Wealth Building Lesson From A Mentor

Being in debt and being indebted is surely not an ingenious way to get rich.  A good recipe for wealth building is first getting rid of your indebtedness and staying out of debt. An arduous task in these days of materialism. However you could achieve these if you follow the advice of my mentor. He is one who has experienced it all and is in a better position to inform and educate. Hope you enjoy reading this article and learn from it as much as I did. Happy reading.

- Adekunle Agbaje.

 

How to Get Out of Debt Fast

By Mark Morgan Ford

Do you spend more than you make? I used to.

When I started working as an editor at a Washington, D.C.-based newsletter publishing company, my salary was $14,000. My wife was earning less than that. Our two salaries barely covered our basic living expenses. On top of that, I was attending graduate school and we were paying off student loans. Then our first son was born. For the first six months of his life, he slept in an open drawer in our bedroom.

Meanwhile, I was spending money I didn't have on things I couldn't afford. Struggling to pay for my education and brand-new family, I overspent because it seemed to provide some happiness, some relief.

But the thrill of buying stuff soon waned. Each new object brought less relief.

Eventually, I realized that I was getting 80 percent of my pleasure from experiences that didn't cost much money. But recognizing that you don't need junk food and kicking the habit are two distinct things.

Here's how I got myself out of debt:

First, I got rid of all my credit cards. I figured that what I couldn't buy with cash was either worthless or worth saving for. Although the fear of going without credit was great, I never experienced any anxiety after I trashed the cards. It seemed like a drastic decision before I made it, but after half an hour I never gave it another thought.

The second thing I did to get out of debt was to start saving. I had made myself a promise that I would save a percentage of my take-home pay, but I never did it. The breakthrough came when I was talking to a friend about how the IRS manages to collect a big chunk of our income through the evil genius of withholding. I recognized I had to do the same thing to myself. The only way I was going to save money was through force.

The solution was available in a new-at-the-time savings-bank program, one that withdrew a set amount of money from my primary account every month and put it in another one. That program allowed me to gradually increase my saving from 10 percent of my income to 25 percent and pay down my debt in a few years.

If you are spending more than you are making, get rid of your credit cards. And to get used to spending less, remind yourself repeatedly that most of the junk you buy (a) becomes unused after a few months and (b) doesn't provide you with much value anyway. Remember that the best things in life - the picnics you have with your family, the walks you take by yourself, the time you spend with your friends - are free, or nearly so.

Create a separate bank account that you'll use to pay down your debt, or have your debts automatically deducted from the one account you have. You might even consider a debt consolidator. (But watch out. Most of them are crooked.)

Increase the amount of your take-home that goes into debt payments every month. You might start, for example, with 10 percent and then increase that by 5 percent a month.

Six months from now, you could be living on half of what you spend now - and I'll bet you will be feeling a lot better about yourself. You'll have less stress, more energy, more confidence, and the beginnings of a lifelong habit of wealth building.

There are so many ways to save money. You can spend less on just about anything without giving up either the pleasure you take in buying or the quality you get from your purchases.

Instead of buying new clothes that will be out of style in a year, buy vintage clothing that looks great and distinguishes you.

Instead of signing a lease for an expensive car, buy something old but still good that has a personality.

Instead of going out to lunch every day, eat some fish or other protein at your desk. This is one of the things I did. By eating a can of tuna every day instead of going to lunch with my co-workers, I saved almost $2,500 in a single year. Plus, I went from staff editor to publisher by applying that extra lunch-hour time to improving the business.

Instead of plodding along in your same old job, make the decision to earn more money.

I did that by making myself a more valuable employee. Until then, I was doing my job and leaving when my job was done. To prepare for my raise, I started working extra hours - even though I didn't have many. I used those extra hours to help my fellow workers do their jobs (which they appreciated) and launch a few new products. I didn't know anything about marketing at that time, but those two activities turned me into the go-to guy at the office.

Several months later, I walked into my boss's office and told him everything that was wrong with the business. "You are not telling me something I don't know," he said. "If you let me run this business I will fix all these problems," I promised. He liked my moxie - and he had no one else to turn to - so he let me take over. With my added responsibilities, he gave me a raise. Every six months, I asked for more money, and I got it. In three years, I had nearly doubled my salary.

In addition to working extra hard at my primary job, I earned a second income by teaching a class of undergraduates early in the morning. It wasn't a ton of money, but it helped pay off those debts.

I was working 14 hours a day, spending two hours with my family, and getting it done.

It wasn't easy but it was a lot of fun.

