As I’ve written often, there are four paths to wealth:

1. Saver/Investor Path – Save and invest 20% or more of your income.
2. Big Company Climber Path – Climb the ladder to senior executive in a large, profitable company.
3. Virtuoso Path – Become either a Knowledge-Based or Skill-Based expert in your field.
4. Dreamer/Entrepreneur Path – Pursue a dream that can be monetized.

For those who have chosen the Saver-Investor Path and/or the Big Company Climber Path, the accumulation of debt will make building wealth nearly impossible. So, if you are on either of those two paths, debt is and always will be Bad Debt.

For those on the Virtuoso or Dreamer Path, however, using debt to acquire knowledge/skills or start a business is almost always necessary and can actually be critical to building your wealth.

Virtuoso Debt

Roughly 19% of the participants in my study chose this path. Virtuosos are among the best at what they do in their profession. They are paid a high premium for their expert knowledge or expert skills, which sets them apart from the competition.

It took the Virtuosos in my study about 20 years to reach an average net worth of $4 million. Some worked in the medical field, while others worked in law. A handful either worked for large, publicly-held corporations, or they were small business owners with highly profitable enterprises.

Virtuosos aren’t born, they are made.

Knowledge-based Virtuosos devote at least three hours a day, for many years, studying/learning in order to accumulate expert knowledge. Formal education, such as advanced degrees, is usually a requirement for Knowledge-based Virtuosos, which requires a significant expenditure in not only time, but money.

Skill-based Virtuosos spend about four hours a day, for many years, engaged in Deliberate and Analytical Practice in order to acquire, maintain and perfect their skills. Continuous practice, coaching and mentoring, is usually a requirement for Skill-based Virtuosos. Practice facilities, coaching and mentoring often requires a significant expenditure in time and money.

Not everyone has the time or money to become a Virtuoso. If you have the time, but lack the money to become a Virtuoso, debt is often the only means to acquire the money you need to gain Virtuoso knowledge or skills.

Virtuoso Debt is Good Debt in that it helps finance the creation of an income-producing asset (you), which pays financial dividends for the rest of your working life.

Dreamer Debt

Approximately 28% of the folks in my study were Dreamers, and they accumulated the greatest amount of wealth among all of my Rich Habits millionaires – an average net worth of $7.4 million, over a period of about 12 years.

This is perhaps the hardest path to building wealth because it requires the pursuit of a dream, such as starting a business, becoming a successful actor, musician or author.

Dreams must be funded. For those not born into wealth, which is most, the pursuit of a dream requires money. And, like Virtuoso’s, Dreamer’s often have no choice but to fund their dream with debt.

Dreamer Debt is Good Debt because it allows them to create an income-producing asset (their dream/business) which pays financial dividends, that can extend beyond their lifetime.

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Hope is critical to success and it is a Rich Habit, but only if hope is riding on the shoulders of action.

And that action must be directly tied to your dreams and goals. Such goal-directed action keeps you moving forward, in a focused, deliberate manner, toward the achievement of your goals and the realization of your dreams.

Hope, without action is no strategy.

However, hope, with action, is the formula for success. And when that action is transformed into habits, that is when you put the pursuit of success on autopilot.

Dreams and goals can only be transformed into reality through action. With action, hope becomes a powerful tool that keeps you motivated in the pursuit your goals and dreams.

Without action, hope is useless.

My mission is to share my unique research in order to help others realize their dreams and achieve their goals. If you find value in these articles, please share them with your inner circle and encourage them to Subscribe. Thank You!

Human beings are simply amazing.

They are the only species on earth who have the innate ability to convert outlandish thoughts into reality.

We see a beautiful woman, and paint the Mona Lisa.

We see a bay, and we build a bridge to cross that bay.

We see birds fly, and build airplanes, so humans can fly.

We see the moon, and create rockets so we can fly to the moon.

The Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world at 2,717 feet. It is 644 feet taller than the 2nd tallest building in the world. Its height pierces the cloud barrier.

Humans built that. Amazing!

What is our limit? None. Human beings are the most amazing species to inhabit the earth. Because of this unique creative ability, we are in many respects…. godlike.

I believe there is no limit to any individual’s capacity to do great things.

And yet there are those who would have you believe that if you were born into poverty you will be stuck in poverty.

Nonsense.

Poverty is a temporary condition that can be changed, if you really want to.

It was not intended for humans to be poor, to struggle financially or to live a life of quiet desperation. We exist to be great, to achieve great things – to create the life we desire. It is within our genetic makeup to create, to produce, to innovate and to grow in knowledge and skills.

Every able-bodied human being can grow their way out of poverty by reading books, seeking feedback from others, by trying and learning from our mistakes or even by watching a YouTube video.

Our brains are hardwired to be rewired.

Because each one of us is born with this unusual ability to create amazing things, this blessing mandates that we dream big dreams.

