“You thinking about gettin’ back into competitive swimming?”

This question woke me from my mesmerized daze from the two pool lanes next to me. 

I turned my swim cap adorned head, squinting through my water speckled goggles, to see my newfound friend, Ernie, gazing back at me.
 
Two weeks prior, I had just started my swimming routine for my triathlon I will compete in this June, in honor of my fundraising efforts for Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and my friend, Mikey, who had battled the blood cancer that eventually took his life at the tender age of 20.

I smiled at my new friend, all of 81-years-young.  Laughing out loud, I simply shook my head.

“No, never was into ‘competitive’ swimming.  I am a triathlete.” 

“I see,” Ernie grinned.  “Well those guys next to you were all collegiate competitors and are now reliving their glory days by pushing one another.  You should join them sometime.”

I looked back from Ernie, who was in the lane to my left, and glanced back at the “fast” guys swimming in their circlular motion - as several swimmers in one lane are known to do.  My first thought to myself, “How could I join them?”  

Then I realized something.  I was receiving a lesson in humility in that very moment.

To my left, Ernie had been swimming since he was probably a kid, equating to roughly 70-plus years of swimming experience and had been a competitive swimmer for much of that time.   And he was still going.  He may not have been as fast as the guys next to me, yet, he was still going after it every day.  Amazing inspiration.

To my right, there were multiple lanes of super fast swimmers who were probably in their 40s and 50s who, seemingly, had barely slowed from their glory days. 

My initial thought in my head to Ernie’s suggestion was, “You’ve got to be kidding me”, how could I keep up with them?  They are so much faster than I am?”  Easy for Ernie to say.  I have only been swimming somewhat seriously for the past seven years and there is a huge emphasis on that word somewhat.  Being a triathlete does not mean that I swim like a fish.  Heck, I still have anxiety attacks in the water some days.

Here I was comparing myself to those around me in my mind.  And this was just a pool lane comparison.  How often do I do that in life in general?  Then a small voice chimed in to remind me of some wise words that I had just read in a book by Eckhart Tolle, entitled “A New Earth”.

“In essence, you are neither inferior nor superior to anyone.  True…humility arise(s) out of that realization.  In the eyes of (your) ego, self-esteem and humility are contradictory.  In truth, they are one and the same.”

I pondered those words as I swam a few more laps.  I agreed with Ernie after all.  What was stopping me from joining those fast guys?  Only my ego.  These swimmers aren’t faster after all, they are simply more experienced in the area of swimming.  If I were to go out and endure a run with them, especially a long-distance mileage run, they could look at me and appreciate the fact that I could go forever and they might not.  There would be equal humility and appreciation for our independent skills and strength.  No “better than” or “less than”.  Just simply individuality and skills that were developed differently over a period of time over our lifetimes. 

I plan on joining those guys next week and seeing how quickly I might be able to hone my skills by swimming in the same lane versus the lane next to them.  Now I am excited to go to the pool and looking forward to swimming with Ernie in his lane one day soon as well.  He can teach me a lot.  Indirectly, today, he already did.  His encouragement went farther than he realized.

Now I want to encourage you.  Where do you see yourself comparing your abilities to others that may appear “better than” or “less than”?  Is that productive thinking?  Or does it cause you to miss out on opportunity to stretch yourself in some capacity - mentally, physically or even Spiritually?  Give it some thought this week as you go about your day-to-day.  It doesn’t hurt to get in that “fast” lane, or even that “slow” lane, and see what you realize about you.

Here’s To You!  

This article intrigued me this past week as I ran out of my own BiOmega supplements and started to fill out of sorts in my thinking and outlook on life.  I learned so much that I wanted to share with you AND let you know that I am thinking clearly again after reading this and resuming my fish oil supplement daily regimen!

Can omega-3 fatty acids stabilize mood and combat depression?

We all have fat on the brain. Amazingly enough, more than half of the brain’s dry weight comes from fat. Some of these fats are the key building blocks of cell membranes and play essential roles in the brain’s function. Omega-3 fatty acids, for example, help form cell membranes, keep those membranes flexible, and regulate the flow of hormones and other chemical messengers, which may affect our mood.

Research has suggested that omega-3 fatty acids, or essential fatty acids (EFAs), can help lower cholesterol, regulate heartbeat, and thin the blood, thereby lessening the risk of heart disease. It’s also possible that the omega-3 group may aid in treating depression, according to neuroscientist Andrew L. Stoll, MD, of Harvard Medical School, who has studied the effects of omega-3s on the illness. A few promising studies suggest that natural sources of omega-3s — especially fish oil — may help bring mood back into balance. Will fish oil ever join the ranks of Prozac as a remedy for depression? Here’s a look at the latest information on omega-3s and the brain.

