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Why Simple Financial Strategy Works
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In life and in finances, simplicity is underestimated.
The truth is, simple things get done, the complex usually don’t.
In the end results matter so getting things done isn’t optional.
Within finances, having a complex “master plan” can be overwhelming and lead to paralysis. (Not to mention unnecessarily costly)
Rather than fixating on the massive master plan, simply take the first step or begin with the most important action. By getting the first step right you’ll be setting yourself up to powerfully take the second step.
Said another way, doing the most important and obvious things first, you lay a solid foundation.
Anything large starts as something small. In fact, the complex is merely made up of many simple, interlocking parts.
In finance the first steps may be obvious, but not glamorous. Take them anyway.
For example: begin saving 10% or more of your income AND NEVER STOP. As your income increases, your 10% savings should too. This seems obvious, but many won’t take the time to carry it out.
If you don’t have one, then use that money to build up your emergency account. Start with 1 to 2 months worth of expenses so that you can begin building peace of mind and confidence.
Next comes another simple step: if you have inefficient debts (anything over a 7% interest rate) begin using that “savings” to pay off the debts. Paying off a 17% credit card has the same impact on your bottom line as earning 17% in an investment… WITH NO RISK.
Paying off bad debt isn’t sexy, but it’s incredibly effective. Don’t skip this step.
Once the bad debts are paid off, continue to save until you have 3-6 months worth of expenses.
Again, this is simple but it continue to build your confidence and help your mindset become one of abundance rather than fear or scarcity. This is a HUGE shift.
If you simply continued to save 10-20% of your income, and never invested a penny, you’d still end up ahead of 80% of people in our country by retirement.
It won’t make you uber rich, but this plain and simple practice will single handedly change your life. It takes time, but even with no other action it works.
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Of course, once you’ve begun to build up savings things can get more complex, but only if you let them. You’ll want to put your money to work earning for you, but that can be a large learning curve.
The truth is developing a financial strategy doesn’t have to be tricky, but with so many people looking to “help” you manage your money, it can be difficult to determine which way to go.
Some will show you intricate plans with many moving pieces and in depth flow charts. Others will ask you to hand them your money and never look at it until retirement. Neither of these is a good idea because if you don’t understand what’s happening, it’s easy to lose confidence or get bamboozled.
The good news is that you CAN keep wealth building simple and allow yourself to focus on what’s really important: your loved ones, your health, and your work. If you get those right, you’ll be winning the game of life!
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If you’re ready to let go of all the complexity and simplify your finances, we can help. Our focus is to get money out of the way so that you can live your biggest life. If that sounds like what you want, let’s talk.
You won’t get a bunch of technical jargon or smoke and mirrors. Just a clear, easy to execute strategy that fits your lifestyle and will help put your mind at ease, so schedule a free conversation here…
How to Make Good Financial Decisions
Have you ever wondered how some people make such great financial decisions while others seem to stumble at every opportunity?
Do you know the difference between a good financial decision and a not-so-good one?
Can you imagine how useful it would be to have a framework for making better financial decisions in your life?
Ironically, in most cases people like you and I aren't actually making financial decisions at all. Instead they are simply following the “path of least resistance” and doing what the "herd" has told them is best.
That "easy road" often looks like contributing to a company sponsored IRA, 401(k), or other stock market vehicle without much thought about how it will impact their future liquidy, mindset, or taxes.
In other cases running on financial autopilot means trying to pay off a mortgage or student loan debt as quickly as possible without understanding the "pros" or "cons" of their decision.
Even worse, the path of least resistance can look like giving money to a friend or relative to "invest" or start a business simply because they asked. It wasn't YOUR idea, it was someone else's, but for you it was easier to say "Yes" than "No" without any deeper investigation so you did. I've seen enough of these type of investments fail to know that they shouldn't be taken lightly.
So is there a better way?
A way to think about money so that you can consistently move toward your goals, and protect yourself from bad decisions that may erase years of hard work and savings?
The answer is a resounding "Yes", but it may not be what you think.
The key to making good decisions has less to do with the tools or products you choose and more to do with WHY you are making the choices you make.
Tools are only as good as the person utilizing them, so making good decisions is about YOU picking the right tools and strategies FOR YOU!
The moment you realize that you can create your own options and you don't need to just take what the world offers you is a major shift. You're no longer a slave to other people's offerings so you can forge your own path!
That knowledge is empowering and will ultimately allow you to be the captain of your own ship no matter which way the wind blows!
