Part Five
HERE’S a list that you may find helpful in attaining happiness and success.
36 Define what wealth and happiness mean to you
“Be everything to everybody and you’ll be nothing for yourself.” — John Rushton
No two human beings are the same. So why should we have one standard of success? Seeking society’s standard of success is an endless rat race. There will always be someone better than you. You’ll never have the time to do everything.
Instead, you (should) recognize that every decision has opportunity cost. When you choose one thing, you simultaneously don’t choose several others. And that’s okay. Actually, it’s beautiful because we get to choose our ultimate ideal.
We must define success, wealth and happiness in our own terms, because if we don’t, society will for us — and we will always fall short. We’ll always be left wanting. We’ll always be stuck comparing ourselves and competing with other people. Our lives will be an endless race for the next best thing. We’ll never experience contentment.
37 ‘Change the way you feel, think and act about money’ — Steve Down
Most people have an unhealthy relationship with money. It’s not necessarily their fault; it’s what they were taught.
In order to change your financial world, you need to alter your paradigm and feelings about money.
Here are some key beliefs the most successful people in the world have:
In a free-market economy, anyone can make as much money as they want.
Your background, highest level of education or IQ is irrelevant when it comes to earning money.
The bigger the problem you solve, the more money you make.
Expect to make lots of money. Think big: $100,000; $500,000; or why not $1 million?
What you focus on expands. If you believe in scarcity, you’ll have little. If you believe there is unlimited abundance, you’ll attract abundance.
When you create incredible value for others, you have the right to make as much money as you want.
You’re not going to be discovered, saved or made rich by someone else. If you want to be successful, you have to build it yourself.
When you develop a healthy relationship, you will have more. You won’t spend money on the crap most people waste their money on. You’ll focus more on value than price.
38 Invest only in industries you are informed about
Warren Buffett doesn’t invest in technology because he doesn’t understand it. Instead, he invests in banking and insurance. He’s not a tech guy. He invests in what he understands.
Yet, so many people invest in things they don’t understand. I’ve made that mistake. I once invested several thousand dollars in an overseas rice distribution. Although the investment sounded incredible on paper, it’s turned out to be a disaster.
I didn’t have the understanding to make an informed decision. I put my trust in someone else’s hands. And no one cares about your success more than you do.
From now on, I’m going to responsibly invest in things I can make informed decisions on.
39 Create an automated income source that takes care of the fundamentals
We live in unprecedented times. It has never been easier to create automated income streams. No matter your skill-set and interests, you can put a business in place that runs 24/7 even while you’re sleeping, sitting on the beach or playing with your kids.
An entrepreneur is someone who works for a few years like no one will so they can live the rest of their life like no one else can.
If you want to free up your time and energy for the things that matter most, either invest in stuff you’re informed on (e.g., real estate, businesses, mutual funds), or, create a business that doesn’t require you (e.g., create an online educational course about something you’re passionate about).
40 Have multiple income streams (the more the better)
Most people’s income comes from the same source. However, most wealthy people’s income comes from multiple sources. I know people with hundreds of income streams coming in each month.
What would happen if you set things up so you were getting income from five or 10 different places each month?
What if several of those were automated?
Again, with a few short years of intentional and focused work, you can have several income streams.
41 Track at least one habit/behavior you’re trying to improve
“When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates.” — Thomas Monson
Tracking is difficult. If you’ve tried it before, chances are, you quit within a few days.
Research has repeatedly found that when behavior is tracked and evaluated, it improves drastically.
It’s best to track only a few things. Maybe just one at a time.
If you want to track your diet, a fun approach is taking a picture of everything you eat. Everything. This allows you the time to determine if you really want to put that in your body.
So, your tracking can be creative. Do what works for you. Use a method you will actually do. But start tracking.
As a consultant and executive coach, tracking and reporting behavior, daily, has been the No. 1 factor in my client’s success. When you track something, you become aware of it. When you report something, you become accountable to it.
Most of my clients simply send me an e-mail at the end of their workday with a few bullet points (e.g., I did four hours of work on my start-up, I made three sales, I didn’t check social media before noon). Accountability to a spreadsheet or app is not the same as accounting to a person — particularly one you trust and respect. (To be continued)
Source: www.bewellbuzz.com