Building Wealth: It’s Not Your Money, It’s Your Mind
Being wealthy can mean different things to different people. Some may view wealth as having a million dollars; others may feel that a million dollars isn't enough. Having wealth means you have enough money to do the things you want to do. It's important to note that at the end of the day, the individuals who have been successful in building wealth haven't been because of the logic of money. Building wealth doesn't have anything to do with income or the lack of income to help you get to where you want to be financially.
How do we attract the money and wealth that we desire? This is a challenging question because money doesn't come with instructions. There is some commonality between those who build wealth and those who don't, and that's their behavior. Your ability to build wealth is not a reflection of your education level. Because what we learn, what we believe, and how we feel about money all shape our behaviors surrounding money. How will you handle your finances if you are intimidated, fearful, or uncertain about money?
What behaviors drive your ability to build wealth? Building wealth is not always logical; it's behavioral and emotional. If you rely on social security and job pensions to fund your life after retirement, you will never create the behavior of building wealth for your future. Money put into social security, or a pension, is set aside from the earnings we work for. We have no choice but to put that money aside. Meaning those are forced behaviors. Forced behaviors don't build habits.
The behaviors you are exposed to will be those you come to practice. When you got your first job as a teenager, were you told to save some of your income or spend the whole thing? Those behaviors laid the foundation for how you choose to spend versus save. We imitate what we see; unfortunately, many of us don't recognize that we still have those tendencies that we picked up.
Spending, saving, and investing are important aspects of building wealth. I want you to think about how your life experiences and behaviors have impacted how you spend, save or invest. Maybe you were taught to save all your money for a rainy day, and investing your money in something was dangerous because there's a potential to lose it. If that's the thinking you were exposed to, then that's the behavior you built.
Your behaviors and emotions have the ability to keep you from the life you want. If you want to build financial wealth that allows you to live your best life, you must check your behaviors first. Think about the conversations you have with your family, friends, and even your colleagues. Are those conversations enforcing behaviors that will help strengthen and reinforce a positive mentality around money?
Many strategies can improve your mental wealth. Society today makes this process more complicated than it has to be. It is truly up to you to keep up with the strategies that can assist you in building wealth.