Here are a few questions to ask before you get into any investment or savings vehicle. If you take the time to be honest with yourself, you'll likely see that most options in the world are NOT ideal for you.
This is actually GOOD news...
Because you'll be able to focus on what IS best without being distracted by all of the other options other people are pushing. Once you experience this freedom from being blown from one idea or opportunity to another, you'll never go back.
5 Key Questions for Making Better Financial Decisions:
1) Is this financial vehicle something that will increase my confidence and empower my mindset, or will is push me toward fear, doubt, or scarcity?
Your confidence and mindset is your most important attribute. With a abundant, optimistic mindset you're going to be better in everything you do! That includes your business & career decisions, relationships, health, and your finances. So making decisions that keep your mindset tip-top is of the utmost importance.
Even further, if something made you money but you felt worse or more fearful during the process, would it be worth it? Absolutely not!
In my opinion, the whole point of money is to increase your quality of life. So if an investment decreases the quality of my life, I consider it a bad one… even if it makes more dollars in the process.
Photo by Clark Tibbs on Unsplash
2) How much do I understand the opportunity or vehicle?
If you don't understand where you are putting your money, your chances of success are much lower. I see too many people putting their money into investments, products, or businesses they don't understand AT ALL.
To me this seems crazy!
Why would you put your life's savings in a place that you don't understand? You work so hard to earn the money so it's essential that you protect it as much as possible. So understanding how a financial tool or opportunity works is a pre-requist before investing.
On a final note, if you don't understand something but want to invest in it, then your first "investment" should be in getting educated on that strategy, product, or business.
3) How much control do I have over the vehicle?
If you don't have control over where you've put your money, then what do you do if the investment/vehicle isn't working? Can you get your money out? Will you be able to help improve the outcome of the investment or vehicle?
Once again, if you have no control over your money, then your chances of success are lower than when you have knowledge and control. (It goes without saying that if you don't understand an investment, then you can't truly control its outcome either)
4) How flexible is this financial vehicle for me?
We all know that markets go up & down and the economy is changing at a break neck pace, so the ability to move and adjust to new changes is vital. Not even the smartest people in the world know what's going to be happening 5 or 10 years from now, so how could you?
Being liquid or flexible with your money allows you the maximum opportunity to keep risk low and maximize profitability no matter what happens in the economy AND in personal situations like injury, illness, or personal problems.
For example, many people were "investing" in paying off their home mortgage quickly in the early 2000's. Unfortunately, when the 2008 mortgage crisis struck these people were caught with a lot of home equity but very little cash. For those who lost their jobs and couldn't pay their bills the equity didn't help. Many of them lost their house AND all the extra money they "invested" into the accelerated payoff because they couldn't get their equity out.
In the end they lost both their house AND their "investment" because they had no flexibility.
Photo by Pepi Stojanovski on Unsplash
5) Is my money being optimized for tax efficiency?
Taxes are likely to be the largest expense in your life, so anything you can do to legally minimize paying taxes is of the utmost importance. Every dollar you don't pay in taxes is the same as earning a new dollar, and the more you make the more important tax strategy becomes.
Considering the tax advantages (or pitfalls) involved with your money decisions is a game changer. For example, growing money inside of tax free vehicles can make a massive difference in the amount of money you get to keep in life. Many investment vehicles appear to help with taxes by allowing you to pay them later, but if taxes are higher or your income is greater when you end up paying the taxes, those "advantages" may actually work against you rather than in your favor.
Nobody knows for sure what's going to happen with taxes, but making conscious decisions is much better than just "going with the flow" in the long term.
What Most People Are Doing (That Isn’t Working)…
Most people I meet aren't taking these 5 questions into account and it's crushing their results. But that's not the worst part...
What's even worse is they don't realize how much they are paying in "unseen" costs. Unseen costs are when you make a decision that is costing you profits, but you don't know it. For example, if someone is earning 6% in an investment but could have been earning 10%, the unseen cost is 4% (we call this opportunity cost).
There are many types of unseen costs that can chip away at your money, including: over paying in taxes, missed earnings on savings, the short (and long) term costs of volatility, losses or missed opportunities due to lack of liquidity, bad business or personal decisions due to financial uncertainty, and more...
The next time you begin looking at how to save, protect, or grow your money be sure to consider these 5 questions. If you are honest with yourself, they will likely help you make better financial decisions.
Financial decision are important because they impact nearly every area of your life. So these aren't just financial decisions, these are lifestyle decisions and should be treated as such!
