Shut Up and Grow Rich

"Silence is a source of Great Strength."

Lao Tzu

If you want to be truly successful then you're going to have to shut up! Seriously. Stop talking, turn off the smartphone, turn off the TV and sit in silence. And here's the coup de grais... do nothing. Regularly.

Am I talking about meditation? Not exactly... stick with me on this. It's something both easier and much harder... yet extremely rewarding...

You want to be wealthy, right?

Yes, I mean financially wealthy but also wealthy in every area of your life. You want your life to produce profit that leads to contentment, excitement and happiness?

In that case you need ideas. Yes, wealth (of all sorts) comes from good ideas - in the first instance.

Top innovator and business guru Ron G. Holland says that running a successful business requires not just the ONE good idea but dozens if not hundreds of them.

He has written 20 books, Millionaire Mindset the internationally famous Talk and Grow Rich and The Millionaire Secret to mention a few, which make use of his classic formula for riches:

· Stillness

· Silence

· Solitude

He says he discovered this by accident when he was trying to set up a chain of motorcycle shops but could not afford the stock to fill them.

Whilst mooching around - doing nothing - he received the idea of bringing in all the motorcycles other people could not sell and taking a commission from the sale of each one. This made him very successful.

He so swears by the practice of sitting in silence waiting for ideas from his subconscious that he does it every day for between 5 minutes and four hours. He visualises the result he wants with strong emotion... and then lets his mind generate the solutions for getting it. As a successful businessman he sits around... until ideas come.

He's not the only one. I read about a company that pays one of its top executives to do nothing but think up new ideas. Yes, this process can be forced - just read A Whack On the Side of the Head or Serious Creativity. But why not let your mind do the work?

Sam Adeyemi, author of Ideas Rule the World says:

"Every human being is potentially wealthy and prosperous. The poor person is one who does not have ideas because ideas are the seeds that guarantee a future harvest. A mango seed is ultimately a mango forest."

It's more than likely that you have accidentally experienced this yourself -Have you ever been mulling over (or fretting over) a thorny issue in your life and couldn't solve it?

You threw up your hands (or aimed a kick at the dog) and went to do something else.

You got out of your own way and (without realizing it) let your super-sized unconscious do the processing. When your brain is relaxing or doing something repetitive it's enjoying some downtime and can start processing the data it's been given earlier.

For me it's walking but it could also be washing up, kicking a ball around, or mowing the lawn. It is a cliché that people get their best ideas in the shower but it's true!

And this is what you need to do.

1) Visualise it solved, examine it from every angle you know how. Build up as much emotion to experience it with as you can.

2) Sit in silence until you get answers

I try and get at least ten minutes downtime every day. I pop on my industrial headphones (the type used by those guys with mechanical diggers!) and clear my mind. The effect is cumulative and at first, you may only manage a few seconds (Andy Shaw says 15 seconds is the goal) but keep on clearing your mind (don't cheat, start again if you see or hear something) and you'll be able to do it longer and longer.

After just ten minutes I am refreshed and sometimes have received an amazing idea. The trick is not to force it. We have approximately 86 billion brain cells. Let them do the work!

During this time I have already received new ideas for mobile phone accessories, ecological energy generation in shopping malls (!) and I'm working on a women's jewelry project after receiving some designs that seem unique.

I've also received insights and advertising copy for a gold and silver trading I'm helping out with. All this seems reward enough for shutting up!

Do you fear the silence?

But...

"Silence is only frightening to people who are compulsively verbalizing."

William S. Burroughs

We are a society addicted to motion...

Many people of the tech generation cannot bear to be without some sort of noise, some sort of distraction. I was on the platform waiting to catch a train the other day and glanced down it to see everyone had a smart phone in front of their face.

My teenage son at one point started to physically shake if his phone vibrated while he was talking to me. If he could not look away he got anxious.

But all this stimulation comes with a cost. It leaves us... quite frankly... overstimulated and unable to relax.

I myself have experienced the other side of NOT getting downtime. I get nervous exhaustion, shout at my loved ones, and get depressed and fatalistic.

So visualize passionately - and then do nothing.

We've had personal development gurus drumming it into our heads that we must take action, action, action. But frantic action without a plan is just thrashing around.

"Take action by taking no action."

