gap between where we are and where want to be is so wide that we’ll never be able to close it by following traditional financial advice.

What’s the solution? If you’re tired of scraping by you’ve got to create. If you want to move out of your apartment or make more than minimum wage, you’ve got to create. If you want a big house overlooking the ocean, to travel first class, to quit your job, or to drive your dream car, guess what? The answer is in the other 8 hours. The answer is to shift from being a full-time consumer to being a part-time Cre8tor.

A what? A Cre8tor is a creative entrepreneur who has a day job but wants more. She isn’t content with the status quo, and is less than thrilled with the thought of working another 40+ years. She knows that the only way to “jump the tracks” to get to a new financial level is to do something different during the other 8 hours. A Cre8tor utilizes his strengths, passions, and/or expertise to create something unique and valuable — maybe he’ll start a blog, work on an invention, write a screenplay, or start a business. If you settle for a paycheck, you’ll only be worth what your employer pays you. But if you create something valuable, there’s virtually no limit to your worth.

A long commute, brainless boss, and an empty bank account can wreak havoc on your outlook, hope, and purpose, but a side project or venture can bring inspiration to your life. When you’re passionate about what you’re creating during the other 8 hours, you can endure even the worst day.

Creating provides purpose and it provides a reason to get out of bed in the morning. It provides the hope that life can improve. When you create, it engages your mind and your soul.

With very few exceptions, anybody who has attained any level of financial success has created something. It might be a book, a CD, an invention, a website, or whatever. Look around you. Everything you see was originally just an idea in someone’s head.

You are living in the most exciting and mind blowing time we have ever experienced. It is rich with opportunities that literally didn’t exist just a few years ago. Unless your last name was Rockefeller or Carnegie, it used to be incredibly difficult to become rich. Becoming a millionaire wasn’t even a dream or an ambition. It was such an impossibility that it wasn’t worth a moment’s thought.

Because of technology, efficiencies, and a global economy, it’s much easier to become wealthy with much less effort than at any other time in history. As a Cre8tor, you’ll add more excitement and purpose into your life. You will live your passion and make more money.

In future columns I will discuss the top Cre8tor Channels you can plug into to start making more money in the other 8 hours.

You can download several free resources (assessment, poster, audio interview, video, and more) at www.other8hours.com and learn more about my new book, The Other 8 Hours: Maximize Your Free Time to Create New Wealth & Purpose.

Image courtesy of Stephen Barnwell.

I was in an “on-line forum” the other day when someone asked the question, “How do you increase your income?” The person asking the question was no longer working their “day-job,” and was seeking to make money in other ways.

This person was making a few dollars each week teaching kids how to play basketball, but was looking to make additional money.

The Solution

In order to increase your income, you must increase your value; “YOU” must become more valuable.

By becoming more valuable you will increase your “socially perceived value;” the value society believes you provide, for this, society will owe you a debt. What is money but a social debt, it represents the value you’ve provided thus far; what society owes you. You take that social debt (i.e. money) and then purchase whatever you desire in exchange for the debt.

Let’s Recap: You exchange your time to become valuable, which in turn allows you to purchase things that you value. Before you can purchase things that you value, you must provide others with what they value.

Your salary represents the monetary value you are able to extract from the world. If you make a $100,000 a year, that means society believes that you provide $100,000 of monetary value annually. In order to make more money, you need to increase society’s perspective on your value.

How does a basketball player provide more value?

A basketball player creates more value by becoming a better basketball player; by becoming more valuable himself. He spends his spare time practicing to become “the best” at what he does. He practices when everyone else is taking time-off. He plays with players who are better than he is; he studies and learns how to “out-shine” the competition. He spends his time sharpening his skills. By doing this, he becomes increasingly valuable, and he will make more money.

How does a comedian provide more value?

By becoming a better comedian; he or she spends their time listening to other comedians. They learn from the most successful. While others are sleeping they’re awake writing jokes that have never been heard before. They become more valuable by offering the world something that it’s never seen before. Scarcity makes valuable.

