Money runs through everything. And it does one thing very, very well – it buys you options. But making a lot of money does not make you wealthy!
So ask yourself, do you want to be rich or do you want to be wealthy? There is a very distinct difference between the two and each position comes with a certain lifestyle. Building wealth is a long journey, and each journey is unique to every person who takes it.
As business owners, you should have something specific in mind that you want to achieve. For instance, peace of mind is something priceless that many people devote their entire lives just to catch a moment’s worth of. Peace of mind means that you can choose a lifestyle that will make you smile continuously, almost every day. If you are living paycheck to paycheck, then it will be difficult to attain this state.
What does it mean to be rich? Simply put, being rich means you have money and you are able to buy what you want. A rich person is usually surrounded by a multitude of material possessions. But the challenge each rich person has is this: if they stop working, can they still afford their lavish lifestyle? If your income depends on you having to work constantly, it’s going to slow down as you get older and begin to retire.
“Well, what if I have some savings?” Keeping your savings is a fool’s errand. You really should only save until you get to the point where you can start investing. The big difference between the rich and wealthy comes down to investment. When you invest, ask yourself this: What will be my legacy?
You build wealth when you build a business that you enjoy running. In the end, wealth will allow you to decide when you should stop working. You get to decide if you would like to sell your business or leave it to your family. Reaching that point, the point where all the options are laid out for you and all you have to do is choose, that’s a goal only the wealthy can achieve.
Being wealthy means you have determined what lifestyle you want in your golden years and you are already taking steps to achieve it.
So where will your retirement money come from? Social security? Your 401K? Savings? Investments? As an entrepreneur, you’ll want to establish a business that you can sell or something that generates income with minimal effort and supervision. You have to stop working IN your business and learn to work ON your business so you can grow it, scale it, and sell it.
The best investment is investing in your business.
There’s no quick and easy way of building wealth. But you can start by being conscious of what it would take for you to have peaceful, happy, enjoyable golden years. Do something about it right now. The more you wait, the fewer opportunities you have down the line. No matter what your goal is, you have to know where you are at this moment so you can start on the right foot.
So ask yourself, where am I? What am I doing with my financial life? How am I prepared for the future?
Connect and Share Your Thoughts
Thank you for reading! If you have different views or additional insights, I warmly welcome your comments below. Let’s enrich the conversation with diverse perspectives.
For more direct communication, feel free to email me at ronscoffrey@gmail.com. Your feedback and questions are always appreciated.
And if there’s something urgent you’d like to discuss, don’t hesitate to call me at 404-626-1425. I’m here to help!
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