Ancient Joshian proverb

Before all the beer-drinking couch dwellers start cheering about the above I should mention that you do NEED to take physical action, write, make calls, study etc.

I also realize that not everyone can see the pictures in their mind's eye.

Win Wenger, pioneer and innovator of some truly amazing creativity techniques said that the subconscious mind is ALWAYS showing you answers to questions you are posing - you just are not aware or used to seeing them.

For those of you who 'don't see pictures I recommend you learn Image Streaming, a descriptive technique for generating ideas and becoming more aware of your answers.

You can find a free e-book on it here. I have personally taught this technique and had someone who just felt their answers 'break-through' to seeing images within a few minutes.

The advantages of clearing the communication channels means you can tap into your intuition more easily and the more trust you build with your unconscious, the faster you can get answers.

The other night I was looking for ideas for an e-book cover. I looked at several covers by famous personal development authors, spent a few minutes thinking about them and went to bed.

The next day, I was out walking and BAM - cover ideas popped into my head, titles flashed up and I recorded them on my smartphone. Later that day I mocked up some covers, sent them to the author and he really liked them. I KNEW my mind would give me the answers I needed.

"In Silence there is eloquence. Stop weaving and see how the pattern improves."

Rumi

Using silence properly leads to mental control... which leads to... everything?

If you read books about Quantum Physics many of them state quite bluntly that you actually create the reality you see around you. Personally, I think this is not true* but I certainly agree that if we play-assume that we are responsible for creating our personal experience of reality then we'll play more careful attention to how we think and act.

In The Complete Guide to Genius it says that 'control of the mind leads to control of everything... If you want to create a certain physical outcome, the way to do this is using your MIND and CONTROLLING the mind.

Whether or not that is true, the purposeful silencing of the mind does lead to increased mental control. Andy Shaw, creator of the Bug Free Mind series calls it No-Mind and the Genius guide says:

"When you control the mind you enter the Silence. This is the state of nothingness and is a form of consciousness within you. All the great geniuses of all time were able to keep their mind SILENT at all times. When you enter the silence, you are in the superposition state to manifest any outcome you want. When not in the silence, you are stuck in the physical plane of reality and are just a human cog in a great physical machine. Controlling the mind to enter SILENCE is about NOT HAVING ANY THOUGHTS. It is the CONTROLLED ABSENCE of thinking which allows you to enter the Silence and nothing else. If you thought you could "think" your way to genius, you are wrong. You must stop your thinking consciously and enter the silent state of mind for success to happen."

So, there it is. In fact, silence literally is golden in that during silence you can get ideas worth solid gold! So visualize your goals, get excited about them - and then SHUT UP!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Joshua_Cartwright/2033236

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The best way to get rich | Investment Strategies

Financial Planning Is Not Just for the Wealthy

Financial planning involves assessing your current monetary situation, analyzing past activities, and making plans for the near and long-term future. Setting goals is an effective way to conduct yourself purposefully. By setting economic goals for yourself, you can ensure that your decisions and actions are in line with the things you want to achieve. Everyone can derive benefits from conducting this personal analysis, whether wealthy or not.

Are Goals Practical?

Once you define your ideals and what you want to achieve in the future, it's important to analyze your plans to ensure that they're practical and possible. For example, you might set a goal of paying off your mortgage to become debt-free. Many people share this desire. Make sure that the timeline of your plan is attainable. Paying off your mortgage is typically possible for consumers, but analyze the timeline of your goal for practicality. It may not be possible to make your final house payment by the time you're 30, but it may be possible before you turn 40.

Find Errors and Flaws

Most people experience economic blunders from time to time. Financial planning can help illuminate errors you might be making in the way you manage your income and savings. For example, after examining and analyzing your economic status, you might find that you are using your credit cards unwisely. Carrying a balance when you don't have to pay monthly interest on credit card debt can be a significant and unnecessary expense for the convenience of using credit cards.

Control Expenditures

Defining what you want helps put these ideas into the forefront of your mind. When you have these specific intentions, it can become easier to control and reduce unnecessary spending. The more you save each month, the more money you can direct toward your goals. This process can be exceptionally motivating for many consumers, especially once you start seeing positive progress.

