Finance Question #20: Want to Grow Your Wealth? Here is how...
If I were to ask you the question of "do you want to become abundantly wealthy," most of you would probably say "absolutely." My follow up question would then be "what are you doing to get there?" In most cases your response will not come out as quickly as it did for the first question...so what am I getting at here? The point I am getting at is that most of us will say that we want to become wealthy and yet most of us are not willing to actually do what it takes to get there. Most of us are not willing to actually work every single day, including holidays, as in 365 days per year in order to obtain an abundance of wealth.
I am referring to the unwavering commitment of taking no days off until an abundance of wealth has been accumulated not only for you but more importantly for the next generation of your bloodline, which is formally known as generational wealth. You see most of us are not willing to make a commitment of this magnitude. How do I know this? Because numbers don't lie. According to cnn.com the top 10% now owns about 77% of all the wealth in the U.S. Let that sink in for a moment...
You see many of us think that to become a member of the 10% requires some type of special powers. We think that becoming a member of the 10% is a super complicated endeavor that only a few lucky individuals are able to accomplish. I am here to destroy that myth.
The method that is required to place yourself on the path to obtaining an abundance of wealth is an action that I have simplified into one sentence, and here it is...
"Simply do what most people are not willing to do."
For example, as I stated before, most people simply are not willing to commit to working towards their financial objectives every single day. Even if you are on a family vacation, what is stopping you from waking up 30 minutes before everyone else to spend some time reading a manuscript that will get you closer to your financial objectives? What is stopping you from shutting off the music on your way to work to listen to an audiobook that will get you closer to your financial objectives? What is stopping you from going the extra mile on the job to increase your value to the company? What is stopping you from shutting that tv off for a week to spend some extra time at home getting ahead on your office projects? What is stopping you from exercising daily even if only for ten minutes at a time? Because we all know that there are plenty of studies out there that explain how exercise equates to a more focused mind. Exercise!
You must hold yourself accountable to these tough questions. When you ask yourself these questions make sure that you are alone in a quiet space, away from all distractions. These questions are a conversation that you must have with yourself because you cannot lie to yourself. You can lie to everyone else around you, but your inner being always knows the truth.
Now let's dive a little deeper into what is required to grow your wealth.
To get there you must ask yourself two questions.
First question: What are you doing right now to increase your income?
One of the surefire ways to accumulate wealth is to progressively increase your income. If you are an employee you need to ask yourself the following questions;
What I am doing to get to that next promotion?
What timeline have I given myself to reach the next promotion?
Have I laid out my next 5-year career plan on paper?
Have I reviewed this plan with my chain of command for their approval?
If you are a business owner the questions are different, but the concept remains the same.
What I am doing to increase my company's cash flow this quarter?
Where can I cut costs without compromising the quality of the product?
What am I doing to increase customer/client satisfaction?
How can I attract more customers/clients to my brand?
There are things you can be doing right now to increase your income regardless if you are an employee, business owner, or both. To put it more simply, you must focus on increasing your value in order to increase your income. The more valuable you become the more they will pay you. Spend some time on your days off to read up on industry knowledge. Spend some time on your days off studying the market trends. Spend some time on your days off reading about the CEO to get a clearer understanding of his or her vision for the company. Spend one day or two during the workweek to stay at the office a little bit later to get a jump start on the next day's workload. Increase your value!
Second question: How much do I want to be worth by the age of 65?
To be clear, as a disclaimer, 65 is not the magic number as there is no one size that fits all when it comes to targeting your retirement age. I am simply using the age of 65 as a reference point. Asking yourself this question is very powerful because this question instantly forces your mind to start thinking about how close or how far off you are from reaching your targeted net worth amount. How much do you want to be worth when your working days are over? Do you truly want to live a lifestyle of abundant prosperity? Are you willing to work harder now so that your life will be easier later? Because I can almost assure you that your life will be much harder later if you decide to take it easy now.
You decide...
How bad do you want it?
Take charge of your wealth!
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Disclaimer: Hudson Wealth Management, LLC (HWM) is a FINRA registered investment adviser firm. Investing in securities involves risks, and there is always the potential of losing money when you invest in securities. Before investing, consider your investment objectives and HWM's fee schedule. The information provided herein is for illustrative purposes only and does not constitute personalized investment advice, recommendations or solicitations to hold, buy or sell any investment or security of any kind. All images and return figures shown are for illustrative purposes only and are not actual customer or model returns. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Prior articles in this series
Finance Question #1 - Do you live for today, or live for tomorrow?
Finance Question #2 - Should I "loan" money to friends and family when they are in need?
Finance Question #3 - Did grade school (K-12) teach you anything about money?
Finance Question #4 -Why do I need an emergency fund?
Finance Question #6 - What is the difference between financial security & financial freedom?
Finance Question #7 - How can I improve my chances of getting a credit limit increase?
Finance Question #8 - How much of an emergency fund do I need?
Finance Question #9 - When Should I Start Saving for Retirement?
Finance Question #11 -How do I get paid what I am worth?
Finance Question #12 - I want to buy a house, now what?
Finance Question #13 - Should I pay off my highest interest debt, or my smallest debt first?
Finance Question #14 - Should I pay off all my debts before I begin investing?
Finance Question #15 - Should I cosign on a loan to help someone in need?
Finance Question #16 - How do I stop emotional spending?
Finance Question #17: Is it worth it to pay a credit repair company to fix my credit?
Finance Question #18: How do I "ESCAPE" the vicious cycle of living check to check?
Finance Question #19: What does it mean to economize?
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I help organizations to use money as a tool to reach their strategic goals.
6 年Great points. The grind and the hustle is real.
Saving this article and going back through 1-19! Thanks for keeping me focused and reminding me that everything I do is for my family. #wealthbuilder #generationalwealth