Archives for September 2017

Welcome to the Millionaire Club

September 20, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Tip of the MorningThere are 323.1 million people living in the United States. According to the latest Credit Suisse Wealth Survey on America’s millionaires (source: Money Magazine September 2017), there are 13.5 million individuals, or 4.17% of the population, with $1 million or more in net investable assets (liquid assets). Of this 13.5 million, 11.3 million, or 83.7%, had between $1 million and $5 million in such liquid assets.

According to research data from Fidelity and the Spectrum Group (source: Money Magazine September 2017), the typical U.S. millionaire is 62 years of age with $1.75 million in net liquid assets (Median).

Here’s some more interesting data regarding America’s millionaires:

  • Median Annual Income = $125,000.
  • 55% of the typical millionaire’s wealth was net investable assets (stocks, bonds, cash – think liquid assets)
  • 44% of the typical millionaire’s net investable assets were invested in stocks, 15% in fixed income investments, 15% in short-term investments and 26% in other investments.
  • 45% of the typical millionaire’s non-liquid wealth was spread out as follows:
    • 16% Home
    • 12% Retirement Assets
    • 8% Insurance/Annuities
    • 6% Non-Home Real Estate Investments
    • 2% Privately Held Business
    • 1% Other
  • 76% are married.
  • 67% are men and 33% are women.
  • 91% are White/Caucasian. Caucasian means white European origins.
  • 83% had an undergraduate degree or higher.
  • Millionaires with $5 million to $25 million in net investable assets were, on average, 66 years of age.
  • Millionaires with more than $25 million in net investable assets were, on average 52 years of age.

Having $1 million in liquid wealth does not make you rich. What makes you rich is being able to live off of the passive income generated from your liquid wealth. Rich means your passive income equals or exceeds your cost of living. In the research behind my book, Rich Habits, I set the bar for being rich higher:

  1. $160,000 in passive income and
  2. $3.2 million in Net Investable Assets

Passive Income of 5% on $3.2 million = $160,000 in annual passive income.

In most parts of the world, having $160,000 in annual passive income is more than you need to meet your cost of living.

Filed Under: Daily Success Tips

What Are You Good At?

September 19, 2017 by Leave a Comment

Tip of the MorningDawn played soccer, lacrosse and was a gymnast as a child. At age 13 she dropped soccer and lacrosse and, with the enthusiastic support of her parents, devoted herself to being a gymnast. She was a very good gymnast. It got her a partial scholarship to college. Her parents were happy about that. Dawn is 21 years old now. She just finished her junior year in college. Her major is Accounting. She’s interning part-time, over the summer, at a prestigious CPA firm. After only a few weeks interning, she’s beginning to think she may not like being a CPA. It’s not for her. She has no passion for it. She longs for something else. Dawn doesn’t know what to do. She’s unhappy.

Pete played baseball and basketball as a child. He was a stand out pitcher and guard on his varsity high school team. Unfortunately, Pete was unable to get any college scholarships. Because his parents were poor, Pete was unable to go to college. Pete is 28 now. He went into construction right out of high school. He realizes now, he doesn’t like his job. He longs for something else. Pete is a new dad. He doesn’t know what to do. Pete’s unhappy.

Katie was an outstanding tennis player as a child. She, and her parents, focused much of their time and resources on Katie’s tennis, which she continued playing throughout college. Katie went on to get a graduate degree in education. Katie, now 35 and a mom with two kids, has worked as a high school teacher for ten years. She does not like her job. She’s thinking about a career change but doesn’t have any idea what that new career should be. Katie is very unhappy.

Sound familiar? Dawn, Pete and Katie are representative of the vast majority who do not like their jobs. According to a 2012 survey conducted by “Big 4” accounting firm Deloitte, 80% of those surveyed did not like their jobs. In another survey conducted by Gallup in 2013, 63% of the 230,000 employees in the survey said they were unhappy with their jobs.

What happened? What went wrong?

As children, most are never exposed to enough diverse activities which can help lead to the discovery of some innate, god-given talent, or something they like doing.