CLICK HERE for the entire article to learn more about the study and the case for fish oil and omega-3fatty acids as supplements in your day-to-day

Do you have a bottle of Omega-3 Fatty Acid supplementation in your cabinet?

If not, CLICK HERE to take action and create more balance in your mind and body.

Here’s to your health!

A little LACK of sunshine can hurt. Oprah’s Dr. Oz says to get 10 minutes of direct sun exposure to your body or take Vitamin D supplement once a day.  For those of us that live in the great Southwest and see sun over 300 days a year, the former options appears to make sense, right?  Yet what do you do if you don’t get outside 10 minutes a day in direct sun?

Dr. Cedric F. Garland, P.H. cancer prevention specialist at Moores Cancer Center at UCSD and colleagues estimate that 250,000 cases of colorectal cancer and 350,000 cases of breast cancer could be prevented by increasing an intake of Vitamin D3, especially in countries North of the Equator (that’s us).

The best way to get your Vitamin D is from exposure of the skin to UV-B which is in sunlight. Unfortunately, the amount of sun reaching most of us in the the U.S. is not enough. Most of us don’t live far enough south or high enough in the mountains, to allow the amount of Ultraviolet-B to reach our skins. Therfore, for those of us that do not get enough exposure to the sunlight our body needs, we may consider a high quality oral form of Vitamin D.

In addition to what’s been mentioned above, vitamin D is also responsible for maintaining normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus and for helping to build strong bones. Vitamin D works with other vitamins, minerals and hormones to promote bone mineralization. Additionally, research shows that vitamin D may help support a healthy immune system.

Here’s to your health!

Your highest and most dependable source of cash flow is your earning ability.  Your ability to earn money is the same as a huge factory that produces products and services that are then sold and the profit is generated back to the owner.  

Your are that owner of your own profit center!  That is you!  All you need is your brain to get it and keep it going.  Your ability to apply your mind to your world can generate hundreds of thousands (even millions or billions if you are Bill Gates) of dollars of money into your life.  There is no limit to what you can produce or create.

Don’t take that for granted.  You have amassed your abilities over a lifetime.  You are no different from the Warren Buffets, the Henry Fords, the Abraham Lincolns of the world.  All your education and experience has brought you to this point in your life - no matter what your degree or position in life might say about you.   You have come a long way, baby. 

Here’s a question for you.  Do you think you are you at your peak of your earning ability? 

I am guessing you are saying, “Um, I don’t think so.”  I know that to be true for me.  I know I am not at that peak yet.  I am still learning to earn.

Let me explain.

Your time is your most precious resource.  All of your life is a trade for your time.  You start off in life with lots of time and no money, naked as a baby born into the world and with the clock ticking and the sand in the hourglass flowing with ease from your first breath.  Yet you are on a very equal pathway with the same amount of time given in every day as every other person you meet.

As you get older, and you are conditioned to create income and resources, you start to trade your time for money, possibly with that first job as a teenager washing cars or working at the local grocery. 

Even further along in life, years later, you can look around now and see where you are at with how you have traded your time for money.  Either you trade it for hourly wages or you trade it for commissions and payment based upon results.  Either way, your work (or your vocation), is probably where you spend most of your time.  You get a salary, a bonus, a commission, an hour wage for trade of that time.

This shows up in your net worth and cash flow.  If you have never taken stock of your net worth or know how to do that, that’s okay.  Here is an average number you can work with for the sake of this article.

According to one of my mentors, Brian Tracy, the average family in America has a net worth of $40,000 (the average aged person being 40).  That means that, on average, the 40-year-old American has traded a year of their life for $1,000 per year up to this time.  That’s about $83/month.  Does that seem about right?  Or are you worth more than that?  Have you reached the ceiling of your earning ability and net worth in this life?  What do you think the average American has been investing in to get to that point for $1,000 per year net worth? 

Let’s switch gears.  I see your wheels are turning! 

Question:  What do you think is the best investment of your time and money? 
Answer:  It is to increase your earning ability. 

Sometimes I hear people talk about saving time.  Can you save time in the same manner as you save money?  No.

You do not save time, it can only be spent or invested.  Time passes along and can only be re-allocated or spent differently than you spend it today.  The time it took you to read this far into this article is gone forever and won’t be made up.

