10 Simple Wealth Creation Strategies

Tip #1: Money is ALWAYS an inadequate motivator.

Until you realize that though – you’ll probably spin in circles trying to “get rich” and wondering why you’re never getting there. The thing with using money as a motivator is that it works in the short term but when things get hard it’s pretty easy to say “ah forget about the money – I’m ok with what I’ve got”.

To be truly motivated to push through the inevitable challenges you need to get clear on the real reason you’re doing what you’re doing.

Freedom to create my day was so important to me that it consumed most of my thoughts. Not being free slowly began to choke me, especially when freedoms I used to enjoy in my job slowly slipped away. I had a vivid picture of what I wanted my days to look like and that picture is what compelled me to quit my job years earlier than we had planned.

That burning need for control over my time and desire to be free was my motivator.

I quit my job not because we were at the point where we were financially ready for it. I quit my job because I could no longer stand to live my life the way it was a single day longer. I was ready to kick butt, get kicked, and get back up to kick butt again to make my dream of freedom a reality. I never considered going to find a new job – I set out to create the life I am living now. That was my motivator. Not money. For most parents, having more time to be with their children and be present for their family is a very compelling motivator. For others, it can be a more material desire at first (like a great home or a fun car or a family vacation), but it often evolves to something less tangible. It doesn’t matter what your motivator is, I just want you to know that if you’re using money or a goal like “get rich” to motivate yourself, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Tip #2: You can be right or you can be rich, but most of the time you can’t be both.

Dave is in a year long business mentoring program and I recently had the opportunity to eat dinner with many of his fellow mentees. The woman in the group who has arguably seen the biggest improvement in her business as a result of the mentoring told me her success secret:“I just do what I am told. That’s it.” She doesn’t waste time arguing why she has done it the way she has done it. She doesn’t resist the suggestions – she just follows the process and suggestions and she is getting amazing results. Very few people do that. Most people would rather be right. They’d rather explain why they think what they think or do what they do – even when they are paying five figures for a mentor.

Tip #3:Success and failure are not nouns. Let go of it. You are never going to be a success nor will you ever be a failure. You will succeed at some of the things you try just as you will likely fail at some of the things you try.

Tip #4:Return should not be measured in isolation. Where there is a return there is a risk. You MUST look at what you have to spend in terms of time, energy, and money AND what you are risking to get the return for it to make sense. (Want more on risk? I created a video on how to analyze risk in real estate deals a little while ago – you can check that out here).

Tip #5:The only place you can start is where you are right now.

Everyone wants to start at the front of the line but that’s not how the world works. Take the grocery store as an analogy. Do you ever struggle to pick a line at the grocery store – wanting to find the fastest one? Do you ever find yourself in the slowest line wishing you’d picked a different line? Do you ever switch lines? Most of the time when you switch lines you don’t get through the line any faster than if you’d just stayed in line. Once in awhile you do … but you’re always second guessing yourself for making the choice instead of entertaining yourself by reading the latest headlines on US Weekly. But you always get to the front of the line if you just pick one and get in, right? And sometimes another line opens up and you get to jump ahead a bit because you were already in line! The only real guarantee is that if you never get in line you never get to the front. Your life is like that too – so stop deciding which line to get in and just do it!

Tip #6: Master energy management not time management.

I know so many people who say time is their biggest obstacle to achieving their goals. Yet those same people can tell you all the latest on celebrities, tv shows and movies because they’ve collapsed in front of the tv for four hours at the end of each night. I’ve realized that time is not their issue – nor is it mine. It’s energy. I now structure my eating, exercising and work schedule as much as possible around using energy and then renewing energy. There’s too much to cover in this short section but simple things like getting more sleep, drinking more water, taking short walks, and cutting out sugar can add several hours of focused energy to your day. And what you can do in two goal focused hours is pretty astounding. I would argue that you can do more in two hours like that with high energy than most people do in an 8 – 10 hour work day.

Tip #7: The pursuit of perfection will paralyze you.

When you seek perfection you’ll freeze up and not be able to move forward. Focus instead on what is “good enough” and what you can do TODAY to move forward. We love the saying “sloppy success is better than perfect mediocrity” which we heard first from Alex Mandossian. Keep moving forward – it’s not about perfection it’s about progress.

Tip #8: Every day is a good day unless you choose for it not to be.

This lesson is from my Grandma Broad. She always tells me that if it’s not a good day it’s my own fault. I used to find that a little annoying because if a teacher gave me a bad grade or my brother hit me I figured it was not my fault things went badly. I have come to realize that everything in my life comes down to choices. Often a decision I made caused something to happen to me – so I had control over it in the first place. Or, even if it wasn’t my decision, I have a choice as to whether I let it ruin my day or not. I am not a bottle of happiness every moment of every day but when I am grouchy I do know that I am choosing to be that way and being happy is as simple as choosing to be happy.

Tip #9: Create different problems for yourself.