Consider Risks

Considering risks is another aspect of financial planning. Investments can increase your income by earning a return on the initial investment amount. Some types of investments are riskier than others, so investors must analyze how much risk they can comfortably manage before making any decisions. For example, investing in certificates of deposit is comparatively low-risk. However, this type of investment typically does not earn a high rate of return due to the lower risk involved.

Search for Opportunities

Financial planning experts can help consumers find opportunities to maximize earnings. For example, many employers offer employees special investments, such as 401(k)s and flex-spending plans. Passing on these opportunities might mean missing out on significant chances to earn from investments.

Designing economic goals and then implementing them will make it possible to track progress toward achieving goals. Some people like to track monthly, while others prefer to sit down and analyze progress once or twice each year. Whatever method you choose, stay vigilant about monitoring your financial condition and measuring your movement toward financial success.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Andrew_Stratton/83489

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What to Do to Get Rich - Warren Buffett Advice

Money, Success and Happiness

Wouldn't it be great if you could win the lottery, or if that rich uncle in Nigeria you keep getting emails about, really was true and not just a scam, but you were really about to become fantastically rich? Having a great deal of money would certainly make life easier, but does it lead to happiness?

To most people health and wealth are two completely different concepts, but to anyone who is truly interested in having a wealthy life they are synonymous. What would all of the riches in the world mean, if you were not also healthy enough to enjoy them, and have important people in your life to enjoy them with?

The reality is in life there are many things that cannot be bought. No matter how wealthy you are, you cannot buy back your health, or buy back one second of time after it has passed. When you look at it like this, the truth is obvious; time is the absolute measure of how rich a person is. To be able to fully appreciate each and every moment before it is gone.

The world would be a much better place if more people would stop and truly think about the many blessings they have had in their own lives: parents, spouses, siblings, children, friends. The relationships one cultivates with friends and family are priceless, they cannot be bought, nor can they survive without diligent, caring attention. The measure of a person's success is only in the minds of others. Riches will indeed equal success in the minds of most, but only if that person is also well thought of, otherwise it just becomes a footnote to resentment. We have all heard of what many think of rich people, like: 'they are all crooks' or 'corrupt' or dishonest'.

Health is another on the long list of overlooked fortunes. What use is a king's ransom, if your health is failing? Yes, money will buy doctors and medical treatment, and depending on the nature of one's afflictions, it may even buy back health. However, if you are at the end of your days, and it is only a matter of time before you depart this world, will money bring you solace? Will it grant you one ounce of comfort, or do anything to remember you, when you are gone? Your family and friends will, they will be the ones there to remind you of the difference you made in this world. They will be the ones to tell others about you even long afterword. You will live on in their hearts and minds.

There has been any number of success stories throughout history, people known for their fame and outrageous fortunes. Were they truly happy, though? Some were, but these were mostly people who would have happy if they had been poor instead.

The late Steve Jobs comes to mind. Here was a man who measured his success by innovation. His dreams were never of becoming rich, he achieved that many times over, yet he kept going. His dreams were of making life better for the whole of the human race by disseminating information and devising new ways of doing so. In truth, if he had been a financial disaster, he'd have still been happy if he had enough money to continue his work. That was all he wanted.

Princess Diana; the woman who became royalty, but still rubbed elbows with the poorest of the poor. Few people have as much claim to the title of humanitarian as princess Diana. She could have lived every moment in lavish comfort and decadence, but instead she chose to go out and get her hands dirty by trying to make life better for those who were much less fortunate. At her death, the whole world mourned her passing.

Then there are those who, despite becoming fantastically rich, are never the less fantastically unhappy. The stories you read about in magazines, hear about on the news, the ones who say ' money ruined their lives'. I find this very hard to believe. I'm more inclined to think that a series of unwise decisions are what 'ruined their lives'. They stopped cultivating the precious relationships they had, and couldn't understand that money won't buy everything, especially happiness. Some of these even used their wealth to actively destroy their health through drugs. These were people who had yet to learn the basics of happiness.

Money can be a wonderful thing, but without one's: health, family, friends, appreciation, and respect, it is completely worthless.

