Wealth Creation Blog

A wise man once said that being in debt isn’t about the math; meaning that everyone understands that paying huge interest and being burdened by large revolving debts doesn’t make sense. And if being in debt was only about the mathematical equation, then no one would ever be in debt.

The funny thing is being wealthy isn’t about the math, either. Mathematically, we all know it makes more sense to save money, invest, and build wealth. And if that was all there was to it then everyone would be wealthy.

What Is Wealth Creation About, Then?

If it’s not about the math, what is it about?

If being in debt is not about the math, then what is it about?

If being wealthy is not about the math, then what is it about?

The thing that both of these seemingly opposites have in common is one thing—mindset.

No matter how you got to where you are, not matter what you think consciously and subconsciously about money, debt, and wealth, it is your mindset, emotion, and psychology that got you there. Anyone can do the math to figure out how to logically be wealthy, or not be in debt. But not everyone can apply what they know to building wealth (or to breaking debt cycles). Most people cannot. That is why most people are not wealthy.

People who doubt the effect of mindset on wealth should try looking at it from the other side; for some reason it’s easier to see that being in debt doesn’t make sense, yet so many very intelligent people are. So it has to be about more than the math, right? There has to be a more human, emotional component to being in debt. Just as there has to be a more human, emotional component to being wealthy. If it were any other way, we would have far fewer debtors, and a world full of wealthy people!

Sean Rasmussen
Wealth Creation Blog
UniversalWealthCreation.com © 2004 - 2008

When we talk about motivating ourselves and finding ways to be more productive, efficient, less time-constrained and so on, we are almost always talking about looking forward. We talk about setting goals, tracking our goals, planning our time, scheduling, making lists…

That’s all well and good, but sometimes it’s just not inspiration enough. Sometimes despite the best laid plans and efforts our plans for building wealth still fall victim to time and energy. So today I’m going to propose a new motivator, one that doesn’t rely on ethereal promises of good things to come, but one that evaluates where we’ve been and what we’ve done.

Gauging The Worth Of Your Time

Looking back at how you’ve spent your time and your days can help you gain some very valuable perspective on the worth/value/reward/effort ratio. I find this is most effective as a defense against procrastination, but it soon proves worthwhile when you expand it into other things like your work and personal time, etc.

This is very simple to do, too. All it takes is a few minutes evaluating your day at the end of it (broadened into time segments of weeks, months, and so on as you prefer). At the end of your designated time frame, look back at what you have done and what you gained for it. Look at what you gave of yourself and answer one simple question:

Was It Worth It?

Let’s suppose you spent the day idling on emails, or wishing you didn’t have to do a certain thing. When you look back at the end of the day you realize that the amount of actual progress or time spent on the tasks you were putting off was very small. And now suddenly you’ve lost valuable hours of your life, nurturing negative energy, to something you didn’t want to do. The reward ratio was not worth the effort and energy you gave to it because you gave the thing much more weight than it deserved, and prohibited yourself doing the things you really wanted to do –the things that would really allow you to build wealth.

Looking back and placing value on how we’ve spent our lives has a way of helping us come clear on it. Find out the real value of what you’ve been doing to motivate yourself to reap the best rewards for your time.

Sean Rasmussen
Wealth Creation Blog
UniversalWealthCreation.com © 2004 - 2008

I just by chance happened across a few discussions recently that referenced the many myths that people hold around money; these are myths that keep people from saving, investing, and making money because they either misinform, or essentially provide excuses for people not to take firm control of their financial house. I paid it little interest at the time, but then thought more deeply later that this is, in fact, fundamental to real wealth creation.

Out With The Old, In With The New

It’s not as if I didn’t know this; one of the primary missions of programs like Jamie McIntyre’s is in educating people to the real truths of money, saving, investing, money systems, banking and establishments. It’s an important part of any plan to build wealth because having the real information, and the ability to analyze a situation, is freeing and opportunity-producing.

Here’s an example of what I’m referring to. One of the things that were mentioned was real estate—whether it’s better to rent or to buy a home. Of course, this really means mortgage your home because most people don’t have their “bought” homes paid off.

