The First Principle of Wealth

This First Principle of Wealth or anything in your life is:

KNOW WHAT YOU WANT!

You may think that this is pretty simplistic, but, to be honest, it is a principle that the majority of people don't get down. Some people can only tell you what they are told they should want, whether it is by their parents, their spouse, their boss, their friends, advertisers, etc. Some people can only tell you what they DON'T want and they wonder why their life is so screwed up. And still others can't even articulate what they want simply because they don't see how it is possible for them to have it. So they do not allow themselves to want it.

George Bernard Shaw said that "Anyone who doesn't know what he wants will have to be satisfied with what he gets." If you do not like what you have been getting, maybe it is time to identify what it is that you want.

Mark Victor Hansen, coauthor of the Chicken Soup for the Soul teaches that everybody should have an "I Want" list. And then he challenges you to come up with 100 things that you want. Suspend your belief in what is possible for a moment and try to make your "I Want" list. What do you want to have? Who do you want to be? Where do you want to go? What do you want to accomplish? Who do you want to meet? What do you want to see? List anything and everything you can think of until you come up with 100 things that you want.

When you identify what you want, you take the first step towards getting it.

As I learned about these truths, I had to identify what it was that I really wanted. Since I was under a lot of financial pressure, I thought long and hard about what I wanted in terms of money. I was a bit indecisive back then, so I had a difficult time articulating what it was that I wanted. All I kept coming up with was "I want more money." To figure it out, I took the "reverse psychology" approach.

I definitely knew what I didn't want. I did not wanted to be broke and in debt any longer where I was trying to survive by living paycheck to paycheck. The opposite of that would be wealthy, debt free with surplus cash in my pocket.

But what does "wealthy" mean? To some people it can be $1,000 in the bank. To others, it may mean $100,000,000. When you think of "wealthy," what is the minimum dollar amount you think of?

I have found that most people think like I do and they automatically think "One Million Dollars!" Some may think of a larger amount and that is okay. One million dollars was a good starting point for me.

I quickly found out, however, that knowing what I wanted wasn't enough. I learned another Principle of Wealth that was just as essential ... and I'll tell you about it tomorrow!

In the beginning...

In 2003, I started a journey with the vague goal of improving my lot in life and getting more enjoyment out of it. I was in a dead-end accounting job, struggling to make ends meet and wondering why I chose such a life-draining, mind-numbing profession.

I started doing some research on goal-setting and achievement, which quickly turned to a voracious study of all things pertaining to self-development and success. I rented, bought, read, watched and listened to every scrap of information that I could get my hands on. New goals and habits were formed. Resources and leads were attracted. More positive ways of thinking prevailed. And then the answers started to come.

I started to examine my reasons for getting into accounting. I chose my course of study with the intent that I would one day make lots and lots of money. Somewhere, I must have gotten off course because I had only succeeded in making other people lots and lots of money. I could have become a CPA, but I was not willing to abandon my wife and orphan my children for six months out of the year. No amount of money was worth that. So the question I was facing was: "How does one go about making more money while retaining control of their own time and schedule?"

I started to study the lives of millionaires and billionaires to see if any of them had created their fortunes under that criteria. It is through that course of study that I started to uncover principles, practices and habits that were common among them. These became my guidelines as I searched for the vehicle that would one day change it all around for me and my family. They also became the basis for the creation of the process that I call "The Millionaire Marathon."

Over the next few days, I would like to share with you the foundational elements that one must understanding in order to create over one million dollars. Join me tomorrow as I share with you the First Principle of Wealth ... one that most people who dream of being wealthy tend to overlook.

I'll see you tomorrow!