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If you have questions or would like help in making better financial decision, please let us know! You can either comment on this post or set up a time to talk with one of our Wealth Strategists here…
If you like what you’re reading but haven’t downloaded the breakthrough book, What Would the Rockefeller’s Do?, get your free copy here…
How the Infinite Banking System Works and Why We Love It!
You may have heard of something called, The Infinite Banking Concept (IBC or the Infinite Banking System), but if you’re like most people you have no idea what it is or how the Infinite Banking System works. I’ve been teaching this system and helping people to implement it for years because it really works.
I absolutely believe it is the most powerful method available for small businesses and “not-uber-rich people” to grow, protect, and utilize money.
It can work for anyone, but it is even more effective for small business owners and real estate investors because they utilize so many loans.
This idea has also been popularized under different names like Bank On Yourself, Becoming Your Own Banker, the Perpetual Wealth Strategy, or as we call it “Cash Flow Banking”. In the end, these are all based on the same powerful principles, so don’t let the different names confuse you.
Here’s how the Fundamentals of the Infinite Banking System Works and I’m going to keep this article conceptual and easy to understand, so please don’t get distracted by the details.
The main idea to the IBC is that you’ll build your own private banking system and treat your own money the way banks treat money. They’ve managed to have the biggest buildings in every downtown in the country, so it’s clear they know what they’re doing, right? You’re going to mimic their successful concepts.
Just like the banks, the primary advantage to the IBC is that once you’ve put a dollar into the system, it will earn for you for the rest of your life - even if you utilize it for purchases, investments, or retirement. This unbroken growth ensures that you are always growing and compounding your wealth - no matter what happens.
Here’s how it works…
You will begin by saving money into a special type of “supercharged savings account” inside of a properly structured whole life insurance policy. By using this type of account you’ll ensure a guaranteed rate of return, gain tax advantages, and protect your money simultaneously. (Protection varies state to state)
[NOTE: Some people believe that whole life insurance is a terrible place to put money. These people are correct IF you choose the wrong insurance company or if your agent doesn’t structure the policy correctly. You could say the same thing about nearly any financial vehicle if it is used improperly.
Life insurance is a tool, and just like any other tool it can be used correctly or incorrectly. So you need to work with an agent (or team) that understands how to properly implement this strategy. Most agents build policies to maximize their commissions and minimize your advantages, so please beware!
Structuring your plan effectively is not super difficult, but more than 90% of insurance agents and investment brokers don’t understand how to do it correctly, so you want to work with someone who specializes in Infinite Banking. Our firm, Big Life Financial, deeply understands this concept and can ensure that your plan is optimized to minimize fees and maximize your results correctly.
If you aren’t sure or want to see what the numbers look like, simply reach out to us here, and we’ll be happy to show you.]
Once the money goes into your life insurance it will begin to earn a guaranteed rate of return. At the time of this writing the companies we work with are guaranteeing a 4% rate of return which is 800-1000% higher than most bank accounts. That difference alone is huge over time.
I compare this life insurance account to a savings account because as your money builds up in the life insurance it is liquid – similar to a savings account - and can be accessed in 3-7 days. Most other accounts that pay a comparable interest rate are highly illiquid making it difficult to access your money.
Also, there is no waiting period or penalty for using the money, so it is readily accessible for whatever you might need. Being able to get to your money quickly and easily is VITAL to this strategy.
In addition to the guaranteed rate of return, you’ll also earn a dividend from the life insurance company. We only work with dividend paying Mutual companies and they share their profits with policy holders each year. These dividends aren’t guaranteed, but we choose to work with companies that have paid for the past 100+ years in a row, so I believe they are a very safe bet.
So if you got a 1% dividend, that would be added to your 4% guarantee and total 5%. This will help your money to grow safely as you build it up. Obviously, the more you save into the account, the faster it begins to grow.
Once you have enough money in the account, you can begin using it as your own banking system. For example, you’ll begin using this account to fund larger purchases where you might have gotten a loan in the past. So instead of getting a loan from the bank, you’ll get a loan from your own account.
Let’s use the example of buying a car to illustrate why you’d want to be your own banker for large purchases.
When you buy a car (or any large purchase), traditionally you have 2 choices:
1) You can get a bank loan.
2) You can pay cash.
OPTION #1: Bank Loan
If you chose to get a bank loan you will borrow the money from a lender and then pay the principle back plus interest. So, if you paid $40,000 for a car and financed it over 5 years, you’d end up paying $46,398.72. That’s $6,398.27 in interest to the bank.
You might think that means your cost for financing the car is $6,398.27, but in actuality it’s MUCH more.
