Whether
you are struggling or just want to maximize your wealth, there are several
things you can do to improve your financial outlook. Here they are:
First, visualize monetary success.
Sounds crazy, but our thoughts have form, and thus matter. Positive
thought will attract positive results. (See article on thoughts matter,
for more information on this subject). The way I visualize monetary success is
to imagine myself receiving a check for three times the amount I actually want.
Or, sometimes, I'll picture myself in a room with piles and piles of money. More
money than I can possibly count. I don't picture this for greed purposes - I do
it because it creates abundant thinking. I also wrote a check to myself for
US$10,000,000.00. I dated it, signed it, and cashed it. Now I'm
waiting for my bank to honor it! Ok, I did write the check, and put it in a
drawer for safekeeping. I heard Jim Carrey did this prior to his success
on Living Color, which led to his success with The Mask. He now earns over $10
Million per picture and continues to release successful movies (such as The
Truman Show). I figure if it worked for him, it might work for me. The point is
that if you can visualize yourself living with financial abundance it is much
more likely you will attain that state in the future.
Second,
reduce frivolous spending. I don't mean go into a "lack"
mentality. What I mean is that if we're paying too much money out it is
difficult to get ahead, financially. Many people have too much credit card
debt. These debts are at high interest rates (from 10% - 25%, depending on
payment history) and are quite costly to carry over the long-term. If we
can reach a state where our credit card it payed off each month we enable our
money to start working for us.
Another
example of frivolous spending might be subscribing to the newspaper (the news is
often laying around the bagel store, coffee shop, or at the end of a bar in
local eating establishments if you want to know the trick to scoring free
news). Most news is on the internet. If you are reading this
article, it is likely you have access to the internet on a regular basis and can
therefore get news this way. I have programmed a Yahoo home page with the
news content I want, and for cover-story news I just log into the general
MyYahoo page without putting in my password and I can receive anything about the
current Presidential news I want to read. Most news is negative
(especially front page articles) so it doesn't hurt to cut down on that reading,
anyway. Other subscriptions that may or may not be considered frivolous
are: cable access, magazines, home deliveries, and/or organizations we're
no longer involved in. I cancelled cable, many magazines, and dropped my
membership in one club three years ago and really haven't missed them all that
much. The money I saved was used to help me grow my savings accounts and
pay a mortgage.
Third,
increase savings (401K, IRA, etc.). I say this because the sooner we begin
to save, the better off we'll be when we pull the money out of our IRA.
Also, building up a six-month emergency fund cushion is handy for
peace-of-mind. Learn more about this subject by reading my article:
"The Value
of Compounding Money."
Learn more
about Financial Success:
Double Your
Stock Money
Discover Scientific Proof To Law of Attraction: Wealth Beyond Reason
Fourth, donate money to charity.
This is probably one of the most beneficial, yet nebulous, ways of to spend to
create more abundance. I choose two or three charities per year to which I want
to donate a significant check to. I believe there are three wise times to
donate: (1) when I just received a large bonus or larger earning than
normal, or (2) monthly contributions (this is especially useful with religious
organizations, who need regular giving more than sporadic giving to keep their
business going), and (3) when my money is looking scarce and I don't know how
I'm going to pay for everything.
If
you are shocked at the idea of donating when money is scarce, you'll be
surprised how many people I've shared this philosophy with who agree that this
time to give has also worked for them. It requires faith, that if I donate
a significant check to others in need, that somehow the universe will pay back
that karma multiple times over. Three years ago, I bought my house and saw
my monthly bills quadruple. Three months after I moved in, my job took a
bad turn and I could see only about three months ability to pay bills before
running out of money and credit. I prayed. Then I wrote out three
checks for $1,000 each. I won't say who I wrote them out to, but they were
all to charities. The next month, Data General hired me with guarantees
$3,000 per month over what I required to pay my bills. Nice timing.
I could say it would have happened, anyway, but I like to believe in faith.
Fifth, spend wisely to make more. Once
in my career my company was acquired by another company, who was known for
having superior salespeople to mine. I met the manager, who told me to
meet his "ace" salesman. Upon meeting the "ace" salesman, I was blown
away! He was smooth, dressed sharp, told colorful anecdotes, and expressed
his strong, yet experienced, opinions with a sense of humor.
I
went home that day and told my girlfriend, "I just met the next
level." Over the next three months, I did everything I could to learn
what made Robert successful - to emulate his success. The first month, I
bought three new expensive-looking suits with sharp shirts, ties, socks,
and shoes to match. Then, I subscribed to the same magazines he read (and
a couple more that CEO's read). Third, I began telling stories, and using my natural abilities, rather than programmed sales pitches, to win new
clients. This is how Robert communicated, to get points across through anecdotes
or short stories. A picture is worth a thousand words, is the old cliché.
Three
months later, my earnings tripled (see Abundance
Rule of 3's). I used the formula of spending wisely to make more
money. In the case of buying those suits, I presented a successful image
to my customers, my management, and co-workers. As a result of that image,
people ASSUMED I was successful, and rewarded me with their business, with
better accounts and opportunities, and higher respect. I also improved my
language and knowledge. Image, after all, isn't everything. The rule
of emulating other successful people is a good idea. Yet, remain original
by retaining what works for you and cutting anything that feels as if you're
faking it.
Believing
in yourself is the last key, and perhaps the most obvious step to financial
success. If we do
not currently believe we are at "the next level" then perhaps we need
to learn more, or spend more time learning what the next level is. I find
that part of arriving at that peak level of performance is a combination of
striving to be and do more, faith, and going out on the limb to risk
failure. Failure is simply a learning experience. And learning
experiences can also help us reach the next level.
The
level of financial success we attain is up to us. Visualizing success
through faith, building wise spending and savings habits, donating money to
charity, and learning to become successful
in our trade will enable us to reach our financial aspirations.
