Wealth Creation Blog

Until you resolve to remove them, there will be always be some barriers that stand in the way of your best efforts at creating wealth. That may mean that you cannot find the time and energy to devote to it, or it may mean that you cannot find the amount of time that you wish you could devote (so as to put more of an effort in, and so as to get more out).

Whether it’s stepping up your efforts or just getting them started, your daily obligations no doubt are a cause of resistance for you. By obligations here I refer to those things that you feel cannot be moved or changed that infringe on your available time, money, and effort. Surely some of those are non-negotiable. When it really gets down to it, though, some of them may not be real obligations at all.

Your Time, Your Money, Your Obligations

Everyone has obligations that they feel are beyond their control; but we know that is hardly ever the case for any of them, really. But we also know that your moral obligations to other people supersede your real choices—as well they should in many cases. There is a point where you cannot responsibly make choices that negatively impact others. But there are also responsibilities that you feel toward others that are much less important—these are the things that you may feel obliged to attend to, but that are not life-ending. These are the things that can go.

The negotiable obligations come in many, many forms. Some of them come in the form of bills and debts than can be handled otherwise; some of them come in the form of time choices—like when other people pressure you to spend your time their way and not your own, but you could choose to change that. Most of the negotiable choices have at their heart an emotion—an emotional obligation, the “feeling” that you can’t spend that hour learning about developing wealth because your partner wants your attention. But is that real? (Not that you should go breaking up the relationship—but there is such a thing as balance, yes?)

The point is, too often we feel obligated when we really are not. A lot of the time the only way to overcome this is to go ahead and do what you want to be doing or accomplishing, and see what the result is. More often than not you’ll find out that nothing of major consequence really happens—that you find other ways to see to your obligations and needs, and that you find out there are many things you’ve been doing that really aren’t obligations at all. And that the real obligation is to see to your own well-being first. Because if you are not healthy financially, you are not doing nearly the good that you could for others.

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

Perhaps I was hard on you in the last post, so let’s lighten it up a bit and see if we can’t do something real to alleviate your pressure and open up some time so that adding more to your day can be less taxing. In reality there are few people who get time-management right. Few people are as disciplined as they could or should be, and so the bulk of us are wasting time that could be used instead for something really good—something like getting rich, building wealth. That’s a pretty good reward for a little more discipline, isn’t it?

Don’t Find Time, Make Time

You cannot find time. It already exists. You already have all the time you are going to get. So if you are spending your days looking for more so that you can start to create wealth, you will be disappointed. The time is there, you just need to find a way to make it happen for you.

One way to make time happen is to take away that which steals it from you. You may think this is impossible, but for most people it is not. Let’s take a look, then, at the things that can possibly go.

• Mindless entertainment—relaxation is important, but if you could give up some mindless TV, movies, or trashy novels you can replace them with educational wealth videos and podcasts, financial empowerment books, and motivational CD’s.

• Time wasters—there are so many possibilities here it seems an endless subject. Are other people wasting your time? Don’t let them. Do you talk on the phone too much? Email too much? IM? Spend more time than is necessary in meetings and travel (can you work from home and spend less time commuting)?

• Obsessions—some of us do things too well—things that don’t really matter that much. Maybe you vacuum three times a day or obsessively check your email. Figure out what is necessary and good, do that, but nothing more.

I’m sure you can add to this list. Maybe you can even give me some tips. If you can please do. We all need more time for what is most important, beneficial, and productive. We all need more time to prioritize our financial futures. We all need to make that time.

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