My Best Wealth-Building and Prosperity Advice…

How many times have you heard a motivational speaker or author speak that weary old line about how much money you would save a year if you brewed your own coffee and didn’t buy one from a coffeeshop?  It’s true, you could save a lot of money.

It’s also terrible advice for creating a prosperous life…

In fact, YouTube, television shows, blogs, books, podcasts, and radio programs are packed with dreadful advice on how to become prosperous.  Some of it is only money-centric, about amassing a larger net worth without considering the holistic aspects of an abundant life.  The problem with this approach is that if you spend all your time and energy trying to scrimp, save, and coupon, you might actually be hurting your progress towards creating wealth.  And if your predominant approach is geared on how to acquire more money, that won’t factor in the many other elements of living prosperously.   To only focus on wealth causes you to lose sight of something profound:

You probably don’t really desire more money…  

What you actually desire are the things you can exchange that money for.  This is why as soon as they receive money, most people immediately trade it for the things they really want: Ariana Grande’s new album, a yearly suite at Cowboys Stadium, pair of Yeezys, Monet, etc.  This is not meant to demean or diminish the value of money.  Only a fool discounts the role money can play in living a happy, healthy, and prosperous life.  Sometimes the things you want to trade your money for can bring you greater freedom or security, which can contribute to prosperity.

Before you affirm that money doesn’t buy happiness, you should also reflect upon the fact that being broke doesn’t buy happiness either.  Let’s not disparage money, but simply recognize the actual role it can play in doing what you probably really want: to manifest prosperity.  And also recognize that amassing greater and greater amounts of money doesn’t equate to living prosperously. True prosperity requires that you take that wealth and also integrate other nuanced aspects of prosperity. Elements such as:

• Vibrant health.
• Spiritual grounding.
• Positive consciousness.
• Empowering relationships.
• Work or a mission that brings challenge, adventure, and growth to your life.

This leads you to the “sweet spot” where you truly are in gratitude for all that you do have and become – yet still have the passion desire, and capacity to do, have, and become more.  This approach can lead you to creating a prosperous life.

Much of the other horrible advice about prosperity isn’t money-centric.  It purports to be about developing prosperity consciousness but is actually saturated in poverty consciousness.  These pundits teach that you’re immoral to desire a beautiful home and the secret is lowering your desires to the point you are happy with a cramped apartment. The problem with this rationale is that if it is followed to its logical conclusion, you would have to keep lowering your expectations until you would be content with no electricity and running water, grubbing for berries outside your thatched hut.

Here’s a small sample of the conventional wisdom being disseminated about prosperity, that I would instead categorize as poverty consciousness bullshit:

• Fly economy instead of business or first class.
• Microwave a frozen pizza instead of getting a fresh hot pie delivered from a pizzeria.
• Only buy used cars.
• Take the “city view” (dumpster behind the restaurant next door view) hotel room instead of the water view.
• Buy a condo on the lower floors.
• Plastic flowers instead of real.

I could save literally thousands of dollars a year if I chose to cancel my fresh flower deliveries and replace them by buying three vases of plastic flowers. Personally, it’s hard to conceive of a more soul-crushing capitulation to living a hollow life than buying a plastic flower arrangement.  FFS, what is prosperous about that?

Many of you deprive yourself of prosperity because you believe forsaking the things and experiences that bring you joy makes you noble, virtuous, or guarantees you eternal life.  But take my word for it, Buddha, Jesus, or the prophet Muhammad wouldn’t be impressed because you declined the ocean front room in Hawai'i.  It’s much more likely they would think you hadn’t been paying attention to their teachings or the lives they lived.

#ProTip No true god or spiritual leader will be impressed by your attempt to impress them. (Quite the opposite.)

This is not to say you should purchase some TUMI luggage, book two first class tickets to Tahiti, and snag an oceanfront suite.  If you are only earning 50,000 dollars or euros a year, it wouldn’t be prudent to buy the new Bentley Continental GT.  It may be sensible right now for you to live in a smaller home, dine out less frequently, or limit your expenditures on entertainment.  Just don’t confuse these actions of sensible restraint as the pathway to prosperity.  They’re simply a tiny element in the course you must pursue to become prosperous.

Because I trek around the world so much, traveling in luxury is important to me. For some people it might be collecting art, and for others it could be going fishing on the weekends.  The ideal situation requires finding balance between allowing yourself some of the luxuries that enhance your life now, while deferring other things to invest those resources in actions that will guarantee a prosperous life in the future.  (This future, not some afterlife future.)

Allow me to provide you with some much more effective advice to create financial security and manifest a healthy, happy, and prosperous life.

Top 3 Money Goals:

Make your number one, overriding money goal to become debt-free, as quickly as possible.  Debt should only be used to leverage more prosperity, never to pursue instant gratification.

Make your number two money goal to find ways to harness the power of leverage.  Leverage is the superpower for building wealth. You have to escape the limiting model of trading time for money, in order to create quantum leaps in your wealth building.

Make your number three money goal to put your wealth to work, so you wake up every day wealthier than you were when you went to sleep the evening before.

Top 3 Prosperity Goals:

Make your number one, overriding prosperity goal to become the highest possible version of yourself. This automatically creates collateral effects to improve your health, relationships, and overall success.

Make your number two prosperity goal to maintain, or if necessary, regain or obtain, your optimal physical health.  If your thinking isn’t clean, and your body can’t keep up with your mind, it’s extremely difficult to take the steps you will need to take.

Make your number three prosperity goal to be about creating moments in your life.  Don’t live in the past with regret, don’t live in the future with fear, live in the moment in awe. No one lies on their deathbed thinking about the Lamborghini they owned.  They reflect on the magical moments with those they love.

Peace,

- RG

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