What is Money?

Money is just a means of exchange. It is a representation of real wealth which is time, expertise, service or shelter - all of which have a “value” to every person individually. A person will place a certain value on anything and be willing to give you money for it. The weird part of it is -  one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. If you had to work very hard for long hours to earn a small amount of money, you place far more value on a dollar than someone who earns millions by sitting on his or her yacht. 

So the value you offer in exchange for the value you get is relative, depending on which side of the transaction you are on, and how badly you need the product or service you are paying for. This makes modern economics a bit of a crap shoot. We can come up with all of the formulas we want and see what drives the market etc but it is supply and demand in the end.

The difficulty here is that we start to think of money as the key player in the game. This is not the correct approach. We need to think of ourselves as the masters of the game, and use money as a tool. Money is neither good nor bad, it is only a symbol. It is a representation of the perceived value of something real. So if we can turn the tables on money, then we are setting ourselves up for success.

Make Money Work For You

I am talking about putting money to work. Use money to earn money. There is no better use of money than to earn more money. If you are working at a traditional job, you are trading your time for money. You perform a task that has a perceived value to someone else and they give you money in exchange for that. Depending on how rich your employer is, the amount they pay you has a perceived value to them as well, so consider that. Your value to them is relative to how rich they are. If you work for a billionaire you are far less valuable than if you work for a local merchant. Keep that in mind. 

The problem with trading your time for money is that there is only so much time. You can only provide so much value in a day. Even if you have a special skill that few people in the world possess, you only have 24 hours to do it. You are the bottleneck in your ability to scale your earning capability.

The only way to become super wealthy is to earn money while you sleep. This is a simple way of saying you are able to provide value to other people without being present. This is scalable in two ways: it earns money (or provides value) even when you are not working, and it can be replicated. This means, if you create something that earns money without your constant attention, you can create more. Then you are figuratively duplicating yourself from a “Value provider” perspective and can scale your output and receive the subsequent income. 

This has been known as “multiple streams of income” and is a very powerful concept. If you buy a rental property and rent it out, the tenant pays your mortgage for you and you eventually own the house without having had to pay much except for the down payment, taxes and some upkeep. The key here is that one house will not keep you busy 24 hours a day, so you could potentially buy more than one rental property. Now you have duplicated your value proposition and are earning more money without you having to be present. This is leverage. You are leveraging time and money. 

Build Assets

The key point here is that you invested money in these things. These things are called “assets” and they are your ticket to financial freedom. If you take money that you have worked for and instead of spending it, you buy assets with it, it starts to compound. Money starts making more money. This is the true path to wealth. 

It sounds magical, and it is in many ways, but it is also not instantaneous. It requires discipline, sacrifice and delayed-gratification. You will need to go without a few things in the short term to enjoy the benefits in the long-term. It takes time to build up a fortune and that is where many people fail. We have been fooled into believing in overnight success and instant gratification. Do not be sucked in. Anything powerful and worthwhile is hard and takes a long time. But “hard” does not mean impossible. “Hard” does not mean “exclusive” or “secret”. It just means you will need to make a plan and stick to it through the inevitable ups and downs of life. That is what will separate you from your peers. Being disciplined and focused in spite of obstacles. 

There are many ways to invest and put your money to work and there are benefits and detriments to each. Do your homework and find a plan that works for you. My books and courses teach a few methods that work, but there a many very smart people out there that have excellent plans too. I am happy to recommend them if you find what works for you. 

Money can be your master or your slave. You get to choose. Our society has both paths available to you. There are no guarantees in either. It is still up to you, but I sincerely hope you find the path that works for you and helps you to find happiness. My only goal is to make people aware that they actually have a choice. You are not stuck. 

These books changed my life! I highly recommend you check them out..