But when we pursue our dreams, life places obstacles, impediments, detours, and unforeseen problems in our path.

Out of sheer frustration, we ask why?

Here’s my answer to the why – those obstacles, that adversity, forces you to grow into the individual you need to be in order to realize success.

Adversity sharpens us. It forces us to improve and become better at what we do. As we improve, the obstacles become easier to see and easier to overcome because we are better than we were before.

Life isn’t working against us – it’s working for us.

Each one of us is endowed with a godlike creative genius to design the life we desire. We can achieve whatever our minds can conceive.

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Those who are truly happy are free.

But what does freedom mean?

Freedom is not one thing. In fact, it is many things:

• Financially Free – You are financially free when your invested assets generate enough income to fund your standard of living and pay the taxes on that income.
• Emotionally Free – You are emotionally free when you have become the master of your emotions.
• Stress Free – You are stress free when you mastered the habit of remaining calm under pressure.
• Time Free – You are time free when you can choose how you spend your time each day.
• Need Free – You are need free when your income is adequate enough to provide for your daily needs.
• Want Free – You are want free when you no longer want what others have and are grateful for what you have.
• Debt Free – You are debt free when you are no longer burdened by debt.
• Ideologically Free – You are ideologically free when you are no longer a prisoner to ideology and are open to new ideas and new perspectives.
• Guilt Free – You are guilt free when you no longer care what others think or say about you.

One of the reasons happiness is so elusive is due to the fact that there are so many variables to happiness. On any given day, unexpected things happen for which you have little to no control over.

Those few who are masters of their lives, respond to life’s unexpected occurrences in a thoughtful and deliberate manner, meaning they control how they react to the unexpected.

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 Those who are satisfied with the status quo of their lives, do not feel compelled to push themselves to grow in order to reach a higher level of achievement. So, in a real sense, complacency is a mindset that keeps you stuck where you are in life.

Dreamer-Entrepreneurs, on the other hand, often put everything on the line – their savings, their home, their retirement funds, personal guarantees on any money they borrow to fund their dreams, etc.

When every asset you own is being used to finance a dream, the prospect of failing is a scary thing, not just to you but to your spouse or significant other. That very real fear of failing forces Dreamer-Entrepreneurs to do what they have to do in order to survive. That fear of failure forces them to learn everything they need to know in order to avoid mistakes and when they do make a mistake, they become quick studies, so they won’t make the same mistake twice.

During this survival period, Dreamers grow into the individuals they need to be in order to survive and avoid failure. That growth is like a bank account of knowledge that they tap in order to help keep them moving forward, further and further away from failure.

And, the further away they get from failure, the closer they get to success.

So, don’t let fear hold you back from pursuing your dreams. Double down if you have to, but never quit. When you know you have everything to lose by failing, failure does not become an option. Success is your only escape hatch.

Use fear to your advantage. Let fear push you to become the person you need to be in order to succeed. When you make a decision to go for it, leveraging everything you own, you’ll be forced to grow and achieve, in order to avoid failure.

Being scared is not always a bad thing.

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Success takes a long time, for those who succeed. Unfortunately, very few succeed.

Why is success so elusive?

Most individuals who are pursuing financial success are doing it wrong.

What do you mean when you say, they are doing it wrong?

There are two big things that prevent individuals from succeeding:

#1 – You Are Not Doing What You’re Supposed to be Doing

When you are not doing what you’re supposed to be doing, this means you are not engaged in an activity for which you have a natural, innate talent. When you are engaged in something you are just not naturally good at, it’s like trying to fit a circular object in a square hole. Because you are trying to be something you are not, your work life is hard and unfulfilling. This shows up in your net pay check.

When you are engaged in something you were meant to be doing, this means you are exploiting some natural, innate talent that is unique to you. Your brain alerts you in one of two ways, when you stumble upon a natural, innate talent:

1. It’s Easy – The task is easier for you to perform than it is for other people.
2. Passion – You enjoy the activity. When you are engaged in some activity you like or love, time flies by and you don’t want to stop doing it.

We all have natural, innate talents but almost none of us every figure out what they are. Consequently, most do not enjoy what they do for a living, feel unfulfilled and the pay they receive keeps them perpetually stuck in mediocrity.

#2 – You Are Following the Wrong Path to Wealth

There are 4 Path’s To Wealth:

1. Saver-Investor Path
2. Big Company Climber Path
3. Virtuoso Path
4. Dreamer-Entrepreneur Path

Everyone inherits certain genes from their parents, which helps shape their personality. Also, everyone is raised in different environments – we are all raised in different households, in different neighborhoods, go to different schools, etc.

Our unique genes and upbringing help to shape the individuals we become as adults.

Everyone’s different.

And because everyone’s different, each path to creating wealth, is different for each person.

Some people are outgoing or shy. Some are risk takers or risk averse. Some can shoulder great stress, without affecting their health and relationships; others crumble under too much stress.