One of my biggest pet peeves is people who always complain about the same problem. I have a hard time understanding why they haven’t done something about it. They probably like having that problem secretly … they must! I have lots of problems too! I prefer to consider them challenges – but still. I have things that aren’t going well too. And every time I solve one problem I seem to create a new one … but that is ok for me as long as I am not dwelling on the same problem day in and day out.

Tip #10:Create more happy moments.

Make a list of the happiest moments in your life. You’ll realize that none of them (or very few of them) involved money. Usually they involved achieving something challenging for yourself, a great moment with friends or family, or an incredible experience of some kind. One of my happiest days in recent years was when I was with Dave in the Saskatchewan Pavilion of the 2010 Winter Olympics watching the Canada vs US mens hockey gold medal match. It was such an incredible experience. We didn’t know anybody else in the pavilion yet we all felt like friends. And when Canada won in overtime it was an explosion of joy heard all over Canada. I never felt more Canadian pride and joy before that moment. It was easily one of the happiest days of my life. That experience cost us less than $50.

Wealth is important but it’s not everything. Don’t get too hung up on it. Give yourself some room to just enjoy life. Figure out what moments made you really happy and strive to recreate those moments more often. When you stop focusing on money and focus more on happiness, somehow more money just seems to flow your way anyway.

It’s not that hard to make money. It really isn’t. Keeping it, growing it, and using it to it’s fullest potential to create a life you love is the more difficult part. These 10 things are all realizations, tips or strategies that have made a big impact on my life in the last two years in particular. Since leaving my job I’ve experienced bigger challenges in my life than I ever faced before (and I didn’t steer clear of challenges before … it’s just that independence is a whole different animal!), and bigger moments of job and achievement. It’s been a wild roller coaster ride of glee, fear, and excitement and every day the ride gets more and more rewarding. I wish the same for you.

Top 10 Tips to Success

1. Take Risks - Do not be afraid to take risks.. where is the fun in that? If you want something, go for it! Do not try and justify every action you make. Sometimes, all you have to do is to take that big leap! We usually allow ourselves to settle at what is safe and secure and yet we end up wondering at all the “what if’s?” and “what could have been’s?” in life.

2. Make Opportunities - This is more logical than waiting for opportunity to knock on your door - which may or may never come.

3. Have a Plan - Always have a plan.. this is the best way to stay on track with your goals. Set a milestone which will provide as your visual in what you are working for, what you have successfully achieved, and what you need to do better.

4. Stay Motivated - When you’re too busy getting what you want you also exhaust all your energies with it and this becomes critical because this is usually the reason why we lose the battle. Half-way through, we get tired and lose the desire to go on. It is important to stay motivated. Remind yourself with the reasons as to why you are working hard.. read motivational quotes and articles. Assure yourself that every effort exerted will eventually pay-off in the long run.

5. Be Patient - Always remember that attaining goals almost always takes time. Be kind to yourself and the people around you because everything is actually a process in working your way up the ladder each day.

8. Reward yourself - As you surpass every milestone try and treat yourself for a job well done.

7. Do not Stop Learning - You may feel that you have already become an expert in your field when you’ve been working on it for so long. But this shouldn’t be the reason why you should stop learning. Keep innovating! New ideas and new ventures helps keep the fire burning!

8. Learn to Delegate - When you are getting close to your goals you will find out that there are many more things to do than hours in the day. Find someone to help take some of your load so you can focus on things that needs your full attention.

9. Raise your Standards - Always learn to “Step-up!”. Increase your standard and strive for more!

10. Be Thankful - Not only with your accomplishments but also with your trials and your failures. It will keep you humble, which in turn, will help you continue striving for success.

The Secret of Success Without Stress

Have you ever wondered why success and stress seem to be inseparable companions in our world today?

Success in business means long hours, politics, and the never-ending struggle to achieve. Success in love means constant sacrifice and “working on the relationship.” Success in school, art, music, science, and sports means the ever-increasing pressure to perform.

When we take a step back and look at the whole picture, it’s hard not to wonder, “Is success today worth the cost?”

Is the fear and anxiety we feel in the present moment worth the promise of some perfect moment to come? If we look objectively at the fruit of our stressful days, and the deteriorating state of the world, we begin to realize that this is not a profitable trade. Compromising ourselves in the Now to insure a positive moment to come is a flawed formula for success.

On the other hand, in those rare moments when we happen upon a pure moment of peace and contentment—a glorious sunrise, holding the hand of the one we love, the clarity of an insight or epiphany—it is obvious that success itself is an integral part of life. It is in these moments that we can hear a faint voice whispering from deep down inside our hearts, telling us that we were born to be successful; and as human beings it is our natural right to strive toward excellence and enjoy the fruits of achievement.

This is the voice of intuition telling us that striving toward success is not supposed to be a drag — it’s supposed to be light, bright, happy, and fun!

It is trying to reveal the beautiful truth that success without stress is possible. The only problem is that we have ceased to listen to its wise counsel because we have been conditioned by society to place our attention on the objects of success, instead of on the principle of success itself. When we realize this simple misdirection that has taken place, we take the first step in learning to attract everything our heart desires.