What you don’t realize is that you’ve now robbed yourself of the ability to earn money with that $6,398 FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. In other words, you didn’t just lose $6,400 (rounded). You lost $6,400 PLUS it’s earning power.
If you are 30 and decided to retire at age 70, that $6,400 paid to the bank could have been worth $45,043 by retirement (if you got 5% annually).
So you gave up $45,000 in earnings by getting 1 bank loan to buy a single car at age 30. That’s probably a lot more than you realized.
Now, $45,000 isn’t a game changer all by itself, but most married couples buy a new car every 3 years (each gets 1 new car per 6 years).
That means that between age 25 and 65 (40 years) that is 13 cars between the 2 of you. If we average the “total cost” of each car at $40,000, that’s a total of $520,000 in missed earnings.
In other words, you gave up $520,000 in potential income just because you got bank loans on your cars.
Keep in mind this doesn’t include paying for your house, education, vacations, or other large purchases. This is JUST YOUR CARS.
Suddenly paying cash seems like a better idea, doesn’t it?
OPTION #2: Pay Cash
What if you paid cash instead? Surely that would save you a bunch of money, right? Let’s see…
If you saved up the money to purchase your cars in a savings account it would take some time. In this case, let’s say it would take 5 years (which is how long it took to pay off the car when you got a loan).
While that money is sitting in a savings account it isn’t really earning anything (less then .5% at most banks in 2019), so you’re missing out on earning interest while your money is being built up.
To get to $40,000 in 5 years you’d be saving $666.67 per month and then buy the car once you had enough cash.
So what’s the cost to saving up your money in a savings account?
If that $666.67 per month had been earning 5% while it built up, it would have earned you $5,209.38 over those 5 years. However, it was in a bank earning nearly ZERO, so you’ve missed out on those possible earnings.
Over the same 40 years we discussed above, that $5,209 you missed would have been worth a total of $36,672.57. That is the opportunity cost of paying cash for a single car.
Once again, if you did that 13 times (for all of your cars) at an average of $30,000 per car, you would have missed out on $390,000 by age 70. That’s more than the average person has saved for retirement!
It’s better than getting bank loans, but its still a big chunk of change.
Additionally, this is just the cost of buying cars. It doesn’t include any other large purchases, loans, or credit cards.
NOTE: In both of these cases, the math has been simplified to illustrate the unseen costs and make a point. Please don’t get caught up in the minute details that may have been missed.
So what should you do?
Never buy a car or house? I hope not… because life is made to be LIVED!
But you’re going to miss out on a LOT of potential earning no matter how you pay for it, right?
WRONG.
There is actually a 3rd option: The Infinite Banking System.
This is where the Infinite Banking Concept (Or Cash Flow Banking) comes in. It solves BOTH problems encountered by using bank loans and paying cash for large purchases.
In the simplest sense, the IBC helps you to recapture ALL your costs and earnings along the way and more!
Here’s how it works…
When you build up money inside of the insurance policy it immediately begins earning the 4% plus a dividend. (That’s where I got the 5% earnings rate used above). So you don’t miss out on earning interest while you are saving up for your car. Instead, you’re earning a consistent, tax advantaged return on your money as you save.
When it comes time to buy your car, you simply use the money in your life insurance (known as Cash Value*) to pay for the car. But you’re not done yet, and this part is IMPORTANT.
Your life insurance account has now become the “bank” for your purchase because those funds paid for the car. So you’ll treat your insurance policy just like you’d treat a bank.
So, you’re going to pay your life insurance back for the money PLUS INTEREST just like you’d do with the bank. This payback captures the earnings you would have missed out on while your money is stuck in “equity” in the car. In other words, the cash you used to pay for the car will keep earning for you (in the form of interest paid on the loan) until you can get it back into the insurance cash value account.
As each payment is made to the insurance account, the money continues to earn the full 4% plus a dividend as it is waiting for the next purchase.
You get the best of both worlds!
So this system effectively captures BOTH the interest you missed while saving up your cash in a savings account AND the money you would have earned on the interest paid to the bank. So ALL of that money goes back into your account and continues to earn (and compound on itself) for you!
Just imagine if all the money you’ve paid to banks, credit cards, student loans, etc. during your life had been going into an account with your name on it! And even better, what if all that money had been earning 4% plus a dividend the entire time!
How much more money would you have by now?
How much more would you have for retirement?
For most people using the Infinite Banking System is easily worth and additional 7 figures!