Experimentation is the only way to discover your innate talents or your passions in life. Your  innate talents or passions are revealed any time you try something new and one of two things happens:

  1. It comes easy to you – this is life’s way of telling you that you have some innate, natural talent for doing something.
  2. You love it – when you really enjoy doing something, when it grabs hold of your emotions, this is life’s way of telling you that you have found a passion.

So, what do you do now that you’re an adult?

The key to finding a hidden talent, or some passion, is to focus on one new activity every three months. If it comes easy or you enjoy it, then you may be on to something big. If it doesn’t, then you move on. You can do your experimentation before or after your work hours. I discovered my unknown writing talent in the early morning hours of 2008/2009. I’ve been writing ever since and will continue doing so until the day I die, even if I never make another dollar.

When you find your hidden talent or find something you are passionate about, everything about your life will change. Your thinking will change. You will find clarity of vision. You will become hopeful. Life will become exciting. And you will find happiness and fulfillment.

Filed Under: Daily Success Tips

Expectations

September 18, 2017 by 2 Comments

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Neal Halfon, lead researcher in a 2001 study conducted at the University of California, Los Angeles, in which 6,600 children and their parents were studied for many years, found that children rise to the level of the expectations set by their parents.

You expectations, therefore, are critical to your success in life.

If you are not satisfied with your life, you need to evaluate your internal “expectations” programming.

Those with high expectations, rise to the level of those expectations.

If your expectations are too low, success will be impossible for you. If you set the bar too low in life, you will only rise to that low level and stay there your entire life.

What are your expectations? In order to reinvent yourself, the starting point is becoming aware of your current expectations and then replacing those expectations with ones that force you to stretch, grow, improve and achieve by some certain date. 

“I expect to become a successful __________________ in ______ years.”

“I expect to make $____________ a year.”

“I expect to have $____________ in the bank in ______ years.”

“I expect to weight __________ pounds by __________.”

“I expect to complete my first half marathons by __________.”

“I expect to write my first book by __________.”

“I expect to start my own business by __________.”

“I expect to accumulate my first million by __________.”

When you set the bar high, you may not always achieve what you desire, but you will push yourself to a higher level. Expect more of yourself. We all have the capacity to achieve great things.

Filed Under: Daily Success Tips

Rich Habits Poor habits Episode 40 | How much does luck have to do with success?

September 15, 2017 by Leave a Comment

If you’re going to have any beliefs at all, believe in luck.  

One of the fascinating things Tom Corley discovered in his five-year Rich Habits study was the fact that every self-made millionaires, at some point, got lucky.

  • 84% attributed their good luck to their daily habits
  • 87% said they were lucky
  • 92% said they created their own luck

The rich do not believe random good luck plays a role in wealth creation.

They believe, however, that you create your own luck.

There are many ways the wealthy create their own luck:

  • Pursuing a dream. Luck visits dreamers who act on their dreams.  success
  • Forging habits around your dreams. Good habits are like snowflakes on a mountainside. You don’t notice the accumulation until there is an avalanche. Good habits create an avalanche of good luck.
  • Building relationships with the right people – success-minded people who can open doors for you through their relationships. Good luck likes to associate with positive-minded people.
  • Learning new things opens your eyes to opportunities. Opportunity is the home good luck
  • Taking calculated risks. Calculated risk is a type of risk that requires you to do your homework. Good luck finds the prepared.
  • Finding a mentor. Mentors open up doors for you and steer you down the right paths in life. Good luck will find you if you are on the right path.
  • Being a mentor. Mentees eventually become experts themselves. Like mentors, your mentees can open up doors for you. Good luck is often found behind closed doors.
  • Staying upbeat and positive. Negativity shuts down part of your prefrontal cortex and effectively blinds you to opportunities. Good luck always finds the optimist.
  • Staying focused allows you to accomplish and learn things quitters never accomplish or learn. Good luck always finds the most focused individuals.
  • Persistence. Devoting yourself to one thing for many years forces you to become expert in that one thing. Good luck always finds the persistent.

YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN VIEWING:

RICH HABITS POOR HABITS EPISODE 39 | 19 TRAITS OF NEGATIVE PEOPLE PART 3

RICH HABITS EPISODE 38 | 19 TRAITS OF NEGATIVE PEOPLE PART 2

RICH HABITS EPISODE 37 | 19 TRAITS OF NEGATIVE PEOPLE PART 1

RICH HABITS POOR HABITS EPISODE 36 | THE 4 PATHS TO WEALTH

RHPH-ad-horizontal

 

Filed Under: Tip of the Week

Paint a Portrait of the Person You Want To Be

September 15, 2017 by Leave a Comment

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Self-made millionaires are visionaries. Long before they turn the corner towards their first million, the rich see themselves as millionaires.

Fifty-three percent of the self-made millionaires in my Rich Habits study said they were convinced they would one day be wealthy. They literally looked into their future mirror and saw themselves as wealthy.

This Future Mirror Strategy is a Rich Habit of self-made millionaires. I’ve written about this habit in my book Rich Habits.

I believe the ability to look into the future and to see yourself as successful and rich, is the springboard for every action and every decision that ultimately leads to wealth. Knowing where you want to go and who you want to be comes first. Wealth comes second.

One of the reasons self-made millionaires are able to embrace this wealthy futuristic vision of themselves is they habitualize, on a daily basis, unbridled optimistic thinking. And they eschew any negative thoughts of mediocrity, failure or poverty. They embrace individuals who live in a world of YES and they avoid individuals who live in a world of NO.

Self-made millionaires live in a fantasy world of their own making in which anything and everything is possible. This futuristic thinking spurs them on, providing them with the energy and motivation to work long hours, consistently for many years, until their futuristic vision becomes their new reality.

Paint a portrait of the person you want to be.

Filed Under: Daily Success Tips

Exercise Your IQ

September 14, 2017 by Leave a Comment

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A neuron (brain cell) has one axon and multiple dendrites. The axon branches of neurons connect to the dendrites of other neurons, creating what is known as a synapse. Neural stem cells are pre-brain cells. They are born in the hippocampus and either divide into neural cells or glial cells (support cells for neurons). Neural cells are sent from the hippocampus to the dendrite gyrus, which acts like a traffic cop, ordering them to go to specific regions of the brain.

There is a direct correlation between the number of axons, dendrites and synapses an individual has and their intelligence. Anything that increases the number of axons, dendrites and synapses, therefore, increases intelligence.

Research has found that regular exercise does a number of things that improve brain performance:

  • Exercise increases the number of neural stem cells created by the hippocampus. It doesn’t matter if you’re jogging or lifting weights.
  • Aerobic exercise, such as jogging, increases blood-flow to the brain. The more you exercise, the higher the blood flow. This increased blood flow feeds the brain with more glucose or ketones (brain fuel) and oxygen.
  • Oxygen not only acts as a catalyst, helping to convert glucose or ketones into ATP (brain fuel), but it also acts like a sponge, soaking up free radical waste, left over from the conversion of glucose or ketones into ATP. Aerobic exercise, therefore, cleans out toxins and wastes from brain cells.
  • Weight lifting increases the production of BDNF (Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor), which is produced inside the hippocampus. BDNF is like miracle grow for the brain, helping it give birth to more neural cells and also helping to increase the size of existing neurons.

In effect, exercise grows your brain by creating new brain cells and increasing the size of existing brain cells. Muscle movement increases the growth of axons. Lifting weights, therefore, increases the growth of axons, which helps contribute to increased synaptic activity.

So, if you want to increase your IQ, start exercising.

Filed Under: Daily Success Tips

Rich Focus

September 13, 2017 by Leave a Comment

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What you focus on expands. It’s a universal law. When you focus on what’s right, you will see good everywhere. When you focus on what’s wrong, you will see injustice everywhere.