What I discovered was that working hard when you are motivated is a lot more fun than hardly working when you don't like your job. That was a lesson that made a big difference in my life. If you are in debt and have too little income, it's a lesson you should teach yourself.

Work more. Save more. Spend less. Waste less. You'll be out of debt and on your way to building real wealth in no time.

Learning from the Masters

If you want to be successful in life, try learning from those who have achieved success. You cannot learn tailoring from a carpenter. No, it is never done and it will not work. If you want to be rich therefore, try learning how to accumulate wealth from a wealthy person. There are principles responsible for wealth creation and could only be learned from someone who has accumulated wealth earnestly. That is the subject of the article posted here. It is culled from one of the sources where I get my principles of living a successful and fruitful life - Early to Rise. Hope you enjoy reading it and learn from it. 

-  Adekunle Agbaje.

A Rich Man's Greatest Secret

By "Cooper", the CEO

He's rich, powerful, respected and proud of the fact that he has the same best friends since he was an early teenager.

Nothing was handed to him; he earned it all.

If you ask him, as I did in 2011, he'll tell you his achievements all come down to the consistent application of his "greatest secret to success".

Think of it like a formula for gaining power and just about anything else you want in life. This formula can work for you. I'm sure of it. It can turn you into a powerful, wealthy businessperson if that's what you want. It can get you elected, if that is your goal. It can even help you find the love of your life.

However, here's the catch...

You'll probably reject it as too simplistic.

Most people do. You'll see it as risky. You'll have to start giving a lot more of yourself and, odds are, you won't want to do it. You'll think it's unfair so you won't really try.

Nevertheless - if you can get over yourself, apply and evolve the formula over time, you can have virtually anything you want.

Here's how it works.

Early in life, you probably discovered there are only two ways to get what you want.

1) You can try to find a way to take what you want.

Or

2) You can find a way for the things you want to be given to you.

Of course, 'taking' can often be unethical so that's not a long-term formula for success, which leaves us with convincing people and the world to give us things.

How does one encourage the world to give its fruits?

It sounds a bit harsh when put this way, but it's true: much of life is transactional.

We must give to get.

If I want something from the world, I know I have to earn it. Whether it is love or a job or even a pleasant greeting from someone, you can have it all if you're willing to give in advance.

As my rich and successful friend put it, "If you want people to do nice things for you and be a part of your life, you must always keep the 'friendship bank' in the black."

"Giving to Get" is the first step in developing a value creation disposition. Value creation is the secret to getting everything you ever wanted.

You will make great progress in all areas of life simply by developing the habit of always asking yourself, "How can I add value to this person/situation?"

It won't come naturally. It will require focus and training as you learn to set aside your desires so that you're more objectively able to help others.

A Giving to Get approach can take you far in life. Most of the successful folks I know have mastered at least this step.

Giving to Get, or giving first and hoping for benefits later, is the root of all successful relationships. Give love if you want to receive love. Give a kind word first if you're hoping for one in return. Give trust if you hope to be trusted. Give your full faith and effort toward common cause if you want the same.

Giving to Get vs. Going to Bat

Giving works all the time, but most people feel it's risky so they hold back. That's precisely why the Give to Get crowd finds much greater success then average. Being willing to take on the little bit of risk and give in advance moves Give to Getters up the ladder quickly.

Giving to Get is effective and is why, unfortunately, most folks stop here, at step one, thinking they've reached the top. This tactic produces results, but only in relatively tiny ways and in limited circles.

The truth is, Giving to Get is superficial.

It's a start, but it's the two dimensional version of value creation... productive in the short term and simply unwise in the long game.

[The "long game" is a topic for another day, but trust me, this is the game you want to be playing.]

So, what's better than giving to get?

Try this for a change.

Try going to bat for someone.

Look to a friend or colleague who's been struggling to beat back some demon or overcome an overwhelming obstacle. Steel yourself and say to them, "Don't worry. I've got this one."

I'm suggesting you do this without regard for any gain on your part. I'm telling you to throw down for them. To go to the ends of the earth for them. To back them up in their time of need.

Make their plight your own, not to be swept up in the drama of it, but to sweep it aside for them as a demonstration of your power and love for that other person.

In his words, my rich friend advised, "It is truly amazing how learning to be generous, at all times, can change your life. As you know, it's not an effort to 'buy' people -- that doesn't work. It's just an effort to let people know that you're not ever going to 'take' from them. And that their being with you -- whether it's dinner out on the town or working in your company -- is always going to be over-the-top."

Try going beyond the Give to Get step and see what happens.