I wrote in my 5 Time Management Tips eBook that Einstein said that “Time is God’s way of making sure everything doesn’t happen all at once.”  Intuitively you know that, however, it is easy to forget as life passes you by and you get caught up in the normal routine of every day life of trading time for money. 

I started out in trading my hours for dollars straight out of college and after less than seven months in the corporate world and seeing my life pass by me and my time seemingly being compromised by doing things that I did not see as challenging enough, at hours I did not get excted about and not the highest and best use of my gifts and talents.  I quickly got out of that routine and moved into commission sales.  Little did I know how much money I could make in a sales career - the sky was the limit.  My 22-year-old limitless mind was very happy at that thought.  I was learning from my mentors and coaches in life the importance of increasing my earning ability and that earning ability was going to increase with the proper investment of one thing.  My time spent the way I wanted. 

Then I discovered something very important.

My highest and most dependeable source of cash flow…is my time and how I choose to invest it. 

To put it another way:  Time = Life.  Or, rather, time management = life management.  I have found that if I am feeling excellent about my time management skills, my life management comes with ease and all is well.  It took me 30 years to realize this, however, I always say it is better late than never! 

How are you investing your time these days in this interesting economy?   If I was to replace the word time in that question and pose it to you this way, “How are you investing your life these days?”, would you respond differently to that question?  Or perhaps think differently?  As you can see, I am not just talking about time management here.  I believe it goes deeper than that.  It starts with you.  Time is the equalizer.  You and I are the variables.  How you or I spend our time is going to make the difference in our lives individually and therefore going to make a difference in our own net worth, cash flow and earning ability.

Give it some thought and think about how you are spending your time and investing in yourself and your earning ability.  I hope that you are right where you want to be in your net worth and, ultimately, your time and “life” worth.  If not, there is time to increase it!  We’ll pick this conversation up again next week with some tips on how to do just that.
Until then…Here’s to your wealth of time and life!

Spring is about to have officially sprung (tomorrow in fact marks the first day of the start of the new Season).   Spring represents the time where farmers plant seeds for later harvest.  This is the “time to plant” as the old Byrds song, “Turn, Turn, Turn” says.  We are “turn”ing into that next quarter of 2008.  March Madness is in full swing.  Easter is even here the earliest it has been since 1918.  Where is the year going?  It seems to be sprinting by.

In the sports arena all across the country, this is typically the time where the outdoor track and field season really takes off.  The dust has been brushed off the old runnin’ shoes and people from all climates (not just athletes) find themselves outdoors more often and breaking out of the winter hibernation.  

I wanted to pause and check in with you today and ask, Where are you at in this Season of your life?

Just as in the famed story about the tortoise and the hare, there are two types of mindsets I want to focus on and be conscious of this time of year, possibly now more than ever -  the sprinter mindset and the marathoner mindset. 

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Life is like a marathon - I see the whole distance and yet take one mile at a time, embracing every mile as I go along”;  or, maybe you have heard yourself or someone say, “My life is more like a sprint than a marathon - I see short sudden bursts as I go from day to day or event to event”. 

The sprinter (a.k.a. the “hare”) mindset says,  “Alright!  We’re off to the races!  I’ve got a lot to get done and more daylight to do it in - so, let’s go!”  I saw that in my dad every Springtime on the farm and saw it in myself in the sports arena and in business as the first quarter ended and the weather warmed up. 

Can you identify with that one?  Maybe you wanted to start that new project or that new diet or that new training program in January and all sorts of reasons came up in your mind that caused you to stop and say, “Naw, I’ll wait until Spring” or “Naw that new year’s resolution really didn’t mean that much to me”  or  “That project/diet/thing can start in the second quarter after I get some of the beginning of the year stuff out of the way” 

And now that that time has come, the second quarter, the Springtime weather, the daylight increasing, the new sports season, etc., you are sprinting out of the chute to get it all done!  Feeling as though you might be a bit behind if you don’t put the pedal to the metal? 

Than the marathoner mindset is still out there.  This is the mindset that plods along, the mindset that says “I am in it for the long haul”.  This is the long-slow-distance tortoise that knows the finish line is there and continues to move forward in spite of the hare/sprinter mentalities that are running around and around - literally running circles around the marathoner mindset.  The tortoise could care less for he knows that he will finish, just give him time and he will get there. 

Can you identify with that one?  Maybe you started that project at the beginning of the year or that relationship or that workout regime and you are still feeling it out after the first three months, still going strong -slowly, but surely growing the business, the relationship or the routine and testing out the process, enjoying the journey.