Todd provides coaching, practical workshops, and keynote talks to help professionals of all ages achieve their own versions of a wealthy lifestyle. By drawing on his vault of knowledge in business, personal growth, wealth psychology and investment strategy, Todd is helping people just like you; generate more wealth to support your highest values in life.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Todd_Polke/1931876

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Best Way To Get Rich 2015 - Five Steps To Make A Million Dollars Fast !...

Do you want to have a successful internet business? There are plenty of proven products and services out there to offer. The key is choosing one that makes your life easy. The greatest thing about the internet, is that it has the ability to automate almost everything. Computer software and downloadable E-books offer the most promising results. There is no shipping, no inventory, and virtually no cost to duplicate software. This means 100% profit when it comes to your product.

Another important factor is that software can be downloaded instantly. In todays society of instant gratification, many solutions are possible for getting what you want, when you want it. Nothing is easier than clicking a button and receiving an instant download. A large percentage of the most successful internet marketers have made their fortunes selling software. Let's expand and begin to understand what the 7 secrets of a wealthy marketer are realy about.

1. You need to market real products. When you also have a product that provides real value, it can create referrals like wildfire. You definitely want people talking about your product. They say bad publicity is better than no publicity, but why not have a positive light shed on your product? If you are going to take the time to set up a business, you might as well do a little research finding and choosing a good product to offer the marketplace.

2. You need the ability to get paid immediately on all of your sales. It is always best when you are in control of the money. If you have to wait around to get paid by some middleman company, it can put you out of business overnight. Imagine if you rack up a ton of sales and the middleman suddenly goes out of business. There goes all of your profits, and you might be up the creek. It's happened to myself twice. Steady cash flow is vital to any successful business. It's not only vital to keep your bills current, but expansion capital can be the difference between survival and success.

3. You need a way to effectively advertise, that also doesn't break your bank in the process. Advertising is the key to any successful business. Some people put all of their eggs into one basket. They buy a years worth of advertising from some company before they even test it. This is crazy. Advertising should always be tested on the smallest possible scale to see if it proves profitable. The best advertising is FREE advertising. And there are many effective ways to advertise on the internet for free. Cost or no cost, the bottom line is how much do you spend and how much do you make. If you spend $100 to make $50 you will be out of business quickly. Every penny counts. Don't let yourself get nickled and dimed.

4. You need the right tools to automate your marketing process, to increase your daily sales consistently. The internet offers many tools to automate any business. Look at auto responders. They are essential. Imagine if you had 1,000 new customers a week. Can you imagine the manpower and time it would take to contact each one of them individually? Utilizing FAQ (frequently asked question) pages and offering an informative website are two things you can do to keep your phone from ringing off the hook.

5. You need a way to leverage yourself, so those you sign up become a sales team for you... to create more revenue for yourself... and have a system in place so your sales team never slows down. Creating an affiliate program or duplicating your marketing system for others is the key to big money. You can help put someone in business, and help them do the same thing you do. You are on your way to big bucks if you can build in a small profit percentage.

6. You need training and support from real-life mentors who are already successful. Mentors who are making multiple six-figure incomes now. It is so much easier to succeed at something when you have a proven model. When someone else has succeeded before you, you truly know it's possible. There is no reason to reinvent the wheel. We live in a world with almost 7 billion people. If every person in the world gave you just one cent, you would have almost $70 million dollars.

7. You should consider working from home. Starting a home based business is a lot easier these days due to the power of the internet. Working your business from home triples your chances of success. You can avoid the additional overhead of a retail store, phone lines, furniture, etc by working directly from home.

There are home businesses and programs that really work. There are some internet businesses that are highly automated. It takes work to start and succeed with any business, so don't be fooled by companies who claim to do all of the work for you. Do your research. Seek and you shall find. The only shortcut in life is to know that there are NO shortcuts. Put everything into what you do, and you too can become a wealthy marketer.

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Robert Shiloh

7 Secrets That Most Wealthy Marketers Don't Share

ECommerce Articles | October 12, 2007

What is the difference between wealthy people and poor (even average) people? It is not all the money that wealthy people have and the average don’t, nor the luxury, nor the lifestyle. It is their mindset.

A few lucky people have won a lot of money and become wealthy overnight but in short time many of them have returned to their prior financial condition too soon. There is no trace of all the riches they have once won. Very few of them can stay wealthy long enough to actually improve their quality of life.