The general consensus is that buying your home is best. Different wealth experts would have different things to say about this. But the articles you read say not necessarily—and that can be true, too. Jamie McIntyre, for example, would buy multiple properties but would keep his home, his personal residence, usually out apart from investment properties; or, he may suggest living in one but still viewing it as an investment and always knowing it as such. He learned a lot of this from Robert Kiyosaki who believes in investing in real estate, but knows that a home is not an investment; it’s a place to live, whereas your money makers are in a different category. More often than not it’s all in how the banks would have you view it.

So what’s the point?

The point that I’m trying to make is that there are many ways to look at things. And, I guess, that you can’t always take what you read at face-value. You have to consider it on your own terms, and peel back the myths and general advice to look strategically at the financial decisions you make. And I have to add, a very good way to nurture those skills is to get educated! Financially educated! Learn the facts and motivations behind all types of transactions, and find the ways that you can capitalize where others fail to learn.

Sean Rasmussen
Wealth Creation Blog
UniversalWealthCreation.com © 2004 - 2008

One factor that bears a lot of weight on individual wealth creation is a person’s financial past. Too often, people place too much importance on what they spent or did with their money, the mistakes they may have made, the things they may have done with it. Doing that can be dangerous to a new wealth building initiative. Why? Because in no way are you your financial past. Your financial future is not your financial past; not unless you allow it to be.

What’s Done Is Done

Whatever you did with your money in the past is over and done with. There may be traces of those decisions that remain, but that does not have to reflect in your financial future. The future hasn’t happened yet, so there is no reason to think that it has to be the same as the past. No matter what you did in the days, weeks, months, and years before, you have an entirely open and free opportunity to do something different and effect a new result. This is important to understand because you have to believe that change is a possibility for you before you can create wealth. You have to know, unquestionably, that you can in fact succeed and be rich!

Making Changes And Moving Forward

But as we said, there are traces of the past that remain. The money that is gone, the debt that you have, the financial promises you’ve made are still there, and you have to deal with them. That is true. But we’ve also established the truth of choice and the power of choice. Those things remain, but you can choose how best to manage them and move forward. You can make a plan that meets your goals. You can believe in your ability and you can succeed.

The first step is to build that system of belief. Without it you will continue to accept that your wealth is out of your control. As we’ve said many times before, knowledge is power and knowing this, knowing that your financial past is done and over with, and that a new day is here, is that power—the power to succeed and be rich!

Sean Rasmussen
Wealth Creation Blog
UniversalWealthCreation.com © 2004 - 2008

If you find that creating wealth overwhelms you, you are not alone. And if you find it difficult to overcome that feeling, you are not alone, either. Why is this the case? And how can you get beyond it? You might start by first analyzing what the emotion of overwhelm really is.

Why We Feel Overwhelmed

The reason that we feel overwhelmed by new tasks is that they feel too large. They are just too big to wrap our minds around them, and so we feel like the job is impossible.

There is another element that contributes to that feeling of being overwhelmed. It is the desire to get through it all now. To want to be done with it, to be at the end, to have reached the pinnacle and disburse with the work of it. There’s nothing wrong with wanting that, with having a high level of motivation to achieve your goals. Unfortunately, that’s just not realistic. You have to put the work in if you want to enjoy the rewards—you have to invest something to reap the benefits and become wealthy.

Get A Grip On Being Overwhelmed

Knowing this is half the battle, as it always is. Gaining a perspective and knowing what you are up against is the way to combat feelings of overwhelm and anxiety. When you understand that feeling overwhelmed is simply a reaction to wanting to be at the end and be wealthy, then you can begin to rationalize the situation and tell yourself what you need to hear to stay motivated towards wealth. You can recognize the tasks as necessary steps to getting rich; you can break those tasks down into smaller, more manageable tasks, and you can set smaller interim goals to help you along the way.

Being overwhelmed is just another emotion. When you learn to control it, you can enjoy great success in creating wealth and being financially prosperous. You can be rich!

Sean Rasmussen
Wealth Creation Blog
UniversalWealthCreation.com © 2004 - 2008