I think I see both of those mindsets in myself every single day, if I am conscious of where my priorities are and where I get to put my energy.  Do I choose to sprint or be a marathoner on that project today?  Do I get to go fast and get it done quickly or is it time to be slower, methodical and have the long-term mindset?  Neither is good or bad, right or wrong - yet there is a balance of the two.

I share this with you this week because as you start this new Season of Spring, I want to encourage you to be conscious and aware of how you spend the time of your days as we progress in this second quarter of the year.  You get to choose how you think and move forward - will you be a sprinter in this moment or a marathoner?  

Again, I believe there is time for both mindsets as long as you choose wisely and maintain a balance of both.  For me, I have found life truly is a marathon with a few short speed workouts mixed in throughout the week and that proverbial day of rest at the end.  That is when I am at my best, when I remember that.

If you want a complimentary coaching session to help you harness some of that hare energy and maintain the longhaul marathoner-tortoise mentality in the process, feel free to call me at 949-949-0399 and I’ll share 30 minutes of my own time to help encourage you as you run this race of life.  You have until Friday, March 21st, to schedule your free 30 minutes of coaching (HINT:  This is where the hare mindset energy is a good idea!).  I will give this offer to the first 3 people that call me by Friday at 5 p.m.

In timely fashion, I also want to wish you a Happy Easter week, as you think about the Easter bunny and the “hare” moments of your busy life, don’t forget to reflect and enjoy your friends, your family and the holiday focus. 

Here’s to you!

Join me as the Emcee on Saturday, April 5th, 2008 in Tempe, Arizona.
The American Cancer Society needs YOU to join us for an event you will never forget!
 
Relay For Life of Tempe, Arizona 
April 5th-6th, 2008  

Marcos de Niza High School
Tempe, AZ 

5pm - 6am 

Relay For Life is the signature activity of the American Cancer Society.
Imagine…  a slumber party for an entire community! 
A camp out with your friends, family and co-workers - taking turns walking the track all night to symbolize there is no finish line until we find a cure.

My passion for finding a cure for Leukemia (and other blood related cancers) continues and I will have the honor of being a part of this event as their emcee for the Luminaria event with honored cancer survivors being the VIPs for the night.  Saturday, April 5th will mark the 10-year anniversary of my friend’s passing and I will be sharing my story as part of my emcee speaking event at the Cancer Walk.  I look forward to having your support and helping this amazing cause.

CLICK HERE to view the flyer for the event and to find out more details of how you can get involved.

NOTE:  If you know any local cancer survivors in the Phoenix, Arizona area, please contact Rebecca Smout, Event Chairperson, or myself, in order to get the survivor on the honored guest list.  Rebecca can be reached at 602-236-2489.

REMINDER:  If you haven’t done so yet and are looking for another way to give, feel free to donate to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and my great cause in fighting blood related cancers at www.InMikeysMemory.com. 

Before I went through my very own health transformation last year and finally decided to take my health seriously, I was the random supplement/vitamin taker….truthfully hit or miss (and mostly miss) more often times than not without much purpose in my supplemental focus.  Funny how when you nearly lose your health that you get that wake up call that prompts you ever so gently to go down the path of realizing that if you don’t have your health, what do you have?  I knew that what I was eating was not doing it for me anymore, not alone in this overly-processed food world. 

In the last part of 2007, I started my serious commitment to research for supplements and vitamins that could support my overall well being and balance inside and outside.  One can look really healthy on the outside, yet what is really going on on the inside of your very own cellular nutrition is the real deal, the truth about your health that makes the true difference. 

Here is an article I received from my supplemental nutrition company, USANA Health Sciences, a company that I have found doesn’t just talk the talk, it also walks the walk and is scientifically backed and proven time and time again by helping transform the nutritional needs of all who choose to take their health seriously and implement the supplements and vitamins that USANA offers.

NOTE:  I will send 5 days worth of free supplements to the first 5 people who email me this week, on or before Friday, March 21st, with a request that you want to start the journey to supplemental health transformation.  Here’s to your health!

For over 50 years we’ve been led to believe that RDA levels are adequate…
 
…but adequate for what? Adequate to prevent clinically obvious nutritional deficiencies like scurvy, beriberi, rickets, and pellagra?
 