There is a difference the size of the Grand Canyon, in the way in which rich people and poor people focus. Your focus in life, creates your life:

  • Rich People focus on abundance, Poor People focus on scarcity.
  • Rich People focus on opportunities, Poor People focus on obstacles.
  • Rich People focus on solutions, Poor People focus on problems.
  • Rich People focus on their strengths, Poor People focus on their weaknesses.
  • Rich People focus on taking risk, Poor People focus on avoiding risk.
  • Rich People focus on individual responsibility, Poor People focus on blaming others.
  • Rich People focus on positivity, Poor People focus on negativity.
  • Rich People focus on doing more, Poor People focus on doing the bare minimum.
  • Rich People focus on meeting their wants, Poor People focus on meeting their needs.
  • Rich People focus on taking action to become rich, Poor People focus on wishing to be rich.
  • Rich People focus on what they can do for you (giving value), Poor People focus on what’s in it for them (getting value).
Filed Under: Daily Success Tips

It’s Not How Much You Make – It’s How Much You Keep

September 12, 2017 by 1 Comment

Tom Corley boats - crop

Conor McGregor, one week after receiving $30 million in winnings from his very lucrative loss to Floyd Mayweather, bought a super yacht reportedly worth $12 million. That’s on top of the multiple Lamborghinis, BMWs, Rolls-Royces and Range Rovers he owns. I’m not done. He also owns a 12,000 square foot home in Las Vegas worth $20 million and a mansion in Dublin, Ireland worth in excess of $2 million. Still not done. He has a luxury watch collection worth over $300,000. And, unless he finds some financial religion, his want spending will continue to get worse, until he finds himself one day sharing a room with M.C. Hammer.

The tabloids are replete with stories of prodigious earners who had nothing left after years of excessive spending:

  • According to The Daily Telegraph, the forensic accountant at Michael Jackson’s 2005 child sexual abuse trial stated that Jackson had been spending $20 to $30 million more than his earnings per year.
  • In 2012, the financial advisors of the former NBA champion Dennis Rodman reported that he was broke. Years of extravagances, wild spending was the reason given.
  • Courtney Love, wife of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, squandered over $27 million of Nirvana earnings on years of hard partying and wild spending.
  • Thomas Jefferson, founding father, author of the Declaration of Independence and America’s third president, had a half a million dollar a year (in current dollars) wine spending habit that left him penniless when he died.
  • Famed actor, Nicolas Cage, who made $150 million in his acting career, at one time owned a haunted mansion, a private island, a collection of shrunken heads and spent $276,000 on a skull of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. His reckless, excessive spending forced him into bankruptcy in 2009.
  • Johnny Carson sidekick, Ed McMahon, who made millions during his fifty year career, was forced to sell his home, or face foreclosure by his bank. In a 2008 Larry King interview,  McMahon told King, “Well, if you spend more than you make, you know what happens.”
  • Johnny Depp, according to Court documents obtained by The Hollywood Reporter, spends $2 million a month. His reckless spending over the years included $75 million on fourteen homes, an $18 million luxury yacht and $30,000 a month on wine.
  • Then there are the stories of the extravagant spending habits of Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali, Toni Braxton, M.C. Hammer and many, many others.

This excessive spending is also known as

Lifestyle Creep – Increasing your standard of living in order to match your increased income. Lifestyle Creep is driven by want spending – spending your money on things you want but do not need. Left unchecked, want spending can become an addiction.

And it’s one of those Poor Habits I like to write about.

At its very core, being wealthy comes down to two things:

  1. Making It and
  2. Keeping It

Many ordinary individuals, like our celebrity friends above, are very good at creating wealth but terrible at keeping it.

You see it every day all around you. A friend, colleague or neighbor suddenly comes into money – a large bonus, a big promotion, stock vesting or an inheritance. Suddenly, they are finding novel ways to spend their newfound wealth: super sizing their home, new expensive cars, a vacation home or that boat they’ve always dreamed of.  Or, far more common, you probably know individuals who live beyond their means, relying on credit cards in order to fund their lifestyle.

Sometimes, lifestyle creep can get out of hand. How many of you know someone who has filed for personal bankruptcy? I know a few. Barring outlier causes (failed business, divorce, disease, or chronic disability), excessive spending is usually the main culprit for the vast majority of those who eventually find themselves broke.

According to Census Bureau data, there are approximately 30 million people who make more than they need but who are, nonetheless, one paycheck away from poverty. Far too many regular, ordinary individuals take a page out of the celebrity money mismanagement playbook, spending excessively and living beyond their means for too many years, one job loss away from being homeless.

Being rich is not always about how much you make, but it is always about how much you keep.