How do I provide more value?

I provide more value by listening to other self-development teachers (iron sharpens iron); I listen to at least an hour of self-development everyday. When I write, I’m writing from what I’ve learned after listening to dozens of other teachers, and hundreds of books. Every book I read makes me more valuable. I know that if my focus is narrow and constant, eventually, I will become one of the greatest self-development teachers.

Enough Value to Make a Living

In order to provide enough value to make a good living, you have to dedicate your time to becoming the best at what you do.

As a first step in becoming the best, you need to commit to “be” your personal best. Honestly ask yourself right now, “Am I giving my very best to what I’m doing, am I giving my all, am I the best version of myself?” I often ask myself these questions, and the answers are not always “positive ones;” when the answers aren’t positive, I begin to look for ways to give my all.

Walter Cronkite said, “I can’t imagine a person becoming a success who doesn’t give this game of life everything he’s got.”

You must empty yourself into your “task” in order to create real value….

Time

It takes time to provide value, when a basketball player first starts playing basketball in elementary school, he doesn’t get paid. It’s not until years later, when we has perfected his skills, and his talent is rare, that he can get paid for the entertainment value he provides.

You must utilize your “time” to make yourself increasingly valuable so that you can command a higher price tag. The more you study, the more you learn, the more time you dedicate to your passion, the more valuable you will become.

This is why you should never quit sharpening your skills, sharpen them often and daily. Eventually you will become very valuable.

That’s why you should do what you love, because you’re going to be doing it for a while before you succeed.

Finally, it’s not enough to just be valuable

I could be the greatest basketball player in the world, but if know one knows about it, what good would it be. Will I get paid for being a great basketball player? Of course not.

Once you’ve become valuable, you need to showcase that value to the world using leverage (e.g. open up a basketball camp and let everyone know about it); now you’re providing real value; and society will gladly pay to see that value. As the quote goes, set yourself on fire and people will come to see you burn! Thank you for reading.

Mr. Self Development is a guest blogger for PickTheBrain. For more information visit Mr. Self Development; just reading his blog will raise your prosperity consciousness, expand your mind, and challenge you to live the abundant life.

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The people heard it, and approved the doctrine, and immediately practiced the contrary, just as if it had been a common sermon; for the vendor opened, and they began to buy extravagantly, notwithstanding all his cautions.

Franklin knew that knowing the right way to live is much easier than living the right way. Being industrious and frugal each and every day is a tough task, one that most people will never master. It takes an enormous amount of self-discipline and perseverance to become wealthy and successful. Most people who read these posts and the Way to Wealth will agree with the advice but will soon forget it and go on making foolish decisions. This isn’t going to change; people can’t be helped that don’t want to help themselves.

But I also believe there are a lot of people who want to help themselves but have lost sight of the right way to live. I know from experience that a person can be influenced by a negative environment without realizing it. The consumer culture of America incessantly pushes us to buy things we don’t need. We waste our time because we are constantly distracted by media. It is now more difficult than ever to be industrious and frugal. I wrote these posts with the hope that a person who has problems with idleness and extravagance might read them and start to rethink their lives. Up until recently I have always been a very lazy person. After reading the Way to Wealth I started to rethink my mentality. I realized that I’d been trapped by a pessimistic apathetic state of mind. It took a long time to break my old habits but I have steadily improved my productivity and attitude. The old me would never have made this website.

I am still tempted by laziness everyday, but recognizing my own weakness allows me to overcome it. Being industrious is addictive. It fills me with confidence and inspiration. We all have more energy than we believe. After you take the first step to improve your life you build momentum every day. If you want to make that step, take the wisdom of the Way to Wealth to heart. You will certainly profit from it.

However, it is important to remember that we are tiny beings at the mercy of fortune. On this Franklin said:

Do not depend too much upon your own industry, and frugality, and prudence, though excellent things, for they may all be blasted without the blessing of heaven; and therefore ask that blessing humbly, and be not uncharitable to those that at present seem to want it, but comfort and help them.