You see, everyone is different and because everyone is different, their path to accumulating wealth must be in alignment with their particular personality.

For example, shy, risk averse, low stress-tolerant individuals would find the life of a Dreamer-Entrepreneur or Big Company Climber, ill-suited for their specific personality. Most likely, they would hate being in either of those two work environments and their pay would reflect this.

Such individuals would be better suited pursuing wealth by following the Saver-Investor or Virtuoso Path. Either path would work best for them, given their personality type.

Likewise, outgoing individuals who love high-risk challenges and seem immune to stress, are perfectly suited for the Big Company Climber Path or the Dreamer/Entrepreneur Path. If these individuals worked in a back-office job, they would very likely dislike their job.

Because there are four paths to wealth, it is critical for those who seek wealth to understand which path is right for them. If you pick the wrong path, success will remain elusive.

When you eventually stumble upon the right track, you know it. Everything starts to get much easier for you. When you are on the right track, it’s as if everything in your universe comes into perfect alignment.

When you are on the right track, life rewards you financially and emotionally.

My mission is to share my unique research in order to help others realize their dreams and achieve their goals. If you find value in these articles, please share them with your inner circle and encourage them to Subscribe. Thank You!

At the end of 2008, Elon Musk and all of his companies were on the verge of outright bankruptcy.

His Falcon 1 rocket had failed to reach orbit for the third time in early August, 2008. He was rapidly running out of money.

Musk had gone through most of the $180 million windfall he received in 2002, when eBay acquired his PayPal stock. Plus he had tapped all of the hundreds of millions of dollars venture capitalists and the Federal government had collectively invested in SpaceX.

Most would have thrown in the towel after so many failures. But Musk refused to quit. So, he put everything on the line on September 28, 2009, the fourth attempt to put his Falcon 1 rocket into orbit. Everything hinged on that fourth flight. If it failed, it was over.

Only it didn’t fail. On his fourth and final try, the first privately built rocket made orbit and Elon Musk entered the history books.

Due to his rocket’s success, Musk was able to cobble together enough money to get SpaceX through the end of December, 2008. Then, on December 28, 2008 NASA awarded SpaceX a $1.6 billion contract.

The rest, as they say is history.

Today, Musk is estimated to be worth north of $23 billion. His companies are changing the world.

Success miracles often happen when relentlessly persistent Dreamers are able to overcome adversity and survive until they thrive.

For Musk, the difference between success and failure was one day – September 29, 2008. One day completely changed his life. One day was the difference between success and bankruptcy, for Elon Musk.

Life rewards Dreamers who simply refuse to quit.

My mission is to share my unique research in order to help others realize their dreams and achieve their goals. If you find value in these articles, please share them with your inner circle and encourage them to Subscribe. Thank You!

Successful people seem to be obsessed with success quotes. They love to throw them around wherever and whenever they can.

Successful speakers love to use quotes as do successful authors.

Success and quotes go together like beer and pretzels. So, I thought I’d share some of the quotes I’ve accumulated from interviewing self-made millionaires, from some of my favorite books/blogs and from some of the best speakers I’ve come in contact with. I haven’t taken the time to uncover the original source of some of these quotes. If you know the authors, shoot me an email.

Here’s some of my favorites:

“Successful people don’t wait for the elevator in life; they take the stairs.” Unknown

“The path to success involves surviving one disappointment after another without losing your enthusiasm.” I’ve seen various versions of this quote. They all seem to originate from Winston Churchill

“Motivation: With it you can run a marathon; without it you can’t lace your sneakers.” Unknown

“Dreams are God’s way of whispering in our ears.” Unknown

“Though times never last. Touch people do.” Robert Schuller

“Those who never make mistakes work for those of us who do.” Henry Ford

“Big shots are only little shots who just kept shooting.” Christopher Morley

“Experience is a hard teacher because the test is given first and the lesson is given afterward.” John Maxwell

“The big hit never comes without a great number of little hits first.” John Maxwell

“Sometimes you need to build your own ship in order for it to come in.” Billy Cox

“Formal education will make you a living. Self-education will make you a fortune.” Jim Rohn

“Courage is admired so much because it is lacking in so few.” Found this quote in a book Dr. Ben Carson wrote but I’ve read this in other books. I think the source is Winston Churchill

“Don’t follow someone else’s dream.” Unknown

“All leaders are readers.” Unknown

“Inch by inch, everything’s a cinch.” Robert Schuller

“Poor people spend their money and save what’s left. Rich people save their money and spend what’s left.” Unknown

“We become the combined average of the five people we hang around the most.” Jim Rohn

“Everything seems like a failure when you are halfway towards becoming a success.” Unknown

“Going through the moment of uncertainty; facing the period of extreme doubt. That’s when we discover ourselves.” James Clear

My mission is to share my unique research in order to help others realize their dreams and achieve their goals. If you find value in these articles, please share them with your inner circle and encourage them to Subscribe. Thank You!