Why? Because it is not the money and the luxurious lifestyle that make people wealthy. It is their mindset.

Real wealthy people act differently upon the big cash they can get their hands on and upon everything else
pertaining money and possession. And this is because they think differently from most average people in the first place.

Let’s think this through and discuss the way average people think…

As soon as they can get their hands on a big fat check, average people would almost immediately go shopping. Buy the latest model car, luxurious home, or spend it on renovation, once-in-a-lifetime luxurious vacation… blah blah blah.

They think that in order to really become wealthy, they have to possess all the stuff that wealthy people would have, travel to places wealthy people would go to, drive the cars wealthy people would drive or live in
big mansions where wealthy people would live.

Real wealthy people can afford all the above simply because they have higher purchasing power. Most of us, on the other hand, would think that by having all those above we just might be considered as ‘wealthy’. We tend to think that to become wealthy we have to ‘act’ or ‘live’ like those who in reality are.

Ironically, the fact is to become wealthy we have to ‘think’ like real wealthy people.

Once again I must say that it’s the mindset that makes people wealthy. It’s neither their possessions nor what they spend their money on.

Most of us go shopping while holding on to this principle: Buy now, struggle later.

When wealthy people go shopping they think: Delay it now, invest the money, and have all you want later on! They embrace delayed gratification.

Generally, too soon, the average people would end up in debt due to their principles of immediate
gratification. And in most cases their debt worsens. Car loans, furniture loans, education loans, home loans,
credit cards… and who knows what else.

As the story continuous, I believe, it becomes more and more familiar to the vast majority: In order to pay off all the debts, they become slaves of their own jobs after they realised that they had been “slaves of their own debt” for some time.

To them, a job becomes a necessity as opposed to a choice. It is chosen based on how big the salary is to pay off their debt, instead of on the satisfaction the job provides.

Can these people retire early? No. In fact, they wouldn’t even dare to think about it! They are too deep in debt to quit and to just come and go almost at will.

On the other hand, not only do the wealthy know the negatives of being in a debt, they also know precisely the advantages of being debt-free. By being debt-free, they have more money to save.

The more money wealthy people have, the more they can invest in their own businesses. Exactly these businesses are their assets that generate life-long passive income for them. True wealthy people have known for decades that having traditional jobs would NEVER make them rich. It would make their bosses rich for sure but there is no way acquiring real wealth merely by trading time for money.

Can business owners retire early? Yes. Having your own business means having passive income for life (more likely even longer than that). If you work consistently on growing your business, you will come to a point where your passive income exceeds your daily living cost.

If this happens, you can choose when to work, where to work or what. Your choice of jobs will not be limited by how much money they provide. Moreover, a job for you would be more of a choice than a necessity. Even if you chose not to work, you would still have money coming in from your business.

This is what real freedom is and this is exactly how wealthy people think!

Ironically, I have met some people who sneer at the idea of investing in a business. For some reason they think that people who are interested in investing must be so much in love with money, or even slaves of it.

Most average people think that business owners must have become wealthy by the drive of their greedy,
selfish minds. They tend to think that business owners must be slaves to their money and riches that they could actually have riches so abundantly now.

The truth is their mindset is exactly the opposite.

Exactly because of UNSELFISH reasons, business owners set up their businesses in the first place.

By having their own businesses which generate passive income for them, they have quality time to spend with their loved ones.

They are not too busy to go to their daughter’s first dance recital or to show up at his son’s birthday party.

They are not too busy to spend a one-week holiday with their spouse. They are not too busy (nor too broke) to be involved in voluntary social work.

The average traditional worker, on the other hand, would not be able to just go and have a holiday anytime he pleases. He has a too tight schedule to come to his daughter’s dance recital or his son’s 6th birthday party. And, hey, he’s too busy (and too broke) to do voluntary social work! He needs jobs that pay well and
social works just won’t do.

Well, who is the selfish one now?

Most importantly, because the businesses wealthy people own generate passive income not only throughout
their lives but also throughout the lives of their children and grandchildren, business owners prove themselves even more UNSELFISH than the average people do.

People with typical jobs will either retire broke or die poor, leaving their families with nothing (if not with their remaining debt).