According to the Food and Nutrition Board (under the umbrella of the National Institutes of Health): “The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is the average daily dietary intake level that is sufficient to meet the requirement of nearly all apparently healthy individuals in a particular life stage and gender group.” The Food and Nutrition Board further defines “requirement” as: “the lowest continuing intake level of a nutrient that, for a specified indicator of adequacy, will maintain a defined level of nutriture in an individual.”
 
Basically, the RDA is - by their own definition - the lowest level of nutrient intakes that will prevent deficiencies in apparently healthy individuals. And, while RDA levels may have helped us to avoid acute deficiency diseases, they do not address any issues of optimal nutrition.
 
The RDAs have certainly played an important role in public health. Most assuredly, they provide amounts that will prevent you from getting scurvy, pellagra, rickets or beriberi. However, in the general population, these vitamin-related diseases are of little concern. Products based solely on RDA amounts are fine for their intended purpose (i.e. providing minimal amounts of important vitamins and minerals), but the RDA of vitamins and minerals is not always enough to help prevent certain degenerative diseases or to provide protection from oxidative damage.
 
In other words, there are more benefits of nutritional supplementation than just preventing rare deficiencies. Really, the RDA should only be considered the “minimum wage” of nutrition.
 
USANA’s products are formulated with the most up-to-date nutritional research in mind, which may or may not have relevance to the RDAs. Rather than just trying to prevent total vitamin deficiencies, we are concerned with the vast majority of people who are “apparently” healthy. Many degenerative diseases and chronic illnesses develop over a lifetime, striking “apparently” healthy individuals when they least expect it.
 
The bottom line is that for the millions of “apparently” health individuals in the world, minimal nutrient intakes and the RDAs are not always adequate - or even designed - to address our most common health challenges.
 
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), much of the illness, disability, and death associated with chronic disease is avoidable through known prevention measures. Furthermore, a recent study examining the potential economic benefits of vitamin supplementation concluded that there are substantiated cost reductions associated with the use of vitamin supplements, based on preventative nutrition.
 
What does this mean for you? Basically, that there can be substantial cost reductions associated with vitamin supplements based on the principle of preventative nutrition.
 
A question we are commonly asked is, “if I am eating healthy, do I still need to take supplements?” A healthy diet is a necessary foundation for any program of optimal nutrition, and there is really no substitute for eating well. In this context, USANA’s nutritional supplements are designed to complement a healthy diet - not replace it. Our supplements are designed to provide the advanced levels of the essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that are difficult to obtain from diet alone; levels that we could all use, everyday, to promote a lifetime of good health.
 
More importantly, we are not the only ones who are convinced of the health benefits of nutritional supplements. In June 2002, the Journal of the American Medical Association published two articles by health researchers at Harvard University. Their articles were entitled “Vitamins for Chronic Disease Prevention in Adults”. Through their research, these authors concluded that “suboptimal intake of some vitamins, above levels causing classic vitamin deficiency, is a risk factor for chronic diseases and common in the general population, especially the elderly. Suboptimal folic acid levels, along with suboptimal levels of vitamins B6 and B12, are a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, neural tube defects, and colon and breast cancer; low levels of vitamin D contribute to osteopenia and fractures; and low levels of the antioxidant vitamins (vitamins A, E and C) may increase risk for several chronic diseases.”
 
The scientific evidence supporting the health benefits of nutritional supplements is solid and growing daily, and more health care professionals than ever before are now siding with the conclusions drawn from these two review articles published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
 
We believe that there has never been a better time to put the science of nutrition to work in promoting your health.

CLICK HERE to order your own supplements or to learn more about what it takes to get started on your own vitamin/supplement journey.
 
REFERENCES OF INTEREST
 
Bendich A, Mallick R, Leader S. Potential health economic benefits of vitamin supplementation. West J Med 1997 May; 166(5):306-12. This study used published relative risk estimates for birth defects, premature birth, and coronary heart disease associated with vitamin intake to project potential annual cost reductions in U.S. hospitalization charges. Epidemiological and intervention studies with relative risk estimates were identified via MEDLINE. Preventable fraction estimates were derived from data on the percentage of at-risk Americans with daily vitamin intake levels lower than those associated with disease risk reduction. Hospitalization rates were obtained from the 1992 National Hospital Discharge Survey. Charge data from the 1993 California Hospital Discharge Survey were adjusted to 1995 national charges using the medical component of the Consumer Price Index. Based on published risk reductions, annual hospital charges for birth defects, low-birth-weight premature births, and coronary heart disease could be reduced by about 40, 60, and 38%, respectively. For the conditions studied, nearly $20 billion in hospital charges were potentially avoidable with daily use of folic acid and zinc-containing multivitamins by all women of childbearing age and daily vitamin E supplementation by those over 50.

