To Get More of These...

Who doesn't want more money?

Of course, we all do. We live in a money-denominated society where we exchange money for the goods and services we want or need. The old adage, "money makes the world go round" is perhaps more true than not.

When I started as a Success Coach in the early 1980s, teaching financial success was in high demand. It still is. In the 1980s, studies showed that 90% of Americans were one paycheck away from the poor house. In 2021, those same studies show that 85% of Americans are one paycheck away from being broke.

What's the problem?

Financial illiteracy is rampant not just here in the U.S. but globally. People don't understand two things:

1. How money works.
2. How to make money work for them.

It starts with our Money Mindset. If you grew up in a household that told you money doesn't grow on trees, you've got to be born into a wealthy family or win the lottery to get rich, or your family never got a financial break in life, those words formed an attitude and belief system about money that limits your ability to attract wealth to you.

Whether you believe you can have more money, do more to earn more money, and become more so you become more valuable or you don't believe this to be true about you, you're right. Your subconscious mind works 24/7 to bring into physical reality the dominant thoughts you're thinking every single day.

So STEP ONE is to retrain your brain to think differently about money by challenging your limiting beliefs about wealth, shifting from a mindset of poverty and lack to one of abundance and surplus. Attracting more wealth starts with a thought.

STEP TWO is to understand three truths about money and how it works.

(1) Every money decision is a spending decision. You either choose to spend all the money you have today or you can choose to refrain from spending some (or all) of your money so you can spend it in the future.

(2) If you spend ALL your money today, you can't spend those same dollars tomorrow.

(3) If you borrow tomorrow's money so you can spend it today, you're stealing from yourself. You not only have to repay that money with interest, you lose out on the opportunity to invest that money so it can grow and become even more money.

I recently met with an individual who, without employment, obtained two credit cards and racked up more than $6,000 in debt, with an interest rate of 18.99% annually. Wanting to get out of debt, she recently took a job earning $1,500 a month (take-home pay).

So if she uses 100% of her take-home earnings to repay her debt, she will be working for a minimum of 4 months simply to repay the money she borrowed, with nothing to show for it when you look at her bank account.

The money she will be earning will go in its entirety to repay the money she stole from her future self. And until that debt is paid off, the balance is still growing at a rate of 18.99% a year.

If on the other hand, she had invested $6,000 in a mutual fund earning 8% a year, she'd now have $13,040 available in 10 years. In 30 years, that small investment would now be worth $60,777 if she averaged an annual 8% return.

NOTE: Banks collect interest; consumers pay it. So learn to think more like a bank and less like a consumer and you'll start seeing money as a means to create and grow wealth.

Not understanding how money works, and how to make money work for you, is what's keeping you from financial independence.

STEP THREE is to start making good money choices. Creating and following a plan to tell your money where you want it to go, in what amount, and when. Creating a 3-6 month emergency fund to cover unexpected expenses. Formulating a plan to get out of debt and redirect the money you would have paid in interest to financial instruments that will create and grow wealth for you.

Need some help with that?

Click HERE to download a free worksheet I've written, "First Steps to a Bright Financial Future". The questions in this guide will start you rethinking your money habits and how to alter them to create a better financial outcome for you.

If you do what you've always done, nothing changes for you. So start today rethinking what you've been taught about money, embrace the three truths about money, and begin making better money choices to bring about a more financially secure future.

2X martial arts Hall of Fame inductee, John Terry (The Black Belt Leader) is passionate about helping others become Black Belt Leaders in Life. He is a motivational speaker, leadership, sales & communication coach, and trainer.???

Jessie Terry, John's daughter, is a Certified Speaker, Coach, and Trainer with the?John Maxwell Team?and is actively involved in the JMT Global Youth Initiative. She is also a Real-Life Management trained coach and a certified Women-Safe Self-Defense Instructor.

For more information, schedule John (or Jessie) to speak to your organization or to book a personal, group or corporate coaching session, visit our website at?www.beablackbeltleader.com.??

If you are a faith-based organization, learn more about John and Jessie's outreach to churches, para-church organizations, or faith-based volunteer groups by visiting?www.DunamisFactor.com.

Why just be a leader, when you can be a Black Belt Leader?