Success Is A Choice

Random Ramblings
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One factor, and only one factor, determines success & wealth. You have to choose to be wealthy. It is as simple as that. If you change the things you are doing today, your life is going to change.

Think like a wealthy person – If you don’t already think that way, the first thing you have to do is change the way you think. You have to be positive, make smart decisions, imitate people who have wealth, and start putting yourself in the right place to actually make money.

Think out of the ordinary (box) – Think Bigger! – If all you can see are debts you owe and the struggle to pay bills, it is going to be difficult for you to prepare for the future. Think bigger. See yourself as a wealthy person who has been thinking about where they wanted to be and the steps to get there.

Take action – Nobody ever gets anywhere by standing still. You’ll have to stretch. You’ll have to play a bigger game. You need to take and manage risk, a reasonable amount of risk so you can grow. Education will help you to grow as a person.

Learn from a mentor – Copy the successful people. Others have made the mistakes you’re going to make. You don’t need to re-create the wheel. You need to take advantage of what others know. If you want to be a carpenter, plumber, or electrician, you serve as an apprentice under a master. All of life works that way. Find a person who you admire for their success and copy & imitate what they do.

Visualize Success – Think Big. Visualize yourself as successful. Visualize yourself doing what you would like to be doing. Visualize yourself as the person you would like to become. Bills paid, excited about going to work, having more money than you ever have, nice home, college fund for the kids, more opportunity on the horizon.

Live The American Dream – It is your right to live the American Dream. Perhaps you are not happy in your present situation and you are concerned about your well-being. Well, you know what? You should be. The only one who cares about your future, other than your family…is you, certainly not your employer. Maybe you want to make a change, but the right “opportunity” has not yet presented itself to you…You need a way out…Choose to be wealthy!

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I firmly believe that in the USA (and even in this economy) that anyone can be rich. All you have to do is really want to be rich.

However, if you really want something, you work hard to get it. You don’t sit around wishing it will magically appear.

My observation is that there are actually not very many people who genuinely want to be rich. The majority of people simply wish they could spend lots and lots of money. It’s not the same thing at all.

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This brings to mind a game I got for Christmas a couple of years ago–“Cashflow”. I played it with my family once or twice and we all thought it dragged. And it was really expensive, for a game, $90+!

Then my business-grad daughter dragged it out again just recently. We played. And played. Now she is hooked, and so am I.

It’s like Monopoly on steroids. Rental real estate, business start-ups, stocks, bonds, and spending money for living. What is good about it, is that you internalize the value system of the game.

You WANT to buy that foreclosed-on fixer. You get mad when you have to buy $75.00 sunglasses, or other doo-dads. You scrutinize those stock offerings and reject those low-yield municipal bonds. You advance in life!

Okay, I am sounding now like a commercial for a game I once thought was just hype. But, damn, it’s good.

The 9-year-old playing with us-- “I’ve just got to get rid of this retail debt!” The other kid playing–“I’m just a truck driver, but I’ve got more passive cash flow than you, Mr. Doctor!”

My recommendation of the week: CASHFLOW. You play it, and then it plays you.

Furnishedowner

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thansk for the support :biggrin

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One of the things you have to change is your own mindset. Most people think of their job as their financial lifeline. It should be viewed as a means to an end. People who are rich do not trade hours for dollars by punching a clock. They’ve taken control by using their money as employees who job it is to go out and bring in more money. The trick is knowing where to direct that money. It could be starting a business, investing/trading stocks,bonds etc…, REI. The problem with trading hours for dollars is that there’s only a set amount of hours in the day and only so much you can physically do…

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I have to disagree that anyone can be rich…Success is a choice for the ultra determined and define success???..There are certain people that love to think they want money but when it comes to putting in the work they back out…I have a childhood friend that I have been carrying for the last 7 years…Him and I grew up together in LES (lower east side) and he was in and out of trouble since we were kids but he is a loyal friend…Always has been and very protective of me…So on my journey up the ladder I have done everything in my power to help him…I own a piece of a franchise (well known) and I have tried to get him involved and backed (funded) him to own his own business etc…That has ended up with him disappearing for days on end drunk and turning his cellphone off etc…Here he is my best friend,would literally step infront of a bullet for me and he cant help himself…And his best friend (me) is a workaholic,grew up in the same environment he did and excelled…He refuses to step up and my wife fights with me constantly over all I do for him.Yet he talks a meangame…"watch when I make my millions dada dada etc etc…I yawn…Point is I dont think certain people have it in them…Its a long fight to make real money and takes endless hours of work…Investing it after you get it is even trickier imo…People can say this or that but once you have size money you see how well or how boldly you make financial decisions with it…Making money is hard work but very rewarding if you do it on your own…Find your niche in life and work at it,but it has to be in area that you are able to take down size money…If your goal in life is to make a comfortable living and have your bills paid thats great…My dad is like that…But if your goal is too have many zeros in your account and pull down serious money then you need to be in the right place…Doing small deals and making small salaries will take a long time and honestly you probably will never get to make HUGE money but you may find happiness…You have to find your happy median…

