The Fifth Principle of Wealth

As I mentioned yesterday, this principle of wealth is mentioned briefly in a Bible parable which you can read in the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew.

The Parable of the Talents

This parable tells of a very wealthy man who is going on an extended journey. Before he leaves, he calls three of his servants to him and divides his wealth among them based on their ability. To one servant he gives five talents, to another servant he gives two, and to the third servant he gives only one talent. Then he leaves for his journey.

Now before you start thinking that the third servant got the raw end of the deal, let's take a closer look at what was being given. A talent was equal to 6,000 denarii. A denarius was the payment for a single day's work. So, he was entrusted with an amount equal to over nineteen year's worth of wages. For a minimum wage employee in Washington State today, that would be over $380,000 (if you ignore all the overtime laws and requirements). So, this was no small amount of money.

While the master is gone, the first servant uses his master's five talents in trade and increases them to ten talents. The second servant uses the two talents he had been entrusted with to trade and increases his talents to four. The third servant, however, feared losing the one talent he had been given and buries it in the ground and awaits his master's return.

When the master did return, he calls his three servants together to receive an accounting of what they had done with his wealth in his absence. When the first servant reports and shows his master the full ten talents he now possessed, the master commended him by saying, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things." When the second servant reports and shows his master the four talents, he received the same commendation.

When the third servant reported, showing his master the one talent, and telling him of what he had done to preserve it, he was severely chastised, being called a "wicked and slothful servant." He was told that, at the very least, he should have given the talent to the money-changers where the master would have earned interest on it. The talent was taken and given to the first servant and the third servant was cast out.

While there are many important truths that can be gleaned from this parable, let me call your attention to one that most people do not take notice of. In all his wisdom, the master did not divide his wealth among his servants equally. The test question is: "What basis did the master use to divide his wealth among his servants?"

This is the same reason why today's wealth is not more evenly distributed. It isn't because of education. Some of the wealthiest people today didn't complete their college degrees. It isn't because of popularity. Look how well yesterday's "nerds" are doing today. It isn't because of environment. People have come from the poorest of conditions to create millions of dollars. It is because of the Fifth Principle of Wealth:

Wealth flows to those who have

the ability to properly use it!

Someone once said that, if you gathered up all the wealth in the world and divided it evenly among the people of the world, within a very short time the majority of the wealth would end up back in the hands of those who were wealthy to begin with. You see a wealthy person is not wealthy because of the money they have. It is because of the person they became as they accumulated that wealth. You could take all their money away (and many wealthy people did go through bankruptcy at least once) and they would earn their way back to where they were before ... or better! I like equate it to learning to ride a bike - once you figured it out, even if you get knocked off, you know how to get back up again.

The reverse is also true. Those people who have not increased their "wealth-ability," even when they are given enormous sums of money, quickly end up right back where they started. Lottery winners are a perfect example of this. People who are in debt and living paycheck-to-paycheck suddenly receive millions. Their financial problems are solved, right? WRONG! The majority of them end up BANKRUPT within two years of their winning.

Increasing the balance of someone's bank account on this level without increasing their ability to deal with wealth of this magnitude is very much like trying to pour a gallon of water into a six ounce glass. You will never have more than six ounces. You have to enlarge your capacity to receive.

This is the purpose of The Millionaire Marathon! It is NOT a get-rich-quick scheme (but you can increase your wealth as quickly as you choose to). It is a system to take you from $0 to over $1,000,000 in only 28 steps at absolutely no financial risk to you while increasing your "wealth-ability" in the process!

To find out how you can get started running The Millionaire Marathon, e-mail me at themillionairemarathon@hotmail.com and I will tell you how to get started.

The Fourth Principle of Wealth

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 Power of Stepping Stones

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:

Break Your Idea Down Into Small, Actionable Steps

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.

The Third Principle of Wealth

After you know what you want and have a powerful reason to motivate you to get it, you must now satisfy the Third Principle of Wealth which is to ...

Have an Actionable Idea!

In order to create one million dollars, you must have an idea. In order to lose weight, you must have an idea. In order to do anything worthwhile in life, you must have some idea on how you would like to go about doing it. Without an idea to take action on, you are just a highly motivated person with strong intentions cemented into place.

"Lack of money is no obstacle. Lack of an idea is an obstacle."

~Ken Hakuta

Have you ever had a million dollar idea? I bet you have had at least one in your lifetime, but you may not have noticed it or seen the value of it because it was too simple. An important lesson can be learned from the Old Testament of the Bible about the danger of discounting simple ideas. In the 21st chapter of the Book of Numbers, we read the account of the Israelites being led through the wilderness by Moses when they are attacked by poisonous serpents and bitten. Moses prayed for the salvation of his people and he was instructed to create a brass serpent and raise it up on a pole for the whole camp to see. The promise was that everyone who looked upon the serpent would live. How many people do you suppose died because the solution seemed to simple and therefore they did not look?

There is incredible power and, yes, prosperity in a single, simple idea. Look at all the people who created wealth in history and see how it all started with just one simple idea.

Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen had the simple idea of compiling inspirational stories into a book that they called Chicken Soup for the Soul

Mary Kay Ash had the simple idea of creating a company where women could utilize their skills and talents in the business world and be rewarded as equally as men.

Philip Knight had the simple idea of selling high-quality sports shoes at a low price and later the simple idea to use popular sports figures to market them. You may have heard of his company - Nike.

Michael Dell had the simple idea of selling computers directly to the consumer rather than through retailers.

Julie Aigner-Clark had the simple idea to create entertaining videos that educate and stimulate small children, thus giving birth to the Baby Einstein videos.

Jim Henson had the simple idea of using puppets with marionette features to create entertaining TV shows for children and adults all over the world. (Try saying "Muppet mayhem" ten times fast!)

J. K. Rowling had the simple idea to write a story about a boy who is sent off to wizard school and the world was enthralled by the magic of Harry Potter.

These are just a few examples of the countless examples of how people used the power of a simple idea to create wealth and joy, both for themselves and for the world. It all started because they had an idea and they took action on it.

"Ideas are the beginning points of all fortunes."

~Napoleon Hill

So, I ask again: Have you ever had a million dollar idea? Why, then, did you not take action on it? Come back tomorrow and I will shed some light on that mystery as well when we discuss the Fourth Principle of Wealth.

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!

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!