Here is an amazing article written by one of my friends and colleauges in the real estate industry.  I found this message inspiring and informative amidst all the hype of foreclosures and investment “opportunities” that are out there.. 
Enjoy what he has to say and ask Alan or myself for anymore thoughts on this, or any other, real estate topic.  There is no doubt that there are always opportunities out there, yet it helps to be educated before you go out on a limb and buy something at the provoking of all the hear-say out in the industry.  We want you to be informed of all angles before you consider investing in real estate.

Foreclosures, Short Sales and REO’s, May Not Always be ‘the Best Deal’

Or CLICK HERE for the actual article

WHO:   This is all for you to learn and be inspired to create a healthier lifestyle.

WHAT:  Dr. Melissa and Lois will answer your questions on the importance of cleansing and detoxification in your health and wellness regimen.  
Look at Dr. Melissa website at www.drmelissa.com 

WHEN:  Tuesday, March 18th, Noon (12 p.m.) PST - approximately 45-60 minutes in length

WHERE:  Over the phone waves.  RSVP to Lois to get the call-in details. 

WHY:  To help improve your health and wellness with FREE information and education.  All attendees will receive FREE gifts!

Please e-mail Lois at Lois@TransformedTriathlete.com to RSVP or call 949-940-0399.

Here’s to you and your health!

WEALTH-REALIZATIONS

NOTE:  This is an article contribution from my good friend and colleague, Tom Wheelwright, wealth coach extraordinaire.

I have often thought over the past couple of years about the difference between being rich and being wealthy. Is there a difference? If so, what is it? And how do we become wealthy?

It seems to me that there is a big difference between being rich and being wealthy. When I think about someone who is rich, I think about someone with a lot of money. And I typically think about someone who is quite showy with their money. They drive fancy cars and live in a fancy house. They wear fancy clothes and eat at fancy restaurants.

Rich people come into their money in a number of ways. They may inherit it. They may win the lottery. They may earn it in a few short years as a professional ball player or entertainer. Or they may invent a new mousetrap that is worth millions of dollars. Or they may simply earn it over many years as a professional or a business owner.

But doesn’t this also describe a wealthy person? Is there really a difference? I believe there is a major difference between rich and wealthy. The difference is in duration. How long does the money last? Will it be gone once the person’s earning power is gone? Will it be passed on to future generations?

The difference between a wealthy person and someone who is simply rich is that a wealthy person has sustainable wealth. In other words, a wealthy person will always be wealthy, whereas someone who is merely rich will only be so for a short period of time until the money is gone.

Think about people in history who everyone would consider wealthy, and you can begin to see what I mean. The Rockefellers, Carnegies, and Campbells are all wealthy families. Their wealth has lasted multiple generations. Why is this? What makes them so different from the lottery winner or professional athlete who has money for a short time and then it’s gone?

The difference between rich and wealthy is very simple. It’s knowledge. Wealthy people know how to make money. Rich people only have money. Once you know how to make money, you can build sustainable wealth. The money never stops coming. If you have a reversal of fortune, it’s not a big deal. You just make it back.

Think about Donald Trump. Several years ago, Mr. Trump was deeply in debt. But, oddly, he didn’t change his spending habits and didn’t go away. Why not? Because Donald Trump understands how to make money. He is a wealthy individual.

There are many examples in history of wealthy people who obtained their wealth through knowledge and valued knowledge more than money. The most obvious one perhaps was King Soloman, king of all of the Israelites. He was extraordinarily wealthy. And he was extraordinarily wise. When he first became king, the prophet came to him and asked what he would ask of God. Solomon asked for wisdom. And throughout Solomon’s writings, he lists wisdom and knowledge as the two most important gifts to ask of God. Wisdom and knowledge are what created Solomon’s great wealth.

Wisdom and knowledge can create great wealth for anyone who desires it. Last week, a vendor of ours came to me and asked what he could do to create wealth. My immediate response was to learn everything he could about wealth. Once he had the knowledge, then he could begin formulating a strategy and work with a coach to build the wealth. But the knowledge needs to come first. Otherwise, if we do happen to get rich, the money is not likely to last.

I am most grateful to my mother who instilled in me and my siblings an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. This is the greated gift (other than life itself) that my mother gave me. It’s this thirst for knowledge that drives me to teach others about wealth and how to attain it.

Warmest regards,

Tom

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http://www.tomwheelwright.com