But there’s one more element that we haven’t even considered, and it’s probably the most important one of all!
If you had access to all that cash throughout your lifetime, how would it have impacted your life?
What if you had cash in 2009 when everything crashed? Would you have been able to NOT lose your house and all that equity to foreclosure?
Instead, could you have bought a bunch of rental real estate for pennies on the dollar? Then what could you have done with all that extra rental cash flow over the past decade?
Could you have started your own business or bought up a competitor’s location at a discount when they retired?
Would you have avoided all those sleepless nights and fights with your spouse worrying about money?
Would you have been able to spend more quality time with your loved ones because your finances were buttoned up?
Do you see the massive difference this can make? Not just financially, but in your happiness and quality of life?
The possibilities are literally endless!
Here’s the reality…
When you have access to cash, opportunities will seek you out. When you don’t have cash, you’ll never know the opportunities that passed you by unseen.
The beauty of this strategy is that your money gets to be saved into a place where it grows guaranteed, it’s liquid, and it’s protected.
(Oh yeah, and it also comes with massive tax advantages and a death benefit if something were to happen along the way. We don’t have time to cover those today, but both are HUGE!)
So if you’d like to know more, I’d highly suggest that you reach out to us right away. We can help you assess the best way to utilize this system in your own situation and how to get started right away.
Even if you think you are too old or your health isn’t ideal, we can show you how the infinite banking system works and how it can work for you!
* NOTE: When using cash value, we teach clients NOT to withdraw the money from cash value, but rather to take a loan against their cash value. This allows for them to pay it back and for the cash value to continue earning inside the account. Please talk to one of our advisors to understand this more in depth and to ensure you are working with an insurance company that has the products which allow this type of transaction to take place.
LIKE WHAT YOUR READING? THEN YOU’LL LOVE OUR VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE. YOU CAN WATCH HERE>>>
Success Hacking — How to Use Systems to Create Exponential Effectiveness in Life
What if you could succeed at anything you chose to do? What if it wasn’t going to be impossibly hard? What if all you need to succeed is the right systems in place?
The answer to each of those questions is the same: YES YOU CAN.
YES, you can succeed at anything you choose to do. YES, you can have success without it being impossibly hard. YES you can (and will) succeed if you have a the right systems in place.
Reread those statements again.
Let them serve as your new mantra.
As you may have guessed, the secret sauce of success--achievable success--is having systems in place to support your growth.
Why?
Without systems you are inconsistent at best and, at worst, dead without knowing it. The reality is the you probably believe we are making progress toward your desires, but if someone actually tracked your progress, they’d see you’re often going backwards rather than forwards.
Here’s a common example: If you are like most adults, you don’t have a system for your health. You might be gaining weight, losing strength or both. You blame it on aging, your busy lifestyle, too many happy hours.
You believe you are “mostly” eating healthy and exercising “as much as you can,” but your results are headed in exactly the wrong direction. The closest thing you have resembling a system for success is getting on that scale in the bathroom from time to time, and doing “damage control” when the number goes up.
The bottom line is this: If you don’t have a system, you’re going to get results... just not the results you want!
Now contrast this with having a conscious system in place.
Imagine you had an excellent trainer and met with them 3 or 4 mornings per week. Specifically, you met each Monday, Wed, Friday and Saturday at 7 AM. They took you through a comprehensive routine each week and you always showed up because you were paying them handsomely to be there.
Then, when you got home you had a pre-planned, clearly stated plan for your food. You knew exactly what you were going to eat each week including snacks, coffee, water & wine, the whole works! You had a shopping list for each week and went to your favorite health food store at 5 PM on Sunday and did food prep for the week while cooking dinner each Sunday evening.
Six months from now, how do you think you’d be doing? Infinitely better, right?
Now imagine if you created systems like that for your financial success, relationships, grooming, home maintenance, and more.
Many people do. They are the ones we look up to as successful. They aren’t perfect. Not even close. But the systems they’ve implemented in their lives allow them to achieve incredible things by taking the guesswork out of necessary tasks. Everything is crystal clear, optimized, and consistent.
Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg famously wear the same thing each day. It’s a system designed to streamline that part of their day and it works gloriously.
I know dozens of self made millionaires and even a few billionaires. What they all have in common is that they use systems to keep them on track in every area of their lives. They don’t leave anything to luck, whimsy or chance.
Take a minute to digest this. Success is predicated on systems. It’s not magic. It’s not talent. And it’s definitely not “luck”.