By having the right mindset, you will not only be able to have abundant riches, but also a great chance to live abundantly: do all the things that provide satisfaction, spend quality time with you family and friends, and have all the time and money to voluntarily help other people and make your part of the world a better place to live.

Above all, having the right mindset will give you a chance to care and provide for your family even after you
leave this planet.

Are you ready to adopt the wealthy mindset?

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Dinar P. Wiria-Atmadja

The Wealthy Mindset

Finance Articles | December 19, 2004

The Absolute Best Ways To Save Money

Planning and goal setting are critical to your success if you want to become wealthy. The two key traits of people who do not become wealthy are, firstly, they tend to spend all of the money they have and, secondly, they do not know what they spend their money on. The lack of goals is the main culprit. Ric Edelman, author of The Truth About Money and Ordinary People, Extraordinary Wealth, calls this "spending unconsciously". He says the reason why people spend without giving it much thought is they have no goals. Without goals, we live unconsciously from moment to moment, we never plan for the future, we spend all of our money, and as a result, we are unlikely to ever become wealthy.
"Unconscious spending" is more prevalent in our society than we realise. I would estimate approximately 80% to 90% of the population do it. With the exception of one or two people, the vast majority of my clients had no idea what they spent their money on until I asked them to prepare a list of their total expenditure and outgoings before our first session. In fact, many were too frightened to do the initial exercise and waited until they arrived at my office, so I could help them through the ordeal. Money matters simply scare people. They are terrified to know how out of control their finances are. Yet, this is precisely what needs to be done before we can start working on a solution.

Whilst it is important to become relaxed and carefree with our financial matters, this does not mean careless. We become carefree with money when we know that it is not a scarce resource, we work on increasing our income, we invest a little time on a regular basis to plan and review our finances, and we systemically set aside part of our earnings regularly to build our savings and investments for the future. We are careless with money when we don't keep track of what we are spending and squander money on things that are wasteful, extravagant and not needed. 
I often compare money to water, another important commodity in our lives. Both are essential and critical to our survival, however, we rarely worry about water in the same way we do about money. We systematically set aside water when it rains in dams and reservoirs to provide us with water ‘on tap' when we need it. We are careful not to waste water, however, at the same time we can relax and not have to worry about it on a day to day basis. When we apply the same reasoning to managing money we are well on the way to becoming wealthy.

After we resolve our beliefs about money and realise that becoming wealthy is within our possibilities, the next step is to put aside a little time to set goals and do some planning. Planning does not have to be an arduous affair. It takes approximately one to two hours upfront to prepare your plan and, thereafter, an hour a month to review or revise it.

The first part of your plan is to set some goals. For example, accumulating $500,000 in income-producing assets in 15 years is not a difficult goal to achieve. If you save $170 a week into investments returning an average of 15% per annum for 15 years, you will have your half a million dollars. Goals will help you focus on the future and increase your willpower to prevent overspending. The more concrete you make your goals, the more committed you will be to achieving them. Set timeframes and break them down into manageable steps, as in the example above, to make your goals more realistic and attainable.

Along the way, however, we also need to manage our day-to-day spending to ensure that we set aside the required savings to achieve our goals. In designing the Money Program, I used a simple, effective formula that everyone can apply to easily manage their finances. I call this the 40%-30%-20%-10% rule. This formula is used to measure your expenditure and cash outflows. You divide your expenditure into four categories and calculate the total of each category as a percentage of your net (after tax) income. The four categories are Fixed Costs, Variable Costs, Discretionary Costs and Savings.

Fixed Costs are your essential costs that are known and have to be paid on a regular basis. For example, mortgage or rental payments, personal loans and credit card repayments, insurance, council rates, and school fees. These costs are usually determined by your lifestyle choices, the size and cost of your house, cars and major possessions, and therefore difficult to change without making major adjustments to the way you live. 

However, because fixed costs are comprised of debt and committed payments, they are critical in determining your ability to create wealth, as well as your capacity to lead a stable financial lifestyle. If your fixed costs are too high, you will probably be living from payday to payday worrying about the next large bill that arrives. If your fixed costs take up too much of your weekly pay packet, there will be less to spend on other essential costs, and often little for luxuries - unless you go further into debt.