I can’t help wanting to emulate Franklin. Best of luck to you in your search for wealth and success. We all need it.

Buy Franklin’s Way to Wealth on Amazon

Ben Franklin’s Way to Wealth – Part I Industry

Ben Franklin’s Ways to Wealth – Part II Frugality

The second section of the Way to Wealth imparts the importance of frugality. It isn’t enough just to earn money, you have to be smart about what you do with it. In this collection of sayings Franklin describes how a lack of frugality will cause financial ruin and describes the temptations that lead people to spend foolishly.

1. A man may, if he knows not how to save as he gets, keep his nose all his life to the grindstone, and die not worth a groat at last
2. Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship
3. Buy what thou hast no need of, and before long thou shalt sell thy necessaries
4. A fat kitchen makes a lean will
5. Many estates are spent in the getting, Since women for tea forsook spinning and knitting, And men for punch forsook hewing and splitting.
6. Think of saving as well as of getting: the Indies have not made Spain rich, because her outgoes are greater than her incomes
7. Women and wine, game and deceit, Make the wealth small, and the wants great.
8. What maintains one vice, would bring up two children
9. Who dainties love, shall beggars prove
10. Fools make Feasts, and wise men eat them
11. Buy what thou hast no need of, and before long thou shalt sell thy necessaries

So many people are left poor because they are extravagant. Frugality is different than cheapness. Frugality is spending wisely and avoiding unnecessary expenses. Do you ever eat out when you could cook, buy new clothes when your old ones are fine, or buy expensive electronics you don’t really need? This undermines all the hard work you do! To build wealth you must save the money you earn.

1. Wise men learn by others’ harms, fools scarcely by their own
2. Silks and satins, scarlet and velvets, put out the kitchen fire
3. Ploughman on his legs is higher than a gentleman on his knees
4. Always taking out of the meal-tub, and never putting in, soon comes to the bottom
5. When the well’s dry, they know the worth of water
6. If you would know the value of money, go and try to borrow some
7. He that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing
8. Fond pride of dress, is sure a very curse; E’er fancy you consult, consult your purse.
9. Pride is as loud a beggar as want, and a great deal more saucy.
10. When you have bought one fine thing you must buy ten more, that your appearance maybe all of a piece
11. Tis easier to suppress the first desire than to satisfy all that follow it
12. Great estates may venture more, But little boats should keep near shore.
13. Pride that dines on vanity sups on contempt
14. Pride breakfasted with plenty, dined with poverty, and supped with infamy

When people get some money they feel an urge to go spend it. We want to keep up with our friends and neighbors so we go and buy the finest clothes and the newest gadgets. One new purchase leads to another. To become wealthy, you need to overcome your pride and live humbly.

1. But what madness must it be to run in debt for these superfluities!
2. When you run in debt; you give to another power over your liberty
3. The second vice is lying, the first is running in debt
4. Lying rides upon debt’s back
5. Poverty often deprives a man of all spirit and virtue: ’tis hard for an empty bag to stand upright
6. Creditors are a superstitious sect, great observers of set days and times
7. Those have a short Lent who owe money to be paid at Easter
8. The borrower is a slave to the lender, and the debtor to the creditor
9. Disdain the chain, preserve your freedom; and maintain your independency: be industrious and free; be frugal and free
10. For age and want, save while you may; No morning sun lasts a whole day
11. Gain may be temporary and uncertain, but ever while you live, expense is constant and certain
12. Tis easier to build two chimneys than to keep one in fuel
13. Rather go to bed supperless than rise in debt.
14. Get what you can, and what you get hold;’Tis the stone that will turn all your lead into gold

The stupidest thing you can do is borrowing money unless absolutely necessary. By doing so, you make the creditor your master and pay much more in the long run. Get over your pride and drive that beat up car for a few more years. Live in a smaller house than your wealthy friends. If you live beyond your means you will pay for it.

Buy Franklin’s Way to Wealth on Amazon

Ben Franklin’s Way to Wealth – Part III Conclusion

Ben Franklin’s Way to Wealth – Part I Industry