| So many people today struggle to lose weight, | | | | money will not make you wealthy. More importantly, |
| especially after they learn that obesity dramatically | | | | most of our lives we have been told and convinced |
| decreases their life expectancy, and dramatically | | | | that money is the root of all evil. With all those years |
| increases the costs of their future medical care. This | | | | of sub-conscious programming, a few words being |
| seems strange to me since I and certainly they must | | | | said to the contrary will not help convince us to do the |
| have figured out there are only two things they need | | | | hard work to become wealthy. |
| to focus on in order to lose weight. For some reason | | | | P.S. Prepare the Soil: Dry, sandy soil that has not been |
| knowing those two simple things to do, is not sufficient | | | | properly prepared will not grow the crops we want for |
| to do them despite a virtual guarantee of losing weight. | | | | the future, even if you sow the right seeds.kNowledge: |
| Compared to losing weight, becoming truly wealthy, or | | | | Probably the biggest factor for most people admitting |
| at least financially independent, is slightly more | | | | they know very little about investing, is they rely on |
| complicated. There are three simple things to focus on, | | | | what they learned from their parents and in school. I |
| versus only two for weight loss. Despite being simple, | | | | have met very few people in the world who had any |
| there appears to be a lot of similarity between the | | | | courses in school on investing, managing their personal |
| success rates for weight loss and becoming wealthy. | | | | finances, or even on balancing a checkbook. So for |
| For both the chances of long term success are very | | | | those who are looking for an excuse as to why they |
| low. | | | | are not wealthy, feel free to blame your parents and |
| What are the key factors that differentiate the small | | | | the school system. It may make you feel better, but it |
| percentage of truly wealthy individuals from the vast | | | | will not add even a penny to your net worth. |
| majority of us? A few cynical readers will probably | | | | Gaining kNowledge about investing and wealth building |
| say the key factor is inheritance. If that were true, then | | | | requires life long learning. There have been many |
| very few of us would have a chance of becoming | | | | articles and books written on virtually every aspect of |
| wealthy unless we were born into the right family, or | | | | investing. Additionally, companies specializing in |
| married into a wealthy family. Other readers might say | | | | managing money hold informational and educational |
| that luck or knowing the right people are the key | | | | seminars regularly. The people who want to become |
| factors. This second group is closer to identifying some | | | | truly wealthy need to read and attend seminars |
| of the key factors. As Samuel Goldwyn said: "the | | | | regularly. Clearly outsourcing your investments is an |
| harder I work, the luckier I get". If you associate only | | | | option. Although even picking the right asset managers |
| with negative people who say it is impossible for you | | | | requires kNowledge of how to define your investment |
| to become wealthy, it will indeed become a self-fulfilling | | | | objectives and to compare the track records and |
| prophesy. These are not the people you want to | | | | integrity of various asset managers. |
| know. The people you want to know, or learn from, | | | | P.S. Pick your Seeds: What you reap is dependent on |
| are the successful few that are wealthy, financially | | | | what you sow. If you want to eat corn, do not plant |
| independent, or at least well on their way. | | | | tulip bulbs. |
| I have written many articles on investing, and regularly | | | | Action: Developing a true desire to be wealthy and |
| hold seminars to teach others some of the basic | | | | gaining kNowledge are necessary but not sufficient. |
| investing principles, or specific investment ideas that | | | | Eventually you need to get your feet wet and take the |
| have good returns at lower than typical risks. For | | | | plunge. The Third Commandment of Investing is very |
| years I was stumped as to why so few people took | | | | clear: No risk - No reward. Investment always has |
| advantage of the ideas they learned from me. I read | | | | some risk associated with it. For those who want to |
| many books, talked to a number of people, and | | | | avoid all risk at any expense will never be wealthy. In |
| attended seminars in non-financial disciplines to | | | | fact, not investing is far riskier than investing done |
| broaden my knowledge and help me find the answer. | | | | properly. |
| I recently put together the things I learned, and realized | | | | For the risk adverse you can chose guaranteed |
| there are three major factors or obstacles that hold | | | | investments like bank CD's and government issued |
| most people back from becoming wealthy. I use the | | | | debt. These instruments come with two guarantees. |
| acronym DNA to help remember these three key | | | | The first is that you will get the money you invested |
| factors to becoming wealthy: Desire, kNowledge, and | | | | plus the interest promised. The second guarantee is |
| Action. Additionally, for each of these key factors I | | | | that when you collect that money it will be worth less |
| developed a "P.S." to help remind you of what needs | | | | than the money was at the time you invested. |
| to be done to reap the rewards from the seeds you | | | | Before taking action and committing your hard earned |
| sow. | | | | money to any investment, I highly suggest taking a few |
| I am under no illusion that a life changing concept like | | | | minutes and reviewing the 10 Commandments of |
| Wealth DNA cannot be fully explained in one short | | | | Investing. Following those Commandments reduces risk |
| article. A separate article in this series is dedicated to | | | | significantly, and the Tenth Commandment will remind |
| each of these factors. In a few years, you will be able | | | | you to review the results, and like smart people learn |
| to read much more detail in a book with the | | | | from your mistakes as well as your successes. By |
| appropriate title: Wealth DNA. To whet your appetite I | | | | reading and attending financial seminars you will have |
| include a very brief introduction to each of these | | | | the opportunity to be a wise person - learning not only |
| factors. Think of this introduction analogous to providing | | | | from your experience but also from the mistakes and |
| the two factors for weight loss. Knowing them is | | | | successes of others. |
| necessary, but far from sufficient to succeed. | | | | P.S. Plant your Seeds: After preparing the soil and |
| Desire: Likely the biggest obstacle for most people, | | | | picking your seeds, you need to plant them. You |
| despite all the spoken words that they "really wish | | | | cannot reap what you never sow. |
| they were wealthy". Like luck, building the true desire to | | | | If you are still curious about the two simple steps to |
| become wealthy requires hard work. Some of that | | | | losing weight, they are: consuming less, and moving |
| hard work is due to the trade-offs we need to make | | | | more. Like becoming wealthy, the steps are simple, but |
| to postpone purchases or consumption to versus | | | | not easy to follow regularly! |
| save more for the future. The reality is that spending | | | | |