The last question I posed yesterday was if you have had a million dollar idea why did you never act on it? In order to answer that question, I need you to do a little exercise with me.
When I do this in person, I normally have people close their eyes because it creates a much more vivid image. Obviously, I can't have you close your eyes because you would not be able to read the instructions I am about to give you. But I want you to visualize as best you can that you are just walking through your front door. Nobody else is home but you, and, as you enter the family room, it becomes immediately apparent that someone has broken into your home. The couch has been tipped over. Books have been pulled off the shelves. DVDs and CDs have been thrown around the room. Potted plants have been dumped out. The laundry you folded just before you left has been thrown all over. We're talking Martha Stewart's worst nightmare!
You immediately call the police. They come, dust for fingerprints, take your statement and some photos and then leave, promising that they will keep in touch. And now it is just you and your own personal disaster area. Now I want you to pay close attention to what your mind does when I give you the following instruction ... Clean the room!
Now, I am willing to bet that 99.9% of you did not use the Harry Potter or Mary Poppins methods where, with the wave of a magic wand or the snap of your fingers, everything just flew back into place. You probably went through a mental checklist of what you had to do to get it clean which probably went something like this:
- Turn the couch back over
- Put the books back on the shelf
- Put away the DVDs and CDs
- Throw the laundry back in the washer
- Pick up the potted plants
- Vacuum up the dirt and dust
A few of you may have had a simpler checklist such as:
- Find the phone book
- Open to the yellow pages and look up cleaning services
- Find the phone and call the number
- Ask how soon the can get there (there is nothing wrong with doing it the easy way!)
And some of us may have reacted like this:
- Break down into tears
- Grab the unfinished pint of Ben & Jerry's from the freezer
- Lock yourself in the bedroom until your spouse comes home
The reason why you didn't take action on your million dollar idea is probably because the gap between where you were at the time of the idea and the accomplishment of the idea was too great, and your mind just could not negotiate the distance. Just like when you mentally "cleaned the room," our mind requires us to break large, formidable tasks down into small, manageable steps that we can "see" ourselves taking action on.
The Fourth Principle of Wealth, therefore, is:
The Millionaire Marathon is, in a nutshell, a series of stepping stones that will enable you to create over one million dollars out of absolutely nothing and have fun doing it! But, before you are ready to learn what those steps are, there is one more principle of wealth that you need to understand that is mentioned briefly in a Bible parable. Join me tomorrow to learn the Fifth Principle of Wealth.
1 comment:
This is your first of hopefully many comments!
I just finished "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" today. There are a lot of great things in that book. What I like most about it is that it is a call to action. The author says many times, in effect, "If you want to be rich, DO IT!" Find ways to strengthen your financial intellegence. Look for ways to increase your money in whatever creative ways you can.
There were many more parts that I liked, but there is limited space here.
Needless to say, I loved the book, and hope I can put some of the ideas in it to action!
Always,
Adam!
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