Filed Under: Featured Articles

Rich Beliefs

September 12, 2017 by 2 Comments

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“Thoughts lead to feelings, which lead to actions, which lead to results.” T. Harv Eker

Your beliefs are nothing more than the opinions of others you have accepted as fact. Most of your beliefs are shaped by those who have had the most significant impact on you – your parents. But beliefs can also be passed down to you from teachers, mentors, your environment, and other individuals who have had a significant influence over you during your life.

Once a belief is accepted as fact, it becomes part of your unconscious programming. Your beliefs are always the starting point. They are the springboard to everything: your habits, feelings, emotions, behaviors and your actions. That last one, actions, creates the outcomes for your life: rich, middle-class, poor, happy, unhappy, fulfilled and unfulfilled.

So, your beliefs are either helping you move forward in life, helping you create the life of your dreams, or your beliefs are holding you back, unconsciously creating a life of misery.

We form beliefs around certain cores:

  • Money – What are your beliefs surrounding money? When you think of money, is it a good feeling or a bad feeling? Do you see money as good or bad? If good, you will save and invest it prudently. If bad, you will spend it and invest it unwisely.
  • People – What are your beliefs surrounding people? When you think of people, is it a good feeling or a bad feeling? Do you see people as good or bad? If good, you will develop long-lasting and strong relationships with others. If bad, you will struggle with your relationships. You will not devote the time and effort to maintaining and improving existing relationships and you will avoid creating new relationships. Since relationships are the currency of the wealthy, having a negative belief about people becomes an anchor, holding you back from becoming rich.
  • Wealth – What are your beliefs about wealth? When you think of wealth, is it a good feeling or a bad feeling? Do you see rich people as good or bad? If good, you will see the pursuit of wealth as a good and noble thing. If bad, you will see the pursuit of wealth as a bad and evil thing.
  • Health – What are your beliefs about health? When you think of health, is it a good feeling or a bad feeling? Do you see healthy people as good or bad? If good, you will devote your life to being healthy. If bad, you will ignore your health.
  • Work – What are your beliefs about work? When you think of wealth, is it a good feeling or a bad feeling? If good, it will be reflected by a hard work ethic. If bad, a bad work ethic.
  • Family – What are your beliefs about family? When you think of family, is it a good feeling or a bad feeling? If good, you will have strong family ties. If bad, you will ignore your family.
  • Friends – See family.

Each one of us has the power to change our beliefs. But, as I’ve often said, all change starts with awareness. You must first become aware of the beliefs you have before any change is possible.

Filed Under: Daily Success Tips

What’s Your Money Mindset?

September 11, 2017 by 1 Comment

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Were your parents good with money? Were they bad with money? Was money a source of stress or anxiety during your childhood? Did your parents fight over money? Was money always hard to come by growing up? Was one parent in charge of making money? Was one parent in charge of spending money?

We all have a money mindset. This money mindset, or money blueprint, is generally forged during childhood.

What is your money mindset? 

  • Savings Mindset – Are you programmed to save money?
  • Spending Mindset – Are you programmed to spend money?
  • Earning Mindset – Are you programmed to make money?
  • Security Mindset – Are you programmed to protect what money you have?
  • Freedom Mindset – Are you programmed to see money as the path to freedom?
  • Anxiety Mindset – Are you programmed to see money as a source of stress and anxiety?
  • Negative Mindset – Are you programmed to see the pursuit or accumulation of money as a negative, bad or evil thing?
  • Positive Mindset – Are you programmed to see the pursuit or accumulation of money as positive, good or noble thing?

All changes in habits, thinking, behavior and emotions start with awareness. Awareness is the starting point for all changes in our lives. Most are hopelessly unaware of the habits, thinking, behaviors and the emotions which shape their financial lives. Until you first become aware, there is no hope for change and your life will remain unchanged.

Your financial problems are sourced to your mindset. Once you become aware of your money mindset and the source of your money mindset (typically parents), only than change is possible. 

Your money mindset can be an anchor, dragging your down into the financial abyss or it can be a rocket ship that allows you to soar to great heights. You were not put on this planet to struggle financially. All of your financial struggles are man-made. They are the product of your money mindset. Changing your money mindset is the key to financial freedom.

Filed Under: Daily Success Tips
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