Here’s where the majority of us get in trouble…
It’s far too easy to try and explain away why a system isn’t necessary. Not for YOU. You’re the talented, rebellious unicorn. The exception. You can just wing it and do great!
You might think something like, “I don’t need a system for keeping romance alive in my relationship. It should just happen naturally.” Or “I’m motivated and smart so I don’t need a routine for my health and fitness. I’ll just be more motivated and it will all work out.”
Sorry, but in both cases it doesn’t work. Well, more accurately it works on a much lower level that it could.
Just look at your own life and see if you can find any exceptions. You might find some areas that are working “ok” without a conscious routine or habits, but given enough time most of those areas break down too.
So I invite you to take a look.
What works at a high level in your life? Your health, your wealth, your relationships, or your business? Break it down. What makes it function so well? Chances are you’ll find hidden systems in place you didn’t realize you had.
Or maybe you’ll find systems you’ve developed out of necessity. Your morning routine. Winding down before bed. How you plan meals or vacations. The order you use to brush your teeth, wash your face, and comb your hair.
Systems, routines and habits govern your life. The better the system, the better your outcome. They are the unsung hero of your Divine destiny.
The good news is that you get to choose. You get to pick what systems you implement, the direction they point your life, and how effective they become.
Don’t let this overwhelm you. It doesn’t mean you need to plan every drop of your daily blood. Most of that is already done automatically anyway. But if you focus on the most meaningful areas of your life, you can see huge changes with a little bit of intentional tweaking.
“Little hinges swing big doors” ~ W. Clement Stone
I firmly believe that if you can get a few things right, the trajectory of your life will skyrocket. Here are a few simple systems I use that have made a huge difference in my life and success. They require minimal cost or effort and best of all...they work. Feel free to take these and make them your own:
Have a planned, healthy breakfast and lunch routine -
Most of us are in a rush at breakfast and lunch, so its ok to skip all the fancy stuff and stick to something simple. If you can get those 2 meals right, then you don’t need to be perfect with dinner to maintain a great eating regimen.
For example, I make a high-protein smoothie each morning for breakfast full of healthy fats. It keeps me full for hours. For lunch I often have leftovers from the night before because I purposely cook more than I need for dinner. Or I will simultaneously cook 2 meals while cooking dinner. One for that night and one for lunches for the next 2 days.
This simple system keeps me from breaking down and eating terribly at breakfast or lunch and is easy to maintain.
Meditate for 15-20 minutes after lunch each day -
I firmly believe that taking time to rest or meditate after lunch makes me vastly more effective the second half of the day. It’s pretty widely known that meditation is great for stress, but it also helps me to stay present during stress and see the “big picture” amidst the madness of daily life.
Planning my day the night before -
As an entrepreneur I find the hardest part of the day to be figuring out what I should be doing each day. Mornings are often rushed and confusing if I don’t have a plan, so taking time at the end of a workday (or before bed) to plan the upcoming day allows me to start off focused and energized. It also let’s my mind “let go” of all of the workday stress so I can be fully present in my personal life.
Learning while I get ready for work -
I believe that learning more about your passions or profession always leads to greater fulfillment and success in life. The problem is that finding time to read for an hour each day isn’t easy. My hack for this is listening to educational audiobooks and podcasts while I get ready in the morning, cook, or do household chores. Chopping veggies or doing dishes is way more interesting while listening to podcasts, and I find that I can “read” a book or two per month this way. Even better, it takes WAY less effort than finding specific time to read.
Make at least one personal connection each day -
In a busy world it’s easy to lose contact with the most important to us. I make it a point to reach out to someone I care about each day. It might be a simple text asking how someone is doing, but often it is related to something important going on in their life. Because of social media I usually have an idea of someone’s child is graduating high school, if they changed jobs, or if they just ran a marathon. I like to reach out to say congratulations, wish them good luck, or tell them that I’m thinking about them.
I also have a system around calling my family or close friends every time I drive anywhere longer than 15 minutes. My family lives on the other side of the country, but with an unlimited cell phone plan and Bluetooth built into my car, it’s easy to stay in touch while I’m running errands or driving somewhere. It keeps me in close contact with the people I love most without needing to carve out a bunch of time to catch up.
In the past 10 years I’ve lived in 7 major cities in 4 different states, but this habit has cultivated close relationships with friends from all areas, even if we haven’t seen each other for years.
Hire someone else to do anything below your pay grade -
To figure this out, multiply the number of hours you work per week times fifty (assuming you take two weeks of vacation every year). Then divide your annual income by that number. This will tell you what your hourly rate is. This will give you your approximate “hourly rate.” Never do work below that pay scale. It takes discipline, and an upfront investment of time and money, but it pays dividends in the long run because you are freed up to do what you do best.