And that’s the main point of this article: It is possible for us to learn to attract success, instead of trying to chase it down though years of toil, disappointment, and heartache!

So how to we do it? How do we learn to attract the success we want instead of letting the desire for the objects of success push us around from problem to problem?

The answer is simple: We begin to doubt what compromises us.

We begin to doubt stress when it tells us we have to rush through our day. We begin to doubt fearful thoughts when they tell us we need to worry. We begin to doubt feelings of greed and inadequacy that bully us around by telling us that who we are isn’t enough.

The reason that doubting negative states is a great key along the path to gaining our hearts’ true wish is that this action separates our true self—who we really are—from whatever dark thought or feeling happens to be passing through us in the moment. We realize that we don’t have to listen to dark thoughts and feelings; instead we understand that there is a choice, whenever we remember it, to not sacrifice happiness now for a future happy time that may never come!

One specific technique you can use to begin doubting these dark states is to ask yourself this question whenever you find yourself trying to overcome any person or situation that stands in the way of winning some imagined future success: "What would happen right now if I were to want what Life wants, instead of wanting what I want?” This may sound like a strange idea at first, because we are so used to trying to get hold of what we want. But, when we begin to experiment with the power contained in this question, we realize that this simple action has the power to raise the level of our entire life!

To understand this more clearly, let's look at what happens When We Want What We Want:

• We are often stressed and unsettled because life may not go the way we want it to
• We are often tired because we spend our energy struggling against the natural flow of events
• We are unable to sit quietly or go to sleep peacefully because our mind is always busy trying to resolve problems that stand in the way of our desires
• We are easily agitated when someone or something interrupts our plans
• We harbor resentment toward those who have “wronged” us in the past
• We lose sight of our true nature, because we mistake what we possess for who we really are

Now let's look at what happens When We Want What Life Wants:

• We are always on the winning side
• We are free from stress, anger, and anxiety
• We maintain confident self-command in any situation
• We are never sad or disappointed because things didn’t go our way
• We always know the right thing to do
• We can never be taken advantage of
• We are fluid and responsive to what the moment asks
• We are free to be kind and compassionate, even in the presence of perceived “enemies”
• We are never bored, because we are perfectly happy just being ourself
• Our mind becomes quiet, peaceful, clear, and sharp

Can you see the power in this simple idea? When we invite life — instead of resisting it — we are freed from the stress and negativity that drains the positive energy required to be truly successful. We are given the ability to participate more deeply in the present moment, which allows us to access the higher mental and emotional states required to be more kind, creative, intelligent, and loving human beings…everything our heart truly longs for.

Want what life wants, and harvest the fruits of true and lasting success for yourself.

Basics of Time Management

Rule 1:  Apply the 80/20 test

Versions of this rule have been applied in many decision contexts. At its core, it is simply a reminder that some things are more important than others. Specifically, the “20” are the tasks, projects, and relationships that are of the highest value. Tending to these issues effectively will significantly advance you, your team, and your organization. They are of the highest strategic importance and are your top priority.

The other tasks, projects, and relationships (the “80”) are not unimportant, but they are less important. People spend far too much time everyday on the “80” instead of the “20”. The items in the “80” category are great targets for delegating, automating, or outsourcing. Your goal is to never spend more than 50% of your time on the “80” items.

Rule 2:  Identify your Einstein Window

While your IQ is fixed, your problem-solving ability is not. Problem solving is often a function of preparedness. One key aspect of preparedness is knowing when to work on what. Many times people will use “80” items as a means of procrastination instead of working on the more challenging “20” items.

You are smarter than that. Think about the time of day when your mental ability peaks. I call it the Einstein Window. For most people it is ...

a two to four hour window each day where problems feel like fun challenges.

What should you work on during your Einstein Window? You guessed it – a big chunk of your “20” items. In short, you will train yourself to work on the most important items when your brain is experiencing its peak window. During this time, vigorously resist working on any “80” items!

Rule 3:  Protect your Einstein Window!

Not everyone appreciates the importance of your Einstein window as much as you do. Make them. Here is the first thing to remember:  “No” is not a dirty word. Learn to use the word “no” effectively so you will not allow an excessive number of interruptions. If someone needs help and it is not an emergency, see him or her later – but not now.

Here are several additional ideas vital to protecting your Einstein time: shut the office door, take the phone off the hook, turn off the smartphone, and shut down the email program. Stop allowing anything that beeps or chirps to distract you!

Even if you’re only brave enough to attempt these approaches for 30 minutes, give it a try. When you stop multitasking so much and subjecting yourself to an avalanche of voluntary interruptions you might be surprised how much you actually feel like Einstein.

Really want to take a risk? Grab some very important work and your laptop and leave the office! Don’t ask permission. Just go. Find a park or an empty church – some place quiet (unlike the office). Your peak mental time is precious so you must learn to protect it.