Variable Costs include our essential living expenses, which can vary from week to week, yet you have some control over what you spend. These will include food, clothing, groceries, mobile phone expenses, medical and motor vehicle running costs, such as petrol and repairs.
The previous two categories relate to essential costs that we cannot live without. Some are controllable (variable costs) and some are set (fixed costs). Discretionary costs are expenses that are non-essential and highly variable. These costs are very much in your control and where most choice is possible about how much is saved each month. For example, entertainment, dining-out, presents, holidays and all luxury items that we love but can live without. I affectionately call this part of our budget, our ‘play money'. The problem with most budgets is they often exclude this significant element and this is why most people fail. We all need a little play money and a few luxuries in life.

Whilst working with this formula with my clients, I found that people who live within their means tend to spend their money roughly within the 40%-30%-20% rule. That is, their fixed costs are roughly 40%, their variable costs 30% and discretionary 20% of their net income. The more I worked with this formula the more I realised it was an excellent way to achieve two things. First, it provides you with a simple effective method for planning and allocating your finances, and secondly, it is the perfect method for getting you out of debt and into wealth.
The most critical category is fixed costs. The fixed costs of people who are living comfortably within their means are generally around 40% of their income. People with fixed costs above this percentage, tend to lead lifestyles that cost them more than they can afford. The size and quality of their homes, cars, furniture and other items that they have borrowed for, have forced them into excessive debt. Because fixed costs are comprised of debt and committed payments, they are crucial in determining your ability to create wealth. If you want to be wealthy, you have to be committed to dropping these costs below 40%.

When clients first come to me, their fixed costs are often 50%, 60% or even 70% of their net income. The aim is to reduce that percentage to 40% or less, over time. Creating wealth is about building strong financial foundations that cannot be shattered regardless of what we may be faced with in the future. Regrettable, strong foundations take a little time to build.
People in severe financial hardship usually have fixed costs that are greater than 65% or 70% of their net income. This is usually due to excessive debt or insufficient income. People who are in financial crisis, where they tend to live from payday to payday and seem to be going from one financial problem to the next, tend to have fixed costs between 45% to 60% of their income. If their fixed costs are approximately 40% of their income, they are living comfortably within their means, and if their fixed costs are below 40%, they usually have excess money that could easily be channelled into additional savings and investments. So the key to good financial management is managing and controlling your fixed costs.
Remember, it is all done by measuring your fixed costs: if your fixed costs are 40%, you are living within your means, if your fixed costs are above 40% you will be putting yourself under financial strain, and if they are below 40% you will be in a surplus position. Therefore, if you want to accelerate your wealth, keep your fixed costs well below the 40% mark and invest the surplus.

If excessive debt is keeping your fixed costs high, formulate a debt free plan and do not go deeper into debt. Learn to live with cash. It is far more finite and when the cash runs out, you know you definitely cannot afford to buy those extra purchases. If low income is your problem, consider all alternatives to increasing your income. These may include: part-time work, turning hobbies or crafts into cash or investing in additional training to further your career prospects.

Also, to decrease your fixed costs you may have to make some difficult decisions about the way you live. Is the house you are living in far too costly for you? Are you running two cars when one could suffice? Can you downsize anything now, which is costing you far too much money? Are you trying to live well above your present means buying clothing, accessories or electronic gadgets that you cannot afford? Are you a shop-oholic, and can never resist a bargain - regardless of whether you need it or not? Are your credit cards always to the maximum limit and you cannot afford to pay the balance? These are often difficult choices to make, but well worth it in the long run.

Remind yourself that you can have the bigger house, cars, toys, etc - later, when you can better afford them. If you get a bigger mortgage to upgrade your house or borrow for a better car, you will increase your fixed costs. By keeping your fixed costs as low as possible, you will accelerate your progress to becoming wealthy. Your plan should always aim at decreasing your fixed costs below 40% by either increasing your income or decreasing your debt, or both. Once you have achieved this, use the extra money to add to your savings and investments. This is the guaranteed way to accelerate your path to wealth.

Copyright © Ann Marosy, 2002

Ann M Marosy

How to Live Within Your Means

Finance Articles | February 11, 2003

Dave Ramsey "Budgeting" Money Makeover - 1/10

Top 7 Traits of Extremely Wealthy People

Wealthy people share common traits. That's why they are wealthy. If you want to be extremely wealthy,
learn and own these traits:

1. PERSISTENCE
On your way to achieve wealth, you will definitely face some obstacles. Overcome the obstacles and move on. Do not give up and be persistent. Wealth is achieved only by removing a series of stumbling blocks along your way to riches.