There are tons of sites (e.g. Upwork) that allow you to find affordable contract workers for all kinds of tasks. The system of hiring someone more well suited for a job than you is vital because it relieves you of tasks that slow you and your success down.
“You don’t rise the level of your willpower, you sink to the level of your systems.” ~James Clear, Atomic Habits
Like a garden, the things you systematically attend to in life grow and flourish. Those that you don’t nurture consistently wither and die. The irony is that as much many of us resist setting up systems, they make our lives MUCH easier and ALWAYS gets a better result. It may take a little time to think up the systems you want to create, but once you have it planned the execution is typically quite easy.
Just ask yourself, if I was going to accomplish _____ without disrupting my current life and schedule, where could I find the time or resources to do it? What system could I put in place that would be even easier than how I am currently doing it?
Perhaps a silly, but perfect example of this is my system for clipping my nails. I didn’t have a routine, I just tried to clip them when they began to bother me. This created an ongoing battle with my nails because I always seemed to notice while I was traveling and didn’t have my clippers. That meant constant irritation until I got home from the trip.
Instead, I began cutting my nails when I got out of the shower each Sunday morning. Amazingly, my nails have never been a problem since. It takes 30 seconds and is easier than waiting for the irritation to pop up. I know that’s ridiculous, but life is made up of a million miniscule activities and distractions. If you can remove all of the static, you’ll be able to enjoy the beautiful song of your life more fully!
So where in your life are you missing the systems that nobody told you were needed for success? Where are you underachieving or getting a result below ideal?
What if you were to create a system for the perfect day or week? One that you’d LOVE if you lived it consistently. You’ll never get to live an uninterrupted life, that’s not the point. The point is that your new normal, your “automatic” way of living performs aligned with the life you want to live.
Specifically, if you don’t have a system for your health, relationships, and your money – get one. Without your health nothing else matters. If you’ve ever been sick, you already know this. If you don’t, go visit someone who is stuck in bed all day.
Your relationships determine the quality of your life more than anything (besides your health). Without the people in our lives, it ceases to have meaning. Our country is full of deeply lonely people, you don’t need to be one of them.
Finally, figuring out how to save consistently will give you the freedom and certainty to live a life you love! When you have money saved doors open and everything is easier, without it the world is suffocating and dangerous.
The choice is yours. Make the investment in creating the blueprint of your own life. Consciously plan and implement systems to the best of your ability. Consistently look for ways to get better and create “brain off” success. Your future you will thank you!
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5 Habits that Set the Wealthy Apart
I won the lottery!
Well, not exactly "that lottery", but it's safe to say that I've been extremely lucky during my lifetime - so it's kind of the same and I want to help you “win” too.
What to I mean?
I grew up with hard working, financially aware parents who talked to me about money and investing.
One of my 2 best friends in the world, Garrett Gunderson, has become a NY Times Best Selling Author and one of the most sought after financial speakers in the country.
I discovered a business mentor, Ron Legrand, at age 28. He transformed my life and showed me things that I could have never imagined possible.
The list goes on...
Why am I telling you this?
Because odds are good that you didn't grow up as "lucky" as I did, and I want to share what I've learned so you can win your own "lottery".
To be clear, I'm definitely not bragging. Even with the “luck”, it hasn't been all roses and cupcakes for me.
At one point I lost over $2.5 Million during the 2008 meltdown. It sucked. But it may have been the greatest - and most Soul crushingly painful - learning experience of my life.
But overall I have been incredibly fortunate to witness what TRUE financial success looks like over the past 20+ years in my life. Beyond that I’ve worked deeply with 1000+ successful business owners over the last 10 years.
I’ve seen what works. I’ve seen what “appears” to work but doesn’t.
Sometimes its gut wrenchingly sad, but it’s always insightful.
From people earning $40k a month but couldn't sleep at night over a late rent check of $400. To people with a high 6 figure MONTHLY cash flow and never spent more than a few hours a week on their business.
Each person is different, but the similarities become obvious when you get to look deeply inside the financial lives of so many business owners.
Today I'm going to share few things I've seen set the wealthy, abundant and happy apart from everyone else.
Here are 5 things that I've found apply to nearly all highly successful business owners have in common:
1) They know that systems are consistent and “will power” isn’t.
Successful people have systems for accomplishing the important objectives in their life. Whether its an intentional morning routine, date nights with their spouse, or a time management system for their business - they build systems to support what they want to accomplish.
