4 Things you must Improve to build financial freedom freedomiseverything.com /2016/05/22/4-things-you-must-improve-to-build-financial-freedom/
4 Things you must Improve to build financial freedom For most of us, becoming wealthy is not easy. In fact, for most of us, becoming wealthy is a massive struggle that goes on for our entire lives. For others, money and riches come much more easily. I like to make a comparison with health and fitness. When it comes to getting fit, eating well etc, I have always understood intuitively what to do and how to do it. It comes naturally and I automatically apply the right principles in the right way. Wealth however has been a mystery to me for most of my life. This is why I have spent so much time studying money, wealth, and rich people in general. One of my goals is to be completely financially free by the age of 40. I use Robert Kiyosaki’s definition of financially free: that your passive income from investments and assets exceeds your living expenses. You don’t have to work at all to pay for your life. All of which has led me to study wealth extensively. Without further ado, here are 4 things you must improve to build financial freedom.
The top 4 things you need to improve to be financially free #1: Your Mindset Everything stems from your mindset. Before deciding what skills to learn or how to generate wealth, you must work on your mindset and approach to money. Many of us have huge blockers in place regarding money, mostly from when we were children. These include subconscious beliefs such as ‘rich people are greedy’, ‘seeking wealth is bad’, ‘money is the root of all evil’ etc. Bullshit.
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If you have those sorts of ideas in your mind you will never, ever be rich – period. There is no way that someone who is afraid of money, or has bad associations with money can become wealthy. Buy some books or take some seminars that work on improving your mindset regarding money. Once your mindset has been altered, you can begin working on other core skills. Good resource: Secrets of the Millionaire Mind (T.Harv.Eker) #2: Financial Literacy / money management OK I’m cheating because there are really two skills, but they are related. Once your mindset is in the right place, you need to begin learning how money actually works. To be honest, this is a lifetime study – and school never closes! Have a basic understanding of economics and economic factors. Understand savings and investments. Know the things which you need to do with your money to give it the best chance f multiplying in coming years. Know what to avoid doing. If you are in business for yourself or you plan to be in business, do you know how a balance sheet and profit/loss account work? Do you know the difference between an asset and a liability? Becoming financially literate allows you to see clearly the errors of money management that you may have made in the past. Do you typically spend everything you earn? Are always buying toys, gadgets and a new car? If so, now is your chance to become a better money manager. Good resource: Rich Dad, Poor Dad (Robert Kiyosaki) Total Money Makeover (Dave Ramsey) #3: How To Add Value It is imperative that you understand how business works. It shouldn’t matter if you are an employee or a business owner. You should know the basics of business – if you want to become wealthy. People who know and understand business, realise that the important thing is to bring value to your company, or to the market place. You cannot bring value if you don’t know anything about business. Understanding business means understanding what companies and customers value. Once you know what people are looking for, you can position yourself accordingly to help them get it. If you work a job, how can you help the company make more money, or save money? Many people go into their job like robots everyday, not really understanding what the purpose of their job is. The people that advance in a company, or people who create their own successful business, are those that understand how to bring the necessary value to others. Good resource: Anything by Peter Drucker Seven Strategies for Wealth and Happiness (Jim Rohn) (but learning about your company is a good start!) #4: Marketing Marketing is particularly critical for those who operate their own business. It’s also a valuable skill for anyone in corporate employment. Marketing is usually the difference between making money and not making money for
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any business. “How does this relate to becoming financially free?” I hear you ask. The answer is that to build financial freedom you need to do more than save 10% of your salary every month. Saving 10% is fine you want to be ok for retirement at 70 or 75 years old. But it does not cut it for getting financially free as quickly as possible. Like, when you still have time to enjoy the money and freedom. If you are like me, you have plans to become wealthy as early as you can – and that means you have to increase your earnings exponentially. That means either you have to become SUPER valuable in your job, or you need to have your own business. In either of the above cases, you will have to become a cracking marketer. If employed, being an ace marketer means you can bring in more money to your company. ANYONE that brings in lots of money for their company is valuable. If you operate your own business, being a great marketer can be the difference between a great business, or struggling self-employment. You have to know your service, know your brand, know your unique selling proposition (USP), and then communicate that effectively. Marketing – it’s critical, learn how to do it. Good resource: Cashvertising (Drew Eric Whitman) Influence (Robert B. Cialdini) (there are many good resources online about digital marketing in the modern world) Before anyone lambasts me, I know there are lot of skills needed to become wealthy. To become REALLY wealthy you need to know how to leverage, network, mastermind, lead, manage, produce, generate financial support etc. On top of those skills you will also need to understand the mechanism you are using to build wealth. Is it the stock market, business, real estate etc? How much do you know about it? Have you started yet? Etc. First though, you need to have a solid foundation. A strong money mindset, an understanding of money, business and marketing will provide that foundation. Everything can be built from there. In my view these are the 4 things you need to learn to be financially free. I was weak in a few of these areas, but my biggest weakness was marketing. I learned to market online using a training and mentorship programme, which you can find out more about here . I hope you find these guidelines useful! don’r be overwhelmed by the learning…just get started!! Good luck and have fun!
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