2. INVEST OR BUILD A BUSINESS
Extremely wealthy people are either businessmen or investors. Look at some of the richest people in the
world. They all own companies. To create wealth, you must involve yourself in business or investing. This is where the money is. Start your own business and grow your wealth.

3. INNOVATIVE
To be very wealthy and to stay wealthy, you need to be very innovative. Being innovative ensures that you always come up with new ideas to create wealth. Look around you for some opportunities that can make you rich. Be observant and critical.

4. DO WHAT YOU LOVE
If you are not doing what you love, forget about getting rich. Wealthy people get wealthy because they
do what they love. They love what they do so much that they forget that they are actually working. Find
something you love and create business around what you love.

5. GIVE IT BACK
Donate some of your income to charity you believe in on a regular basis. Some extremely wealthy people even have their own foundations. They donate a percentage of their wealth to the cause they believe. The more you give, the more you receive. Do not hoard wealth, share it with people around you.

6. CONTINUOUS LEARNING
Keep learning to improve yourself. Extremely wealthy people believe that the greatest asset in the world is your mind. Your mind shapes your destiny. Invest in your greatest asset by reading books, listening to
audio tapes or attending seminars.

7. LEVERAGE
Extremely wealthy people do not do everything themselves. They know when to let go. They hire the right people to do it. Bill Gates doesn't write software, he hires programmers to do it. To be very rich, you must know how to leverage. Hire people and use tools to do some of your work. If you do not leverage, there is so much that you can do, and this puts a limit on how much money you can make.

Besides the above traits, extremely wealthy people dream big and they take action to have their dreams come true. Furthermore, they persevere and have strong desire in achieving their dreams.

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

Napoleon Hill - How To Get Rich Via The Law Of Attraction - www.IanBrown...

The Number One Reason How To Become A Self Made Millionaire

Other than being born rich or winning the lottery which we know doesn't happen that easy, you have to actually fight for your wealth in this world, working hard creating businesses that bring in 6 figures plus a year and so on, but the question is for everyone how do I get to this point in my life?

Maybe your telling yourself you aren't sure how to create a 6 figure or even a 7 figure a year business yourself...Or maybe you have money to invest but you aren't sure how and where to invest that money so it will flourish and turn in to wealth instead of thin air...

How to become a self-made millionaire doesn't start with creating a ton of money or having a business that has an annual income of 6 to 7 figures, nope that's not how wealth is made at all my friend, now your probably confused and are like what are you talking about, of course more money equals wealth duh...

I always have hated that term it takes money to make money, if that's the case then how come we aren't all self-made millionaires then, you have always had money you have a job you have savings, stocks, money, has been in your life forever and you have always had access to it, so how come you aren't rich yet?

You aren't rich yet because you haven't adapted the one simple thing that it takes in order to become a self-made millionaire. What the rich know how to do and you do as well the only difference between you and the rich is they put it in to action while you are still dreaming about wealth.

How to become a self-made millionaire truly breaks down to one simple process that you have to have discipline in order to even come close to obtaining wealth in your life.

Why the rich are rich, it's no huge secret well it shouldn't be. Becoming a self-made millionaire starts with being frugal the richest people in this world are the cheapest people, why the average people are out buying cars and homes they can't even afford a person who is building wealth is at the used car dealership next door purchasing a beat up 10 year old car that only coast them 6k while you're buying a brand new family car for 35k.

You can't complain that you haven't gained wealth in your life if this is you and all you do is spend money and save a little, you have to spend little save a lot that is the formula to becoming wealthy in every rich person's life.

Ask a very wealthy person on how to become a self-made millionaire and I bet that will say how much are you spending and how much are you saving in your life, the wealthy know what true sacrifice means and they take it in order to get what they want in the long term of things.

Now you have the formula on how to become a self-made millionaire so start putting this in to action in no longer just dream about becoming wealthy just become wealthy and live the life you are after.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Matt_Montgomery

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6529110

WHY the Rich get Richer