In regards to finance, the single most important factor I've seen in wealth building is systematic savings. If you have a system for saving money it opens up access to every other aspect of financial abundance. If you don't, you'll never get out of the starting gates.
A system allows you to build up money for investing, growing your business, and maintaining an abundant mindset.
If you get only one thing from reading this article, let it be that you NEED a system for saving money if you ever want to build serious wealth. You may be able to find an occasional exception to this rule, but I prefer to build success on what works consistently rather than based on unicorns!
NOTE: I teach several systems for saving and growing money outside of Wall Street. If you don’t have a good system for this, connect with us here and I’ll show you how. (Especially our system for building your own bank)
2) They know that specialized knowledge builds wealth.
If you know how to do things that most people need but don't know how to accomplish, you will get paid handsomely for your knowledge.
This applies to everything from dentistry to real estate investing and everything in between. If you want to become successful at something, seek the deep, specialized knowledge that others cannot (or will not) acquire. It will allow you to either have an advantage over your competitors or provide services that are in scarce supply.
Take the time to invest in your education, mentors, and spending time with people who can help you acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to become elite in your chosen field. This kind of investment ALWAYS pays off, so do it early and often.
3) The truly wealthy have discovered that taking action is more important than “looking good”.
The most accomplished people I've ever encountered were obsessed with taking action. It's true that they often made mistakes, but they also learned quickly and took more action based on those lessons.
Don't be afraid to make a mistake. Fear paralyzes most people into inaction and robs them of their ability to capitalize on the opportunities available to them. I recently heard that “Self doubt kills far more dreams than failure ever will”.
DO NOT MISINTERPRET THIS POINT: This doesn't mean taking reckless action. I know the media glamorizes being a renegade or gun-slinger, but unnecessary risk is a HUGE mistake. In fact, most of the uber wealthy (aka Warren Buffet and friends) encourage ONLY doing things that have an extremely high probability of success.
That means gathering information quickly, determining if a particular action is the right choice, and either taking action immediately or moving onto something else.
It DOES NOT mean saying "yes" to everything. It means being decisive and committing to a course of action if it fits.
Some of my 7 figure earning clients would literally finish our session and have everything we discussed “in play” within 2 hours of our conversation. These are the big names that are on the covers of magazines or run huge organizations. They didn’t get there by accident.
4) They know that if you don't pay attention, you WILL pay the price.
I loved Robert Kiyosaki's book: Rich Dad, Poor Dad but it led a lot of people to believe that your investment income can be completely "passive". Don't fall for that myth.
Sure, you can have income that is MOSTLY passive, but you still need to have a system for monitoring your assets. Just like everything in life, if you don't pay attention to your money, it will slowly atrophy.
I see many business owners that are primarily focused on creating profits, but don't pay attention to their money once it is in their account or investment. Too often these people fall victim to embezzlement, overpaying taxes, unscrupulous property managers, and massive cash flow inefficiency.
Truly wealthy people track their money and pay attention to what is happening with their cash flow investments. They know that if you aren't paying attention to your assets, you'll never identify opportunities or catch potential problems before they multiply.
The good news is you don't need to obsess over your money, but you DO need to know what is happening with it. I would suggest taking at least 30 minutes a week to specifically check in on your money, investment, expenditures, etc. If you have a spouse, include them in this process so you can make decisions together, discuss anything important, and stay on the same page.
In the end, every dollar "kept" is worth the same as a dollar newly earned.
5) They feed their mind, but they also take time to think for themselves.
The last consistency I'll share is that wealthy entrepreneurs have found an important balance between staying informed and inspired, but also give themselves time to think, imagine, and brainstorm.
In fact, the two create synergy.
Time to think about the information you've absorbed and then develop your own opinions and thoughts about it. Asking yourself how you can apply the information, whether you agree with it, and whether it makes you feel more abundant or more scarce are all great starting points.
I've seen that highly successful people don't always agree with the status quo because they've taken time to do a little critical thinking. In most cases, following conventional wisdom is NOT the road to elite performance. Instead, learn to draw your own conclusions and trust yourself. You'll be amazed how this process will clarify your thinking and help avoid overwhelm.
Oh, and when you discover a great idea, see #3 on this list!
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If you're ready to begin thinking and acting like other top performers, my team and I can help. We're committed to helping you develop the systems and habits that can take you to the next level financially, so let's connect.
Click here to schedule a complimentary consultation, and let's see what we can create together!