10 Steps
1. Your reason which is the
power of your spirit. As my mentor, Mark Mandela likes to say, "Your why must make you
cry." It should be a combination of things you don't want and things you
do want. Ex. I don't want to end up like my parents, unable to retire. I
do want to be able to travel.
2.
Choose daily. Every time you get a dollar, you have a choice--follow
Rich Dad's mindset or Poor Dad's mindset. You have to decide daily what
you are going to do with your money, time, and brain. Your first
investment should be in your education because your brain is your most
powerful asset and tool.
3.
Choose friends wisely. You know the saying, "Birds of a feather flock
together." You should be learning from your
friends. From some of them, you will learn what not to do. Don't go
with the flow. Listen, learn, but go with your choice. Wise investors
don't do what is popular.
4.
Master a formula and then learn a new one. Learning--remember, your
mind is powerful. You become what you study, what you put into your
head. Be careful about what you study, read, listen to. Choose
carefully. Once you learn something, apply it. This requires discipline.
5. Pay yourself
first. Speaking of discipline, use it here. Don't pay yourself with the
bonus you got on the J.O.B. and go spend it on a new gadget or a trip.
Take the money you pay yourself and invest it into your asset column.
Side note: If it's not making you money or it doesn't have the potential
to make you money, it's not an asset! Paying yourself first doesn't
mean ignoring your bills or starving. It means that
you need to be wise with your money to start with, and use the extra
pressure of having bills to pay to move you into motion to create more
money.
6. Pay
your brokers well. They advise you; their information allows you to make
more money; they should be paid well. Many times they will even educate
you. It is a way of investing in your education. Choose your brokers
and other professionals carefully. Find out about their asset column.
Does their philosophy line up with yours?
7.
Be an "Indian Giver." Once you get your initial investment has been
made in a stock, pull that amount, and invest it in something else. By
doing this, you are now making money for nothing. If that investment
crashes, you've already pulled out what you put into it. If that
investment soars, you're making money for free.
8. Assets buy
luxuries. If there is something you want, use that desire to focus and
motivate you. You should not be buying luxuries on credit. Make more
money in your assets column and use that money to buy those luxuries.
9.
The need for heroes. Find someone to copy/emulate. Make sure that
person makes whatever you are striving for look easy. Learn all you can
from them; read about them, listen to them.
10.
Teach and you shall receive. Give! If there is something you want,
learn to give first. Make sure you aren't giving to get though. Give for
the sake and joy of giving. "Your world is a mirror of you." p. 184
