1) Your childhood shapes your relationship with money. The environment you grew up in. Your parents’ relationship with money. The events you experienced. This shapes your beliefs, values and identity around money.
2) The good news is your beliefs, values and identity are not set in stone. You can change them at any time. Expose yourself to new ideas.
3) Flood your mind with new ideas. Read all the books on money. Listen to all the podcasts. You become what you consume. These ideas will eventually become your own.
4) Read these books. Secrets of the Millionaire Mind. Rich Dad Poor Dad. The Psychology of Money. The Algebra of Wealth. The Science of Getting Rich. How to make one Hell of a Profit and still get to Heaven. The Almanack of Naval Ravikant.
5) Your success with finances will be influenced by who you associate with. Look at your circle. Are they financially successful? Are they happy? Are they living a great life? You don’t need to ditch your friends. Just start cultivating relationships with others who you can learn from.
6) Who do you see as successful? Not just financially, but in all domains of life? What character attributes do they possess? Start to cultivate these in yourself. Here are a few that come to mind. Open-mindedness. Curiosity. Delayed gratification. Generosity. Patience. Reliability. Consistency. Discipline. Resourcefulness. Action-oriented. Coachable. Enthusiastic. What else would you add?
7) How would you describe your current relationship with money? Write this down. Now write down how you want your relationship with money to be. Focusing on the positive. You are a co-creator. With your mind and your pen you can shape your financial destiny. Your language creates your reality.
8) Lack is an illusion. If you look around you are surrounded by abundance. Nature is abundant. Money is abundant. There is no limit to how much value can be created (money is the by-product of value creation).
9) You are energy. Money is energy. When you operate from a state of lack, what does this do to your energy? Who wants to be around a person operating from this energy? You won’t attract great people, opportunities and money into your life when you’re coming from a place of lack. Even if you have zero dollars to your name you can still choose to have a great attitude and energy. Your energy is your currency.
10) Your self-image will dictate your financial success. Do things daily to build a strong self-image. Exercise. Eat well. Dress well. Look people in the eyes. Smile. Do hard things. Learn to speak in public. Overcome your fears. Help others win. Choose to see the best in others.
11) Cultivate a state of trust and faith. Believe in something bigger than yourself. Know there are higher powers at play that will support you if you back yourself.
12) Learn to live from a state of gratitude. Be thankful for all you have. Be thankful for who you are, who you’ve been, and who you’re becoming. Be grateful for the challenges you’ve experienced. Because the challenges you face and overcome will build your character and give you unique value.
13) Your comfort zone = your wealth zone. When was the last time you got outside your comfort zone? Let fear guide your decisions. If it scares you, do it.
14) Understand your Financial Health. Your assets vs your liabilities (your net worth). Your income vs your expenses (your cashflow). Track this every month. Download my
Money Management Blueprint to help.
15) If you want to be financially successful, understand this simple rule. Poor people buy liabilities. Wealthy people buy assets. It really is this simple. Stack your asset column.
16) If you don’t value money and building wealth – then you will always struggle. Your calendar and bank statements will show you what’s important to you. What would your bank statements and calendar tell me?
17) The purpose of accumulating wealth isn’t to buy more stuff. It’s to buy back your time. So you have the choice to live life how you want. Would you rather own more possessions or own your time?
18) Money is stored energy. You go to work and expend your energy to create value and provide service. In exchange, you receive stored energy in the form of money. When you save your money and invest it, you are storing your hard-earned energy for the future. As you build your stored energy (savings and investments), there will come a time when you no longer need to physically exchange energy for money. This is the goal.
19) Understand entropy. Your finances will always move towards chaos unless you have structure in place. Wealth loves structure. And it will disappear from those who lack structure into the hands of people who have structure.
20) 10% (ideally more) of every dollar you earn is yours to keep. Not to spend. But to invest in your future. You are your most important bill. Make sure you pay yourself before all else.
21) You have been gifted with unique talents. What feels like play to you but looks like hard work to others? What do people come to you for help with? Discover your talents by following your curiosity. Then leverage your talents to provide unique service for others.
22) Compound interest is a powerful force. But it takes a damn long time to see the benefits. Don’t let that deter you. Start small. Start now. And never stop. Your future self will thank you.
23) Instead of dreaming about retirement. Build a life you never want to retire from. This is one of the ultimate life hacks no one talks about.