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Great point Rookie. I think its easier for people to think that their financial success is derived from outside forces. The thought of it being their own responsibilty is scary when faced with the changes they’ll need to make… I think that anyone CAN but the reality is that many won’t or think they can’t. I think it takes a belief that they can do it and the willingness to work and sacrifice for it…

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phlem boy makes a massive point…sacrifice…sacrifice…sacrifice…I cant emphasize that word enough…and discipline…I cant tell you how many times I would do the unsocial thing over the weekends or after work because I was in the money mode.I would go home and read endlessly or look at hundreds of charts or calculate mortgages or think up scenarios to create business notes…This stuff takes time…If you are hung up on Thursday night at the bar and Tuesday night is .25 wings at the local bar or what club you are going to over the weekend you are NOT committed…Being successful is frowned upon once you get there…There is saying “its windy at the top of the mountain”…The haters are everywhere and all of a sudden you will be amazed how you hear how money isnt important by people…Give me a break…Who doesnt want to live comfortable life…These people who say that are afraid of admitting that they simply dont have what it takes to make it…So they make excuses…I hate to be realist here but I see alot of nonsense getting spewed and not by taxlienadvisor…He has the mindset and if he puts himself in the right place to take down size he probably will…The key to success is being in a business where you take down size deals…Or have a job that you make a massive salary and live BELOW your means…Its not how much you make,its how much you keep…

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Rookie. It’s funny you said that about how other people think of you. I work the night shift and during break and downtime I read Steve Nision’s Candlestick Course or studying charts that I printed out. My co-workers bust my chops while they’re goofing off… They say things like “Are you rich yet?” I usually tell them “You’ll know when I’m not here!”. My wife thinks its a waste of time but the possibility of proving her wrong gives me added motivation :biggrin. I remember the PM’s you sent me a long time ago… I’ve saved them and refer to them now and then. You had some great points and you were 100% right on the work involved… Thanx.

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Phlemboy and Rookie are absolutely right. You can “choose” to be rich, but if you’re not willing to work your butt off and sacrifice - it will NEVER HAPPEN!

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I think what people can learn from people here who are successful…propertymanager,fdjake,FO etc…They obviously have a certain p***ion for what they do…Its not necessarily work when you enjoy doing it…I love to go to work everyday and I love to do deals…For me its the thrill of the hunt and to take down a deal…Like Mike enjoys finding a discounted property that he can cashflow and fdjake likes finding a good deal that he can flip…If you find your niche in business and see a way to capitalize from it even better…You have to have goals…

I hate to quote a guy like Dennis Kozlowski (yeah that nitwit who bought a $6000 shower curtain and is rotting in jail for cleaning out Tyco)…I watch the show American Greed all the time…And they interviewed Dennis in jail…He said something that made alot of sense to me…He said if everyone is in the digging for gold business he wants to sell the pick ax…You have to find your niche and being in a business with less competition helps immensely…If you are a food vendor selling hot dogs and there are 4 vendors on the same block,guess what?..You arent going to clean up very much on sales…You need exclusivity…You need a niche…And you need to get your price…

And most importantly dont be afraid of trying…Phlemboy,it shows character how you avoid the wisecracks while you keep at it…Keep in mind that %99 of people dont have what it takes…Being self made is a hard thing,even more so in these times…But there is opps in every environment and thats what a great business person will do…Make money no matter what the climate…

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Thanx Rookie. I also think having the right direction/plan to succeed is important. I believe Mark Twain said ," Never mistake activity for progress"… Properly directed energy, focus, discipline and sacrifice… I firmly believe that proper direction comes from the people who’ve done it successfully. I guess its called modeling. But learning what to do and why goes a long way. It took me a while to learn that but I think I’m heading in the right direction. Basically I took Rookie’s Steve Nison recomendation and took it from there. I’m reading Nison’s recomended author’s and so on… I’ve learned a ton in 6 months. Especially by putting my own money on the line…