The Second Principle of Wealth

The Second Principle of Wealth was introduced to me by a good friend of mine, John Dilemme. John grew up in New York and suffered from one major challenge - stuttering. He was abused by other children for it. He was written off by a certified speech pathologist. And it embarrassed him to no end. After he graduated from college, he went into the family business at the art museum for a time until he realized that he wanted more out of life. He sat in on a network marketing opportunity meeting and made a decision on what he wanted. And he persisted through challenge after stuttering challenge to build a major network that enabled him to retire within a few years. Now he coaches people on success both personally and in groups as a non-stuttering public speaker. What made the difference was that he found his "why" for succeeding and you can learn all about John at http://www.findyourwhy.com/.

So the Second Principle of Wealth is this:

Have a Poweful Reason to Succeed!

People who succeed in life are those who have the motivation to do so. Motivation is best defined as "having the motive to take action." Anthony Robbins teaches us that there are really only two things that motivate us - pain and pleasure - and pain is the greater of the two motivators. You will succeed when the pain of failure is greater than the difficulties or challenges you will face along the way.

I am sure you have heard of Michael Jordan, one of the greatest basketball players ever to have played the game. People were amazed by his incredible talent and the feats that he accomplished. What some may not know was that in high school he was cut from the team! For some of us, that would prove devastating at that age. Not Michael. He was determined to never allow that to happen again. He was determined to make the team the very next year and he spent every day in the gym practicing and developing his talents. And when he got tired and wanted to stop, all he had to do was picture that cut list in his mind with his name on it. That was all he needed to keep going - and look at who he became because of that. What pain are you tired of suffering?

"We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons."

~Jim Rohn

In his book 7 Strategies for Wealth & Happiness, Jim Rohn says that there are four common motivators and they are:

1. Being recognized as a success

2. The feeling of winning

3. The love of family

4. Benevolence or the desire to share one's wealth

But Mr. Rohn also says that we must have "nitty-gritty" reasons for success. His reason came the day a Girl Scout knocked on his door and asked him if he would like to buy some cookies for $2. Mr. Rohn was incredibly embarrassed by the fact that he did not have $2 and so he did the only thing he could think of - he lied. He told the young girl that he had already bought some Girl Scout cookies and that he had several boxes left.

After watching her leave, Mr. Rohn shut the door, leaned back against it and cried out, "I don't want to live like this anymore. I've had it with being broke, and I've had it with lying. I'll never be embarrassed again by not having any money in my pocket." He then promised himself that he would earn enough so that he would always have several hundred dollars in his pocket at all times.

The happy ending to the story is that several years later he was walking out of the bank where he had just made a hefty deposit. Just before he got into his car, he noticed two little girls selling candy for some girls' organization. One of the girls approached him and asked him if he would like to buy some almond roca for ... $2! Mr. Rohn asked her how many boxes she and friend had left and then bought all nine boxes from them so he could pass some around to his friends. He received such a gratifying thrill when one of the girls looked up at him and said, "Mister, you're really something!" And all he had spent was a total of $18. To this day, he carries a few hundred dollars in his pocket at all times so he will never miss out on those kinds of opportunities.

What are your reasons for succeeding?

I have several. The first reason is that I am sick and tired of being in debt and having to pay thousands of dollars in interest each year. I want to be financially free and prosperous! The second is that I promised my wife that I would take her to Hawaii on our 10th anniversary and we were lucky to scrape up enough money to go out to a cheap dinner. I will take her to Hawaii while we are still young! The third is that I want to take my children to Disneyland and on many other fun, exciting and even educational trips. The fourth is that my parents have worked hard all their lives and have had very little to show for it so I want to provide an enjoyable retirement for them that they had never dreamed of. My fifth reason is that I want to be master of my own time so that I may continue to research, write books and pursue a professional career in public speaking. And my sixth reason is that I want to have the joy of giving my time and large amounts of my money to people and organizations that have need of it and the worthy goal of accomplishing much good.

What are your reasons?

Now that you know that you must know what you want and that you must have a powerful reason for getting it, what next? Come back tomorrow to find out as I share the Third Principle of Wealth!